Highlighting the Benefits of Horizontal Directional Drilling

Published on: 22 December 2018 Last Updated on: 20 July 2024
Horizontal Directional Drilling

Horizontal directional drilling is a relatively new practice for installing pipes and cables underground. Many other practices like Rotary Drilling exist but here we will talk about directional drilling. Although the more conventional method of open trenching is still relevant today, directional drilling is slowly becoming a preferred process due to its inherent benefits. Most projects involving laying pipelines for utilities and cables for telecommunication face the challenge of obstruction and limited work area, hence the need to minimize the disturbance while at the same time ensure that the pipes installed are sturdy and high-quality.

What is horizontal directional drilling?

The simplest way to understand the process of directional drilling is the use of a special rig to create an underground borehole to produce a path where pipes will be installed. This special rig consists of a drill head with an automatic tracking device which allows the operator to navigate the pre-set route underground. Drilling fluid gets added in as the drill bit passes through the soil, to prevent the hole from collapsing. After the drill bit exits the pilot borehole, a reamer gets pulled back to increase the borehole diameter. Once the desired width is reached, piping gets pulled back into the hole for final installation.

Benefits of horizontal directional drilling:

There are many horizontal directional drilling companies today that engage in this trade because it is always in demand. The following are the benefits of choosing directional drilling over the conventional trenching method to install pipes.

  1. Pipeline durability. The precise process of installing pipes using directional drilling prevents damage during installation. Horizontal directional drilling also allows for installing pipes under rivers, highways, and driveways which minimizes exposure to elements that may lead to wear and tear.
  2. Faster pipe installation. Perhaps one of the most notable benefits of horizontal directional drilling is how it cuts down the time needed to complete a project. With less ground disturbance, it won’t take long to fix the job site, and you won’t need as many workers as you would when you need to dig an open trench. Faster work also means less upfront cost for the contractor. Thus, if you can reduce operational expenses, you can increase profit margins in return.
  3. Better for the environment. If you are installing pipes in a residential area, homeowners are often concerned with the amount of disruption to the landscape. This is not the case with directional drilling. Although there is still some disturbance, it is only minimal and quickly restored. The process does not contaminate soil and groundwater as much as open trenching does. Directional drilling also helps preserve the environment and protect rock formations and bodies of water such as rivers and streams.
  4. Flexibility in project locations. Installing pipes underneath concrete sidewalks and densely populated cities is not an issue if you employ directional drilling. In fact, directional drilling was designed to address the challenge of working on challenging locations with above-ground obstructions.

In the past, it would be virtually impossible to imagine or perhaps too costly to install pipes in the most challenging urban settings. But nowadays, directional drilling makes all of these possible which is why it has revolutionized the utility industry within the last several decades.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Paper Shredding

Paper Shredding is Nothing Like in Hollywood Movies

How many times in Hollywood movies have you seen somebody frantically feeding papers into a shredder before the authorities arrive on the scene? It may be a common trope, but this doesn’t resemble how people use professional shredders today. Everybody has sensitive documents which could cause a devastating data breach if they got into the wrong hands. Having such information is an inevitable part of being a citizen — it doesn’t mean you have something to hide. Please keep reading to learn more about how professional shredding works in the real world. Home Shredding: Every day people are targeted by scammers who try to piece together whatever personal information about strangers they can get their hands on. People hire a paper shredding company every day to ensure that their home is free of data liabilities that could come back to bite them later. Here are a few of the items professional shredders commonly need to destroy: Tax documents Banking information Contracts Pages with passwords and usernames Especially with more people than ever working remotely, having sensitive information at home is more common than ever. If you have these or other such documents at home, the safest thing to do is get them professionally shredded. Commercial Shredding: It’s impossible to do business for any length of time without generating paperwork. From the smallest business to the largest corporation, there’ll be an endless procession of things like receipts, HR documents, contracts and agreements, and other paper documents which corporate saboteurs or identity thieves would love to possess. Just as with home shredding, professional shredders can destroy your sensitive documents on-site or remotely. For example, if you are located in California, you can look for shredding services in San Francisco to dispose of your documents securely. Even if they aren’t connected to the internet, electronics are a common source of data leaks, and these devices need to be eliminated with the same thoroughness as paper documents. Professional shredders will destroy the microchips on the device, so it’s impossible for a data thief to retrieve information. Do you have old phones, computers, or other electronics that you used for work? Obsolete technology might not be useful in your day-to-day life, but a corporate saboteur would love to find it! Call a professional shredder to get rid of electronics that are no longer useful safely. While some such devices like computers and phones are an obvious vector for identity theft, other devices that you may not think of also contain very sensitive information. If your office or home office contains an old photocopier or printer memory card, calling a professional shredder to eliminate it is the safest course of action you can take. People in all walks of life need to be careful that their personal and professional information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. While the most prominent victims of identity theft get the bulk of the news coverage, it’s an issue that can affect anyone. Call professionals to help you steer clear of all risks associated with data theft. Read Also: High Technology Devices for Better Life Get The Best Assistive Technology: A Telecare Equipment

