WorldWide Drilling Resource

18 NOVEMBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® HDD Reduces Project Time and Disruption in Colorado Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) saved the day for residents of Fort Collins, Colorado. What could have been a major inconvenience is now a minimal distur- bance, thanks to HDD technology. Along College Avenue, Fort Collins Utilities is working to replace 6000 feet of four-inch cast iron waterline - dating back to the 1930s - with new eight-inch line made of high-strength PVC. These util- i ty upgrades are par t of the Nor th College Improvements Project. Rather than ripping up streets and digging trenches to lay new pipe, work- ers can pull hundreds of feet of pipe through the ground approximately five feet below the highway. HDD wi l l connect waterl ines to customers in some locat ions. Pipe bursting will also take place. Pits will be dug on each side of tar- get areas, as well as places where lines connect to homes and businesses. Rods will then be inserted in the old pipe, and a cable attached to a cutter head will be connected to the new pipe. The new pipe will be pulled through the old pipe by a large hydraulic machine. As this takes place, the old pipe bursts, and is pushed out of the way. Though the process involves quite a bit of prepa- ration, pipe installation can be accom- plished in a few hours. The project’s first phase involved laying 1800 feet of pipe, and took five weeks to finish. Traditional trenching methods would have taken an extra three to four weeks. Innovative techniques are saving time at a comparable cost for Fort Collins Utilities. So far, this section of the $12 million North College Improvements Project is running on schedule and within budget. The overall goal is to bring North College Avenue/U.S. Highway 287 the services needed to support traveler safety, economic vitality, and communi- ty livelihood. Replacing 80-year-old waterline will improve water system reliability, and ensure better fire protec- tion in the area. This project is a pre- cursor to the Col lege Avenue/U.S. Highway 287 paving project the Colorado Department of Transportat ion has scheduled for 2015. Section of old waterline in Fort Collins. Photo courtesy of City of Fort Collins. Increase Drill Rig Safety with New Bearing Assembly Adapted from Information by the Timken Company Recently, the Timken Company intro- duced a product designed to help in- crease safety and improve uptime on oil rigs. The Timken ® Sheave Pac ® bear- ing assembly was created to eliminate the need to regrease the traveling or crown block on oil rigs. The challenging task of relubricating the crown and traveling blocks located hundreds of feet above the rig platform is typically performed by maintenance per- sonnel. The Timken Sheave Pac provides an innovative maintenance solution for oil and gas drilling rig crown and travel- ing blocks, as well as riser tensioners. The Sheave Pac assembly easily inter- changes with current industry-standard bearing assemblies and seals. Timken engineers designed the bear- ing assemblies to run an entire operating cycle between rebuild without the need for relubrication eliminating the task of re- greasing the bearing. Less maintenance means your crew will make fewer trips up the rig, which will ultimately reduce the risk of falls and dropped objects. This product has been operating suc- cessfully for the past two years under an exclusive customer agreement. Now it is available to the industry. 4< /*2'3* "& > > > > ,'< ? /2+ '6* /3+6 /3+6 ')1/3- " " !8=2+ /7843 4* 4* ')1/3- !+8 5)7 !8'3*'6* $'2:+ 9((+6 6':+2 $'2:+ 9((+6 !+'87 9((+6 $'2:+ 37+687 #6+8.'3+ $'2:+ 37+687 $'2:+ !56/3- ! ! $'2:+ 4:+6 '71+8 ? !;/:+2 ')1/3- ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 6/)+7 !9(0+)8 "4 .'3-+ %/8.498 48/)+ !@ @ < < < < <