Calculation Method of the Pull-Back Force for Cable Laying of the Trenchless

Completed Power Pipeline

Author(s): Chuan Wu, Guojun Wen, Xiaoming Wu, Lei Han, Jie Xu, Wenqiao Wang, Hui Xie, and Rui
Li
Source: Journal of Coastal Research, 73(sp1):681-686.
Published By: Coastal Education and Research Foundation
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI73-117.1
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2112/SI73-117.1

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Journal of Coastal Research

SI

73

681-686

Coconut Creek, Florida

WINTER 2015

Calculation Method of the Pull-Back Force for Cable Laying of the

Trenchless Completed Power Pipeline
Chuan Wu, Guojun Wen*, Xiaoming Wu, Lei Han, Jie Xu, Wenqiao Wang, Hui Xie, and Rui Li

School of Engineering
China University of Geosciences
Wuhan 430074, China

School of Mechanical & Electrical Information

China University of Geosciences
Wuhan 430074, China

School of Resource
China University of Geosciences
Wuhan 430074, China

www.cerf-jcr.org

ABSTRACT
Wu, C.; Wen, G.; Wu, X.; Han, L.; Xu, J.; Wang, W.; Xie, H., and Li, R., 2015. Calculation method of the pull-back
force for cable laying of the trenchless completed power pipeline. In: Mi, W.; Lee, L.H.; Hirasawa, K., and Li,
W.(eds.), Recent Developments on Port and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 73,
pp. 681-686. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
www.JCRonline.org

Typically, trenchless drilling rig is used in cable laying in power system. Then through the windlass; the cable is pulled
into the pipeline. Although the size of the pull-back force is very important to calculate the pull-back force in cable
laying, the existing calculation equation for pull-back force is targeted at pull-back force in pipeline laying. This article
analyzes the frequently-used calculation equations and its service condition in pipeline laying. And a pull-back force
test instrument in cable laying is designed, by which a large number of pull-back force of cable laying in practical
engineering project is collected. Through the comparison of the measured values and calculation values by the equation
for pull-back force, it is founded that the equation for pull-back force in pipeline laying is suitable for the calculation of
pull-back force in cable laying in case that it multiplied by a certain coefficient.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: HDD, pull-back force in pipeline laying, pull-back force in cable laying, test
instrument for pull-back force.

________________________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
Trenchless technology (HDD) is an underground pipeline
laying technology without excavating surface. As Figure 1
shows, it is a construction diagram of pipeline laying by
trenchless drilling rig, which can be divided into the following
three stages:

3) Pull the pipeline into the hole to complete the construction

after reaming.
In the process of dragging pipeline, it needs to select suitable
bearing capacity of the pipeline and the size of the
corresponding trenchless drilling rig according to the pull-back
force. So the drag force must be calculated before construction
(Polak and Chu, 2005; Royal et al., 2009; Zwierzchowska,
2006).

Figure 1. The diagram of construction process with trenchless rig.

1) Drill the pilot hole underground by trenchless drilling rig.

2) Enlarge diameter of the pilot hole by reaming drill bit, so
that the pipeline can smoothly pass through.
____________________
DOI: 10.2112/SI73-117.1 received 1 August 2014; accepted in revision 1
November 2014.
*Corresponding author: wenguojun@cug.edu.cn
Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Inc. 2015

Figure 2. The diagram for power cable laying of completed trenchless

pipeline.

For electric power system, after the trenchless pipeline is laid,

power cable will be dragged into the hoist cable through the
trenchless drilling rig. As Figure 2 shows, it is the power cable
laying diagram of completed trenchless pipeline, by using
windlass dragging the power cable into the pipe through

682
Wen et al.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
wirerope. Here the drag force is related to the size of the bearing
capacity of wirerope and the power of windlass, so it is needed
to calculate the pull-back force before construction. However,
there is no related research on the calculation method of
pull-back force in cable laying yet. Because the previous
construction of the pull-back force is estimated by experienced
workers, the fracture is easy to happen for the bearing capacity
of wirerope is less than the cable-laying drag force (Marcaccio,
Spagnoli and Frascari, 2003). Thus, the calculation of the
pull-back force in cable laying is particularly important.
There exists many calculation equations for pull-back force
in pipeline laying, in which mud property, friction between the
pipeline and soil as well as the influence of different soil on the
laying drag force in the process of pipeline laying should be
considered. But in the process of calculating pull-back force in
cable laying, these effects are not considered. As Figure 3 shows,
it is actual pipeline path of a trenchless cable laying
construction.

