Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Trenchless Water Main Point Repairs with SuperLaminate
EPA Contract Number: 68HERD19C0018Title: Trenchless Water Main Point Repairs with SuperLaminate
Investigators: Sever, Veysel F
Small Business: QuakeWrap, Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: May 1, 2019 through October 31, 2019
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2019) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , SBIR - Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR): Phase 1 (2019)
Description:
Aging infrastructure is a major challenge faced by the water utilities in the USA and across the globe, and with an overall rating of D by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), water distribution systems are no exception. Approximately 240,000 water main breaks occur in US systems every year with a cost of at least $3.6 billion. As such, innovative, economical, and sustainable solutions are needed in renewing the water transmission and distribution pipes as well as repairing water main breaks. QuakeWrap, Inc.'s founder, Dr. Mo Ehsani, PE, SE developed a trenchless point repair technology using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. The SuperLaminate™ system can span gaps and structures along a pipe and has been installed in many gas main repairs, since 2010 mainly due to its ability to get across drip pots. Now QuakeWrap's goal is to adapt this technology to water main point repairs with the support from USEPA's Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) program. The SuperLaminate™ system will substantially reduce the water main repair costs with minimal disruption to traffic and impact to surface conditions. The system is a green solution with a carbon footprint that can be as low as 10 percent of the conventional, open-cut repairs. QuakeWrap started on the development of the SuperLaminate™ system for water main point repairs upon commencing the USEPA/SBIR contract (#68HERD19C0018) on 5/1/2019. Our main objective in Phase I was to modify and adapt the SuperLaminate™ technology to water main repairs with a feasible system in conjunction with a Commercialization Plan. Then we will aim at implementing a pilot installation with a remote-controlled robotic pipe rover and collaboration with a pipe cleaning company. The following tasks were completed in Phase I to achieve this objective:
1. Feasibility/installation test on a PVC pipe setup built at the QuakeWrap R&D lab
2. Bend negotiating ability test
3. Pressure test
4. Installation in a deformed pipe
5. Accelerated cure time tests
6. Water quality test
7. Planning for field installation improvements
8. Preliminary commercialization plan
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Step 1 in the process of proof of concept was to determine the most suitable carbon fiber fabric to be used for the SuperLaminate™ system. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) systems vary in a wide spectrum depending on the type of application. SuperLaminate™ will require high strength in two directions; i.e., hoop (along the circumference of the pipe) and longitudinal. As such, upon trying a couple of different carbon fabrics, a twill weave carbon fiber fabric with 6,000 fibers in a tow (6k twillweave) was selected as the main (CFRP) layer of SuperLaminate™. Due to its high strength, low thickness, and flexibility, this product has demonstrated excellent results with respect to applicability and pressure resistance.
To make it a completely no-dig technology, the proposed access point to water mains for installation of the SuperLaminate
Step 1 in the process of proof of concept was to determine the most suitable carbon fiber fabric to be used for the SuperLaminate™ system. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) systems vary in a wide spectrum depending on the type of application. SuperLaminate™ will require high strength in two directions; i.e., hoop (along the circumference of the pipe) and longitudinal. As such, upon trying a couple of different carbon fabrics, a twill weave carbon fiber fabric with 6,000 fibers in a tow (6k twillweave) was selected as the main (CFRP) layer of SuperLaminate™. Due to its high strength, low thickness, and flexibility, this product has demonstrated excellent results with respect to applicability and pressure resistance.
To make it a completely no-dig technology, the proposed access point to water mains for installation of the SuperLaminate™ technology is fire hydrants. This will require bend negotiating ability regarding the 90-deg bend at a hydrant and tee connection between the hydrant lead and water main.
The project team was able to install the SuperLaminate™ system with an inflatable packer and SuperLaminate™ (i.e., uncured CFRP) into a 6-inch diameter PVC test pipe with a 90-deg horizontal bend, but later it was determined that a packer with wheels (centralizers) will need to be used to avoid smearing off the resin along the interior of the repair pipe. A prototype wheeled packer was made by an outside partner (Peterson Co., Fredonia, WI). Although the prototype was an improvement to a regular packer, we encountered excessive dragging though bends in the quality control tests conducted at the QuakeWrap R&D lab. A second prototype will be made by Peterson based on a new design with spring wheels.
The SuperLaminate™ system will also require a robotic pipe rover than can pull the packer and SuperLaminate™ to the repair point in a pipeline. Currently available robotic devices have limited ability to navigate bends or to pull a load that can be as heavy as 30 lbs. As such, a custom pipe rover is to be built in the next phase with a partner specializing in development of such devices.