READ MOREDetails
Atmospheric Temperature

Stage 4 Technologies Towards Lower Atmospheric Temperature

A Legislative Formulation The tier 4 final engine technology marks its emergence from the legislation regulating the off-road vehicles' exhaust emission passed by Japan, the European Union, and the USA in the year 1990, concerning the air quality index. The tier four engine technologies have been approved because of its SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) techniques. This legislation brought a revolutionary effect on the engine technology, which is environmentally friendly, and with lower atmospheric emissions leading to a lower atmospheric temperature. Tier Four/ Stage Four Emergence By the year 2014, a variety of engine technologies for off-road vehicles emerged, keeping up with the tier 4 final engine technology demands. This was the surge of evolution in engine technology. The year 2014 marked a rigorous implementation of tier four final engine technologies and with different phases, different innovations and engine designs came into being. NOx and PM Elimination Balancing out the atmospheric temperature was a major concern with an increase in the number of off-road vehicles. The SCR and EGR technique helped the industry to accomplish that requirement. The tier 4 final engine technology is designed by keeping in mind both the customer and environmental benefits. This, this exhaust emission regulation passed by these countries managed to make a change in the environmental conditions as well as health conditions as the  NOx and PMs percentage decreased by 99%. Nox contributes hugely to the increase in atmospheric temperature, but the Exhaust Gas Recirculation technology resolved this issue to a great extent. The air and environmental temperature regulation have become a matter of great concern because of the increasing global warming rate. The NOx not only increases the atmospheric temperature but also has terrible effects on our health, leading to life-threatening diseases such as diseases and cancer. So, the tier 4 final engine technologies curb bad and unpleasant odor caused due to black smoke and soot and also prevent lung irritation,  ground-level ozone, smog, and acid rains. SCR Turned More Efficient AdBlue is injected‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌exhaust‌ ‌line along with the NOx in the catalytic converter. As a result, harmful products get converted into nitrogen and water compounds. The reason behind using this reactive technique is to increase the effectiveness of the SCR technique because it could not withstand one problem which was that the decrement in NOx level leads to an increment in the PM level and vice versa. This situation created a trade-off issue which the SCR technique succumbed to. A Perfect Fit for Tier Four Final Engine Technology The engines of off-road vehicles that had an output over 75 KW in the USA and 130 KW in the EU now use the tier four final engine technology which reduces exhaust emissions and increases fuel efficiency. EGR has contributed to the exhaust gas temperature optimization as well. The engine installation is easier with a relatively small size that produces less noise pollution. The SCR technology makes fuel efficiency better with a reduced maintenance cost, and the catalytic converter reduces the downtime cost and rejects lesser heat. Therefore, the tier four final engine technology is a blend of easy installation, cost reduction, reliability, C-EGR, and SCR with enhanced power outputs and of course, a lower atmospheric temperature. Read Also: 3 New Age Engineering & Construction Technology The Rapid Growth In The Global Industrial Automation Market And Its Career Opportunities

READ MOREDetails
Waterjet Vs. Laser Cutting

Waterjet Vs. Laser Cutting: Which Is Worth The Hype?