considered. This kind of method is commonly simpler, easier to

calculate, such as GB50424-2007 Code for constructing oil
and gas transmission pipeline crossing engineering,
GB50268-2008 Code for construction and acceptance of water
and sewerage pipeline works, net buoyancy calculation method,
relieving arch earth pressure calculation method and driscopipe
calculation method, etc. Kind two, the influence of pipe
deformation on pull-back force is considered. This kind of
algorithm is more complex and generally takes the working
condition of the whole into consideration, such as algorithm of
gas pipeline research institute in the United States (AGA),
ASTM method of American Society for Testing Materials, drill
path algorithm, Meria Anna Palk algorithm, etc. The two
methods all have their special talents and applicable conditions.
The following will introduce the representative algorithms of
this two kind methods (An, 2008; Hu et al., 2012; Ma and
Zhang, 2006; Yang et al., 2011).
The Pull-back Force Equation Ignoring the Deformation of
the Pipeline
1) GB50424-2007 Code for constructing oil and gas
transmission pipeline crossing engineering (hereinafter
referred to as GB57 for short)
D2

F = Lfg 7.85 ( D ) + DLkg

4

Figure 3. The actual pipeline path of a trenchless cable laying

construction.

When calculating the pull-back force in cable laying for the

actual pipeline path in Figure 3, the results vary widely by using
different existing equations of pull-back force in pipeline laying.
Therefore, whether the equation for pull-back force in pipeline
laying can be used to calculate pull-back force in cable laying?
If the calculation equation for pull-back force in pipeline laying
is used, which equation is more suitable?
According to the problems above, taking the existing
equation for pull-back force in pipeline laying as the enter point,
this article analyzes the frequently-used calculation equations
and its service condition for pull-back force in pipeline laying.
According to the experimental data of practical engineering
cases, the conclusion of the above questions is gotten.
THE EXISTING CALCULATION EQUATIONS FOR
PULL-BACK FORCE IN PIPELINE LAYING
The existing calculating methods for the pull-back force in
pipeline laying can be broadly divided into two kinds. Kind one,
the influence of pipe deformation on pull-back force is not

Where F is the pull-back force (KN) of pipeline laying. L is

length crossing the pipeline (m). f is friction coefficient (the
general value angel is 0.1 to 0.3). g is acceleration of gravity
(generally takes 9.81m2/s). D is the external diameter (m) of
pipeline. density (t/m3) of mud. is wall thickness (m) of
pipeline. k is coefficient of viscosity (the general value angel is
0.01 to 0.03).
It doesnt take the bending deformation of the pipeline into
consideration in this calculation equation. According to different
materials of the pipeline, the equation needs to do some
corresponding adjustments. Because the equation is simple, it
has a certain application scope.
The relieving arch earth pressure calculation method is as
follows:

2
e D0 De 1 + t g 45 1 + t g 45+ (1 + ka ) + p0
2
2

F = fe L

f kp

Where F is the pull-back force (KN) of pipeline laying. f e

is the friction coefficient between pipe wall and the hole wall. L
is length (m) of the pipe. e is the bulk density (KN/m3) of
crossing soil stratum. D0 is the external diameter (m) of the
crossing pipeline. is the internal friction angle of crossing soil
stratum. ka is the pressure coefficient of active earth (take the
value 0.3). P0 is the weight of per unit length (KN/m) of the
crossing pipeline. fkp is the solid coefficient of soil. is the
stability coefficient of the hole wall, which generally takes 30 to

