Reliability analysis of tricone roller bits with tungsten carbide insert in blasthole drilling

Abstract

Tri-cone roller bits are mostly used for drilling blast holes in surface mines. One way of improving the efficiency of drilling operation and to reduce drilling cost is to determine the reliability of the existing bits and their components. This work investigates reliability of tri-cone roller bit based on failure of two of its main components, which are, inserts and bearings. The paper has considered complete failure mode (CFM) analysis based on warranty data collected from the field to determine the reliability of the individual components as well as for the complete bit unit drilling in sandstone rock overburden.