Development of a new sinking technique for canalizations of large diameter for drinking water pipeline

This project is concerned with accomplishing a systematic research that could serve as a base for the posterior development of a work execution system capable of solving the construction problems caused by the river basins when crossed by water pipe.

The solution proposed by the OCIDE group is the building of a river crossing through an extreme oblique directional drilling (PEOD initials in Spanish for perforación extremandamente oblicua dirigida). This is a system that allows the underground or underwater obstacles to be avoided and also allows the execution of the curved drillings without digging.

The extreme oblique directional drilling, as a trenchless method, is a technique for carrying out works that are not destructive and can also serve as a solution for issues of environmental protection.

The process consists in drilling a micro-tunnel through the injection of a drilling liquid at controlled high pressure. Once the pilot drilling has been carried out, connecting the intended entry and exit point, the team will proceed to the widening of the hole until reaching the necessary diameter for the incorporation of the pipeline. This incorporation is done in regressive direction so it should remain installed free of any tension. The main characteristic of this methodology is that the pipeline remains fixed so that it can follow the shape of the basin it has to cross, or the shape of the obstacle, thus resulting in extremely oblique shapes.