DRILLING

SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION
erminghammer is revolutionizing the foundation industry
with its bold and innovative approach to every project.
Berminghammer supplies high quality, project specific
equipment, serviced by a world-class team of designers,
engineers and field personnel. Berminghammer drilling
systems demonstrate the companys strength in synthesizing
over 100-years of construction experience with innovation and
practicality in equipment design and manufacturing.

Berminghammer drills represent the

most ruggedly designed and
extensively field-tested allpurpose drills in the foundation
industry. Berminghammer
drills can be used in almost
every type of drilling
application, from simply
driving an auger to running
a Down-the-Hole-Hammer.
There is simply no better
choice for foundation
contractors than a
Berminghammer drill.

PROJECT-PLANNING
AND VISUALIZATION
he synergy of foundation construction and equipment
expertise together with talented design engineers places
Bermingham in a unique position to assist other foundation
contractors in planning and visualizing foundation
construction projects. In recent years Bermingham has
provided contractors with detailed computer models of their
projects at the planning and bidding stages as well as
throughout production. This allows Bermingham to
recommend equipment and procedures, and provide
experienced construction input on site a service not offered
by other equipment manufacturers.

PRODUCTION DRILLING
n order to maximize the production rates
of a project every effort must be made
to minimize operations required to move
equipment between pile locations. For
offshore or coastal projects this often
involves the movement of marine
equipment. Moving and relocating marine
equipment can be time consuming and
costing. Minimizing these moves by having
versatile drilling equipment results in
higher overall project productivity.

Versatile equipment also enables a

contractor to have an alternate course
of action in the drilling challenges.
The equipment can be readily relocated
to another pile and returned once the
challenge has been overcome. This
feature is essential to completing a
project on time and within budget.
The Berminghammer lead system in
conjunction with our hydraulic drills, drill
string, impact hammer and custom rotary
bits allow for maximum reach and
execution of drilling, driving and rock
socketing efficiently and seamlessly.

REVERSE CIRCULATION DRILLING

everse Circulation drilling involves the supply of air down
through the drill-string to decrease the effective density
of the water in the center of the drill-string. Operating much
like an air-lift, the drilling spoils are carried out of the hole
through this rising column lower-density air/water mixture
(see Figure below). Reverse Circulation requires that the
outer annular area of the casing be kept full of water in order
to provide the hydraulic head required to effectively push the
central column of air/water/spoils up and out of the hole
through the central pipe of the drill-string. Reverse
Circulation is an effective drilling technique for a wide range
of hole diameters including very large holes up to 3-m
diameter and larger. It is also effective for very deep holes,
and holes drilled into hard-rock. Another advantage of
Reverse Circulation is the ability to control/direct the drilling

spoils by simply directing the discharge pipe to the desired

site location or even to a dedicated barge (for
environmentally sensitive, overwater applications). Reverse
Circulation can be used in conjunction with rotary drilling bits
as well as Down-the-Hole-Hammer applications. The
Berminghammer Reverse Circulation Drills are particularly
well suited to Down-the-Hole-Hammer applications due to their
simple, rugged design and construction.
LEGEND
supply air and lubricant
return air and spoils

DOWN THE
HOLE HAMMER

ROTARY
DRILL BIT

DRILL STRING

MULTIPLE STAGE
DRILL STRING

REVERSE CIRCULATION
RETURN AIR PATH

REVERSE
CIRCULATION AIR
SUPPLY PATH

REVERSE CIRCULATION
AIR SUPPLY PATH

CASING / PILE

CASING / PILE

WATER

CROSS OVER SUB

ASSEMBLY
CROSS OVER SUB SEAL

REVERSE
CIRCULATION
RETURN AIR-WATER
AND SPOILS PATH

CROSS OVER SUB SPOILS

INTAKE OPENING

SOIL / ROCK

SHOCK ABSORBER
ASSEMBLY

AIR LIFT
ASSEMBLY

DOWN THE HOLE

HAMMER

DRILL BIT

ROCK
BIT

WATER AND
SPOILS PATH

DIRECT CIRCULATION DRILLING

s the name implies, Direct Circulation involves the supply
of air and water down through the drill-string, with the
drilling spoils discharging out the top of the casing. This
method of drilling may be better suited to smaller holes and
shallow holes, and possibly projects that do not have any
restrictions on the treatment/containment of the drilling
spoils. When using Direct Circulation with a Down-the-HoleHammer, there is no need for a cross-over-sub with seal.
Direct Circulation also eliminates the need to maintain a

minimum head of water in the casing. This may make Direct

Circulation more attractive for a drill-and-drive method of
advancing the drill casing. Berminghammer drills are well
suited to either Reverse Circulation or Direct Circulation
drilling.
LEGEND
supply air and lubricant
return air and spoils

