World Tunnelling & Trenchless World December 2014 by Webmaster Aspermont Media

Canada

Subways to sewers: the market is alive and kicking

Segments

Piecing together three global projects

Grouting

Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major exercise

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December 2014

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WHEN YOU’RE OUT OF YOUR

ELEMENT WE’RE IN OURS. At Robbins, we believe the most crucial breakthroughs come before breaking ground. Our dedicated team listens to your concerns, anticipates your project’s challenges, and provides you with the information you need so you can spend less time digging out of problems and more time digging tunnels.

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CONTENTS

The good, the bad and the ugly

e lost the feeling in his toes, there were constant interruptions and he hadn’t moved from the same spot for two and a half hours. No, I am not talking about a polar bear’s attempts to mate on an ice floe during a blizzard in the Arctic. This is what happens when you take part in filming in an old Victorian tunnel shaft on a winter’s day. Near-extreme conditions were apt for World’s Most Extreme Tunnels, a TV documentary, which will be aired in the UK next month. When I arrived at the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, London, I was told to crouch through a narrow door that would suit a pygmy, and continued crouching through a concrete passageway. I arrived at the temporary staircase and peered down to the ground of the Thames Tunnel Shaft, some 80ft (24.4m) below. It is fitting that the filming took place here for two reasons: it is considered the birthplace of the tube, and it was the world’s first underground theatre where crowds watched acrobats, tightrope walkers and serenaders. Echoes of entertainment past seemed to haunt the place, and filming was constantly interrupted by low-flying aeroplanes, tubes, trains, buses, a leaking duct, passing schoolchildren and the ghost of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

“I was told to crouch through a narrow door that would suit a pygmy, and continued crouching through a concrete passageway”

I was asked about 10 different tunnels in various categories, such as the toughest, deadliest and weirdest – not words you would usually associate with tunnels from a civil engineering perspective, but this is entertainment, people. The tunnels featured include true transportation feats from the minds of engineering masters to dubious, hand-etched passages that remote villagers or drug mules have carved in some of the most dangerous and isolated places on Earth. The producers take us from design marvels to dangerous mistakes. The programme guides viewers through sandhogs battling against a major shotcreting challenge in a North American metropolis; a ‘psychedelic’ tunnel in Asia; Russia’s ‘Tunnel of Death; massive storm drains reminiscent of a James Bond villain’s hideout; a perilous mountain-edge road tunnel carved by villagers using basic tools; a tunnel under fire in a war-torn country; and a devious channel set up by a drugs cartel. World’s Most Extreme Tunnels will be aired on television in the UK on More4 at 10pm on Monday, December 15. It will also be aired on Travel Channel in the US and Channel 7 in Australia early next year. LUKE BUXTON, EDITOR luke.buxton@aspermontmedia.com

News 2 Features Canada 4 Segments 10 Grouting 14 Mining technology 15 Contacts 17 Classified advertising

Next month North America Shotcrete TBMs

COVER

Since 2000, when the TPC (Tunnel Process Control) data-management and visualisation software was first used on the ECIS/NEIS (a seven-TBM sewer project in Los Angeles), TPC has developed from a basic program to an all-encompassing tunnellingassistance tool. It relieves the engineers on site from routine reporting and distribution work, yet still allows flexible data-mining and enables the site team to customise every screen to suit their purpose. Together with mobile apps providing information on general progress and segment quality, TPC lets the whole team benefit from combining all available data, independently from project size, location and contract form. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and enjoyable holiday season! www.tunnelsoft.com

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NEWS

Bouygues wins deal to extend metro in Baku In February 2015 Bouygues Construction subsidiary Bouygues Travaux Publics will begin works on the expansion of the Baku metro in Azerbaijan. The €147 million (US$184 million) designand-build contract will separate 28 May Station’s red and green lines on the network. Presently both lines share the same platforms. Bouygues Travaux Publics will construct two caverns at a depth of 25m around the existing tubes, which will make it possible to build the new tunnels with only five weeks of interruptions to operations throughout the whole 36-month duration of the project. The project forms part of the city’s mass-transit extension plan, which will see an expansion and upgrading of the metro, with completion expected in 2030. The works will keep 250 people employed at peak periods of construction. The teams will face a technical challenge because the tunnels are situated in a dense urban environment and will have to work in very difficult geology. The techniques of jet grouting and ground freezing will be used by the contractor to address these issues. The contract signed with Baku Metropolitan is the first civil works contract in Azerbaijan inked by Bouygues Construction.

Balfour takes TBM north Crossrail may have directed numerous TBM deliveries to the south of the UK, but the Manchester Ship Canal has hailed one north. The 140t earth-pressure balanced tunnelling machine was delivered to contractor Balfour Beatty as part of a £32 million (US$50.1 million) project to improve water quality in the Manchester Ship Canal for its customer, United Utilities. The system will store dirty water during storm conditions, which would previously overflow into the Manchester Ship Canal, and allow the water to be channelled away for treatment. The TBM is designed for operation in soft ground conditions containing water

A 140t EPB TBM is to work on the Manchester Ship Canal project

under pressure, differing from other large tunnelling machines that operate in dry conditions. It was driven around 100km from Staffordshire to Manchester before being lifted down into one of the three 30m-deep shafts. Balfour Beatty’s supply-

chain partner Murphy will start tunnelling under the Trafford Park site, including a road, to create a 3.66m-wide, 700m-long tunnel. The company is also constructing a 35m-wide, 12m-deep screening facility and a 30m-deep stormwater detention chamber.

CH2M Hill probes problem projects Accounting errors on four major construction jobs in Australia, Europe and the US will signal a post-tax loss in excess of US$125 million for CH2M Hill’s first nine months of 2014. The US-based firm is undertaking an investigation into discrepancies and cost overruns on these projects and will consequently file its third-quarter figures late. In September CH2M Hill said it would make a goodwill write down of between $30 million and $80 million. This was revised in November to total approximately $73 million. The company has declined to name the jobs involved, but one has been identified as a

Photo: Laura Paul

CH2M Hill is investigating how some of its construction projects lost money

transport build in the US. Alterations to initial cost estimates on the transport project sieved the firm’s operating profit by $40 million for the nine months. Productivity issues have made costs rocket on a European project man-

aged by the firm’s facilities and urban environments division. This particular loss is said to total $17.8 million for the period. CH2M Hill announced a $120 million restructure in September, telling 1,200 employees worldwide that they wold lose their jobs.

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NEWS

Terratec’s big breakthroughs During September and October four Terratec TBMs broke through on the Delhi Metro Phase III project. On September 8, the S37 TBM working on contract CC-34 completed excavation on the down line from the Vikas Puri station to the cut-and-cover shaft near the Janakapuri West station. The contractor is a joint venture between Hindustan Construction Company of India and Samsung E&C of South Korea. On September 30, the S28 machine, working on contract CC-24, accomplished breakthrough after completing the drive between the Nizzamudin and Ashram stations. The TBM has

advanced 1,652m in one go without needing any stoppage to change cutting tools in such a long drive. The CC-24 contractor is a joint venture between India’s J. Kumar Infraprojects and China Railway Third Group. On October 7, the S36 TBM boring on contract CC-34 also completed excavation on the up line to the cut-and-cover shaft near the Janakapuri West

station, just like its twin S37 did one month earlier. On October 19, the S26 machine completed excavation on the down line from the Lajpat Nagar station to the Vinoba Puri station – contract CC-24. The TBM has advanced a total of 833m steadily without needing any cutter intervention. The manufacturer has eight TBMs currently excavating metro tunnels in Delhi Metro Phase III. Work will continue with completion in 2015. Fourteen additional breakthroughs by Terratec TBMs are scheduled to occur over the next few months.

Keyline’s Mark Whittaker hopes to boost business

Whittaker joins Keyline

Civils and rail materials supplier Keyline has appointed Mark Whittaker to grow its business further. Business development director Whittaker will manage the sector sales teams (rail, utilities, highways, geotechnics), as well as the national contractor business for Keyline. With 29 years’ experience in the industry, Whittaker is responsible for growing sales in line with Keyline’s One of Terratec’s five-year plan of sustainable breakthroughs in Delhi mdevelopment m m $ l c j # in ]c X civils ^$Z[ the and heavyside buildingmaterials markets. The Design & Engineering “The role will allow me to division will continue to widen the exposure of provide a focus on buildings these sectors to key J^[ Z_ijWdY[ jhWl[bb[Z f[h o[Wh Xo j^[ 7hYj_Y Jkhd and infrastructure for the contractors and suppliers, ØIj[hdW fWhWZ_iW[WÇ WdZ j^[ Wl[hW][ W_h c_b[i energy, defence, aviation, drive sector specialism and Yebb[Yj[Z Xo dcZ KBI hZgk^XZ Zc\^cZZg _dijWbb_d] transportation, education introduce business initiaioij[ci WdZ jhW_d_d] ef[hWjehi$ and mixed-use development tives on behalf of the sectors. Keyline brand,” Whittaker The Water & Environment commented. division will continue to Keyline supplies a wide serve its existing clients with range of heavy building diverse services from its materials, civils and water-engineering, grounddrainage solutions to the engineering, planning and UK construction industry. environmental teams. The company has 88 Atkins UK projects include: depots in its network and is Belfast Sewers Upgrade, supported by more than Crossrail and Dubai Metro. 600 affiliates.

Atkins UK gets a fresh start Atkins’ new UK and Europe chief executive officer Nick Roberts will take the helm on December 1. Roberts, who replaces David Tonkin, will lead the company’s new operating model towards its spring completion by April 1, 2015. Roberts is currently strategy and growth director for Atkins’ North America region. In early November, the design, engineering and project-management consultancy announced plans to reorganise its UK

business to enable it to “provide higher levels of certainty and flexibility of resources and apply compatible skills and innovation across sectors to meet the evolving needs of its clients and core markets”. The new organisation involves merging some of its six UK businesses to create four larger, market-focused divisions to serve clients. The Rail and Highways & Transportation divisions will be brought together to form a 3,000-strong group of specialists.

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Canada

More than nine lives September was the month that CAT’s doors closed on Canada and opened in China. Despite this, the Canadian tunnelling industry is very much alive and kicking Workers being lowered into Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel South Shaft

“While one icon may have passed, there is a healthy number of tunnelling tasks in the North American nation”

aterpillar Tunneling Canada (CCTC) held a closing ceremony on September 30 at its facility in Toronto. The ceremony symbolically marks the transition of the company’s assets to major Chinese TBM manufacturer Liaoning Censcience Industry (LNSS) following the January 2014 agreement to purchase the assets and intellectual properties. LNSS owns the largest TBM manufacturing facility in China, the company said. Its machines are currently working on urban subway-construction projects in the country. Since the purchase, LNSS set up a dedicated subsidiary charged with operating the acquired assets: Lovsuns Tunneling Canada, based in Toronto. While one icon may have passed, there is a healthy number of tunnelling tasks in the North American nation. World Tunnelling looks at some of the major water and transport infrastructure projects.

