Case Study: Repair of Leaking Expansion Joint Fitted to Water Main Pipe on UK Road Bridge
A water company in southwest England make a live leak repair to a split in an aluminium expansion joint leaking between two bellows. The joint was fitted to a 225mm steel water main pipe carried over a river between two counties by a major A road suspension bridge.
Case Study Overview
Site Road suspension bridge
Location United Kingdom
Repair Type Expansion joint repair
Defect Leaking expansion joint fitted to a 225mm steel water main pipe
Repair Products
Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape, SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage,
SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case
Case Study PDF
Case Study Details
The 335-metre-long suspension bridge linked Devon and Cornwall with the main helping transport water between the two counties. The aluminium expansion joint was fitted to reduce stress on the steel pipe caused by the movement of the bridge.
After it became known the pipe was leaking, a team of engineers accessed the pipe. It ran beneath the road deck of the bridge in a severely constrained space.
They discovered a split in the expansion joint between two bellows, through which water was now flowing out. Comparing the position of the fitting from its previous mandatory safety inspection revealed it had moved and contracted significantly.
For this reason, the water company needed a flexible live leak repair solution which could seal the leaking expansion joint but also allow for future movement of the fitting.
They therefore decided to use Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape for the application. Wrap & Seal self-amalgamates as it is wrapped around a pipe, forming a rubber band which exerts pressure over the leak to contain pipe content.
On the day of the repair, the expansion joint had contracted to the point of failure. Whilst this meant the engineers were not battling a stream of water, it reduced the available space between the bellows into which Wrap & Seal could be applied.
The versatility of Wrap & Seal still made a repair possible. Despite the space constraints, the engineers were able to stretch the tape by its maximum 300 percent to achieve full amalgamation.
Multiple Wrap & Seals wrapped on top of each other fuse together in the same way, increasing pressure resistance. Three PB-50x4m Wrap & Seals were applied until no more water was seeping from the pipe, leaving the engineers satisfied the leak had been fully arrested.
By the time the repair was complete, a solid rubber band had been compacted over the leak, filling the gap between the two bellows. Measurements were then taken of the expansion joint, so a replacement could be made and fitted at a later date.
The three PB-50x4m Wrap & Seal Tapes used in the repair came from a SYL-PRO-50-150 SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case, a product the water company had recently approved to be carried by all engineers for use on their network.
A Contractor Case is easily stored on-site or on a van and contains enough Wrap & Seal, Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty and SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandages to make up to six WRAS approved live leak repairs.
Feeding back to Sylmasta after the expansion joint repair, the engineers said: “The SylWrap Contractor Case was extremely useful in the scenario. Having a variety of products within the repair pack provided plenty of options to us once the problem had been fully evaluated.”
Products Used
Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape
Self-amalgamating tape which fuses to form a soler band, containing high pressure leaks
Pipe Repair Contractor Case
Three Wrap & Seal were used from a Contractor Case with enough products for six repairs
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