Small diameter hard rock excavation: comparing the methods
Dec 21, 2006
Contractors throughout the world often find that boring through hard rock is challenging. The degree of that challenge is highly dependent on the type of trenchless tool utilised and the type of geology excavated.
Small boring units (SBU) are small diameter cutterheads with a bearing housing assembly used in conjunction with an auger boring machine. SBUs are designed to bore through rock with an unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of 25 – 200 MPa. They are welded to the lead section of pipe casing while the ABM supplies torque and forward thrust to the cutterhead. Mounted on the front of the SBU are disc cutters, which enable the machine to excavate rock. Machines are available from The Robbins Company from 600 mm to 1.8 m in diameter.
Microtunnelling machines (MTBM) are small diameter, remotely controlled tunnel boring machines that require the use of hydraulic pipe jacking systems to install pipeline as they bore. This method of excavation is one of the most prevalent small diameter excavation methods in Australia today.
Christmas tree boring heads are used in conjunction with ABMs in soil to hard rock applications. The Christmas tree head features tungsten carbide teeth that excavate by cutting or ripping away at the material.
SBUs, when compared with other methods, are the most time and cost efficient way to excavate hard rock (100 to 250 MPa UCS) in projects above the water table. SBUs have been used on over 500 projects around the world since The Robbins Company began marketing them in 1996.
A 303 million litre reservoir was excavated to hold treated wastewater for irrigation of a private golf course in Big Sky, Montana. The design called for the installation of a 760 mm diameter casing 97 m in length.
Stadeli Boring & Tunneling of Silverton, Oregon began using Robbins SBUs in January 2006. Their first bore utilised a leased Robbins 762 mm SBU for use on a highway bypass project. The project called for a 37 metre long bore of 762 mm casing beneath railroad tracks in the ‘Deschutes Formation’, which is volcanic basalt.
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