COVER STORY Two pipelines have been installed under the i + using Horizontal Directional Drilling technology to minimise surface disruption. The under-river crossing conquered the major challenge of providing critical infrastructure beneath ecologically sensi areas as part of the southeast Queensland Water Grid. Chechen ta eetHORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING southeast Queensland Water Grid has passed a major [ cone with two pipelines installed under the Brisbane River bed. Specialist drilling teams used Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) co install ewo pipelines as part of the largest water recycling project in the southern hemisphere Both pipes were installed in early May, the frst of which was installed in a single five-hour operation. ‘The pipes connect the Luggage Point Advanced Water ‘eat- ment Plant near the mouth of the river into the Western Cor ridor Recycled Water (WCRW) project. The major river erossing follows the completion of two sections beneath Brisbane River tributaries, Bulimba Creek and Aquarium Passage, whieh also used the HDD method. These connect the WCRW project to the Gibson Island Advanced Water Treatment Plant. ‘All HDD sections have been completed by the Eastern Pipeline Alliance comprising AJ Lucas, Transfcld Services, GHD and SunWater, Faced with an almost kilometre-wide crossing ofthe Brisbane River, project managers decided that the trenchless method of HDD provided the best option of constructing a pipeline under ecologically sensitive areas and critica infrastructure. ‘The optimised pipeline rou for the project crossed the Doboy ‘Wetlands, a habitat fora range of fish, crabs, birds, reptiles, am- pphibians and other animals that lies atthe edge ofthe tidal and freshwater areas ofthe Brisbane River mouth. HDD allowed the pipeline o be installed beneath the ecologically sensitive welands area without any impact to the surface. ‘Western Corridor Recycled Water chief executive officer Keith Davies said dling 5m below the ground surface and 20m below the river bed ensured minimal impact on the environment, “Traditional trenching is inappropriace where waterways and cnvironmentally sensitive areas ate concerned so we looked to trenchless technology solutions and HDD was the most cost- fete solution,” said Davies. We've brought in leading experts from the US and New Zealand to oversee this operation.” Crossing the river using HDD avoided the alternative of con- structing 45m deep shalt at either side ofthe river and building large platforms to support construction and storage, as well as related safety issues Davies continued: “The use of HDD isa positive one forthe project. Apart from the environmental and added safety benefits, HDD significantly reduced the cost fo tis section ofthe WCRW project. It isa great example of using innovative technology to reduce construction times, costs and environmental impacts.” Project manager Shane Gaudin said HID was far more com plicated than simple trenching and laying pipe in a trench, Ic involved extensive skill and experience tobe succesful He said HDD superintendents Gary Hunter and Stephen Booth were two of the world’s leading authoritis with more than 50 years’ combined global experience. Gaudin, Hunter and Booth ail work for AJ Lucas, a principal partner of the Eastern Pipeline Alliance. “They havea wealth of down-hole’ drilling, formation and tool- ing knowledge and are the ‘engine room’ ofthe whole operation,” ‘cepa fh pron ws ene a pp wall nh beng “breakover” structure ~ a series of cranes with roller cradles that train the pipe into a ruitable radius, 4 Pro: Che Lee oreo WATER ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA JUNE 2008he pre geoal cont of ead tcclon end one stightcecion a tga JefHORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING ‘The Bulimba Creek stringing area was « 1400m radius along which the pipeline was fabricated. Aquarium Passage and Brisbane River stringing arcas were considerably more restricted and requited special roles and temporary structures like the barge (pictured) to fabricate the pipelines around a 760m radius. Gaudin ssid. “To achieve this crossing took weeks of thorough planning on the challenging ste the right machinery and teams who understood the importance of the operation.” Before dling started, a series of vertical bores were dug to verify the nature of the formation to be drilled. The geotechnical data ‘was incorporated into borehole profile design to selec the mast appropriate formation ot layer through which to drill as well as to also avoid any other obstacles such as power or ga lines The results of the formation testing determined the design depth forthe crossings at 20m below the bed of the river. On each of the boreholes, che entry angle is berween 12° and 15* and the exit angle is et at 6° so the profile generally consists of two bend sections and one straight section at design depel, Gaudin said precision in HIDD was paramoune and a prede- termined process based on testing and experience was used for the river crossing Likewise, the quality of communication between the HDD superintendent and the driller is essential. The drill cab from where the drill ig is controlled is the centre ofthe operation and effectively drives all other tasks. In cis type of formation, where speed and accuracy are mitigation measures in themselves, there is little room for error in execution,” Gaudin said. “Timing is ctitical. The pilot hole took about two weeks 10 complete but the pullback operation had to be completed within six hours. This is because the material the eam was drilling through is soft and here was a very real risk the hole could collapse, or the pipe could get stuck in the pull-back operation, ‘The pilot hole (311.15mem), the only “steered” hole, was the first hole to be drilled, The profile was replicated by having special down-hole steering tools which register electromagnetic signals calibrated to known positions on the surface to ensure precision, WATER ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA JUNE 2 Preo: Come Lee Phoroome A all