U

The magazine for the no-dig professional

TRE CHLESS
September 2007 Vol 1 Issue 1

Poland focus
Two projects in the Polish capital

Microtunnelling
UK, US and South Africa

Drilling uids

for small-bore tunnelling

www.trenchless-world.com
CovItrench0709.indd 1

31/8/07 10:46:41

BORZALL OGRE TrenchWorld

8/29/07

9:16 AM

Page 1

CUTTING
EDGE

TECHNOLOGY.
A QUARTER INCH
AT A

TIME.
INTRODUCING THE OGRE FROM
MELFRED BORZALL. SO FAST,
SO EASY, SO TOUGH, NO OTHER
REAMER CAN MEASURE UP.
Featuring more carbide cutters than any other reamer, the Ogre was born
to destroy the hardest soil conditions, including shale, sandstone,
caliches and cobbles. But remarkably, each cutter only takes
off 1/4" soil more than the previous stage, resulting in
one of the smoothest cutting actions in the business.
Not to mention, the deep-spiraled fluting
produces maximum mixing and
pumping action. Quite simply,
its the meanest, most cost-efficient
reamer in the industry. For more
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winning over HDD operators,
ogre and ogre again.

2007 Melfred Borzall, Inc. 2712 Airpark Drive, Santa Maria, CA 93455

Nothing bores like a Borzall

1
COMMENT

Trenchless World will serve to help

promote no-dig systems worldwide

contacts
Editor
[email protected]

BA (Arch) BA(Hons), DipBldgCons (RICS)

Production editor
[email protected]
Sub editor
[email protected]
Designer
[email protected]
Advertising production
[email protected]
Advertising manager
[email protected]
+44 (0)20 7216 6086
Advertising sales executive
[email protected]
+44 (0)20 7216 6053
ISSN 0026-5225
Trenchless World is published
ten times annually by Mining
Communications Ltd, Albert House,
1 Singer Street, London, EC2A 4BQ, UK
Mining Communications Ltd 2007
A member of BPA
Worldwide
A member of the Periodical
Publishers Association

AGD Equipment
13

Akkerman
15

Baker Hughes
www.bakerhughesdirect.com

22

Boart Longyear
www.boartlongyear.com

18

IDS
www.idsgeoradar.com

Melfred Borzall
www.melfredborzall.com

Cov II

Robbins
www.TheRobbinsCompany.com Cov III
Terra
www.terra-eu.eu

17

18

Features
6-11 Projects

Poland: Two projects in the Polish capital

Cardiff: Installing a new microtunnelled sewer

12-15 Microtunnelling

Paul Hayward discusses the techniques and versatility of microtunnelling,

looking at various projects in the UK, US and South Africa

16-19 Pipe-jacking

9
8

20-21 Technology

UCT
www.uctonline.com

The latest equipment releases and upgrades

Milwaukee, US: Microtunnelling a sewer replacement in Milwaukee, US.

London, UK: Insituform put two of its new products to work in Maida Vale.

TT-Group
www.tracto-technik.de

A round-up of the latest news and technology

23 Innovation

Hermes
www.hermes-technolgie.com

2-4 Global news

23
5

FRONT COVER
Launching the Herrenknecht EPB 1600
microtunnelling machine to bore the 3,557 m
trunk sewer pipeline in Warsaw.
Website: www.herrenknecht.com

1 Comment

4 Events

Colli Drill
www.collidrill.it

Regulars

14

C.Scope
www.cscope.co.uk

250 members and interests, spanning every sphere of

trenchless working, our membership is likely to nd
the revised format a huge improvement and I look
forward to receiving my copy soon. I am pleased to say
the trenchless world continues to grow and anything
that promotes increased awareness and shares experience can only be positive and helpful.
The UKSTT is constantly looking for new ways to
promote the cost savings, increased safety, reduced
environmental impact and other benets of trenchless
construction. An improved publication with a tighter
focus can only help.
Education is paramount. Having met so many
newcomers to the sector at the UKSTT No-Dig Live exhibition last year and spoken to those who are already
advocates but had not seen some of the new trenchless
technologies, it is obvious that the trenchless market
can only benet from enhanced coverage.
To that extent, I know all of us in the UKSTT wish
Trenchless World the best in its dynamic new format.
Russell Fairhurst, Chairman, UKSTT

Drilling uids

September 2007
01trench0709.indd 1

www.akkerman.com

WEB ADDRESS www.trenchless-world.com

CONTENTS

advertisers
www.agd-equipment.co.uk

T UKSTT, we support many magazines and

web-based publications promoting the awareness and use of trenchless technology/systems.
The former Tunnelling & Trenchless Construction (TTC) magazine has been reformatted into a
dual-ended magazine to cater for reader needs and
reect the growing importance of the no-dig sector.
The sections are entitled Trenchless World and World
Tunnelling.
While UKSTT (UK Society for
Trenchless Technology) exists to
promote trenchless knowledge
and expertise within the
UK, we are afliated to ISTT
(International Society for
Trenchless Technology) and
an active supporter of
efforts by UKTI to
promote overseas business
development
among our
membership.
With over

TRE CHLESS
31/8/07 12:11:06

2
NEWS
London, UK

Houston, Texas, US

A SIX-POINT action
call aimed at promoting the use of concrete
pipe in the UK has
been outlined recently
by the Concrete Pipeline Systems
Association. The move could also
have a benecial knock-on effect for
the UK trenchless sector.
Speaking at an event in central
London, newly-elected chairman
Andy Goring (above) said the plan
was designed to alleviate the problems facing the national sewage
and drainage infrastructure.
Measures called for include
increasing sewerage system capacity by at least 50% on all new
schemes; recording the existing
sewerage and storm network,
including an initial survey looking
at the performance of various pipeline materials; setting minimum
100-year durability periods for
new pipeline systems; separating
where possible combined sewers
that carry storm water and sanitary
sewage; and doubling the capacity
of all new and refurbished storm
drainage systems in the UK.
The plan may be designed to
raise concrete pipe sales, but, if implemented, it could have an effect
on the use of trenchless techniques.
An estimated 1-5% of all concrete
pipe installation in the UK use
trenchless methods.

A RECENT statement by the USbased Lyndon Larouche Political

Action Committee (LPAC) has
maintained that, at the very minimum, the US would need to spend
a colossal US$300-500 billion in
the next 20 years in order to tackle
the problem of decrepit drinking
water and sewer pipelines.
This is in dramatic contrast to
the more conservative gure of
US$5 billion per year that was
mooted at Januarys UTC convention in Houston, Texas. The gure,
while daunting, is yet another
conrmation of the huge potential
of trenchless technology in the US.
However, the technology is
needed urgently with recent dramatic breakdowns in the American
system reinforcing the scale of
the crisis. Typical of these is the
ruptured 300 mm water main
in Chevy Chase, Montgomery
County, Maryland, that severed
water supplies to 2,200 residents
on May 29. The breakdown was
one of two incidents in the area to
have occurred that day.
Two per day, however, is not bad
when seen in relation to the 477
water main breaks that occurred
last February in Marylands Montgomery and Prince George counties, as reported by the Washington
Suburban Sanitary Commission
(WSSC). More surprisingly is the

Concrete pipe plan

may up no-dig work

US on verge of big trenchless spend

Boom time
for trenchless
technology in
the US
age of the areas 5,300 m of pipes
in question. Around 60% are
only 30 or more years old, while
another 25% are 50 years or older.
(Some water mains in New York
are up to 150 years old). But as
funds become increasingly limited,
it is estimated that each mile of
pipe could only be replaced once
every 200 years.
In another American disaster, a
1,200 mm water main near Detroit
ruptured, sending a huge geyser
of water into the air and ooding
Interstate 96 freeway, causing

closure of the road and forcing

motorists to scramble on the roof
of their cars for survival. Bacteria
such as salmonella can enter ruptured water mains and be lethal to
both humans and animals alike.
Repairing, replacing and
upgrading the nations 54,000
community water systems would
cost US$151 billion over 20 years,
according to the US Environmental
Protection Agencys (EPA) national
survey of drinking water needs.
However, a 2003 Congressional
Budget Ofce study, states that
up to US$331 billion would be
required simply to replace the
pipes and does not include other
capital costs such as pumping stations and operational/maintenance
costs.
Further warnings on the
collapse of US below ground
infrastructure came last July from
a Mayors Water Council study that
revealed 48% of American cities
are on a 20 to 100 years water and
sewer pipe replacement schedule,
while for 18 to 23% of cities the
gure exceeds 100 years.
In the light of such alarming
scenarios, LPAC predicts that the
breakdown of Americas waterdelivery and cleansing systems
will generate water shortages,
disease vectors, and increasingly
expensive water.

Round the nation, UK

TT-UK roadshow rolls out trenchless technology to any UK location

IF YOU people cannot or will
not seek out the trenchless
sector, then it will come to
you. Especially now that TT-UK
offers a go-anywhere in the UK
roadshow that will allow visitors to see and discuss the latest
trenchless technologies for
installing and replacing pipes
and cables.
The dedicated venue will
provide an appropriate environment for the discussion of pipe
and cable laying using TTs
latest techniques for HDD, pipe
bursting, impact moling and
suction excavation. And, says

TT-UK, it can be arranged at

convenient locations near to
existing and potential custom-

exhibition vehicle features

audiovisual facilities and is
available all year round for
technical seminars,
product presentations and on-site
training courses. It
also features working
and static product
displays that will
facilitate meetings
between procurement personnel or
operators and TT
personnel.

Further details can be obtained from: [email protected]

TRE CHLESS
02-04trench0709.indd 2

ers, thereby saving them travel

and exhibition costs.
The mobile, air-conditioned

September 2007
30/8/07 16:15:35

3
NEWS
San Diego, California, US

San Diego forced to improve

sewers in billion-dollar spend
projects, as well as perform operations and maintenance up to 2013.
The move is designed to improve
overall performance and prevent
the spillage of raw sewage.
This settlement will ensure that
the city of San Diego will continue
upgrades and repairs of its sewer
system in order to comply with
the Clean Water Act, said Acting
Assistant Attorney General Ronald
J Tenpas. We are pleased that
Trenchless sewer rehab will become
more common in San Diego under a
proposed US$1 billion spend

we have reached a resolution to

these matters, and that the city
has agreed to make the necessary
improvements to reduce untreated
sewer discharges.
San Diego will spend over
$1 billion to improve its ageing
sewer system and prevent future
spills of raw, untreated sewage into
local streams, the ocean and city
streets, said Granta Nakayama,
assistant administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
This signicant action creates a
straightforward path to address
sewer overows and provides a
safer recreational environment for
the San Diego area.
A number of capital projects will
also have to be completed by the
city authorities to repair or replace
the ageing sewer system. This will
include the repair, replacement
or rehabilitation of 250 miles of
pipeline by 2013. About 200 miles
of pipeline have been repaired or
replaced under earlier settlements
entered into in 2005 and 2006.

Kielce, Poland

No-Dig Poland set for third trenchless event

POLANDS No-Dig show, the third
in the series, will be held in Kielce,
Poland, on April 9-11, 2008.
Comprising an exhibition and conference, No-Dig Poland 2008 will
be entitled Trenchless Technologies in Underground Infrastructure
Networks. The organiser has
made the rst call for papers and
sponsoring.
Organised by Kielce University
of Technology (Poland) and the
Polish Foundation for Trenchless
Technology (ISTT Member), the
event is supported by ISTT and
co-organised by the Trenchless
Technology Center at Louisiana
Tech University (US).
Subject areas covered in the
technical programme will include
the latest no-dig developments,
rehabilitation and installation
of underground utility networks
and cables, equipment, network

diagnostics, geotechnical aspects for

trenchless technologies, safety, quality
and legal aspects.
English and Polish
will be the ofcial
languages of the
conference and there
will be simultaneous
translations.
Another highlight
of the proceedings
will be the Expert 2008 Awards,
which will be given in categories
that include the best trenchless
installations for the period 200607; awards will also be made for
trenchless rehabilitation and innovation. Companies wanting to be
considered for any of the awards
should submit their details to the
organisers by March 15, 2008.
There will also be an award for the

most interesting
exhibition stand or
live show during
the conference.
The deadline for
the submission of
titles and abstracts
of scientic and
technical papers
(maximum
150 words) is
December 31,
2007. Authors will
be notied by January 10, 2008
whether their papers have been
accepted for inclusion in the
conference. The deadline for the
submission of accepted papers is
February 15, 2008.
Companies are also invited to
become sponsors of the event.
Further details can be found at:
www.nodig.tu.kielce.pl

September 2007
02-04trench0709.indd 3

Lanes boosts
operation with
new facility in
Manchester
FOLLOWING a US$2 million
spend and an 18-month construction period, Lanes Groups
new production facility for its
reline division, Lanes Sewer
Renovation, is fully operational.
The new part-production,
part-ofce building holds two
state-of-the-art production
beds, imported from Poland.
Six full-time staff impregnate
the liner material with the appropriate resin according to the
projects needs.
The 1,500 m2 building, at the
groups Manchester base, is the
third construction project the
rm has undertaken on the site;
a fourth is at planning stage. It is
all part of an extensive development programme that includes a
purpose-built workshop facility
and refurbishment of ofce
space to create call-centre facilities for Lanes Assistance Services
Ltd, the new insurance division
of Lanes Group plc.
Andy Brierley, MD of Lanes
Sewer Renovation, explains:
The new facility is making a
huge difference to us because it
is a quicker, slicker operation.
Previously, we had rented a unit
nearby where we worked on the
liners; this new facility gives us
better stock control, reducing
our costs and allowing us to
pass the savings to our clients.
Mr Brierley adds: Our site
agents are able to request lining
tube to the clients specication via the company intranet
directly to the wet-out production area. And because the
information is then displayed
on giant plasma screens, its
visible to the production team
at all times. Once the liners are
impregnated, we transfer them
straight into the refrigerated
area where they can be left until
were ready to move them, via
refrigerated transport, to site.

THE city of San Diego is being

forced to improve its sewer system
in a US$1 billion spend over the
next six years, following the ling
of a consent degree by the US
Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.
As the third and nal settlement addressing current violations
in the sewer system, the City
must address the problems in the
sewer system and undertake capital

Manchester, UK

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 16:15:40

4
NEWS
Majorca, Ibiza and Spain

Gateshead, northeast England

An UNDERSEA natural-gas pipeline linking the Spanish mainland

with the two Mediterranean holiday islands of Majorca and Ibiza
now looks set to go ahead, after
the recent green light from Spains
Industry Ministry.
The US$332 million scheme by
developer Enagas is considered top
priority by the government. The
line will comprise two sections.
The rst, a 118 km-long, 500 mm
pipe, will run from Denia in
Alicante to Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza. From there, a second
144 km-long, 500 mm pipe will
run to Palma, Majorca.
Also part of the project are new
gas network installations on both
islands, as well as a new 65 km
branch line from the BarcelonaValencia pipe to a new gas compressor facility to be built at Denia.
Completion is due for mid-2009.

AS PART of the expansion of

its new Epros division which it
acquired in December 2006, Trelleborg has now invested in a major
new 800 m2 facility in Gateshead,
northeast England.
The new facility has been
designed to hold stocks of Epros
pipeline renovation systems and
resins but it also houses a major
new training school to promulgate
the correct application of the
various techniques.
While all non-European business will be handled through the
facility, Epross main research and
development activities will remain
at its German base.
Epros is also working closely
with the UK Society for Trenchless
Technology (UKSTT) in a move de-

2009

2008

2007

Spanish pipe dream

to become reality

Epros acquisition bolsters

Trelleborg globally

signed to establish training schools

that will offer recognised industry
qualications.
As well as lining materials and
resins, Epros has developed a
range of lining inversion drums
which eliminate the need for often

cumbersome, tall and potentially

risky scaffold towers. Trelleborg is
a global industrial group producing
advanced polymers for demanding industrial environments where
damping, sealing and protection
systems are required.

Sept 10-12: Roma 07 No-Dig Rome 07, Rome Italy. Details from: Organising Secretariat Roma 07, LSG, Piazzale degli Eroi, 1600136 Rome, Italy.
Tel: +39 06 39 73 13 94 Fax: +39 06 39 73 62 94 E-mail: [email protected]
Oct 16-19: ICUEE 2007 The Demo Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, US. Utilities show with particular emphasis on HDD. Details from: ICUEE Show Management Services 6737 West Washington Street, Suite 2400 Milwaukee, WI 53214-5647 US. Fax: +1 414 272 2672 E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.icuee.com
Nov 7-8: Dealing with the challenges of Horizontal Directional Drilling GEODELFT,
GEODELFT, Delft, The Netherlands. (Optional excursion day on 9 November).
Details: [email protected]
Nov 8-9: Trenchless Technology in Asia Pacic, Macau 2007. Challenges in Rapidly Growing Cities Conference & Workshop, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
Details: www.chkstt.org/ACTS/trenchmacao2007.htm
www.chkstt.org/ACTS/trenchmacao2007.html
Jan 29-31: Underground Construction Technology (UCT) Conference and Exhibition Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta, GA, US. Further details: Karen Francis,
PO Box 941669, Houston TX 77094-8669. Tel: +1 281 558 6930, ext 222 Fax: +1 281 558 7029 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.uctonline.com
Mar 2-5: Trenchless Australia 2008 7th National ASTT Conference & Exhibition. Waterview Convention Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, Australia.
Details: [email protected]
Mar 11-15: CONEXPO-CONAGG 2008 Las Vegas, US. North Americas largest major construction event with major international participation.
Details from: Show Management at: Tel: +1 414-298-4144 E-mail: [email protected]
April 9-11: No-Dig Poland: Trenchless Technologies in Underground Infrastructure Networks the third international conference on trenchless technology, organised
by Kielce University of Technology and Polish Foundation for Trenchless Technology Kielce, Poland. Further details Dr in. Dariusz Zwierzchowski Tel: +48 602-835119; tel/fax: (+48 41) 342-44-50 E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
Apr 30-May 1: GeoDrilling 2008 staged in association with the British Drilling Association, to include a section on Trenchless Technology East of England
exhibition centre, Peterborough. Further details: Eileen Smith Tel: +44 (0)20 7216 6077 E-mail: [email protected]
May 5-9: Samoter 2008 Verona, Italy. General construction exhibition with substantial drilling and tunnelling equipment displays. Details from: Verona Fiere, Viale del
lavoro 8, 37135 Verona, Italy. Tel: +39 045 8298111 Fax: +39 0458298288 Website: www.samoter.it
June 16-19: GPR2008 The 12th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar University of Birmingham, England. A professional and academic conference
supported by industry and university GPR departments from both the UK and Europe. Details: [email protected] Website: www.gpr2008.org.uk
Sept 22-24: MINExpo International 2008 Las Vegas, US. Worlds largest exhibition of mining and mining associated equipment and consumables. Details from: MINExpo Sales Department c/o Hall-Erickson, Inc., 98 E. Naperville Road, Westmont, IL 60559, US. Tel: +1 630 434 7779 Fax: +1 630 4341216 E-mail: minexpo@heiexpo.
com Website: www.minexpo.com
Oct 22-24: Underground Infrastructure of Urban Areas 2008 Conference on tunnels and subterranean infrastructure. Organised by Wroclaw University of Technology,
Poland. Details from: [email protected]
June 14-17: Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference RETC 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, US. Details from: Tara Davis, SME, 8307 Sha_ er Parkway, PO Box 277002,
Littleton, CO 80127, US. Tel: +1 303 973 9550 Fax: +1 303 973 3845 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.smenet.org
Events highlighted in red are those where Trenchless World will be available to visitors.

