Emergency Carbon Fiber System Repairs Piping to Regulation Standards
- V-Wrap™ Carbon Fiber System proved to be the least disruptive and most economical solution
- Project completed without a shutdown
- Repairs allowed plant to remain in compliance with city regulations
- Location: United States
- Specialty Contractor: STRUCTURAL
- Material Supplier: STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
Following a routine investigation in a water treatment unit, a 30-inch bar-wrapped pipe was identified as being close to failure due to corrosion at the joints, supports and tap locations. Repairs needed to be completed immediately and without a shutdown so that operations could continue.
STRUCTURAL, a licensee of STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’ engineered products and services, developed a solution to repair the pipe while it remained in service, providing a long-term, low-cost solution instead of a costly and disruptive pipe section replacement. STRUCTURAL’s solution was to strengthen the pipe using STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’ V-Wrap™ Carbon Fiber System.
Repairs consisted of removing the pipe supports for the carbon fiber installation to fully confine the repair system to the pipe. Temporary supports were formed, poured and put in place by the team. Due to the high level of corrosion, leaks occurred during surface preparation. STRUCTURAL utilized wood dowels to plug the leaks. Although this risked significant delay in completion time, the pipes needed to be dry to the touch before the carbon fiber installation.
When the piping was fully prepped, the V-Wrap™ Carbon Fiber System was installed around the distressed areas of pipe to provide a fully structural repair. Even with a setback during installation, repairs were completed on time (8-day period) and with no disruption to the water treatment process, returning the piping back to regulation standards.
