Design and Application of Trenchless Drill Rig Manipulator for Automatic Drill Pipe Loading and Unloading from the Soil

The objective of this article is to analyze the design parameters related to a trenchless drill rig manipulator as material handling equipment for automatic drill pipe loading and unloading from the soil. Trenchless technology was explained using directional drilling (horizontal directional drilling) and certain criteria for this design to be achieved were stated. This article also covered the working principle of a trenchless rig. A great deal of literature was used to back up this design, describing the trenchless drilling rig and the various stresses experienced by pipelines during installation. The interaction of pipe material with the soil was studied, and with the aid of structural mechanics’ equations, mathematical relations were formulated and used to estimate vital properties required for subsurface construction, like the bending radius of the material (pipe) and pullback force under a certain soil component, which aided the system design and analysis. The findings in this article show that the principal loading experienced by pipelines during installation and operation is bending, and the application of a trenchless drill rig manipulator under different soil types can help workers lift, maneuver, load, and unload heavy and large drill pipes as it has the ability to reach into tight spaces and carry out various functions.