TRE CHLESS
02-04trench0709.indd 4

September 2007
30/8/07 16:15:53

Colli Drill.indd 1

22/8/07 14:15:26

6
PROJECT: Warsaw, Poland

Twin installation
advances Warsaw sewer
An adventurous project to install a new transfer
sewer in Warsaw combined microtunnelling
and sliplining to complete the job

RECENTLY installed 3,557 m trunk sewer

parallel with the Vistula river.
pipeline in Warsaw is one of the rst
The Herrenknecht machines used on the project
microtunnelling projects to have been
were AVN 1600 and AVN 1500 units with upsizundertaken in Poland.
ing and each with its own support and ancillary
Worth around US$11.7 million, the project
systems.
comprised the construction of a sewer transfer sysAll three machines where equipped with mixed
tem for the South Sewage Treatment Plant. For the
ground cutter wheels. Also used on the project was
Warsaw Municipal Water and Sewage company
a Soltau-manufactured RVS 1600 unit.
(Miejskie Przedsiebiorstwo Wodocigow i KanalizaTo facilitate the sliplining of the inner HDPE
cji SA) Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Co were the
pipe into the microtunnelled concrete carrier
engineers in association with CEWOK sp. z o.o.
pipe, two 1400 continuous butt welding machines
(Trade and Technical Ofce of Heat Engineering,
were used. Individual pipe lengths of 3.5 m and
Water and Sewage Treatment).
7 m-long sections were welded together to form
The new sewer will transfer clean wastewater
a continuous inner liner once the concrete carrier
from the plant to an outfall in the Vistula River
pipe had been installed.
and comprises a 1,600 mm-diameter reinforced
Hired Sarens craning equipment was used
concrete carrier pipe into which a 1,400 mmto place and recover the boring heads from the
diameter HDPE butt-welded (pumping main) pipe
launch shafts and the river holing point.
was sliplined.
Microtunnelling was selected as the best methBORED DRIVES
od for the installation given the ground conditions
Drive lengths for the three machines varied from
along the pipes course. Two Herrenknecht AVN
45 m to 392 m while the RVS 1600 bored four
microtunnelling systems were chosen because the
more drives including a 551 m run. This last drive
ground conditions at these sites were such that a
however was unusual in that it also included in its
standard circulating slurry-based spoil removal
design an arch cross-section over some 65 m of its
system was applicable in each case. However, on
length which was undertaken by BETA S.A.
a third site, ground conditions dictated the EPB
The 1600 mm-diameter concrete pipe from
method for spoil extraction with a closed face
Betras used for the micro-tunnelled carrier pipe
chamber.
comprised 7,800 kN reinforced concrete casing
Soil investigations by the geotechnical design
tubes in 3 m-long sections. Where necessary, three
team revealed sands (ne, meseparate intermediate jacking stations were
dium and coarse); dusts, clays,
used to install the pipes.
dusty silts and stone aggregates,
including a moraine boulder
Many of the launch shafts were
bed with ground water along
situated on busy roads making
the whole of the project length
logistics very difcult
which ran close
to and

TRE CHLESS
06-07,09trench0709.indd 6

A butt fusion welding machine in a drive

shaft, creating the sliplined pressure pipe
An average microtunnelling rate of advance
across the whole project was around 36 m/day.
After the microtunnelled drives were nished the
butt fusion machine for the HDPE pipe welding
and installation operation was introduced into the
start pit to complete the sliplining run.

DIFFICULTIES
Anticipated problems within the moraine boulder
bed were overcome with stone-breaking cutter
heads on the machine plus hard face disc cutters.
Stone, steel, wood and ceramic debris were also
encountered at various positions along the drives
but did not cause any major delays.
During the arch drilling section, a wall made
of wooden balks was encountered on the right
hand side of the tunnel which slightly diverted the
bore path. This deviation was clearly shown by the
GPR system. Given the very busy trafc environment above the works, any excavation to remove
obstacles or access the front of the cutter heads
for cleaning was not possible due to the disruption
that would be caused.
However, as the microtunnelled pipe was simply a carrier for the pressure main, deviations did
not cause problems to the operation of the nished
pipeline. Furthermore, noise levels over the 24hour work cycle were kept to a minimum to avoid
causing a nuisance to residents and businesses.

SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION
Despite the numerous site restrictions already outlined, the client was satised with the works which
were completed on time. A representative for the
contractor said: This was a very difcult project.
We were running four microtunnelling machines
at the same time and this was a big challenge for
us. It is understood that this was probably the
rst time such a project has been undertaken in
Poland.
The editor is grateful to Herrenknecht AG for
supplying this article

September 2007
31/8/07 09:50:41

7
PROJECT: Warsaw, Poland

Bursting a gut in Warsaw

GEING infrastructures are not only a

problem particular to the west. In former
Iron Curtain countries, the inefciencies
inherent in the now defunct political systems have
been known for a long time. Underground infrastructure is but one example.
Poland is a case in point. In the old historical
heart of Warsaw, a 400 mm-diameter clay pipe
beneath a roadway required complete replacement over a length of 30 m. Inspection by the
Warsaw-based water and sewage company
showed a regular inux of sand on the bottom of
the pipe. Clearly, the pipe had fractured to such an
extent that debris was entering into it. But that was
not all. The loss of material also raised the spectre
of road subsidence and the creation of a public
hazard.
An internal pipe inspection would have conrmed the problem but this proved impossible to
undertake as the remote controlled camera could
not overcome the sand and other debris lying at
the bottom of the pipe.

The water and sewerage company therefore

decided to replace the fractured section of pipe
completely. However, this could only be achieved
using trenchless techniques, as opening a trench
at a depth of 6 m would not only have been enormously expensive but also cause a high degree of
trafc disturbance. Furthermore, closing the busy
road to trafc for the duration of the works was
not an option even nding an alternative route
through the neighbouring roads was also ruled out.
Because the city authorities predicted complete
trafc chaos with any of these scenarios, the
use of open trenching to repair the problem was
completely ruled out.
The only alternative to x the problem was
deemed to be the hydraulic burst lining procedure
not only from a handling point of view, but also
because the pipes internal diameter and ow
capacity had to be maintained at all costs.
When using the hydraulically operated Grundoburst system, after pushing in the QuickLock rods
into the target pit or into the target manhole to

GRUNDOBURST rig
in the starting pit


 








 



 
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06-07,09trench0709.indd 7

September 2007

TRE CHLESS
31/8/07 09:51:02

UCT.indd 1

22/8/07 12:35:17

9
PROJECT: Warsaw, Poland
Assembly of short pipe
modules using Burstx

renew the pressure or sewage pipes (Static Burstlin-

ing), the guiding calibre is exchanged against a

roller blade with guiding cone and expander as
well as the attached new pipe. Assembly is very
simple. A link piece makes connecting the pipe
lengths easier and guides them at the required
radius. When pulling the rods back, the old pipe is
fractured by the roller cutter at the front.
Contrary to the standard bursting heads available, the roller cutters can cut open even the most
difcult to break materials. Once the roller blade
has broken up the pipe whether cast iron, asbestos, plastic, concrete or clay it is then replaced
by long or short lengths of PVC/HDPE pipe.
On the Warsaw site, the city authorities turned

to contractor JT Zaklad Budowy Gazociagow who

used a Grundoburst, Type 1250 G. The unit boasts
125 tons of pull-back capacity and is produced by
Tracto-Technik in Lennestadt, Germany.
During site preparations, the sandy soil around
the pipe, coupled with a high level of ground
water, required a well-prepared starting pit. In
addition and to complicate matters an existing
800 mm-diameter cast iron water main found over
the proposed working pit served to restrict the
available working space.
The 400 mm clay pipe that had to be replaced
owed into a 2 m-high, 1.2 m-wide brick inspection chamber. Due to these further space restrictions, the pipes to be installed from inside the
inspection chamber could not be the usual long,
butt-jointed HD-PE pipes. Instead, short length,
450 mm od pipes had to be used, made from
polypropylene PP-HM specially for this particular
application.
Further exacerbating matters was the fact that
the only way of entering the chamber was located
around 100 m away from the section of pipe to
be replaced. What was needed therefore was
lightweight equipment that could be easily transported to the site and which would t inside the
inspection chamber. With the TRACTO-TECHNIK

system, the contractor could also take advantage

of BURSTFIX, a tensioning device that allows the
connection of short-module pipes that form a solid
continuous pipe during the pipe bursting process.
The Burstx tensioning system is used with a
portable hydraulic power unit that is operated by
remote control. The pressure indicated can be
converted into a permissible thrust force.
Once preparations were completed on the
Warsaw site, the short pipes connected and the
equipment in place, it took barely three hours to
replace the old pipe with the new PP-HM OD 450
pipe. As friction on the new pipe increased during
the pipe pulling operation, pulling forces of up to
80 tons were generated, proving that the decision
to use the GRUNDOBURST 1250G with 125 tons
of thrust capability had been the right one.
Ultimately, the pipe replacement had been
virtually unnoticed by the general public, using
a trenchless technique that did not disrupt the
trafc. As a result, the Warsaw city water and
sewage company showed its satisfaction by
asking the contractor to undertake similar jobs
in the future.
The editor is grateful to Tracto-Technic GmbH for
supplying this article

Pipe Bursting - the Breakthrough in Pipe Renewal

Its wise to choose the pipe bursting replacement method in cases of
damaged pipes. With the Grundoburst system (5 models) old pipes
can be replaced with new pipes of smaller, equal or larger diameter
- up to ND 1000. Why Grundoburst? Because even ductile and grey
cast iron, steel, plastic and many other pipes can be replaced

Grundoburst 400 S

Grundoburst 400 G

Grundoburst 800 G

with PVC/HD-PE coiled or short pipes. The patented QuickLock

bursting rods are not screwed but simply clicked together giving huge
time savings plus increased productivity of up to 200 m and more per day.
Grundoburst is also suitable for applying the Tight-In-Pipe (TIP) method.
All in all MORE than you expect.

Grundoburst 1250 G

Grundoburst 2500 G

T H E O N LY C H O I C E F O R P E R F E C T P I P E I N S TA L L AT I O N S
United Kingdom:
TT UK Ltd.
Tel.: +44 1234.342.566
Fax: +44 1234.352.184
www.tt-uk.com
[email protected]

USA / Canada:
TT Technologies
Tel.: +1 630.851.8200
Fax: +1 630.851.8299
www.tttechnologies.com
[email protected]

Australia:
TT Asia Pacific Pty Ltd.
Tel.: +61 7 3420 5455
Fax: +61 7 3420 5855
www.tt-asiapacific.com
[email protected]

September 2007
06-07,09trench0709.indd 9

France:
Tracto-Techniques S.a.r.l.
Tl.: +33 5.53.53.89.83
Fax: +33 5.53.09.39.41
www.tracto-techniques.com
[email protected]

Germany:
Tracto-Technik GmbH & Co. KG
Tel: +49 2723 80 80
Fax: +49 2723 80 81 80
www.tracto-technik.de
[email protected]

TRE CHLESS
31/8/07 09:51:22

10
PROJECT: Cardiff, UK

Technologies unite in
Part of a sewer system upgrade, the pipejacking of a
major new concrete pipe into position below Cardiff
would have been easier were it not for harder-thanexpected ground conditions and the need to slipline
the new pipe with smaller diameter clayware

EWERS below the Welsh capital, Cardiff,

in the UK, are undergoing improvement works in order to help ease sewer
overloading during heavy storms. The work
has included installating a major new concrete
sewer pipeline laid as far as possible parallel
to an existing 1,676 mm x 1,118 mm brick eggshaped sewer which, to increase sewer capacity,
will remain operational in tandem with the new
pipe.
One of the last sections of concrete pipe that
needed installing was in the citys Roath Park
area. But, despite being only 250 m long, the
section was littered with major obstacles, including houses, garages, gardens, a council car park
and ofce building and a working railway line
on an embankment. As if this was not enough,
a roundabout serving a major junction of some
ve roads lay on a major commuter access route
to the city centre. Beneath the roads were to be
found numerous major services which, trafc
problems notwithstanding, would make any
excavation very difcult.
To minimise disrupting these existing surface
structures, services and trafc movement,
AMEC Design and Project Services, the strategic
partner of the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water Asset
Management Alliance responsible for the
project, decided, in conjunction with the project
designers, Arup and DCWW Operations, that
an inverted siphon sewer should be installed
at depth. This option was chosen because it
would provide the much-needed pipeline, while
ensuring that there would be minimum effect on
the surrounding environment, population and
trafc ows.
Previous hydraulic investigations had revealed that a 700 mm-diameter pipeline would
be sufcient for the inverted siphon, producing
ows that would ensure self-cleaning.

PLANNING
Since excavation near any of the surface
structures was impossible, the decision was
made to use pipe-jacking to install the pipeline.
However, while it is possible to microtunnel

TRE CHLESS
10-11trench0709.indd 10

Jacking the Naylor Denlok pipe into place.

Note the specially-designed cone adapter frame
between the jacking rig and the clay pipe

Jacking the rst concrete pipe

a 700 mm-diameter pipe over a single 250 m
drive, this sort of distance is usually completed
more successfully at larger diameters. The fact
that the surface structures would make it impossible to sink a rescue/recovery shaft, should the
microtunnelling shield become stuck, meant
that AMEC opted to use a larger, 1,200 mm id
for the installation.
Yet calculations had demonstrated that for
the inverted siphon to operate effectively, only
a 700 mm-diameter nal pipeline size would
be required. For this reason, pipe-jacking was
chosen to install a 1,200 mm-diameter concrete
casing pipe which could then be sliplined with a
700 mm id vitried clayware pipe.

AMEC DPS used an Iseki-made TCC 1200

Unclemole microtunnelling system, comprising
a surface remote-controlled tunnelling shield,
which uses slurry for spoil removal and ground
support. The company carried out all construction operations using directly-employed labour
and utilised its specialist staff and operatives
for the tunnelling and shaft-sinking works.
However, AMEC engineers had to modify the
microtunnelling machines standard cutterhead
to include tungsten carbide-tipped cutting teeth
in order to cope with the anticipated harder
ground conditions.
Even so, advance rates of between four and
ve pipes per shift, although respectable, were
not as high as originally expected, given the
hard ground and careful driving by the machine
Lowering the microtunnelling
shield into position at
the start of the
pipe-jacking
operation

GROUND CONDITIONS
Understanding the ground conditions was
crucial given that the new pipeline was to
be installed at depths of up to 14 m. Initial
investigations had revealed Mercia mudstone lay
beneath the topsoil layer. This is usually a fairly
weathered mudstone and when cut often clays
easily; it is also normally easy to excavate using
a microtunnelling shield. Unfortunately, excavation of the shafts at either end of the sewer
route had found the local mudstone to be rather
more substantial. Indeed, it was discovered over
the course of the works that the unconned
compressive strength of the Mercia mudstones
was as high as 70 MPa, relatively high for this
geological formation.

September 2007
30/8/07 16:04:25

11
PROJECT: Cardiff, UK

in sewer installation
operators. To help matters, two interjack stations
were installed in the concrete pipe string to
minimise the risk of the pipe-jack stalling in middrive and to account for the prevailing ground
conditions. In the event, neither of the interjack
stations was required throughout the whole of
the drive. The steel-banded joint, jacking pipes
were provided by CV Buchan.
Based on a 12-hour shift system, the 250 m
drive was completed in 27 days, over the course
of which jacking pressures did not exceed the
machine capacity at any time, despite the nature
of the ground.

SLIPLINING WORK

Lowering a section of Naylor Denlok clay pipe into the jacking shaft. Note the black pipe support
band around the pipe which centralises the pipe inside the concrete carrier pipe during installation
A special skid mount was designed by project
engineers to ensure that the clay pipe remained
central within the concrete casing pipe. This
comprised a steel band with two small skid
feet at the 4 oclock and 8 oclock positions
around the circumference. To prevent the edges
catching on anything in the concrete pipe, the
lead edge of each skid was up-turned. The rst
pipe in the string was mounted with two such
skids attached around the pipe. Thereafter, each
pipe was tted with one skid unit; the ends were
supported at the pipe joints. As each skid unit
entered the pipe, lubrication grease was applied
to smooth the jacking process.
The jacking frame from the Iseki microtunneller was adapted and utilised to provide
the thrust to push the liner pipe into the casing
pipe. The difference between the 1,200 mm
jacking ring of the frame and the 700 mm-diameter of the clay pipe was overcome by fashioning an adapter cone to sit between the two.
Having completed the sliplining operation
with the clayware pipes, the annulus between
the concrete casing and clay liner pipes was
grout lled to prevent any untoward external
pressures on the liner pipe during its operation.
Around 150 m3 of grout was used for this.
To connect the new inverted siphon section
to the existing pipe network, the inlet shaft end
of the pipeline will be lled with concrete to
form a large cone and direct the ows into the
new 700 mm pipeline. At the downstream shaft,
the 700 mm clay pipes will be connected to a
stainless-steel S pipe which will transfer the
ows back to the higher level. The top end of

the S will be connected to the existing system

by installing a new length of pipe, in open cut,
to enter the adjacent manhole at a depth of
around 4 m.
It is a tribute to all those involved in the
project that no movement was detected in any
of the structures during construction. Railway
company Network Rail was also pleased with
the outcome: track levels were monitored
continuously as the microtunnelling drive made
its way beneath the railway embankment and no
ground movement was discovered.
Arup commented: We selected the Denlok
pipe system as it was the only one that would
give the required performance smooth bore
with good resistance to scour from sewage
debris at relatively high velocities and with a
design life of more than 100 years.
For Naylor Drainage, Denlok product
manager Simon Marsh said: This is the rst occasion Naylor has partnered AMEC Design and
Project Services in a trenchless project but, with
the experience of both companies, a difcult engineering project was successfully completed.
Mr Marsh continued: When I visited the site,
trafc on the busy roundabout was continuing
to ow, trains were operating and the residents
in the Victorian houses were not affected.
This proves that trenchless technology is an
extremely viable option for the installation of
utility conduits.
The editor is grateful to Naylor Drainage Ltd for
providing this article
Visit www.naylor.co.uk for further details

September 2007
10-11trench0709.indd 11

With the microtunnelling drive completed, the

equipment was removed to allow the sliplining
process to begin. The concrete pipe was cleaned
thoroughly to ensure minimal friction while
sliplining the clay pipes. Naylor Drainage in
Barnsley, England, supplied the Denlok 700 mm
vitried clay pipe that has been used in microtunnelling installations worlwide.
Given that the sliplining pipe would need
to be jacked into the concrete casing pipe
over some 250 m, the properties of Denlok as
a pipe specially designed for jacking applications made it an appropriate choice. Supplied
in 2 m lengths and a wall thickness of 75 mm,
Denlok pipes have a maximum jacking pressure
capacity of 2,500 kN. They also feature 316 Ti
stainless-steel sleeves with EPDM seals to
achieve a minimum 2 bar internal/
external pressure capacity, and
come with factory-tted
particle board thrust
rings to even out
thrust pressures
across the
joint during
jacking.

