Sandia’s High Operating Temperature (HOT) Facility houses a 20-foot-tall drill rig, heating chamber, and process gas heater. HOT can simulate conditions deep underground by elevating the temperatures directly to the drill bit and can enable drilling through different types of rock, such as granite. In addition to testing drilling tools at temperature, the facility can conduct research for drilling automation and control.
Image depicts at the HOT facility, researchers can simulate conditions found deep underground, study the effects of heat on the drill rig hammer, and drill into various types of rock.