Trenchless Australasia

December 2005

Chairman’s Welcome

Welcome to this latest edition of Trenchless Australasia, the official magazine of the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology. It is pleasing to continue to receive very positive feedback on both the quality and professionalism of the magazine, and to see this repeated in this our fifth edition.

Secretary’s Corner

Membership Fees

ShieldLiner wins major international technology award

Perth pipe-repair technology company ShieldLiner Limited has won the 2005 new machine, tool, material, system or technique category award for its first commercial ShieldLiner rig and equipment at the International NO-DIG awards.

SAS and TTI form new joint venture

Two leading trenchless specialists consultants - Sewer Assessment Specialists and TTI Consulting Engineers - have recently formed a joint venture (SAS TTI JV) in Sydney to provide comprehensive engineering services on new installation and rehabilitation Trenchless Technology works to private and public sector clients.

enviroNZ05 - Water Matters Conference Report

enviroNZ05, held between September 28-30 at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, was a joint conference between the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT) and the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association (NZWWA).

TT Asia Pacific and Süd-Chemie join forces

TT Asia Pacific and drilling fluid specialists Süd-Chemie have joined together to support HDD companies across Australia with quality bentonites, polymers and other drilling fluid additives to greatly improve the success rates of Trenchless pipe installations.

New Grundotugger works through tight Canberra soils

In July this year, Joel Royal of Drain King in Canberra took delivery of the new Tracto-Technik Grundotugger. This lateral pipe burster uses simple hydraulics and cable to burst old brittle pipe systems and pulls in new PE pipe of 110 or 160 mm over lengths of up to 50 metres in situ.

ShieldLiner completes Stirling pipe repair

Infrastructure technology group ShieldLiner Limited has achieved an important milestone in the development of its Trenchless Technology for repairing and rehabilitating underground pipes by successfully relining 70 metres of damaged storm water drains for the City of Stirling in Western Australia.

HDD helps upgrade inner city underground power network

Infrastructure Constructions recently completed a horizontal directional drill involving the installation of four 140 mm diameter PE electrical conduits over 70 m for a major contractor to Energy Australia.

Stormwater rehabilitation in Tea Tree Gully, South Australia

Marc Berry, Pipeline Technology Services Manager

Subsidence in the bitumen road surface and road base debris downstream alerted the City of Tea Tree Gully to an underlying problem. Following a survey utilising CCTV imaging, various faults were found in a section of 525 mm RCP stormwater drainage, including lobster back bends of approximately 22° that had not been concrete encased or bandaged during construction.

Yarra Valley Water, Interflow mark over a decade of service

Yarra Valley Water recently awarded a two-year contract for cleaning, inspection and rehabilitation of sewer pipelines to Interflow Pty Limited, extending the relationship between the two organisations which now goes back over a decade.

Replacement of existing sewer and water mains using pipe bursting

Samuel T. Ariaratnam Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona USA

Samuel Ariaratnam is a Trenchless Technology academic with a specialised knowledge of pipe bursting. This paper, which Samuel recently presented at enviroNZ05, provides a detailed summary of pipe bursting, highlights the benefits of using Trenchless Technologies over traditional open-cut rehabilitation methods and outlines the possibilities pipe bursting can provide for pipeline repair.

3rd Party Damage - who pays the bill?

Grant Binns, General Manager, Blackley Construction Ltd, Palmerston North

This is a contractor’s perspective on the current issues with 3rd party damage and the potential to reduce these incidents and I must stress that I have a rather bent view on the subject. While I have read a number of papers on this subject I have yet to see one that supports my point of view. In saying that I have not seen a paper on this topic written by a contractor.

Rans: servicing the trenchless industry

Rans Electrical has been an established family business for 49 years and has earned a reputation as a well known professional company. Rans prides itself on excellence in both workmanship and meeting all deadlines no matter how big or small the work may be.

Boring assists in Albury Hume Freeway Project

Abigroup Contractors have been using Trenchless Technology to overcome many challenges on the Albury Hume Freeway Project.

Microtunnelling in rock and soft ground strata-Asia Pacific experiences

Bala K Balasubramaniam Director, SASTTI JV, Sydney

Microtunnelling is an increasingly popular Trenchless Technology with a range of applications. There is a large scope for microtunnelling in the Asia Pacific region to increase over the coming years, and this article tracks the developing use of the technology in the past few decades.

Versatility of vacuum excavators

Vacuum excavators began to appear in great numbers on utility construction sites during the late 1990s. The sudden popularity of these dual-purpose machines is directly related to the needs of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) crews, who found them perfectly suited to digging potholes to visually confirm the locations of existing buried utilities near planned bore paths and for vacuuming up drilling fluids escaping from pilot holes during drilling and backreaming.

Subtechnics: imaging what lies beneath

Every time the surface of the ground is broken, the risk of encountering unknown and potentially lethal services is present. Unexpected gas, electricity, water or telecommunications can halt a major project immediately. Project budget, company image, plant and personnel safety are therefore all at risk. In order to mitigate this risk, Subtechnics provide a unique and invaluable surface investigation and mapping service to firms involved in excavation.

New vacuum technology unveiled

A new range of alloy water ring vacuum pumps has been launched onto the market, increasing efficiency and reliability while decreasing the noise discharged from this important piece of equipment.

Nordipipe introduced for Hong Kong water main rehabilitation

Chevalier Pipe Technologies, a new global player in the rehabilitation of critical underground infrastructure, chose the world stage of IFAT 2005 trade show in Munich, Germany to launch its operations.

Tree root intrustion into sewers and how to stop it

The United States Environmental Protection Agency stated in 1977 that “Root intrusion is the single most destructive element facing sewer authorities.” Nearly thirty years on the problem is still as pervasive, but a solution is at hand with the Sanafoam Vaporooter II foaming sewer root inhibitor.

‘us’ - Utility Services holds pipe rehabilitation seminar

In September, ‘us’ - Utility Services held a pipeline rehabilitation seminar, during which the Compact Pipe technology was showcased.

Trans-Tasman expansion for Nu Flow

Friday October 21 was a significant day in Surfers Paradise. Yes, there was the roar and excitement of the opening qualifying session of the IndyCar race on the streets of Surfers Paradise, but it was of much more significance to an Australian company based on the Gold Coast, and an unassuming plumber from Lower Hutt in New Zealand.