Tetra Corporation has been developing its electrohydraulic technology over the past 17 years. Numerous patents protect this technology. Approximately $9.4 million has been invested in developing Tetra Corporation's eletrohydraulic technologies.
An electrical spark is created in water and a pulse of electricity at high peak power is passed through the spark. This forms rapidly expanding plasma in the water that creates a shock wave. These shock waves are so powerful they can crush rock This shock wave can be controlled to crush the rock just ahead of the drill to less than 1 mm in size. The device drills into the rock by repeating the shock wave 10 – 50 times per second.