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The success rate of pipe bursting in challenging situationshas increased dramatically over the past few years. Much has been learned aboutthe capabilities of the method as well as what is needed for the method tosucceed under a wide range of conditions. Pipe bursting potable water lines hasgained national attention with several large-scale water main replacementprojects recently completed. The use of guide head (schnozz) technology has alsomade pipe bursting an effective method for replacing small-diameter lines. Theproduct pipe, zero-leak High Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE), can helpmunicipalities limit the amount of potable water lost to system leakage.Pneumatic tools can burst fracturable pipes (cast iron, asbestos cement,reinforced concrete, vitrified clay, non-reinforced concrete, PVC, reinforcedplastic mortar (RPM), ABS and some other plastics) with diameters between 4 and54 inches. In the bursting procedure, a pneumatic tool is placed into the hostpipe at an entry pit or manhole. A winch line, based at the exit area pit andattached to the head of the tool, guides it through the host pipe. Continuouspercussion from the pneumatic tool fractures the host pipe. The tool effectivelyhammers its way through, forcing the fragments into the surrounding soil, whilepulling the new pipe into place behind it. Several factors dictate whether pipebursting is appropriate for the replacement of a failed line. Theseconsiderations include: host pipe material, diameter, condition, depth, andlength; new pipe diameter requirements; working pressure; soil conditions;location of peripheral utilities; and, number of service connections. This paperpresents examples of several projects that have used pipe bursting to replacewater mains and service lines.
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