Installation of Underground Services using HDD: Design Considerations

By Dr. Samuel T. Ariaratnam, Ph.D., P.Eng. Arizona State University, USA

HDD Installation Process

Typical Reamers

Pilot Bore Phase Pullback Phase

Bore Path Plan

should show:
the surface grade line locations of important surface features anticipated lateral utility connections and intersection points bore depth at each reference point and at critical points

Bore Path Selection

in agreement with:
geometric restrictions and/or requirements topography geology site-specific issues

Designed Bore Profile

recommended:
at least one complete length of drill pipe before starting to level out the bore path

Boreplanning Software

Entry and Exit Angle

entry angle :
8-16 degrees determines a set-back distance of the machine

exit angle:
5-10 degrees

Recommended Relationship between Product Diameter and Reamed Diameter

Product Diameter < 8 8 24 > 24 Reamed Diameter Diameter of product + 4 Diameter of product x 1.5 Diameter of product + 12

Design Aspects
Essential for successful installation
Allows suitable alignment selection Can define installation procedures ( buoyancy control) Determines Suitable Equipment Selection

Minimizes Pipe Failure

During Installation Long term operational (bending)

Background
Two Publications

Installation Loading and Stress Analysis Involved with Pipelines Installed by Horizontal Directional Drilling
Form basis of American Gas Association design guidelines for HDD

Polyethylene Pipe for Horizontal Directional Drilling

Developed by the Plastic Pipe Institute for design of HDPE for HDD

Pipe Material
Steel

Linear Elastic Material High Tensile strength High modulus of Elasticity Large Diameters (>24) except for casings Corrosion and Abrasion Typically Required

High Density Polyethylene

Viscoelastic material Tensile stress & Modulus of Elasticity time,temperature, and duration dependent Higher resistance to short term loading than long term loading Duration of loads needs to be considered Low Modulus of Elasticity & Tensile Stress 5% strain level to prevent long term structural damage

SOIL COMPARISONS FOR 8 HDPE DR17

1.40

1.20 1.00

Clay 1 Clay 2 Sand

0.80

Strain (%)

0.60

0.40 0.20

0.00 -0.20 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Bore Path Location (m)

HDPE
Apparent Modulus of Elasticity and safe Pull Tensile Stress @ 73oF (Plastic Pipe Institute, August 1998)
Typical Apparent Modulus of Elasticity (E) Typical Safe Pull Stress Duration HDPE MDPE Duration HDPE MDPE 110,000 psi 87,000 psi 1,300 psi 1,000 psi Short-term 30 min (800 Mpa) (600 Mpa) (9.0 Mpa) (6.9 Mpa) 57,500 psi 43,500 psi 1,200 psi 900 psi 10 hours 60 min (400 Mpa) (300 Mpa) (8.3 Mpa) (6.2 Mpa) 51,200 psi 36,200 psi 1,150 psi 850 psi 100 hours 12 hours (350 Mpa) (250 Mpa) (7.9 Mpa) (5.9 Mpa) 28,200 psi 21,700 psi 1,100 psi 800 psi 50 years 24 hours (200 Mpa) (150 Mpa) (7.6 Mpa) (5.5 Mpa)

Steel

7 ? Modulus of Elasticity = 2.9 X 10 psi ? Safe Minimum Yield Strength 30,000 to 50,000 psi

Pipe Capacity Comparison

Steel
O.D. = 14 w.t. = 0.25 I.D. = 14- 2(0.25) = 13.5

HDPE
O.D. = 14 DR 17 w.t. = 0.82 I.D. = 14- 2(0.82) = 12.36

? =

Allowable Pull Load

( 142 - 13.52 ) 30,000psi

4 = 324,000 lbs

? =
4

Allowable Pull Load

( 142 - 12.362 ) 1200psi

= 40,700 lbs

Installation Loads and Stresses

Two Phases
1) Installation 2) Operation

Installation usually governs except in high operation pressure conditions Deep Installation can limit HDPE installations

Installation Loads
Tension

Frictional Drag Fluidic Drag Unbalanced Gravity Effects

Bending External Hoop Pipe Support Spanning Pipe Overbend at Entry

KEY STRESS AREAS DURING PULLBACK

Operational
Conduit Pressure/Vacuum Ground Water/ Soil Pressure
Key Assumption Stable/Unstable borehole

