Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 853: Improvements: Hydraulic Drill (2/2)

"That is where my invention comes in. It is designed and manufactured to solve this exact problem."

He took up the three-inch pipe and showed its cross-section at the end. "This pipe has its outer layer made of hard rubber, and its inner layer is high-quality steel. This is not steel from sheet metal but steel wires that have been woven in a crisscross pattern so as to increase its strength."

"The pipe is over 250 meters long."

"It is connected to the water tank filled with 900 tons of water to the brim. Additionally, we added an airtight platform on top of the water surface upon which rests bodybuilding weights, adding to a grand total of 100 tons, in order to increase the pressure water exerts at the bottom."

He dropped the pipe and took out a heavy metal component with both hands as he wrinkled his face due to the weight.

"This is..." He struggled as he spoke, but in the end, unable to hold it any longer, he dropped it to the ground.

Thud!

"This is the metallic bit I have invented. This will be connected to the end of the pipe, and within it are miniature 7.5 millimetre strong steel bearings. Its mechanism works in such a way that when high-pressure water comes through the pipe and impacts this bit, its outer layer, composed of several grinding teeth, turns at high speed, grinding down the rock in an instant. Additionally, in order to reduce the friction and to reduce the chances of combustion, water continuously gushes out of the teeth, making the process of grinding more efficient. It's a form of hydraulic mechanism, per se."

Rana Bhatia looked at the grind bit on the ground and vaguely understood the principle. He began to be excited because although the principle is simple, its logic is impeccable. And as he had seen in various examples in the empire, sometimes complicated problems do not require complicated solutions; just a simple, ingenious solution was enough, and he felt like that was exactly what he was witnessing.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's try it out quickly," he said eagerly.

Hearing the impatience in his voice, Tenzing Anirban Sharma laughed. "Surely, sir."

Soon, the steel grinding bit was attached to the pipe, and it was lowered into the oil well.

"Lower..."

"Lower..."

Anirban Sharma began to seriously command his students,

"5 feet, 8 feet, 16 feet, 23 feet, 71 feet, 83 feet..."

"Sluuup!"

"Professor, it is not going any deeper," a young man wearing spectacles with oil all over his face shouted.

Tenzing Anirban Sharma fell into deep thought. The well was originally dug only to 50 feet, but after its base was manually dug further in order to increase the crude oil coming up, it was dug to 90 feet. The bit got stuck at 83 feet—was there any obstruction stopping the drill bit?

'Anyway, it doesn't matter.'

"Everyone, stay away from the oil well and keep your distance from the pipe."

He shook his head and seriously looked at his student, who was operating the heavy-duty lever at the water tank.

"Turn it on," he said.

The muscular male student gritted his teeth and turned the lever, his arms bulging and veins popping out of his neck.

"Zoop!!"

Immediately, as if a dragon had come alive, the pipe jerked and began to dive into the oil well at high speed.

"86 feet, 88 feet, 90 feet..."

Suddenly, a loud screeching sound was heard from below the oil well, sending vibrations through the ground.

'Blub blub blub blub'

Water came bubbling up to the top of the oil well, making the crude oil look like boiling liquid of purgatory.

Inside the well, the water coming at the force of several hundred tons per inch pushed the ball bearings to rotate at unimaginable torque, grinding all the rocks that came before it into powder.

The screw-type shape of the bit clamped onto the rock and proceeded to drill into it as if it were a nail piercing a soft wooden plank.

"Grrrr!!!"

Suddenly, the drilling bit did not spin anymore—it got stuck.

On the surface, Tenzing Anirban Sharma was surprised because there was still a lot of pipe remaining.

He fell into deep thought. 'Could it be?'

"Close the lever."

"Pull up the drill bit by a meter."

The orders were followed one after another without hesitation.

"Amol, do not drop the drill bit until I say so."

"Kushal, now turn the lever once again."

The next moment, water began to flow into the drill bit, but he did not immediately have Amol drop the drill bit and have it make contact with the rock. Instead, he let it spin a few seconds, after which he nodded his head.

