Pipe Bursting
Oxford
Plastics manufactures heavy duty hdpe pipe for trenchless methods
like pipe bursting. Pipe bursting is a relatively new trenchless
method which allows you to replace existing utility, water, gas
and sewer piping that is either worn out or incapable of meeting
the needs of a growing community.
Imagine
being able to replace the entire water supply and drainage system
of a city without causing a major traffic jam and incurring the
enormous cost of restoring your streets and roads. That is the promise
of trenchless technologies like pipe bursting.
The
Piping Problem
No matter where you go, water, sewer, gas and other utilities are
in a constant state of deterioration or incapable of meeting the
rising needs of urban areas where population growth is a problem.
In most cases, water lines have become corroded to the point where
they are wasting water and incapable of meeting water supply requirements.
Gas lines are often made of cast-iron which not only leaks, but
is incapable of handling higher capacity or pressure requirements.
Because they transport aggressive and corrosive material, most sewer
lines are often cracked or corroded to the point that they cannot
transport the waste material without stoppages and leaking into
the environment. The biggest problem is that most of these pipelines
are located in overcrowded cities, under buildings, roadways, rivers
where replacement by traditional open-trench methods is not a plausible
option.
A
Piping Solution
Pipe
bursting represents the ideal pipe rehabilitation solution for replacing
and upsizing the capacity of existing pipelines while avoiding the
economic and social costs of traditional methods. Pipe bursting
is the only trenchless process that enables a city to revitalize
its piping system without extensive excavation and traffic stoppages.
The
Pipe Bursting Process
Pipe bursting involves using a winch to pull
a heavy duty polyethylene pipe through an old pipeline of equal
or smaller size. The old pipeline is shattered using a high-powered
tool with special bursting heads that smash through the old pipe
while pulling through the new replacement pipe. When
pulled into the old pipe, the bursting head breaks the pipe into
pieces, enlarges the hole and pushes the fragments into the surrounding
soil. This limits pipe bursting to pipes that can be fractured and
to soil conditions that will absorb the old fragments.
Developed
for the natural gas industry in the late 1970s, pipe bursting has
found new applications in the municipal area for replacement of
watermains and gravity sewers. Recent advances in bursting head
technology has produced three kinds of pipe bursting technology
each of which uses a different bursting head: hydraulic,
pneumatic or cone cracking. While the range
of pipe size and length is constantly increasing, pipe rehabilitation
projects have involved pipe diameters of 3" to as much as 30" and
straight pulls of HDPE pipe as long as 1500 feet. As pipe bursting
technology advances, different types of pipe material can be replaced.
At the moment, pipe materials include vitrified clay pipe, asbestos
cement pipe, truss pipe, reinforced and unreinforced concrete pipe,
and cast iron pipe.
Advantages
of Pipe Bursting
As a "no-dig process", pipe bursting is the perfect solution for
a municipality looking to increase the capacity of its water supply
pipes or to replace corroded and leaking sewer pipes. All of this
is possible without extensive excavation and all the other costs
of surface restoration. Because its trenchless, pipe bursting is
the preferred method for replacing old pipes in urban areas where
disruption to surrounding utilities, local residences, businesses
and the environment are a consideration. An added benefit of using
hdpe plastic pipe for pipe bursting is its suitability for non-pressure
applications like sewer lines. Because of its smooth inner walls,
hdpe pipe assures high gravity flow rates and minimizes the chances
of developing stoppages.
Some
Helpful Suggestions
Diameter: When discussing the diameter of HDPE pipe make
it clear whether you are talking about the inside or outside diameter.
History
of Existing Pipeline: Get as much information about the pipeline
you are going to burst, i.e., repair history and leakage reports.
CCTV
Inspection: Make sure a closed circuit TV inspection is performed
on the pipeline before starting the process of bursting the pipe.
Flexibility
of HDPE Pipe: Because of its flexibility HDPE pipe will be able
to replace some elbow fittings on both vertical and horizontal bends.
Contact
us today by email or our toll free number:
sales@oxfordplasticsinc.com
1.800.263.0502
Some
Helpful Links
Centre
For Advancement of Trenchless Technlogies (University of
Waterloo)
North American
Society for Trenchless Technology
Trenchless Information
Center
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