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 16:04:38

12
MICROTUNNELLING

Making boring magic

In the rst of several articles for Trenchless
World, Paul Hayward discusses the techniques
World
and versatility of microtunnelling, looking
at various projects in the UK, US and South
Africa that demonstrate the effectiveness and
environmental validity of the technique

IPE-JACKING and microtunnelling

are minimum-excavation installation
techniques suitable for pipelines from
around 150 mm diameter. Pipe-jacking involves
installing pipes directly behind a shield machine
by hydraulic jacking from a drive shaft, such that
the pipes form a continuous string in the ground
and are designed to withstand the jacking forces
applied during installation.
Microtunnelling involves using a steerable,
remote-controlled shield for installing pipes with
an internal diameter less than that permissible for
man-entry. A laser guidance system is generally
used to maintain line and level. The fundamental difference between microtunnelling and
larger tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) is that a
microtunnelling machine is remotely controlled and steered, and does not require people to
work within the bore. Microtunnelling has been
boosted by the latest conned-space regulations,
which make a presumption against man-entry if
alternative methods are available.

Advances in installation methods and equipment design have allowed pipe-jacking and
microtunnelling to be used in almost all ground
conditions waterlogged sands and gravels, soft
or stiff clays, shales and mudstones, and even
solid rock. These techniques are ideal for situations where a pipeline has to conform to rigid
line and level criteria, since the guidance and
control systems allow accurate installation within
close limits of the target. Directional drilling
still cannot match microtunnelling for accuracy.
Guided auger boring is the main competitor, but
is more limited in terms of ground conditions
and guidance, and is used mainly for smaller
diameters.
Microtunnelling is most commonly used for
installing gravity sewers, where line and level are
critical and the depth makes the operation costeffective when compared with open-cut. Most
microtunnelling drives push straight between
shafts, although specialised systems are available
for curved drives. If line-of-sight is not available

South African innovation

A 200 mm-diameter, 200 m-long pipeline
at the Natref Oil Renery in Sasolburg,
South Africa, was in need of renovation,
and various options had been evaluated by
the projects engineering consultant, Goba
Moahloli Keeve Steyn (Pty) Ltd (GMKS).
Among the many challenges was the high
temperature variation of the efuent up
to 120C and its alkalinity (pH 11.7). The
pipeline was also 6 m deep and surrounded
by other services, and was laid in ground
with high hydrocarbon content. Instances of
stray electric currents effectively prevented
the use of a steel pipe, as cathodic protection would have been compromised. Any
new pipe material would have to withstand
signicant thermal shock over its 25-year

TRE CHLESS
12-13,15trench0709.indd 12

design life, as well as being quick and costeffective to install.

Jacking pipes from Naylor Industries were
used, having a physical design similar to
standard Denlok jacking pipes but with very
high chemical and thermal resistance. The
DenChem pipes required changes to the
seal design, and to the method of machining the pipe joints to ensure that the product
complied fully with BS EN 295-7 and to BS
EN 65 Extra chemical resistance of vitried clay pipes and ttings.
Although the DenChem pipes for this
project were installed by guided auger-boring methods, the same technology can be
applied to jacking pipes of all sizes for microtunnelling and pipejacking applications.

Sliplining with 700 mm clay pipes

between the drive shaft and the machine, alignment systems based on gyroscopic devices can
be used as an alternative to laser guidance.

TECHNIQUES
The rst stage in pipe-jacking or microtunnelling
is to sink a drive shaft large enough for the equipment, the jacking frame and the individual pipes,
and strong enough to provide a reaction to the
jacking forces. A reception shaft into which the
microtunnelling machine will eventually emerge
for removal will also be needed.
With basic pipe-jacking at larger diameters,
excavating the bore can be carried out by
man-entry mining methods, where the spoil is
removed manually or by conveyor. A microtunnelling unit replaces the miners at the face,
and the cuttings are conveyed back to the drive
shaft in suspension within the tunnelling uid or
mud, which can be pressurised to maintain face
support and exclude groundwater. It is important
to stress how important selecting the correct uid
can be to productivity and success.
The slurry mixes with the excavated material
within the cutter chamber, and this mix normally
passes through an in-built crusher with an eccentric radial motion to ensure the cuttings are no
larger than the slurry system can handle. Some
microtunnelling machines are adapted for excavating rock or hard inclusions; these incorporate
a rock crusher to reduce particle size.

PIPES
The most common materials are concrete and
clayware, although polymeric jacking pipes
generally a derivative of GRP are available.
The stresses during installation will generally be
higher than the loads in service, and it is important that the jacking forces are distributed evenly
around the pipe perimeter, without any localised
overstressing.
The critical factors here are the joint face

September 2007
30/8/07 16:05:17

13
MICROTUNNELLING
geometry and the permissible joint deection.
Ideally, the deection at pipe joints should not
exceed 0.5, although higher deections may
be permissible for curved drives using appropriate cushioning materials at pipe joints. Joints in
clayware jacking pipes are ground or machined
after ring, to provide a perfectly true surface
and remove any minor dimensional irregularities
which may result from the vitrication process. A
feature of all pipes for microtunnelling and pipejacking is that the joints do not extend externally
beyond the pipes barrel, so the entire joint is
contained within the normal pipe wall thickness.
A suitable packing material is incorporated to
ensure the even distribution of jacking forces
across the joint perimeter.
Typical pipe lengths range from 1 to 2 m,
although lengths of 0.75 m are available for small
diameters where the drive shaft has to be kept
as small as possible. Since much of the cost of
jacking pipes is in the joints, longer lengths are
usually more economical if space permits.

PROJECTS
In the US, Iowa Trenchless of Panora, Iowa,
recently completed a microtunnelling project
in Appleton, Wisconsin, which comprised three
drives totalling 232 m, using 30 in (762 mm)diameter reinforced concrete jacking pipes.
The contract, for the City of Appleton, involved
tunnelling through clay with some rocks and
wood debris at an average 11.6 m depth. Shaft
construction was undertaken by the general
contractor, Advance Construction of Green Bay,
Wisconsin, and the microtunnelling equipment
was supplied by Akkerman Inc of Brownsdale,
Minnesota. The project was successfully completed ahead of schedule to the entire satisfaction
of the client; all drives met minimum standards
of accuracy.
In Wales, major works have been carried out
to improve Cardiffs sewerage network. Part of this
involved installing an inverted syphon to complement an existing brick egg sewer, following a
route beneath a car park, ofces, major roads,
a railway line and residential property. Dwr

Microtunnelling in Appleton, Wisconsin,

comprised a total 232 drive
Cymru Welsh Water, in consultation with AMEC
Design and Project Services, Arup and DCWW
Operations, decided that the best option for the
250 m-long sewer would be a 700 mm-diameter
inverted syphon at depths of up to 14 m, but that
it would be safer to tunnel at 1,200 mm-diameter
and then to slipline with a smaller pipe.
Although the Mercia mudstone through
which the bore would run is usually friable and
relatively easy to excavate by microtunnelling,
constructing the shafts at either end showed the
compressive strength to be much higher than
usual: up to 70 MPa. The work was carried out by

Amec DPS using its Iseki Unclemole TCC 1200

microtunnelling system, with modications to the
cutterhead to cope with hard ground. To minimise risk of any problems, two interjack stations
were also installed. C V Buchan supplied the
concrete jacking pipes with steel-banded joints.
Although progress was a little slower than
originally anticipated in the difcult ground, the
250 m drive was completed successfully in 27
days without overstressing the equipment or the
pipes. This was followed by jacking in 700 mm
id clayware pipes from Naylor Industries, which
were installed on a special skid mount to keep
them central within the concrete pipe.

FRAMEWORK
Most work in the UK water and sewerage
industry is governed by partnership or framework contracts, an example of which was a
project in Thurrock, Essex, for Anglian Water
carried out by Barhale Construction. Existing
225 and 500 mm-diameter sewers running beneath busy roads were overloaded, and various
options were considered for upgrading the system. Anglian Water and its consultants decided
to construct a new pump station served by a
100 m length of 600 mm id gravity pipe, which

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...

...the versatile Iseki microtunnelling
machines come through!

Barhale Construction
worked with Naylor
on a project in
Thurrock, UK, to
assess options for
upgrading a sewer
system

Large fleet of machines

for all conditions
including
boulders & rock.
For pipe diameters
250mm to 2.5m.
Full or part systems for sale,
lease or rental.
New or reconditioned

Iseki
AGD Equipment Limited,
Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9LQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1789 292227 Fax: +44 (0) 1789 268350
email: [email protected]
www.agd-equipment.co.uk

12-13,15trench0709.indd 13

September 2007

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 16:05:21

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16/8/07 15:09:28

15
MICROTUNNELLING
would replace the existing sewers.

A potential issue was disruption from opentrench construction of the new sewer at depths
of over 4 m. After evaluating various scenarios,
Barhale proposed pipe-jacking using an Iseki
microtunneller in conjunction with Naylor Denlok vitried clay jacking pipes. Barhale assessed
the cost of the microtunnelling option to be very
similar to open cut, but with reduced environmental impact and less effect on local businesses.
The unit selected for the microtunnelling drive
was an Iseki Unclemole TCC780 full slurry system. Tunnelling through sands and gravels below
the water table, the right choice of equipment
and drilling uid was key. Barhale used bentonite-based Tunnelgel, made by Baroid Industrial
Drilling Products, delivered by a mud-pumping
system built in-house. A new pump chamber was
used as the launch pit for the 98.5 m drive, and a
caisson shaft was sunk for retrieval. On average,
nine pipes were installed per shift; this could
have been higher but for the gravel tending to
jam the valves on the slurry lines.
The microtunnelling unit excavated through
the sand and gravel without trouble. It was guided by a laser and target system, and here again
the poor ground conditions produced an unusual

AVN 600 microtunneller as used in Atlanta

effect by allowing slight movement of the thrust
wall when the jacks were operated enough to
throw the laser off target and give a false reading.
The experienced operators were able to compensate for this. The contract was completed on time,
to budget and to client satisfaction.

BACK IN THE US
Claimed as a world record length for a 24 in
(610 mm) microtunnelling drive to install clayware pipes, Westcon Microtunnelling, of Pleasant
Grove, Utah, recently completed work in Atlanta,
Georgia, as part of the Greensferry Basin Sewer
Overow project. The 230 m drive was carried
out using a Herrenknecht AVN 600 machine

through unstable silts and sands at a depth of

5.5 m with a high groundwater table. A special
pin lube system, developed by Microtunneling
Inc, and adapted by Westcon, was used to increase the permissible drive length while keeping
jacking loads below 40 tons.
Two projects in Cleveland, Ohio, were
featured in the July/August edition of Tunnelling
& Trenchless Construction. The Bryden-Farnsleigh
Intercommunity Relief Sewer included 3,255 m
of 200-914 mm-diameter pipe, of which about
700 m was installed by tunnelling. The East 90th
Street Relief Sewer project involved about 960 m
of 914 mm-diameter sewer at depths mainly of
10-21 m, but reducing to 3 m at one end.

SUMMARY
Microtunnelling and pipe-jacking are versatile
trenchless techniques for installing a wide range
of pipe sizes accurately. They reduce environmental disruption and social cost and can be
used successfully in conditions that would be
impracticable for open-cut and most other no-dig
methods.
Paul Hayward is a freelance journalist and an
experienced civil and trenchless engineer

Service, reliability and innovation

CM

MY

CY

CMY

For the installation of

pipelines in a variety of
challenging environments
and soil conditions, you
need the groundbreaking
technology of the Akkerman
Microtunneling system.
Powerful, accurate and
versatile.

Ear th Pressure Balance | Guided Boring | M icrotunneling | Pipejack ing | Tunneling

58256 266th Street | Brownsdale, MN 55918 | USA
800.533.0386 | 507.567.2261 | fx. 507.567.2605
w w w.akkerman.com | e -mail: [email protected]

12-13,15trench0709.indd 15

September 2007

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 16:05:31

16
PIPE-JACKING: Milwaukee, US

Sewer ret against the c

Microtunnelling a sewer replacement in Milwaukee, US, minimised disturbance
to residents and, despite geological challenges, a remarkable 1,828 m tunnel,
nine shafts and eight bores were completed in just ve months

VER the past ten months, a 1,829 mlong sewer-system replacement

project, referred to as the Warnimont
Avenue Relief Sewer, has been completed by
general contractor Super Excavators of Milwaukee, US. While this extensive project was under
way, in two shifts per day, the residents of the
quiet neighbourhood suffered minimal disturbance, thanks to the use of trenchless technology and Akkerman Incs compact and versatile
microtunnelling system.
Microtunnelling is a trenchless technique that
allows the underground installation of pipes
while causing minimal disruption to the surface
environment. The glossary of terms in Trenchless
Technology: Pipeline and Utility Design,
Construction and Renewal by Mohammad Naja
and Sanjiv Gokhale denes microtunneling as:
A trenchless construction method for installing
pipelines. Microtunnelling uses all of the
following features during construction:
Remote-control the microtunnelling boring
machine (MTBM) is operated from a control
panel, normally located on the surface. The
system simultaneously installs pipe as spoil is
excavated and removed. Personnel entry is
not required for routine operation.
Guided the guidance system usually
references a laser beam, projected on to a
target in the MTBM, capable of installing
gravity sewers or other types of pipelines to
the required tolerance, for line and grade.
Pipe-jacked the process of constructing a
pipeline by consecutively pushing pipes and
MTBM through the ground using a jacking
system for thrust.
Continuously supported continuous pressure is provided to the face of the excavation
to balance groundwater and earth pressures.

Akkerman MT860K
keyhole jacking frame

TRE CHLESS
16-17trench0709.indd 16

Akkerman SL60 MTBM

lowered into one of the
nine launch shafts on the
Warnimont Avenue relief
sewer project

In August 2006, Super Excavators received

the winning bid for this endeavour. The project
owner, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage
District, sought bids where applicants would
pay special attention to their Small, Women
and Minority Business Enterprise Programme
requiring the general contractor to engage 13%
minority, 2% women-owned and 5% smallbusiness contractors over the course of the
project. Super Excavators exceeded these
requirements by using concrete and trucking
contractors from these categories.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage
District (MMSD) is no stranger to the concept of
trenchless technology. Its Central Metropolitan
Interceptor Sewer (MIS) Improvement Project,
started in 1998, used trenchless technologies to
rst assess the condition and then either replace
or repair 80 km of sewer pipe. The MMSD
website states: Ten years ago, a project of this
magnitude would have been disruptive, with
closed streets and detours impacting travellers
and businesses for months at a timebut [with
trenchless technology] most of the people on the
streets above dont even know it has begun.
Super Excavators expected challenges with
the soil. Mostly, it consisted of stiff clay, with
cobble and boulders and some softer clay, with
sand on the east end of the job. Clay is typically

difcult as it is hard to advance the MTBM and

clogs the machine face. Crews had to change
the cutters on the disc-cutter head after two
bores, when large boulders were encountered in
the cutter zone. They increased the jetting and
slurry of the machine to help it advance by
mixing the crushed cuttings with water at the
front of the machines face and carrying them
through the slurry system, out of the machine
and to the surface. Gregg Rehak, project
manager for Super Excavators, said Akkermans
equipment exceeded expectations and each
shift was consistent in terms of performance of
the machine.
Preparation for the project began in
November 2006, with excavation beginning in
March 2007. Super Excavators received its new
SL60 MTBM and MT 860K keyhole jacking
frame in March. The equipment arrived on site
with a technical programmer to set up the
machines instrumentation and a technician to
assist with the project launch. Periodically,

September 2007
30/8/07 16:14:04

17
PIPE-JACKING: Milwaukee, US

e clock
technicians and sales staff visited the site to
ensure the crews were achieving optimal drives.
Rehak greatly appreciated this aspect of
Akkermans commitment to customer support.
He said: Akkerman sends staff unannounced to
check on the progress of the job. It is unheard of
in this day and age to receive this level of
customer care. Many machine builders are
difcult to contract via phone.
The rst of its kind, the MT 860K keyhole
jacking frame was designed to operate out of a
4.88 m-diameter shaft. It features up to 800 tons
thrust capacity, while advancing a pipe that can
be up to 1,524 mm o.d. The standard MT860K
can push 3 m laid-length pipe sections and up
to 6 m lengths with add-on components. The
keyhole frame uses keyed locks on the thrust
block to continuously advance the machine.
The MT 860K allows the customer to operate a
high-capacity jacking frame out of a minimaldiameter launch shaft. Akkerman is to make an
MT 875K keyhole jacking frame where 800 tons
of thrust capacity can advance a 1.9 m o.d.
pipe.
The SL 60 microtunnelling boring heads pilot
the course and excavate the ground. Akkerman
makes MTBMs in nine sizes, from 6001,878 mm o.d., and increaser kits are available.
MTBMs have many features specially
designed to achieve high performance in soil
conditions that range from owing, unstable
ground to hard rock. Slurry, mixed with the
spoil, is simultaneously pumped to the MTBM
and then to the surface for separation in the
slurry tank. Akkermans MTBMs have a pressurebalanced cutting chamber and slurry spoilremoval feature to provide maximum control of
the soil at the cutter face. They are electricallypowered to give optimum efciency and cutting

torque, especially on long drives. The operator

controls the function of both these machines
and monitors the guidance system safely in the
above-ground control container.
The whole job entailed hand-spade mining of
the rst 152.4 linear metres of 1,220 mm concrete pipe. The additional 1,676 linear metres of
1,220 mm o.d. pipe was jacked with the use of
the SL60 MTBM and MT 860K jacking frame.
Super Excavators had another job, starting in
September in Ohio, which required the use of
the same Akkerman system. To ensure the Warnimont Avenue Relief Sewer stayed on schedule,
project managers organised two shifts per day.
The total job consisted of nine shafts, eight

