Advantages and Overview of Using Radius HDD

Horizontal directional drilling, also known as directional boring or simply HDD, is the process of installing underground conduits and pipes along a pre-fixed path right from the surface of the earth with only a small amount of impact on the surrounding areas. Installations up to the length of 6500 feet and diameters of up to 48 inches have already been installed with the help of radius HDD.

It is a very commonly used process for installing conduits for power cable and telecommunications, sewer lines, oil lines, gas lines, water lines,  and product piping. It is generally used in highly congested areas, shore approaches, crossing waterways, roadways, areas that are environmentally sensitive and other areas where other type of drilling can be hazardous or expensive.

Advantages of Directional Boring

There are many different advantages of Radius HDD due to which it is one of the most common boring methods. Some of the benefits are-

• Cost-efficiency
• Reduced disruption of traffic
• Deeper and lengthier installations are possible
• No need for access pit
• Drilling has directional capabilities
• The process is far safer for environment than other drilling methods
 

Overview of Directional Boring Process

Most of the radius HDD machines make use of a drilling fluid, which is generally mud. However, there are also machines that make use of air or a mixture of foam and air. The machines that use foam and rock are generally used for drilling on hard rock. The mud that is commonly used as drilling fluid is a mixture of water and bentonite clay. Many different types of additives are also used for improving the performance of the machine.

If the soil is soft, a powerful jet of drilling fluid does the job of cutting and the cuttings are suspended in drilling fluid. As the fluid cuts the soil, the cuttings are transferred to the surface where it is generally settled in a pit created close to the boring area or directly transferred into the cleaning system. As the cleaning fluid is non-toxic, it can be easily disposed off.

Drilling on Hard Rock

If the radius HDD is supposed to be done on hard rock, an additional mud motor is used for the purpose of converting the drilling fluids hydraulic pressure into mechanical force. This force is used for the purpose of rotating the bit and there is no continuous rotation of the drilling pipe. For the purpose of accurate steerage, mud motors angle is aligned as per the requirement.

If the drilling surface is unstable, then a washover casing or pipe is pushed down the hole to make sure that the hole walls do not collapse. There are machines that also use dual pipe for the job.

Once it reaches the exit point, bit is then detached the drill pipes end is connected to hole opener if the size of bore is to be increased.

There are a number of advantages of HDD and this is the reason due to which it has become one of the most commonly used methods for installing pipe work.

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