More Trenchless Thoughts - Part I

I've read a lot lately on trenchless technology, and I've worked a whole lot on developing ideas, specifications, jobs, and what can be done to increase the public's awareness of the technology. The public must be continually informed about a technical subject such as this, so that it may be informed of changes to prevailing thinking, of advances in techniques and methods, and so that the technology may be put to use.

Horizontal directional drilling, or HDD, started in much the same way. There was an economic incentive to start with. It started with oil. How do you complete multiple holes from a single platform in the water? You drill directionally. With a deviance from vertical of one-degree per every ten feet of drilling rod length, you get a 90-degree turn at 900 feet in rod length. You control the direction with a gyroscopic device downhole, and bingo, you can complete multiple oil wells from a single offhore platfrom. Saves a load of money on moving the platform, and you don't have to have multiple platforms. The technology was originally brought onshore by Martin Cherrington (see his website at www.cherrington.com for more details on the technology and its applications -Martin isn't kidding when he says that he has more experience than anyone else....heck, he invented the technology for utility crossings)

With horizontal-directionally drilled utilities, you do it with a drill bit that's shaped like a spade. It goes off at an angle when it's pushed, and goes straight when it's rotated. You can get an angle of between 4 and 10 degrees from the original direction by the time you reach the end of the rod. In-bit radiotelemetry that a crew member (known as a 'locator") walks over with an electronic locating device gives a pitch, angle, direction, and depth for the bit. Thus, HDD is a steerable technology.

Most all fiber-optic crossings of creeks, rivers, driveways, highways, etc., etc., are made this way today. It's environmentally friendly, cost-competitive, and effective. What else can you ask for?

Here's a pic of an HDD rig for you to ponder....... the rig shown is a CME-50DD, made by Central Mine Equipment of St. Louis, Missouri. CME is known for its manufacture of geotechnical drilling equipment. My drillers use both the CME-45 and the CME-850. I've also been around the rubber-tired CME-750, and the CME-55 and CME-75. Want to see 'em? Go to http://www.cmeco.com to find the rigs.

These website linkages are not in any way an endorsement of the products or services available from Cherrington or Central Mine Equipment. The purpose of this blog is to INFORM, not to pass judgement.