Live Loads -H2O, Coopers, E80, nearby structures

Generally small at depths greater than 5 - 10

GROUNDWATER SLURRY

GROUNDWATER SLURRY

STABLE BOREHOLE

BOREHOLE DEFORMATION

Borehole Deformation
(Plastic Pipe Institute, Aug. 1991)

Stable boreholes, no side support Unstable borehole

Pipe Arching

1 DAY

8 HDPE Pipe

1 WEEK

2 WEEKS

4 WEEKS

1 DAY

8 HDPE Pipe

1 WEEK

2 WEEKS

4 WEEKS

Summary of 1 Year Digups 8 Pipe

Clay

Sand

Load Calculations
Crossing broken down into straight line and curved sections. Loads Determined for:
Net External Loads Pipe Deflection Unconstrained Buckling Pullback forces, (Friction, Fluidic, bending, unbalanced gravity)

Horizontal Directional Drill Profile

(Huey et al, 1996)

FTOTAL

= TA + TB + TC + TD + TE + TF

Net External Loads

Stable Borehole
PNET = PMUD - PI

Unstable Borehole
PNET = PE + P GW + PLIVE - P I

P =

Pipe Deflection
Buoyancy
0.1169 D = D 2 EI
0.0125 PE = D E 12 (DR-1) 3
4

Earth Load

For HDPE pipe, care needs to be utilized on selecting an appropriate E. Conservative is long term values. Deflection generally minor on steel pipe

Unconstrained Buckling
Uniform external pressure results in compressive hoop stress For HDPE PALLOW =
2E (1 - u2 ) 1 DR-1
3

fo fr

For Steel

fo = ovality factor (0.4 for 7.5% deflection) fr = tensile reduction factor if pipe is constrained by soil or grout fr is replaced by fs (grout enhancement factor) which is approximately 5 for grout ? = Poissons ratio 2

PALLOW

t = 0.88 E D

Pnet D fn = 2t

Buckling for HDPE During Pullback

14 HDPE DR 17

PALLOW

= 2 ( 55,000psi ) ( 1 - 0.352 )

1 17-1

(0.4) (0.8)

= 9.8 psi

P =

h=

9.8psi ( 144 in2 ft2) 80 lbs ft3

= 17.5ft of drilling fluid head if water utilized to counteract external pressure

h=

9.8psi ( 144 in2 ft2) 80 - 62.4

= 80ft

Pull Back Force

Main component is pullback forces Determined in straight line and curved sections Consists of:
Friction Fluidic Unbalanced Gravity Bending

T1
N2
DRAG

T2

frict

WsL

Straight Section Model

(Huey et al, 1996)

Pull Back Components

Friction
Ffrict = Ws

Cos ?

* usoil

Buoyancy has significant effect on Ws

usoil

0.25 - 0.40

Fluidic Drag
Fdrag = 12

* ? * D * L * umud

Unbalanced Weight Effects

Fweight = Ws * Sin 0

*L

FTOTAL = Ffrict + Fdrag + Ws L Sin 0

Buoyancy Effects
No buoyancy
14 DR 17 HDPE Weight = 14.9 lbs / ft Mud Weight = mud = 80 lbs / ft3
Buoyancy =

?
4

D2

? ( 14 ) 2 80 lbs / ft32 = 85.5 lbs / ft = mud 12 4

= 14.9 lbs / ft

Pipe Weight

NET ( Ws ) = 70.6 lbs / ft

Buoyancy - Water Utilized in Pipe

14 DR 17 HDPE I.D. = 12.36

? Weight of Water =
4

( 12.3612 )2 62.4 lbs / ft3 = 52.0 lbs / ft

NET ( Ws ) = 85.5 - 14.9 - 52.0 = 18.6 lbs / ft For 400 ft Bore

F no buoyancy = ( 70.6 lbs / ft )( 400 ft )( 0.3 ) = 8,470 lbs F buoyancy = ( 18.6 lbs / ft )( 400 ft )( 0.3 ) = 2,230 lbs

a
N T1 frict

01

02 frict2 WsL N2

DRAG

frict1 N1

Curved Section Model

(Huey et al, 1996)

Bending
Steel
Modelled as 3 point bending and is complex and iterative

HDPE
Not an issue as safe bending stress (? 40D) is much less than typical drill curve radii of 300 ft or more (i.e. drill rod limiting) Forces calculated using cable laying formula Fcurve = e? ? (? soilWBL)

Stress Analysis
Once all loads are calculated, stress analysis is undertaken to ensure allowable stresses are not exceeded. Highest stress will typically occur where bending, tension and external/internal pressure act together. Loads to be looked at individually and in combination.

