An all-terrain rover has a ladder frame having one or more crosspieces, two drive units connected on opposite sides of the frame, first and second auger cylinders engaged with the drive units so as to be urged into rotation by the drive units, each cylinder comprising a sealed hollow cylinder; and a spiral auger flange affixed to the exterior of the cylinder, wherein the drive units are in contact with the axes of the auger cylinders are parallel and the flange of the first cylinder is wound in an opposite direction to the flange of the second cylinder, and wherein the cylinders are each counter-rotated to urge the rover forward. In one embodiment sampling equipment is mounted on the frame. In another, each cylinder further comprises a conical end cap at each end. Each cylinder may have a frustaconical end cap at each end, and each cylinder may be buoyant.

A soil sampler including an elongated barrel having an inner surface defining a piston chamber with open top and bottom ends; a plunger shaped to be slidably received in the chamber and including a piston shaped to frictionally engage the inner surface of the chamber and a plunger cap joined to the piston by a shaft; and at least one longitudinally extending rib projecting inwardly from the inner surface of the chamber and having a bottom surface spaced from the open bottom end to block the piston from moving further towards the open top end, and wherein the plunger cap has at least one notch shaped to receive the at least one rib. A method of assembling a soil sampler includes aligning a notch of a plunger cap of a plunger with a rib in a piston chamber and passing the plunger cap through the chamber.

A box for packaging core samples from rock drilling is provided, used in particular in the field of mineral sampling from geological exploration activities for subsequent analysis. The box is defined by a structure formed by a single body produced by injection molding of a thermoplastic material which includes female fittings and male fittings for laterally interlocking the boxes, closing and locking devices for the cover on the box, anatomical transport handles, openings and channels for draining liquid fractions and texturing for identifying the collected samples.

The invention discloses a natural gas diffusion coefficient measurement auxiliary device based on a hand-operated lifting device, comprising a core chamber, a bracket, a core preservation device, and a hand-operated lifting device; the left side of the core chamber is connected with a methane measuring chamber, and the right side of the core chamber is connected with a nitrogen measuring chamber; a rotatable bracket is installed on the lower left side of the core chamber, and the lower right side of the core chamber is connected with the hand-operated lifting device; the core chamber is rotated by the hand-operated lifting device with the support as the center; a horizontal platform at the lower part of the core chamber is provided with a revolving door that can accommodate the left end of the core chamber; a core preservation device is installed at the lower part of the revolving door. The invention has a simple structure, which greatly reduces the time required to load the core during natural gas diffusion coefficient measurement, and can effectively prevent the core from breaking and the rubber sleeve from being damaged.

A device and a method for transferring and storing a deep in-situ core in a sealed and pressure-maintaining manner includes a pressure vessel, a sealed storage vessel, a control system, a pressure regulation system and at least one spherical valve. The pressure vessel includes a first barrel and a first end sealing piston mounted at a first end of the first barrel and being slidable in the pressure vessel. The sealed storage vessel includes a second barrel and a second end sealing piston which is mounted at a first end of the second barrel. At least one spherical valve is connected between the first barrel and the second barrel. The pressure regulation system is configured for regulating an amount of water in the second barrel. The control system includes a first pressure sensor, a second pressure sensor, and a controller.

A core sample holder assembly for performing core flood experiments includes a first end cap having a first cylindrical body with a first central chamber and a first inner end that is ring shaped, and a second end cap having a second cylindrical body with a second central chamber and a second inner end that is ring shaped. Three flow lines are spaced elevationally apart, the three flow lines extending from a first outward end to a first inward facing surface of each end cap. A flexible sleeve circumscribes the first end cap and the second end cap. A test sample bore is defined by the first inner end, the second inner end, and an inner diameter surface of the flexible sleeve. A central axis extends through the first end cap, the second end cap, and the flexible sleeve, the first end cap, the second end cap, and the flexible sleeve being axially aligned.

The invention relates to an underwater drilling device and to a method for procuring drill cores of a bed of a body of water, wherein an underwater drilling device with a base frame is lowered in a body of water and placed on a bed of a body of water. A drill string consisting of at least one tubular drill string element is drilled out into the bed of the body of water in a first drilling step with a drill drive, with a drill core being formed in a receptacle in the tubular drill string element and being received in a core barrel in the drill string element. According to the invention, the drill core is enclosed in pressure-tight manner in a receiving container on the basic cradle under water.

A soil sampler assembly includes a utility vehicle and a soil sampler module coupled to the utility vehicle. The utility vehicle includes a cab, and the soil sampler module is configured to deposit a soil sample in the cab. For example, the soil sampler assembly includes a conveyor system configured to convey the soil sample to the cab. The soil sampler assembly further includes a sampler arm assembly. The sampler arm assembly includes a power cylinder, a guide cylinder, a transfer block, and a probe. The probe is coupled to the soil sampler module and defines a longitudinal interior channel configured to receive the soil sample and release the soil sample for collection. The probe is rotatable from a first orientation facing the ground to a second orientation where the probe is facing opposite the ground for releasing the soil sample onto the conveyor system.

A method and system for determining the volume of a drill core sample, wherein the method comprises the steps of providing a reference surface of a core tray adapted to carry at least one drill core sample, placing a drill core sample in the core tray, scanning the core tray with an electromagnetic 3D scanner to obtain a sample surface, and computing the volume of the drill core sample by comparing the sample surface with the reference surface. Scanning the sample will provide accurate and repeatable measurements even for drill core samples with non-cylindrical segments.

A system for transferring at least one subterranean core sample under pressure can include a retrieval vessel that collects and houses the at least one subterranean core sample at a sampling pressure at which the at least one subterranean core is collected. The system can also include a linear actuator that couples to the retrieval vessel through a valve in the open position at a first time, where the linear actuator facilitates removal of at least one pressure barrier from the retrieval vessel through the valve at the first time while maintaining the sampling pressure of the at least one subterranean sample. The system can further include a testing vessel that couples to the linear actuator through the valve in the open position at a second time, and a hydraulic device that facilitates pressurizing the testing vessel to the sampling pressure at the second time.