The rst of its kind, the

MT 860K keyhole jacking
frame was designed to
operate out of a 4.88 mdiameter shaft. It
features up to 800 tons
thrust capacity
cast-in-place manholes and two diversion structures. Two bores were completed out of each
launching shaft, and all shafts acted as manhole
locations or diversion structures. The depths of
the launch shafts ranged from 11.3-25 m and the
bores from each shaft were 109-268 m long. The
line and grade or slope for each of the eight
drives was pretty minimal. Typically, when the
line and grade is close to at, it is harder due to
the smaller margin of error. Conversely, when
there is more slope, contractors can compensate
for it further along the bore. Luckily, the operator
in the control container can maintain precision
line and grade by monitoring the information
presented by the laser-guidance system.
Super Excavators crew members specialise in
the operation of Akkerman equipment. Long-

Monitoring the MTBMs guidance system

time employees superintendent Brian Strane, and
foremen and MTBM operators Nate Wiedmeyer
and Brian Henrickson, were pleased with the
outcome of the job and the functioning of the
SL60 and MT860K. Rehak states The MTBM
operators, Wiedmeyer and Henrickson, under
the direction of Strane did a wonderful job in
facilitating the complexities of the job. We
couldnt be happier with the outcome.
At the time that this article was submitted,
Super Excavators was moving to the last launch
shaft to complete the nal two bores and is
expected to complete the job by Labour Day
(September 3); this excludes modifying the
existing bypass structure on the north end of the
project, which will be completed in a year.
Super Excavators provides a variety of underground services to municipalities, developers
and businesses. With one of the industrys most
experienced workforces, the rm can tackle any
project. It runs ten open-cut, two mason, one
testing and two restoration crews. All these
factors allow it to keep projects on schedule.
In 1973, Akkerman in Brownsdale, MN, began
providing tunnel-boring machines to meet the
needs of the trenchless sector. Thirty-ve years
on, Akkerman sells and leases new and used
microtunnelling, pipejacking, tunnelling,
guided-boring and earth-pressure balance
equipment. Akkerman has built a reputation for
reliability and responsive service.
The editor is grateful to Akkerman for supplying
this article

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September 2007
16-17trench0709.indd 17

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TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 16:14:31

18
PIPE-JACKING: London, UK

Dual Poly debut driving

water-pipe revamp work
Londons Maida Vale was where Insituform put two of its new products to work

ONDON was one of the rst capital

cities to be served by a drinking-water
distribution system. Most of it is based on
Victorian piping. A third of its water mains are
over 150 years old, while around half are over
a century old. With the backlog of urgent repair
work that has accumulated, water leakage has
become an urgent and highly debated issue. The
amount of water lost to the ground in London
is the second-worst in the country, equivalent
to 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools daily.
Clearly, work needs to be done urgently.
Step in Insituform Blue, a new division of
Insituform Technologies Inc, which is devoted to
renewing potable-water pipelines. On a recent
project in central London, Insituform Blue

The circular PE pipe passing through a folding

rig to create a reduced diameter that can be
easily pulled into the host pipe

introduced two new water pipeline renovation

products to the UK: PolyFlex and PolyFold.
For the past few years, Thames Water has
been undertaking its Victorian Water Mains

Running
beneath
the streets
of Maida
Vale is
an ageing
300 mmdiameter
cast-iron
water
main in
need of
refurb

TRE CHLESS
18-19trench0709.indd 18

Upgrade Programme, and replacing or renovating these ageing, deteriorating and often leaking
water-mains networks. The series of multi-million-pound projects has involved using multiple
construction techniques including trenchless
techniques, where viable and appropriate, to
minimise disruption to residents and businesses
in the city. In some areas, over half of work has
been completed using no-dig technologies.
Maida Vale, an afuent, mainly residential
district in the Borough of Westminster in Central
London, is one such area. Here, streets comprise
large, densely-packed Victorian terraced houses
built in traditional brickwork construction.
Running beneath the streets of Maida Vale
is an ageing 300 mm-diameter cast-iron water
main in need of refurbishment. Laing ORourke
Utilities Ltd, main contractor for the work in the
area, subcontracted part of the job to Insituform
Blue to provide specialised lining systems to the
affected pipes.
The work by Insituform Blue comprised
1,065 m of pipeline with lengths of 155-550 m.
It took place in three phases, each using the
high-density polyethylene PolyFold system.
Phase 1 involved two 180 m lengths beneath
Warrington Crescent, while Phase 2 and Phase
3 comprised a collective 705 m of lining below
roads in the Warrington Crescent area. All the
work was completed on time and budget.

POLYFLEX/POLYFOLD LININGS
The PolyFlex pressure pipe lining system has
been under development by Insituform Blue
since early 2006. The system drives circular
Polyethylene (PE) pipe through specially-designed rollers.
A winch is also used to help the passage
of the liner through the host pipe. The rollers
reduce the liner pipe diameter (by about 10%),
allowing it to pass into the host pipe being lined.
Once fully installed in the host pipe, the
liner ends are expanded out and tted with
end connections. Next, the liner is lled with
water and pressurised, causing the liner to
revert towards its original diameter inside the
host pipe and achieve a close t. The PolyFlex

September 2007
30/8/07 14:52:23

19
PIPE-JACKING: London, UK
The folded and strapped PE liner pipe
maintains a U-prole until lled with water
and pressurised to burst the straps and revert
to a circle

product is designed to operate in host pipes of

100-250 mm-diameter.
PolyFlex material can be designed to form a
fully structural lining using thicker wall, lower
SDR (standard dimension ratio)-value PE pipe or
a semi-structural/interactive liner using a higher
SDR-value PE pipe. The latter relies on the host
pipe having some residual strength which the
liner uses to withstand internal pressures fully
once in operation.
Parallel to this development, Insituform Blue
developed PolyFold, appropriate for work in
larger-diameter pipes over longer distances. As
the name suggests, this system forms PE liner
pipe by folding it into a U-shaped prole to
reduce its diameter for easy installation into the
host pipe. To do this, the pipe passes through a
specially-designed folding rig. On this rig, a
hydraulic pushing unit advances the liner pipe
through guide rollers and pipe folding wheels.
The end of the liner is attached to a winch at the
reception pit which guides it through the host
pipe during installation.
To ensure the liner does not revert in the host
pipe until required, the folded pipe is strapped
as it exits the folding rig. This strapping holds the
folded liner in its reduced diameter prole until
the lining pull-in is completed. Once the pull-in
is complete, the liner ends open out using air
bags and end connections are tted. The liner is
then lled with water and pressurised to burst
the banding and re-round the liner, again achieving a close-t lining of the host pipe. PolyFold
can be used on 300-1,200 mm-diameter pipes.
The PolyFold system can also operate as a
butt and pull process, where shorter lengths
of pipe are joined during installation to make
up the nal lining length, thereby reducing the
overall site footprint. The demands of working
in such a congested area mean PolyFold was
deemed most applicable for Maida Vale.

The two 180 m lengths of lining work in

Warrington Crescent were the rst in the UK
to use the new PolyFold. The existing pipeline
comprised a 300 mm-diameter cast-iron main,
acting as a feeder main for the area. Pressures in
the existing main should be up to 6 bar once the
lining operation is completed. As it was a feeder
pipe, not a domestic supply service, the main
did not need major excavation to expose domestic links for disconnection or reconnection.
A signicant problem, however, was severe
tuberculation which, in part, was the reason for
the project. The pipeline needed costly cleaning
work before lining could take place. Once
cleaned, the pipeline was inspected to ensure
that no obstructions existed along the required
route, and the preparations for lining could start.
The rst 180 m installation process took
about six hours to complete, including four
further butt-welding operations to complete the
required 180 m of liner.
An additional length of lining was needed on
Warrington Crescent, extending from the launch
pit of the rst run for a further 180 m in the
opposite direction. To achieve this, the original

launch pit was used to install from the opposite

direction. This allowed Insituform Blue to minimise the excavations required (three in total).
Ultimately, these lengths were joined together
and reverted as one section.
Given that the sites in Maida Vale marked the
rst use of the new PolyFold systems in the UK,
the lining operation went very smoothly.
John Beech, business development manager
for Insituform, said: We are very pleased with
this rst installation. This is also a very challenging and exciting time for us all. With the
establishment of Insituform Blue, we are at the
start of a whole new venture into the area of
water supply and other pressure-main renovation. The ultimate aim for Insituform Blue is to
expand across Europe and then across the globe
with the innovative new PolyFlex and PolyFold
product lines.

Insituform Blue
For over 35 years, Insituform Technologies
has been a recognised and respected name
in the global sewer and industrial pipeline
renovation sector using its Insituform
Process CIPP lining system. However, over
the past few years, much of the worldwide
utility industry focus has shifted towards
using trenchless means to renovate and
rehabilitate pressure-pipe networks. While
Insituform has been expanding its dirty-water product portfolio extensively across the
various trenchless methodologies now available, Insituform now offers practical and
cost-effective lining solutions for utility-type
pressure pipes through Insituform Blue.
Insituform Blue has a portfolio of underground clean and dirty-water infrastructure
solutions that rehabilitate deteriorating
water pipes, service connections and sewer
rising mains including iTAP, PolyFlex and
PolyFold, Thermopipe and Insituform PPL.
Insituform Blue will focus its core
business on building an expertise in the
expanding PE market for pressure pipes.
Building on this success, the company has

The rst PolyFold liner to be installed in the

UK enters the host pipe beneath Warrington
Crescent in West London
now completed various other PolyFold and
Thermopipe projects and has won further
projects in the UK and Ireland. The new
PolyFlex and PolyFold systems can also
be applied to the dirty-water market. In
addition, Insituform Blue has completed the
rst phase of a sewer rising-main renovation
for Severn Trent Water in Matlock Bath,
Derbyshire, UK using the PolyFold.
One innovation placing Insituform Blue
at the forefront of the industry for water
rehabilitation is iTAP. The new technology
will change the way the world looks at
drinking-water pipe rehabilitation. iTAP,
a robotic method of re-instating service
connections from inside the main, brings
time savings and avoids the added costs and
disruption of digging.

The editor is grateful to Insituform Technologies Inc for supplying this article. All photos are used courtesy of Insituform Technologies Inc

18-19trench0709.indd 19

September 2007

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 14:52:29

20
DRILLING FLUIDS: Small-bore tunnelling

Glorious mud-handling
Paul Hayward examines the functions, composition and equipment associated
with muds, along with their mixing, recycling and disposal capabilities, which
are so important in this age of environmental awareness

OME manufacturers and suppliers of drilling and tunnelling uids, better known as
muds, might say that
contractors do not give adequate attention to selecting the right drilling uid. They may have a
point it is an area that deserves greater respect.
Muds are essential, rather then peripheral.
Drilling uids act as lubricants and reduce
friction. In the simplest uid-assisted, guidedboring installations, the drilling uid may be water
alone, whereas microtunnelling and larger
directional-drilling operations generally require
something more sophisticated.
Drilling uids have several other important
functions. Firstly, they help to cool the drill bit or
cutting head, together with any tracking devices at
the borehead. Secondly, they act as carriers for the
excavated material or cuttings, conveying them in
suspension to the installation pit, from where the
slurry can be removed and recycled to reduce
wastage and disposal costs.
Depending on ground conditions, a drilling
uid may be required to stabilise the bore and
prevent the hole from collapsing before the product pipe is installed. In some microtunnelling
systems, the uid forms an integral part of the
pressure-balancing process that excludes groundwater and creates the optimum conditions for the
tunnelling shield to operate. With guided boring or
directional drilling, the uid helps to keep the bore
open during pilot-boring and backreaming, and
cuts soil swelling, regression and friction while the
product pipe is pulled in.

COMPOSITION
Water is the basic ingredient of all mud formulations. In areas where it is slightly acidic (for
example, in peaty soil), it may be necessary to
dose the water with soda ash to raise the pH to 89, which helps to stabilise the uid and maximise
the yield of bentonite additives.
Most drilling uids are a combination of water,
bentonite and polymers. Bentonite is a thixotropic
clay which, when mixed with water, remains uid
while being mixed, agitated or pumped, but forms
a gel when motion ceases allowing it to lubricate
and stabilise the bore.
The highest grade of bentonite is sodium
montmorillonite, a naturally-occurring mineral
found in Wyoming, US. It swells to about ten times
its original volume when water is added, holds

TRE CHLESS
20-21trench0709.indd 16

Mud mixing, pumping and recycling equipment used by Barhale Construction Ltd on a project at
Thurrock, Essex, for Anglian Water.
Below: A self-contained mixing unit for smaller HDD and microtunnelling projects
cuttings and debris in suspension, lubri-cates the
bore, and forms a lter cake which helps to
control uid loss. A cheaper material, calcium
montmorillonite, offers lower yield and
performance.
A contractor needs a material that hydrates
rapidly so that it can be used with minimum
delay, and one with a high
gel
strength, which governs its
ability to convey the
cuttings in suspension. The
material must also reduce
any tendency of the
ground to swell,
and increase
friction and jacking
forces. Higher
quality bentonites
do not require
potentially harmful polymers, such as
polyacrylamides, and hydrate fully without
needing additives that raise pH.
Polymer additives may be synthetic, semisynthetic or organic, and are used to modify mud
properties such as viscosity to tailor the uid to
the specic applications and soil conditions. In
some cases, the drilling uid may comprise water
and polymers alone. If the viscosity is too high, the
uid will not ow properly and may gel

prematurely. If it is too low, large volumes of uid

may escape into the surrounding ground,
especially under high pumping pressure. Even
when using proprietary materials, it may be
advisable to adjust the formulation to suit
individual installation or ground conditions.
Polymer selection depends on the
type of tunnelling machine
used. Viscosity and the control
of solids in the slurry are of
prime importance to slurry
machines, but generally do not
affect machines that rely on a
screw-and-conveyor system.
Productivity depends on the
type and condition of the lter
cake (semi-uid mud formed
around the pipe by loss of water
into the ground), which must provide
adequate lubrication to avoid excessive
jacking forces. Problems occur if the weight of the
pipes forces out the pore water of the cake into the
ground, leading to increased friction, or if the uid
causes the ground to swell and the annulus to
close up. Although bentonite can help to reduce
drag, it might not be sufcient on its own,
especially under extreme load conditions. A
surfactant can be used, but the wrong type may
pull water from the bentonite and raise stress.

September 2007
30/8/07 14:15:18

21
DRILLING FLUIDS: Small-bore tunnelling
and targets for the reduction of biodegradable
waste going to landll. The aim is for a 50%
reduction of the 1995 level by 2009 and a 65%
reduction by 2014.
The disposal of liquid waste to landll sites is
proscribed by Article 5, and amendments that
came into effect in July 2004 prohibit the disposal

MIXING AND RECYCLING

Even if drilling mud is

environmentally safe,
large quantities of
discarded mud on site do
nothing for trenchless
technologys boast of
minimal disruption and
environmental impact

Some directional drilling rigs have integral mixing

and pumping facilities, while micro-tunnelling
systems use a separate mixing, ltering and
recirculation plant. Drilling muds containing
bentonite require a high shear mixer, which causes
the molecular plates to pass over each other at a
reasonable speed.
The dry materials are usually added through a
hopper and mixed with water under pressure
through a jet or Venturi, before being passed to the
mixing tank. Venturi mixing is generally preferred
to old-style, propeller-type mixers. Mud jets, or
guns fed by a centrifugal pump, further mix the
uid in the tank and keep it moving. Different
products need different mixing times and, in some
cases, special procedures. Viscosity should be
checked using a Marsh Funnel, so adjustments can
be made quickly.
In small, one-off boring operations, the drilling
uid is often discarded as the cost of reclaiming
and recycling it might not be justied. Larger
projects and greater volumes of uid require mudrecycling systems, and there are good reasons for
this, as well as the obvious one of reducing the
cost of materials.
Even if drilling mud is environmentally safe,
large quantities of discarded mud on site do
nothing for trenchless technologys boast of
minimal disruption and environmental impact.
Disposal costs have risen considerably recently
and it is wasteful to transport used mud to a
landll site if it could be recycled. All these factors
become more signicant at larger diameters or
with tools, such as mud motors for rock drilling,
when the quantity of uid can increase
substantially.

GREEN LEGISLATION
The incentive for mud recycling in the UK
increased further with the Landll Directive of
2003, supplementing the Waste Management
Licensing Regulations 1994. The prime mover was
the EUs European Framework Directive on Waste,
which promotes waste reduction, recycling and
clean technologies. Although Article 11 of this
Directive allows member states to make discretionary exemptions for non-hazardous waste,
including slurry waste, alleged abuse of these
exemptions led to a tightening of the regulations

of slurry on land unless it is proven that this

ecologically improves the soil. The new legislation
has also led mud manufacturers to develop nontoxic, biodegradable and treatable uids, which
reduces disposal costs.

EQUIPMENT
There is an enormous choice of equipment for
slurry separation and recycling. Choosing can be
complex, but reputable suppliers are more than
willing to give advice. In a typical mud-recycling
system, the rst stage in the separation of solids
from the slurry is the shaker a vibrating screen
that allows the mud to pass through, but retains
the larger cuttings. The mesh size of the screen
depends on the type and viscosity of the uid, and
the nature of the debris, but the aim is to use as
ne a screen as possible while providing a relatively dry solids discharge.
The next step is the hydrocyclone.
Partially-cleaned uid passing through the
shaker is pumped to de-sanding or desilting cones via a centrifugal feed
pump. The vortex effect causes
liquids to exit at the top of the
cone, while
solids are

separated and discharged from the bottom.

