BPU 800 pipe-ramming system - New power pack from Emunds+Staudinger

The BPU 800 is designed for pipe diameters of DN/OD 600 for 1 m to DN/OD 800 mm for 3000 mm individual pipe lengths. If an extension frame is used, pipes with lengths up to 6000 mm can be handled. A right- and left-turning hydraulic motor supplies the power. The machine has an auger drive with maximum torque of 27,000 N and a maximum service pressure of 315 bar. Maximum thrust is about 1320 kN. The auger spindle withstands the full thrust. Furthermore, by means of a relative motion of 40 cm, the auger train can be axially displaced independently of the casing tube. The system's slide is displaced with a walking mechanism on the frame with a stroke length of 0.5 m. Locking and unlocking are performed hydraulically. The slide can be operated at normal or fast speed. The auger drive, thrust and walking mechanism lock are controlled with hand-operated valves.

Obstacles are no problem

Like all E+S pipe-ramming systems, the new BPU is of course equipped with control via a hollow auger, which permits the dismantling of the pilot rods in the machine. This offers a number of advantages. Particularly worth mentioning is the fact that if an obstacle is en-countered during piloting, the pilot can be overbored as far as the obstacle, retracted and the pilot bore continued after obstacle removal. "A decisive advantage," explains Frank Görke, Pipe-Ramming Product Manager at Emunds+Staudinger GmbH, "because time-consuming and costly work like the digging of an extra launch pit and the drilling of a new line can thus be omitted." This is an aspect that can go a long way towards ensuring compliance with the basic economic requirements of an engineering project. "Since retraction of the pilot rods is possible in the machine, even the digging of a reception pit is theoretically unnecessary," says Görke, highlighting some of the benefits of the system. The exposure of the pilot rods to thrust forces during overboring is also eliminated. One of the most important advantages for users of the system is that he thrust bearing, which was originally designed to prevent twisting when the pilot was pressed out, can also be dispensed with, as wellas so-called widening stages.