Pipe Jacking/ Microtunnelling

Pipe Jacking/ Microtunnelling

• A technique for creating smaller diameter tunnels, for example sewers and other
conduits, generally up to 3 m in diameter, which attempt to minimize excavation
from the ground surface (open-cut).
• An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• What is Pipe Jacking/ Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method
• Key Issues
• Benefits and Limitations
• Guidelines
• Case Study
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• Trenchless Technology is basically making a tunnel below the surface and
installing service lines like water or gas pipes, electric or telecommunication cables
etc. without any disruption to the public.
• It also makes it possible to install the utilities under rivers canals and other
obstacles with no disruption of flow and with minimum damage to the environment.
• A set of technologies for the remote installation, rehabilitation and repair of utilities,
pipelines and small tunnels -- linked by their lack of need for digging a continuous
trench for the installation of new pipes or the repair of old pipes.
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• The trenchless technology can be categorized into 3 categories:
• New installation
• Rehabilitation
• Replacement
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• The use of trenchless technology reduces the
total cost of utility installations, via the
following aspects:
• Economical in straight-line installation
• Labour cost
• Reduction or elimination of restoration costs
• Urban operation simplification, less inconvenience to
public
• Continuous service operations above the bore
• Reduce surface damage to adjoining private
properties
• Improvement of customer relations
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• Methods and machineries used:
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• Methods and machineries used:
An Introduction of Trenchless Technologies
• Differences in characteristics:
Boring Diameter Installation
Type Material Application
(inches) height (feet)
PVC, clay, FRP, steel, Pressure pipe,
HDD 2 to 48 600 to 6000
ductile iron, HDPE cables
Pressure pipe,
Horizontal
4 to 60 600 Steel gravity pipe, road
Auger Boring
and rail crossings
Rail and road
Pipe ramming Up to 120 400 Steel
crossing
Vitrified CP, Ductile
Pilot tube
6-10 300 iron pipe, Steel, GRP, Gravity pipes
Micro-tunneling
PCP
Compaction
8 or lesser 250 All types Pipes and cables
methods
What is Pipe Jacking
/ Microtunnelling?
• Pipe jacking is often used to install
tunnels under highways, railway
crossings and canals, i.e. where
access to the ground surface is
restricted, or where open-cut
trenching would create a high level
of disruption.
• In pipe jacking the complete tunnel
lining sections are precast and are
pushed into place from a shaft. This
forms a string of pipe sections which
are all moved through the ground
until the desired length of tunnel has
been reached.
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• When constructing pipe jacked tunnels,
it used to be the case that individuals
working in confined spaces would
excavate the face within a shield at the
front of the tunnel.
• However, more mechanized methods
have been introduced, this being a
necessity for tunnels less than 0.9 m
diameter (i.e. non-man entry size). For
these small diameter tunnels miniature
tunnel boring machines (TBMS) have
been developed. This led to the term
micro-tunneling.
• In its simplest form, micro-tunneling is
the use of a remotely-controlled,
computer assisted, miniature TBM
(EPBM or STM), which is advanced by
pipe jacking.
What is Pipe Jacking /
Microtunnelling?
• Key issues:
• In particular the fact that the tunnel
lining sections are all pushed
through the ground. This means
that these lining sections have to
take considerable axial compressive
forces, which consequently
dominate their design.
• In addition, during the installation,
large friction forces can develop
between the lining sections and the
ground and hence the force
required to push them through the
ground increases as the length of
the tunnel increases.
What is Pipe Jacking /
Microtunnelling?
• Key issues:
• These frictional forces can be reduced:
• The tunneling shield/ machine is made
a few centimeters larger in diameter
than the installed tunnel sections.
• This creates a gap into which lubricant
can be pumped. The gap and the
lubricant help to reduce the friction
forces.
• This gap can close up however, as the
ground moves onto the tunnel lining
and this can cause displacements in the
surrounding ground.
• Although the lubricant helps to stabilize
the ground, this gap is often grouted at
the end of the pipe jacking process.
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• Key issues:
• These frictional forces can be reduced:
• An alternative way of reducing the jacking forces is to introduce intermediate jacking stations
at intervals along the tunnel. This means that lengths of the tunnel in front of the intermediate
jacking station can be jacked forwards, followed by others behind, i.e. a reduced length of
tunnel is being jacked at any one time, in a caterpillar like operation.
 Pipe Jacking - General
Arrangement

Pipe Jacking is an integrated system linking:

• soils
• jacking shafts
• pipes
• shields
• jacking loads
• engineering
Machine Technology
Machines are available for pipe jacking in most ground conditions

