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| Trinity University in a maze. Photo: Digital Subway |
If you miss the exhilaration and excitement of finding your way through a maze, consider visiting Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. It is free and open to public which makse it the best deal anyone could find in these tough economic times. A green and beautiful campus has become a maze and a sight of bustling activities due to simultaneous construction projects being undertaken.
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| Laying out of pipelines for consolidation of utility plants at Trinity. Photo: Digital Subway |
One of the projects in the process is the consolidation of three utility plants into two in order to be efficient and save space for Center for Sciences and Innovation. Currently, three central heating/cooling units service the university's needs for hot and cold water. These shall be consolidated into two energy-efficient units - one boiler and chiller each separately.
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| Drilling Machine used for horizontal drilling. Photo: Digital Subway |
At first, it might seem like a multi-million dollar project like this may not be cost-effective keeping in mind the elimination of benefit from heat exchange that could take place between boiler and chiller if placed in the same plant. However, the new chillers use modern technology to cool water and thus their operational costs will be lower in the long run and result in net savings. I have neither looked at economics nor technical details behind the equipment used in this project so I can not comment any further. But it has been acclaimed that the project will be completed before university reopens in Fall 2011.
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| A worker joining pipes for injecting drilling fluid. Photo: Digital Subway |
A project of this magnitude is no easy task and requires rigorous drilling at multiple sites to re-channel pipelines for flow of hot/cold waters. The Californian contractor performing this task is using horizontal drilling, the same controversial technique using in extracting natural gas from shale formations - also known as fracking. The only difference in this project that has exempted it from being criticized by environmental groups, students or professors alike is the lack of use of hazardous chemicals. However, upon closer inspection, I discovered that a drilling liquid (see below) is being injected while drilling. Since I was unable to obtain a sample or conduct any tests, its nature and toxicity remains a mystery.
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| A Gel/Drilling fluid of unknown toxicity injected during horizontal drilling. Photo: Digital Subway |
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| Pipes for chiller and boiler. Photo: Digital Subway |
An anonymous Californian worker (anonymous because I forgot to ask his name) described that the tip of the drilling machine has a 2 degrees bend which allows easy maneuvering and makes horizontal drilling possible. A metallic pipe of 2 inches in diameter and 10 or 15 feet in length is first used to drill a hole from one end to another, which can be as long as 1000 feet. As drills are made, more pipes are joined using a socket. Furthermore, once the initial drill is made, other drills are made around it to accommodate the larger pipe which could be several inches in diameter. See a video demonstration of this process below. He admitted that it is a difficult task and requires both strength and technique. However, it pays well since he is part of a labor union back in California.
Video clip of horizontal drilling process at Trinity University. By Digital Subway
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