Trenchless Technology Center Louisiana Tech University

2011 2011
Soil Pipe friction Study During HDD Installation

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

PREPARED FOR xxxxxxx Baroid Industrial Drilling Products 1721 Crested Butte St. Guthrie, OK 73044 USA

PREPARED BY Dr. ErezAllouche, Research Director Md.Kamrul Hassan, MSc. Candidate

1. Objective: To perform controlled laboratory test in order to investigate borehole and pipe surface friction coefficients during HDD installations for two different diameter PVC pipes (6 and 8 )and five different types of soil namely clay, silty clay, sand, silty sand and p-gravel (3/8 dia).Two different kind of drilling fluid will be also used- Polymer for clay and silty clay and bentonite for sand and silty sand.For gravel an additive micro-fiber will be used along with bentonite. Same tests will be performed without the drilling fluids to compare friction coefficient values with the ones with drilling fluids.The work will be done using TTC s direct shear testing apparatus with a slight modification to permit the placement of a round pipe on a soil base. The apparatus has a shear box (150mm x150mm x 50mm) which is equipped with a removable top plate and the box is designed to form a mud chamber resembling a borehole crown or invert. Three levels of normal load will be applied to the pipe with a hanger system capable of applying 100lb load to resemble overburden pressure. The soil chamber can be pulled or pushedby a constant feed motor (maximum 1.219 mm/min) relative to the pipe to measure the interface shear force. The project will focus on direct measurement of the borehole pipe friction coefficients (both dynamic and static) for the five soil types. The drilling fluids will be mixed and added as per standard ASTM standards. Variables will include overburden pressure, type of pipe material, drilling fluid and soil type. Soil type includes clay, silty clay, sand, silty sand and P-gravel. 2. Technical considerations: Horizontal directional drilling is commonly used to install high-pressure gas pipes, fiberoptic cables, electric conduits, water distribution pipes and sewage force mains. HDD is normally a three phase operation namely: pilot boring, pre-reaming or back-reaming and pull-back operation.In all three phases significant friction develops between borehole and the drill string, reamer and the product pipe. But friction developed during pull back is the most significant because it affects the pull-load calculationFrictional forces at the interface of the borehole and pipe surface is a significant force during pull back in HDD installations.Successful pull load prediction is necessary because inadequate drill rig capacity can lead to stuck pipe in the borehole and too much of pull load can cause serious damage pipe material by overstressing.Figure 1 depicts the friction scenario between the pipe and the borehole during pull-back operation.

Figure1: Pipe-Borehole interaction during Pull Back in HDD installation(after Huey et al. 1996 ) During drilling operation drilling fluid is added under pressure to the boreholeand filter cake or mud cake is formed on the surface of the borehole. The pressure from drilling fluid pushes the pipe or drill string against the borehole wall adding another normal force to the upward buoyancy. This upward force creates apparent adhesion between the pipe and the compressed filter cake at the borehole pipe interface. Figure2 represents the borehole idealization. To overcome this adhesion the pull-force must be sufficient enough.

Figure 2: Differential Sticking (modified after Sherwood 1998)

According to PRCI model assumption there are two main contributors of pull load build up: i) bending stresses by the pipe displacement through curves and inadvertent irregular borehole paths ii) tension caused by friction between pipe and borehole and fluidic drag forces acing on the pipe surface as a result of shear strains developed between the pipe and the viscous drilling fluid with suspended cuttings (Figure 1). All three models assume that the position of the pipe in the borehole is tangential to the top of the borehole. According to ASTM standard F 1962-99 the required tensile force at the leading end of the product pipe will vary during the operation and is, in general, less than that

experienced at the drill rig due to the additional load on the balance of the drill string still within the borehole and that due to any simultaneous reaming operation. The tensile forces on the pipe result from the frictional drag forces acting on the sides of the pipe due to the weight or buoyancy forces as it is pulled into or along the hole, force amplification due to pulling the pipe around the curves, and resistance due to pipe stiffness. The resultant force will depend whether the pipe is empty or deliberately weighted to reduce the buoyancy. For the purpose of calculating the peak force on the product pipe the pulling force is calculated at the 4 transition points (A,B,C,D) shown in figure 3 , although the greatest load would generally be at pointD.
Exit pit

Entry pit A

Product pipe L4 B

Pull direction C L2

L3

L1

Figure 3: Points of peak pull-loads in HDD installations The corresponding loads may be calculated by the following equations:

 =   

   



- exp

Where, = Pull force on pipe at point A,B,C,D respectively  = Additional length of pipe required for handling and thermal contraction,  = Horizontal distance to achieve desired depth,  = Additional distance traversed at desired depth,  =Horizontal distance to rise to the surface,  = Depth of borehole from ground surface,  , where normal logarithmic base=2.71828 = Coefficient of friction applicable at the surface before the pipe enters the borehole
 

= Coefficient of friction applicable within the lubricated borehole = weight of empty pipe  = Net upward buoyant force on pipe inside the borehole  = pipe entry angle = pipe exit angle We can see from the formula that to accurately predict the pull-load one needs to know the friction forces at the pipe-borehole interface. Potyondy (1961) suggested the use of a model based on the Mohr-Coulomb equation:


