Trenchless pipe bursting is a form of trenchless technology that makes possible the removal or replacement of pipelines without any digging or drilling into the earth. In this method, a new pipeline is pulled through an existing one employing mechanical power from inside the new pipe's headend. The process may include spinning additional lengths behind it as it advances. Another form utilizes a stick built in front to push out an old pipeline using a series of small explosives at close intervals along its length used to spur it out progressively. With either method, pulling or pushing, the new pipeline is then fixed in position behind it. Various benefits accrue to this form of technology when contemplating what are the advantages of trenchless pipe bursting:
Due to the advantages this technology brings, it has been incorporated widely into sewer line construction. There are various reasons why trenchless pipe bursting is important to sewer pipes;
Trenchless technology is becoming more widely used worldwide, whether for utility line replacement, main water projects, or transportation of natural gas. There are several areas where we need to use trenchless pipe bursting. They include;
A large city or state public works project will often turn to trenchless techniques for the sake of efficiency and cost savings. For example, if a water main has burst under a major highway, it may be possible to bore underneath the road without having to close the roadway down completely.
Trenchless is also popular with developers who construct housing subdivisions or commercial developments involving large volumes of rock removal. Instead of digging out vast holes for basements, cellars, trenches, canals, and retaining walls, trenchless methods can bore a hole underneath the ground.
Trenchless has also been used for several years in underground utility installations. One of the most common examples is when a new road or highway needs to be constructed over an existing gas, water, sewerage, drainage, or electrical service line. In this case, you need to avoid digging straight down the current service lines since this would mean cutting off someone's utilities.
Emergency repairs tend to make up a large portion of trenchless jobs since they are usually short-term and, therefore, quick to complete. An example would be an electrical fault under the street outside your house; you may need nearby power lines shut down for several hours while the fault is being located and repaired. Trenchless methods allow this work to be completed with little or no disruption to your home or business during this process.
This seems counterintuitive at first, given that trenchless is claimed to be the most cost-effective alternative. However, it would help if you considered that permits often require an initial digging phase, which immediately cancels out any benefit of using trenchless in the first place. In some cases, it can even become more cost-effective to initially dig a traditional trench only to bore underneath later on using trenchless techniques.
The methods of trenchless pipe bursting have allowed for creating new infrastructure that was not previously possible. It is more expensive than traditional digging, but it does not destroy surrounding roads or buildings. With proper planning, there should be no more problems with traffic jams caused by road construction.
