Utility Pipes Research Articles

WebGIS map for smart city development and decision support system: A case study of Dehradun Smart City, Uttarakhand, India

India is one of the countries in the world which has made continuous progress in the technological revolution. The development of Smart Cities has led to a revolution in e-governance and the citizen-centric approach. The Geographical Indicators and Location-based assets can provide quick action and decision-making approaches to City Administrators. All Smart City GIS Layers on a single platform are beneficial for Smart City and Urban Planners and Administrators to find common solutions for retrofitting the environment. The common GIS Layer helps in utility services planning and drainage mapping which allows for the underground laying of all utility pipes and cables. This research is about the mapping of the common GIS Layer of a Smart City of India on a single WebGIS map to its core. The common GIS Layer will help in decision support and quick action redressal in emergency scenarios as well.

GFRP COMPOSITES: A MATERIAL TO STRENGTHEN REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS WITH WEB OPENINGS FOR SHEAR

Buildings that require mechanical and electrical services must have utility pipes and ducts. The services include air conditioning, power supply, telephone lines, network cables, sewerage lines, water supply and etc. A reinforced concrete (RC) deep beam with web openings experiences excessive cracking and deflection, as well as a decrease in beam stiffness. Enlargement of these openings near supports would reduce beams’ capacity for shear. Hence, analysis and design of such beams require careful consideration, particularly with regard to their performance. In addition, design compliance to relevant codes and standards, and selection of suitable material properties and construction techniques are needed. When such an enlargement is unavoidable, strengthening of beam for shear and flexure is necessary. In this study, the use of GFRP (Glass-Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composites for strengthening of RC beams with openings is experimentally investigated. As compared to the control beam, test results showed that using GFRP was found to be effective in increasing the shear strength of beams with openings by 40% to 60%. Test results of beams with web openings exhibited higher shear strength than the predicted values whereas for strengthened beams with GFRP, code predictions are found conservative.

Cyclic performance of RC frame joints with drilled openings

The construction industry commonly employs reinforced concrete (RC) beams with utility pipe openings to facilitate the passage of pipes through structures. These openings can be made through pre-construction or post-construction processes. Pre-construction openings in RC members are included in the design, and in most cases, designers include reinforcements around the opening to deal with the stress concentration and failure mechanism caused by the presence of the opening. However, post-construction or drilled openings are added after the structure is built, potentially disrupting established load paths, and developing stress concentrations that are not anticipated by the designer. In this study, three-dimensional nonlinear numerical finite element models (FEM) models were developed and validated according to four sets of experimental data. These models formed the basis for a parametric study exploring different design parameters. Parameters such as the width and depth of the specimen and the size of the opening were investigated. The results suggest that the presence of the opening leads to a brittle behavior and a sudden drop in the strength and stiffness of the specimen after the ultimate load. Increasing the depth of the beam results in more brittle behavior in specimens with openings and decreased the drift ratio where the specimen failed by up to 75%. However, increasing the width of the specimen increases the ductility of these specimens. Finally, opening size was found to lead the specimen to behave more brittle in all cases, and decrease the maximum drift ratio from 5% to 1.5%, and decrease the load capacity in 1.5% drift ratio by up to 61%. This study will help engineers and designers to understand the effect of beam-column joints with post-construction openings under cyclic loading, whether these openings are intentional or by human error.

Experimental study on the effectiveness of strengthening of reinforced concrete beams with opening in shear span using CFRP sheets

In reinforced concrete beams, the opening is frequently required for the passage of utility ducts and/or pipes. The presence of such web openings leads to a reduction of the strength and stiffness of the beam. To ensurethe safety of the reinforced concrete beam, a strengthening system around the opening is necessary. This paperaims to contribute to a better understanding of the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams with openingsin the shear span, strengthened with Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The study is based on anexperimental program carried out on six beams. All beam specimens were 850 mm long with a cross-sectionof 150 × 250 mm and a shear span to beam depth ratio (a/d) of 1.48. One beam without any openings served asthe control specimen, while the remaining five beams featured circular or rectangular openings within the shearspan and with/without shear strengthening using CFRP sheets around the openings. The test results obtainedfrom this experimental program provide insights into the shear behavior of beams with openings, both with andwithout strengthening using CFRP sheets. Additionally, the potential advantages and effectiveness of employingCFRP strengthening techniques for opening strengthening are investigated and discussed.

The Studying of Magnetic Anomalies Due to Shallow Underground Targets and the Environmental Applications.