Waterjet and laser cutters can slice through materials that no other cutting tool can. They are invaluable for prototyping products and precision manufacturing. But which one is worth the hype - waterjets or laser cutters? This article provides everything you need to know about waterjet vs laser cutting units. Learn how they work and which one is best for your industrial manufacturing facility. Waterjet Vs Laser Cutting: Unlike the vast majority of blades and saws, waterjets and laser cutters don't have a blade. The lack of a blade makes engraving and detail work much more precise. And, waterjets and laser cutters are computer operated, as to achieve a very high level of precision. Both machines can engrave minute lettering and symbology into a wide range of manufacturing materials. But each machine goes about it a very different way. Both methods of cutting excel with 2D objects and engraving, but which is better: waterjet or laser cutting? What Is Laser Cutting? Laser cutting uses a high-focus laser to cut or engrave materials. Laser cutting is a method of subtractive manufacturing, which means it only takes away material. This is in opposition to additive manufacturing, like 3D printing. Special software guides the lasers using mirrors. A gas power source provides energy to the system, usually in the form of CO2. The CO2 fuels the laser which outputs between 1,500 and 2,600 watts. Some systems implement an additional gas jet to expel the excess material. Laser cutting is a very precise form of subtractive manufacturing. The intense heat of the laser cuts through material like a razor using a precision burn. Laser systems cut material from sheets or large panels. Laser Cutter Materials: Laser cutting systems make precision cuts in a wide range of materials. The only material that a laser cutter is not "cut-out" for is reflective metals. The reflective property of some metal reflects the laser off of the cutting surface, which can be dangerous. Laser cutters are great for cutting glass, wood, plastic, and a wide range of metals. Laser cutters encounter obstacles, however, when trying to cut compound materials. If the material contains multiple materials, then it has multiple melting points. If the material has multiple melting points, then a laser takes longer to cut through it, and cuts can become uneven. Laser cutting systems work the best with flat sheets of material, with a thickness range between 0.1 inches to just under a half-inch. And, most laser cutting systems proficiently perform the functions of cutting, drilling, engraving, welding, ablating, and structuring. What Is Waterjet Cutting? Waterjet cutting systems utilize a high-pressure waterjet to slice through materials. The water is shot through a very fine point and creates over 60,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. For tougher materials, a mixture of water and an abrasive acts like a diamond saw blade. Garnet is a common abrasive for use in waterjet cutters. Aluminum oxide is another common abrasive that you can use with a waterjet cutter. The process of waterjet cutting is a high-speed version of natural erosion. With a big enough waterjet cutter, you can make another grand canyon in a fraction of the time. Read more about how the best water jets can cut through anything nature makes. Waterjet cutters differ from laser cutters in that the power source does not reside with the cutting unit. Since a waterjet cutter outputs between 4 to 7 kilowatts, the water pump is located away from the worksite. This is also true because the water source is rarely nearby your bench. Waterjet Cutting Materials: Unlike a laser cutter, waterjet cutters can effectively cut almost any material. They have no problem cutting through compound materials with multiple material types. The pure pressure of the water jet is enough to cut cleanly through anything. Waterjet cutter units are especially useful for cutting precisely through masonry. They're also good for cutting and structuring stone, thick metals, ceramics, and glass. Waterjets handle thicker material than laser cutters. They can handle material that is up to around 2 inches thick. But they don't do as well with material thinner than 0.4 inches. Level of Waste from Waterjet vs Laser Cutting: Laser cutters create a minimal amount of off-fall and waste. Very little, if any, cleanup is required after cutting. The only waste that laser cutting produces is a small amount of dust that is easily vacuumed up. Waterjet cutting, on the other hand, creates a lot of waste. You might think that waterjet cutting would be cleaner, but it is not. The abrasive material in the water adds a toxic element to the off-fall liquid. For this reason, waterjet cutting requires special waste-water disposal, safety gear, and a bigger project budget. What's the Cost to Purchase and Operate a Waterjet vs Laser Cutter? A plasma laser cutting machine will cost between $15,000 to over $250,000 at the initial purchase. Waterjet cutters are more expensive because they require more specialized materials. They range from $100,000 to around $400,000. On average, either machine will cost around $350k. Expensive industrial machines can exceed $1,000,000. On average, a laser cutter costs between $13 to $20 an hour to operate. Waterjet cutting systems run between $15 to $30 an hour to operate. Final Thoughts: At the end of the day, waterjet cutters cost up to five times more to operate than laser cutters. Waterjet cutters can cut thicker and more complex materials, but they are slower than laser cutters. So, when considering waterjet vs laser cutting, laser cutting will save you time and money. If you like this article on which is better, share it with your friends on social media. And check out the blog for more resources on hardware and gadgets. Thanks for reading! Read Also: How Portable Metrology Tools Are Making Manufacturers More Flexible

READ MOREDetails