Caterpillar Tunneling Canada assets have now been acquired by Chinese TBM manufacturer Liaoning Censcience Industry

Sewers, Skytrain, a sink hole A McNally/Aecon JV is constructing the Port Mann Main Water Supply Tunnel under the Fraser River, downstream (west) of the new Port Mann Bridge for client Metro Vancouver. The existing Port Mann water main is one of several key water-supply links to municipalities south of the Fraser River. The new water-supply tunnel will be approximately 3.5m in diameter and 1km long. It will contain a new 2.1m-diameter steel water main that will help ensure the continued, reliable delivery of drinking water to these municipalities, and will more than double the capacity of the existing main. The North and South Tunnel shafts are complete. Construction on the Water Supply Tunnel began in February this year and is expected to be complete by the end of 2014. Work on the North Valve Chamber started in mid2014 and will be finalised in late 2015. The JV will start work on the South Valve Chamber early next

The specialist for tunnelling equipment and logistic systems

year with completion anticipated for late 2015. In Peel, Brampton (Ontario), construction of the Alloa Feedermain, Sanitary Sewer and Watermain kicked off at the beginning of February 2013 and is due to be finished by the end of November this year. McNally Construction International will install approximately 1,824m of a 1,200mm-diameter feeder main, 1,605m of a 1,200mm-diameter trunk sanitary sewer and 1,993m of 600mmdiameter water main along Mississauga Road between the south side of Bovaird Drive and Sandalwood Parkway intersection. Engineering consultants Genivar, Golder Associates, HC Matcon and Dufferin are working alongside main contractor McNally Construction on twinning the West Trunk Sanitary Sewer in Mississauga. The team will build a 9,775m (6-mile) 2,400mm-diameter trunk sanitary sewer up to 51m deep in rock. The project is slated to end on June 30, 2016. In March 2012, construction began on the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Underwater Pedestrian Tunnel that will link to the mainland. The pedestrian tunnel will carry water and sewage mains that will serve Toronto Island. Forum Infrastructure Partners is overseeing the design, construction and operation of the

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Canada

Crews secured the site, cordoned it off and filled in the sinkhole.

tunnel. Works should be concluded by winter 2014/2015. In March this year the machine that will bore 2km of tunnel on the 11km rapid-transit Evergreen Line in Vancouver was named Alice after Alice Wilson, the first female geologist in Canada. The tunnel portion will run from east of the Barnet Highway in Port Moody to south of Kemsley Avenue in Coquitlam. The $1.43 billion Skytrain expansion will link Coquitlam to the Millennium Line and is set to open in 2016. Once complete, the Evergreen Line will be the longest rapid-transit system in Canada. The province expects the Evergreen Line to carry 70,000 passengers and take 40,000 vehicles off the road daily by 2020. The project includes utility tunnels. In October the elevated guideway section between Lougheed Town Centre Station to the South Tunnel Portal was completed. In the same month a 70m3 sinkhole developed in a car park directly above the Evergreen Line tunnel boring in Port Moody. An Evergreen Line construction manager said the TBM was undergoing routine maintenance underground and some sand had caved in. This caused an air pocket, which then migrated to the surface, causing the sinkhole.

yonge north SUBway eXtenSion

By 2031, the extension will benefit 50 million riders annually. The Yonge North Subway Extension is in the planning phase and final scope and design will come over the next year or two, as road and public-transport manager Metrolinx works with the City of Toronto and York Region on complete analysis of how best to address local and regional needs. Hatch Mott MacDonald is the

Graphic: Metro Vancouver

Located in both the City of Toronto and York Region, the new subway extension will alleviate traffic congestion along Yonge Street north of Finch Avenue and will encourage development at Richmond Hill/Langstaff Gateway.

Map of the Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel route

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FEATURE NAME Canada

Bursting the bottleneck: it is dark times for the George Massey tunnel in Vancouver Photo: Harry Saxon

design consultant. It has not yet been decided what method will be used to construct the tunnel and a construction start date is yet to be announced. Several improvements are under way to expand regional subway capacity. The Relief Line and other capacity improvements at Bloor-Yonge station will have to be phased in together with this project. This project is currently in the planning phase and an environmental assessment was approved in April 2009. The Yonge North Extension has Environmental Assessment Office approval, and concept design has been completed by York Region and the Toronto Transit Commission. The $3.4 billion for this project will be funded through the Investment Strategy. Metrolinx will build two new pedestrian tunnels with elevators – on the east and west sides – of Eglinton GO station, after which the existing tunnel will be

decommissioned. When completed, the station will be fully accessible. Metrolinx will be looking to start work as soon as possible once the tender is awarded. The agency is aiming to finish this phase of upgrades to the Eglinton GO station in summer of 2015 and is currently reviewing bids.

A Bridge Too Close The George Massey Tunnel is a four-lane 629m tunnel going 22m under the Fraser River estuary in Vancouver. It was opened in 1959 after a two-year build time. The tunnel is composed of six precast concrete sections and was the first

“With the Port Mann Bridge open to traffic and the South Fraser Perimeter Road nearing completion, we’re moving to fix the next of B.C.’s worst traffic bottlenecks”

CMY

Brisbane, Australia Tunnel: Photo by E rikt9

tunnel on the continent to use this construction method. Its time is now coming to an end. “Congestion at the tunnel is frustrating for families and stalling the economy,” British Columbia premier Christy Clark said. “A new bridge will improve travel times for transit, commuters and commercial users, and open the corridor up to future rapid-transit options.” A year ago the British Columbia government confirmed that it would move ahead on the project to replace the George Massey Tunnel, with construction of a new bridge on the existing Highway 99 corridor in the Metro Vancouver region. Construction will begin in 2017. Public consultation in 2012 and 2013 showed strong support for a new bridge on the Highway 99 corridor. The bridge will also help boost trade through the AsiaPacific Gateway. In the interim the ministry proceeded to lengthen the Steveston off-ramp on Highway 99 at the north end of the George Massey Tunnel. This was done to improve safety and reduce congestion. The bridge-project development team in place includes: owner’s engineer MMM Group; technical advisor Sun Coast Consulting; and environmental advisors Hemmera EnviroChem. “With the Port Mann Bridge open to traffic and the South Fraser Perimeter Road nearing completion, we’re moving to fix the next of B.C.’s worst traffic bottlenecks,” transportation and infrastructure minister Todd Stone commented. “It is too early to say what will be done with the tunnel,” the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told WT. “Work is under way to determine the best option for decommissioning the tunnel, including whether all or parts of it should be removed from the Fraser River, and how best to tie in any remaining pieces to the surrounding environment.”

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Canada

Concrete for the Crosstown partnership model used in Ontario to finance, build, deliver and sometimes maintain major infrastructure projects.

A light rail transit project in Toronto called for some heavy hardware The Crosstown tunnel takes shape in October 2014

he Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit, known as the Crosstown Line, will run across midtown Toronto at Eglinton Avenue between Mount Dennis (Weston Road) and Kennedy station. The 19km line includes a 10km underground portion between Keele Street and Laird Drive. Two tunnels, one for eastbound travel, the other westbound, are under construction using four Caterpillar tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Dennis and Lea were launched at Black Creek Drive in April 2013. They are drilling eastward, creating tunnels 6.5m in diameter, at a rate of 10m a day. In late September this year TBMs

Lining up the rings

Humber and Don arrived at the Brentcliffe launch site. The extraction and launch shafts are currently being constructed. The Crosstown is a C$5.3 billion (US$4.67 billion) investment of the Government of Ontario, and is being delivered by Metrolinx together with Infrastructure Ontario, using the Alternative Financing and Procurement model: this is a public-private

Contract ECLM6-2 ‘Supply of Precast Concrete Tunnel Lining Segments’ was released for bid to prequalified companies in late 2010. Metrolinx chose to put the supply of segments in the hands of manufacturers in a reversal of the traditional approach, which was to combine tunnel boring with segment supply in one contract. Munro was the successful bidder and was awarded the $78.2 million contract to manufacture 88,500 segments making up the 14,785 universal-design rings of 5.75m diameter. Munro is located about one-

Australasia

Alice readies for ‘rabbit hole’

TBMs

Waterproofing

Big Becky tackles hydro project

Waneta hydro expansion

Shotcrete

Drill & blast

Waterproofing Wisconsin

Optimised for rock?

China

Sprayable membranes

World Tunnelling World Tunnelling World Tunnelling Canada

Waneta hydro expansion

Drill and blast Optimised for rock?

Waterproofing Sprayable membranes

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been a problem in the industry. The need for accuracy and strength of welds is extremely important so that the installed tunnel ring functions as intended. Now, with the assurance through robotic welding, that can be guaranteed. Each segment is tagged with an RFID tag after the cage is produced. The tag contains all the information about the segment, allowing complete traceability of materials and production. The RFID system even has a GPS capability that can be used to locate a particular segment in the storage yard.

hour drive north of Toronto with half a million square feet (46,452m²) of indoor manufacturing space on a 125-acre (505,875m2) site. The company manufactures a line of concrete and steel infrastructure products, including bridges, water-transmission pressure pipe, fittings and valve chambers, storm and sanitary sewer pipe and maintenance holes, large box culverts and chambers.

Specific processes Standard reinforced rings (rebar cages) were specified for the Crosstown precast tunnel-lining segments. The technical and quality specifications were extremely rigorous, including RFID tagging of each segment and a two-stage curing process. The primary cure requires a maximum concrete temperature of 55ºC (131ºF) and the segments must have 15MPa strength so that they can be lifted from the mould using vacuum suction. The secondary curing process is a five-day cure in 100% humidity. The automated double-cure process ensures that the segments are fully cured and at full strength before they are stored in the yard (possibly in the cold Ontario winter) or shipped to the jobsite.

The ‘Brady Bunch’ On award of the project, Munro expanded its manufacturing facility by adding 100,000 square feet (9,290m²). A new rebar manufacturing and handling facility was designed and developed to manufacture the reinforcement cages. This was the most aggressive and innovative undertaking by Munro in the manufacturing plan. It was done to be able to consistently achieve the quality and production requirements of just-in-time supply to the filling station. The specification for the rebar cages calls for a 100% pass rate on the rebar testing. If reinforcing cages were

Aerial photo of Munro manufacturing facility and yard showing tunnel segments in front of the picture

Tunnel segments – five-day secondary cure, 100% humidity

Space and time

manufactured externally and delivered in batches from a supplier, any quality-control issues (such as cage dimensions being out of specification) would cause serious production delays running into days and possibly weeks. Also, by bringing the manufacturing of reinforcing cages in-house, Munro could apply several technological innovations to the process to ensure that cage welds and dimensions were consistent. In addition, the company implemented in-line production testing to ensure quality at each of the stages in the production process. The process starts with coiled steel purchased from a steel supplier and ends with the ‘Brady Bunch’, six robots that weld the tunnel-segment reinforcing cage using both vision and touch – a major innovation. The Brady Bunch welds the cage in 244 places to 100% weld strength. Dimensional consistency and the quality of welds in tunnel-segment reinforcing cages has long

There are a lot of tunnel segments in Munro yard. A requirement of the contract was that there must be storage space for 7,000 segments as there is limited space for storage on site. Munro ships tunnel segments to the TBM launch site daily. Manufacturing of the segments is 60% complete and the company expects to complete this in autumn 2015. Following this project, Munro expects to utilise its manufacturing expertise and equipment on other tunnelling projects in Ontario and eastern North America. Subway expansions are planned in Toronto and significant transit investments are being made throughout the province of Ontario. If more tunnel projects are not forthcoming soon, the carousel production line was specifically designed so that it could be used to manufacture any other product which fits within the same footprint of the tunnel-segment mould. The production line is also currently being used to manufacture precast double ties for the York Spadina Subway expansion in addition to tunnel-lining segments. Multiplicity of use of the production line was key to the investment decision made to construct a permanent manufacturing facility.

The ‘Brady Bunch’ robotic welding of reinforced cages in action

“The process starts with coiled steel and ends with the ‘Brady Bunch’, six robots that weld the tunnelsegment reinforcing cage using both vision and touch”

This article was written by Theresa Erskine, director of marketing for Munro December 2014 Canada_WT1412.indd 9

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Segments

External and internal views of the factory casting the segments

Halfway into history As of September this year, half the rings were in place for the tunnel section of New Zealand’s largest road project

T “The Waterview Connection is critically needed infrastructure to underpin economic and population growth in Auckland”

A completed section of the Waterview Connection tunnel

he New Zealand Transport Agency’s NZ$1.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) Waterview Connection project in Auckland involves construction of 5km of six-lane motorway to connect two existing motorways, the Southwestern (State Highway 20) and Northwestern (State Highway 16) and thus complete a 47km ring route bypassing the city centre. Half of the connection is underground in 2.4km bored twin tunnels being constructed by the 10th largest diameter (14.4m) tunnel boring machine in the world, making these the world’s 10th largest diameter tunnels. The Waterview Connection is critically needed infrastructure to underpin economic and population growth in Auckland, which has more than a third of New Zealand’s population (1.46 million) and produces more than a third of the country’s GDP. The project is being delivered by the Well-Connected Alliance, comprising the transport agency, Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell Constructors, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Beca Infrastructure, Tonkin and Taylor, and Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation.

Overview of tunnel lining The mainline tunnel comprises a single-pass precast concrete segmental lining with a nominal

internal diameter of 13.1m. The lining uses a conventional configuration of nine interconnected segments and a smaller key segment. The rings are either straight, left- or right-hand tapered, with the tapers specified based on the minimum horizontal radius of curvature along the alignment. The lining is installed inside the tail skin of the TBM shield and grouted from the tail skin as the machine pushes forward. The rings are 2m wide with a watertight EPDM compression gasket around each segment.