Where, =(apparent) adhesion between material and soil applied normal stress the angle of internal friction There are several important observations and conclusions in Potyondy s theory concerning behavior of soil sheared against construction material, these are: y The value of skin friction resistance is less than the shearing strength of the soil, for all soil types and mixtures and under all conditions examined. y When construction materials were tested against sand, increasing the normal force acting on a sample resulted in the reduction of the interface friction angle. y When tested against clay, skin friction increased with the applied normal force up to a certain where it remained constant thereafter. y Adhesion becomes negligible as the clay content within a soil mix drops below 15%; at which point the mixture exhibits properties characteristics of granular material. y Properties of a soil mixture containing less than 8% granular material are dominated by those of the cohesive soil The calculation of skin friction coefficient is based on the following equation:

Where, = measured resistant force parallel to the direction of displacement = friction coefficient

= applied normal force.

3. Research plan: It is proposed to determine the frictional forces developed by five types of soil at three normal load levels. It is proposed that the soil types will include clay, silty clay, sand, silty sand and p-gravel. For the sand and silty sand bentonite will be used as drilling fluid and for the clay and silty clay polymer drilling fluid will be used. For the p-gravel an additive (micro-fiber) will be used. The test will be carried with three levels or normal load condition (56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb). The same pull test will be performed without the use of drilling fluid (weak fluid) to compare the performance of the pulling operation with and without drilling fluids. The tests will be conducted under controlled conditions, using the modified direct shear testing apparatus at the TTC laboratory at Louisiana Tech University. The soil chamber is 6 long, 6 wide and 2 deep (150mmx150mmx50mm).The apparatus is capable of providing up to 100lb of normal load. The soil will be compacted to the desired level based on the moisture level used with a standard proctor hammer. In the soil chamber a mud cake will formed by applying the drilling fluid with a pressure of 30psi.The soil surface will be given the shape of a borehole crown with a diameter 1.5 times that of the pipe.The horizontal pull or push force will be provided with a constant rate feed motor (maximum 1.219 mm/min). The pressure of the drilling fluid during mud cake formation will be measured by a pressure transducer which will be connected to a computer and data accusation system. The vertical displacement of the pipe will be measured using two vertical LVDT s (+/25.4mm)and another set of LVDT will be used to measure the horizontal displacement of the pipe. Laboratory tests will include a full characterization of all the soil types. These will include internal angle of friction, cohesion of soil, optimum moisture content, Maximum dry density, uniformity coefficient, curvature coefficient and USC classification.

4. Scope of the testing program: Table 1 display the proposed test matrix, listing the characteristics of the test series to be performed as part of the testing program. Table 1: test matrix Test Soil at Series interface 1 2 3 4 5 Clay Silty clay Sand Silty sand p-gravel

Drilling fluid type

Applied normal Number Number load of setups of tests 56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb 3 56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb 56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb 56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb 56 lb, 70 lb, 80lb 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 6

Polymer Polymer Bentonite Bentonite

None None None None

Bentonite + None additive (micro-fiber)

Total

15

30

5. Schedules and deliverables: The anticipated duration of the project work is xx months. The duration include laboratory soil tests, pull load tests (divided into 3 test series) using soil chamber, data analysis and reporting. A comprehensive report describing the installation and testing procedures, instrumentation experimental data and conclusions will e submitted within xx days of the completion of the testing program.

6. Budget: The total cost estimate of this proposal is US $xxxxxx, a sum that includes all university overhead charges. It is assumed that Baroid will provide TTCwith the drilling fluids and additives. The budget breakdown by category is as follows: Table 2: Budget breakdown Task Description Amount Laboratory test of five soil Internal angle of friction , cohesion --types (labor+ equipment) of soil, optimum moisture content, Maximum dry density, uniformity coefficient, curvature coefficient and USC classification. Preparation of full scale soil tests (soil placement, compaction, mud cake formation, pipe placement, placement of instrumentation and testing) Project management+ engineering Subtotal (Direct cost) University overhead University overhead at a standard rate 22% --15 test series (five soil types and three normal load levels) ---

Design test and instrumentation : data collection and observations, data analysis; prepare report

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Total project cost

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The principal investigator reserves the right to re-allocate funding between the various categories in consultation with Mr. xxxxxxx

7. References: Potyondy, V.G Skin Friction between Various Soils and Construction Material. Geotechnique,London,England , Vol.2, No. 4 Dec.161, pp. 339-353 ShauravAlam and ErezAllouche, Experimental Investigation of Pipe Soil Friction Coefficients for Direct Buried PVC pipes, Proc. Of ASCE Pipeline 2010, pp 1160 El-Chazli, G, Hinchberger, S, Baumert, M, and Allouche , E,N (2005), Experimental Investigation of Borehole and Surface Friction Coefficients During HDD Installations, North American Society for trenchless technology (NASTT) (2004) No Dig conference. ASTM standard F 1692-99 Use of Maxi-Horizontal Directional Drilling for Placement of Polyethylene pipe or Conduit Under Obstacles, Including River Crossings1