An accelerated cure process by heating the resin saturated carbon fabric (SuperLaminate™) was implemented in a lab environment, and a full cure was achieved in less than four hours. Water samples were taken from the heat-cured SuperLaminate™ lined pipe piece and the results indicated bisphenol -A (BPA) levels lower than the limits set in NSF 61.
technology is fire hydrants. This will require bend negotiating ability regarding the 90-deg bend at a hydrant and tee connection between the hydrant lead and water main.The project team was able to install the SuperLaminate™ system with an inflatable packer and SuperLaminate™ (i.e., uncured CFRP) into a 6-inch diameter PVC test pipe with a 90-deg horizontal bend, but later it was determined that a packer with wheels (centralizers) will need to be used to avoid smearing off the resin along the interior of the repair pipe. A prototype wheeled packer was made by an outside partner (Peterson Co., Fredonia, WI). Although the prototype was an improvement to a regular packer, we encountered excessive dragging though bends in the quality control tests conducted at the QuakeWrap R&D lab. A second prototype will be made by Peterson based on a new design with spring wheels.
The SuperLaminate™ system will also require a robotic pipe rover than can pull the packer and SuperLaminate™ to the repair point in a pipeline. Currently available robotic devices have limited ability to navigate bends or to pull a load that can be as heavy as 30 lbs. As such, a custom pipe rover is to be built in the next phase with a partner specializing in development of such devices.
An accelerated cure process by heating the resin saturated carbon fabric (SuperLaminate™) was implemented in a lab environment, and a full cure was achieved in less than four hours. Water samples were taken from the heat-cured SuperLaminate™ lined pipe piece and the results indicated bisphenol -A (BPA) levels lower than the limits set in NSF 61.
Conclusions:
The QuakeWrap team has achieved the main goal in Phase I: Proof of concept. This was accomplished through laboratory tests, receiving feedback from water utilities and other stakeholders as well as from the project consultant Foresight. Additional challenges remain to bring the SuperLaminate™ technology to a market-ready status, most notably:
- Develop a pipe rover with Bominwell Robotics
- Improve the inflatable packer to clear the bends without significant drag
- Add a heating feature to the packer
- Obtain a pipe cleaning partner and implement pilot installations
- Create more awareness of SuperLaminate™, and receive more stakeholder input
- Develop a marketing strategy
- Enhance and implement the preliminary business model outlined in Phase I
In addition to achieving the proof of concept via lab tests, the QuakeWrap team had made significant progress on the commercialization front of the SuperLaminate™ project. Our Phase I activities include consulting with Foresight and assisting them with the Evaluation Report, establishing a partnership with Bominwell as the exclusive maker of the robotic pipe rover and investor, obtaining support from major utilities, industry leaders, and even some of the other players of the industry with potentially competing technologies. Now our objective is to make SuperLaminate™ market ready with our partners after a pilot installation and complete business model. Our initial target markets are USA and Canada, then China and Europe, and eventually the larger cities in the whole world with a wide network of certified installers.
The following can be outlined as the most notable commercialization activities we conducted in Phase I:
- Established a partnership with Bominwell Robotics as an investor and exclusive maker of the rover to be used for pulling the SuperLaminate™ to the repair point inside the pipe.
- Consulted with Foresight Science and Technology and assisted them with the outreach to leading companies and utilities as well as preparation of the Commercialization Assessment Report. (Submitted to the EPA/SBIR in October, 2019.) The report enabled us to receive an outside perspective on the market value of SuperLaminate™ . Among several other findings, the Foresight report indicated that there is no substitute to the SuperLaminate™ technology. Furthermore, Foresight sees a synergy where the SuperLaminate method becomes the "go to" or primary method used by a water utility, since they can use it in all pipe break cases- straight pipe access and with access from a point around a bend.
- Designed a video animation for introduction of the SuperLaminate™ system, and had it produced by a third-party specializing in the technology. The animation emphasizes the EPA/SBIR grant and is narrated by a communication professional. It can be viewed on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlL6yhfV2Ok
- Conducted a survey of water utilities to collect data and information mainly on the condition of their water mains, replacement practices, and their openness to a new, no-dig method for point repair of water mains.
- Attended and exhibited at the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Infrastructure Conference (WIC) in St. Louis, MO and showcased SuperLaminate™ with the video animation.
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.