Importance

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Abstract

A method for breaking the friction between a buried pipe section and its surrounding soil. A linear actuator or a pneumatic impact mole pushes on one end of the pipe section while a pipe extractor pulls on the opposing end of the pipe section. In an alternative embodiment, a device is used to excite the pipe section's natural vibrational frequency while a pipe extractor pulls on one end of the pipe section. After the friction between the pipe section and its surrounding soil is broken, the pipe extractor may remove the pipe section from its borehole. In another embodiment, the pipe section may be cut into smaller sections and each section may be individually removed from the ground using a pipe extractor. Alternatively, the smaller pipe sections may be individually loosened from the surrounding soil and then rejoined before being removed from the ground by a pipe extractor.

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First Claim