The precast facility Well-Connected Alliance has formed a sub-alliance with local precast company Wilson Tunnelling for the purpose of manufacturing the tunnel segments, the tunnel invert culverts and the super-t beams. The sub-alliance has established a new 6,000m2 factory in East Tamaki, creating 70 jobs. The site, which officially opened on September 12, 2013, is situated

26km east of the Waterview project, and is producing 2,414 segment rings comprising 21,726 standard segments and 2,414 key segments; 2,418 invert tunnel culverts; and 280 super-t beams for the Great North Road interchange. The segments are transported by road, three at a time. Left and right ring tunnel segments are manufactured using a CBE carousel plant and 40 moulds. The factory output is 34 rings per week, based on the factory operating two shifts per day, five days per week, an eight-hour mould cycle time and minimum 15Mpa concrete strength before de-moulding. The segments are made of reinforced concrete. Basically, two types of segment reinforcement are required. Segments with conventional reinforcement cages are used for low-cover tunnel portal sections due to the high loads introduced to the tunnel lining. For the remainder of the tunnel length, steel-fibre reinforced segments with 35-40kg/m3 steel-fibre content are sufficient. Polypropylene fibres are used in all segment types to reduce the risk of spalling in case of fire events in the tunnels. The typical tunnel segment dimensions are 4m wide by 2m long by 0.45m thick. The weight of one segment is about 10t.

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Segments

Tunnel invert culverts are manufactured using six locally made stationary steel shutters. The culverts are conventionally reinforced without the addition of steel or polypropylene fibres. A typical culvert unit measures 3.7m wide by 2m long by 2.2m high and weighs 12t. Current output is 34 culvert units per week based on one shift per day, six days per week factory operation and 10-hour mould cycl e time. Bridge super-t beams are manufactured using one locally made steel form. Typical beam dimensions are 30m long, 1.5m wide and 1.5m high. Some 45m long beams are required for bridge sections that cross the existing State Highway 16 at a shallow angle. The typical weight of a 30m long super-t beam is about 65t. Current output is three super-t beam units per week, based on five days per week factory operation.

Meeting at the middle The project was ready to bore on 31 October 2013. By then, the precast factory had produced 15,000 segments. It had also cast over half of the culvert units (1,394 of 2,418) for the services culvert that runs along the floor of each tunnel; and 111 (39%) of the Super-T beams needed to build four new ramps to connect the tunnels to the existing motorway at the northern end. Tunnelling began on November 6. On September 29, 2014, the project completed construction of the first (southbound) of the 2.4km twin tunnels. There were 1,201 lining rings, comprising 12,010 segments – exactly half the anticipated production by the project’s precast factory – in place. Alice, the tunnel boring machine, is now being turned to build the second (northbound) tunnel. “While it is not unusual internationally to turn a tunnel boring machine, what is extraordinary about this turn is the sheer size of the machine and the constricted

space in which the manoeuvre will take place,” the NZ Transport Agency’s highways manager for Auckland, Brett Gliddon, said. At 90m long and weighing 3,100t, Alice is big. The cutting head and its three trailing gantries will be disconnected and each piece taken one at a time from the completed tunnel and turned. Only when all of Alice’s parts are in place and reconnected, in early 2015, will tunnelling resume to construct the second tunnel. The conveyor system that removes excavated material and other services required for the machine’s operation will also be turned and will follow Alice as she journeys south. By the completion of the second tunnel, they will extend the length of both tunnels – nearly 5km. A fourth gantry, which operates independently of Alice to install a culvert on the floor of the tunnel, will be the last to be turned. This culvert will carry the services

needed for operation of the completed tunnels. The machine’s drive south from Waterview to Owairaka is expected to be completed in October next year. Approximately a year of work will then remain to complete the mechanical and electrical fit-out of the tunnels, including completing ventilation buildings at both ends and constructing 16 cross passages to connect the tunnels. The project is on target for completion in early 2017.

The tunnel lining in place

Segment materials • 9 5,000m3 of concrete

• 3 ,500t of conventional reinforcing

• 4 ,500t of steel

fibre reinforcing

“While it is not unusual internationally to turn a TBM, what is extraordinary about this turn is the sheer size of the machine and the constricted space”

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Segments

Hitting the mark

Quarter of a million

With Europe’s largest construction project you would expect the numbers to be big. World Tunnelling looks into the quantities of Crossrail

Segment installation in the western tunnels; TBM Phyllis on the Farringdon stretch

Bottom centre: Shay Murtagh provided 3,400 loads of segments over two years

Segment delivery 30,000 from County Westmeath, Ireland 110,000 from Chatham, Kent, England 110,000 from London, England

en thousand people; 40 construction sites; 42km of tunnels – the numbers are staggering. Work started in May 2009 and over 44 million working hours have been completed on the job so far. When this mammoth undertaking is completed, 10% will be added to the UK capital’s rail transport capacity. The Crossrail route will run over 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. There will be 40 Crossrail stations including 10 new stations at Abbey Wood, Bond Street, Canary Wharf, Custom House, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Tottenham Court Road, Whitechapel and Woolwich. Now construction work has reached the halfway mark on flagship new Crossrail stations in central London and Docklands. Eight tunnel boring machines are being used to construct the new tunnels under London. Tunnelling is now over 80% complete. Each tunnelling machine weighs 1,000t, its mechanical tail trailing 150m, snaking through 100m of London’s varied geology each

week at optimum drive. 4.5 million tonnes of the excavated material from the tunnels will be shipped to Wallasea Island in Essex where it will be used to create a new 1,500-acre Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve. The western tunnel boring machines Phyllis and Ada have now completed their journeys, constructing 6.8km of tunnel each between Royal Oak and Farringdon. On the eastern stretch, tunnelling machines Elizabeth and Victoria are constructing new tunnels between Limmo Peninsular in Canning Town and Farringdon. In south-east London, Sophia and Mary have completed their 2.9km drives from Plumstead to North Woolwich. Tunnel boring machines Jessica and Ellie have completed their 2.7km tunnel drives from Pudding Mill Lane portal near Stratford to Stepney Green. This dynamic duo has also completed its second tunnel drives: a 900m run from Limmo Peninsula in Canning Town to Victoria Dock Portal. These leviathans must churn through a predominance of stiff London clay. Other ground materials include sand, sandy gravel, limestone and sandstones. The first Crossrail services through central London will start in late 2018. Rail chiefs expect 200 million annual passengers. The total funding available to deliver Crossrail is £14.8 billion (US$23.1 billion).

A total of 250,000 steel-reinforced concrete segments have been manufactured for Crossrail. The tunnel segments for the western tunnels (Royal Oak to Farringdon) were manufactured by western tunnels contractor BFK JV (Bam, Ferrovial, Kier) at Old Oak Common, London. The first product was cast at this facility in early February. How do you move a quarter of a million segments, each weighing around 3.5t? The segments from Old Oak Common were transported by road to Westbourne Park. The tunnel segments for the eastern tunnels (Limmo to Farringdon, Limmo to Victoria Dock Portal and Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney) were manufactured by eastern tunnels contractor DSJV (Dragados Sisk) at Chatham, Kent. The segments from Chatham are transported by barge to Limmo Peninsula. For the Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney tunnel drive, segments were transported the short distance from Limmo to Pudding Mill Lane by road. The last concrete tunnel segment was made in July 2014 at Chatham. The plant produced 110,000 tunnel segments to line the 12km-long eastern twin tunnels. The tunnel segments for the Thames tunnel (Plumstead to North Woolwich) were manufactured by Shay Murtagh in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. The Thames tunnel contractor was Hochtief Murphy JV. The segments from Mullingar were transported by road and ship to the UK, then transported by road to Plumstead. On May 8, the last deliveries of tunnel segments left the Shay Murtagh Precast factory for the Crossrail C310 site in London. This concluded just over 3,400 loads delivered to the site over a two-year period. Shay Murtagh produced a total of 30,000 segments.

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Segments

The long run-up to the rings Almost a quarter of a million tonnes of segments wait patiently while Seattle Tunnel Partners battles steel pipes and seashells

t has been almost a year since Big Bertha stopped boring on the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. On December 7, 2013, Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP), the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) designbuild tunnel contractor, halted after meeting unanticipated and increasing resistance. On January 2 this year the contractor identified an 8in (203.2mm)-diameter steel pipe protruding through an opening in the machine’s cutterhead. The steel pipe is a well casing installed in 2002 by geologists seeking to understand how groundwater moves in the area following the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. The location of this pipe was included in reference materials in the contract and yet it was overlooked. The update in April this year announced that Big Bertha will resume digging by the end of March 2015, following a successful test in February to ensure that the machine it is ready to tunnel beneath downtown. In May this year construction began on the pit STP will use to access and repair damage to the machine. Announced this summer, STP’s work plan contains four major repair and enhancement elements: replacing the damaged seal system with a more robust system; replacing the main bearing; installing enhanced monitoring systems; and adding steel to strengthen the machine and accommodate the new seal system. Other major enhancements of the work plan include: widening the openings at the centre of the cutterhead; improving the soil-conditioning injection system; installing bit- and wear-resistant steel on the cutterhead; and

extending the length of the agitator arms in the mixing chamber. On November 2, Washington state archaeologists gave STP clearance to resume access-pit excavation following an investigation of the shell deposits discovered in late October by crews digging the pit. Archaeologists believe the shell deposits are the product of commercial shellfish activities carried out around 100 years ago. Once the pit is complete, the crew will remove Bertha’s cutterhead and begin repairing damage to the seal system and main bearing. This schedule of events and unexpected problems has delayed tunnel boring by up to 16 months. STP hopes to recover up to four months of schedule to meet WSDOT’s original tunnel opening date of November 2016.

Weighty waiting around The TBM will install precast reinforced concrete rings as it moves forwards through the earth. Each ring is 2ft (0.61m) thick with an outside diameter of 56ft and a weight of more than 350,000lb (158,757kg). The rings are made up of 10 individual segments that weigh as much as 38,500lb. The segments will be manufactured off site and transported by truck to a storage site located on the port terminal to the west of the work zone. From there they will be transported by truck to the edge of the launch pit. A gantry crane will lower the segments in tunnel vehicles waiting underground. Each tunnel vehicle can carry enough concrete segment and construction materials to supply workers inside the machine with the material they need to

excavate and build one ring of the tunnel. To date, about 10% of the total number of segments have been installed. 149 rings have been installed and 1,026ft of tunnel excavated as of November 9 this year. There will be approximately 14,260 segments in the tunnel. An additional 190 have been made in case they are needed. The first batch of concrete and steel reinforcement segments was delivered in the spring of 2013. All segments have been manufactured by Lining Precast, a joint venture of FBS and EnCon of Washington, and are being stored at several sites. There are approximately 500 segments in the work zone. All segments are being stored within approximately 45 miles of the work site. They will all be delivered by road. To date 226 million kg (or 226,320 tonnes) of segments are waiting for their final destination.

The storage yard of the EnCon casting facility in Frederickson, Washington Photo: WSDOT

Crew members adjust the segment feeder, which moves the segments into place. Also visible are the wheels that roll the machine’s trailing gear along the launch pit and tunnel lining, as well as a complex set of wires, cables and walkways Photo: WSDOT

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grouting

diameter of 1,400mm. The main works were completed in 2014.