The solids leaving the hydrocyclone also
contain some liquid, which can be separated by
mounting the cones over a second shaker. This
arrangement is common, especially for directional
drilling, and a combination unit comprising a
primary shaker, hydrocyclones and the second
shaker is known as a mud cleaner. The mud
cleaner is often mounted on top of the mud tank.
A typical unit may weigh 10 t and have a primary
shaker, a centrifugal pump of around 20 kW, an
array of hydrocyclones with interchangeable
nozzles, and a linear motion shaker for dewatering
hydrocyclone underows.
For slurry separation in granular soils, a twostorey de-sanding unit with a primary shaker,
two 30 kW pumps, ve hydrocyclones and a
secondary shaker can remove up to 80 t of solids
per hour.
For tunnelling and microtunnelling, a closed
circuit-slurry system with no uid wastage may
offer economic advantages over conventional
methods if a contractor is dumping more than one
tanker load per day on any drive over 50 m long.
The objective is to maintain low slurry density in a
closed circuit, in order to achieve fast progress and
minimise TBM wear. Closed-circuit slurrytreatment systems are available for EPB tunnelling,
tunnelling in hard rock, microtunnelling systems,
pipe jacking and horizontal drilling.
There can be little doubt that many contractors
are missing out on the benets that the correct
choice of muds and mud-handling equipment
can bring. Although the subject is complex,
equipment and materials suppliers are only too
willing to offer advice and technical support.
Many tunnelling contractors could nd that
making better use of that resource helps both
their reputation and their prots.
Paul Hayward is a freelance journalist and an
experienced civil and trenchless
engineer

Mixing and recycling plant used by Barhale

as part of Thames Waters Hoddesdon Transfer
scheme, near Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, UK

September 2007
20-21trench0709.indd 17

Other additives include jute oil, gelatine guar,

PAC, zanthan gum and starch. Jute oil acts as a
high-pressure lubricant and decreases the
thickness of the lter cake. The oil is emulsied in
the uid and remains in the lter cake rather than
being lost in the ltrate, and it can help in difcult
ground like hydratable shale.

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 14:15:25

industrial fluids.qxp

3/29/2007

3:38 PM

Page 1

Fluids For Your Trenchless Needs

Industrial Products
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids Industrial Product line addresses
the needs of the horizontal directional drilling (HDD), water well,
and environmental drilling industries. Our drilling fluids product
line contains over 200 products including:
Bentonite Products:
HDD Blends
Hi-Yield Formulations
Additives for:
Hole Sealing
For more information visit our website www.bakerhughes.com
2007 Baker Hughes Inc. All rights reserved.

Hole Cleaning

Untitled-1 1

Clay Control
With over 50 years of drilling fluids experience, you can expect expert knowledge
and the latest technology to support all of your industrial drilling needs.
www.bakerhughesdirect.com

W h e n

y o u

h a v e

t o

g e t

i t

r i g h t . . .

31/8/07 09:20:57

23
TECHNOLOGY: Innovation
C.SCOPE, the underground location specialist
based in Kent, England, has won
a three-year contract to supply its
CAT (Cable Avoidance Tool) to UK
telecoms provider BT. The unit has
been adapted to suit BTs needs.
Launched a few years ago, CAT
aims to locate live underground cables by detecting electro-magnetic
radiation. Weighing just 2-3 kg, the
high-impact, injection-moulded
plastic unit can be held with one
hand, allowing the other hand to
mark the ground where necessary.
Although the unit has been supplied with an
LCD display, the CATs for BT will only emit an
audible warning when a cable is located, as BT
requirements demand. Though not rechargeable,
the unit needs only two AA batteries. It can also
locate dead cables when used with a signal
generator.
This is an exceptional win for our company,
said Paul Wells, sales director at C.Scope. The
BT tender was both exciting and daunting
exciting because it was the rst opportunity
we have had to bid for BT business since the
launch of our highly successful and popular
CAT range of locators, and daunting because
we were required to create a Rodding Oscillator
to BT specications, from scratch, in little more
than two weeks.
For more information, visit: www.cscope.co.uk

Chemline pipe coating

for potable water

many years. The company also claims that after

only 6-8 minutes, the product cures to the touch,
in marked contrast to conventional coal-tar epoxy
or other standard urethanes.
For more information, visit:
www.chemline.net

Lanes rst to
launch Ibak
camera in UK
AT A recent launch event in Manchester, UK, drainage specialist
Lanes Group launched the Ibak Lisy Lateral Inspection System, a camera for surveying branch
sewers and laterals directly from mainline pipes.
Initially launched by German-based Ibak a
few years ago, Lanes is the rst company in the

UK to have the kit.

Anthony Foden, Lanes contracts manager,
says there has been much interest from UK
water companies and local authorities in the
new system. It comes at a particularly relevant
time due to potential changes to legislation and
ownership of responsibility.
One of the main benets of the equipment
is that it allows surveys of laterals from the
mainline, without having to gain access via
individual properties.
According to Foden, the LISY system allows
the tractor to travel 100 m through the mainline
pipe and access the blind lateral from the main
without having to gain access, then survey an
additional 33 m up the branch connection. The
LISY makes the job more efcient and quicker,
and ultimately that means cost effectiveness for
our clients too.
For more details, visit: www.lanesfordrains.co.uk

Top: C.Scopes CAT

will be used by BT
under a three-year
contract
Above: Ibak Lisy
Lateral Inspection
System: initially
launched in
Germany

US-BASED Chemline Inc makes spray-applied

high-performance polyurethanes, polyureas and
epoxy polymers for use in a range of applications including in industry and construction.
The company recently announced the launch
of Chemthane 4200PW, a fast-setting, sprayapplied coating designed for lining steel and
ductile iron tanks and pipes in potable water
applications. The 100% solids, zero VOC lining
is applied as a single coat, multi-pass system
directly to prepared steel, iron or concrete substrates, although primers are not required.
As it contains no solvents, it is claimed not to
impart a taste or odour to the water a problem
common to some solvent-based coatings, according to Chemlines Polymer Chemist Alan
Cain.
When applied as a 1:1 mix ratio spray system,
applicators are able to achieve lm thicknesses of
between 15-70+ mils (375-1750+ microns) in a
single pass. This, says Mr Cain, will provide permanent and fully effective corrosion protection for

September 2007
23trench0709.indd 23

C.Scope widens scope

TRE CHLESS
30/8/07 15:59:02

24
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trenchCLASSIFIED_CS2.indd 24

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September 2007
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Robbins TW.indd 1

28/8/07 12:08:07

September 2007 Vol 1 Issue 1

The magazine for the tunnelling professional

Hydrotunnels
Glendoe and Niagara

Drilling uids
and muck handling

Drill and blast

A paper from WTC

www.world-tunnelling.com
CovIWT0709.indd 1

31/8/07 10:02:57

BREAKTHROUGH
SOLUTIONS

Earth Pressure Balance

Slurry Pressure Balance
Hard Rock
Pipe - Jacking
Rolling Stock

Lovat.indd 1

24/8/07 10:09:04

1
COMMENT
contacts
Editor
[email protected]
BA (Arch) BA(Hons), DipBldgCons (RICS)

Production editor
[email protected]
Sub editor
[email protected]
Designer
[email protected]
Advertising production
[email protected]
Advertising manager
[email protected]
+44 (0)20 7216 6086
Advertising sales executive
[email protected]
+44 (0)20 7216 6053
ISSN 0026-5225
World Tunnelling is published
ten times annually by Mining
Communications Ltd, Albert House,
1 Singer Street, London, EC2A 4BQ, UK
Mining Communications Ltd 2007
A member of BPA
Worldwide
A member of the Periodical
Publishers Association

advertisers
Atlas Copco Rock Drills
www.atlascopco.com/rock
9
Baroid Industrial Drilling Products
www.baroididp.com
14
Continental Conveyors.co.uk
www.continental-conveyors.co.uk 16
Equipos Mineros
www.equiposmineros.com
3
Geokon
www.geokon.com
20
Global Equipment Solutions
www.globalequipmentsolutions.com 23
Gomaco
www.gomaco.com
12
Jennmar
www.jennmar.com
13
Lovat
www.lovat.com
Cov II
Mine Master
www.minemaster.eu
21
Mining Equipment
www.miningequipmentltd.com
10
Maschinen und Stahlbau Dresden
www.msd-dresden.de
6
Robbins
www.TheRobbinsCompany.com Cov III
Sandvik
www.sandvik.com
5
SiteTec
www.sitetec.nl
22
Soilmec
www.soilmec.com
2
Steam Engineering
www.steamengineering-ca
8
VMT
www.vmt-gmbh.de
4
Wassara
www.wassara.com
11

Brave new world

W

ELCOME to the brave new World Tunnelling. If you are more interested in trenchless developments, then you should just
ip the magazine to view what used to be called the
back cover. There you will nd the new, equally bold,
Trenchless World, with a foreword by UKSTT Chairman Russell Fairhurst.
But back to World Tunnelling. Reinstating what
used to be a well-known and trusted brand has been
taken after much soul
searching, after all, the
former Tunnelling &
Trenchless Construction (TTC) has built up
a growing readership
and an unrivalled global circulation in only a
few years.
But consistent feedback from readers
has indicated
that a compartmented,
more easily

WEB ADDRESS www.world-tunnelling.com

navigable magazine that reected the growing importance of large bore and small bore tunnelling was the
way forward. So here we are.
In this new design, we have taken the very best
from TTC and simply made it better editorially and
visually (note the slightly smaller, more manageable
page size). The result is a more striking and comprehensive publication that will lead in covering news,
comment, projects and technology, keeping you fully
informed of everything happening in underground
construction.
But please let us know your views what you like
and equally, what you dislike, about the new magazine. After all, our aim is to continually rene the
publication and we cant do that without feedback
from our readers.
I hope you enjoy the new magazine.
George Demetri
Editor

CONTENTS

Regulars

FRONT COVER

1 Comment
3-7 Global news

A round-up of the latest news and technology

7 Events

Bravo! Champagne owed as TBM Emma broke

through on Pariss A86 East Tunnel in August
having bored the nal section. Or were they just
celebrating the launch of World Tunnelling?
Websites: www.a86ouest.com
www.coroute.fr

23 Innovation

The latest equipment releases and upgrades

Features
8-13 Hydro tunnels

Glendoe, Scotland: It is Scotlands rst major hydroelectric scheme for

more than half a century. The massive US$280 million Glendoe project is
ahead of programme.
Niagara: Jack Burke compares todays tunnelling methods with those used
on the original Adam Beck tunnels constructed fty years ago.

15-17 Technology

Drilling uids and muck handling.

19

19-22 Drill and blast

A paper demonstrating that technological progress in drill and blast is now

bringing greater productivity all round.

September 2007
01WT0709.indd 1

31/8/07 12:13:20

Soilmec.indd 1

22/8/07 14:19:16

3
NEWS
Ireland and Scotland

Insituform
CEO resigns

Tunnel to link Ireland

with Scotland?
Martin Knights

IRELAND could eventually have a

direct link with the Scottish mainland
and therefore to Europe if new
proposals for a 21 mile bridge or
tunnel ever come to fruition.
Irish think-tank, The Centre for
Cross Border Studies (CCBS), recently
mooted the idea for a link between
Irelands Antrim Coast to Galloway
in Scotland. Initial estimates indicate
that it could cost up to US$7 billion
and be built by 2030.
Separated from the UK mainland
by the Irish Sea, Ireland is currently
the only country not connected to
the European network. The construction of a xed link will allow Irish
passengers and freight to travel to
Glasgow, London, Paris and beyond
in as little as a matter of hours on
Europes high-speed rail network.
It would also boost Irish trade and
ease the pressure off its increasingly
congested airports.
The idea follows on from the
publication of a recent article in The
Economist which highlighted the rapid expansion of Europes high-speed
rail network and cited Europe as
currently in the grip of a high-speed

rail revolution,
led by French
and German
state-owned
railways.
So far, the
proposals envisage either a bridge or
a tunnel along the North Strait the
shortest distance between Ireland
and Scotland. Initial reaction to the
idea, particularly in the Scottish
media, has been generally positive.
CCBS director Andy Pollak said,
Weve approached a few engineers
in Dublin for a viewpoint and the
consensus seems to favour a bridge
as opposed to a tunnel. But it is all
preliminary and no real in-depth
studies have yet to be conducted.
But even so, such an anti-tunnel
response is surprising, given increasingly lower tunnelling costs, busier
sea-lanes, the ever-present danger
of tankers crashing into bridge
piers, and the problems associated
with constructing foundations in
the North Channels 300 m-deep
Beauforts Dyke trench.
Yet recently appointed ITA-AITES
president Martin Knights errs on

Andy Pollak
the side of caution. Although
a welcome contribution to the
tunnelling industry and similar
in length to the Channel tunnel, the
economic viability of the proposed
tunnel scheme would be stretched
bearing in mind build costs and
operational revenues. The geological
and hydrographical challenges are
also immense. However, if you look
at what the Nordic nations have
achieved in low-cost island connections in recent years then it might
be worth making some comparative
costs in this respect.
Whether a bridge or a tunnel
is the solution will be debated for
some time to come, but
the 21 mile crossing
does not preclude a
bridge. China recently
completed what it
claims to be the longest
sea bridge at 22 mileslong, linking Shanghai
to Ningbo city across
the bay.

FOLLOWING the recent troubles at Insituform Technologies

Inc centering around three
former executives starting up
a rival business, the company
recently announced the resignation of chief executive and
president Thomas Rooney Jr. The
decision has been attributed to
disagreements on various issues
between Rooney and the board
of directors. Since taking over in
2003, Rooneys remit has been
to oversee an improved growth,
innovation and operational strategy. Although great strides were
made in two of the areas, the
companys growth has slowed
down since 2005 as spending
in sewer rehab has stalled in the
US domestic market. Rooneys
resignation is immediate.

Algeria, Tunisia

Cavico to supply labour to North

African road, tunnel and bridge scheme
CAVICO Corporations 70%-owned subsidiary
skilled workers who worked on the recent Dai
Cavico bridge and tunnel announced recently
Ninh hydropower plant project in Vietnam.
that it has signed a US$2.4 million agreement
Equipment and machinery for the project will
with Japanese joint venture entity COJAAL
be supplied by the Japanese JV.
(Consortium Japonais Pour lAutoroute AlgeVice president of Cavico Corp, Hai Thanh
rienne) to participate in a large infrastructure
Tran, said, We have established Cavicos repuscheme involving the construction of 11 tunnels. tation as Vietnams premier private construcLocated along the Algerian/Tunisian border,
tion and engineering rm and look forward to
the scheme will also include a 250 mile-long,
expanding our services worldwide. This is our
six-lane interstate highrst project abroad as a
Dai Ninh hydropower plant project
way, 22 interchanges and
labour supply contractor
55 bridges, all expected
and we hope that our
for completion in 2009.
other subsidiaries will
Its rst overseas
follow Cavico bridge
labour supply contract,
and tunnels lead and
Cavico will send 135
pursue contracts in
TBM-experienced emother parts of the
ployees engineers and
globe.

September 2007
03-04,06-07WT0709.indd 3

31/8/07 10:05:45

4
NEWS
Massachusetts, US

Tunnel death spurs tunnel

inspection programme
MILLENA Del Valle did not die
in vain. Following her untimely
death last year when concrete
ceiling panels fell on her car in
Bostons I-90 (Big-Dig) tunnel,
new laws are being put in place
to help prevent similar occurrences.
House of Representatives
congressman Mike Capuano
has introduced legislation
amending the National Bridge
Inspection Programme to
require mandatory inspection
of all highway tunnels. The
proposals passed the Houses
Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure on August 2.

Following the recent US
National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) hearing on the
tragedy which determined that
an inappropriate epoxy anchor
adhesive was the probable cause
of the collapse (TTC July/August,
p4), questions have been asked
as to whether more frequent inspection of the tunnel might have
avoided the disaster. Indeed, the
NTSB meeting on July 10 issued
a series of recommendations that
included the establishment of
a nationwide tunnel inspection
programme. Filed in January

2007,
Congressman
Capuanos
Capuano
legislation
creates a programme modelled
after the nationwide bridge
inspection program. In addition,
there are likely to be minimum
inspection requirements for
tunnels that will stipulate the
maximum amount of time permitted between inspections and
the manner in which they should
be carried out. Other factors to
be addressed will include raising
the standards of tunnel inspectors by establishing a system
of qualications, a national

tunnel inspectors certication

programme and other training
initiatives. Each state is to be
responsible for maintaining an
inventory of its highway tunnel
inspection reports.
Currently, in the absence of
national standards or requirements for tunnel inspections, the
onus falls on US tunnel owners
to determine how their tunnels
should be inspected. At the very
least, tunnel owners are guided
by the requirements in their
bonding agreements relating to
their structures.
Clearly, this level of scrutiny
was not enough in Massachusetts and more must be done to
ensure the safety of the travelling
public, said Congressman
Capuano. There is no question
that national standards should
exist for the inspection of all
highway tunnels.

Amsterdam, Holland

Vinci named preferred bidder for

Amsterdam tunnel expansion
FRENCH construction conglomerate Vinci recently
announced that it has been
named preferred bidder for
the US$679 million Coentunnel
in Amsterdam. The company is
part of the Coentunnel Company
BV Consortium that comprises Vinci
Concessions, Vinci Construction
subsidiaries CFE and Dredging

International, Dura Vermeer (leader

of the consortium), Arcadis NV, Besix
and TBI. Involving the design-buildnance-maintain contract of a 3+2
lane underwater road tunnel, the
renovation of the existing tunnel and
the operation of both tunnels for 30
years, the tunnels will link Amsterdam with the northern Netherlands.
The works will take ve years to

<j^YVcXZ[dg:miZcYZY
9^hiVcXZE^eZ_VX`^c\

complete and the concessionaire

will receive an annual payment
from the concession grantor, the
amount of which will be based
on the actual availability of the
infrastructure to users of the tunnels.
A consortium comprising VINCI
subsidiaries VINCI Construction
Grands Projets, CFE and DEME, as
well as TBI, Dura Vermeer and Besix
will carry out the work. The award
is a further boost for the construction giant, coming closely after the
completion of the A86 in western
Paris and the terminal 5 tunnels at
Heathrow Airport, London.

www.vmt-gmbh.de

September 2007
03-04,06-07WT0709.indd 4

30/8/07 16:31:33

Sandvik.indd 1

31/8/07 12:19:28

6
NEWS
Moscow, Ohio and Seville

A Lovat TBM like this will be

used for the Coslada sewer
tunnels in Madrid

Lovat triples successes

LOVAT TBMs continue to make
progress on numerous tunnelling
projects worldwide. Following the
delivery earlier this year of a fully
refurbished, Lovat RME254SE Series
16600, soft ground, EPB TBM,
Russian contractor SMU Engeocom
has begun tunnel excavation on the
Mitinsko-Stroginskaya Metro line in
Moscow.
During the rst few weeks of
excavation, the TBM installed around

Lovat TBM breakthrough

at Big Walnut

284 rings along the 3.5 km-long,

6.3 m-diameter tunnel. The prefabricated concrete lining segments, laid
six to a ring plus keystone, measure
1200 mm-long and 300 mm-thick.
Within several weeks of launching, the TBM was progressing at an
average rate of 16 minutes per push,
with ring erection times averaging
35 minutes. To improve EPB control
and reduce wear on the TBM, a
Lovat Ground Conditioning System
(GCS) is being used.
Meanwhile in the US, a Lovat
RME167SE Series 21500 TBM,
owned by the McNally Kiewit JV,
broke through on part 2 of the Big
Walnut Outfall Augmentation Sewer
(BWOAS) in Columbus, Ohio.
The 4.2 m-diameter mixed face,
EPB TBM attained daily production
rates of up to 24 rings erected during

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excavation of
the 4,084 m-long
tunnel. Up to 79
rings were installed
weekly, with best
mining and ring build
times of 8 minutes and 17 minutes,
respectively. Glacial-till and glaciouvial/outwash materials were
encountered, along with uniform
ne sands, as well as gravel, cobbles
and boulders.
In another development, a Lovat
RME238SE Series 21300 TBM,
owned by the Dragados/Sacyr/Cavosa joint venture, recently broke
through on the rst of two tunnel
drives for the line 1 tunnel project of
the Seville metro in Spain.
The 6.1 m-diameter mixed-face,
EPB TBM encountered mostly gravel,
sandy gravel and blue marls along



 
 
  

 

 



















 
!













