Physicochemical Characterization of Horizontal Directional Drilling Residuals

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is a trenchless technology mainly used for the installation of gas, sewer lines, and fiber optic cables. Spent HDD fluid is a by-product of the boring process. However, little is known of its constituency, although the land application of spent HDD residuals would be an economical and less time-consuming method of disposal. Physicochemical analysis of spent HDD residuals from broad geographic regions was conducted to determine if the land application would be an environmentally safe option for disposal. Fifty-eight HDD samples were collected from 26 states throughout the United States. After separation of the liquid and solid portion, the materials were assessed for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), plant nutrients, soluble and total trace metals, total dissolved solids, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and potential “leachable metals”. All trace metal concentrations in the digested solid portion were well below the limits for biosolids set by the EPA 40 Part 503 rule for land application. Metal concentrations did not exceed the limits of drinking water standards. Besides the total amount of solids, there was nothing chemically limiting HDD residuals from land application. However, if boring through soil with suspected contamination, testing the residual before the application is recommended.

Download Full-text

A STATE-OF-THE-ART SHORE CROSSING

The APPEA Journal ◽

10.1071/aj04042 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 551

Author(s):

E.P. Jas ◽

A.T. McPhee

Keyword(s):

Selection Process ◽

High Energy ◽

Design Guidelines ◽

Pipeline System ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Trenchless Technology ◽

Tourist Attractions ◽

Western Victoria ◽

Design And Construction

An insight is provided into the design and construction of the shore crossing of the export pipeline system for the Otway Gas Project in Western Victoria. The development of the Otway Gas Project, which is now underway, requires the installation of a 20-inch gas pipeline and a 4-inch glycol service line across the shoreline in the Port Campbell National Park along the Great Ocean Road, one of the major tourist attractions in Australia. An account is given of the landfall site selection process, the collection of required site data, the identification of geo-hazards, the development of a unique construction method based on a combination of retractable micro-tunnelling and horizontal directional drilling, and an outline of the construction challenges. These include the complex geo-technical conditions, the ever present high-energy Southern Ocean swell, and the environmental significance of the site. The design and construction work performed demonstrates that trenchless technology can successfully be applied for the installation of pipelines across shorelines provided detailed attention is paid to a number of design and construction aspects; bearing in mind that horizontal directional drilling design guidelines are generally limited with respect to these crossings.

Download Full-text

Land Application of Urban Horizontal Directional Drilling Residuals to Established Grass and Bare Soils

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122410264 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 10264

Author(s):

Joshua Daniel ◽

Chad Penn ◽

João Antonangelo ◽

Hailin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Drilling Fluid ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Field Studies ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Application Rate ◽

Land Application ◽

Sodium Absorption ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Significant Difference

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is a non-invasive alternative to trenching used for the installation of many common utilities. The process involves drilling fluid used to stabilize the borehole, lubricate the bit, and float cuttings to the surface. A sustainable alternative to landfill disposal is land application. Two field studies were conducted to determine the optimum application rate of HDD residuals to both established bermudagrass and bare soil seeded with bermudagrass. Residuals were applied at six rates ranging from 0 to 112 tons solid ha−1 for both trials. Soils were sampled 7, 30, and 90 days after application. Saturated paste and Mehlich-3 extractions were performed on all samples. Grass biomass was measured at the end of the study. No significant amount of nutrients or trace metals were found in the treated soils. All concentrations were in the range of typical soils. However, total dissolved solids (TDS) and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) increased with application rate. There was no significant difference in the yields of forage harvested on the established grass plots 110 days after application. Bare plots that received 22 tons solid ha−1 had higher percent ground cover than other rates. It is ecologically safe to apply HDD residuals up to 112 tons and 90 tons solid ha−1 to established bermudagrass and bare soil, respectively.

Download Full-text

Experimental procedure for evaluating ground displacement factors in directional drilling

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.1139/l03-038 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 830-840 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jason S Lueke ◽

Samuel T Ariaratnam

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Regulatory Agencies ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Soil Composition ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Trenchless Technology ◽

Experimental Procedure ◽

Surface Deformations ◽

Surface Heave ◽

Full Factorial

As the utilization of horizontal directional drilling increases in urban areas, damage resulting from surface heave during pullback is becoming a greater concern for municipalities, regulatory agencies, and contractors alike. The magnitude and extent of surface deformations are influenced by several factors, including borehole pressure, depth of cover, soil density, backream rate, soil composition, annular space, and reamer type and diameter. With any complex system, understanding how these factors relate to each other in the development of surface deformations is beneficial in the planning of future installations. This paper outlines work towards the development of a model to understand how these factors contribute to surface heave during the backream phase of a horizontal, directionally drilled installation. Initial identification and selection of factors to be used are facilitated through the analytical hierarchy procedure (AHP). Using the ranking identified by the AHP, a full factorial experiment was designed and implemented in field conditions, with ground movements measured at various stages along four uniquely designed borepaths. With a better understanding of the factors associated with directionally drilled installations, contractors and engineers may better select tooling and techniques to minimize the magnitude and extent of surface heave.Key words: horizontal directional drilling, analytical hierarchy procedure, data collection, modeling, experimental design, surface heave, trenchless technology.