 Backacters
 Open face cutter booms
 Tunnel boring machine
 Earth pressure balance
 Pressurised slurry
Microtunnelling
• Fully guided machines
• Controlled from surface
• Non man entry
• Two options:
• Pressurised slurry
• Screw auger
What is Pipe Jacking /
Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method:
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method:
• The pipe jacking technique requires two shafts to be constructed to a depth
just below the proposed tunnel invert.
• The jacking pit is where the construction operations happen, with the
reception pit really only being required to remove the tunneling machine at the
end of the drive.
• The jacking rig is installed at the base of the jacking pit and normally consists
of two or four hydraulic jacks. Due to the large jacking forces required during
the construction operation, the rear wall of the jacking pit, i.e. where the loads
are transmitted from the jacking rig, must be designed to take these loads and
a thrust wall has to be constructed.
• The jacking pit must be large enough to enable the tunneling machine, pipe
sections, and excavated material to be handled safely.
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method:
• Once the jacking pit has been constructed and fitted out with the jacking rig,
the tunneling machine is lowered to the bottom and carefully positioned.
• The machine is jacked forwards and initially excavates through the side of the
jacking pit (normally there is a weakened area incorporated into the pit wall,
or alternatively an area is cut into the wall to allow the machine to pass).
• Once the jacks have reached their full extension they are retracted, and the
first tunnel lining section is lowered into the jacking rig and located onto the
rear of the tunneling machine.
• This lining section and the machine are then both jacked forwards out of the
jacking pit. Once the jacks are fully extended they are again retracted and
another pipe section lowered into place and the process repeated.
• All electrical conduits, pressure hoses, water services and communication
lines and other service utilities must be disconnected, extended and
reconnected as the tunnel advances.
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method:
• As the jacking process is continued, lubrication, which can be clay-based,
such as bentonite, or a polymer, is pumped into the gap on the outside of the
tunnel sections to reduce the friction with the ground.
• At certain intervals during the jacking operation, intermediate jacking stations
(also known as interjacks) are lowered into the jacking pit. These consist of
two steel sections connected together with hydraulic jacks. These can be
used to relieve the forces on the jacks in the jacking pit if the forces get too
high, i.e. they are used in addition to the lubrication.
• They are useful to have along the jacked tunnel as a precaution even if they
are not used.
• Construction rates vary greatly depending on the ground conditions, but are
typically between 7.5 and 20 m per day.
What is Pipe Jacking / Microtunnelling?
• Outline of Method:
• For micro-tunneling operations the tunneling machine is controlled remotely
with the equipment and controls usually set up at ground level either directly
over, or adjacent to, the jacking pit.
• The shield is normally made up of sections, which can articulate. Steering of
the machine is possible using jacks incorporated between these articulated
sections. These allow vertical and horizontal adjustment of the tunnel during
construction.
• Application:
• New sewerage and drainage
construction
• Sewer replacement and lining
• Gas and water mains
• Oil pipelines
• Electricity and telecoms cable
ducts
• Subways
Tunnel Section
• The tunnel lining sections can be made
of different materials:
• Reinforced concrete
• Glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP)
• Steel
• Vitrified clay
• The transmission of axial forces
between these pipe sections is very
important as any overstressing of the
sections locally could cause spalling,
i.e. fragments of material breaking off,
or more serious cracking and possibly
failure.
• In order to help spread the load at the
joints and reduce stress
concentrations, strips of material,
commonly medium density fibreboard
(MDF), are inserted into the joints.
• Benefits:
• High accuracy
• Applicable in very difficult
ground conditions
• Increased depth of installation
without drastic increase in cost
• Enhanced safety
Limitation
• Capital cost of equipment is high
• Difficulty with boulders in mixed ground
 Indicative jacking lengths achievable between shafts for mechanised drives,
based on experience and lengths being achieved internationally for both
straight and curved drives appear below:

Diameter (m) <0.9 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.35 1.5 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.4
Lengths (m) 150 200 250 450 550 700 900 1000 1000
Drive Lengths, 2000

Diameter and Accuracy:

In stable self-supporting homogenous ground typical tolerances for pipe
Accuracy installation are ± 50mm for line and level at any point in the drive.

A risk analysis should be undertaken on all drives to ensure all foreseeable

hazards to include access and egress of operatives and any other risks are
adequately considered.
Guidelines
Guidelines
Open Trench
vs
Pipejacking
Case Study
Case Study
• Fusina Project
• Southern Seawater Alliance Desalination Plant – Shore Crossing
• Czajka Project
Case Study

• Fusina Project
• The lagoon of Venice is not only the largest in Italy
but also one of the world’s most famous. Situated
between the drainage basin of the mainland and the
sea it has been subjected to more and more
pollution due to increasing industrial and agricultural
developments in the region. In 2000, the Regional
Government of Veneto set up a master plan to
prevent further pollution and treat the water running
from the basin into the lagoon. The project Fusina
(P.I.F. – Progetto Integrato Fusina) forms the main
part of the planned efforts and ranks regarding its
extent and integral approach concerning wastewater
treatment and environmental protection among the
first in Europe
Case Study

• Southern Seawater Alliance Desalination Plant –

Shore Crossing
• The Southern Seawater Desalination Plant
(SSDP) is located near Binningup in Western
Australia. It was designed and constructed for
the Water Corporation by The Southern
Seawater Alliance (SSWA). The SSDP is a
major water source for Western Australia and
with capacity to produce up to 50GL of drinking
water annually and with a future capacity to
expand to 100GL.
Case Study
• Czajka Project
• Poland’s Czajka Wastewater Treatment
Works is being constructed on the riverbank
of the Vistula River in Warsaw. It treated 80
percent of the Polish capital’s effluents and
make sure that no more untreated sewage
will harm the vegetation and wildlife along the
Vistula. This project’s purpose is to protect
the environment.