Site overview – northern ticket halls and tunnels

Intelligent solutions

The greatest grout London’s busiest underground station was a fitting location for the UK’s largest jet-grouting exercise

“The Victoria Station Upgrade is the largest application of the technique in the UK, and may help to raise the profile of jet grouting”

Building information model showing the complexity of the site

Application of sprayed concrete lining in the tunnels

t sits at the nexus of the Victoria Line and the District and Circle Lines. Victoria station is the busiest station on the London Underground network, handling over 82 million passengers a year. Owing to overcrowding at peak times, operator Transport for London had no other option than to enforce temporary closures of ticket offices to ease congestion. It then contracted a JV formed by Taylor Woodrow and Bam Nuttall to enlarge the Victoria Line ticket hall by 50%, add a ticket hall leading to the north end of the platforms, and connect the two ticket halls via 400m tunnels. The TWBN JV, designer Mott MacDonald and specialist contractor Keller have installed 2,000 interlocking jet columns to enable safe tunnelling in the

challenging ground conditions of water-bearing fine sands overlaying London clay. Jet grouting has been used in the UK since the 1950s and is widely used across the world, but is less well known in the UK. “The processes and equipment used have continually advanced and, as a result, the application of jet grouting as a soil-stabilisation technique has grown significantly since the 1980s,” a spokesperson for Vinci, owner of Taylor Woodrow, comments. “The Victoria Station Upgrade is the largest application of the technique in the UK, and may help to raise the profile of jet grouting.” The trial columns were completed in 2011 before the main works got under way. Jet mix was supplied in bulk by Hanson, with grout mixed in on site in computerised batching equipment. Soilcrete is the material formed by mixing cement-based grout with soil in situ to form a column with a pre-determined strength and permeability. In total there was about 35,000m3 of jet grout used throughout the contract. At its peak, grouting was being undertaken 24 hours a day, five days a week using Keller’s jet-grouting rigs and batching plants, which required a total of 50 operatives and 25 management and technical staff. Approximately 300m of tunnel was grouted, involving over 2,000 individual columns with a typical

The work area is populated with buildings, services, tunnels and underground structures and so required careful design, 3-D modelling, borehole surveys and as-built review. These challenges dictated that the tunnels were constructed at shallow depths, with an axis approximately 10m below ground surface and clearances of less than 100mm from essential London Underground assets in places. A strict monitoring and inspection regime was implemented, along with risk reviews of individual columns before construction to identify what control measures were to be put in place. “In addition, the proximity of pedestrian and vehicle movements heightened the level of planning and management needed for the column installation,” the Vinci spokesperson says. “Increased levels of protection for the rig and hose lines were implemented during construction, and column construction was carried out over a five-day period in line with reduced pedestrian and traffic movements.” To manage the significant challenges and risks, the team has used building information modelling (BIM) on a scale unprecedented in the UK when the project was launched in 2006, and it remains the ‘single source of truth’ on which core design and construction decisions are made. BIM has been at the centre of the success of the jet-grouting works, and is applied as a process that incorporates 3-D design, simulation, analysis and as-built data. BIM was used to highlight potential risk areas of gaps in the ground-treatment block and improve planning between disciplines to overcome these. The tunnelling team could then see hazards before they were encountered, enabling them to plan control measures and significantly de-risk tunnelling activities.

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mining technology

Novel solutions in ‘Nowhere’ Soft sand in a mine-development project in Botswana called for a unique tunnelling solution

n October this year Gem Diamonds’ US$95 million Ghaghoo mine in Botswana opened. The deposit of kimberlite – an igneous rock that can contain diamonds – was first discovered in 1982 by Toronto, Ontario-based natural resources company Falconbridge, which was later bought out by Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company Xstrata. Without tunnelling technology, those diamonds might have still been out of reach today.

Access issues Gope, as it was originally known, was envisioned as a $500 million open pit with 18 months and $250 million worth of stripping required before the orebody was even reached. The problem was that the deposit was covered by

80m of sand in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The area is remote, with no power lines or tarred roads servicing the asset. About an hour’s flight north of Gabarone, the name ‘Gope’ translates as ‘nowhere’. In order to access the orebody, it has been developed as the southern African country’s first underground diamond mine. The footprint is much smaller than if an open pit had been developed, with the area taking up just 20km2 of the 52,000km2 CKGR. In May 2007, London, UK-listed Gem Diamonds bought the asset from a De Beers/Xstrata joint venture for $34 million. Just over a year later, the financial crisis hit, forcing management to come up with a

new way of mining the deposit. “We had to think about this completely differently,” chief executive Clifford Elphick said. “We had to ration the capital and find different approaches.” The mine was developed

Front view of the tunnelling shield used at Ghaghoo

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mining technology

The tunnel at Ghaghoo is said to be the first of its kind

without a feasibility study as the cost of such a study was estimated at $75 million, not far off the $95 million allocated to build the first phase. “We eventually came up with a different plan, and that was to build the mine in a phased way. Our board was able to make available to us just under $100 million of capital,” said Elphick.

•

Sinking in the sand

“The Ghaghoo project was the first one ever done at -8º from the horizontal and through 80m (vertical depth) of Kalahari sand”

Redpath Mining was contracted to sink the shaft through the soft Kalahari sand and Lawrence Schultz, the southern African operations director, says it was a unique opportunity. “According to our knowledge, this is a first of its kind. There have been several horizontal tunnels done before in both Durban [South Africa] and the UK using the Open Face Tunnel Shield (OFTS) in shallow applications (no deeper than approximately 20m below surface) and through topsoil. “The Ghaghoo project was the first one ever done at -8º from the horizontal and through 80m (vertical depth) of Kalahari sand.” The sand is very soft with uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of 1MPa in the initial phases, soft enough to be excavated by hand with a normal shovel. However, as the tunnel progressed deeper down through the Kalahari Sands, the company encountered harder layers of Calcrete with a UCS of approximately 200Mpa. Breaking through this material required special drilling and blasting techniques. The project presented some key challenges, including: • F allout of the sand in the roof before installing the segmental concrete lining segments: as the concrete rings installed above the OFTS are contiguous, you cannot see what is happening in the roof above you. To overcome any voids being created above the tunnel, strict monitoring of the

•

excavated volumes had to be done. F allout on the face: the sand in the face of the tunnel would start to dry after approximately four hours’ exposure to the ventilation air discharged at the face. This in turn caused uncontrolled runs of sand from the face, which were challenging at times. Redpath, however, managed this challenge and moved the OFTS forward in each four-hour cycle. M aintaining a constant grade: excessive overbreak in the hard calcrete areas and zones where the sand was extremely wet were challenging. There was no means of lifting the OFTS up in the front so the overbreak and sand moistures had to be carefully monitored.

Redpath progress The equipment used to develop the tunnel included an OFTS fitted with 26 hydraulic thrust cylinder jacks at the back to propel the shield forward from the previous installed segmental concrete ring. On the face side of the OFTS there were eight hydraulic thrust cylinders to stabilise the OFTS against the face to prevent it from toppling forward. There were six working platforms within the OFTS from which the employees could work, lashing the face in the sand portions and likewise drilling and charging the face in the harder portions of the tunnel. After encountering the harder calcrete sections, the OFTS was modified to carry a telescopic hood on the top portion to prevent sudden sand inflows and the six working platforms were redesigned to extend 1.2m ahead of the OFTS so as to apply pressure against the face when required. Redpath initially achieved a daily advance of 2.4m/day building up to 4.8m/day. The contractual daily advance rate was 3.6m/day and this milestone was achieved overall.

The accurate monitoring of the volumes of sand and calcrete removed daily with each advance cycle is crucial in determining whether there is a void above the tunnel or not. In the rear section of the OFTS were two hydraulic winches mounted to two separate arrester arms and a hydraulic centre lift. The two arrester arms and their respective winches were used to install the segmental concrete rings (each weighing 470kg) into place before bolting the segment to the previous ring and to the segment above and below it. The centre hydraulic lift was used for installing the ‘key block’. Malthoid packers were inserted between the segments, which assisted with sealing for grouting that took place behind the segments (i.e. the area between the segmental tunnel and the excavated hole in the sand was grouted with a cementatious grout to preserve the integrity of the tunnel). Redpath’s Schultz says the company has now proved the concept and is looking at other opportunities for similar projects. “We have paid our school fees and believe that we have improved on the original proposed method and equipment. By being the pioneers we have

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mining technology

learnt many lessons and should we conduct a similar project, we will most definitely apply experience gained from the Ghaghoo project.”

Yielding results The 720,000 tonnes per year (t/y) Ghaghoo mine will produce 200,000220,000 carats per year (ct/y) in phase 1 at diamond prices expected to average about $267/ct, according to the 2013 resource statement. About 250,000300,000ct are expected in 2015.

Early indications from the first 2,400ct recovered by the end of June are that the stones are better than samples obtained during exploration. A 20ct and two 10ct diamonds have been recovered, compared with the largest diamond recovered in the exploration sample of 7ct. In the first 2,400ct the average stone size is between 0.5ct and 1.5ct. A better idea on the costs will be evident towards the end of the year as the company says it is in the transition phase of handing over from the building teams to the operational teams. A sale of about 20,000ct in Antwerp (Belgium) before the year-end should give a good indication of what can be expected. That will also allow management to conduct follow-up studies on how to develop the project further. “As soon as the data starts coming in and we get more confident, that work will begin immediately. So Haile [Mphusu, MD of Gem Diamonds Botswana] wants to settle the mine and get the mine operating well. I want to start the expansion process right away, so there is a bit of tension in the ranks. But we didn’t build this mine to remain a 250,000-odd carat producer. We want the mine’s full potential to be achieved,” says Elphick.

This article is an edited version of ‘Tunnelling to access Ghaghoo’s riches’ by Mining Journal deputy editor Gareth Tredway, published in the November edition of Mining Magazine Editorial Editor Luke Buxton T +44 (0)20 7216 6078 E luke.buxton@aspermontmedia.com Head of production Tim Peters Senior sub editor Jim Adlam Sub editor Woody Phillips Editorial enquiries T +44 (0)20 7216 6078 F +44 (0)20 7216 6050 www.world-tunnelling.com Advertising production Sharon Evans T +44 (0)20 7216 6075 E sharon.evans@aspermontmedia.com

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Horizontal Technology.indd 1

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CONTENTS

Green-thumb thinking

ne of the many marvels of the trenchless industry is its limited environmental impact. Why dig a trench when you can dig a small hole? The oil industry gave it a bad name and drilling fluids have often been seen as dirty, polluting things. On trenchless projects this is rarely, if ever, the case. “Most drilling fluids are environmentally safe,” Darren Litke, owner of NorthStar Fluid Solutions, tells TW. “The method of disposal determines their acceptance on certain drilling projects. Fluids can be land sprayed or mix/bury/covered. In some areas, they need to be solidified with binding agents so that they can be disposed of at landfill or special waste sites.” Despite the traditionally ugly image, now it seems drilling fluids can be good for your garden, which in wintertime can be a depressing sight. What do you do to make it better? Add more mud, it seems. In the US, Oklahoma State University has conducted a first-of-its-kind research into applying used horizontal directional drilling fluids to lawns. Since 2013, research assistant and graduate “Now it seems drilling student Josh Daniels has collected 58 samples from fluids can be good for about 25 states across the US, on fibre-optic- and your garden, which in pipeline-installation jobs utilising HDD. wintertime can be a “People hear ‘drilling mud’ and automatically depressing sight” think oil and gas, and this is not the case. There needs to be a study showing this mud can be useful,” Daniels said. The HDD mud samples from the study are mostly soil with additives such as bentonite (used by some people as part of a personal detox plan), soap and phosphates, polymers and sodium carbonate. The research also identified plant nutrients, salts and metals. At five applications rates the slurry mixture was dispersed over bare and grass-covered plots. A control plot received no mud. After 60 days, the bare plots had Bermuda grass (short grey-green grass) growth equal to plots without added mud, but a 20t per acre application increased the Bermuda grass cover. Only the plot with 100t per acre had less coverage, Daniels said. While tests reveal that the mud assists the soil in retaining moisture, the benefits of an application are short-lived, Chad Penn, associate professor of soil and environmental chemistry, said. “If it proves that you can use this, it will allow contractors to cut their costs,” electrical contractor Brad Ritter commented. “I see the biggest challenge as convincing people that it is not harmful.” Ditch Witch sponsored the research. Read more about drilling fluids on pages 22 to 23. LUKE BUXTON, EDITOR luke.buxton@aspermontmedia.com

News 2 Features Asia & Australasia 3 Microtunnelling 10 UCT preview 16 Drilling fIuids 22 Contacts 23

Next month Middle East HDD CIPP

COVER

Target Trenchless has grown to be the only dedicated Pan-Gulf trenchless technology company providing services such as microtunnelling, horizontal directional drilling (HDD), pipe jacking, caisson shaft sinking, sewer rehabilitation, CCTV surveying, CIPP lining, robotic patch repair and pipe bursting. It has been working in the Middle East for the past 14 years and has continuously increased its fleet of tunnelling equipment in all of the Gulf Co-operation Council states (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Oman). www.targettrenchless.com

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NEWS

Battle-vet vac to manage UK pipes Lanes Group has bought a giant jet-vacuum system that has seen action in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of humanitarian projects. The company acquired the JHL 8x8 Recycler primarily to support major utility clients in the UK, maintaining and repairing wastewater network systems in remote areas. It is based at Lanes Utilities’ Thames Water depot in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, but is available for projects across the UK. Drainage work on railway assets is expected to be a key use. The vehicle will be ready to be deployed to tackle troubled drains in harsh winter conditions. “Our experience supporting Thames Water during the very serious floods last winter taught us that better all-terrain capability would help us to respond positively during such emergencies, not just after them,” Lanes Utilities Thames Water framework director Conrad Ashby said.

