HDD – METHOD OF STATEMENT

(HDD – Horizontal Directional Drilling)

The Equipment

Underground infrastructure installation drilling system is known as Horizontal

Directional Drilling (HDD) or more well know as Micro tunneling. It is a guided
horizontal directional boring system capable of installing ducts for utilities such as
power or telecommunications cables and gases steel pipes as well. The primary
application of this technology is in developed areas where surface disruption is much
concern, not because of cost but also because of traffic flow, customer satisfaction
and environmentally friendly.

The advantages This Technology are :

1. Safer construction working site

2. No disturbances to environments and soil composition
3. Unobtrusive to community in terms of noise level and traffic disruptions
4. When use in congested and high traffic areas, causes least disturbance
5. No surface subsidence or settlement, etc.

Fantastic! HDD technology can drill through river, road, housing area, railway
track and airport runway

HDD Can Produced Micro -Tunnel

HDD equipment can produce tunnels size ranging from 50mm – 600mm with a
typical run length of between 100m – 300m depends on soil conditions, equipment
used and depth of drilling. This system uses high-pressure fluid jets for cutting. These
jets are augmented with carbide cutting blades to help break or penetrate the more
consolidated sediments, chalk, some shale and occasional encounters with rubble and
gravel up to 30% in volume.

The drilling fluid is a mixture of water, betonies and polymer. Betonies fluid nozzle
cutting provides power excavating sediment while leaving a lubricated tunnel for
installing the utility. The betonies solution is a viscous fluid with gel strength that
suspends the sediment particles. The betonies fluid nozzles will cut the sediment but
will not cut into adjacent utilities such like concrete metal or plastic. Operating
pressure for the fluid nozzles typically up to 1500psi. With the cutting head and back
reamer used, the maximum fluid consumption is 30 liters per minute when producing
tunnels up to 150mm. The fluid jets at 1500psi penetrate about 10mm into clay-type
sediments.

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This means that high pressure fluid nozzle cutting is substantially different from water
boring techniques, which use much more quantities of fluids that can cause substantial
voids and result in surface subsidence. From our operating experience, there are no
surface subsidence occurred.

This system uses the orientation of the nozzles and shape of drilling head to control
the path of the drilling tool. The drilling head equipment in combination with a
transmitter located within, determines the position of the tool within 3.0 cm at typical
placement depths of about 1.5m. The tunnel placement accuracy can be held to 15 cm
depending on the requirements of the job and the sediment type.

With high placement accuracy capability, this horizontal directional drilling system
can be used in the vicinity of other utilities after first locating the existing utilities in
the ground either by means of electronically or of small excavation pits. Once the
utilities are exposed, a course can then be carefully laid out to avoid hitting the
existing underground utilities. Since no trenching is involved, the course can be
above, under or to the side of the existing utilities allowing much more. Flexibility in
placement of the new utilities. Unlike trenching, there is generally no difficulty in
going deeper to get under a sewer, water pipe or other utilities. The depth of the tool
can be accurately measured down to 25m with the electronic locating equipment.

Horizontal Directional Drilling Equipment

1. Vermeer Navigator
2. Flow Mole

The Horizontal Directional Drilling equipment system consists of four majors

components:

1. Field Power Unit (FPU).

2. Drilling Machine
3. Locating System
4. Safety System

Horizontal Directional Drilling Process

The Drilling process is piloted by an operator from the central control panel of the
mobile power supply unit together with one other operator at the site, who remotely
directs the drill head with the help, of a specialized receiver. The power for drilling
process is produced by the mobile supply unit as well as hydraulic power. A locating
system unit is used to locate any hidden obstacles such as undetected pipes or other
cables along the proposed drilling path. The drill unit is brought to the site and set up
4m to 5m behind the first access pit. The tool and the first 3m section of drill pipe are
put on the drill frame, which is angled at about 15 degrees according to the depth of
drilling to ground.