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 73, 2015

Calculation Method of the Pull-Back Force

40 according to the experience. The bending deformation of the
pipeline is not considered in this equation and the calculation is
more complicated. The conditions used in this equation are
harsh, and the soil types and soil layer thickness are limited, but
the calculation results are more accurate.
3) GB50268-2008 Code for construction and acceptance of
water and sewerage pipeline works (hereinafter referred to as
GB58 for short)
F = DLf g +

wall of pipeline. Dk is the external diameter (m) of the reaming

drill bit. Ra is the extrusion force (KPa) of head-on soil
The bending deformation of the pipeline is not considered in
this equation and the calculation is simple. But the using
condition is relatively single and calculation results are volatile.
The Pull-back Force Equation Considering the Deformation
of the Pipeline
1) Algorithm of gas pipeline research institute in the United
States (hereinafter referred to as AGA for short)
The algorithms take bending deformation of the pipeline into
consideration and the calculation process is divided into a
straight line and a curved line segment for calculating
respectively. The final result is the summation of all segments.
The calculation is more complex, but the accuracy of the result
is high.
(1) Calculation equation of pull-back force in pipeline laying
in straight line segment

Ts = W p L cos + DRAG W p L sin

Where Ts is the pull-back force (KN) of pipeline laying in
straight line segment. is the friction coefficient between the
pipe wall and the hole wall. Wp is the net weight of the pipeline
per unit length (KN/m) after considering drilling fluid buoyancy.
is the inclination angle (deg)of the pipeline. DRAG is the
resistance (KN) of fluid in the hole. L is the length (m) of the
pipeline in straight line segment.
(2) Calculation equation of pull-back force in pipeline laying
in curved line segment

Tc = 2 W p L cos + DRAG W p Larc sin

Where Tc is the the pull-back force (KN) of pipeline laying in
curved line segment. Larc is the length (m) of the pipeline in
curved line segment
(3) The total pull-back force in pipeline laying
n

s =1

c =1

2) ASTM method of American Society for Testing Materials

(hereinafter referred to as ASTM for short)

Dk2 Ra

Where F is the pull-back force (KN) of pipeline laying. D is

the external diameter (m) of the pipeline. L is the length (m) of
crossing. f g is the resistance (m) in per unit area of the outer

683

Ttol = Ts + Tc

Figure 4. The borehole trajectory diagram for trenchless pipeline laying.

As shown in Figure 4, this algorithm simplifies the before

hole trajectory of trenchless pipeline laying. The entry point A,
exit point D as well as the turning point B and C of straight line
and bending line is regarded as the main points of the model by
default. The pull-back force in pipeline laying TA, TB, TC and
TD of the four points are calculated separately. And take the
maximum value of the results as the final pull-back force.
TA = e a a wa ( L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 )

TB = e b (TA + THK + b wb L2 + wb H a wa L2e a )

TC = TB + THK + b wb L3 e b ( a wa L3e a )

TD = e b TC + THK + b wb L4 wb H e b a wa L4e b

where

THK

is

the

fluid

resistance

(KN),

( D D ) . q is the fluid pressure (KPa). DBH is

8
the diameter (m) of borehole. a is the friction coefficient
between pipeline and the ground.. b is the friction coefficient
between pipeline and the borehole wall. wa is gravity (KN/m)
per meter of pipeline. is the angle (deg) of the entry point of
pipeline. is the angle (deg) of the exit point of pipeline.
The bending deformation of the pipeline is considered in this
algorithm, but the borehole trajectory of trenchless pipeline
laying is simplified into a smooth curve with only two bending
points, which are not consistent with actual. So calculation
results will have certain errors.
and THK =q

2
BH

VERIFICATION OF THE ENGINEERING EXAMPLES

The test of pull-back force in cable laying is designed for the
needs of the actual pull-back force test for cable laying of the
completed power pipeline, which can collect real-time pull-back
force in cable laying. Through the comparison of the actual
pull-back force collected by the instrument with the calculated
pull-back force by the equation, the best calculation equation for
pull-back force in cable laying can be acquired.

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Wen et al.
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Figure 5. The diagram process for pull-back force in cable laying.

