All-in-One Multifunctional Cured-In-Place Structural Liner for Rehabilitating of Aging Cast Iron Pipelines

Overview

Main Objective

The main objective of the project will be to develop and test the feasibility of an all-in-one, multifunctional, high-performance cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) structural liner that is self-healing and self-sensing. Upon validation, the CIPP structural liner can be partially or fully implemented with commercially available solutions that enhance CIPP technology sustainability and reliability to better mitigate risks from CIPP-repaired cast iron pipelines.

Public Abstract

The Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) structural liner with trenchless technology, an alternative to open trench replacement, has gained popularity in rehabilitating aging cast iron pipelines in populated areas due to less dependence on right-of-way space and low costs. However, challenges have also been identified in the application of CIPP structural liner such as its difficulty for further repair, relatively low load-bearing capacity, unknown load transfer in between layers, variation of permeability along with the liner, and lack of inspection technologies and risk assessment index to support the integrity management for the CIPP liner rehabilitated pipelines during the installation and throughout its service.

To pave a path to address these challenges, in this project, we propose to develop and test the feasibility of an all-in-one multifunctional CIPP structural liner that is self-healing and self-sensing with high performance. Specifically, the all-in-one CIPP structural liner has the following innovations to achieve the multifunction: 1) the healing capacity is enabled by using the solvent-free and catalyst-free vitrimer epoxy/anhydride and/or epoxy/acid resins for recyclable, sustainable, and environmental friendly liner applications; 2) the high performance is achieved by modifying the epoxy resin using surface treated nanofillers (e.g. carbon nanotubes) and guided by molecular dynamics simulation and computational finite element analysis to enhance the liner's mechanical and bonding properties and reduce the permeability; and 3) the self-sensing function is supported by embedding distributed fiber optic sensors along with the fabric of the liner to monitor its health condition during installation and service, such as damages, debond, cracks, etc., and by integrating with the artificial intelligence to develop a CIPP liner risk index for risk assessment and integrity management. Upon validation, the multifunction of such an all-in-one CIPP structural liner can be partially or fully implemented with commercially available CIPP solutions to enhance the sustainability and reliability of CIPP technologies in practice for better mitigating risks of the repaired aging cast iron pipelines.

Anticipated Results: The proposed new structural liner will be highly paid off for next-generation lifetime protection of aging, legacy pipelines in terms of self-sensing, self-healing, high damage tolerance capability.

Potential Impact on Safety: The findings of this project will significantly promote the operating safety of aged cast iron pipelines, support and implement innovative liner practices for U.S. pipeline integrity management.

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