CSPI EXPO 2024 Exhibition Observations - The Application of LN-150 in Pipe Jacking Construction

The Tokyo International Engineering and Construction Machinery Exhibition (CSPI EXPO) in Japan is the only engineering and construction machinery exhibition in Japan and has received support from many government agencies and industry associations. This exhibition is an important platform for showcasing innovative products, in-depth technological development and the latest trends.

At this exhibition, many companies showcased innovative solutions based on the Topcon LN-150 layout robot. Among them, the booth of AKTIO Corporation was particularly eye-catching, with a large number of Topcon LN-150 devices displayed, attracting the attention of many visitors. After an in-depth communication with Mr. Youdaoplaceholder0 Ben of the RS Business Promotion department of AKTIO Corporation, it was learned that the company ingeniously utilized LN-150 as the measurement method for pipe jacking construction of small-sized tunnels, demonstrating its outstanding technical strength and application prospects.

About 75 years ago, Japan first introduced the pipe jacking construction method. This is a unique excavation technique that involves installing hydraulic jacks on the wall of the tunnel shaft and pushing the propulsion pipe connected to the rear of the excavator for excavation. After advancing a certain distance, shorten the length of the jack, increase the length of the advancing pipe, and then push the jack again. Repeat this process until the excavation of the next shaft is completed. Throughout the entire process, the long pipes are pushed forward from behind. After the excavation is completed, these pipes can be used as sewer pipes intact.

Compared with the shield method, the pipe jacking construction method does not require concrete spraying, and thus has a cost advantage. Furthermore, as workers do not need to enter the narrow propulsion pipeline after excavation, this method significantly enhances the safety and efficiency of the construction. Nowadays, pipe jacking construction has become the standard method in Japan for the construction of small tunnels with diameters ranging from 10 centimeters to 3 meters, and is widely applied in the construction of water supply and sewage pipelines as well as infrastructure pipelines.

However, it is extremely difficult to measure whether the propulsion tube is advancing as designed. The measurement work of the propulsion pipeline is usually carried out by several surveyors, who need to crawl tens of meters in the narrow pipeline with a diameter of only 80 centimeters, and sometimes even hundreds of meters long. This is an extremely confined space where people cannot sit or stand and can only maintain a crawling posture.

Conducting measurement work in such pipelines for a long time is undoubtedly very arduous and dangerous. This kind of "hard work" has led many young workers to leave the industry, thereby exacerbating the problems of population aging and labor shortage. What is more serious is that as the measurement time increases, unnecessary delays often occur during the construction period, which has a negative impact on the overall progress and benefits of the project.

To solve this problem, AKTIO Corporation has developed the automatic measurement system "Pipe Shot". This innovative product liberates workers from the heavy work of pushing the pipe and realizes the automation of measurement. Its emergence has drawn extensive attention from the industry. As the latest ICT technology for pipe jacking measurement, it has brought revolutionary changes to the industry.

The core of Pipe Shot is the LN-150 layout robot manufactured by Topcon. AKTIO customized it according to its own needs and named it "Pile Navi". As the name suggests, Pile Navigator was originally a measurement robot dedicated to layout, but Pipe Shot has expanded its application to pipe jacking measurement. This system achieves simultaneous multi-point measurement by placing multiple LN150 robots equipped with 360-degree prisms in the propulsion tube, just like relay lasers, greatly enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the measurement.

During the process of grafting the advancing pipe, the LN-150 layout robot was directly installed inside the pipe. Once the LN-150 propulsion pipe is installed and starts to move forward, there is no longer a need for surveyors to enter the tunnel for cumbersome crawling measurements. Even if the push tube is bent, the pre-set LN-150 placement position can be used to ensure that the two instruments maintain visibility, thereby guaranteeing the accuracy and efficiency of the measurement. This innovative method has greatly reduced the workload of surveyors and improved construction efficiency.

Youdaoplaceholder0 Mr. Ben introduced that by using the Pipe Shot system, customers only need 1 to 2 people to complete the pipe jacking measurement in just 10 to 20 minutes. One major advantage of this measurement method is that it does not require work stoppers and can be measured directly during the construction process. Therefore, the adoption of Pipe Shot will significantly shorten the entire construction period. At present, there is no strict limit on the number of machines that can be connected, but the working distance for advancing from one shaft to another is limited, usually around 500 meters in most cases. Under normal circumstances, 10 to 15 LN-150s are used for joint measurement to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of the measurement results.

It is understood that this system has been applied in over 60 projects. At present, it is not uncommon for urban ground transportation to be congested due to construction, while the underground shopping malls, railway and road networks are intricate and complex. Therefore, it has become increasingly difficult to excavate water supply and sewage pipes from the ground every year for the installation of infrastructure pipelines. It is expected that the demand for efficient advancement methods will continue to increase, and the number of pipelines laid using pipe jacking construction (trenchless technology) will also gradually rise.