Lanes’ new JHL 8x8 Recycler

The JHL 8x8 Recycler is based on an eight-wheeled military-specification Mercedes chassis, which can deliver power to all eight wheels at once. At a touch of a button, the drive can be switched between all-terrain and standard road conditions. The vehicle has independent suspension to all eight wheels and can pump up to 700L of water per minute over a distance of 2km using its on-board pump station. Lanes Utilities provides planned and reactive maintenance and repair services for a number of utility providers, including Thames Water, Anglian Water and Severn Trent Water.

Envirosight renovates rover US-based pipeline inspection services company Envirosight has improved its large-diameter pipe crawler. The company has enhanced the Rovver X 400 crawler’s range and traction abilities by adding 45kg (100lb). Envirosight has also applied larger wheels to allow the vehicle to straddle debris, and position itself better in lines of 30in and larger diameter. “This is the most powerful and capable large-diameter

pipe crawler available without requiring in-manhole assembly,” Richard Lindner, president of Envirosight, said. “These new wheels were specifically designed to add weight while maintaining a slim profile that lessens the effect of fast flows found in large interceptor lines.” The Rovver X can record digital video, log observations, generate reports and link directly to asset-management software.

Interserve hires infrastructure MD UK support services and construction company Interserve has hired a new managing director of its infrastructure business. Chris Tyerman will replace Simon Ohlenschlager, who is due to retire in April 2015. Tyerman is currently director for operations efficiency at engineering and construction group Costain. “Chris brings a wealth of experience to the role, with over 28 years in the

industry, which has seen him lead projects in water, highways, building and operational efficiency,” Interserve Construction’s managing director, Ian Renhard, said. “These skillsets will help us to continue to develop the business, building on our experience and vision to bring innovation and ingenuity to the industry.” In the trenchless sector Interserve designs, builds and installs water and wastewater pipelines.

Pipe provider expands team to boost service In a bid to steady continued growth, UK pipe product providers Pipe Center and Climate Center have expanded their central estimating team. Since its inception, the team has trebled in size and will continue to respond to requests for detailed project quotes and technical information, and provide a single point of contact for customers on major contracts. The four new staff members will be guided by Wayne Calland-Hewitt (technical estimating manager) and Martyn Simpson (technical support manager), who together have over 25 years of experience.

They will draw on the in-depth product experience available across Pipe Center and Climate Center and, where appropriate, the wider Wolseley UK team. “While the service will accelerate our response times nationally, we are particularly keen to support our expanding business in London and the South East, where we see major opportunities to develop our activities with both existing and new customers,” Chris Banner, trading director, Pipe Center and Climate Center, said. Alongside this team expansion, the company has set up a new London office to co-ordinate and support projects in the capital. The expanded Pipe Center / Climate Center estimating team

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Asia & australasia

Lands of opportunity With infrastructure and attitudes to life coming up to speed with other developed countries, Asia is both home and hub for global trenchless technologies. Luke Buxton reports

The adoption of trenchless techniques is vital to reduce disruption on the densely populated streets of Singapore

he Asian continent is the largest land mass on earth, occupying 44.6 million km2. By comparison, the US occupies 9.85 million km2, or less than a quarter of Asia’s physical geology. Over half the globe’s estimated 7.2 billion people live in Asia – approximately 4.4 billion – and yet it covers less than 9% of the Earth’s surface. Some studies have found that there are more than 2,000 languages spoken in Asia alone, often connecting or dividing

Photo: Chensiyuan

communities. But technology has only one language: the language of power. The opportunities for trenchless work in Asia seem endless these days. Governments across the region are fast waking up to their citizens’ demands for better

living conditions. Word spreads (or digital-media bytes spread) of highly advanced technological nations and now people are demanding empowerment; the tools of technology. Give a man a computer and he can surf for a day; teach a man

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Above: David Groth, international sales director of PermaLiner Industries, gives a presentation on CIPP lining to the Asian trenchless community Top right: the local Perma-Liner (Singapore) team gets to grips with North American machines Above right: Perma-Liner (Singapore) will target sales in Singapore, Hong Kong India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand

how to surf and he’ll be on Facebook for a lifetime. People expect to be empowered and to choose what they do with that knowledge. This ranges from close access to potable-water pipes and sanitation sewers to sophisticated metro networks and high-speed internet connections. Trenchless-equipment providers, designers, consultants and contractors are seeing their workload spread across vast geographic plains from a developing country one month to a prosperous land the next. With densely populated metropoles growing exponentially, contractors find themselves working in tight conditions where trenchless is the only way to prevent chaos, congestion and high cost. It seems like every week tenders are posted from governments or authorities in Asian countries; and they are usually open to international contractors. However, as knowledge spreads and conferences and workshops recur in many places around the world, confidence in learned local knowledge is taking command of these projects.

Lining up new business The rapid growth of urban population coupled with the reducing subsurface, as well as ground, spaces for laying utilities, are the base catalysts for the application of trenchless techniques in Singapore and other nations in Asia. “Added to this, the deteriorating state of existing physical subsurface infrastructures evolves

into a situation where the conventions are giving way to advancements – enter trenchless technologies,” Sriram Ganesan, Perma-Liner Industries (Singapore), sales and marketing manager, tells TW. “The Asian trenchless market is now on the path of growth and expansion, with project owners realising that these techniques are useful and, in certain cases, they are the only way to get the projects done.“ Sometimes it takes a little push to get in the right direction. Technology from the world’s largest economy is spreading. Established in 1998, Florida, US-headquartered Perma-Liner has continued to grow its customer base among plumbers, contractors and municipalities with its cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) systems in North America. On June 1, at the Singapore International Water Week convention, Perma-Liner (Singapore) was born to meet the needs of the growing market in Singapore and other Asian

countries such as Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. “Perma-Liner (Singapore) interests are aimed at the public, residential and commercial markets of the above regions and are supported by a range of updated and newly developed trenchless repairing techniques,” Ganesan says. CIPP lining businesses, which started with a few metres of demonstrational applications in Singapore, have evolved into businesses worth millions of dollars in this region. Singapore is hailed as a developed nation and, always at the forefront in the construction industry, had most of its pipelines laid over 20-30 years ago, which currently need repair. “With the constant construction works in Singapore, many underground pipes are damaged and showing signs of cracking due to piling works and other activities above the ground.” Specifically, Singapore has a sewer-line network of 3,660km that needs renewal, “out of which only 900km have been installed, with 200km being installed last year,” Ganesan explains. “Singapore is the most active current market of trenchless in South East Asia and is poised to grow further with the introduction of more pipe-rehabilitation projects in both the public and private sectors.” For Perma-Liner, location was a big factor in setting up shop in Singapore. “Singapore is a natural choice because of the ease it provides to set up a business and it is the gateway to Asia. Singapore has a strong economy backed with world-class banking and infrastructure,” says Ganesan. Singapore is also strategically located in terms of transportation of equipment from the US. “There are vessels almost on a weekly basis out of Florida to have our shipments made on time without compromising the schedule of any projects to be undertaken,” he adds. The company has only been

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around a few months and is focusing on main-line, lateral and sectional point repair and manhole rehabilitation markets for sanitary and drainage sewer applications. Perma-Liner (Singapore) will ensure that every installer will be trained and certified to provide and install Perma-Liner products as specified, Ganesan confirms. The company’s fast pace does not stop there: it already has a sub-dealer (PASCO) appointed for Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia. “We are currently working on

Exporting talent

Ley Choon Group Holdings is assessing over 100km of sewer lines in Colombo, Sri Lanka Photo: Anuradha Dullewe Wijeyeratne

It is not all foreign knowhow and equipment on these shores. In June, the Sri Lankan government awarded Singapore firm Ley Choon Group Holdings a S$39.5 million (US$30.4 million) contract to rehabilitate sewer lines in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. As urban sprawl hits the outer reaches of the capital, the existing public sewerage infrastructure remains limited and aged. Frequent blockages in the system cause flooding in low-lying area and uncontrolled overflow puts the health of citizens at risk. Ley Choon Group Holdings, a provider of underground utility construction and road works, will restore 10km of sewer lines and assess 125km more in the Colombo Municipal Council area of this teardrop island off India’s southeast coast. Ley Choon Group Holdings’ Pipes and Roads division specialises in underground utilities, infrastructure construction and maintenance and sewer-pipeline rehabilitation. The Sri Lankan government received a $116.63 million loan from the Asian Development Bank for the project, which is expected to be complete in a two-and-a-half year window.

China and India to set up new sub dealers, and they should be trained and ready for business by early next year,” says Ganesan. Aside from bidding on mainstream lining projects in Singapore and India as a technology provider in collaboration with local contractors, Perma-Liner (Singapore) is walking before it can run. “We will also be doing our first installation some time in December or January for a private customer. This project will be used as a pilot project to demonstrate our technology to local authorities, utility owners and contractors,” says Ganesan.

Echoes of things to come There are more examples of the influx of foreign technology and knowhow. Singapore Public Utilities Board (PUB) is the national water agency responsible for the collection, production, distribution and reclamation of water in the island city-state. In May, Singapore PUB awarded Echologics, a Canadabased pipe-condition assessment and leak-detection solutions provider, a 12-month contract to survey 100km of critical transmission mains for leaks. “Singapore PUB is helping to ensure the integrity and mitigate the risk of failure of its transmission mains,” Marc Bracken, vice-president and general manager of Echologics, remarks. Echologics, an affiliate of Mueller, has developed a proprietary, acoustic-based system that non-invasively pinpoints leaks on large-diameter transmission mains. Echologics’ EchoWave solution can detect and locate leaks without disrupting water service and is not limited by pipe material or size. “We are excited to work with Singapore PUB as it continues to be a good steward of its ratepayers’ resources and to enable informed, data-driven decisions to ensure that the water supply in Singapore is well managed,” Bracken says.

A million a month Government investment means good news for wastewater pipes in Western Australia

n March this year Western Australia’s Water Corporation announced that more than A$1 million (US$927,000) had been spent over the previous 20 months on wastewater pipe relining in the state capital, Perth. The investment forms part of a $60million programme to reline 20km of wastewater pipes between July 2012 and 2016. Since the Water Corporation’s programme started, almost $25million has been spent on five projects. The remaining $35million will be spent on refurbishing wastewater pipes elsewhere in Western Australia. In March, water minister Mia Davies announced the completion of a $4.2million state-government project to refurbish 1.5km of wastewater pipes in Mount Lawley and East Perth, work on which began in November 2013. The next $5.8million stage of the programme will reline 3.2km of wastewater pipes in Inglewood, Midland and Collie. The former two projects began in mid-July and the anticipated completion date is January 2015. Work in Collie is anticipated to begin in early February 2015 with the slated end at April 2015.

Lining the future The Water Corporation is responsible for 15,782km of wastewater pipes across the state and collects about 156 billion litres of wastewater each year. Although there were not specific challenges once the relining jobs began, finding someone to do it on such a vast network was problematic. “There are no Western Austral-

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ian-based experienced relining contractors, so the biggest challenge is managing the projects to ensure their continued presence here,” a Water Corp spokesperson tells TW. Of equal importance to the utility was ensuring that these tasks went ahead with as little

disruption to the surface infrastructure as possible. “The corporation uses trenchless technology to reline the wastewater pipes, minimising the disturbance to the community and the environment,” Davies comments. “This technology allows the corporation to extend the life of this vital infrastructure by 50 to 70 years, without the need to dig up streets to access the pipe.” The techniques used in the Northbridge and Mount Lawley projects included inserting a resin-impregnated, flexible tube into the main. This tube was then hardened with the application of either UV light or hot water, to form a replacement pipe within the existing main. This resulted in a seamless, jointless ‘pipe within a pipe’ that has a smooth and continuous inner surface. The South Street Collection Sewer, generally more than 60 years old, also needs relining due

to degradation caused by gas and abrasion created by debris. Construction of a new sewer line to replace the existing asset in its current location using conventional pipe-laying techniques option is not preferable due to a variety of reasons: • t he extensive cost involved and the high level of disruption to stakeholders and residents; • t he issue of obtaining land for an alternative route also makes this a less viable option; and • c onstruction of a new main sewer would take longer. Relining will extend the pipeline’s life by approximately 50 years, Water Corp concludes.

