subject: Fiberglass UV Cured in Place Pipe Lining Is Better Than Felt [print this page] Fiberglass UV Cured in Place Pipe Lining Is Better Than Felt
When considering ultraviolet fiberglass cured in place pipe (CIPP) liner over felt liners, consider this:
UV cured fiberglass pipe lining is environmentally friendly for pipe rehabilitation. Cities that have used felt liners have to be concerned with flushing styrene-laced water into their sewer systems. This causes additional work with added time on the job for city crews.
In Stormwater magazine (Jan/Feb 2005) an article talks about how the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) used felt liner when a failed storm sewer pipe 18 miles east of Breckenridge, Colorado caused a sinkhole underneath I-70. They made a wise decision to reline the pipe rather than replace it but they used a polyester felt tube liner, saturated with resin that they inserted into the pipe. Hot water or steam was circulated through the tube, to hardened the resin. Because of the styrene-laced by-product of using felt with water or steam curing, the CDOT environmental division had to direct the liner company to construct a temporary holding pond with an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) geomembrane liner to capture any styrene-laced cure water. The liner company then had to pump out and haul the water off-site to avoid any environmental contamination. If they had used UV fiberglass cured in place pipe, they would not have had this additional expense and time on the job.
UV cured fiberglass pipe liner cures faster than felt. The curing time for felt liners is 2.5 hours but only 50 minutes for a length of 300 feet of 8" UV CIPP liner. There is also one to two hours cooling time for felt and zero for fiberglass.
You can already see how UV cured fiberglass pipe liner makes more sense than using felt. But you can also add the fact that fiberglass pipe lining does not shrink but felt liners shrink up to 13%, requiring residual grouting and lateral seals. Last but not least, fiberglass liners will last a minimum of 50 years.