Effect of Collapsed Borehole on Pipe Friction and Load

GROUNDWATER SLURRY

GROUNDWATER SLURRY

STABLE BOREHOLE

BOREHOLE DEFORMATION

Stable Borehole
F frict = Ws L Cos ? ? soil
Ffrict = (70.6 lbs)(400 ft)(0.3) = 8,470 lbs

F drag = 12? D L ?
Fdrag

mud

= 12? (14)(400 ft)(0.05) = 10,555 lbs F total = 8,470 + 10,555 = 19,000 lbs

Unstable Borehole
Assume 30% of length collapse

Frict

Frict = (70.6 lbs)(280 ft)(0.3) = 5,930 lbs

F drag,collapse = 12? (14)(120 ft)(0.3) = 19,000 lbs F drag = 12? (14)(280 ft)(0.05) = 7,390 lbs F total = 32,320 lbs

Always Have A Plan!

Engineers Plans and Specs

Contractors Contingency Plan

Bore Tracking and Equipment

Introduction
Two categories of tracking methods
Walkover systems Non-walkover systems

Operate best in interference-free environment (active vs. passive interference) Drill locator is responsible for ensuring that the bore follows the design profile

Interference
A log book containing drill pipe number, pitch, depth, steering commands, apparent underground obstructions, and ground conditions is recommended Brief inconsistencies in depth may be effectively overcome through the use of pitch readings and calculations

Interference Cont.
Drill locator is responsible for recognizing the limitations of the equipment and inconsistencies in readings If problems arise, the bore should be stopped until identified and corrected Should walk the bore path with the receiver on prior to boring operators to assess potential interferences

Active Interference
May be caused by anything that emits a signal or generate its own magnetic field Can cause the following:
Erratic signal strength and depth readings Loss of pitch and roll data Inaccurate receiver calibration, leading to depth errors

Examples of Active Interference

Buried power lines Traffic light power loops Microwave towers Invisible dog fences Airport landing systems Security systems Fiber line traces

Passive Interference
May be caused by anything that blocks, absorbs, or distorts a magnetic field Can cause the following:
Depth may appear greater than they actually are All information may be blocked Drill head position may be incorrect

Examples of Passive Interference

Metals fences Re-bar in concrete Electronic ignitions from cars Buried metal Salt water Military operations

Walkover Tracking Systems

Consists of three main components: Transmitter (beacon or sonde) Hand held receiver Optional remote monitor

Transmitter
Emits a continuous magnetic signal at a predetermined frequency Ability to overcome interference is related to its frequency and signal strength Available for depths up to 140 ft.

Receiver
Displays signals sent by the transmitter in numeric or graphic form
Depth (ft. or m) Roll or clock position of the steering face or bent sub Pitch (% of slope or degrees)

Accuracy ranges of 2% to 5% of depth

Remote Monitor
Not essential to the drilling operation However, reduces drilling time by providing the drill operator with information required to position and interpret the reaction of the drill head to the steering and drilling conditions Some provide a graphical representation of the progression of the bore

Bore Mapping Systems

Built into the remote display of walkover locating systems and stores:
Entry and exit locations and angles Depth and pitch Bend radius Alignment Topographical (surface) elevations Known surface and subsurface obstacles Transmitter temperature and battery status Time between data entries Drill pipe number Drill head location

As-Builts/Operator Logs
HDD Contractor is responsible for marking the plans to indicate any and all vertical and horizontal deviations between the design and actual bore Operator logbook should be maintained and updated daily by the Drill Locator or Superintendent and should include
Pipe number, depth, pitch, steering commands, and notes

Home to Target Systems

Enables the drill locator to program the receiver to direct the transmitter to a specified location at a given pitch Beneficial in situations where the drill locator is unable to physically track the progress of the bore from the drill head

DESIGN OF DRILLING FLUIDS

Dr. Samuel T. Ariaratnam, Ph.D., P.Eng Arizona State University