"Bzzz!!"

The hard rock, which had stopped the drill bit, was immediately crushed to pulp.

Rana Bhatia did not understand what was going on, so he enquired.

Tenzing scrunched up his nose as the drilling sent out gases from underneath that weren't too pleasant. "My guess is that continuous drilling caused the momentum of the drill bit to be reduced, since as the water flows, the pressure of the water will continue to decrease. This is one of the reasons why we have placed weights on top of the water surface, so that at least some pressure could be maintained, but it looks like it is not enough. Due to the lessening momentum, it couldn't cut through the rock anymore."

"So I had the bit taken up, made it spin for a second to accumulate momentum, and released it once again to dig deeper for a while."

A few seconds later, the same sound was heard once again.

"All right, let's restock the water and restart the process," Tenzing ordered.

Rana Bhatia, curious, asked, "How deep did it drill?"

"Um," Tenzing looked at the markings in the pipe and responded, "around twelve feet, sir."

Rana Bhatia nodded and became silent. The speed was pretty good.

In such a way, the drilling continued for the whole day until, in the evening, out of nowhere, a loud bang was heard, and crude oil burst out from underground as if it were a fountain of black chocolate in Charlie's Chocolate Factory, powered by a high HP motor.

The gushing crude oil reached the height of the water tank, causing everyone to laugh heartily despite being drenched in extremely combustible liquid.

The next day, a fierce negotiation was held between Tenzing Anirban Sharma and Rana Bhatia.

"Mr. Anirban, you're asking for too much."

"No, sir, I am being completely reasonable. If you use this technology to increase the depth of oil wells, the kerosene and other byproducts production can at least be tripled and more in my conservative estimate. We all know how valuable kerosene and other byproducts of crude oil are, so I don't think 20 million varaha to buy my drilling technology is too expensive."

Rana Bhatia fell into deep thought. Of course, he knew this. In fact, 20 million actually wasn't too high, but as a man responsible for the finances of Raya Petroleum, he had to keep the prices low after all.

"How about this: I will give you 15 million and a funding of 2 million to the university."

"No, make it 17 million and the funding of 2 million."

"15,800,000."

"16,500,000."

Rana Bhatia had a pained expression on his face. "It is on the more expensive side, but alright, Mr. Tenzing, you have a deal. Raya Petroleum will purchase your drilling technology patent for 16.5 million in cash and 2 million in research funding to the Bharatiya Institute of Technology."

Both gentlemen did a namaskara, sealing the deal.

Just when Tenzing Anirban Sharma was about to leave, he was stopped by the words of Rana Bhatia. "Mr. Tenzing, would you by any chance be interested in joining the Raya Research Institute? I promise the benefits you receive will be enticing."

Tenzing stopped in his tracks. His heart hesitated because joining the Raya Research Institute was one of the biggest goals of all the intellectuals of the empire. But after a few moments of struggle, Tenzing's heart was determined.

"I am thankful for the offer, sir, but it is a pity that I have to refuse. I am looking to start my own research institute."

Rana Bhatia's eyebrows were raised, but they soon returned to normal. He nodded his head in understanding. "That's right. A talented person like you can definitely succeed in this field. It is very correct for you to start your own entrepreneurial journey."

"However, Mr. Tenzing, how about you be the consultant for Raya Petroleum? If we encounter any problems with the drilling mechanism, we will contact you. Oh, it won't be for free either — the company can provide you a million per annum to be our consultant."

Tenzing thought about it and nodded. He wanted to research a new technology, after all. Who knew when it would succeed? Till then, having a constant stream of income was a good thing for him. "Thank you for your generous offer, sir, and I would heartily accept."

"Good!"

P.S. Thanks, Asurendra_Ravana, for the IceCola

P.S. Thanks, Munna_Kumar_1338, for the IceCola

P.S. Thanks, its_a_joke, for the Inspiration capsule