TDD
Trenchless Technology Specialists
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) offers a cost effective alternative for the installation of new small to
medium sized pipes and ducts. No vertical shafts are required as drilling commences from the surface.
Directional Drilling is a surface launched technique. Drilling from a small entry pit at one end of the bore
and pulling the product pipe back through the ground from the reception pit at the exit end.
A pilot bore is drilled between the entry and exit pits. The drill head
contains a transmitting device (sonde) which sends information to
the digital tracking devise on the surface. On completion of the pilot
bore the drill head is removed and replaced with a reamer of the
appropriate size for the pipe being installed. For pipe with a larger
diameter (usually > 180mm) a series of pre-reams with increasing
size reamers will be required to cut the bore big enough to allow
for the larger pipe.
Environmentally friendly, biodegradable drilling fluids are used
throughout the drilling process to lubricate and remove cuttings
from the bore. When the bore is cut to the required size a swivel
and towing head are attached to the product pipe and the pipe is
pulled back through the bore hole as the drill string is being removed.
Applications: Rivers, Motorways, Railways, Runways, Highways, outfalls.
Benefits: Reduced costs, Shorter completion times, Less traffic disruption,
Reduced environment disruption, Less waste to landfill sites.