Horizontal directional drilling guidelines

#HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING GUIDELINES SOFTWARE#

The software aides the engineer in designing a drill path and provides plan and profile views along with tabular data for pipe depth and surface profile. The software is an interactive design tool that allows the user to enter ground elevation data, alignment information and pipe data. This program resulted in the development of commerically viable software for utilities, contractors, engineering firms, and others involved with the installation of pipes using guided horizontal drilling. Jason was aided in this development by two key subcontractors Maurer Engineering who wrote the software and NICOR Technologies who reviewed the software and guidelines from a utility perspective. The design should account for flexibility in locating the pipeline to be installed by HDD in both the horizontal and vertical plane.Jason Consultants International, Inc., under the sponsorship of the Gas Research Institute (GRI), has developed guidelines, procedures and software, which are described in this paper, for the installation of polyethylene gas pipe using guided horizontal drilling. Consideration should always be given to the site as it exists and also the anticipated future conditions of the site. For a highway crossing in a built-up area, other underground utilities and future roadwork or development should be considered. For a river crossing the water's width and depth should be considered, as well as the potential for future bank migration and scour. Consider material strengths, capabilities, and joining methods.Дefining the obstacle to be crossed is a key factor in the HDD design process.Consider the required equipment and material handling requirements such as drilling fluid, drilling-fluid containment, HDD rig operation, and final product staging.Consider HDD equipment requirements for the geotechnical conditions such as geometry, final product diameter, thrust and pullback ratings, and tracking systems.The bore geometry is influenced by the bore length and depth requirements, and the bending radius for the product pipe. Consider the bore geometry for the ground profile.For pipes smaller than 8 inches use a reamer 4 inches larger than the pipe diameter for pipes 8 to 24 inches use a reamer 1.5 times the product pipe diameter and for pipe larger than 24 inches use a reamer 12 inches larger than the pipe diameter. Consider product pipe and reamer diameter requirements.Consider the minimum horizontal and vertical clearance requirements when determining the HDD alignment, including road setbacks, existing surface features, and existing underground utilities.In addition to the design requirements listed above consider the following items to help determine the most appropriate HDD design: Prepare construction plans using the information noted above including the location of any planned improvements, existing underground utility information, and right-of-way limits and property ownership. Obtain general and/or specific geotechnical information including USDA Soil Conservation Service data for the project area and possibly site-specific geotechnical sampling and analysis.ДҐ.Obtain right-of-way information through survey records or other sources.Collect existing underground utility information including the horizontal location and depth of all known substructures whenever possible.Prepare or obtain a scaled mapping for the planned installation including all existing surface facilities and improvements and any indication of underground facilities or improvements.At a minimum, the design process should include the following tasks prior to preparing final plans and specifications: The HDD design process needs to be thorough. During the planning and design of the HDD crossing every effort should be made to keep the length as short as possible while meeting all of the project requirements such as depth and entry/exit pit locations. Many factors have an impact on HDD costs, but the most important is the crossing length. The planning and design of a HDD crossing should focus on meeting the requirements of the owner while keeping the project costs as low as possible. While Chapter 3 provides information about HDD equipment, this chapter discusses HDD design and installation. The planning, design, and construction of HDD projects requires a specialized knowledge of pipeline construction methods and HDD equipment and technology.

Horizontal directional drilling guidelines