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The Secret Tunnels Created By Trenchless Cable & Pipe Installation Systems

By: William Penworthy


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There are several trenchless cable & pipe installation systems, with their complexity, size and operation dependent upon the scale or severity of the job. Underground pipe installation equipment necessarily needs to be rugged, tough, durable and powerful. There are several such systems on the market, but which type to select will depend on whether you are looking at laying, repairing or replacing relatively small, household pipes that may well be made of a PVC based material, or larger, pipes that may be several inches in diameter, made from ductile iron, cast iron, clay, brick or concrete.

Installing a new pipe is a task which requires pinpoint accuracy, and a great deal of power. Standard pipe installations have, in the past, relied upon the opening up of a large trench. Often this has involved significant time, as well as the inconvenience of having heavy plant machinery for the work. Naturally there is much damage caused to the surface and surrounding area, and in urban environments this can prove to be an unpopular aspect of the process.

Although open trench pipe installations are time consuming and expensive, they can often be forgiven and overlooked if the work is taking place on disused or waste ground. But there is less of this available in towns and cities, and the likelihood is that any new pipe installation will require the digging up of roads, paths, driveways, car parks or gardens. In all of these cases there is likely to be either disruption, or expensive damage, and either will be unwelcome.

But with trenchless cable & pipe installation systems now doing away with the need for open trenches, much is changing. No longer does installing a pipe entail having to dig up roads or gardens, or cause traffic jams, diversions or closures. Even the time and expense of creating and repairing a trench is gone. Trenchless pipe installations mean exactly that - but how can a new pipe or cable be laid several feet underground without having to dig a hole for it? Additionally, how is it possible to identify a safe route underground, since there are so many existing cables, pipes, foundations and heavy root systems which may interfere with any planned passage?

The solution is relatively simple, although it is in its simplicity that the true success of these machines is demonstrated. In order to lay a new pipe or cable it is first necessary to construct two small bore holes. These are only slightly wider than a metre on each side, with one positioned at each end of the stretch of pipe or cable to be laid. The pipe installation equipment is then lowered into one trench, and a series of rods attached.

Using high powered hydraulic systems capable of exerting nearly forty tons of pressure, the rods are pushed through the ground. The angle and direction can be adjusted carefully, and using specialist sensing equipment it is possible to identify any nearby pipes, cables, foundations or tree roots which may interfere with the planned path. Once the underground pipe installation equipment has driven the rods through to the second bore hole, the rods are disconnected.

Pulled in behind the rods is a cable, to which is then attached a special widening tool. Behind this tool is the new pipe. The hydraulic unit then pulls the cable back through the narrow tunnel, with the widening head forcing aside the ground to create a wider path. In some case this may be up to eight inches in diameter. The exact diameter to which the tunnel walls are pushed will depend upon the size of the pipe. As the cable is pulled back through the tunnel, the pipe is laid.

All that is then required is for the pipe installation system to be lifted up out of the bore hole, and the two small holes filled in. The process of laying the cable or pipe takes a very short period of time. It is possible to lay the pipe at a rate of almost three metres per minute, so that even a stretch of cable running right across a street might take no more than five or ten minutes. Not only that, but the fact that the street could remain open only adds to the benefits offered by trenchless cable & pipe installation systems. Without doubt, underground pipe installation equipment has revolutionised the installing, replacing and repairing of cables and pipes.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

trenchless cable & pipe installation systems | underground pipe installation equipment | www.warriorworldwide.com

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