multiVIEW was pleased to contribute to the latest issue of Canadian Underground Infrastructure. In this article, Kevin Vine, President of multiVIEW describes how Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) plays an integral role in the design phase of large Rapid Transit projects….
Hydro Vacuum Excavation – Subsurface Utility Engineering
Vacuum excavation is utilized as a data collection activity for Subsurface Utility Engineering Quality Level A activities. Pot holing, daylighting, or test pitting occurs to expose and verify the physical characteristics of a utility or structure housing utilities, including its Geodetic location. It is applied when data is required on utility depth, composition and type. This data is then integrated with information gleaned from Quality Levels D, C and B and reflected on a CAD drawing.
Hydro vs. Pneumatic Vacuum Excavation
The two most popular methods are pneumatic excavation and hydro excavation. In pneumatic excavation, high speed air flow is used to loosen the material covering the target and the soil is sucked away with the vacuum tube. This soil can be used as native back fill as it is not mixed with any other materials.
During hydro excavation, a high pressure water jet is used and where required, at high temperatures, to loosen the material covering the target, including frozen ground. This method is suitable for any soil type. On hard surfaces such as asphalt or concrete, a coring system is applied prior to excavation to expose the soil surface.
