Pipe Jacking & Microtunneling

Microtunneling is a trenchless construction method used to install pipelines beneath

highways, railroads, runways, harbors, rivers, and environmentally sensitive areas.
Microtunneling is defined as a remotely-controlled, guided, pipe-jacking operation
that provides continuous support to the excavation face by applying mechanical or
fluid pressure to balance groundwater and earth pressures. Support at the
excavation face is a key feature of microtunneling, distinguishing it from traditional
open-shield pipe-jacking.
Microtunneling requires jacking and reception shafts at the opposite ends of each
drive. The microtunneling process is a cyclic pipe jacking operation. A microtunnel
boring machine (MTBM) is pushed into the earth by hydraulic jacks mounted and
aligned in the jacking shaft. The jacks are then retracted and the slurry lines and
control cables are disconnected. A product pipe or casing is lowered into the shaft
and inserted between the jacking frame and the MTBM or previously jacked pipe.
Slurry lines and power and control cable connections are made, and the pipe and
MTBM are advanced another drive stroke. This process is repeated until the MTBM
reaches the reception shaft.

Upon drive completion, the MTBM and trailing

equipment are retrieved and all equipment removed from the pipeline.
Most microtunneling operations include a hydraulic jacking system to advance the
MTBM and pipe string, a closed loop slurry system to transport the excavated spoils,
a slurry cleaning system to remove the spoil from the slurry water, a lubrication
system to lubricate the exterior of the pipe string during installation, a guidance
system to provide line and grade control, an electrical supply and distribution system
to power equipment, a crane to hoist pipe sections into the jacking shaft, and various
trucks and loaders to transport spoil off site.
MTBMs have a rotating cutting head to excavate the ground material, a crushing
cone to crush larger particles into smaller sizes for transport through the slurry lines,
a hydraulic or electric motor to turn the cutting head, a pressurized slurry mixing
chamber behind the cutter head to maintain face stability, an articulated steering
unit with steering jacks for steering corrections, various control valves, pressure
gauges, flow meters, and a data acquisition system. Additionally, the MTBM has inline cameras to relay information to the operator and a target system for guidance
control.

Precise control of line and grade is accomplished using the guidance system and
steering jacks to locate and steer the MTBM during a microtunneling drive.

The

guidance system usually consists of a reference laser mounted in the jacking shaft,
which transmits a beam onto a target mounted inside the articulated section of the
MTBM. This and other operational information is transmitted through wire cables to
a control cabin located on the surface.
Microtunneling machines are capable of independently counter-balancing earth and
hydrostatic pressures.

Earth pressure is counter-balanced by careful control of

advance rates and excavation rates of spoil materials.

Groundwater pressure is

counter-balanced by using pressurized slurry in the soil-mixing chamber of the

MTBM.