Boring revolution hits streets

Traffic jams and power cuts caused by burst underground pipes and cables could become a thing of the past thanks to an engineering first by Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
They've developed the world's first underground sensing system for the construction of utility pipes.

The Tunneling GSV - guide, sense and visualize - system helps engineers make safe and speedy decisions when laying pipes beneath the city's streets.

The research team, led by associate professor Lu Ming of the department of civil and structural engineering, responded to industry calls for an underground sensing system.

The "no-dig" technology uses a micro tunnel boring machine to navigate Hong Kong's labyrinth-link underground environment

Underground work is complex and there is lack of control because operators cannot see what is in the underground environment," Lu said. "We developed the GSV system to gain more control and to provide information about the alignment of the piping or underground obstacles."

The system can help operators stop or change the direction of the boring machine before hitting potentially damaging obstacles.

Even if the boring machine installs a pipe successfully, many companies need to add on labor costs to hire an independent surveyor to check the final alignments. The extra costs can be eliminated with the help of the new system, which provides real-time information, Lu said.

The research team collaborated with industry partners including Hong Kong and China Gas and CLP Power.

Work was carried out on a prototype at a micro-tunneling site in Tuen Mun for three- month field trials which ended in November last year.

Lu said the hardware for the GSV system costs around HK$400,000 and can be used for years, so it can be a cost-effective complement to boring machines.

"Most Hong Kong companies purchase a normal boring machine for around HK$12 million, while the most expensive automated machine can cost almost double the amount, so the GSV can be a value-added component to the normal boring machine," he said.