3/16/2018 Directional boring - Wikipedia

Directional boring
Directional Boring, often undifferentiated from Horizontal Directional
Drilling (HDD), is a minimal impact trenchless method of installing
underground pipe, conduit, or cables in a relatively shallow arc or radius
along a prescribed underground bore path by using a surface-launched
drilling rig. With respect to the pipeline/utility industry, the term
"Directional Boring" or "Bore" is generally reserved for mini/small sized
drilling rigs, small diameter bores, and crossing lengths in terms of
hundreds of feet. Generally, the term Horizontal Directional Drilling
(HDD) is intended to describe large/maxi sized drilling rigs, large
diameter bores, and crossing lengths in terms of thousand of feet. A direc onal boring unit in ac on
Directional Boring and HDD, while similar in process to each other, are
markedly different from directional drilling associated with the oil
industry. The methods offer significant advantages over traditional cut and cover pipeline/utility installations and are
routinely used when trenching or excavating is not practical. Boring/HDD can be utilized with various pipe materials such
as PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ductile iron, and steel as long as the pipe is sized appropriately to withstand
installation stresses imparted during pullback.

Directional Boring/HDD is generally accomplished in three principle phases. First, a small diameter pilot hole is drilled
along a directional path from one surface point to another. Next, the bore created during pilot hole drilling is enlarged to a
diameter that will facilitate installation of a pipeline. Lastly, the pipeline is pulled into the enlarge hole, thus creating a
continuous segment of pipe underground and exposed only at the two initial end points.

Directional Boring/HDD is suitable for a variety of soil conditions and obstacles including road, landscape,
wetland/marshes, and river crossings. Problematic soil conditions most often encountered in evaluating the feasibility of
an HDD installation is large grain content in the form of gravel, cobbles, and boulders. Other subsurface conditions which
can impact the feasibility of an HDD installation include excessive rock strength and abrasivity, poor rock quality, and
solution cavities in karst formations.

Contents
Equipment
Technique
Process
Loca ng and guidance
See also
References
External links

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Equipment
The equipment used in horizontal directional drilling depends on the outer
diameter of the pipe, length of the run, ground conditions and the
surroundings above ground.

For larger bores, directional drills equipped with as much as 600 tonnes
1 320 000 lb (or more) of thrust/pullback (Vermeer D1320x900) is used in
conjunction with a mud reclaimer, excavator, and multiple pumps and hoses to
supply the drilling fluid to the drillstem. Directional drilling stems are made
from heat-treated high-carbon steel in diameters of 8 - 15 cm. Drill stem
sections are manufactured in 3.0, 4.6, and 9.1 meter lengths with male and Maxi Sized Drilling Rig
female threading on opposite ends. It is common for a directional drill to carry
as much as 305 m of drilling stems. Drilling heads are available for different
types of rock or soil. The drilling head has multiple water ports to allow removal of material. A talon bit head uses carbide-
tipped blades to cut through material while steered by the operator. Another type of head is a mud-motor that is used in
rocky landscapes. Supporting equipment is often required, and may include a drilling fluid (mud) recycling system, shale
shaker, mud cleaner, centrifugal pump, and mud tanks.

For smaller bores, portable equipment is under development for drilling from a house basement to a shared water pipe.[1]

Technique
Directional boring is used for installing infrastructure such as telecommunications and power cable conduits, water lines,
sewer lines, gas lines, oil lines, product pipelines, and environmental remediation casings. It is used for crossing
waterways, roadways, shore approaches, congested areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and areas where other methods
are costlier or not possible. It is used instead of other techniques to provide less traffic disruption, lower cost, deeper
and/or longer installation, no access pit, shorter completion times, directional capabilities, and environmental safety.

The technique has extensive use in urban areas for developing subsurface utilities as it helps in avoiding extensive open
cut trenches. The use requires that the operator have complete information about existing utilities so that he can plan the
alignment to avoid damaging those utilities. Since uncontrolled drilling can lead to damage, different
agencies/government authorities owning the urban right-of-way or the utilities have rules for safe work execution. For
standardization of the techniques, different trenchless technology promoting organizations have developed guidelines for
this technique.