Horizontal Directional Drilling process begins by drilling into undisturbed surface at

certain degrees angle. As the tool penetrates the ground, the second drill pipe is
connected. The process continues with the steering controlled so that the drilling tool
will enter the first pit level at the proper depth.

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Horizontal Directional Drilling process can be divided into two main working
procedures.

Stage 1
Firstly, a small entrance called ‘start pit’ is dug at convenient location. Then the
drilling tool is attached to the drill rods and advanced through the ground to reach a
target pit where the utilities cable or pipes are to be pulled.

Betonies is then emitted from nozzles into the drill tool and forced through the ground
forming a pilot hole. A transmitter is located in the drill head allowing the operator to
locate the drill head to a tolerance of 3cm. With a two ways radio, the operator is able
to issue command in steering the drill head along the desired drill run, thus giving
total control.

The drill head can be steered in a straight line or in any other selected direction to the
left, right, up and down. The drilling machine can drill up to length of 300m
depending on soil conditions.

Stage 2
Stage 2 involves back reaming operation which bigger the size of the hole and product
pipes installation which in other words, ‘the return journey’. Upon reaching the target
pit, the drill head is then removed from the drill rods in the target pit. A relevant back
reamer be fitted according to utility cable to be installed is then attached directly
behind the product pipes.

The back reamer has a series of nozzles which sufficient mud flow and pressure to cut
and remove soil, widening the pilot hole to the desired diameter. Cable or duct
diameter may range from 50mm to 600mm. The drill rods will continue to rotate and
retract, pulled along the utility cable and the product is simultaneously installed, stress
free.

Horizontal Directional drilling Techniques

Horizontal Directional Drilling is generally divided into 4 stages

Stage 1
The key success is the accuracy of the initial pilot tunnel. The steering tool is piloted
along the pilot tunnel enabling the crossing to be carried-out accurately as planned.
The steering tool appears in the correct position required on the other side of the
target pit.

Stage 2
A wash pipe is then fitted over the pilot string and advanced whilst rotating.
Stage 3
When the wash appears on the opposite site of the target pit, the pilot string is
retracted. The wash pipe is then fitted with a back reamer and pulled back to the
starting point on the other side of the target point. This process will bigger or widens
the initial pilot tunnel; if further widening is required this process will be repeated.

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Stage 4
The product pipe to be installed is then attached to a swivel which is then attached to
the reamer. The reamer is then retracted with rotation and mud, and the product is
installed rotation or twist free on this final crossing. The drilling mud protects the
product and lubricates the installation process.

Cable or Pipe Laying Method

In the present world of trench less technologies, of all pipes laying method of micro
tunneling, HDD has came up with the best solution which is taking into consideration
all aspects of cable or pipe laying.

For example, a 600m length of cable, there should be 4 pits/holes being dug and the
last pit hole is a jointing pit for cables. The depth of the cables from the ground level
will be maintained as required by specifications unless at certain points where has to
go deeper to avoid underneath utilities. The size of the pits/holes will be opened is
rectangle 1m by 1m depends on total product pipes being installed.
Please Refer to figure 2: Micro Tunneling pits / holes are depicted.

For tunnels consist of six (6) 160mm HDPE pipes and two (2) 110mm HDPE pipes,
the six 160mm HDPE pipes will be in trefoil formation for ‘2 circuit’ cables and two
110mm HDPE pipes are for installation of pilot cables. Each tunnel will be drilled
separately one at a time.
Please Refer to figure 3: Laying Configuration is depicted.

Safety System

During drilling and back reamer operations, the safety equipment and procedures will
protect the operators from any possibility of injury caused by in advertent contact
with the energized underground electric cables. If this rarely occurs, the safety
equipment and procedures will ensure that the operators are protected from electrical
hazards. This means that new electric cable can be installed adjacent to the failing
electric cables throughout an entire city section with only a brief disruption to
customers when switching over from the cable system to the new cable system.
Similar benefits can also be experienced with the installation of telecommunication
cables and gas pipes in common trenches with electric utilities.