Contractors inserted a resinimpregnated, flexible tube into the main. This tube was then hardened with either UV light or hot water, to form a replacement pipe within the existing main 20km of wastewater pipe will be relined over the fouryear period

Recently completed relining jobs $14million

4.5km of wastewater pipes, Fremantle

$1million

800m along Wellington Street, Perth

$3.1million 1.6km in Northbridge $2.2million 800m along South Street, Fremantle

Centre of excellence...

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Target Trenchless Recent Success in the Kingdom of Bahrain Target Trenchless completes the new Muharraq STP Waste Water Connection Network (WWCN) in Bahrain

Caisson Shaft Sinking Set-up

Samsung Engineering were contracted to construct a new Deep Gravity Sewer System and associated Sewage Treatment Plant with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres per day to convert the existing pumped sewerage system to a gravity system. The old system pumped sewerage to the Manama area and onto the Tubli Sewerage treatment plant. The island of Muharraq now has its own independent sewerage system and is currently pumping in excess of 70,000 cubic metres per day. Target Trenchless partnered with local civil engineering and marine contractor, Al Hassanain Co. BSC to undertake the construction of the Wastewater Connection part of the project. This involved the construction of 70nos. deep caisson shafts and 5.2km of 500mm, 600mm and 700mm microtunnelling.

Caisson Shaft Sinking

Target Trenchless introduced their caisson shaft sinking technique to this project. This was the first time that caisson shaft sinking was used in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Target constructed its own caisson ring casting facility near to the project site. The caisson shafts were 3.70m in outer diameter and varied in depth between 6.0 metres to 12.0 metres. The construction of the shafts were carried out in a heavily built up area, very close to existing buildings and residential houses. This technique proved very effective in the challenging project sites causing very little disruption and able to cope with the high ground water table in the project area. Caisson Ring Casting Area

Microtunnelling

The microtunnelling project involved the installation of polycrete pipes with inside diameters of 500mm, 600mm and 700mm with drive lengths up to 110 metres by closed-face slurry system. Target Trenchless deployed 5 nos. of its Iseki closed-face slurry system microtunnelling machines to this project. The tunnels were driven from the new caisson shafts into the secant pile Deep Gravity Shafts (DGS) and into existing chambers which were decommissioned as a pumping chamber and converted to a gravity chamber. These chambers were as small as 1.2 metres in diameter which involved receiving the MTBM in 3 sections - a very challenging operation.

Completion of 600mm dia crossing into secant pile shaft

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During the project, Target Trenchless were required to meet very critical milestones to ensure a smooth transition from the pumped system to a gravity system. This involved increasing the use of 5 systems from the originally planned 2 systems which enabled the project to successfully complete several months ahead of schedule much to the satisfaction and gratitude of all involved on the project. Launch of 600mm MTBM from caisson shaft From left to right: Mr Winston Agor, Deputy Construction Manager – Samsung Engineering, Mr Jaafar H. Ali, Executive Director – Al Hassanain Co. , Mr Chris White, Managing Consultant – Target Trenchless. “Final Tunnel on the Project (WWCN)”.

Samsung Engineering Company Limited Deputy Construction Manager Mr Winston Agor recently congratulated Al Hassanain Co. and Target Trenchless in giving their valuable efforts for successfully completing the 23rd and last decommissioning connection together with the whole of the WWCN team, QA/QC Dept, and HSE Dept and all the staff that led to a safe and successful conclusion of “the first and the longest tunneling project in Bahrain.”

Mr Jaafar Ali (AHC) and Mr Chris White (Target Trenchless) would like to jointly thank Mr Khalifa Mansour, Asst. Undersecretary of the Bahrain Ministry of Works, Mr SangDong Min, Project Manager of Samsung Engineering, and Mr Hubertus Schrage, P2M Berlin - Ministry of Works’ Consultants for their careful guidance and support throughout this prestigious and challenging project for the benefit of the people in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Al Hassanain Co were also awarded the Marine works associated with the new Sewerage Treatment Plant which involved the installation of a Long Sea HDPE Outfall pipe of 1.9m dia with a total length of 1.5kms terminating the sea bed at a depth of 20 metres. This was again a “first” in the Kingdom of Bahrain on an outfall pipe with this diameter and length.

Long Sea Outfall prior to sinking

Contact

Target Trenchless Bahrain (HQ) . Saudi Arabia . Kuwait . Oman . UAE Bahrain ( Head office ) T.+973 1363 4933 F. +973 1363 4934 E. office@targettrenchless.com Target 2014.indd 3

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Microtunnelling

A tale of two cities Poor weather conditions, overcrowding and inexperienced local contractors made microtunnelling on two sewer installation jobs in India anything but easy. Paul Nicholas, executive director â&#x20AC;&#x201C; geotechnical at Aecom India, talks to TW A view of the DN2400 microtunnelling site in Delhi from the opposite bank of the Yamuna River

9m jacking shaft for the Delhi Interceptor Sewer. Aecom was able to reduce the number of shafts from 300 to 175

uality of, and access to, water supply and sanitation in India is an issue that still needs to be addressed. Government accounts from the year 2012-13 state that US$6.5billion was spent on improving water and sanitation services, but this has had limited effect outside main urban areas. While 90% of the population in the major cities has access to clean water from pipelines, outside the cities 60% draw water from a remote well, which can be located more than one hour from their homes.

On the sewer side, 50% of the population has no access to toilets and defecation in the open is common. This article describes two sewer construction projects in India using microtunnelling in challenging cultural and working conditions.

Delhi Interceptor Sewer The aim of the new interceptor sewer is to reduce effluent in the Yamuna River, which flows to the Ganges. The river is currently unable to support life due to high levels of pollution. Open flows from illegal housing developments run into major open drains that flow into the Yamuna river. Once this project is complete, flow into the drain will be diverted to purpose-built chambers to remove trash and then flow via the new interceptor sewer to a new pumping station to be transferred to a sewerage treatment plant (STP). The responsible agency is Delhi Jal Board (DJB) with Engineers India Ltd (EIL) as the general consultant with CH2M undertak-

ing the detailed project report (DPR) and assisting with hydraulic design and tender documents. It was tendered as six contracts, awarded to three contractors for US$323 million after a reverse auction, a process used in India where after bid submission and technical approval the approved contractors bid online against each other to the lowest price. The overall job comprised a 57.6km interceptor sewer, six pumping stations, 132 interceptor chambers and 16km of rising mains. Interceptor Package 2&3 was awarded to Pratibha Mosinzhstroi, an Indian-Russian JV, for $205 million. The Interceptor Sewer is 600mm to 2,400mm in diameter. On these two packages, microtunnelling was to be performed on approximately 34km. There were four pumping stations, 19 large and 56 small interceptor chambers as well as an 11-year operating and maintenance contract The contracts were awarded in mid-2011 and construction was due to be complete in three years. Some sections have been completed and will come into operation by the end of 2014. Pratibha JV contracted Aecom as the detail design consultant (DDC) for its P2&3 contracts. In the tender documents for P2&3, 300 shafts and manholes were indicated. By adjusting the alignment and drive lengths, Aecom was able to reduce the number of both to 175. The contractors in India with microtunnelling experience were unable to satisfy all the tender qualification requirements. This meant that contractors with little or no experience of trenchless techniques or microtunnelling were awarded the main contracts. Technical qualification was satisfied by the local contractors taking on foreign partners to form JVs. Only two of the smaller contracts were awarded to JVs with microtunnelling experience in India.

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The Pratibha JV purchased a total of seven microtunnelling systems from MTS and Herrenknecht, which also contracted to provide maintenance and operation of the equipment. At the MT site, shafts had to be raised up on the banks of the drains because of the possible high-water flood level following monsoon rains. The shaft construction is labour-intensive as labour costs are relatively low. Workers were bending and binding steel by hand rather than employing mechanical means. It was a case of two worlds on site: new microtunnelling systems next to men using simple hand tools. The water table in general was 6m below ground level in silty clays and sands. Shafts were installed on high ground due to the possibility of flooding. Since guide walls and lubrication as recommended in the design were not used for sinking the caisson shafts, several shafts tilted and became stuck. Kentledge and external excavation had to be used to assist in the sinking process and several shafts were completed out of tolerance for verticality. This made for interesting circumstances for setting out the microtunnelling guidance systems to maintain the correct alignment. The shaft subcontractor had never constructed 8 and 9m shafts before and ignored advice from more experienced engineers. The 8 and 9m jacking shafts have taken 16 months to put down, causing considerable delay in the DN2400 sewer line, which should have been completed by now, and has required mobilisation of a second DN2400 MTBM from Germany to complete these final sections of the interceptor line. The project specification called for good-quality HDPE lined concrete jacking pipes manufactured to Indian IS and British BS standards with stainless-steel collars. Until this project it was difficult to find acceptable-quality

jacking pipes in India. One pipe supplier, K K Spun, invested in new European machinery and set up a new modern pipe plant where the pipes were manufactured to the aforementioned standards. Aecom attempted to convince the engineer to allow the jacking and receiving shafts to be converted to oversize manholes, which is common in Europe, but since this design was not part of the tender, it was not allowed. Manholes were installed inside shafts and backfilled around. The depth of the sewer varied from 8-9m inverts for the smaller diameters (DN600-1200) to 18-20m for larger diameters (DN1600-2400). The interceptor construction was within a congested corridor with other contractors constructing roads, metro and utilities all in the same narrow area running along the banks of the drain. Metro projects generally have the right of way even though the interceptor sewer was designed and its alignment fixed earlier. This resulted in the Delhi Interceptor Sewer contractors having to realign the sewer to avoid the elevated metro construction piles. Microtunnelling works and pumping stations should be complete by the end of 2015, but sections of the interceptor are being put into operation as they are completed; the first section was activated in October 2014.

Cramped in Cuttack The Cuttackâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Odisha Sanitary Sewer Project is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other banks. The project entails 255km of property connections and collection sewers. The site is a very congested old central city area with narrow roads, heavily congested with two-way traffic. Microtunnelling started in April 2014. It was originally due to start in November 2013, but microtunnelling is not on the critical path as there is only 10km, so it will be

finished well before the remainder of the sewers. Trenchless technology is being used on 18 routes to install (10km) of 150-600mm pipe. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was the successful bidder, Michigan Engineering is the microtunnelling subcontractor and Aecom is the DDC for microtunnelling. It was tendered to be a slurry microtunnelling project but due to the space constraints and larger shafts with additional equipment required for slurry systems, Aecom recommended the use of auger pilot tube equipment (PMT). The ground is alluvium deposits of sand with silt and clay and a high water table. The very tight space required small shafts and a small equipment footprint. The pilot tube method was chosen as it is able to directly install small-diameter pipes of which 5km of DN150 &200 have to be installed from shafts 3-6m below ground level. There is a high water table, 1-2m below ground level and invert levels were from 1.5m to 5m below ground level. Distances

Top: kentledge and external excavation had to be used in Delhi to assist in the sinking process and several shafts were completed out of tolerance for verticality Above: the project was a mix of new technology and traditional methods. Engineers undertook labour-intensive shaft construction while new microtunnelling machines bored into the Delhi soil

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Crowded Cuttack: tight space required small shafts and a small equipment footprint; centre column: reaming head on the Cuttack project

between shafts were relatively short at 20-80m. An extension of 150km to the existing contract was awarded and additional microtunnelling routes have been identified and submitted to the authorities for approval. Most small-diameter jack pipes are built from clay (VCP). As an alternative to importing VC pipes,

reinforced concrete (RC) jacking pipes were recommended. There are few concrete jacking pipes smaller than 250mm anywhere in world. For this project manufacturer K K Spun Pipe made what are likely to be the first 150 and 200mm internal diameter concrete pipes for jacking in the world. Settlement on some drives has

been a problem. After analysis it was found that settlement occurred only where a fibre-optic cable recently installed by HDD was crossed underneath or ran closely (500mm) parallel with the microtunnelling alignment. It is likely that the HDD methodology caused some voiding in the ground but was bridged by the road surface, then the additional excavation of the microtunnelling caused further disturbance to the ground, which resulted in settlement at the ground surface. The advantages of the PMT system are the small shaft diameters (2-3m), reduced equipment footprint on surface and the fast set-up, which allows a 60m drive to be completed in a week from start of set-up to completion of the microtunnelling. The project is expected to be complete in 2016.

