Common Mistakes in Adjusting the Guide Angle of a Horizontal Directional Drilling Rig

I. Common Operational Mistakes and Consequences

1. Aggressive and Forceful Adjustment: Attempting to correct a large deviation at once, with an inclination change exceeding 5%, can easily cause reverse offset or an "S-shaped" trajectory, increasing pullback resistance and even causing the drill to jam.

2. Incorrect Tool Face Angle Positioning or Lack of Locking: Failing to accurately adjust the guide plate to the 12 o'clock (up), 6 o'clock (down), 3 o'clock (right), or 9 o'clock (left) position, or failing to secure the drill rod after adjustment, can lead to rotational offset and incorrect correction direction.

3. Confusion Between Pushing and Rotating Operations: Initiating rotation during the directional phase, when "push only, don't rotate," causes the drill bit to lose its guiding function and continue moving forward in the original direction due to inertia, resulting in correction failure.

4. Starting Correction Before Retracting to a Stable Section: Directly correcting the hole section that has already experienced slight offset, instead of retracting 1-2 drill rods to a stable trajectory, results in an uneven connection between the old and new paths, forming steps or sharp bends.

5. Ignoring Formation Variations and Maintaining Unchanged Parameters: Using the same drilling pressure and rotation speed in alternating layers of soft and hard rock leads to uneven stress on the drill bit, causing it to "head up" or "head down," exacerbating trajectory fluctuations.

6. Excessively Long Measurement Intervals or Inadequate Data Verification: Failure to strictly adhere to the "measure every 3 meters of drilling" rule results in accumulated deviations that are difficult to correct, missing the optimal correction window.

II. Common Environmental and System Usage Misconceptions

1. Relying on Wireless Guidance in Areas with Strong Interference: Failure to switch to wired sensors or ground beacon systems near high-voltage lines or underground metal structures leads to magnetic azimuth distortion and incorrect direction determination.

2. Improper Mud Mixing Affects Guidance Response: Overly thick mud causes sluggish drill bit steering, while overly thin mud causes borehole instability and drill bit "drift," both weakening the correction effect.

3. Ignoring the Comparison between BIM Model and Design Trajectory: Failure to import measured data into 3D modeling software for real-time comparison makes it difficult to detect trend deviations, affecting overall path control.

III. Prevention Recommendations
1. Adhere to the principle of "small angles, slow adjustments, and frequent measurements," controlling single corrections to 2%~4%;
2. Before correction, always retract to a stable section to ensure accurate benchmarks;
3. Strictly prohibit rotation during directional advancement; apply thrust only after confirming the tool face angle is in place;
4. For complex strata, increase the density of measurements to once every 2 meters, dynamically adjusting the strategy.