Research on minimally invasive pipeline repair method based on expansion technique and its effect evaluation
Xinyi Cao
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Wenxi Xu
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Zizhen Shen
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Lei Wang
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Zixiang Lin
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Wei Zhang
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
Tangzhong Wang
School of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/pest.v8i3.15418
Keywords: expansion repair; minimally invasive repair of pipelines; non-digging; effect evaluation; polyurethane expansion material
Abstract
With the continuous advancement of urban renewal, the problem of aging and deteriorating underground pipeline infrastructure has become increasingly prominent. The traditional excavation repair method causes significant disturbance, has a long construction period, and incurs high social costs. The existing minimally invasive repair techniques such as the inner lining method and spraying method have defects such as large material loss, severe reduction in inner diameter after repair, and insufficient sealing performance when dealing with local damage, irregular pipe sections, and narrow space conditions. To address these engineering challenges, this paper proposes an expansion method for minimally invasive pipeline repair: prefabricated expandable repair units are transported to the damaged location of the pipeline, and through an electric heating coupling chemical triggering method, the units expand fully in the pipe and closely adhere to the pipe wall, forming a continuous and dense reinforcement layer, achieving the sealing of local defects such as cracks and holes and the reinforcement of the structure. A multi-diameter indoor model test platform was established in this paper, and repair performance tests were systematically conducted under different pipe diameters, damage types, and expansion material formulations. Multi-dimensional effect evaluations were carried out around the adhesion degree of the repair layer, inner diameter loss, compressive strength, water resistance performance, interface bonding force, long-term durability, and construction efficiency. The test results show that this process is suitable for municipal pipelines with diameters ranging from DN200 to DN600, with an inner diameter loss of less than 5% after repair; the anti-seepage pressure of the repair layer is ≥ 0.8 MPa, and the interface bonding strength meets the design standards for municipal pipeline engineering; compared with the traditional CIPP inner lining method, the overall construction period is shortened by approximately 40%. The research results can provide a low-cost, high-efficiency, and highly adaptable technical solution for the precise non-digging maintenance of urban underground pipelines, and have important engineering application value and theoretical reference significance.
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