MICROTUNNELING & PIPE JACKING
A Sophisticated Technology with High Precision – Conventional Pipe Jacking is a method of installing prefabricated pipe sections by pushing or jacking the pipe behind a tunnel boring machine or a number of other tunnel excavation methods. Microtunneling is an unmanned, remotely controlled, pipeline construction method for installing casing pipe or a carrier pipe (as in one-pass systems) underneath natural as well as man-made obstacles in a wide range of geotechnical conditions.
A key feature of microtunneling is its versatility to protect a tunnel face using slurry pressure, which makes it a trenchless construction method of choice especially when traversing underneath high water tables and unstable grounds.
Horizontal Directional Drilling
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is an above ground surface to surface trenchless method used to install pipelines and conduits in areas where conventional excavation methods are not feasible or desirable for environmental or constructability reasons.
The HDD method used in under rivers, creeks and streams, highways, railroads, airports, ocean beaches and environmentally sensitive and delineated lands.
Pipe Jacking Method
The pipe jacking method is based on a simple principle: the pipe string is driven from the launch shaft in the direction of the target shaft. Hydraulic jacks drive the tunneling machine which is positioned at the tip. Once the thrust cylinders have reached their final position, they are retracted. The next tunneling pipe is let down into the launch shaft, installed and then pushed forward. This process is repeated until the target shaft has been reached.
Pipe jacking can also be referred to as pipe reaming. It is a method of laying new pipes by assembling specially designed pipes on site and using a hydraulic jack to push the pipes into place. In contemporary technology, there are not many limitations besides the traditional engineering and economic concerns. It provides a pipe as structurally sound, flexible and as watertight as conventionally installed pipes.
Pipe jacking, which continues to be developed further, is a breakthrough, in particular for the installation and modernization of underground supply and disposal lines. Trenchless tunneling secures supplies without surface interference. During trenchless tunneling underground, urban life can carry on without interruption.
Advantages
Trenchless tunneling construction has many advantages because the surface remains almost completely unaffected by the pipe jacking operations. No major earth shifting is necessary at the tunneling site and only a few shafts are required. This means in practice:
★almost no impact on nature or the environment
★almost no impact on traffic or roads
★almost no impact on residents by dirt and noise
★no risk of vibration for historic buildings
★greater transparency in terms of time and costs