vies, the driller and steeter knew the exact position, inclination, depth or length of the pilot hole, Once the pilothole had been dried, reaming progressively opened up che piloc hole to the desired borehole diameter The hole was gradually enlarged by pulling backwards increas ingly large reamers — cutting tools used in machinery co enlarge holes. The diameter of the tunnel increased with each backward pull and when che desited diameter ofthe tunnel was achieved, string of pipes was attached to the reamer and pulled through the tunnel co the other side of the waterway. “The entice dling process is guided by a computer from the surface. The computer allawed the driller to precisely locate the drill bit and guide ic along the predetermined path. WCRW project personnel said the accuracy of the technology is extraordinary. The subterranean pipeline travels almost 1km across the river before the deiler engineer steers the bore head to within 200mm ofthe target on the other side ofthe river Various types of formation, including clays, sand, gravel and weathered rock sections, were encountered during the driling ‘The swelling nature ofthe clays presented considerable challenges during the cours ofthe dling, but witha sound drilling pro- zgram and correct rooling, any potential issues were overcome. “To power the drilling and to lubricate the drilling head and consolidate the walls of the eunnel, a drilling fuid was pumped down che hole. This fluid is a mix of bentonite (environmentally safe natural clay) and wate. Ic also carries mud out of the hole, which is eaprured, filtered and recycled. Four boreholes, each about 800m in length (Aquarium Passage, Bulimba Creek and twin lines under the Brisbane River) were requited for the crossings. The crossings used three sections of pipe, one section 666mm wide and the other two sections 760mm in diameter. The vari arthe pipe. ation in che diameters was calculated to allow for the different flows and pressutes to which the underground pipeline will subjected. The pipe supplier was Pacific Special Steel, a South East Asia based company. Pipe sections quvalent tothe fall length ofeach borehole was laid our for up to Thm across vacant land. The full length was then welded progressively. The continu cous welding was undertaken by Energy Works, a New Zealand company. The pipeline was welded ina single continuous length asa ey risk mitigation measure in soft, unstable formation dr ing isto minimise the borehole being let “open’. The fastest insallation is achieved when the pipe sting i fully welded and ready to pall chrough in a continuous manner. On the surface the welded string of pipes is pulled onto rollers “training” the Pipeline into a curve “To give the pipeline the best opportunity to achieve its design life, che joints between the pipes were welded and scaled, the internal lining and external pipe coated and exthodic protection applied to protect against corrosion. Hydro testing was carried out prior co the drilling commencing. ‘While the welded pipeline is nor flexible in the rea se the word, it has & minimum bending radius, which enables pipeline to be pulled into the borehole. ‘The engineering team designed the borehole and the stringing temporary structures 0 sno more than 80% of the yield stress on the pipe. This ensured the pipeline was not damaged during installation and, with good profile design, no residual stresses wil affect the pipeline. ‘Gaudin said critical phase of che operation was when the fabricated pipeline was pulled into the borehole through a "break “The break overis a series of cranes with roller cra the pipe into a suitable radius as itis pulled into the borehole. Tes purpose isto ensuee che pipeline maximum yield stres is not ‘exceeded so that the pipeline does not sustain any permanent deformation,” he said f “The engineering tam designed the borehole and the singing temporary structures to no moce chan 80% of the yield ‘rom: Ore Lise Peron’ ‘The Bulimba Creck stringing area (right-of-way) wasa 1400m radius along which the pipeline was fabricated. This was con- sidered a gentle radius. The situation for Aquarium Passage and the Brisbane River rightof-way arcas were considerably more restricted and required special rollers and temporary structures to fabricate che pipelines around a 760m radius. Regarded asa very tight radius, ir correlates to about 80% yield stress. Lack of available open space meant that a straight section be- hind the borehole was not available and innovative alternatives, ‘were sought. One section was put together in curved sections to ‘obtain the required length and, for the Brisbane River section, the ream built a small tunnel under a detour road to ensure there was enough space to weld the string in a continuous section, Project CEO Davies said a huge effort went int the planning, and execution of the HDD operation. ‘Through the HDD operations, some 3km of steel piping connects the WCRW project pipeline berween Pinkenba, 12km northeast of Brisbane CBD, and Gibson Island, then from Gibson Island under Lytton Road ar suburban Hemmant and through 10 Matacic, located 8km east of the CBD. ‘The pipeline is part of che $2.4 billion water supply network that features more than 200km of large-diameter underground pipe. Ie will carey purified reeycled water to power stations in- dustry and agriculture, as well as to the region’s main reservoir, Wivenhoe Dam, to supplement drinking supplis. “The projet also involves three advanced water treatment plants cight storage tanks and nine pumping stations ‘Ac che time of writing, more chan 150km of the pipeline has been lai, the second stage of the Bundamba Advanced Water “Treatment Plane nea Ipswich isall buccomplete and the advanced water treatment plants at Luggage Point and Gibson Island ate both about half way finished. The Luggage Point and the Gibson Island treatment plants ate scheduled to come online by the end of October. ‘When complete the projet will ave the capacity to deliver up to 232MLid of purified reeyeled water to end users. @ WATER ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA JUNE 2008