Project Hydro was facing issues with cracks in GRP pipes that transport cooling water for a power station. DNV GL was asked to test a repair method for composite pipes using polyurea coating on the inside of the pipes. For this purpose, sections of GRP pipe were coated with polyurea and a crack was initiated. The GRP-pipe sections were then filled with water and pressurised. Crack opening and internal pressure were recorded. The results of three short-term tests carried out indicate that the coating can be a suitable repair solution for the intended purpose.
Problem The 1248 m long (2.4m diameter) cooling water pipe for at the Qatalum 1400 MW gas power plant in Qatar was cracking and leaking. Leakage of water into desert sand creates quicksand which makes the ground very unstable and represents a high risk for buildings and infrastructure. Lost income on lost power production alone >1 MEUR / day with down-time. The traditional solution would be to laminate the pipe. It was estimated that it would take more than two years before the rehabilitation could be completed using this method.
Solution Based on the results from DNV GL, Kinera was invited to compete with a large construction company, to repair 40m of the 2.4m diameter water supply pipe. For this, we developed a proof of concept repair robot which enabled faster repairs to be completed through effective surface preparation. The proof of concept robot exceeded all expectations. With the traditional lamination method only 22m of pipe had been remediated in 9 days using 42 staff. Kinera remediated 40m of the pipe in less than 5 days using just 7 staff, a remarkable reduction in time and cost!
