Today, I’ll begin design of a solar-powered pile-driver for driven wells. Some of the information I’ll need to collect is modeling of the impulse necessary for a pointed shaft to penetrate the hard clay layers under the soil -I’m trying to find names for it, remembering “calechia”- and if there is any other rock under that where I am wishing to drive a well, and the impulse necessary for that, if any. I’m vaguely remembering that, to the depth I’m likely to need, that the “bedrock” is “unconsolidated aggregate” in a compressed hard clay matrix.
Then, I’ll need to calculate the drop necessary for various masses to provide for that impulse upon impact, what power is necessary for the D.C. motor I’ll use in a cam & cog machinery to lift and let go the driving mass, which shall determine the wattage of photovoltaic panels I’ll need for that load.
So, before I can calculate the power of the motor, I’ll need to design a lifter/releaser that works on a cycle, because I wish to design this as simply as possible, and not use robotics, though that should be more of an achievement.
With some searches, I found that the layer I must have penetrated is “caliche” -I was close- and I also realize that I must review Mechanics of Materials, because I’m likely to have to construct a Mohr’s Circle when I can find a tensile yield strength for caliche, to calculate a shear yield strength. Enough for today: other responsibilities call out for my attention. I’ll be tracking, and showing, my work on this in a page under my home site.
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