Conduit Liner Installation with End Devices for Minimal Digging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing conduit rehabilitation methods, such as CIPP technology, are costly and inefficient due to the need for extensive digging and potential interference with fluid flow, and may require significant disturbances to traffic and the environment, while also sometimes affecting the fluids being transported.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for installing a curable liner inside a conduit using end devices that connect to both ends of the conduit, allowing for the introduction of liner-installing material and subsequent curing, which reduces the need for extensive digging and minimizes interaction with the fluid, enabling efficient rehabilitation with reduced environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If CIPP technology is used to rehabilitate conduits, then the conduit can be rehabilitated without complete removal, but extensive digging and multiple manipulations are still required making it costly and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the rehabilitation process into distinct functional modules: a launch device for introducing the liner, a pull device for advancing it through the conduit, and a curing system for hardening the liner in place. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and reduces the complexity of the overall operation, improving efficiency while maintaining rehabilitation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The liner is prepared and impregnated with resin material before insertion into the conduit. The launch device pre-positiones the liner at the entry point, and the pull device is ready to advance it immediately upon insertion. This preliminary preparation eliminates time-consuming manipulations during the actual rehabilitation process, significantly improving productivity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If CIPP technology is used for trenchless rehabilitation, then traffic and environmental disturbances are reduced, but large trenches and holes are still required for access making it costly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the need for large access trenches by using a compact launch device that can introduce the liner through a minimal access point. The pull device is similarly compact and can be retrieved through the same small access point after advancing the liner through the entire conduit length. This extraction of the access requirement dramatically reduces digging costs while maintaining trenchless benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The launch device and pull device are designed as multi-functional units that can be used for different conduit sizes and configurations. These universal devices eliminate the need for custom equipment for each project, reducing overall installation costs while maintaining minimal environmental disturbance across various application scenarios.
3Reliability
If a polymeric resin-impregnated tube is used for CIPP, then the conduit can be rehabilitated from within, but the liner may detrimentally affect fluids flowing in the conduit by reducing flow or interacting with fluids
Solution Approach 1:
The liner is designed with varying properties along its length and in different regions. The resin impregnation concentration and polymer composition can be adjusted locally to match the specific requirements of different conduit sections and the fluids they carry. This local optimization ensures adequate structural strength for rehabilitation while minimizing interference with fluid flow and chemical interactions in each specific zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows for changing the physical and chemical parameters of the liner material, including resin type, cross-linking density, and wall thickness. By adjusting these parameters, the liner can be optimized to provide necessary structural support for rehabilitation while maintaining smooth inner surfaces that minimize flow resistance and selecting chemically inert materials that do not interact detrimentally with the conveyed fluids.
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 solution allows for more efficient conduit rehabilitation with reduced digging requirements, improved fluid flow, and enhanced performance of the liner, while maintaining structural integrity and compliance with standards, thus addressing the inefficiencies and environmental concerns of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
The first end device and the second end device are configured to put liner-installing material including a liner-installing fluid inside the liner
Implementation Method 2
The first end device and the second end device are configured to allow curing of the liner inside the conduit
Implementation Method 3
The first end device and the second end device are configured to allow hydrostatic pressure testing of the liner while the first end device and the second end device are connected to the liner
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for installation of a liner inside a conduit (e.g., water pipe) to transport a fluid (e.g., potable water) to rehabilitate the conduit, in which the liner can be installed, and thus the conduit can be rehabilitated, more efficiently, including, for example, by further reducing an extent of digging that may have to be done, by testing more readily (e.g., pressure-testing for watertightness or other fluid-tightness once installed), and/or by adapting to a cross-sectional size of the conduit. Also, the liner may be thinner, interact better (e.g., less) with the fluid flowing through the conduit, and/or be otherwise designed to enhance its use and performance.