DOWN THE
HOLE
HAMMER

ROTARY
DRILL BIT

DRILL STRING

DIRECT CIRCULATION
RETURN AIR PATH AND
SPOILS

DIRECT CIRCULATION
RETURN AIR PATH
DIRECT CIRCULATION
AIR SUPPLY PATH
CASING / PILE
SHOCK ABSORBER
ASSEMBLY
DOWN THE HOLE
HAMMER

DRILL STRING

DIRECT CIRCULATION
AIR SUPPLY PATH
CASING / PILE

WATER OR AIR

SOIL / ROCK

SOIL / ROCK
DRILL BIT
DRILL / HAMMER BIT

VERSATILITY IN LEADER STYLE

LEAD-MOUNTED DRILL RIGS ON CRAWLER CRANE
For use on land or over-water, combining a
Berminghammer Drill with a Berminghammer Vertical
Travel Lead (VTL) offers the most versatility. Movement
from hole-to-hole will occur more quickly with this leader
system than with any other drilling system and can
operate on vertical or battered piles. The versatility of
the leader system can allow for multiple insertions from
one crane/barge location. On one project, a
Berminghammer VTL System and a BHD-40 drill outperformed a dedicated drilling-rig by 5 to 1.
Bermingham personnel specialize in the rig-up and rigdown of our VTL Systems and we have the ability to
connect our systems to virtually any make of crane. A
VTL System has the advantage of being able to activate
the weight of the leader and attachments as additional
crowd for the drilling.

SUSPENDED LEAD/SELF SUPPORTED

In some overwater applications an underhung leader and
drill might be the best choice. If the supporting crane
does not have adequate capacity to support a VTL
System, or if the required drilling equipment is very
heavy then an underhung system may be the most
economical. Berminghammer leads rigged as underhung
leads come equipped with hydraulic gates that can grab
the casing to maintain the underhung lead is a suitable
position for drilling. Applying crowd in this type of lead
system requires a hydraulic-crowd attachment to be
positioned above (or below) the drill, and uses a pinconnection to the leader to apply crowd. Bermingham
have performed many projects where our hydraulic-crowd
system has been used effectively.

PILE-TOP RIG
Pile-top rigs are the more traditional type of equipment
used in Reverse Circulation drilling applications. Although
we typically recommend either a VTL System or an
underhung lead system, there are still some instances
where a pile-top rig may be appropriate. Bermingham
have used Pile Top Reverse Circulation Drilling rigs for
more than 40-years and can assist customers in
selecting the most appropriate system for their project.

DRILL SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Mark l
Torque

BHD-30

Max. Diameter

BHD-90

40,700

54,000

81,300

108,000

122,000

ft lbs

8,000

30,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

90,000

32

30

20

60

40

20

Bi-Directional
kg

907

4,620

4,620

5,340

5,340

9,500

lbs

2,000

10,200

10,200

11,800

11,800

20,900

mm

178

Solid

in
Output Connection

BHD-80

10,800

Rotation

Main Shaft

BHD-60

Nm

Maximum RPM
Weight

BHD-40

Hollow

178

178

Hollow

Hollow

178

Hollow

mm

95

AF SQ.

8 Bolt 553 mm

in

3 3/4

Drive

8 Bolt on 21

229

Hollow

mm

914

1,219

1,219

1,219

1,219

2,438

in

36

48

48

72

72

96

kW

110

148

149

298

298

298

hp

147

200

200

400

400

400

POWER PACK
Engine
Electrical System

12 Volt

Controls
Operating pressure

Flow

Resevoir Capacity

Hydraulic Remote Control

bar

138

331

331

345

345

345

psi

3,200

4,800

4,800

5,000

5,000

5,000

lpm

303

303

303

530

530

530

gpm

80

80

80

140

140

140

litre

227

968

968

1,743

1,743

1,743

gal

60

250

250

450

450

450

Oil Cooler
Weight

Included
kg

1,800

3,400

3,400

8,100

8,100

8,100

lbs

4,000

7,500

7,500

18,000

18,000

18,000

APPLICATIONS AND ACCESSORIES

OPERATIONS

ATTACHMENTS

Pre-boring Pile Locations

Caisson Augering
Wet Rotary Drilling
Tie Backs
Rock Sockets
Grout Injection

Continuous Flight Augers

Short Augers
Fish Tail or Water Jetting Bits
Small Diameter Bits
Tricone Rotary bits, Core Barrels
Hollow Stem Drill Sting

Wellington Street Marine Terminal,

Hamilton Ontario, Canada L8L 4Z9
Tel:
Fax:
Toll-Free:
E-Mail:
Web:

+1.905.528.0425
+ 1.905.528.6187
+1.800.668.9432
(Canada & USA)
info@berminghammer.com
www.berminghammer.com

Berminghammer Foundation Equipment and

Bermingham Foundation Solutions are divisions of
Bermingham Construction Limited.
Copyright 2008 Bermingham Construction Limited.