Stability at the site Microtunnelling has helped to relocate utility and sewer pipelines on a railway construction project in France LGV working site at Veigné

DN 1500 pipes lifted before being lowered into the thrust pit

ince 2012, Vinci Construction has been building the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique (LGV SEA) high-speed railway line between Tours and Bordeaux in France. In June 2011, Vinci Construction signed a concession contract for 50 years with French national railway network owner Réseau Ferré de France (RFF). The 50-year contract covers financing, design, construction, operation, maintenance and future renovation of the high-speed line. The concession involved a total investment from Vinci and partners of €7.8 billion (US$9.726 billion), with the works representing €6.2 billion of the financing. The works consist of building the 302km of high-speed tracks (for speeds up to 300km/h) and more than 400 civil constructions, among them 19 bridges. The works, which have to be

completed within 73 months, have been entrusted to the Cosea consortium, led by Vinci construction. Others in the consortium include Arcadis, BEC, Eurovia, Egis Rail, Ineo, Inexia, NGE and TSO. The consultation process, launched with the 122 cities crossed by the line, found the best solutions for utilities relocation and the protection of environmental resources. Natural ponds and stormwater networks will be restored under and on both sides of the line.

Pipes in place Hobas France, manufacturer of jacking GRP pipes, supplied pipes to the city of Veigné to helping convey stormwater across the line. Due to the infrastructure, at points the railway must be built on a very high soil platform. In

this case, opening trenches is very expensive and unstable. On the other hand, microtunnelling technology brings security,

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Pipes await jacking at the LGV site Hobas pipes DN 1500, PN 1 and SN 10000 for storm-water application

“The company identifies the water sector as showing the most potential for business”

LGV SEA project details Year of construction: 2014 Total length: 268m Products: jacking pipes with stainless steel sleeve Diameter: DA 1499 Wall thickness: 68mm Pressure class: PN 1 Stiffness class: SN 100.000 Application: stormwater pipe Installation method: jacking accuracy and savings. This technology has been performed to cross the 18m-high soil platform, at a total length of 268m. Following calculations the design department of Hobas France proved that the GRP pipes of type OD 1499, pushed by Herrenknecht machine AVN 1200, are able in the long term to withstand the static and dynamic loadings of the soil and the two railway tracks, according to French RFF design standards with high safety factors. The soil is strong and composed of chalk, clay with clintstone. The main advantages of the GRP pipes on this job were: •H igh mechanical resistance (vertical load nominal stiffness 100,000N/m²; horizontal compression 646t with a safety factor of 3.5); • E asy handling due to the light weight: 672kg/ml; •D esign for intermediate jacking station;

• S mooth outer surface, which •

allows low soil friction, and therefore lower lubrication costs; S mooth inner liner, which allows a very high flow capacity, even in the case of small hydraulic gradient and partly filled pipes.

The installation work was completed in one month. The project was managed by Vinci Construction Terrassement, which belongs to the COSEA consortium. The subcontractor is tunnelling technology provider CSM Bessac, which belongs to Soletanche and Vinci Group. Hobas France has other recent successful stories of railway crossings. These include: one project a few months ago in Poland that involved pushing jacking pipes with an outside diameter of 3,600mm; in Russia with 137m of pipes (type De 1414 and 1638) jacked beneath railway tracks by means of auger

boring; as well as works a decade ago in the Netherlands.

Market insight Demand for Hobas trenchless products during 2014 has shown growth compared with 2013, Hobas France managing director Eric Albaret says, with a stable year expected for 2015. The non-circular products market in North America is showing the most promise for the company at the moment, Albaret adds, with the manufacturer also increasing its staff (technical support) in Quebec, Canada. The company identifies the water sector as showing the most potential for business and notes that a lack of knowledge and training are some of the main obstacles to the optimal execution of trenchless projects. Emphasis needs to be put on training and events, such as No-Dig exhibitions, Albaret concludes.

DN 1500 Hobas pipes being jacked

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UCT preview

Twenty years of UCT The 20th Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT) will take place from January 25 to 29, 2015, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas Exhibitors show their wares to visitors at the last UCT

“There are many opportunities in the domestic market at this time; shale exploration has helped the pipeline industry to boom”

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he first show in 1995 was expected to have about 50 booths and 500 attendees. Instead, it yielded more than 115 booths and 1,200 attendees. When UCT began, trenchless was exploding onto the US market. The telecom boom of the 1990s propelled HDD to atmospheric highs followed by unspeakable lows when the telecom bubble burst around the turn of the century. Today, recovered and booming HDD input is a universally accepted construction method. In 1995 there were several primary trenchless rehabilitation methods but patents were still in place, somewhat restricting growth. Today, with patents largely gone, that dynamic has changed to the point that pipe bursting and CIPP have in many ways become commodities. A multitude of new and improved methods of inspection, repair, spray-on coatings and much more have also led to an explosion in the trenchless rehabilitation markets.

The first UCT 20 years ago had 24 educational sessions. The 2015 UCT educational programme will include 12 tracks focused on key industry interests and a total of 106 educational sessions. For 2015, the organisers are anticipating 2,500 attendees and almost 500 booths.

Exhibitors at a glance American Augers / Trencor Kelly Foos, marketing manager: “The American Augers product line includes state-of-the-art horizontal directional drills, earth-boring machines, mud pumps and cleaning systems. The Trencor line produces the most rugged trenchers in the industry. “There are many opportunities in the domestic market at this time; shale exploration has helped the pipeline industry to boom. 2015 looks promising as pipeline expansions throughout the US continue to grow. Contractors have work and are buying products to ensure

projects are completed in a timely manner.”

American Manufacturing Ben Warnert, general manager: “It’s our first time at the show. We are a global supplier of spare parts for many OEM pumps and also supply and manufacture many complete mud-pump models. American Manufacturing has been developing new pump models and plans to expand the line of pumps into different industries during 2015.”

AP/M Permaform Linda Keairns, marketing director: “AP/M Permaform will exhibit

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UCT preview

Permacast and CentriPipe products at the show. AP/M Permaform has been involved with recent projects in: Aurora, Colorado; Grottoes, New York; New Jersey Turnpike; NYSDOT I-684; Orlando International Airport; and Huntington Beach, California. “AP/M Permaform continues to expand its toolbox of trenchless solutions while remaining focused on its core business. The company sees continued expansion and growth for next year.”

Avanti International Jessica Williams, marketing co-ordinator: “Avanti has

exhibited at UCT for more than 10 years. Each year, we showcase many products from our complete line of injection resins: acrylamide, acrylic, acrylate, hydrophilic and hydrophobic foam, gel and cementitious grouts. “Infiltration is a major problem across municipalities large and small, which causes immense overflow to treatment facilities and is increasing [spending of] tax payers’ dollars in every community. Infrastructure maintenance is typically underfunded and the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality exists here. The consequence of not taking action is far more costly than the cost of repair. “From a municipal standpoint, there are active grouting projects in every major metropolitan community, but the real winners are the smaller communities that have adopted chemical grouting as defence against infiltration in their underground sanitary and storm collection systems.

Throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, large geotechnical projects in mining, tunnelling, and subway systems are specifying both acrylic and cementitious grouts to effectively control groundwater. “Avanti International’s first president, David Magill, a pioneer in the chemical grout industry, has been inducted into the 2015 North American Society for Trenchless Technology Hall of Fame.”

A speaker addresses a gathering at UCT

Bit Brokers International

“Infrastructure maintenance is typically underfunded and the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality exists here”

Chester Thomas, in-house counsel, sales and marketing: “Bit Brokers International does business with companies in 72 different countries and HDD has become one of our primary markets. Our staff has over 100 combined years of experience in the drilling industry. “The company will exhibit a multitude of products, including the new VersaReam, which is a patent-pending interchangeable blade PDC reamer. The company’s main project has focused on getting testing results for the VersaReam. “The market has been on a steady rise for underground construction/HDD, but the competition tends to rise as well. We expect the VersaReam to be a staple in the market. We also

TWM@BITBROKERS.COM

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UCT preview

Unicem USA is involved with the CRATR Project, which is a military project for the rapid repair of runways. We make the only approved backfill material for this programme, with product being placed at numerous air bases around the world. Next year we expect a 3-4% increase in business.”

Contech Engineered Solutions Mitch Windham of CUES explains his company’s pipe-inspection products to representatives from the City of Houston at UCT

expect that our traditional tricone rock reamers will continue to gain market share. The HDD market may also see a slight sway from traditional tricones to PDC bits, which would be a great thing for us because we manufacture our own PDC bits.”

Buzzi Unicem USA William Krupa, sales manager, specialty products: “We have displayed rapid repair products at the show for roadways, runways and utility openings. Buzzi

Gaelyn Cunningham, marketing manager – pipe: “Contech has been providing rehabilitation and relining solutions using steel and aluminium tunnel liner plate, steel and aluminium structural plate, steel reinforced polyethylene pipe, PVC liner pipe and many others for over 70 years – recently adding machine spiral wound steel-reinforced HDPE materials. “There are two relatively new product lines: (1) InnerFlow liner pipe, which is a solid, smoothwall high-density polyethylene

(HDPE) pipe with an interlocking profile for a watertight joint, ranging from 8in to 63in diameters; and (2) SPR PE liner pipe, which is an in-situ spiral-wound structural internal steel-reinforced HDPE liner method for closedsystem storm and sanitary sewers and culverts with limited access. “With ever-tightening budgets and strict deadlines, the market is ripe for rehabilitation solutions vs. replacement. One challenge is that there are many similar solutions being touted that pay little heed to the true process of hydraulics and structural assessment in the design phase and may damage the reputation of proven reline and rehabilitation as a tested and approved methodology.

FerraTex Justin Grabarczyk, director of sales and marketing: “This is FerraTex’s first time exhibiting. The company will have a section

Pipeline inspection

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From robots to the sea

Money-saving alternatives on sewer project

Pipeline rehab

Auger boring

Repairing damage in Christchurch

Electrifying the market

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Pipe bursting

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of our new polyurethane liner on display. Activity looks good in the cured-in-place market with the company recently completing two large projects for Spiniello Company: a South West Diversion in Baltimore, Maryland, comprising 2,500ft of 78in liner; and VI sewer rehabilitation in Newark, New Jersey, comprising 750ft of 96in liner. “The company expects to increase its customer base with three locations throughout the US, and a new location in Florida opening at the start of the year.”

Holly Pipe Jerry Nugent Jr., president: “We plan on exhibiting our drill-pipe products and services. The market is picking up, yet still quite competitive. For next year we expect a steady increase of work especially with new Eagle Ford and other fracking areas going strong.”

Interplastic Corporation Kaleel Rahaim, business manager remediation polymers: “We will provide information about polyester and vinyl ester resins used in the cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) process for remediation of gravity and pressure pipes. Interplastic sees long-term continued growth with the opportunity for significant growth in the pressure pipe market with the introduction of several new products for the CIPP market.”

Jet-Lube Joe Large, water well and HDD sales manager: “Jet-Lube will be exhibiting our manufactured drilling products. The market looks very good and next year I expect a very good increase in sales.”

Madewell Products Corporation Natalie Steele, sales/marketing associate: “We will exhibit the Mainstay PortaMortar. The market has been challenging for us in the Midwest: we have trouble finding applicators and

being competitive is a challenge. Exhibiting at UCT in Houston last year was a great opportunity because it increased people’s awareness of our products in the Midwest. Madewell recently updated its website, www. madewell.net, to provide a more detailed overview of products and services.”

