Abstract(s) :

(Anglais) Understanding destruction mechanisms in high depth conditions is important to correctly manage the drilling of very-deep boreholes. Regarding Polycrystalline Diamond Compact drill bits, which dominate the drilling bits market, cutting mechanism is well known in at-mospheric conditions but its understanding in a confining environment needs to be im-proved. In this research, we use a 3D Discrete Element method to study the influence of confining conditions and some cutting parameters on the Mechanical Specific Energy. With this approach, we highlight good correlation between numerical models and laborato-ry experiments performed on Single cutter machines. Considering the important cost and difficulties to drive experimental tests on these devices the elaborated numerical method could be an interesting alternative to go deeper in the understanding of cutting mechanism.