WET News

JANUARY 2018 WET NEWS 15 PROJECT SPECS Remove set concrete from pipeline Develope better technology to cope with limited access Limit any potential damage to the pipeline material TECHKNOW Tube Tech has developed remote control systems and robotics for fouling removal Polymer infused ultra-high pressure water created more impact against the concrete blockages and removed it quicker A biodegradable chemical helped soften the set concrete THE VERDICT "…this one threw several challenges at us that even we had not met before. It was the skill and tenacity of our crew that made this operation successful with very little damage to the pipes in question" Mike Watson, Tube Tech NEED TO KNOW 1 Initial attempts to remove the concrete proved too slow 2 There were no drawings of the pipe network available 3 Four di‡ erent technologies were required to achieve full removal of the concrete obstruction One of the concrete blockages removed from the a‡ ected pipe sections recent project. When inter- changing the various mechan- ical and jetting heads to remove the concrete from the pipe, Tube Tech's equipment occasionally became stuck in the pipe a• er passing over the obstruction into clear pipe or as sections of concrete broke away from the main body of the obstruction. This meant that operations to remove the devices or jetting heads and even some of the ultra-high pressure water operations caused some minor damage to the inner surface of the pipe. As the concrete removal operation ended Tube Tech undertook a full pipeline inspection to highlight where any damage had occurred dur- ing the works. In the end, only 5% of the pipeline showed any damage, far less than might be expected of such a di- cult cleaning operation. The extent of the damage that did occur within the pipe was considered minor leading the client to accept the out- come of the works completed and was subsequently more than happy to have the con- crete cleared. Any sections that were damaged could be re-sleeved and remain in ser- vice into the future. However, due to time constraints on other a‚ ected parts of the con- struction project, some sec- tions of pipe that were blocked by concrete were required to be bypassed by the installa- tion of new pipe lengths Commenting on the con- crete clearing operation, Tube Tech managing director Mike Watson says: "We have been concrete clearing on projects of this nature for many years although it is not usually the main thrust of our operations. But this one threw several challenges at us that even we had not met before. Working together and pooling the expe- rience of our crew and techni- cal team we were able to come up with a methodology that ultimately enabled us to com- plete the job to the full satis- faction of the client. On site, it was the skill and tenacity of our crew that made this opera- tion successful with very little damage to the pipes in ques- tion. The whole team should be very proud of the work it completed." 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