Directional Drilling

Horizontal Directional Drilling is the first choice and most widely used of the techniques grouped under the 'Trenchless Technology' heading. Horizontal Directional Drilling is Fast, Efficient and Environmentally Friendly, saving industry time and money. Horizontal Directional Drilling is a surface launch technique, the machine drilling from a small entry pit at one end of the shot and pulling the pipe back through the ground from the reception pit at the other.

Crossings can be for: Water, Oil, Gas, Electric, Sewage, Chemicals, Communication Ducts and Outfalls.

Horizontal Directional Drilling, HDD, is a technique for the installation of pipe, duct and cable, underground, without the need for open cut.

A pilot bore is drilled between the two end points. The drill head contains a transmitting device by means of which the drill head can be monitored from the surface. Adjustment to the line and level can be made throughout the process achieving accuracy to within 100mm.

When the pilot bore is complete, the drill head is removed and replaced with an appropriate reamer. This is pulled back increasing the diameter of the bore. For small pipe a single ream might be sufficient, for larger pipe stage reaming is necessary, the size of the bore being increased incrementally, reaming as many times as required using reamers of increasing diameter.

Drilling fluids, mud, are used throughout the drilling and reaming process. Mud lubricate and cool the drill head, flush away the cuttings and stabilise the bore.

When the bore is of sufficient size the pipe is attached by means of a swivel and towing head and is pulled in through the bore as the drill string is retracted.

There are specialist techniques, which together with specialist tooling and mud, are capable of installing pipe whatever the ground conditions.

Directional Drilling provides a safe system of installing pipes, ducts and cables where conventional open cut methods are not permitted, practical, environmentally or economically viable.

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