Process
The process starts with the receiving hole and entrance pits. These pits will allow the drilling fluid to be collected and
reclaimed to reduce costs and prevent waste. The first stage drills a pilot hole on the designed path, and the second stage
(reaming) enlarges the hole by passing a larger cutting tool known as the back reamer. The reamer's diameter depends on
the size of the pipe to be pulled back through the bore hole. The driller increases the diameter according to the outer
diameter or the conduit and to achieve optimal production. The third stage places the product or casing pipe in the
enlarged hole by way of the drill stem; it is pulled behind the reamer to allow centering of the pipe in the newly reamed
path.

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Horizontal directional drilling is done with the help of a viscous fluid known as
drilling fluid. It is a mixture of water and, usually, bentonite or polymer
continuously pumped to the cutting head or drill bit to facilitate the removal of
cuttings, stabilize the bore hole, cool the cutting head, and lubricate the
passage of the product pipe. The drilling fluid is sent into a machine called a
reclaimer which removes the drill cuttings and maintains the proper viscosity
of the fluid. Drilling fluid holds the cuttings in suspension to prevent them
from clogging the bore. A clogged bore creates back pressure on the cutting
head, slowing production.
Star ng pit with pilot hole and some
drilling fluid in the pit
Locating and guidance
Location and guidance of the drilling head is an important part of the drilling
operation, as the drilling head is under the ground while drilling and, in most
cases, not visible from the ground surface. Uncontrolled or unguided drilling
can lead to substantial destruction, which can be eliminated by properly
locating and guiding the drill head.

There are three types of locating equipment for locating the bore head: the
walk-over locating system, the wire-line locating system and the gyro guided
drilling, where a full inertial navigation system is located close to the drill head.

Walk-over loca ng system — A sonde, or transmi er, behind the bore head
registers angle, rota on, direc on, and temperature data. This informa on is Empty conduits laid by direc onal
encoded into an electromagne c signal and transmi ed through the ground to boring
the surface in a walk-over system. At the surface a receiver (usually a hand-held
locator) is manually posi oned over the sonde, the signal is decoded and
steering direc ons are relayed to the bore machine operator.
Wire-line loca ng system — The wire-line system is a magne c guidance system. With a magne c guidance system (MGS), the
tool reads inclina on and azimuth. The MGS, also has a secondary means of loca on verifica on u lizing wire grids laid on the
ground surface. It is the only system that has the capability of verifying the loca on. This informa on is transmi ed through the
wire-line fi ed within the drill string. At the surface, the navigator in the drill cab performs the necessary calcula ons to confirm
the parameters have been met. The MGS, even without the use of the wire grid, has been accurate to over 2 km with an
accuracy of 2% at depth.
Gyro-based loca ng system — The gyro based system is fully autonomous and therefore one of the most accurate systems
where sufficient diameter (200 mm) is available and where long distances (up to 2 km) have to be traversed with minimal
devia on (less than 1 m posi on error). Currently the actual depth is not verifiable without the use of surface coils, a near
surface transponder or sonde used in walkover systems.
All three systems have their own merits, and a particular system is chosen depending upon the site requirements.

See also
Canadian pipe mine
Ditch Witch
Vermeer Company
Trenchless

References

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3/16/2018 Directional boring - Wikipedia

1. "Fant ny løsning som gir gravefri lkobling av hus l hovedvannledning" (h ps://www.tu.no/ar kler/kandidat-4-hawle-techni-og
-basum-gravefri- lkobling-av-hus- l-hovedvannledning/409344). Teknisk Ukeblad. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

Willoughby, David (2005). Horizontal Direc onal Drilling, p. 1-263. Mcgraw-Hill, New York. ISBN 0-07-145473-X.
Short, Jim (1993). Introduc on to Direc onal and Horizontal Drilling, p. 1-222. PennWell Books, Tulsa, Oklahoma. ISBN 0-87814-
395-5.
v. Hinueber, Edgar (iMAR Naviga on) (2006). Most accurate drilling guidance by dead-reckoning using high precision op cal
gyroscopes, Proceedings NoDig Conference of Horizontal Direc onal Drilling, Brisbane 2006.

External links
The Direc onal Boring Advantage (h p://www.direc onalboringcentral.com/library/dba/dbapamphlet.htm) describes
techniques used, with diagrams.

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This page was last edited on 6 March 2018, at 02:18.

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