"


 


 

#
#
#
#

Hofmhlenstrae 5-15, 01187 Dresden, Deutschland

Tel: +49 / 3 51 / 42 34 0, Fax: +49 / 3 51 / 42 34 103
www.msd-dresden.de, [email protected]

way, but also some

silty sands and clays. The entire
tunnelled alignment lies below
the water table, with a maximum
groundwater height of 15 m above
tunnel invert. The TBM will now
be reassembled and re-tooled to
commence excavation on the second
tunnel drive.
Lovat also recently announced
an agreement with contractor
Construcciones Sando SA for
the supply of a refurbished Lovat
RME185SE Series 20002 EPB
TBM. The 4.7 m-diameter mixed
face machine will be used for the
construction of the Coslada sewer
tunnels in Madrid, Spain.






Maschinen- und Stahlbau Dresden, Niederlassung der Herrenknecht AG,

the











!!!



  

September 2007
03-04,06-07WT0709.indd 6

30/8/07 16:31:44

7
NEWS
Schningen, Germany

Germans complete twin corrugated

steel tunnels in only two weeks

2009

2008

2007

CLOSE to the once heavily fortied

east German border near Schningen in Germany, two comparatively inconspicuous, corrugated
32 m-long steel tunnels are nearing
completion. Built using a Hamco
MultiPlate structure, they have been
necessitated by the rerouting of a
local road due to the exploitation
of one of the last remaining brown
coalelds in the area.
Project BKB Helmstedt comprises two parallel circular arch
proles, each spanning 10.12 m
and with a height of 5 m to the
crown. One will be used for rail
and the other for a service road.
Both will be embedded in compacted soil with a height of cover of
1.7 m that includes the construc-

tion of the rerouted country road

running above.
Weighing a combined total of
80 t, the two tunnels are situated 6 m apart. They are part of a
two-part, US$1.35 million project
that began in June and comprises
the delivery and assembly of the
corrugated sections that form the
tunnels, erected in July by Hamco
Dinslaken Bausysteme GmbH and
ordered by sub-contractor Matthi
GmbH & Co.
A ve man crew took just
two weeks to bolt together the
7 mm-thick, Hamco MultiPlate 200
corrugated sections, each either 2
or 3 m-wide and with corrugations
at 200 mm-pitch and 55 mmdepth. Bolting is steel on steel,

A 2 m-wide corrugated
section being lowered
into place

with nothing used to separate the

steel sections which are all hot-dip
galvanised with an additional
240 m epoxy coating layer on
both sides for corrosion protection.
Assembly was made easier thanks
to the use of track-mounted, mobile
scaffolding that could be moved as
the bolting process proceeded and
could be removed if a train was
due to pass through the partially
assembled tunnel.
Backlling around and to the top
of the tunnels has now also been
completed, although they will not
be lined internally. Completion
is scheduled for October 2007.
Braunschweigische Kohlenbergwerke (BKB) Helmstedt was the
main contractor on the project.

Sept 10-13: 11th ACUUS Conference Underground Space: Expanding the Frontiers Athens, Greece. Details from: Athanassios Mavrikos, 9 Iroon
Polytechniou Str, GR 15780 Zografou, Athens, Greece. Tel: +30-210-7722190 Fax: +30-210-7722156 Website: www.acuus.qc.ca
Oct 3-5: 3rd Summer school on Rational Tunnelling Innsbruck, Austria.Aims to provide participants with basic mechanical knowledge needed to apply
and optimise existing tunnelling methods.Website: sg1-c813.uibk.ac.at/igt/ratun2007
Nov 5-7: International Congress Tunnels, Drivers of Change (AETOS) Madrid, Spain. Details from: Congreso AETOS, Presencia Internacional,
C/Fuencarral 86 - 3 Andar, E-28004, Madrid, Spain.Tel: +91 531 06 00 Fax: +91 531 05 41 E-mail: [email protected]
Nov 27-29: STUVA-TAGUNG07 Connections by Tunnel Cologne, Germany. International conference on recent technical developments in underground construction. Organised by the German Research Association for Underground Transportation Facilities (STUVA). For more details, contact STUVA. E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.stuva.de
Nov 27-29: INTERtunnel 2007 Pavilion 8 at Expocentr, Moscow. An exhibition of technology, products and services for the construction and operation of tunnels and
underground spaces in Russia. Further information from: Ulika Tosner, Mack Brooks Exhibitions. Tel: +44 (0) 1727 814 400 Fax: +44 (0) 1727 814 401 E-mail: ulika
[email protected]
Mar 11-15: CONEXPO-CONAGG 2008 Las Vegas, US. North Americas largest major construction event with major international participation. Details from: Show
Management at: Tel: +1 414-298-4144 E-mail: [email protected]
May 5-9: Samoter 2008 Verona, Italy. General construction exhibition with substantial drilling and tunnelling equipment displays. Details from: Verona Fiere, Viale del
lavoro 8, 37135 Verona, Italy. Tel: +39 045 8298111 Fax: +39 0458298288 Website: www.samoter.it
May 20-22: Intertunnel 2008 8th International Tunnelling Exhibition Turin, Italy. Details: [email protected] Website: www.intertunnel.com
Jun 7-11: North American Tunnelling (NAT) Conference San Francisco, US. Advances and challenges in tunnel engineering. Website: www.smenet.org/meetings/
nat/2008/callForPapers.cfm
Sept 17-18: IUT 2008 5th International Underground and Tunnel Fair. Details from: ARGE IUT, c/oVersuchsStollen Hagerbach AG, Rheinstr. 147320 Sargans, Switzerland. Website: www.iut.ch
Sept 22-24: MINExpo International 2008 Las Vegas, US. Worlds largest exhibition of mining and mining associated equipment and consumables. Details from: MIN
Expo Sales Department c/o Hall-Erickson, Inc., 98 E. Naperville Road, Westmont, IL 60559, US. Tel: +1 630 434 7779 Fax: +1 630 4341216 E-mail: minexpo@heiexpo.
com Website: www.minexpo.com
Sept 22-27: World Tunnel Congress and 34th ITA General Assembly New Delhi, India. Details from: CBIP, Malcha Marg, Chanak Yapuri, New Delhi - 110021, India.
Tel: +91-11-2615984 / 26116567 Fax: +91-11-26116347 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cbip.org
Sept 23-28: InnoTrans 2008 International Trade Fair for Transport Technology, Berlin, Includes International Tunnel Forum organised by ITA and STUVA. Tel: +49
(0)30 3038-2036 Fax: +49 (0)30 3038-2190 Website: www.innotrans-berlin.ru/english E-Mail: [email protected]
Oct 22-24: Underground Infrastructure of Urban Areas 2008 Conference on tunnels and subterranean infrastructure. Organised by Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland. Details from: [email protected]
May 23-28: World Tunnel Congress and 35th ITA General Assembly Budapest, Hungary. Preliminary advice only. Website: www.ITA-Aites.org
Jun 14-17: Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference RETC 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, US. Details: Tel: +1 303 973 9550; Fax: +1 303 973 3845 E-mail: davis@
smenet.org Website: www.smenet.org available to visitors.
Events highlighted in red are those where World Tunnelling will be available to visitors.

September 2007
03-04,06-07WT0709.indd 7

30/8/07 16:32:12

8
HYDRO TUNNELS: Glendoe, Scotland

Glendoe: tunnel vision

It is Scotlands rst major
hydroelectric scheme for more
than half a century. The massive
US$280 million Glendoe project
is ahead of programme. Chris
Webb reports

URROWING deep into a Scottish hillside near Loch Ness, the US$14 million
Eliza Jane is a monster star in her own
right. Originally built by Robbins of the US, and
subsequently refurbished by Herrenknecht of
Germany, the huge machine is exceeding all
expectations. Ahead of schedule driving through
the hard schist, the tunnel boring machine (TBM),
affectionately named by local school children, is
playing the lead role in the biggest civil engineering project currently underway in Scotland.
Like most projects of this nature and on such
a scale, which are few and far between, Glendoe
is utilising an experienced international team,
with expertise culled from no fewer than four
continents. Not so different, then, to the post-War
years, when one of UK prime minister Winston
Churchills right-hand men masterminded a
scheme to bring electricity to Scotland using a
multi-national workforce including Germans and
migrs from across Europe.
Glendoes prime purpose will be the
generation of electricity, with its turbines able
to produce up to 100MW of energy, enough to
power every home in a city the size of Glasgow.
It will have the highest head the drop from the
reservoir to the turbine of any hydroelectric
station in the whole of the UK, allowing it to
generate more energy from every cubic metre
of water than any other facility of its kind in the
country. Whats more, it will be the UKs most
efcient hydroelectric scheme, using water as its

fuel to avoid the production of carbon dioxide, a

gas associated with global warming.
Way back in 2003, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) chief executive Ian Marchant promised
a scheme in keeping with the traditions of our
predecessors. He was referring, of course, to
the Highlands worthy heritage of water power
engineering that owes much to the visionary and
pragmatist Thomas Johnston, the former secretary
of state for Scotland in Churchills wartime coalition government. It was Johnston who founded,
in 1944, the North of Scotland Hydro Electric
Board (NoSHEB).
Coincidentally, the rst successful public supply of hydro electricity occurred close to Glendoe, in nearby Fort Augustus, in 1890, while rst
large-scale schemes came to fruition at Rannoch
and Tummel Bridge in Perthshire, home of SSEs
headquarters. It was Johnston, one of Churchills
wartime ministers, who kick-started power from
the glens.
The scenery of today may have changed
relatively little since those most auspicious of
times for the hydro industry in Britain, but construction methods have advanced almost beyond
measure compared to those employed when
NoSHEB performed its economic transformation
in the Highlands, bringing renewable energy to
post-War Scotland. Now some 20 months since
construction began on the site, Glendoe is bringing to bear the latest in excavation techniques,
including Eliza Jane, a 21st century marvel of tunnelling capability.
Glendoe is a key
The 32 m-high power cavern
will have a rock-bolted roof component in the
delivery of ambitious
plans set by the
Scottish parliament
to secure 40% of
the countrys energy
needs from renewable sources by 2020
twice the target
set by EU heads of

state earlier this year. It follows an earlier Scottish

climate change programme which set out the
Executives contribution to the UK climate change
objectives, a key measure being the commitment
that 18% of electricity generated in Scotland
should come from renewables by 2010.
Situated at the western end of the Monadhliath mountains and to the east of Fort Augustus
in Inverness-shire, Glendoe will be Scotlands
second biggest conventional hydroelectric power
plant. Impounded by a 1 km long dam at the
head of Glen Tarff it is the longest dam in SSEs
inventory, and the 11.5 million cubic metres
capacity reservoir, fed by a network of aqueducts
and pipes, will have a catchment of 75 square
kilometres. The dam itself will rise to a maximum
height of 35m.
From the dam, the water will pass through
a tunnel 8.5 km in length to a power station
located in a cavern deep below Borlum Hill
at the eastern edge of Loch Ness, to where the
water will be discharged after passing through
the turbines. Connection to the public electricity
distribution network will be by means of an
underground 132 kV power line from a new substation within the development site to the existing
grid at Auchteraw.
Glendoes network of tunnels is extensive - the
system will be served by over 16 km of passageways. An 8.6 km aqueduct, 4.6 m in diameter,
will collect water and bring it to the reservoir
while 8 km of tunnels including the headrace,
each some 5 m in diameter, will convey water
from the reservoir to the underground power
station, and from there out into Loch Ness. In
addition, a 1,250 m long access tunnel, 7 m in
diameter, will lead to the power station cavern.
SSE says the project is on programme to
commence generating electricity in the winter of
2008/9, when it will provide enough power for
250,000 homes. Glendoe will add this capacity
to SSEs existing portfolio of 50 hydroelectric
generation plants spread across the Highlands,
along with its windfarms and conventional power

September 2007
08,10-13WT0709.indd 8

30/8/07 21:08:28

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10
HYDRO TUNNELS: Glendoe, Scotland
plants in other parts of the UK.

visible, yet surprisingly little even of these will be

Work started in the mountainous Glendoe area
seen from any nearby home or public road. And
at the beginning of 2006. It will be the rst hydrothat includes the massive power cavern in which
electric scheme in the UK with a head of more
will be housed the power station itself.
than 600 m, making it the most efcient scheme
Situated some 250 m below ground level
of its kind in the country. Not
and located roughly
race
ad
he
surprisingly, given the
2 km from the banks
km
8
the
ve
to dri
Launch of the TBM
sites hard, faulted rock
of Loch Ness, this
geology, the civil engineering works represent
a considerable challenge,
thanks also in part to the
remoteness of the site.
In addition to the
200 m-long, 5 m-diameter TBM that is being
used to drive the 8 km of
headrace tunnel, major excavations
elsewhere are being achieved using
drill and blast techniques. Eventually,
around 400,000 t of rock mainly
schists will have been hewn from
the hillside.
With all the main components of
the hydro scheme being underground, the dam and reservoir are
the only chief structures that will be

single and ultimately

Drill and blast will be

used for the power cavern

invisible void will be 38 m-long, 18 m-wide and

32 m-high with a rock-bolted roof. Contained
within it will be the Pelton turbine and the generator plant. A separate, smaller cavern will also
be located adjacent to the power station cavern
to house the main station transformer installation.
It is from here that the infrastructure will be located to enable Glendoe to deliver its full power
output in just 30 seconds, at little more than the
throw of a switch.
In August, Hochtief reported
good progress on the headrace
tunnel, and the very little down
time meant that Eliza Jane was three
weeks ahead of programme, with
less than 2,500 m to go. At this rate,
the company said, breakthrough
could occur at the hill side site of
the dam at the end of November.
Progress at the aqueduct tunnel
was only a week behind schedule,
despite difcult ground conditions.
There were in August three drill and
blast squads working on the tunnel
on six headings, with each squad
alternating between two faces.
Overall, they were reported to have

September 2007
08,10-13WT0709.indd 10

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BYR

.IAGARA#ANADA

11
advanced some 400 m during the month, and a
quarter the way through the 7.5 km tunnel overall.
Excavation of the power cavern was completed
on target at the beginning of July, and work has
begun on constructing the concrete structure
within it, some 250 m below ground. It is from
here that water will be piped in to the turbine and
back out again through the tailrace tunnel for discharge into Loch Ness. Here will be housed the
turbine and generator, along with all the ancillary
storerooms, ofces and workshops associated
with a modern power station. It will take about a
year to complete.
Good progress is also being made with the
dam structure; it was about a third complete
as this issue went to press. The 450,000 m3
structure will eventually contain more than a
million tonnes of rock obtained from within the
reservoir area. The dam is due to be completed
in July 2008 and impounding will begin in
September.
The most impressive piece of machinery used
in constructing Glendoe is the enormous TBM
itself, Eliza Jane. Originally built for a project in
China, the machine was subsequently refurbished
by Herrenknecht in Germany and went to work
in Scotland last summer; when it has fullled its
task, it will have created no less than 8 km of
tunnels. Having got off to a fast start, the machine
set off on its 16 month journey by delivering a
blistering record week completing over 260 m
of tunnel, with a staggering 74 m in a single,
exceptional day. Average drive rate is about 25 m
a day. At present, the TBM and her team are well
ahead of schedule.
The scheme should be largely complete by
Winter 2008. From that time on, the scheme is
scheduled to generate clean, green electricity for
the best part of the next century, from its quiet
and inconspicuous location in the mountainside,
where it will be almost invisible.

The
scheme is
scheduled
to generate
clean, green
electricity
for the
best part
of the next
century

Chris Webb is a freelance construction journalist

Glendoe project chronology

October 2001: Planning begins.
July 2005: Scottish ministers give project the go-ahead.
January 2006: Start of site works.
September 2006: Start of headrace power tunnel construction
using TBM.
January 2007: Completion of main access tunnel.
January 2008: Scheduled completion of power tunnel.
June 2008: Completion of tailrace outfall.
Early summer 2008: Construction of outfall from the 2 km tailrace
tunnel (which manoeuvred the TBM towards the creation of the main
Power Tunnel, beyond the Power station) will be accomplished.
August 2008: Completion of dam.
November 2008: Completion of cavern and plant installation.
March 2009: Start generating.
November 2009: Completion of landscaping and reinstatement.

