This Project Profile focuses on philanthropic efforts in Romania.

The donation ceremony in Bucharest, during which JICA gave the rig to the Technical University of Civil Engineering.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently purchased a drill rig and donated it for use in a large technical cooperation project in Romania. The project involved geotechnical investigation and earthquake prevention engineering.

The project was conducted by the Technical University of Civil Engineering-Bucharest - the appointed authority to complete the in-situ analysis, perform the drilling operations and oversee each stage of the project.

The jobs performed in this program mainly involved seismic activity prevention and the relative soil investigation:

  • 4-inch continuous coring drilling ranging from approximately 200 feet to 330 feet deep

  • laying out piezometric wells with 4-inch casing pipes

  • installation of earthquake risk prevention instruments, like ac-celerometers, throughout Romania

These last instruments are fitted with sophisticated computerized systems that register underground seismic data, which will be used to create more suitable building designs for critical earthquake-risk areas.

The Multidrill XL at work on a drilling site in Romania.

Acquiring the Rig

The engineers of the Technical University of Civil Engineering - Bucharest had established a close professional relationship with Fraste, developing a drilling unit to perform the last generation anti-seismic monitoring jobs that JICA approved and contracted through its Romanian office.

Fraste created a complete drilling station that includes a Multidrill XL truck-mounted drill rig and a complete set of drilling equipment - a single package solution for direct mud circulation drilling, dry drilling with augers, continuous coring operations and SPT percussion investigations. This Fraste Multidrill XL drilling unit uses a stress-resistant four-speed rotary head that provides a maximum torque of 700 kgm and 270 rpm, and its 13-foot stroke on the mast allows drilling with nearly 10-foot-long drill pipes. The drill pipe's storage holds 30 drill pipes and is outfitted with a hydraulic raising device.

Beside the drilling unit, Fraste provided a complete on-site training course for the personnel of the Technical University of Civil Engineering - Bucharest during which some undisturbed samples were drilled with a T6 core barrel.
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