April
2007Contractor
and Project Owner Enjoy Benefits of Pilot Tube Microtunneling in Unique
Application
Earlier
this spring, pilot tube microtunneling took yet another innovative
direction
when it was used below the floor inside the building of a major
bottling plant,
in
Trenchless
Pipe Technologies, Inc. utilized Akkerman’s Guided Boring Machine
(GBM) and a
308A jacking frame to install a new drain pipe for the water treatment
equipment. The bottling company was in the process of installing a new
reverse
osmosis water filtration system and sought bids for its drain pipe to
be
upgraded from the existing 6” I.D. to an 8” I.D. The new filtration
system’s
additional 1,000 gallon per minute (GPM) flow rate combined with the
flow from
the existing equipment would have overwhelmed the 6” drainpipe
resulting in the
flooding in the water treatment room.
David
Martin, president of Trenchless Pipe Technologies, Inc. realized that
open cut
and pipebursting methods would not be feasible options for this job
environment.
Furthermore, the job demanded such measures as minimal disruption to
the
bottling plant floor, compact and precise equipment and had to ensure
no lost
production time. Around the time that bids were sought, Martin read an
article
in Trenchless
Technology magazine on
the benefits of pilot tube microtunneling and made an inquiry to
Foreman
Chris Hamblin and equipment operator Adam Humphrey of Trenchless Pipe
Technologies, Inc. led a four man crew who prepared the site by
creating two
shafts through the concrete floor of the bottling plant that were
approximately
87.5’ apart. The shored launch shaft measured 8’W x 8’L x 8’D while the
shored
reception shaft measured 8’W x 6’L x 7’D. The shafts had to be deep
enough to
allow the new pipe to clear both the existing drainage system and also
the
concrete footings supporting two block walls along the proposed route.
It was
also important that the shafts were shallow enough to allow the new
pipe to
connect into the existing building drain. These tight parameters
demanded a precise
installation with a 2” margin of error to make the required grade.
Based on a
previous pipe bursting job at the bottling plant performed by
Trenchless Pipe
Technologies, Inc., the soil conditions were known to be dense clay,
which is
ideal for the GBM pilot tubing process.
Due to the
confined spaces in the warehouse building and presence of existing
equipment, it
was not possible for engineers to create surveyor marks for the GBM’s
theodolite guidance system. Instead, Trenchless Pipe Technologies, Inc.
employees and Akkerman technician, Allen Belden were able to measure
from a
common wall to get the exact 87.5’ and 1% grade.
The
entire job took a
four-man crew two weeks to drill and shore the shafts, launch the pipe
and
restore the warehouse floor. The GBM pilot tubing and pipe installation
took
three-days to complete. Once the shafts were created, the pilot tubes,
which
are 4.25-inch in diameter and come in 2.5’ lengths were installed on
line and
grade. The dual-walled pilot tube, unique to Akkerman Inc., houses an
illuminated LED target directed by the guidance system and paves the
way for
the larger diameter pipe. After the full length of pilot tubes has been
installed, the 11 inch O.D. casings and augers are driven along the
same path
as the pilot tubes. With the addition of each section of casings and
augers, a
section of pilot tube is removed in the reception shaft. In the last
phase,
each length of 8 inch I.D. NO-DIG vitrified clay pipe advances a
section of
casings and augers into the reception shaft until the operation is
complete.
Martin
explained that
the bottling company was “very pleased with the end result of the job.”
Never
having utilized a GBM before, Martin stated that “Allen’s [Akkerman
technician]
was knowledgeable, helpful and his demonstrated experience gave us
piece of
mind on the job.” Martin was impressed with the accuracy of Akkerman’s
GBM
stating that the crew was “very excited when the reception pit pilot
tube line
and grade measured right on the money.” The bottling company, having
experience
no delays or lost production time extremely satisfied with the outcome.
Akkerman
was pleased
to provide the equipment and technical expertise for this job, as it
demonstrates the versatility and portability of its GBM equipment.
Akkerman’s
GBM offers the same level of accuracy as microtunneling with the spoil
removal
process of the auger boring machine in one compact and multifaceted
system. The
GBM has been used for many applications in the sewer and water
industries,
including gravity flow installation, pull back of utilities, as a
guidance
system for auger boring machines and in pipejacking as well as
installing pilot
tubes for probing.
Trenchless
Pipe Technologies Inc. supplies drain and sewer solutions for areas
where
digging and typical pipe replacement are not a feasible option.
Trenchless Pipe
Technologies Inc. uses the latest technologies available including:
pipe
bursting, pipe lining, pilot tube microtunneling and color pipe video
analysis
and specialize in industrial bottling plant environments. Trenchless
Pipe
Technologies Inc. services minimize the costs of down time at a
fraction of the
cost of traditional pipe replacement.
In 1973,
Akkerman Inc. in