3TRAIGHTCLEANHOLES
AT.IAGARA&ALLS

4HECITYOF.IAGARANEEDSTOINCREASEHYDROPOWER
OUTPUTTOMEETTHEDEMANDFORELECTRICITYDURINGTHE
HIGHEST CONSUMPTION PEAKS OF THE YEAR4O ACHIEVE
THIS CONSTRUCTION WAS BEGUN IN THE SPRING OF 
OFATUNNELFORANADDITIONALTURBINEATTHE#ANADIAN
&ALLSDAM4HETUNNELBEGINSABOVETHEFALLSANDHAS
ITSOUTLETBELOWTHEFALLS4HISISALARGEANDCOMPLEX
PROJECT WITH STRICT SAFETY REQUIREMENTS 7ASSARAS
WATER POWERED HAMMERS ARE USED FOR JET GROUTING
ATTHEINLETANDOUTLETOFTHETUNNEL
'EO&OUNDATIONISTHENAMEOFTHECOMPANYWHICH
IS DRILLING  HOLES  METRES DEEP TO STRENGTHEN
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BECAUSEITISCAPABLEOFDRILLINGINGROUNDCONDITIONS
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INFO WASSARACOMWWWWASSARACOM

September 2007
08,10-13WT0709.indd 11

30/8/07 21:09:26

12
HYDRO TUNNELS: Niagara

Niagaras half century of pro

In a trip down memory lane, World Tunnellings North America correspondent
and veteran tunneller Jack Burke compares todays tunnelling methods with
those used on the original Adam Beck tunnels constructed fty years ago

N RETURNING home in the spring

of 1946 after four years service in
the US Navy, I found my old coworkers and friends working on the New York Aqueduct in upstate New York.
I was later hired on the
site as a chuck tender on a
multi-drill jumbo with Red
Gatrell as driller. Having
worked on the site for the
next few years, I moved
to New York City as a
journeyman ironworker in
local 361 a move which
eliminated shift work and

allowed me to nish my training at night.

Upon completing school, I joined the
Gardner Denver Company as a eld engineer
in Denver Colorado.
In late 1951 or early
1952, I was sent
to discuss drills at
the Niagara Falls
tunnel project, then
under construction
by the joint venture
of Perini-Walsh.
The contractor was
utilising Joy drifters
On-site assembly of
mounted on a
the TBM cutterhead
movable beam for

 

 
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Thankfully, working
practices at Niagara
have changed since
the 1950s

drilling the bench after completion of the top

heading. We agreed to place a drill on site with
the provision that it would have to operate vertically as the Joy drills were erratic in performance. This we did and after a period of time, I
think it was one or two weeks operating three
shifts without a failure, received an order for
the drills to replace the Joy machines. I stayed
on site for another few weeks then periodically
returned until the excavation was completed. A
complete report on the project was presented
by David Heath and Clair Murdock at the 2007
RETC Conference in Toronto.
A few weeks prior to RETC, I received an
invitation from Brianna Home of the Robbins
Company inviting me to visit the site and see
the worlds largest hard rock TBM in operation.
On Monday June 11 2007, I returned with a
group led by Robbins President Lok Home to
see the new project my rst return since 1952.
Contractor Strabag AG Austria placed an order with Robbins in September 2005 to design,
manufacture and deliver a new 14.4 m-diameter main beam hard rock TBM that would be
ready to bore in twelve months. The TBM was
assembled in the cut with components arriving
on site from many plants and countries. Prior
to the actual assembly on site, no pre-assembly
had taken place.
The TBM was ofcially launched on
September 1 2006, and started boring the
7.82% downgrade for 1,500 m to intersect
the tunnel invert. The decline will be mined
through various horizontally bedded strata including dolostone, dolomitic limestone, sandstone and shale until the tunnel alignment


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September 2007
08,10-13WT0709.indd 12

30/8/07 17:54:10

13
HYDRO TUNNELS: Niagara

progress and consolidation

Robbins crew pose

with TBM

is reached in the Queenston

shale, which is primarily composed of massive
mudstones and siltstones that swell in contact
with fresh water.
With the start of mining, the TBM bored at
a rate of 1.2 m per shift. Full-circle ring beams
and shotcrete were introduced for support using
steel erector and full-circle robotic shotcrete
units, with two independent setups mounted on
a walking beam arrangement to allow each to
operate independent of the TBMs movements.
To cover the crown, the support was changed
from full-circle ring beams to rock bolts and
straps from the grippers 90-degrees. The back
up system was supplied by Rowa from Austria.
At the time of the visit, the TBM had advanced approximately 915 m but where a sizable rockfall along the geological intersection
of the horizontal planes occurred, the machine
was halted for grouting and consolidation of
the crown. The head is rotated on a regular
basis to avoid cementing that might occur when
limestone and shale react with water. The top
deck of the unit features drills and hydraulic
man baskets and pumps to handle almost any
contingency for support and grouting. The horizontal 36 in (914 mm) conveyor designed and
fabricated by Herrenknecht is supported on the
left rib and carries the muck out of the tunnel
to a stacker, where it is hauled to a disposal site
by on-highway trucks. To date there has been
excellent availability on the TBM.

COMPARISON
Being in the tunnel and observing the operation, it was difcult not to think back and make
comparisons. On the original drill blast, the
Rayner/Atlas JV fabricated a full-face drill
jumbo with 23 pneumatic Ingersoll Rand drifters 16 on column and bar support and seven
drills on booms. Jack legs were used for the
lifter holes.
The arrangement was not successful and
subsequently Perini/Walsh would prove the
efciency of its 5.8 m-high top heading with
a jumbo having 17 Joy drifters on hydraulic

booms drilling a 5.48 m round, pulling 4.8 m.

Perini/Walsh also changed the mucking to
Northwest 80D electric shovels and offhighway, used 15 t Euclid trucks from the
Rayner/Atlas Eimco overshot muckers range
as well as rail muck cars with locomotive
haulage.
After abandoning the full face, Rayner/
Atlas also went to a heading and bench
method using the same 80D muckers and
Euclid trucks. Both contractors used loading
pockets, skips and hoist to bring the muck to
the surface. The top heading was supported
with steel ribs at 1.2 m spacing.
For bench excavation, Perini/Walsh fabricated a jumbo using an I-beam mounted on
double ange trucks laid in channel and moved
using air hoists, to attach the drills, which were
changed from Joy drifters to Gardner Denver.
Usually one or two rounds of shot rock were
left in place to cushion the next blast.
From the time the jumbo moved to the face,

it was painted by the survey crew to outline the

tunnel and mark the holes; then they had to
drill out the round, load the face with powder
and attach the blasting wires, re the shot, then
allow time for the smoke to clear, wet-down
the muck pile and make certain all the holes
detonated. Then the mucking equipment was
moved in. Comparing this to todays scenario
of a huge, well-lit tunnel with clean invert and
hydraulically operated equipment, with a huge
TBM head rotating and moving forward and
muck scooped up and placed on a conveyor
system with minimal manpower it all represents a remarkable change in the ve decades
that have passed since the rst Sir Adam Beck
excavation.
Photography of the original Sir Adam Beck drill
and blast tunnel has been kindly supplied by
the Niagara Falls Public Library and arranged by
Brian Fulcher. The photos of the new Robbins
TBM were supplied by the Robbins Company

The
TBM was
assembled
in the
cut with
components
arriving on
site

September 2007
08,10-13WT0709.indd 13

30/8/07 17:54:16

H129-06 WT.qxd:H129-06 WT.qxd

8/28/07

12:35 PM

Page 1

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15
TECHNOLOGY: Drilling uids

Where theres muck

theres brass
Drilling uids and muck handling systems are essential to any tunnelling
operation. George Demetri takes a selective look at what is available

HERE would large

bore tunnelling
be without the
use of soil and ground conditioners? These indispensable
products can be introduced at
various points throughout the
tunnelling process, such as
the point of cut in the tunnel
face; within the TBMs cutter
head; in the muck removal
system; around the outside of
the tunnelling shield and/or
the pipes in a tunnel or pipeline formed by pipejacking or
microtunnelling; also in the
separation units of a slurry
system; or to muck on its way
to the tip. (Lubrication and
soil conditioning in tunnelling, pipe-jacking and microtunnelling a state of the art review, Dr George
Milligan, August 2000.)
The benets that these specialist uids, slurries,
foams, powders and conditioning agents can bring
include providing greater stability to the tunnel
face; reduce wear to TBM face plate and cutters;
reduce friction and heat build up; lower cutter
head power requirements and reducing torque on
the machine head.
Water can be used as a basic soil conditioner,
albeit with very limited applications. Bentonite
is a tried and trusted lubricant for the TBM shield
either prior to a long-term stoppage in granular
soils or for lubricating the pipe string in pipe-jacking and microtunnelling. It can combat wear on
the tools (primary wear) and on the cutter head
structure (secondary wear), but so can polymers
and foams. Each of these three alternatives will be
suited to different geologies.
Peter Raleigh, a senior engineer at Jacobs
Associates with many years tunnelling and TBM
experience says, Bentonite is not generally used
in EPB TBMs due to the large volumes which
would be required and due to the fact that the soils
being excavated often contain a high content of
clay material already.
Disposing of bentonite can however be problematic since, if present in water run-off, can lead

Baroid supplies drilling

uid additives, bentonite
grouts and chemicals

to water turbidity problems and affect stability in

landll sites.
According to Raleigh, foams and polymers
provide a biodegradable, environmentally friendly
option particularly considering the low dosage
rates required. Foam agents can be used in negrained cohesive soils, such as silts and clays; but
they can also be used with hard rock TBMs for
controlling dust and preventing cutter head blockages something that pure water can sometimes
exacerbate.
Polymer agents, of which there are numerous types, are used for their lubricative and
hydrophilic properties. Typical applications
include coarser-grained non-cohesive soils
such as sands below the ground water table.
The hydrophilic properties of polymers make
them ideal for blocking the ow of ground water
Atlas Copco Mintruck haulage vehicle MT 5010
Photo: Thord Ogeryd, Capca

through the screw conveyor of the EPB TBM.

Sometimes a combination of foam and polymer
may be required. For example in dry sands
which tend to absorb water from foams causing
collapse of the bubble structure a polymer can
be added to fortify the foam. Getting the proportions right however, can be a case of trial and
error.
Peter Raleigh would like to see tunnelling
contractors test materials prior to starting tunnelling projects, instead of experimenting while the
project proceeds a practice which he admits is
not ideal and which tends to be the case more
in the US than in Europe. A better scenario for
Raleigh is for the contractor to determine and
present the engineer with a pre-commencement
plan that stipulates mix types, dosage rates,
FER- (foam expansion), FIR- (foam injection) and
PIR- (polymer injection) ratios.

ENVIRONMENTAL
For several years now, in the UK at least, it has
been illegal to dispose of liquid waste at landll
sites; slurry cannot be disposed of in land unless
it has been treated something that can be
expensive. Fluids and slurries must therefore be
treated using biodegradable additives that will still
maintain the required properties for the tunnelling
operation.
In order to minimise the environmental impact
of its tunnelling operation, UK-based Barhale has
developed what it claims are levels of mud separation that exceed current industry standards.
Closed circuit slurry systems allow slurry to be
recycled pretty much indenitely and since their
introduction, Barhale says it has not had to dispose
of waste slurry during tunnelling operations.
Among the advantages of continuous slurry
recycling are an end to settlement lagoons, liquid
to landll, importing water or rell from the mains,
not to mention reductions in site trafc,

September 2007
15,17WT0709.indd 15

30/8/07 17:27:39

A World Leader in Conveyors and Conveyor Technology

Continental Conveyor Limited
West Quay Road, Sunderland Enterprise Park, Sunderland, SR5 2TD. UK
Tel: +44 (0)191 516 5353
Fax: +44 (0)191 516 5399
E-mail: [email protected]
www.continental-conveyor.co.uk
A CONTINENTAL GLOBAL GROUP COMPANY

17
TECHNOLOGY: Drilling uids

Baroid a division of Halliburton is a company that since 1958 has been at the forefront of
drilling uid technology. As well as a wide variety
of drilling products, the company supplies the
tunnelling industry with drilling uid additives,
bentonite grouts and special chemicals, as well
as providing customized training and on-site
expertise. The company recently introduced a
clay and shale stabilizer called EZ-MUD Gold
a beaded polymer designed to be used in any application where a uid is being used and swelling
or reactive clays are encountered. When added to
a BORE-GEL slurry, it yields an inhibitive drilling
uid system that is claimed to maintain manageable and effective uid properties.
Clearbore from Drilling Supplies Europe is
a drilling uid produced from dry, free-owing polymers. It is said to comply with current
environmental legislation and does not require any
additional additives. Furthermore, the product is
said to be non-toxic, biodegradable and recycles
well.
Solids from drilling uids can be removed by
the addition of Fisher Environmentals Enviro A03,
an easy-mixing, water soluble, reduced charge
anionic polymer that meets the EN/BS 1407:1998
Directive. The product is used as a occulant to
assist the separation of drilled solids in tunnelling
applications.

MUD PUMPS, MIXING SYSTEMS

Texas-based Mud Technology International Inc.
provides mud pump systems, mixing systems,
recycling systems, auxiliary pumps, parts and accessories. The company manufactures a complete
line of shakers, desilters, desanders and mud pump
packages.
CEO John Miller explains. Our equipment will
normally be set-up on location and used to mix
the bentonite slurry solution used to oat the cuttings out of the tunnel and cool the drilling surface
while cutting. The uid is collected at a central
point from the tunnel and transferred to the mud
system where it will be processed in two stages.
The returned uid is pumped over the scalping shaker to remove all the large and
mid-sized particles from the system.
Next (depending on the size of the
recycler) the uid is collected
by a centrifugal pump and

processed through either a desander cone bank

(large units) or straight to a desilter cone bank
(small to mid-size).
On larger systems requiring larger slurry
volumes, the process may vary slightly. Processed uid is then further thickened or thinned
depending on requirements and recycled into the
tunnelling operation.

MUCK HANDLING SYSTEMS

A tracked system using locomotives and muck cars
is one option for removing spoil from the tunnel
face. Pennsylvania-based Brookville Equipment
Corporation (BEC) custom makes locomotives for
material and personnel in tunnelling excavations
both in rail and rubber tyre options.
Another company in the tracked muck removal
eld includes the Swedish GIA Industri. Its Shuttletcar consists of up to eight cars with bottom
conveyors allowing car-to-car loading which the
company says is the quickest car loading system
available.

HAULAGE TRUCKS AND LOADERS

Wheeled haulage trucks can be an alternative to
tracked systems and come in a plethora of makes,
shapes, sizes and capacities. Volvo CE recently
launched its E-Series articulated haulers, hailed as
the rst ever to offer automatic levelling suspension and stability control on all wheels. This says
Volvo CE means that a hauler travelling at 55 km/h
over rough haul surfaces is now possible with
minimal bouncing rolling or shaking.
Atlas Copco offers a range of four-wheeled drive
articulated mine trucks for tunnelling applications
with different box volumes. Typical of these
is the Minetruck MT2010 for small to

medium underground operations. It has a 20 t

tramming capacity, although the range achieves
a 50 t capacity in the MT5010 model. Sandviks
Toro range of haulage trucks includes the Toro 60,
weighing in at just over 48 t, it has been hailed as
the worlds rst genuine 60 t underground truck,
designed for increased productivity and higher
standards of operator safety and comfort.
Norwegian-based Moxy recently launched its
agship MT51 six-wheel drive articulated dump
truck. The MT51 boasts increased stability eradicating any need for costly, wide, low prole tyres;
improved safety thanks to the better visibility cab
and improved bonnet design; a higher load capacity and lower unladen weight, and easier servicing.

CONVEYORS
On the recently completed Terminal 5 at Londons
Heathrow airport, around 6.5 million cubic metres
of earth was removed from the 13.5 km total bored
tunnel length. Continental Conveyor Ltd part
of US-based Continental Global Group was
involved on the project.
Sales and marketing director Paul Bancroft
says, Our systems take muck from the TBM and
without interruption put it on a surface conveyor
or truck or other form of discharge transport. We
can also provide site specic engineering utilising
Statix and Dynamix software programs which
provide an actual view of the operating parameters
of a customised Continental Conveyor system
before it is installed.
Continentals single belt conveyors can be
either straight, curved or vertical
and can also go around sharp
curves with radii as low as
150 m. And they can be very,
very long up to 14.6 km in
a single length as supplied to
the on-going Karahnukar Hydro
Dam project in Iceland.
Such long, single-belt units are
necessary in tunnelling as they can be
easily monitored and operated, do not
require large amounts of space and
obviate the need for large power
units and complicated transfer
nodes.

Sandviks Toro 60 is the

worlds rst 60-t underground
haulage truck

September 2007
15,17WT0709.indd 17

30/8/07 17:28:08

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18WT0709.indd 3

5/9/07 09:16:39

19
TECHNOLOGY: Drill and blast

Scaling new heights

of efciency
In this paper taken from World Tunnel Congress in Prague, S Zare and A
Bruland demonstrate that technological progress in drill and blast is now
bringing greater productivity all round

INCE 1975 when the rst time and cost

models were published, the productivity
and efciency of the drill and blast method have been investigated by means of NTNU
prediction models for excavation time and cost.
Technological progress has improved productivity
in terms of increased advance rates and reduced
excavation costs. For a typical 60 m2 road tunnel
assuming 100 working hours per week the
normal advance rate without rock support installation is increased from 50-80 m/week a 60%
improvement. Furthermore, excavation costs have
been reduced from 2,763-1,766 US$/m, indicating a 36% reduction from 1975 to 2005.

Choice of alternative
Time planning
Cost analysis, tender, budget and cost control
Choice of excavation method and equipment

1 INTRODUCTION

2 TIME AND COST MODELS

The drill and blast method, used to excavate

underground spaces in rock, can be used for tunnels, caverns and mines. In Norway, the majority
of underground excavation is drill and blast
(Norwegian Tunnelling Society 2004).
The Department of Civil and Transport Engineering at NTNU has recently published updated
models for blast design and excavation time and
costs (NTNU 2006 a,b,c). The models developed
are based on eld studies and technological
progress of different elements involved in the
tunnel excavation process. The models can be
used through all phases of tunnel projects for:
Economic dimensioning

2.1 Time model

The complete time or advance rate model was
published in NTNU 2006b. The model is based
on the round cycle time consumption. The round
cycle is divided into four major operations:
I Drilling and charging
II Ventilation
III Loading and hauling
IV Scaling and rock support

Since the rst publication of models in 1975,

substantial development has been achieved in
drilling jumbos, drilling tools, explosives efciency, loading and hauling equipment, as well
as HES regulations.
This paper reviews the latest versions of the
NTNU prediction models for excavation time
and costs, as well as technological developments.

