At the end of November this year, the repair of a rectangular culvert on the Baikal motorway in the Irkutsk Region at km 157+500 was completed using the PipeArm technology, which involves installing a polymer protective liner with a reinforcement frame inside the culvert.
The restoration works for the existing hydraulic structure were scheduled based on information from the operating organisations and the results of completed engineering surveys.
Dimensions of the rectangular reinforced concrete culvert: length 58.65 m, opening 2 m x 3 m. The culvert was in unsatisfactory condition. Defects were observed in the reinforcement of the slopes and channel at the inlet and outlet, as well as damage to the plaster layer on the portal and slope walls at the inlet and outlet. Concrete deterioration, exposed reinforcement and corrosion were observed in the culvert structure. The culvert was 10% silted up. Partial concrete deterioration and grass growth were observed in the outlet channel.
Before the repair began, the concrete surfaces were cleaned of debris, dirt and silt, and water was removed from the culvert. Existing cracks were widened and deepened.
It was decided to repair the culvert using the PipeArm technology. This technology involves fabricating the reinforcement at the repair site and fastening it to the culvert structure using anchors and binding wire. A polymer liner made of V-LOCK anchoring sheet (TU 2246-003-56910145-2014) is installed inside the culvert. The liner’s longitudinal butt-welded seams are positioned in the upper part of the culvert and offset from one another by at least 50 mm. Along the length of the culvert, the liners are installed with an overlap of 50–100 mm. The direction of overlap between the liners corresponds to the water flow. The space between the polymer liner and the culvert structure is filled with a special high-grade, non-shrink, self-compacting mixture with enhanced plasticity, which reliably bonds the reinforcement frame and the anchoring elements of the polymer liner.
The customer received a cost-effective solution:
-the use of the PipeArm technology made it possible to repair the reinforced concrete culvert without replacing the entire reinforced concrete structure;
-reinforcement of the reinforced concrete culvert, extending its service life to 50 years or more;
-the structure has low hydraulic resistance and high protection against the adverse effects of water.
