CIPP Epoxy Liner Composition Balancing Pot Life and Cure Speed
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional epoxy resins used in CIPP lining systems have a short pot life, making it challenging to transport and install the liner within the necessary time frame, and they often lack fast reactivity once the curing process starts.
Innovation Solution
A curable epoxy composition comprising an epoxy resin component and an accelerator component, specifically an imidazole, which provides a long pot life and fast reactivity, enabling efficient impregnation, transportation, and curing of the pipe liner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional epoxy resins are used in CIPP lining systems, then the curing process starts quickly (fast reactivity), but the pot life is short (less than 24 hours), making it challenging to transport and install the liner within the necessary time frame
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the epoxy resin system by incorporating specific epoxy resins with extended pot life characteristics and selecting appropriate curing agents that provide both extended working time and rapid curing capability when activated. This parameter modification allows the resin to maintain workability for over 24 hours while still achieving fast cure rates during installation, directly resolving the contradiction between pot life and curing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite epoxy resin system by combining multiple epoxy resin components with different properties. This composite formulation integrates resins that provide extended pot life with those that enable fast curing, allowing the system to exhibit both long working time and rapid cure characteristics simultaneously, thereby resolving the technical contradiction
2Duration of action of moving object
If conventional epoxy resins are used in CIPP lining systems, then the pot life is extended (at least 24 hours), but the reactivity during curing is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic characteristics to the curing process by using a curing agent system that remains dormant during storage and transport (providing extended pot life) but activates rapidly under curing conditions (such as heat or moisture exposure during installation). This dynamic behavior allows the resin to transition from a slow-reacting state during storage to a fast-curing state during application, resolving the contradiction between extended pot life and fast reactivity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The curable epoxy composition offers a prolonged pot life of at least 24 hours at 10°C, allowing for extended working time, and rapid curing at 80°C, ensuring the liner hardens efficiently, thus addressing the limitations of conventional epoxy resins.
Implementation Method 1
an accelerator component comprising an imidazole
Implementation Method 2
curing the liner until the liner hardens
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is a curable epoxy resin composition for use in a cured-in-place pipe application. The curable epoxy resin composition comprises an epoxy resin component comprising at least one epoxy resin and an accelerator component comprising an imidazole. Also provided is a curable pipe liner comprising a flexible pipe lining material impregnated with a curable epoxy composition as provided herein. Also provided is a method of repairing or rehabilitating a pipe comprising inserting a curable pipe liner into an existing pipe in need of repair or rehabilitation, inflating the liner until the liner is pressed against an inner wall of the pipe, and curing the liner until the liner hardens.