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Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release
Research Article | Published: 26 January 2026
Reservoir Science Volume 2, Issue 1, 2026: 52-64
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Volume 2, Issue 1, 2026
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Reservoir Science, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2026: 52-64

Open Access | Research Article | 26 January 2026
Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release
by
Yandong Yang Yandong Yang 1 *
Feifei Huang Feifei Huang 1
Shaofei Kang Shaofei Kang 1
1 School of Petroleum Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Yan'an University, Yan'an 716000, China
* Corresponding Author: Yandong Yang, [email protected]
DOI: 10.62762/RS.2025.804345
ARK: ark:/57805/rs.2025.804345
Received: 17 September 2025, Accepted: 22 January 2026, Published: 26 January 2026  
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Abstract
Deep geothermal resources are environmentally friendly and represent a highly competitive form of clean energy. However, low rock-breaking energy combined with high rock strength results in a low rate of penetration (ROP), which significantly restricts the efficient utilization of geothermal resources. Previous studies have shown that rock failure is primarily caused by shear stress. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance the shear stress level by increasing the impact load and releasing the confining pressure, thereby improving the ROP. Specifically, the rock-breaking efficiency under the coupling of impact load and confining pressure releasing is analyzed to reveal the influence of confining pressure releasing on shear stress. Furthermore, a rock-breaking model is established, and an impact load generator is employed to validate the proposed model, enabling the evaluation of rock-breaking efficiency under the coupled action of impact load and confining pressure releasing. The results indicate that the ratio of shear stress to $I_1$ dominates the rock-breaking process. When this ratio is low, the rock tends to remain in a compressed state, the hydrostatic pressure effect is enhanced, the shear stress effect is relatively weakened, and the rock-breaking efficiency decreases. The coupling of impact load with confining pressure releasing can achieve effective rock breaking under relatively low weight-on-bit conditions in deep wells, thereby providing theoretical support for improving rock-breaking efficiency in hot dry rock geothermal development.
Graphical Abstract
Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release
Keywords
percussion drilling
rock breaking efficiency
rate of penetration
confining pressure releasing
impact load
Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.
Funding
This work was supported in part by the Natural Science Basic Research Plan of Shaanxi Province of China under Grant 2024JC-YBQN-0474; in part by the Natural Science Special Project of Shaanxi Provincial Education Department of China under Grant 24JK0723; and in part by the Young Talent Fund of Association for Science and Technology in Yan'an under Grant YAU202506703.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
AI Use Statement
The authors declare that no generative AI was used in the preparation of this manuscript.
Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
Not applicable.
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Cite This Article
APA Style
Yang, Y., Huang, F., & Kang, S. (2026). Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release. Reservoir Science, 2(1), 52–64. https://doi.org/10.62762/RS.2025.804345
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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Yang, Yandong
AU  - Huang, Feifei
AU  - Kang, Shaofei
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/26
TI  - Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release
JO  - Reservoir Science
T2  - Reservoir Science
JF  - Reservoir Science
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
SP  - 52
EP  - 64
DO  - 10.62762/RS.2025.804345
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/RS.2025.804345
KW  - percussion drilling
KW  - rock breaking efficiency
KW  - rate of penetration
KW  - confining pressure releasing
KW  - impact load
AB  - Deep geothermal resources are environmentally friendly and represent a highly competitive form of clean energy. However, low rock-breaking energy combined with high rock strength results in a low rate of penetration (ROP), which significantly restricts the efficient utilization of geothermal resources. Previous studies have shown that rock failure is primarily caused by shear stress. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance the shear stress level by increasing the impact load and releasing the confining pressure, thereby improving the ROP. Specifically, the rock-breaking efficiency under the coupling of impact load and confining pressure releasing is analyzed to reveal the influence of confining pressure releasing on shear stress. Furthermore, a rock-breaking model is established, and an impact load generator is employed to validate the proposed model, enabling the evaluation of rock-breaking efficiency under the coupled action of impact load and confining pressure releasing. The results indicate that the ratio of shear stress to $I_1$ dominates the rock-breaking process. When this ratio is low, the rock tends to remain in a compressed state, the hydrostatic pressure effect is enhanced, the shear stress effect is relatively weakened, and the rock-breaking efficiency decreases. The coupling of impact load with confining pressure releasing can achieve effective rock breaking under relatively low weight-on-bit conditions in deep wells, thereby providing theoretical support for improving rock-breaking efficiency in hot dry rock geothermal development.
SN  - 3070-2356
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  -
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@article{Yang2026Mechanism,
  author = {Yandong Yang and Feifei Huang and Shaofei Kang},
  title = {Mechanism of Penetration Rate Improvement in Hot Dry Rock Under the Coupling of Impact Load and Confining Pressure Release},
  journal = {Reservoir Science},
  year = {2026},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {52-64},
  doi = {10.62762/RS.2025.804345},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/RS.2025.804345},
  abstract = {Deep geothermal resources are environmentally friendly and represent a highly competitive form of clean energy. However, low rock-breaking energy combined with high rock strength results in a low rate of penetration (ROP), which significantly restricts the efficient utilization of geothermal resources. Previous studies have shown that rock failure is primarily caused by shear stress. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance the shear stress level by increasing the impact load and releasing the confining pressure, thereby improving the ROP. Specifically, the rock-breaking efficiency under the coupling of impact load and confining pressure releasing is analyzed to reveal the influence of confining pressure releasing on shear stress. Furthermore, a rock-breaking model is established, and an impact load generator is employed to validate the proposed model, enabling the evaluation of rock-breaking efficiency under the coupled action of impact load and confining pressure releasing. The results indicate that the ratio of shear stress to \$I\_1\$ dominates the rock-breaking process. When this ratio is low, the rock tends to remain in a compressed state, the hydrostatic pressure effect is enhanced, the shear stress effect is relatively weakened, and the rock-breaking efficiency decreases. The coupling of impact load with confining pressure releasing can achieve effective rock breaking under relatively low weight-on-bit conditions in deep wells, thereby providing theoretical support for improving rock-breaking efficiency in hot dry rock geothermal development.},
  keywords = {percussion drilling, rock breaking efficiency, rate of penetration, confining pressure releasing, impact load},
  issn = {3070-2356},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
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CC BY Copyright © 2026 by the Author(s). Published by Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.
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