WET News

UV-cure helps with All Lane Running drainage • UV curing is proving popular in the wastewater sector. Now, for the first time, the technology has been used in the highways sector. the speed and environmental benefits of UV-cure, the result- ing pipe liner is joint-less and seamless, and up to five times stronger than other cure in place methods," he adds. Pipeline cleaning, inspec- tion and mapping form a vital component of Sapphire's pipe- line rehabilitation services; checking and finding faults and blockages so that correc- tive action can be taken prior to re-lining. Recently, Sapphire launched a new integrated solution, using specially designed recycler vehicles, complete with CCTV cameras. These units reduce disruption and costs with only one crew needed to survey drains and complete any required works. The latest of these units, known as the 'Urban Recycler' has full gully cleansing capa- bility, but is small enough to work in restricted urban loca- tions. Equipped with a 6m3 tank, a legal payload of 5.2 tonnes and a jetting capacity of 207l/min at 160 bars, this compact unit has a rear- mounted, remotely controlled boom (with jets) and offers full water recycling. This reduces clean water usage by 32% and waste to landfill by 18%. Digital mapping of under- ground assets is also an essen- tial part of the process, ena- bling a logical, strategic approach to asset maintenance and pipeline rehabilitation. Sapphire Utility Solutions has employed the UV-cure method on a variety of projects all over the UK and Ashton believes that the scope for the technology will continue to grow. "UV-cure is becoming very popular in wastewater applications in the water industry and the technology that we use is also being used in the clean water sector in parts of Europe and in the US." The speed of pipework rehabilitation is particularly important where drainage pipes run under busy high- ways. For example, Sapphire has recently completed a project in Ormskirk where tra- ditional dig and replace tech- niques would have involved a three-week road closure, caus- ing traffic delays and inevita- ble compensation claims. Instead, Sapphire was able to complete the work at night using UV-cure, and without the need for road closure. Demonstrating the flexibil- ity of the UV-cure method, recent liner installations include an 800mm diameter liner to a 130-year old brick sewer running beneath a canal in Manchester, and an installa- tion at St Helens in a sewer that was more than 13m deep through two multi-level man- hole chambers. In a highway project designed to alleviate traffic congestion on the M6, Sapphire employed UV-cure to dramatically reduce the time required to rehabilitate drain- age pipes under the highway. In this project, Sapphire was a sub-contractor for a Carillion Kier joint venture, which is one ONSITE TreNchless TechNology The liner is drawn into the pipe with the bag still in place, and then inflated of three delivery part- ners for the Highways England Smart Motorway Programme that includes a range of smart motorway tech- nologies including the testing of All Lane Running and Advanced Directional Signage. Sapphire's work on the M6, between junction 16 near Crewe and junction 19 near T renchless techniques have become popular for pipe- line rehabilitation, largely due to the speed with which the work can be undertaken. "No- dig techniques are faster, which results in less disturbance and reduced costs," says Stuart Ash- ton, technical and innovation manager at Sapphire Utility Solutions. Ashton continues: "We have invested in the latest vehicles and equipment for Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) refurbishment, using ultra-vio- let light as the curing method. We chose UV-cure over hot cure because it is fast and clean – we found UV-cure to be 25% faster than hot cure, and 50% faster in pipes over 500mm diameter. "CIPP is obviously much faster than dig and replace, and the UV curing method offers further considerable advantages over those that involve water. UV-cure results in an extremely robust and reliable lining, and delivers huge environmental benefits because it does not produce contaminated curing water and does not involve large fos- sil fuel burning boilers and plant." In the past, says Ashton, this water would have con- tained organic chemicals from the process, and as such would have had to be removed. In contrast, the UV method is much simpler and does not produce any environmental contamination. "In addition to 12 WET NEWS ocTober 2017 "[UV-cure] delivers huge environmental benefits because it does not produce contaminated curing water and does not involve large fossil fuel burning boilers and plant" Stuart Ashton, Sapphire Utility Solutions Knutsford, began in February 2017 and Ashton estimates that it will be completed as early as this month. All Lane Running will oper- ate for 30km between J16 and J19, which has meant that the hard shoulder will become a permanent running lane. As a result, there will be four run- ning lanes in each direction and the former hard shoulder will be subjected to much higher levels of heavy traffic, so the underlying drains are being fitted with a fibreglass lining that is both rigid and extremely strong. The alterna- tive to re-lining would have been pipeline replacement, but Ashton says: "If 'dig and replace' had been chosen, the project would have taken an extra year; delaying the bene- fits of All Lane Running and significantly extending traffic disruption during the project." The liner employed by Sap- phire consists of fibreglass, a polyester resin and a UV actua- tor. A«er exposing the actuator to UV light an exothermic reac- tion causes the resin to set hard. The liner is therefore delivered to site in lengths of up to 300m inside a bag that protects it from natural UV light. The liner is drawn into the pipe with the bag still in place, and the liner is inflated to fit tightly inside the original pipe. A UV light train is then pulled though the liner to initi- ate the curing process. The curing time is depend- ent upon the diameter of the

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