ECI – Engineers Construction

Services

Tunneling, Horizontal Auger Boring, & Pipe Ramming

Contact: Tom Loyer: tloyer@ecivt.com

 

Tunneling, Horizontal Auger Boring, and Pipe Ramming involves the installation of a  pipe or a sleeve to contain a pipe, for a utility crossing under a highway, railroad, building, or other utilities.  ECI’s fleet includes the following specialty equipment for this type of work:

Akkerman Model 5000 Pump Unit System:  This 400-ton thrust jacking/pump system is made for TBMs and SBUs up to 94.5 inch diameter.

American Augers 42-600:  This auger boring machine is capable of up to 42-inch diameter steel casing with 60,000 ft-lb of torque and 600,000 lb of thrust.

American Augers 24/30-150: The 24/30 is for drilling smaller casing pipe with a torque of 30,000 ft-lb and 150,000 lb of thrust.

Bor-It 12 Mighty Max:  This miniature auger boring machine, which weighs less than 1,000 lb, is set up for 12-inch casing.  It runs off from a separate hydraulic power pack, skid steer, or backhoe with auxiliary hydraulics. This compact machine is ideal for working in small spaces and inside of buildings or structures.

24-inch Hammer Head 24/600 AR Pneumatic Pipe Rammer:  This is our largest hammer at 9,800 lb.  The 24-600  is rated for pipe up to 72-in-dia and lengths to 300 feet.  This hammer has an air reverse to allow the casing drive to be reversed.

14-inch TT Koloss Pneumatic Pipe Rammer:  This medium size hammer weighs 2,600 lb and is rated for 20 to 48-in-dia pipe for lengths up to 230 feet.

8.5-inch TT Hercules Pneumatic Pipe Rammer:  This small size hammer weighs 811 lb and is rated for 12 to 20-in-dia pipe for lengths up to 130 feet.

Comments on Tunneling, Horizontal Auger Boring, & Pipe Ramming vs Horizontal Directional Drilling: ECI is capable of installing casing by TBM, SBU, Pipe Ramming,  Auger Boring,  or by Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD).  These methods are different in several ways:

  • The basic differences in the methods are generally clear from their names:
    • Tunneling:
      • Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM):  This tunneling system  for rock or soil conditions relies on a drive motor at the tunnel face to turn the cutters.  The system is powered by an electric or hydraulic system at the face and pushed with our Akkerman Model 5000.
      • Small Boring Machine (SBU): This tunneling system utilizes an SBU cutter head at the front lead section of steel casing applying thrust from our horizontal auger bore machine.  An SBU is used  in rock conditions and can be selected with steering capabilities for grade-critical work.
    • Horizontal Auger Boring (HAB) utilizes a flight of augers inside of the pipe that serves to stabilize the face, cut the face, and remove spoil.  The auger boring machine uses large hydraulic pistons to advance the casing as the augers are rotated.  HAB can be used with a guided bore machine system for grade-critical work using a pre-drilled pilot tube to help achieve the required slope and alignment.
    • Pipe Ramming involves a pneumatic hammering to advance the open-ended pipe.  The soil enters the front face and forms a plug that is cleaned out as necessary, usually with the Auger Boring machine.
    • HDD is a drilling technique that involves drilling a borehole with a steerable drill head, reaming out an oversized hole, and then pulling back the pipeline in the bore hole.  HDD uses drilling fluids to clean and stabilize the borehole, cool the tooling, and lubricate the pipeline as it is pulled in.  HDD is sometimes used to install a pilot tube to be used for a guided bore project.