Download Full-text

A glimpse of horizontal directional drilling productivity factors

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201825005006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 250 ◽

pp. 05006

Author(s):

Mohd Norizam Salleh ◽

Nuzul Azam Haron ◽

Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri ◽

Abdul Aziz Abdullah ◽

Nadzrol Fadzilah Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Decision Makers ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Journal Articles ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Trenchless Technology ◽

Open Problems ◽

Manual Search ◽

Cut Method ◽

Conference Papers ◽

Productivity Factors

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a trenchless technology provides an installation alternative that offers a lot of benefit compared to traditional open-cut method. It’s called HDD because its steering ability to avoid existing utilities or other obstacles either horizontally, vertically and even pulled back where she got its name. HDD was developed in California in the 1970s and was introduced in Europe in 1986. Since year 1992 up to 2016 there are about 40 thousand unit HDD machine were sold worldwide. Contractors, consultants, municipalities and decision makers are always in difficulties to determine the installation cost and the duration required when using the HDD method due to the presence of many qualitative factors. Understanding the HDD productivity factors will assist the stakeholders to overcome this matter. The aims of this study are to identify the existing HDD productivity factors, identify the factors that affect HDD productivity, identify the current tools that are used by current researcher, and identify the open problems and areas related to HDD productivity for improvement. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was carried to previous related papers retrieved by a manual search, critically analysed and discussed. Researches regarding HDD productivity conducted by previous researchers were compared and discussed. The studies involved journal articles, conference papers, books, guidelines and etc. Consequently, these previous experiences and models can assist the contractors, consultants, municipalities and decision makers in preparing their costing and scheduling. The lacking factors on HDD productivity factors were highlighted and suggested for futre studies.

Download Full-text

Mechanical Model for Determining the Crossover Point of Slurry Flow in Pull-Back of Horizontal Directional Drilling Installations

ICPTT 2009 ◽

10.1061/41073(361)107 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Liangxue Cai ◽

Limin He

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Model ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Slurry Flow ◽

Crossover Point

Download Full-text

EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN THE PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION BY HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

Oil and Gas Studies ◽

10.31660/0445-0108-2015-2-91-96 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 91-96

Author(s):

I. E. Kiryanov ◽

Yu. D. Zemenkov ◽

S. M. Dorofeev ◽

V. S. Toropov

Keyword(s):

Emergency Response ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Pipeline Construction ◽

Trenchless Construction

On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of used materials and the parameters of trenchless transitions profiles was developed emergency response, including several schemes of release a pipe jammed in the hole during the pipeline pulling in the pipeline construction by horizontal directional drilling. Proposed schemes applicability analyzed for trenchless construction real conditions.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Hydraulic Fracturing Models and Their Limitations to Predict No-Drill Zones for Horizontal Directional Drilling

Volume 2: Pipeline Safety Management Systems; Project Management, Design, Construction, and Environmental Issues; Strain Based Design; Risk and Reliability; Northern Offshore and Production Pipelines ◽

10.1115/ipc2018-78304 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Saeed Delara ◽

Kendra MacKay

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Fracturing ◽

Safety Factor ◽

Standard Procedure ◽

Accurate Determination ◽

Strength Properties ◽

Analytical Models ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

The Impact

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has become the preferred method for trenchless pipeline installations. Drilling pressures must be limited and a “no-drill zone” determined to avoid exceeding the strength of surrounding soil and rock. The currently accepted industry method of calculating hydraulic fracturing limiting pressure with application of an arbitrary safety factor contains several assumptions that are often not applicable to specific ground conditions. There is also no standard procedure for safety factor determination, resulting in detrimental impacts on drilling operations. This paper provides an analysis of the standard methods and proposes two alternative analytical models to more accurately determine the hydraulic fracture point and acceptable drilling pressure. These alternative methods provide greater understanding of the interaction between the drilling pressures and the surrounding ground strength properties. This allows for more accurate determination of horizontal directional drilling limitations. A comparison is presented to determine the differences in characteristics and assumptions for each model. The impact of specific soil properties and factors is investigated by means of a sensitivity analysis to determine the most critical soil information for each model.

Download Full-text

Development of a rapid field testing method for metals in horizontal directional drilling residuals with XRF sensor

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83584-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hailin Zhang ◽

João Antonangelo ◽

Chad Penn

Keyword(s):

Moisture Content ◽

Standard Method ◽

Field Testing ◽

Field Method ◽

Filter Press ◽

Directional Drilling ◽

Horizontal Directional Drilling ◽

Excess Water ◽

Spiked Soil

AbstractPortable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer allows fast in-situ elemental determination without wet digestion for soils or geological materials, but the use of XRF on wet materials is not well documented. Our objective was to develop a rapid field method using pXRF to measure metals in the residues from horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operations so that proper disposal decisions can be made in-situ. To establish the procedure, we spiked soil samples with 4 concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb up to 1000 mg kg−1, and then the metal concentrations were determined by wet chemical method after drying and acid digestion (standard method), and by pXRF, also at laboratory conditions, after drying and at two different moisture conditions. The measurements by pXRF and standard method after drying and after removal of excess water (AREW) were highly correlated with slopes ranging from 0.83 ± 0.01 to 1.08 ± 0.01 (P < 0.001) for all metals. The relationship was better AREW than the saturated paste without removal of excess water and the moisture content affected only the accuracy of As, Cd, and Pb. The procedure established was successfully used for HDD residues collected from 26 states of US with moisture content ranging from 14 to 83% AREW. The pXRF was proven to be a reliable tool for fast detection of common metals in dried soils and HDD residues, and samples containing < 30% moisture content without needing to correct for moisture. If the moisture is > 30%, excess water in samples need to be removed with a commercially available filter press to achieve high accuracy. The developed procedures reduce time of metal detection from days to about an hour which allows drilling operators to make quick decisions on soil or HDD disposal.

Download Full-text