TRACTO

Trenchless pipe laying – TRACTO

Back ground and description
Trenchless methods for laying pipelines have existed for over 50 years and have not yet become established in all areas of the supply and disposal industry. For construction measures such as crossing under buildings, rivers or traffic routes, the use of shield driving, pile-driving or drill-pressing methods and controlled flush drilling methods is the state of the art.

Today, the decision to use trenchless construction methods is often influenced by the suitability of the materials used and the experience of the client and contractor, despite the economic and ecological advantages.

Regardless of the comparison with the open laying of pipes, it is clear that trenchless installation methods also have an impact on the environment and people. In this context, however, it has not yet been measured how great the positive effects are and which indicators need to be taken into account in order to identify a trenchless construction site with the best sustainability performance.

Life cycle sustainability assessment, which includes the evaluation of positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts, is considered the most appropriate method for measuring the sustainability performance of a trenchless method.

Main Objectives

  • To develop a guideline for assessing the sustainability performance of a trenchless method
  • To develop framework and a set of indicators.
  • Once a guideline has been developed, some pilot projects will be developed in order to obtain a benchmark and reference value, especially for the social dimension

Administrative details
Project duration: November 2023- December 2026

 

Contact:
Monu George Varghese M.Sc.
Email: george.varghese@inab.rwth-aachen.de

Zaid Hashash M.Sc.
Email: zaid.hashash@inab.rwth-aachen.de