Murphy Pipeline Contractors Inc. have a range of Pipe Ramming Machines allowing us to ram steel casings 100mm up to 2000mm diameter. These steel casings can be used as a product pipe or for carrying smaller pipes underneath roads, motorways, railway embankments, rivers and canals.

When used as a casing, many ducts for electricity/telephone cables, or pipes for gas/water can be accommodated.

When a pipe is pushed close ended, a cap is fitted to the lead end of the pipe to stop any soil going down it, this requires a harder thrust but protects the inner surface of the casing.

An open ended ram can be achieved by either pushing the pipe through as it is or often by fitting a shoe on the leading edge to facilitate an easier cut. These fittings come in a range of sizes to fit any pipe diameter and can help keep the pipe on target and reduce friction during the ramming process by guiding the soil around the outside of the casing and decreasing the volume of soil being taken into the pipe. This can also help when the pipe has to be cleaned out.

After a casing has been successfully rammed, all the soil is blasted out using high pressure air and/or water.

This method of pipe installation has a very important benefit; as the casing is being pushed directly through the earth and then blasted clean, the surrounding soil is un moved. This negates risk of settlement leading to structural problems in the buildings, roads or services above.

This method has been tried and proven where traditional auger work has sometimes failed due to gravel or small rocks in the ground. Small boulders up to the diameter of the casing are simply pushed aside or swallowed by the pipe during the ramming procedure.

Pipe Ramming is the most efficient way of installing a new steel casing. MPC's specially designed pushing hammers can locate a steel pipe speedily, without distortion and are the recommended solution to laying steel pipes beneath structures or motorways. It is a viable and much cheaper alternative to large excavation work, it causes less disruption to traffic and services, needs only a moderately sized starting pit and is ideal for all soil types apart from solid rock strata.

Summary of Advantages:~
1) Minimum setting up time required.
2) Time savings on pit excavations and reinstatement.
3) No necessity for expensive fixed abutments.
4) Tremendous concentrated impact power.
5) Can install up to 15m per hour.
6) Applicable for horizontal and vertical bores.
7) Multiple applications possible.
8) Can be launched from short length starting pits.
9) The system can cope with stones and boulders up to the     diameter of the pipe.