Blog, Industry News, trenchless people
For the past several weeks we’ve been spotlighting the Platinum and Gold Sponsors of NASTT’s 2017 No-Dig Show. NASTT’s No-Dig Show is the largest trenchless technology conference in North America, where professionals attend to learn new techniques that will save money and improve infrastructure. This show offers six tracks and 160 peer-reviewed, non-commercial presentations, including case studies detailing environmentally friendly trenchless solutions and cost-saving opportunities for municipalities and utilities. We couldn’t do this without our sponsors!
Click on the links below to learn more about each of these sponsors:
AEGION
Perma-Liner
TT Technologies
Aqua-Pipe
HammerHead
IPEX
Michels
Tri-State Utilities
Vermeer
Warren Environmental
Next week, learn more about our Silver Sponsors!
Blog, Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless products, trenchless projects
Specialized TBM will work below the Hudson River on the Delaware Aqueduct
Robbins has completed the manufacture and testing of a unique tunnel boring machine that will be used to repair the longest continuous tunnel in the world. The TBM will be used to overhaul a section of New York City’s Delaware Aqueduct, a 137 km (85 mi) long tunnel that delivers about 50 percent of the City’s drinking water each day. Over the span of two days in February, representatives from the owner New York Department of Environmental Protection (NYDEP), consultant McMillen Jacobs (MJ), and JV contractor Kiewit-Shea Constructors (KSC) traveled to the Robbins facility in Solon, Ohio to witness the Factory Acceptance Testing of the custom tunnel boring machine.
The Robbins Single Shield TBM will bore a tunnel to replace a 3.8 km (2.4 mi) stretch of the Delaware Aqueduct. The Delaware Aqueduct currently leaks about 75 million liters (20 million gallons) of water per day into the Hudson River. Investigations of the Delaware Aqueduct dating back more than a decade revealed cracks in the tunnel lining. While several inspections with an automated underwater vehicle showed that these cracks were stable, it was determined they could not be fixed from within the existing tunnel. New York City then decided that a new tunnel would be built under the river to bypass the leakage.
To build a bypass tunnel around the aqueduct’s leaking section, Robbins manufactured the 6.8 m (21.6 ft) diameter Single Shield TBM to safely seal against pressures up to 30 bar, and to operate in variable hard rock conditions. The Delaware Aqueduct was completed in 1944. During its original construction, work crews documented groundwater inflows of 7.5 to 15 million liters (2 to 4 million gallons) per day. Because this particular section of the tunnel lies 183 m (600 ft) below the Hudson River, the inflows are under immense head pressure and thus require the unique tunneling technology.
Due to the challenges presented by the Aqueduct Repair, such as difficult geology and considerable water inflows, the TBM had to be designed accordingly. Difficult Ground Solutions (DGS) features, including powerful drilling, grouting, and water inflow control systems have been incorporated into the machine’s design to overcome the expected challenges. “One unique feature of this TBM is the closeable bulkhead, which allows the excavation chamber to be sealed off,” said KSC Tunnel Manager Niels Kofoed. “We expect this to be a key feature in the event that groundwater flows (shunt flows) from the excavated portion of the tunnel cause washout of the annulus grout. Once the bulkhead is closed the groundwater flows are stopped and secondary grouting of the precast liner can be performed, effectively cutting off the flow path of the shunt flows.”
Robbins Project Manager Martino Scialpi further noted that, “the TBM was designed with a 9,500 liter/min (2,500 gallon/min) dewatering capacity. The machine is equipped with two drills in the shields for drilling through the head in 16 different positions and a third drill on the erector to drill through the shields in an additional 14 positions. Drilling and pre-excavation grouting will be a routine job to control and minimize water inflows.” In addition, water-powered, high pressure down-the-hole-hammers will allow for drilling 60 to 100 m (200 to 330 ft) ahead of the machine at pressures up to 20 bar if necessary.
In order to provide access to launch and retrieve tunneling equipment, two deep shafts were constructed in the towns of Newburgh and Wappinger, New York, where the bypass will begin and end. The project site itself poses challenges to the assembly and launch of the TBM because of the limited space available.
Robbins worked closely with KSC to ensure that TBM components were designed and sized so all could be lifted with the contractor’s hoist system and fit down the narrow, 270 m (885 ft) deep shaft. Once assembled, the machine is expected to begin boring in autumn 2017.
Image: The Robbins crew, contractor KSC, and project officials stand proudly in front of the Robbins Single Shield TBM that will tackle hard rock and high water inflows in New York State.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless people
We are proud to spotlight NASTT’s 2017 No-Dig Show Gold Sponsor and Corporate Member, Warren Environmental.
Warren Environmental is a 30 year old family run company founded by Jane and Danny Warren around the principle of protecting the environment and the workforce through the production of chemically pure 100% solids Epoxy systems. The goal of removing Solvents from the spray system led to Warren Environmental designing and patenting the first solvent-free plural component spray equipment for use with a two-component epoxy. With the new spray technology in hand Warren Environmental perfected its Zero VOC, 100% Solids, High build epoxies.
