REVISE D GUIDE L INE S for
Placing HDPE Pipe Using
HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
36 SOURCE spring 2021
MINI HDD PIPE
CALIFORNIA HAS HAD
more than its share of
disasters, with the ad-ditional
possibility of
earthquakes always
looming. Due to its flexibility, abil-ity
to withstand stretching and
seamless fused joints, high-densi-ty
polyethylene (HDPE) pipe sig-nificantly
reduces or eliminates
the likelihood of broken pipes and
joints resulting from such seismic
events. These characteristics also
make HDPE pipe the ideal product
for placement by horizontal direc-tional
drilling (HDD). The Munic-ipal
Advisory Board (MAB) of the
Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has de-veloped
user-friendly guidelines
for the HDPE pipe placement with
mini-horizontal directional drill-ing
(mini-HDD) equipment.1
Mini-HDD is an efficient way to
install new water lines beneath busy city
streets, since it avoids the need for open-trenching,
minimizing the disruption
to traffic and local businesses. The
flexibility of the HDPE pipe also allows
the smaller sizes to be conveniently
provided in continuous lengths,
simplifying handling and storage prior
to installation.
The new MAB guidelines, known as
MAB-7, include information not readily
available elsewhere in a convenient
format. It is now easily accessible to
the public on PPI’s website at http://
plasticpipe.org/pdf /mab-7-mini-hdd-guide.
pdf.
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate typical
mini-horizontal directional drilling
equipment and pilot boring and
back-reaming operations, including
placement (pullback) of the product
pipe, such as for water distribution
applications.
Mini-HDD is generally employed
for boring segments less than 600 feet
in length, at depths up to 15 feet and
placing pipes up to 12 inches diameter.
In contrast, maxi-HDD technology
is capable of accurately boring holes
thousands of feet in length and placing
pipes of 48 inches or greater, at depths
up to 200 ft. Maxi-HDD machines may
weigh as much as 30 tons or more and
is appropriate for placing pipes under
large rivers or other major obstacles.
The Guidelines
MAB-7 contains 10 main chapters
or sections, briefly described below,
supplemented by several appendices.
Scope, Related Industry
Standards and Terminology
(Sections 1, 2 and 3)
MAB-7 addresses planning, design,
drill rig setup and installation practices
for the placement of polyethylene pipe
for municipal applications using mini-
HDD equipment. The primary focus
By Lawrence M. Slavin
Figure 1 Typical Mini-HDD Equipment and Pilot Boring Process. (Source: Outside Plant Consulting
Services, Inc.)
/mab-7-mini-hdd-guide.pdf
/mab-7-mini-hdd-guide.pdf
/mab-7-mini-hdd-guide.pdf