Operations I and III are divided into three

different categories of time, ie, xed lost time (rig
time), proportional operational time and incidental lost time. The time consumption for each

operation is given in NTNU 2006b for various

tunnel cross sections.
By applying the model for a 3 km tunnel
length, 5 m drillhole length, 48 mm drillhole
diameter, parallel hole cut, medium rock drillability and blastability and 100 working hours
per week, the weekly advance rate without rock
support installation varies from 100 m/week for
10 m2 tunnel to 54 m/week for 120 m2 tunnel,
depending on trhe equipment used and the
number of drilling hammers (Zare & Bruland
2006b).
2.2 Cost model
The cost model is based on detailed cost calculations for excavation operations, ie drilling,
charging, scaling, loading, hauling, additional
work, niches and labour. The complete cost
model is published in NTNU 2006c. Equipment,
material prices, wages and expected life time
for equipment are the main inputs for detailed
cost calculations. Depreciation, interest, wages,
repairs and power consumption are included in
the costs of each operation. A linear or degressive depreciation method is assumed, depending
on equipment type and repair costs over the life
time.
In addition, an extra 10% is added to
excavation costs for any unforeseen costs and
uncertain assumptions. The cost of rock support

Sandvik-AXERA 8 S-360
CABIN 3-boom electro
hydraulic jumbo for drilling in
12-75 m2 cross section tunnels
Photo: J Viinanen (Indime), Sandvik

September 2007
19-22WT0709.indd 19

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20
TECHNOLOGY: Drill and blast
is not included in excavation costs so as to allow

cost comparisons between different tunnel cross

sections.
Equipment combinations are chosen according to the tunnel cross section and excavation
method, ie track tunnelling for cross sections up
to 16 m2 and trackless tunnelling for cross sections between 16 m2 and 120 m2.
For rough estimates, excavation costs for a
tunnel under the same assumptions in the time
model vary from US$1125/m for 10 m2 tunnel
to US$3029/m for 120 m2 tunnel, depending
on equipment combinations and the number of
drilling hammers. Cost inputs are based on June
2005 price levels.

3 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Drilling
Currently, computerised hydraulic drilling
jumbos with different levels of automation are
widely used in drill and blast tunnelling (Atlas
Copco 2004, SandvikTamrock Corp. 1999). The
current generation of drilling jumbos is designed
for high productivity, quality drilling, and comfortable working conditions for operators.
Because the drill plan is stored in the drilling
jumbo computer, the face does not need to be

marked up; navigation is achieved by laser alignment and is very precise in deciding the position
of the drilling jumbo. The excavated tunnel
proles can be scanned by electronic instruments, whereby over-break and under-break can
be recorded for use in optimising the drilling
process in the coming rounds.(Nord 2003).
3.1.1 Rock drills
The invention of hydraulic rock drills in the
1970s made great strides in terms of drilling
speeds, economy and operator working conditions.
As an example, one may look at the Cop
3038. The latest rock drill from Atlas Copco
is designed to increase the penetration rate in
hard rock tunnelling. According to Atlas Copco,
the Cop 3038 is 50% faster than its predecessor Cop1838 ME, while the time saved with
cop 3038 compared to cop 1838 ME on three
boom jumbos in a 90m2 tunnel could be about
40 minutes per round.
3.1.2 Drill steel
Drill bits, drill rods and shank adapters (drill
steel) have been concurrently developed with
more powerful hydraulic rock drills. A new coni-

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for automated
monitoring of
instrumentation
in tunnelling
projects.

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cal thread system, Magnum SR35, is devised to

cope with the weakness of old threads. The advantages of the new thread system are intended
to solve the problem of rod breakage at the bit
end, and have reduced tendency for deviation
when collaring, provide straighter holes and
longer service life (Atlas Copco 2004).
The rod length has also increased; even
though the 5.48 m rods are common in civil
tunnelling and give around 5 m drilled length,
there is a marked tendency for longer rounds
(Nieminen 2003) and some tunnels have been
excavated with 6m round length (Tunnelling and
Trenchless Construction 2005).
3.2 Charging and explosives
Emulsion explosives combined with non electrical initiation systems like Nonel have increased
the safety of the charging and blasting operations
and become more efcient.
Pumpable emulsion explosives, SSE (Site
Sensitised Explosives), are not explosive until
pumped in the hole, which means safety in transportation and handling (Johansen & Mathiesen
2000, Atlas Copco 2006).
The modern emulsion explosives are oxygenbalanced, produce minimal noxious fumes, far less
smoke (Olofsson 2002), provide better working
conditions and less ventilation requirements. Emulsion explosives are also water resistant and can be
used when water is a problem and ANFO (ammonium nitrate-fuel oil) can not be used efciently.
In addition, pumpable emulsion explosives
can be pumped into blastholes by a computer
controlled system; the amount of explosives in
each hole and total explosive consumption can
be measured, which can be used to control the
amount of explosives in different holes in the
face, especially in the contour and row nearest
the contour where less explosive is needed for
smooth blasting (NTNU 2006a, Zare & Bruland
2006a). The measuring system may also help to
control the uncharged length of blastholes for
optimum blasting results.
Recently, after a feasibility study, a prototype
machine for automatic charging of emulsion
explosives was completed and tested in Norway
(Hermann & Elvoy 2004). The project is meant
to reduce the time consumption for drilling and
charging by 20% with improved work safety.
The charging system is mounted on the drilling
jumbo as a separate boom and charging is accomplished automatically during drilling without
human intervention at the face, in compliance
with regulations that prohibit the simultaneous
manual charging and drilling at the face.
3.3 Ventilation
Harmful gases and dust particles above certain
limits must be removed by the ventilation
system. For the sake of cost efciency and im-

September 2007
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21
TECHNOLOGY: Drill and blast

3.4 Loading and hauling

The loading and hauling capacity is dependent
on the tunnel cross section size and excavation
method. Using adequately sized equipment as
the cross section increases is an efcient way
to increase loading capacity. From NTNU eld
studies in large cross sections (NTNU 2006b), a
capacity up to 500 lm3/h is attainable when using wheel loader and dump truck combinations
and the loader is fully utilised, ie the loader is
not waiting for a hauling unit.
Crusher, conveyor belt and mucking trains
are also employed in drill and blast tunnels. The
average capacity is 300 m3/h (understood as
loos cubic metre). A value of 500m3/h should be
achievable by the method in the future (Girmscheid & Schexnayder 2002). The crusher and
conveyor belt is used as part of high performance
drill and blast excavation concept which uses a

suspended platform system for higher performance. Even though the crusher capacity is the limiting factor, due to other benets of the method,
the total cycle performance has been increased by
30% (Girmscheid & Schexnayder 2002).
3.5 Rock support
Rock bolts and sprayed concrete (shotcrete)
are two common types of rock support, both
developed for more durable, high strength and
quick installation by means of mechanised and
automated equipment.
CT-bolt, the newest bolt type on the market,
can rst be used as an ordinary end-anchored
bolt for temporary support and later be grouted
to a permanent bolt (Norwegian Tunnelling
Society 2004).
During the past two decades, sprayed concrete has experienced signicant improvements;
today, bre-reinforced sprayed concrete by the
wet mix method is commonly used.
One of the more modern pieces of equipment
for applying sprayed concrete is the sprayed
concrete robot. Manual spraying can achieve
a capacity of less than 5-8m3 /h, whereas the
capacity of a robot can reach up to 20 m3/h
(Girmscheid & Moser 2001), not to mention the

90

Figure 1: Development of weekly advance rate

for a 60m2 tunnel

80
70

m/week

provement of the work environment, intelligent

ventilation has been developed and tested in two
tunnels (Lima & Blindheim 2004). The project
includes the development of new duct materials and duct support systems, as well as the
recording of air quality and automatic control of
ventilation fans.

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1975

1979

1983

Year

1988

1995

2005

better safety and quality control of the robot.

According to the NTNU model, it is possible
to estimate excavation time and costs, including
rock support, but since the rock support greatly
depends on the rock mass conditions, the time
and costs which are presented in the paper do
not include the rock support.

4 TIME AND COST TRENDS

To investigate time and cost trends or productivity and efciency, a 3 km-long, 60 m2 tunnel

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September 2007
19-22WT0709.indd 21

30/8/07 17:44:52

22
TECHNOLOGY: Drill and blast
12000
10000

NOK/m

8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1975

1979

1983

Year

1988

1995

2005

was chosen as a typical, two-way road tunnel.

Medium rock blastability and rock drillability

was assumed.
The advance rate per week and unit costs
per tunnel metre without rock support installation are estimated from 1975 to 2005 by the
NTNU models. The NTNU model was rst
published in 1975
and has since been
revised ve times; in
1979, 1983, 1988,
1995 and 2005.
Weekly advance
rates are shown in
Figure 1 and rates are
normalised based on
100 hours working
time per week. During the past 30 years,
the advance rate has
increased from some
50 to 81 m/week,
indicating a 60%
increase in the rate of production. Tunnels
today are therefore constructed with reduced
excavation times.
In 1975, the maximum penetration rate for
medium drillability was 140 cm/min, while in
the recent 2005 model, it reaches some 300
cm/min, while maximum loading capacity for

the same size cross sections is increased from

160 to 280 sm3/h.
The uncorrected excavation costs are shown
in Figure 2, with unit costs in Norwegian Krone
per metre of tunnel. The cost in Figure 2 is not
corrected for price level, only representing
the unit excavation costs in each year. To nd
comparable gures, the cost must be corrected
for price level.
The Department of Civil and Transport
Engineering at NTNU has published a cost index
for construction equipment (NTNU 2006d). The
corrected excavation costs are shown in Figure
3. The trend of excavation costs is not as consistent as the time trend (Figure 1). One reason is
the differing working hours per week, which was
112 hours in 1975, 75 hours in 1979 and 1983
models, and 100 hours for the rest.
Based on 100 working hours, the costs for the
1975 model should be higher and for the 1979
and 1983 models, lower than the presented
values.
In spite of this
minor deviation, the
excavation cost is decreased from some 16000
NOK/m (US$2,777)
to 10,200 NOK/m,
(US$1771) indicating a 36% reduction.
Technological progress is
the main reason for the
decreasing cost trend.
Changes in investment
tax and interest rates are
included in the price level
correction.

In line with
other tunnelling
developments, the
productivity and
efciency of the drill
and blast method
has increased

5 CONCLUSIONS
In line with other tunnelling developments, the
productivity and efciency of the drill and blast
method has increased. Drilling now utilises
computerised drilling jumbos with various levels
of automation, faster rock drills and more durable drill steel. Charging is accomplished safer

and more efciently by using Nonel detonators

and emulsion explosives, which cause less
pollution and are not considered an explosive
until placed. Ventilation may involve intelligent
systems. Loading and hauling capacities are
increased and advanced rock support equipment
with higher performance is employed.
By means of NTNU prediction models, the
investigation shows substantial increases in productivity and cost reductions. For a 60 m2 road
tunnel, productivity has increased 60% and cost
has been reduced by 36% from 1975 to 2005.
Furthermore, the time and cost trends conrm the importance of updated models for time
and cost prediction. NTNU models are unique
and should be revised based on technological developments in excavation methods and
equipment.

18000

Figure 3: Development of excavation costs for a

60 m2 tunnel, price level June 2005

16000
14000
12000

NOK/m

Figure 2: Development of uncorrected excavation

cost for a 60 m2 tunnel

10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1975

1979

1983

Year

1988

1995

2005

Written by S. Zare & A. Bruland (Norwegian

University of Science and Technology); Progress
of drill and blast tunnelling efciency with relation to excavation time and costs in: Jir Bartk,
Ivan Hrdina, Georgij Romancov & Jaromr Zlmal
(Eds), Underground Space the 4th Dimension of Metropolises. Proceedings of the 33rd
ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress, Prague, Czech
Republic, 5-10 May 2007, pp. 805-809. (c) 2007
Taylor & Francis Group. Used with permission

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September 2007
19-22WT0709.indd 22

30/8/07 17:45:00

23
TECHNOLOGY: Innovation
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project on Madrids M-30 ring road, one of Europes largest continuing underground projects.
The smoke-extraction motors will be supplied
in two ranges, with power ratings between
15 kW and 600 kW, and rated for operation at
400C for two hours and 200C for two hours.
Testing carried out specially for the project
saw a quantity of the fans subjected to temperatures up to 400C over a seven- to 10-minute
period, after which the motors were needed to
operate reliably at this temperature for two more
hours.
WEG says its smoke extraction motors are designed to withstand temperatures of up to 400C
for two hours in their ultimate F400 classication. They are certied to EN 12101-3 (Smoke
and Heat Control Systems Part 3: specication
for powered smoke and heat exhaust ventilators).
Works on the Calle 30 project include the
underground relocation of a 6.5 km section of
busy motorway to improve pedestrian access
to the river. To achieve this, seven tunnels are
being bored, varying in width, height and slope
over the 6.5 km length. Because the tunnels dip
and turn to accommodate ramps, metro lines,
main sewers and the riverbed itself, the level of
re risk varies considerably at each point.

WEG will supply 900 smoke extraction motors

to Madrids Calle 30 tunnel project

Straight clean holes

at Niagara Falls
WASSARA water-powered, down-the-hole hammers have been selected to drill holes on the
Niagara hydro project, begun in spring 2007.
Geo Foundation is drilling around 400 holes
at about 67 m deep to strengthen the ground
around the tunnel mouth. The choice of hammer
was determined by the fact it needs to drill in
ground conditions of almost any kind and because it is well suited to water bearing ground.

The water hammers will be used for jet grouting

at the inlet and outlet of the tunnel.
The Niagara project aims to raise the hydropotential of the Falls and to meet the City of
Niagaras demand for electricity during peaks.
So a tunnel for an extra turbine at the Canadian
Falls is being built, starting above the falls with
its outlet below the falls.

ALWAG backs Koralm

Tunnel in Austria
ALWAG is supplying its reinforcement and support products to the Paierdorf exploratory tunnel
part of the preliminary work being carried out
before the construction of the Koralm Tunnel
between Graz and Klagenfurt in Austria.
Products supplied include the AT-Casing
System and the recently-developed AT-Power
Set self-drilling Vacuum Tube Spiles. The latter
are used for reinforcement ahead of the tunnel
face and handling of the groundwater through
coupled vacuum pumps.
Alwags patented AT-Casing System is being
used at the Paierdorf site as a pipe roof system
in combination with the AT-automation unit for

Alwag support and reinforcement systems are

being used on the Paierdorf exploratory tunnel
pipe roof drilling. Its benets include fast, safe
and efcient drilling of pipe roof umbrellas for
reinforcement ahead of the tunnel face. An experienced technical support team from Alwag is on
hand to provide advice to the crews performing
the pipe roof drill installation.
The future Graz-Klagenfurt rail link is an
important part of the international Adriatic-Baltic axis from Venice, Italy, to Gdansk, Poland. At
the heart of this rail section is the 32.8 km-long
Koralm Tunnel, which will open in 2016.
Procurement Marketing Valuation

www.globalequipmentsolutions.com
Tel: +61 (0) 8 9245 2188
Mob: +61 (0) 417 501 313
Fax: + 61 (0) 8 9245 2199
[email protected]

The
Niagara
project
aims to
raise the
hydropotential
of the
Falls

Offers For Immediate Sale on behalf of

BHBB Cross City Tunnel JV
3 x Mitsui Miike S300A Roadheaders with spares
300 KW, 1000 volt machines
Spares include 5 x boom extensions, FOPS canopy
& cutter shell.
Used on one project since new.

- also available for sale 4 x skid mounted BME 415 volt compressors
1 x 40 tonne overhead travelling crane (un-used)
1 x Meyco shotcrete unit on Liebherr carrier
For more information on the above equipment
contact Tony Newnham on
+61 (0) 417 501 313 or by email

For more information on our procurement & disposal services

contact us now.
For FREE updates on over 40 categories of equipment
SUBSCRIBE at www.globalequipmentsolutions.com

September 2007
23WT0709.indd 23

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24
SUPPLIES AND SERVICES
LOCOMOTIVES

DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

SEWER RENOVATION

Clayton Equipment Ltd

An Authorised Distributor of American Directional Drill

Dealers Supplying:Directional Drilling Rigs, Auger Boring Systems

Mud Cleaning Systems, Mud Mixing Systems
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Tel: 0044 (0) 1424 854112
Fax: 0044 (0) 1424 854231
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.tadrilling.co.uk

World Leading Locomotives

& Haulage Solutions
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Tel +44 (0) 870 112 9191 Fax +44 (0) 870 112 9192
email: [email protected]
Website: www.clayton-equipment.co.uk

PIPE EQUIPMENT

Tunnelling Equipment
Hire & Supply
Agents
Specialist Plant Associates
Tel: +44 (0) 1234 781882 Fax: +44 (0) 1234 781992

Applied Felts Limited

E:[email protected]

Castle Bank Mills

No-Dig Pipe Relining from

Lanes Sewer Renovation

Portobello Road
Wakefield
WF1 5PS

Tel: +44 (0) 1924 200535

Fax: +44 (0) 1924 366951
email: [email protected]

Non disruptive
Chemical resistant

Specialist Manufacturers of Cured-In-Place

Materials for the Rehabilitation of Pipes
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www.appliedfelts.com

Improved flow
All pipe sizes
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FREEPHONE
0800 526 488

For total solutions

to all Drainage
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DRILL PIPES RODS TUBLARS

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For more information on

DRILLING &
GROUTING
EQUIPMENT
Mini piling/Piling casing (up to 32")
Casing advancing systems
Reverse circulation
Rotary percussive
Water well casing
Drill rods: Friction welded up to 51/2"
Capacity up to 14" diameter
Length up to 10 metres
Grouting and bentonite
equipment
Manufacturer of spares
and accessories

how to advertise, please

contact:
Eoin McSwiney or
The only API spec 7
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manufacturer in the UK!
COLCRETE EURODRILL

Jim Moore on:

Tel +44 (0)20 7216 6060
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7216 6050
email: [email protected]

CATALOGUE & WEBSITE

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For further on how to advertise

please contact Jim Moore on
Tel: +44 (0)20 7216 6060
Fax: +44 (0)20 7216 6050
Email: [email protected]

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September 2007
24WT0709.indd 24

31/8/07 11:08:38

One breakthrough after another.

Innovation.

or 50 years, nobodys
broken more new
ground than Robbins.
Robbins invented the first
successful tunnel boring
machine. That was only the
beginning of a long line of
rsts: The rst Main Beam
TBMs. Hard Rock disc cutters.
Floating grippers. Double
Shield TBMs. Nineteen-inch
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mounting. All major innovations that have driven the
industry.
And while others try to copy
these innovations, they cant
duplicate our results. Thats
because Robbins innovations
arent mere imitations. Theyre
continuous improvements in
TBM design, driven by real
challenges and lessons
learned on more than 700
projects worldwide. Learn more.

www.TheRobbinsCompany.com.

Robbins Innovations.indd 1

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