McElroy Manufacturing Corey George, creative services manager, and Susan Hylton, public-relations specialist: “We will be exhibiting thermoplastic pipe-fusion machines, qualityassurance tools and productivityenhancing accessories. The new DataLogger 5 captures the most information relevant to your job such as GPS locations, jobsite photos and barcoded details from pipe and fittings. The DataLogger Vault allows users to safely and securely store fusionjoint records in the cloud. ”We celebrated our 60th anniversary in 2014. Art McElroy started the company in 1954 in an Oklahoma garage with a passion for engineering and a dream. Today, McElroy is a leading maker of thermoplastic fusion machines and accessories recognised worldwide.”

NASSCO Heather Myers, operations manager: “The National Association of Sewer Service Companies will have on display Specification Guideline printouts as well as NASSCO membership benefits and training opportunities. “Since early this year the NASSCO Guideline Matrix for Selection of Force Main Inspection Technology Summary, developed by the Pressure Pipe Committee, has been available on the association’s website. “NASSCO has been updating its Pipeline Assessment & Certification Program (PACP) manual and training materials. With the release of version 7.0 in 2015, the hope is to keep it as the standard for the next five to seven years.

“Next year NASSCO plans to release PACP 7.0, revise our Manual of Practice and develop an apprenticeship programme for a Trenchless Assessment and Rehabilitation Labourer. “At our annual conference in February 2015, we host two tracks (a first) for our technical day: Technical Track A – Safety, Risk Assessment and Municipal Issues; and Technical Track B – Collection System Inspection, Maintenance and Rehabilitation.”

Neptune Research Tammy Bomia – regional sales manager: “NRI will be showcasing its patented, fibre-reinforced composites used for mechanical protection of field-applied coatings, especially used on HDD projects. “Scar-Guard sits in the trend of field joint coating protection, which has prevented costly spot repairs worldwide. When excessive coating damage is anticipated on a critical pull-back, companies are turning to this cutting-edge technology for protection. “NRI products are specified with new asset owners every year. Domestically, a field demonstration, offering visual inspection after pull back, resulted in the FRP being specified on a highprofile 36in OD pipeline replacement project. “Internationally, a Middle East company required protection of their 26in OD pipeline over not only the field welds but the FBE-coated mainline pipe as well. In Europe hundreds of feet of critical flare lines were reinforced using NRI’s carbon-fibre system.

Delegates check out the educational sessions available at UCT

“The market looks very good and next year I expect a very good increase in sales”

December 2014 UCT_Trench1412B.indd 19

27/11/2014 11:51

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Topical news, equipment reviews, technical papers and site reports on trenchless projects around the globe

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NRI will be introducing more cutting-edge composite repair technology in the coming year with its active research and development team.”

Pioneer One Mark Kelley, applications engineer: “We plan to exhibit various sizes of our Prospector HDD Air Hammer Rock Drilling System, including our new 2in steerable rock hammer designed for mini HDD drills. Our new HDD Air Motor Hammer is for the uppermid and maxi-drills for rock bores beyond 2,000ft. “We have completed many thousands of feet of rock bores for Miller Pipeline/Minnesota Limited, which is being contracted to install gas pipeline in regards to the extension of I-69 in Indiana. “With several contractors contacting us in late 2014 regarding a purchase of 10+ hammers each, we feel 2015 will be a big year for Pioneer One. We anticipate up to a 50% increase in sales. “We are working to develop a tool operated by air to replace the standard hole opener, with an announcement scheduled for late 2015.”

R.S. Technical Services Kelli Loux, inside sales and marketing: “We have exhibited at UCT for many years now. We typically have a table in the Rehab Zone where we display the evolution of CCTV inspection camera technology over the years. We also have a booth (#1140) to highlight our newest pan-and-tilt lateral launch camera, the RodSTAR. “The market appears strong and the challenge will be to grow our production capacity to meet the increase in demand for our products, but that is a good opportunity RST is ready for. “We have been focusing on making improvements to all of our mainline product lines currently, and are in the planning stages of an exciting new system

that will be introduced some time in 2015. “The death of our founder and CEO, Rod Sutliff, has forced us to review company performance. Under the new management RST is well positioned for the future.”

Sealing Systems Pam Sawatzke, sales and marketing: “We will have manhole rehabilitation products to serve the water and sewer industry on display at our booth. New offerings include Valve Box Inserts designed for a standard 5¼in valve box. They prevent dirt, sand, road salt and other foreign objects from entering your valve box. “There are always opportunities in our industry. As infrastructure is a necessity, the challenge is to constantly remind people that the infrastructure is there and needs to be protected from the elements that destroy it, whether it is new or existing.”

Sharewell HDD Dan Sharpe, president: “We will exhibit pit pumps, which are easy to re-build in the field, economical and move a great deal of fluids. The market is looking very good and we think 2015 will be better than this year.”

Source One Environmental (S1E) Steve Kerby, national sales manager: “We will exhibit our no-dig trenchless technology solutions, which include PipePatch 1½in to 48in point repair and elbow applications. We will also show our line of grouting products, which includes SealGuard II, Hyperflex and X Seal, and our epoxy coating, through Source1Coatings. “We will have information on our Pillow System, which allows us to do large-diameter pipe repairs, currently up to 48in, but we are working on larger sizes. We will also discuss our new product, Pipe Plug, which is a trenchless method for terminating a lateral in today’s growing demolition markets. We will also be re-launching our elbow repairs. “Recently, we were involved in the repair of a siphon that ran over 200ft underground in Texas. We were responsible for placing over 40 repairs in the siphon to stop water infiltration as lining was not an option. “Our expectations are to almost double our top-line sales in 2015 from 2014 by exploring new products and markets with strategic alliances.”

Attendees gain useful knowledge about their trade from one of the speakers

“The challenge is to constantly remind people that the infrastructure is there and needs to be protected from the elements that destroy it”

December 2014 UCT_Trench1412B.indd 21

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drilling fluids

Drilling mud flowing on from the Direct Horizontal Drilling project in Sherwood Park

All together now How drilling fluids helped overcome unconsolidated soils on a pipeline-installation project in Canada

Below: Darren Litke, owner of NorthStar Fluid Solutions, holds a large chunk of coal removed during a 36in push ream on the Kinder Morgan project Below right: finishing a big ream pass on another project

his summer Alberta-based contractor Direct Horizontal Drilling was tasked with the installation of three parallel pipelines for Kinder Morgan (the fourth-largest energy company in North America) in the Sherwood Park area of Edmonton, Alberta. The first was a 4.5in (114mm) pipeline over 880m (2,886ft) and two separate 24in (610mm) lines about 860m (2,821ft) long, just metres apart. The soil borings for the project indicated mostly sandstone with clay shale. It was apparent during entry on the first bore, a drill and pull, that the soil conditions were somewhat less consolidated than anticipated. After several entry

attempts, it was concluded that a temporary means to isolate flowing sand on entry needed to be implemented. About 90m (295ft) of washover pipe was installed around the drill string to maintain good flow to surface. Drilling continued with few problems but it was determined that there were more unconsolidated zones including coal and sand ahead of the washover pipe. There have been reports on previous projects in the area of abandoned underground coal workings in the region and existing deposits of highly fractured coal. Shortly into the pilot bore

(12Âźin), the fluid system was modified to include a natural polymer fluid-loss agent (Trol Star LV) and implementation of thickened hole sweeps using Star Plex, a bentonite and rheology modifier. Star Plex, unlike xanthan gum, mixes very rapidly and essentially maximises the potential of the bentonite particles in the drilling bentonite, at a fraction of the cost. The first bore was completed successfully and the rig was moved over to start the second bore. Because of the close proximity of the bores and knowledge of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;actualâ&#x20AC;? existing soil conditions, contractors decided to drill out beyond the problem zone and again run a washover pipe so that the pilot could advance. Again, multiple sand and coal seams were encountered and often very large chunks of coal were removed during the ream passes (24in and 36in). This is seen in one of the photos. All three bores were completed with minimal pull forces. Modifying the fluid system to address unexpected soil conditions allowed the contractor to maintain an open borehole and minimise down time associated with caving and/or stuck pipe. Star Plex was an asset in maintaining an open bore hole by not only suspending large cuttings during static periods, but also removing them on a consistent basis. Star Plex is not sensitive to other anionic products such as polymers and detergents and is not affected by formation clays but inhibits swelling when used at higher concentrations in the system.

Getting with the programme Owners are starting to request engineered drilling-fluid programmes (EDFP) and contractors that follow them are noticing the benefits they had not seen historically with just high-yield bentonite and water. Drilling-fluid product technologies borrowed from the oil and gas sector are December 2014 Drilling-fluids_Trench1412.indd 22

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drilling fluids

now being developed specifically for the challenges associated with HDD. This is definitely an advantage, as contractors are required to follow the plans they have submitted. Owners can also appreciate the benefits that outweigh the costs when using EDFPs and the additives that have been recommended. Longer and larger-diameter crossings are being completed with minimal hole problems and greatly reduced pull-back forces. Most HDD projects can be completed effectively with high-yield bentonite and few additives, but in the proper concentration and formulations. We do not have high temperatures and pressures like the oil and gas drilling sector, so why use expensive additives that tolerate these conditions? NorthStar Fluid Solutions Trol Star LV is a highly modified starch that works as well as or better than high-grade PAC polymers at a fraction of the cost. The Clay Star MT additive mixes much easier than synthetic polymers and is very effective when drilling clay and shale, starting at just 0.1% by volume. Star Plex is a non-polymer additive that maximises the potential

of the bentonite in the system at far lower cost than xanthan polymers. Keeping the borehole clean ensures that the pipeline is installed with little effort. NorthStar Fluid Solutions has even developed a product to drill effectively through oil sand. Tar Star prevents the oil sand from sticking to tooling and the shaker screens, ensuring that waste is minimised during drilling while maintaining an excellent rate of penetration. This is important as owners begin to increase the diameter and capacity of pipelines bringing oil from the oil sands projects.

Now and beyond Current market challenges include pipeline approvals and the declining price of oil. As larger pipeline projects such as Gateway and Keystone are approved, the market for longer and larger-diameter pipelines will increase. NorthStar Fluid Solutions is in the process of hiring additional personnel to help support and grow its business. It recently aligned itself with a major player in the eastern hemisphere that will allow the company to expand into those markets. NorthStar Fluid Solutions has plans to open manufacturing and

blending facilities in the US and/ or Mexico to address market demands for not only HDD but the other drilling industries it serves. The company expects demand to increase as the pipeline companies open up more expansion and new construction. It also sees a higher demand for its waste-management line of products.

Top: line pull under the Fraser River in Vancouver on a sunny day Above: second line pull just completed

This article was written by Darren Litke, owner of NorthStar Fluid Solutions Editorial Editor Luke Buxton T +44 (0)20 7216 6078 E luke.buxton@aspermontmedia.com Head of production Tim Peters Senior sub editor Jim Adlam Sub editor Woody Phillips Editorial enquiries T +44 (0)20 7216 6078 F +44 (0)20 7216 6050 www.trenchless-world.com Advertising production Sharon Evans T +44 (0)20 7216 6075 E sharon.evans@aspermontmedia.com

Annual subscription – UK and Europe £95.00 (160.00 euros) Rest of the world US$170.00. Additional current copies are available to subscribers at £12 (US$21; €18) each Trenchless World (ISSN 1756-4107) USPS No: 023-551 is published monthly (except January & July) by Aspermont Media, 4th Floor, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ, UK. Printed by Stephens & George Magazines, Merthyr Tydfil, UK The 2014 US annual subscription price is US$170. Airfreight and mailing in the US by Agent named Air Business, c/o WorldNet Shipping USA Inc, 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431

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US Postmaster: send address changes to Trenchless World, Air Business Ltd, c/o WorldNet Shipping USA Inc, 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434 Subscription records are maintained at Aspermont Media Ltd, Chancery Exchange, 10 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1YH, UK Aspermont Media, publisher and owner of Trenchless World (‘the publisher’) and each of its directors, officers, employees, advisers and agents and related entities do not make any warranty whatsoever as to the accuracy or reliability of any information, estimates, opinions, conclusions or recommendations contained in this publication and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the publisher disclaims all liability and responsibility for any direct or indirect loss or damage which may be suffered by any person or entity through relying on anything contained in, or omitted from, this publication whether as a result of negligence on the part of the publisher or not. Reliance should not be placed on the contents of this magazine in making a commercial or other decision and all persons are advised to seek independent professional advice in this regard.

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