Geological Issues Associated with Trenchless

Construction in Auckland
t

Content

Ollie Hawes

1. Auckland Geology
2. Important Properties for Trenchless Construction
Dietmar Londer
3. Case Histories
4. Managing the Ground Risk

In the beginning God created the earth

with some interesting.

.costly.
delaying.
..bits for microtunnellers.

THE END

Strata to be Discussed
Greywacke Basement 150 to 200M years 8km deposits
East Coast Bays Formation 20M years 1.5km deposits
Older Alluvium (e.g. Tauranga Group) 5M years
Auckland Basaltic Field 24,000 years to present

Recent Alluvium 14,000 to present

Based on Edbrooke Geological Map 2001

Geological Map

Typical Geological Section

East Coast Bays Formation Outcrop

From Auckland Geology Map commentary 1:250,000

S. Edbrooke 2001

East Coast Bays Borehole Core

Example of Slightly Weathered East Coast Bays rock

Loose Sand in East Coast Bays Formation

From SKM project

Weathered ECB Soft Clay

Example of Basalt contact with East Coast Bays Formation

Hypothetical Auckland Cross Section

From City of Volcanoes E. J. Searle 1981

Albany Conglomerate Outcrop

From Auckland Geology Map commentary 1:250,000

S. Edbrooke 2001

Albany Conglomerate - Tunnel

Albany Conglomerate - Tunnel

Albany Conglomerate Boulders in Skip

ECBF Summary
Alternating beds of sandstone and mudstone
Very weak to weak rock
Surface weathering to clay and sand
Loose sand pockets

Harder calcified areas

Albany Conglomerate
Parnell Grit

Basalt - Typical Geological Section

Basalt in Shaft

Basalt the good

Example of non-vesicular basalt of high strength

Basalt the bad

Example of volcanic airfall deposit interlayer

Basalt the ugly

Example of rubbly contact between two basalt flows. Zone of potentially high
water flow, loose ground, potential swelling clay.

Summary Basalt
The thickness of the basalt is variable within short distances
Strong Rock (25 to 250MPa)
Abrasive (high cutter wear)
Small diameters generally stable

Voids - Lava caves and tree stumps

Variations in properties locations unpredictable

Older Alluvium - Typical Geological Section

Alluvium below basalt

Example of basalt contact with soft alluvial clays and silts

Summary - Alluvium
Soft and compressible material
Silty sands and clays
Interlayered with peat and ash deposits
Timber obstructions

Volcanic bombs

Mixed Geology

From SKM project

Case Histories and Risk

Dietmar Londer

Case Histories
Managing the Ground Risk

Basalt

Basalt - HDD
Pilot Drill
Mud motor (up to 140 MPa)
All Terrain Technology (up to 170 MPa)
Air hammer (> 170MPa)

Reaming
Reamers available up to 300 Mpa
Large drilling rigs required
Sufficient mud flow required

What to watch out for

Installation gradients <2% difficult to
achieve

Basalt Microtunnelling/Pipejacking
TBM size rock strength dependant
1200mm ID max 130 Mpa
1500mm ID max 250 Mpa
Slurry machine required

East Coast Bays Formation - HDD

Mudstone, Sandstone

General 1 to 4 Mpa
Excellent trenchless material!
Low friction, max installation lengths
Large volume of GW to be anticipated

East Coast Bays Formation - Microtunnelling

Mudstone, Sandstone

East Coast Bays Formation

What to look out for:

Calcified layers > 10MPa

Hard rock inclusions

Sand pockets

East Coast Bays Formation

Clay and Sandy Clay

General good trenchless

material

Higher friction during pipe

installation, shorter
installation lengths

Risk - Swelling clays

Additional shafts or Interjack
Station

Pipe may get stuck

Alluvium

Alignment control
Mud frac-outs

Reduced installation lengths due to high friction loads

Settlement and heave
Obstructions

Alluvium HDD - Alignment control

1000m overall length, 200m in Alluvium

Pilot drill + 4 times reaming prior to pipe pull
Tricone rock reamer

Alluvium HDD - Alignment control

Alluvium HDD - Alignment control

Alluvium HDD - Mud frac-out

Alluvium MT Suitable equipment

Alluvium MT - Settlement / heave / obstructions

Alluvium High Jacking Loads

Jacking load Force required to advance the complete pipe train

Face resistance to penetration of shield

Friction forces on following pipes
Ground condition

Installation
distance [m]

Jacking load [t]

Alluvium and Clay

45
126

240(1)
300(2)

Sandstone

160

100

Sandstone

170

80

Basalt

100

250(3)

(1) Without

slurry (2) With slurry (3) Conservative estimate

Introduce Interjack when 66% of max jacking force reached

Mixed Geology
A single geology is preferable
Machine Selection is less than Optimum
May need to use more than 1 installation technique

Risk of frac-out in soft materials

May not be able to penetrate material
Drilling along soft/hard interface will affect alignment

Mixed Geology

Risk Reduction
Detailed geotechnical investigation is vital
Site investigation targeted at high risk areas
Risk Assessment
Involve contractor(s) in early design

Peer review of design

Geotechnical Baseline Report

THE END
Questions ?