Research
RP3.4-09: Performance review and survey of trenchless technologies and materials for pipeline rehabilitation and repurposing for future fuels
| Executive Summary | Trenchless rehabilitation technology has been widely used for rehabilitating underground pressure pipes such as water and sewer pipes. Recently the technology has also been used for rehabilitating high pressure gas pipes. This technology could have significant value to pipeline owners and operators for service life extension of aged gas pipelines especially unpiggable pipeline, as well as for restoring high pressure pipelines that are located in environmental sensitive area and in highly populated areas in order to improve their liability and safety. This project aims at performing an independent and critical review and analysis of existing and selected new trenchless rehabilitation technology and associated materials in order to understand and compare their performance and working principles, and understand their advantages and limitations. This will be achieved by comparing different products and test results reported in the literature and surveying industry experts for experiences of using these techniques on their performance and limitations. This study mainly focuses on the following aspects: Project Task 1: Literature review to identify performances, limitations, gaps and opportunities in trenchless rehabilitation technology and associated materials for high pressure gas pipes. Project Task 2: Industry survey to determine the actual performance of existing and selected new trenchless rehabilitation technology and associated materials for high pressure gas (and water) pipes. Face to face and tele-conference interviews will be carried out with selected Australian and International organisations that have carried field trails and research programs. |
| Login | Full project details are available to participants of the CRC, please login or contact us to create your account. |
| Commencement / End Date | January 2022 to June 2022 |
| Outcomes / Impact | Currently there are tens of thousands of aging gas pipelines in Australia. Traditional method of pipeline rehabilitation through digging-up operation can be very expensive, for instance a digging-up site can cost $200k and up to $400k.The key research outcome of this project is a stronger knowledge base developed for the Australian pipeline industry that assists with the selection of coatings and linings for trenchless rehabilitation of pipelines as apposed to the traditional replacment of aged pipelines. This technology could also have the potential to be used for repurposing pipelines for transporting future fuels such as hydrogen-containing fuels.
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| Research Contact | Douglas Proud Research & Utilisation Program Coordinator |