Today, the Warren Environmental system has been used to coat and structurally rehabilitate countless structures and has consistently out preformed its competition in independent and university studies. Warren environmental is the favored product of many engineers and municipalities and is expanding internationally in the waste water, potable water, Naval, nuclear, chemical, and oil industries
If you’d like to visit with one of NASTT’s Gold Sponsors, head to booth #517 at NASTT’s No-Dig Show in Washington, DC! For more information, go to nodigshow.com.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless products
Hutchinson, Kansas – StraightLine HDD, Inc. announced the acquisition of Texas-based Armadrillco, Inc. The strategic acquisition of complementary products expands the portfolio of high-flow/side-load transmitter housings and rock tools targeting hard formation pilot drilling. The combination also solidifies StraightLine’s strategic position within key HDD markets. The change in ownership was completed in February.
“This acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for our tooling business,” said StraightLine HDD president, Joe Phillips. “Both companys’ products are known for industry-leading performance and service life. Augmenting the StraightLine tool portfolio with
Armadrillco demonstrates our commitment to expand our position as a world-class
supplier of Ready-To-Work HDD solutions.”
The addition of Armadrillco products represents a significant move to broaden the
company’s portfolio of box x box/high-flow/ side-load transmitter housings, drill
heads and rock tools. “Expanding our product portfolio with innovative and patented
technologies is a fundamental piece of our growth strategy,” says Jay Cary, Vice-
President of Sales. “Product expansion, coupled with StraightLine’s established sales
and manufacturing efficiencies, will extend market reach of Armadrillco products.”
Initially, the product offering include several box x box/high-flow/ side-load and
slant-face transmitter housings, along with a variety of dirt and rock bits. Phillips says
plans are underway to expand the product offering over the next 12 months, beginning
with a number of new side-load housings in 2017.
The combination retains Armadrillco founder, Chuck Webb, as Territory Manager.
Webb, a HDD veteran as a driller and tooling designer adds decades of field
experience to the StraightLine HDD team.
About StraightLine HDD, Inc.
Since 1984, StraightLine has produced “Professional Drilling Solutions” to the trenchless industry. It’s full line of down-hole tools, wear parts and accessories are known for their innovative and rugged design. In 2015, Straight-Line HDD merged operations with Source: HDD, Inc., a leading provider of used HDD rigs and support equipment. Together, the merger created a company offering total Ready-To-Work HDD solutions—from rig to bit. Call 620-802-0200 or visit us at www.straightlinehdd.com for details.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless projects
OKAHUMPKA, Fla., February 24th, 2016 – Micro Trenching is one of the installation methods being utilized by contractors to bring fiber networks to consumers. Micro Trenching is an installation method in which a narrow and relatively shallow trench is cut, usually on an asphalt roadway. Trench dimensions can range from .75 to 2.24 inches wide and 8 to 16 inches deep. While cutting, a vacuum system connected to the cutter wheel cleanly diverts and transports debris away from the worksite. Once the conduit is laid, the trench is backfilled with a grout compound.
Advantages of Micro Trenching include minimal cutting width that boosts installation production, reduce costs of backfill, shallow depth placement which helps avoid encounters with existing utilities and jobsite cleanliness thanks to the vacuum spoil that removes debris.
Vac-Tron Equipment has gone one step further in the cleanup process by developing a solution to micro trenching using a specialized in-tank filter (patent pending) inside the vacuum excavation unit’s debris tank. In most cases, the in-tank filter eliminates the need to add water to the micro trenching process and eliminates excessive material from reaching the cyclone separator. By using this filter, it will reduce the cleanup time during the trench run because there will be no need to stop and cleanout the cyclone or unclog the exit hose from debris tank due to caked material. Ultimately this will increase overall efficiency onsite.
David Donohue of Vermeer Mid Atlantic says “The Vac-Tron LP 573 SGT is the ideal vacuum for micro trenching, the high cfm’s and low noise output made communication and productivity simple.” David and Pfeiffer Enterprise Inc were demonstrating Vermeer’s micro trenching equipment and Vac-Tron’s LP SGT high cfm unit in Glen Bernie, MD in this photo.
For more info visit www.vactron.com or call Vac-Tron at 1-352-728-2222.
Blog, trenchless people
We are proud to spotlight NASTT’s 2017 No-Dig Show Gold Sponsor and Corporate Member, Vermeer.
Vermeer is a manufacturer of iconic yellow iron seen on industrial jobsites and farm fields worldwide. They are proud of their unique culture, lived out by the nearly 3,000 team members found around the world, but headquartered in the heart of the United States.
In 1948, a one-man job shop was established on a farm in central Iowa. The man behind it? Gary Vermeer. The second, and now third generations have taken what Gary started and transformed Vermeer into a market-changing powerhouse recognized around the world. Vermeer started with a simple solution. Today, yellow iron takes its place on jobsites in 10 different markets around the world. Vermeer has developed hundreds of products, calculated and crafted, tried and tested, all to serve customers in a progressing world.
Vermeer aims to provide each customer with a differentiated, highly personalized experience consistently through the robust dealer network of more than 600 locations around the world. From selecting the right equipment, to training operators, to providing the parts and service needed, Vermeer dealerships give their customers the localized support and confidence to get the job done while maximizing productivity, whether it’s on the jobsite or in the field.
With every hole drilled, tree chipped, bale rolled and rock crushed, Vermeer customers are doing more. They feed and fuel the world. They manage our precious natural resources. They connect people to the necessities of life. With their yellow iron in hand, they are Equipped to Do More®.
If you’d like to visit with one of NASTT’s Gold Sponsors, head to booth #201 at NASTT’s No-Dig Show in Washington, DC! For more information, go to nodigshow.com.
