Microtunneling on a British Army Base in Gütersloh, Germany

Abstract

On the British Army base in Gütersloh, Germany, the basements were regularly flooding due to the high groundwater table. When the base was originally constructed, industries in the area were booming and the groundwater was used for cooling purposes, keeping the water table at an artificial level. As the manufacturers in the area made changes to their processes, the water usage diminished and the watertable rose significantly. Water was now infiltrating the basements of the facilities on the base. To address the issue, a drainage system under and around a building was designed to eliminate water infiltration. The requirements included pinpoint accuracy, so a guided boring system was specified for the project. The combination of confined workspaces, depth of installation and ground conditions brought the engineering company Redeker and the contractor Beermann Borhtechnik to select vacuum microtunneling as the preferred method for the project. The project required nine bores for a combined distance of 225 m (738.2’) from three launch pits. Two pits would accommodate two drives each, and five bores would be launched from the third. Using a pullback technique, 1.95 m (6.4’) perforated pipe sections were installed following the pilot bore. All nine bores were completed in six consecutive working days. Paper 1.1 - 1

Techniques