Drilling of hard rocks by pulsed power

The drilling and demolition by low-duration, high-voltage electric pulses is based on the fact that, for very short times, the breakdown inside the solid dielectric occurs faster than the surface flashover benveen the electrodes. It was shown that most solid dielectrics could be broken down in insulating liquids, such as transformer oil, diesel fuel, and even in water. This study includes experimental and theoretical results on the drilling of rocks in insulating liquids, including transformer oil and diesel fuel.