3047-1523 ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY GOPHURRS DE-FOA-0003047 HIGH SPEED INSTALLATION OF BURIED MEDIUM VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION LINES USING A SINGLE PASS SYSTEMS THE TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES A TRANSFORMATIVE SOLUTION THAT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE CONSTRUCTION WORKFLOW BY INSTALLING A CONDUIT DURING THE CREATION OF THE BOREHOLE. THIS ELIMINATES THE REQUIREMENT FOR BACK REAMING AS IN CONVENTIONAL HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING OPERATIONS. THE ABILITY TO EFFICIENTLY BURY UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION CABLES IMPROVES THE RESILIENCE, RELIABILITY, AND SECURITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO DELIVER ENERGY, ESPECIALLY WHEN FACED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED WEATHER FACTORS. THE UNIQUE BORE HEAD CONFIGURATION DIMINISHES THE RISK OF INADVERTENT RETURNS, EVEN IN SHALLOW SUBSURFACE INSTALLATIONS. FURTHERMORE, WASTES ARE MINIMIZED/ELIMINATED THROUGH A NOVEL EXCAVATION METHOD. THE SURFACE LAUNCHED TECHNOLOGY HAS A SMALL, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FOOTPRINT COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING METHODS AND CAN OPERATE IN A VARIOUS GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE ZONE. FURTHERMORE, THE UNIQUE EXCAVATION SYSTEM GREATLY REDUCES THE RISK OF DAMAGING EXISTING UTILITIES, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN OPERATING IN AN URBAN SETTING. TO FURTHER REDUCE THE RISK OF UTILITY DAMAGE ADVANCED AI ALGORITHMS ARE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE 3D MAPPING OF PROBABILISTIC HEAT MAPS OF EXISTING UTILITIES. AN INSTALLATION ROUTE OPTIMIZATION TOOL BASED ON UTILITY PROBABILISTIC MAPPING ARE DEVELOPED TO WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EXISTING UTILITIES IS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVE THE INCREASED COST SAVINGS WITH ANY TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION. NEW AWARD
$4,263,082FY2025Department of EnergyDOE
Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