The City of Des Moines, Iowa was installing over 4 miles of 60"
diameter Reinforced Concrete Pipe with Ameron Lining, bell and
spigot in 8' sections for a sewer main that would serve communities
in the northern part of the city. After a large portion of the
pipe had been installed and backfilled, the project engineer inspected
the pipes and found groundwater leaking at the connection joints.
Many of the gasket seals between the pipe sections were not sealing
properly and hydrostatic pressures were significant enough to
produce leaks. The Ameron Lining System that had been welded at
the joint connections had formed "blisters" at the leaking
joints. The city contracted S.J. Louis Construction, Inc. to repair
the problem joints.
S.J. Louis Superintendent Ray Hawkinson's attempts to repair
the leaks with other materials and methodologies were unsuccessful.
"We weren't having any luck with the outfit we were using,"
said Hawkinson. Slow work progress due to reworking many joints
multiple times forced Hawkinson to search for a product that would
actually perform and be a cost-effective remedy. "The chemicals
we were using would set up right away and didn't allow us to get
spots that were leaking, so we'd have to go back and go back and
go back," Hawkinson added. Through the advice of another
contractor, Hawkinson contacted Prime Resins Technical Service
Specialist, Adam Goldstone to discuss the repair options available
for this project.
The repair system designed for this project involved a combination
of simple but specialized equipment and installation techniques
utilizing hydrophilic and hydrophobic water activated polyurethane
injection resings designed specifically for sealing leaks in concrete
structures. The products used included: Prime-Flex 900 LVSF, a
water-activated polyurethane resin injected with a dual component
M2 air pump assembled by Prime Resins; and Prime-Flex 920, a water-activated
hydrophobic polyurethane resin, injected by a Titan 640i electric
airless single component pump.
"Prime Resins's material takes longer to set up, so it fills
in the joints when it's injected," said Hawkinson. "It
was excellent. Many times it would seal the next joint downstream."
To facilitate the repair process, Adam Goldstone and associate
John Burgess traveled to the job site to train S.J. Louis's field
personnel on proper injection techniques. During this "hands-on"
training, Adam and John worked along side S.J. Louis's fields
personnel for two days, sharing their combined 30+ years of chemical
grouting experience.
"The hands-on training helped greatly and to me, it's one
of Prime Resins's best selling features," Hawkinson said.
After completeing the training, the S.J. Louis crew was able
to successfully seal an average of 15 joints per day, significantly
reducing the cost of repairs verses previous methods and the use
of subcontractors. This project is 100% complete and S.J. Louis
has not had a callback.
To view video of a similar repair using 900 LVSF and the Activated
Oakum Technique, visit http://www.primeresins.com/video/tunnel%20joint%20seal%20down.wmv.
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