Drill String Radar Technology

Miners, oil companies, environmentalists, private businesses, the U.S. government, and Russian former weapons of mass destruction workers will all benefit from the new Drill String Radar (DSR) technology. An advanced geophysical exploration system, the DSR was engineered by Stolar Research Corporation as part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (GIPP) program.

GIPP focuses on reducing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by redirecting the skills of former weapons workers to developing and manufacturing commercial, non-weapons products. Under GIPP, the NNSA’s National Laboratories and manufacturing facilities form partnerships with U.S. commercial industries and former weapons scientists in the former Soviet Union to evaluate opportunities for commercial projects.

The DSR was developed through a GIPP partnership between the NNSA’s Kansas City Plant; Stolar Research Corporation, a New Mexican radio geophysics engineering company; and scientists from the Measuring Systems Research Institute (NIIIS) in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Stolar saw the need for this technology, and recognized the GIPP program as an opportunity to realize their vision. The Kansas City Plant provided technical expertise to solve problems as they arose, and also served as project facilitator and manager between NIIIS and Stolar.

The new Drillstring Radar provides a radar navigation tool to determine the height of a coal seam, geologic conditions, and seam undulation without the need to drill to the roof and floor boundary rock. NIIIS is collaborating with Stolar to refine and commercialize the tool. Deemed one of most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year, the Drillstring Radar received a 2005 R&D 100 award.

The Drill String Radar technology provides many benefits for improved mining and oil extraction.

A few of the many benefits of Drill String Radar’s include reduced cost and more efficient mining by providing more accurate information about geologic structures; increased fuel production rates; enhanced recovery of oil and gas; increased safety for miners; and minimal surface disturbance which preserves the environment and prevents dangerous fractured roof rock.