The Test Instrument for Pull-back Force in Cable Laying

The diagram of process for pull-back force in cable laying
is shown in Figure 5. One end of the instrument is connected
with the cable and the other end is connected with the
wirerope of windlass. Then the instrument is pulled with the
cable from head of the pipeline to the end, in the process of
which the pull-back force in the whole construction process is
recorded and stored. After completing the construction, the
stored data in the instrument is read out for further analysis
and processing by using PC software. Finally the pull-back
force in the whole construction process is obtained.

Figure 6. Three-dimensional structure of the instrument.

The three-dimensional structure of the instrument is shown

in Figure 6. The windlass is respectively linked to the cable
with one pull-tab. In the process of construction, the collected
pull-back force by the sensors is transmitted to PCB, by
which the pull-back force in cable laying is stored in SD card
(Klemas, 2011; Wu et al., 2013). And the entire instrument is
powered by battery. Figure 7 is the final completed
equipment.
Engineering Project
After completing the instrument, a lot of pull-back force data
of cable laying in the engineering examples is acquired by
using the instrument. Some typical basic data in the
engineering cases is shown in Table 1.
Figure 8 is the comparison of the theoretical calculation
value of each project by the equations mentioned above with
the actual measured value.
The following conclusions are gotten from Figure 8:

Figure 7. The physical figure of test instrument for the pull-back force in
cable laying.

1) The value calculated by GB57 algorithm is smaller than

the actual measured values and the deflection is big. This is
due to the friction resistance is not considered in this equation
when bending deformation of the cable is occurred. But if
taking 1.3 times of the calculate results from this equations as
the pull-back force in cable laying, this equation can also be
satisfied.
2) The value calculated by UAEPM algorithm is smaller
than the actual measured values. This is because the equation
doesnt consider the friction resistance when occurring to the
bending deformation of the cable.. In order to ensure the
safety of the selected equipment, the results should be higher
than the actual value in actual applications. But if taking 1.5
times of the calculate results from this equations as the cable
laying, this equation can also be satisfied.
3) In GB58 algorithm, the parameters of resistance and
extrusion pressure of soil to the reaming drill bit are involved
in. These parameters are all related to reaming drill bit, which
is not needed in the process of cable laying. If giving up these
parameters in the equation, the equation will not be suitable
for the calculation of pull-back force in cable laying. It can
also be calculated when these parameters are assigned through
estimating, but after the assignment, the calculation results are
bound to be greater than the actual value. If taking 0.8 times
of the calculate results from this equations as the pull-back
force in cable laying, it also will be satisfied to the actual
application.
4) The value calculated by AGA algorithm is bigger than
the actual measured values. This is mainly because the
frictional resistance of bending section is all friction
resistance of the pipeline. Therefore, when the bending
section is longer, the results will be bigger.
5) The calculation results by ASTM algorithm is volatile,
therefore it can be used to calculate of pull-back force in cable
laying.
CONCLUSIONS
In order to know if the calculation equation for pull-back
force in pipeline laying is applicable to calculate pull-back
force in cable lying, this paper analyzes the common used
calculation equation and its using conditions based on the
existing equation for pull-back force in pipeline laying. And a

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 73, 2015

Calculation Method of the Pull-Back Force

685

Table 1. Some basic data in the engineering cases.

cable specification Length
(KV)
(m)

site
The second section of the 2th industry road
of Wuhan city

average depth
(m)

Inlet angle
(deg)

Exit angle
(deg)

10

360

10

14

The third section of the 4th industry road of

Wuhan city
Taixing island of Wuhan city

10

410

11

14

35

1920

40

Changxing island of Shanghai city

20

600

27

12

The north circular road of Beijing city

120

10

14

Jiefang road of Shaoxing city

15

200

11

Figure 8. The comparision of theoretical calculation value with the actual measured values in engineering example.

pull-back force test instrument is designed. From the

comparison of the measured value with the theoretical
calculated value, it is founded that the equation for pull-back
force in pipeline laying is suitable for the calculation of
pull-back force in cable laying in case that it multiplied by a
certain coefficient.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research program was funded by National Natural
Sciences Foundation of China (41272174), the Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities (CUG130412;
CUG090107) and the Fundamental Research Founds for
National University, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)
(1410491T03).
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Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 73, 2015