DORTMUND, Germany, March 10, 2008 -- The pipelining product SAERTEX-LINER® has passed both a 20,000 hrs long-term ring stiffness test and a test relating to its resistance to high pressure flushing, in testing procedures based on the 'Hamburg Model', which includes 70 flushing actions. The results have shown that planning for use of the SAERTEX-LINER® product can be undertaken using a life expectancy of up to 70 years.
Working within the framework of DIN EN 761 for long-term ring stiffness testing, the elastic modulus of an installed liner is recorded over a period of 10,000 hours and 20,000 hours respectively. Using DIN EN 705 as a guide, the results of such deformation tests can be extrapolated over a period of 50 years using the results of the 10,000 hour test and, more recently, to 70 years after the 20,000 hour test. The first-ever test on a SAERTEX- LINER® run over 20,000 hours (or about 2.3 years) involved real site samples, under realistic working conditions as part of long-term study which took place in Dortmund, Germany between 12 May 2004 and 25 August 2006. The results of the SAERTEX-LINER® test have been published in a test report (PA0428 -- part three) issued by IKT Gelsenkirchen in Germany.
Test Procedures
The liner samples used in the test procedure were taken from the practical long-term study highlighted previously, which was carried out by the IKT on behalf of SAERTEX multiCom®. The purpose of the test was to determine whether performance values for the liner measured in practice can be compared to those obtained in the laboratory.
For the long-term study, a DN 600 SAERTEX-LINER® was installed in a corroded combined sewer in Dortmund in March 2004. Since then, samples have been taken at regular intervals with IKT checking the characteristic values of the test samples. Three of these samples were used in the 20,000 hour long-term ring stiffness test, which was completed in 2006 and which contributed to the practical significance of the test.
In addition to the 20,000 hour ring stiffness test, a high pressure flushing test was carried out using the Hamburg model as a guide. This test comprised 70 flushing actions which were, for the first time ever, successfully carried out in Jan. 2008 by IKT Gelsenkirchen. The test was designed to mimic an annual flushing of the refurbished sewer.
An abrasion test was also successfully carried out as early as June 2002, in accordance with DIN 19565 (Darmstädter Kipprinne), which included 300,000 alternations of load. This test was completed by the Institut für Wasserbau und Wasserwirtschaft of the TU (University of Technology) Darmstadt, Germany.
The durability, longevity and high stability under load of the SAERTEX-LINER® is produced as a result of the special structure of the liner. The unique textile surface structure offers extraordinarily high characteristic values of the material once installed.
The test results showing a technical service life of 70 years is an important advantage to local authorities and potential users of the SAERTEX-LINER® system because this level of product efficiency brings with it significant increases in both fiscal and practical performance when compared to products which are depreciated over just 50 years.
Even in comparison with open cut techniques, renovation using the SAERTEX-LINER® is usually more efficient, as shown in an efficiency survey carried out by Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Pöllmann M.Eng., owner of PCI Group, Frankfurt.
Looking at the results from a contractor's point of view, Richard Swan, Technical Services Manager for Dyno-Rod Ltd said: "These tests are important to us as it enables us to prove to potential clients the benefits and attributes of the SAERTEX-LINER®."
Commenting on the recent test results John Kelly, of CJ Kelly Associates Ltd, the UK representative for Saertex multiCom, said: "Everyone associated with the SAERTEX-LINER® have always known that the product can provide both excellent life expectancy and wear characteristics. These tests just help to prove that we are correct in our belief in our product and that clients can be sure it is not all just 'marketing talk'."
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