Difference and selection between pipe jacking and pipe pulling (HDD / jack-pull): process principles, applicable diameters and materials, ground conditions, and code bases

Topic Positioning

Clarifying the correspondence and process differences among "pipe jacking", "pipe pulling (HDD)", and "jack-pull pipe" in trenchless installation, with selection bases across diameter, material, ground, curvature, and length (per national, industry, and local provisions).

Core Conclusions

1. Term correspondence. "Pipe pulling" is the trade name; the code term is "horizontal directional drilling (HDD)" — trenchless construction that first drills a small pilot hole, then reams it to size while pulling the pipe back in. "Jack-pull pipe" has no term in current national/industry standards; it is trade usage: after pilot drilling and reaming, the pipe front is pulled by the rig and the tail pushed by jacks ("pull front, jack rear") — essentially a concretized HDD process, not to be understood as traditional jacking. Classify by the design wording: "pilot drilling, reaming, pullback/jack-pull laying" reads as pulling; "jacking machine, working shaft, jacking, pipe sections" reads as jacking. Note the different "pull-in lining" of rehabilitation: hauling a plastic liner into an old pipe (CJJ 68-2016 Clause 2.0.34) is repair, not new laying.

2. Process principles. Jacking: the machine excavates while jacks push prefabricated sections in one by one (the sections self-support), spoil removed inside the pipe; needs launch and reception shafts (for reaction); precise gradient and level control. Pulling (HDD/jack-pull): pilot hole, staged reaming, whole-pipe pullback after surface assembly (jack-pull adds tail pushing); only small entry/exit pits, small footprint; level control moderate, trajectory curved.

3. Diameters and materials (ZJQ08-SGJB 030-2020 Standard for Construction of Urban Water Supply and Drainage Pipelines). Trenchless methods: jacking suits 800-4000 mm; shields 3000 mm and above; shallow buried excavation 2000 mm and above; horizontal drills, air missiles, HDD, and ramming hammers suit 100-1000 mm. Jacking only rigid pipes; HDD only flexible pipes; shallow buried excavation suits all materials.

4. Method selection principles (GB 50268-2008 Code for Construction and Acceptance of Water and Sewerage Pipeline Works, Clause 6.1.4, key points verbatim).

• Jacking method selection per design, hydrogeology, surroundings, and site, by techno-economic comparison: (1) open-face (hand) machines require dewatering to >= 0.5 m below pipe invert plus prevention of other inflow; (2) where ground deformation must be controlled or dewatering impossible, closed earth-pressure-balance or slurry machines are preferred; (3) crossings under structures, railways, roads, major utilities, and flood walls require protection measures; (4) small-diameter metal pipes without deformation control and with adequate jacking force may use single-pass soil-compacting jacking.
• Shield selection per design (outer diameter, depth, length), hydrogeology, site, and safety, by comparison.
• Shallow-buried excavation scheme per design (section and structure, depth, length), hydrogeology, and safety, by comparison.
• HDD rotary torque and pullback force per final hole diameter, axial curvature radius, and pipe length with hydrogeology and surroundings, by comparison with safety margin; guidance instruments per rig type, obstacle type, detection depth, and site.
• Ramming hammer force per diameter, steel pipe mechanics, and length with geology and environment, by comparison with margin.
• Working shafts preferably at manholes and other structures.

5. Jacking by ground (DB11/T 1835-2021 Technical Specification for Water and Sewerage Pipeline Construction, Clause 12.1.1). Cohesive or sandy ground without groundwater: hand or mechanical excavation; gravel: tools with support or grout strengthening; soft soil without obstacles and thick cover: extrusion or grid machines; clay with heave/settlement control: earth-pressure balance; silty sand with control: slurry-added EPB or slurry machines; damp clay/sand/silty clay without strict deformation, short drives, small metal pipes: single-pass compacting jacking; at diameter <= 800 mm, hand excavation and the corresponding extrusion/grid methods are prohibited.

6. HDD applicability and limits (DB11/T 1835-2021 Clause 13.1.1; CJJ/T 250-2016 Technical Specification for Gas Pipeline Crossing Works, Clause 4.3.1). HDD lays small/medium pipes up to hundreds of meters; normally in homogeneous cohesive ground; not suitable for miscellaneous fill, poorly self-standing sands, gravel, rock, or hard interlayers; gravity drainage by HDD is not recommended. Crossings suit clay, sand, silt, weathered rock; not cobble ground; where cobbles occur at exit/entry, grouting, soil replacement, or casings may be used.

7. Materials and curvature (GB 50268-2008 Clause 6.1.13; CJJ/T 250-2016 Clauses 4.3.3/4.3.10). HDD uses PE or steel per design; steel joints welded, PE fused; steel welds >= Class II; anti-corrosion and field joints per design. Maximum pullback force and minimum curvature radius per pipe mechanics: steel diameter/thickness <= 100; PE preferably SDR11. Gas crossings: steel preferred above DN400 or 300 m; PE SDR11 with pull length preferably <= 300 m, steel beyond. Curvature radius: steel >= 1500 and not less than 1200 times diameter; PE >= 500 times. Ramming uses steel; maximum hammer force per mechanics; ovality <= 0.005 ID, end perpendicularity <= 0.001 ID and <= 1.5 mm.

8. Pull-pipe works and void filling (DB33/T 1139-2017 Technical Specification for Structural Safety Protection of Urban Rail Transit, Clause 6.3.6). Municipal drainage, power, and communication pipes of 300-1200 mm often use pulling; strictly control the pilot-hole alignment; after construction, the annulus between pipe and reamed hole shall be grouted full.

9. Pricing caliber of "jack-pull pipe". Some local supplementary pricing bases list "horizontal guided drilling, reaming, jack-pull pipe laying" as a sub-item covering pilot drilling, friction-mud making, reamer handling, pipe laying, tail-jack handling, and reaming-pullback (see the linked text). The association standard T/CASME 351-2023 Specification for Trenchless Jack-Pull Pipe Laying of Drainage Pipelines may serve as a process reference.

Applicable Boundaries

• Diameter/material clauses are mainly from municipal water/sewer standards; gas-crossing clauses (CJJ/T 250-2016) are transferable but verify against gas codes.
• Diameter ranges come from specific standards; scheme selection still follows GB 50268-2008 Clause 6.1.4 with survey data, surroundings, and site, by techno-economic comparison.
• DB11/T 1835-2021 has regional applicability; local standards prevail where they exist.
• "Jack-pull pipe" has no unified national term; pricing and acceptance follow local bases and design.
• Near existing rail transit etc., strictly control pilot alignment and grout the annulus.

Further Reading

• GB 50268-2008 Clauses 6.1.4 (method selection), 6.1.13 (HDD/ramming materials), Chapter 5 (product quality).
• ZJQ08-SGJB 030-2020 Clause 6.1.1 (diameters and materials by method).
• DB11/T 1835-2021 Clauses 12.1.1 (jacking methods), 13.1.1 (HDD survey and ground).
• CJJ/T 250-2016 Clauses 4.3.1, 4.3.3, 4.3.10 (ground, materials, curvature).
• DB33/T 1139-2017 Clause 6.3.6 (pull-pipe requirements).
• CJJ 68-2016 Clause 2.0.34 (pull-in lining term).
• Local supplementary pricing sub-item work content (official text: http://jsj.zs.gov.cn/attachment/0/452/452744/2210077.doc ).