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2.0 Introduction
Pipe jacking, or commonly referred to as microtunnelling for smaller diameters, is a technique
for installing underground pipelines, ducts and culverts. Powerful hydraulic jacks are used to
push specially designed pipes through the ground behind a shield at the same time as excavation
is taking place within the shield. The method provides a flexible, structural, watertight, finished
pipeline as the tunnel is excavated.
The slurry method, as the name suggests, employs the use of a mechanical shield and slurry
system that maintains a stabilised face pressure during the excavation process. The shield is
remotely controlled from a control panel, usually placed next to the launching shaft. The
excavated spoils are removed in the form of a slurry through the discharge slurry pipes to the
separation chamber where the water is separated from the solids.
There is no theoretical limit to the length of individual pipe jacks although practical engineering
considerations and economics may impose restrictions. Drives of several hundred metres in a
straight line or to a radius can be achieved using appropriate guidance systems. Pipes in the
range of 150mm to 3000mm in diameter can be installed with construction tolerances
comparable to other tunnelling methods.
The pipe jacking work commences with the insertion of the slurry shield into the ground. The
shield is positioned on the guide rails and driven into the ground by the hydraulic jacks. Once
there is sufficient space in the launching shaft, a 375mm dia. reinforced concrete jacking pipe is
lowered on to the guide rails and jointed to the shield. To ensure that jacking forces are evenly
distributed around the circumference of the pipe, a thrust ring is used to transfer the loads
uniformly. Spacer blocks may be used to lengthen the stroke of the jacks for non-telescopic
jacks.
The pipe is then driven into the ground together with the slurry shield. Once the first pipe is
sufficiently jacked into the ground, another pipe shall be lowered on to the guide rails and
jointed to the first pipe. As the pipeline proceeds, excavation of the soil takes place within the
shield and the spoils are removed in the form of slurry via the slurry pipes. Frequent checks are
carried out to ensure that the pipeline is advancing according to the designed line and grade.
When the need arises, necessary adjustments at the slurry shield can be made to correct any
deviations. Details such as the jacking force, the advance rate, the position of the slurry shield,
charge and discharge pressure and etc. are recorded accordingly in the pipe jacking record form.
The process is repeated until the shield reaches the reception shaft. An exit on the shaft is then
created to facilitate the retrieval of the shield. Once the slurry pipes and the cables are
disconnected, the shield is lifted out of the reception shaft.
Environmental control measures shall include, but not limited to the following:
a. Discharge of construction water into public drainage shall be filtered first by a silt trap prior
to release
b. Unsuitable excavated material shall be carted off-site to an approved disposal tip