Directional Drilling Trenchless Technology and Equipment
Directional drilling has been around as a concept and practice for many years, however it is only quite recently that it has developed into a sophisticated tunnelling system that integrates the cutting head with an electronic sonde or guidance transmitter. This promotes adaptability to different ground conditions by performing either dry face drilling or combining pressure water jets at the cutting head to form a spoil slurry which is pumped to the surface for removal and disposal. The technicality of this drilling method is now so advanced that it requires only a single operator to drive the machine. Intensive pre-drilling geological surveys identify the type of ground conditions through which the ducting will have to go and also identify the type of drilling head required to penetrate the sub strata. Armed with this information and with any reports regarding existing underground piping or ducting for any utility services the TBM ( Tunnel Boring machine) operator can set the drilling operation in motion once all the relevant data is fed into the computerised control panel of the drilling machine and the integrated electronic guidance system. The technology enables Directional drilling to follow a horizontal, vertical or curved path as the project requires, avoiding and circumventing all obstacles on the way.
Directional drilling contracts with rail network companies are guided by information from the client regarding safe depths at which to drill to allow for any ground shrinkage caused by the drilling and spoil removal. Where available, all technical information relevant to the directional drilling procedure, must be communicated to the drilling contractor to form part of his appraisal of the task and provide problem-solving solutions. The relevant information is supplied by the drilling project Client who could be such authorities as the waterways authorities, airports authorities, estuaries or harbour authorities, Railtrack Authorities, motorways authorities and private industry owners.
Each directional drilling project will have its own set of problems to overcome in terms of infrastructure and ground conditions and these have to be sorted well in advance of the project commencing so there are no unaccounted for hidden surprises in the course of the drill. The technological side of directional drilling becomes more complex as computerised electronic systems are introduced and integrated into the actual tunnel boring machines so that they can be programmed and automated. This effectively means that TBM operatives simply have to monitor the progress of the drill head from a control panel and only intervene when adjustments have to be made to the directional drill cutting heads or if the whole drilling process has to be stopped for whatever reason. There are different types of TBM’s depending on the ground conditions being encountered during the project and sometimes drilling or cutting heads have to be changed in the course of the project to cope with changes in soil,clay or rock conditions.
Directional drilling has many advantages over traditional open cut trenching. It is primarily much more environmentally friendly, more economical, less disruptive than other methods, and less time-consuming.
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