Underground Infrastructure - August 2023 - 37

Rehabilitation Technology
" One of the biggest issues with the project was the number
of adjacent utilities, " Finnegan observed. " We had to excavate
quite a bit because Palo Alto has many utilities that are underground
- all the electrical lines in the area and basically everything
else. They don't have many poles in that city or overhead
utilities of any kind. So, we had a lot of potholes. That was probably
the most challenging part, crossing so many utilities.
" Then, by the time you do an active bypass on that system -
6-inch hoses on 6-inch pump - put in temporary piping, get the
new pipe into position, get down, get it shackled down and get
moving, I don't know what time in the day we started pulling,
but in the end, it's an 12-hour day. "
For a 700-foot section of 15-inch VCP to 18-inch HDPE,
the Cratus crew utilized a different approach to pipe bursting.
" For the larger-diameter pipe we brought in a static pipe
bursting system, the Grundoburst 1250G, " Mallakis said. " This
gave Cratus the opportunity to expand its pipe-bursting resume
and, with the proximity of both businesses and homes at that
location, the static operation is much quieter than the larger
pneumatic hammer. We also used special tooling that helped
with connecting and disconnecting in a highly efficient manner. "
For the static bursting process, instead of a winch guiding
a pneumatic tool through the host pipe to break it apart, a hydraulically
powered bursting unit uses static pull force to pull
quick lock rods and the expander through the host pipe, while
pulling in the new pipe at the same time.
" Static pipe bursting is very versatile and popular because
you have the ability to pipe burst a wide range of existing pipe
materials and install diverse new product pipe materials in addition
to HDPE, " Mallakis said. " Pneumatic pipe bursting is still a
high-production method and widely used, especially in gravity
sewer, but static pipe bursting has become a more common alternative,
especially in water and pressure pipes. "
Finnegan
added,
" That was our
first
time
using
the
Grundoburst static rod system. We wanted to use it in the past
but didn't have a suitable project. We only did one pull. It was
more like a test for us. I liked it. Once you get the pipe ready to go
and if you have long runs, that machine is a beast, you know what
I mean? That's how I would describe it. But it was very smooth. "
Project success was due to " Cratus' ability to plan well and
bring the best people and equipment to the job, " said Mallakis.
" The city of Palo Alto and their residents benefit from pipe
bursting being specified and used instead of traditional open
cut replacement through lower costs, less disruption and lower
carbon emissions to get the job done. " UI
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Cratus Inc., (415) 939-2840, cratusinc.com
TT Technologies, (800) 533-2078, tttechnologies.com
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UndergroundInfrastructure.com | AUGUST 2023 37
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Underground Infrastructure - August 2023

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