November 2016 No. 71 Vol. 11
Features
Record Breaking 120-Inch CIPP
A recent project at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey is believed to be the largest cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) liner ever installed.
CIPP liners were placed in three segments of 120-inch diameter storm sewer pipes running beneath the air base’s tarmac.
“It is our understanding that this is the largest CIPP liner that has ever gone in the ground,” said Gary Horwedel, field project manager for U.S. Pipelining LLC, the project’s lead contractor.
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers was owner of the project, which was contracted through TDX/Sand Point Services. The CIPP liners were manufactured to meet project specifications by Manufactured Technologies Corp. Resins were supplied by AOC LLC. US Pipelining installed the liners.
Each of the three segments installed was approximately 325 linear feet running parallel under the tarmac. For installation purposes, total length of each liner included a wet and dry bag approximately 370 feet each.
“Excavation was not an option,” Horwedel said. “Given the strategic location of the lines, CIPP provided a trenchless structural solution.”
The logistics of getting materials, supplies and equipment in place was a project in itself, said Horwedel. “Moving materials from Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Canada; plus assembling tents, cranes and specialized equipment; and then getting everything onto the airfield was a strategic part of delivering the job successfully. Accessing a military base itself presents challenges.”
Tractor trailers that required special permits transported the liners from Alabama. Each had to be shipped at a specific date to meet the schedule for installation. Liner and resin tanker deliveries were timed for making the wet out.
Precise coordination
“We were constantly coordinating the timing, delivery and scheduling between our field team and suppliers,” Horwedel said. “We relied heavily on our suppliers to achieve the comprehensive solution of the project’s design.”
The custom-made liners were the largest Manufactured Technologies had ever produced. Each liner was impregnated with 80,000 pounds of resin and catalysts.
A custom pinch roller and conveyer system was designed and manufactured to meet the design specifications for a 120-inch diameter liner.
“The lay-flat dimension for a 120-inch diameter liner is 168 inches,” explained Horwedel. “There is no system out there that could handle this size liner. The roller system is state-of-the-art, designed and built by NJR Industries, and took several months to manufacture at a cost of $250,000. The various components were shipped on two separate tractor trailers from Alabama and unloaded at our project site on the airfield with the help of a 40-ton crane which required a special permit from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate on an active airfield.”
After the set up was complete and the first liner installed, the system had to be disassembled and moved to the next installation site, requiring the use of the crane again. The same process was repeated for the third liner.
A 30-by-60-foot tent was installed above the work area and a commercial air conditioning system was brought in to keep the work area cool. Each time there was a move to the next pipe location, the tent had to be broken down and moved. Everything – tent, crane, resin tankers, liner and pinch roller – had to be coordinated for each move.
Complicated cleaning
As often happens on large, complex projects, there were unforeseen challenges. Cleaning the storm lines before the liner could be installed, was a prime example.
“The lines were filled with sand, silt and debris,” Horwedel said. “Because of their size, conventional methods of cleaning were ineffective. At times we had five men with shovels and wheelbarrows down in the pipes. With two Vactor trucks, fire hoses and pumps, it took almost two months to prep the lines.”
Even with careful planning, the sheer size of the liners and staging at the military air base location added more time than expected to every stage of implementing the plan.
“Timing was the single most critical factor and most difficult to control,” he said. “Because of the elapsed timing of the operation, we were constantly adjusting delivery schedules for the resin tankers and liners. This required around-the-clock communication with all members of our team and suppliers.
“Added to this were elements on the airfield. The wind was very strong, and everything had to be weighted down with sandbags or cement blocks and secured so that nothing broke away and went into the taxiways of the active airfield.”
Each liner was wet out on-site and over the hole. The liners took approximately five days to install and cure, and another three days to cut ends and finish.
“More than 300,000 gallons of water was needed to fill, inflate and cure each line,” added Horwedel. “Water was supplied by the base and brought to our location on the field using hoses through a series of underground storm pipes. We ran all the waterlines underground to pump and discharge the waste.”
Design and construction
The project design and planning phase took eight months, and the construction phase took eight weeks.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ, is home to five air force wings. The 87th Air Base Wing is the host wing. The 87th ABW provides installation support to more than 41 mission commanders spread across 4,000 acres at McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst. It is the Department of Defense’s first joint base and only joint base that consolidated Air Force, Army and Navy installations.
Based in Langhorne, PA, U.S. Pipelining is a leading U.S. provider of pipelining services, including large-diameter projects for storm sewer, sanitary sewer, pressure pipe, under-slab lining and vertical pipe lining. The company has installed more than 45 million feet of pipe worldwide.
TDX Sand Point Services, Anchorage, AK, has regional offices across the mid-Atlantic area. The company offers a multitude of construction services including design/build, airfield construction and repair, energy retrofits and environmental restoration.
Manufactured Technologies Corporation, Chesterfield, MO, specializes in the manufacture of high-quality CIPP liners available for wet or dry delivery. The company can accommodate water or air inversion, and handle the demands of steam curing for optimal installation and long-term performance.
AOC is a leading supplier of resins, gel coats, colorants, additives and synergistic material systems for composites and cast polymers. Company headquarters is in Collierville, TN.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
US Pipelining (888)504-6168, uspipelining.com
Manufactured Technologies Corporation (844) 593-6946, manufacturedtechnologies.com
AOC (888) 838-6388, us.aoc.com
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