The magnetic method of investigation is a well-known and dependable technique for detecting underground ferro-materials. However, the application of the magnetic method to identify the exact position of underground targets such as buried explosive devices (BED), illegally buried waste (IBW), metallic storage tanks, utility pipes, and communication cables is quite challenging in both civil and environmental engineering. This article presents the results of the investigation performed at a 55m by 55m area within the Ahmadu Bello University Geophysical Test Site (ABUGTS) to study the signals generated by similar buried targets to simulate situations encountered in environmental engineering. The total magnetic intensity (TMI) of the site without buried targets was obtained to identify the possible existing underground materials or faults that could generate false geophysical data. The magnetic susceptibility of the buried targets was determined in the laboratory before the burial to validate the field results. The influence of the buried materials over the magnetic signature of the site was examined, showing the TMI values vary between 34966 nT and 44510 nT before burial and 351607 nT to 49795 nT after burial. The Euler deconvolution (ED) and residual maps alongside the signal enhancement maps like analytical signal and first vertical derivative (FVD) were employed to study the magnetic anomalies due to buried targets. The results of the data interpretation confirmed the existence of cluster anomaly source bodies due to buried targets. The ED delineates the depth of the buried targets varying between 0.7m – 3.3m corresponding with the actual depth of burial. The analytical signal map produced a perfect behaviour of the magnetic anomalies to buried targets, capturing all the buried targets buried at the site. However, the shape of the anomaly signal is almost independent of the buried target orientation with a spherical pattern of anomalies. However, the exact size and shape of the buried targets were not achieved. Nevertheless, the FVD and analytical signal maps perform better than the residual and TMI maps due to the substantially smaller magnetic anomalies of the buried targets similar to expected. In addition, stronger magnetic anomaly signals occur maximally around buried larger ferro-materials with precise prediction of the buried target position. The magnetic method is a very powerful, convenient, cheap, and time-saving geophysical tool for investigating underground targets, which is highly applicable in engineering and environmental contexts.

Sensor platform for assessment of water usage patterns in informal settlements

Rapid urbanization has intensified pressures on global water systems, particularly impacting informal settlements. Understanding water usage patterns within these settlements is of importance for better addressing water scarcity issues. Current methods for gaining information about water within these settings tend to lack spatio-temporal granularity and miss complex patterns of behavior related to water usage. As a consequence, there is a shortage of the reliable quantitative measurements needed to improve water management processes and modeling. Here we introduce a low-cost sensing platform for water assessment in informal settlements. Households within these types of settlements, lacking water utility connections and piping, often use storage tanks and buckets to distribute, store, and consume water; hence, the platform consists of four distinct sensor modules that can be placed on these types of water infrastructure. Evaluated in controlled settings, the sensors prove to be reliable for measuring water quantity, quality, and usage. Field testing within an informal community in Mexico reveals that the system can comprehensively track multiple tank storage levels, assess water quality, and capture bucket usage patterns without disrupting a household’s common activities or infrastructure. Our validation shows the technique’s potential to improve water management in informal communities, while opening opportunities for enhancement of water-related research and policy making through combinations of top-down and bottom-up interventions.

Shear span behavior of reinforced concrete beams with circular and rectangular openings

In reinforced concrete (RC) beams, opening is frequently required for the passage of utility ducts and/or pipes. The presence of such web openings leads to a reduction of the strength and sitffeness of the beam. This paper aims to contribute to better understanding the shear behavior of RC beam with web opening in the shear span. The study is based on an experimental program carried out on three RC beams. All beam specimens were 850 mm long with a cross section of 150 × 250 mm and a shear span to beam depth ratio (a/d) of 1.48. One beam without any openings served as the control specimen, while the remaining two beams featured circular or rectangular openings within the shear span. The test results obtained from this experimental program offer insights into the shear behavior of beams with openings. Furthermore, a simplified calculation was conducted to determine the shear strength of the test specimens, considering the influence of openings. This calculation provided a deeper understanding of how openings contribute to the reduction in the shear strength of RC beams.

Experimental and numerical study of high strength reinforced concrete continuous deep beams with circular and rectangular openings

Many modern structures require openings in the reinforced concrete (RC) beams, especially deep beams, to pass utility pipes such as sanitary, electronic, water, communications, and electrical services, especially in low floor heights. Since most of the beams are continuous and use high-strength concrete (HSC), this study investigates the effect of creating two post-construction openings in two-span HSC continuous deep beams. Five two-span HSC beams of 150 (width) × 400 (depth) × 2640 mm were cast, with each span of 1120 mm. The main variables investigated were the shape and location of openings. The circular opening was large of 150 mm diameter and the height and area of the rectangular openings were kept the same. Both openings were located either in one span or one opening in each span having asymmetrical layout. Each opening was located in the critical shear zone at the strut lines, as it is the most critical location in deep beams. The HSC continuous beams were tested till total collapse under two point loads acting at mid of the beam spans. The performance of beams having openings was compared with the reference beam having no opening. The presence of the two openings in the same span caused 38% reduction in failure load irrespective of the shape of opening. For the second opening layout having one opening in each span, the reduction was slightly higher but almost the same for the two shapes of openings (41% for circular and 45% for rectangular opening). To assess the load capacity of HSC continuous deep beams having circular and rectangular openings, 3D numerical models were prepared. The numerical results were compared with the experimental values, which were found to exhibit good agreements.

Improving 3D Metric GPR Imaging Using Automated Data Collection and Learning-Based Processing

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most important non-destructive evaluation (NDE) devices to detect subsurface objects (i.e., rebars, utility pipes) and reconstruct the underground scene. There are two challenges for GPR-based inspection, which are GPR data collection and 3D subsurface object imaging. To address these challenges, we first propose a robotic solution that automates the GPR data collection process with a free motion pattern. It facilitates the 3D metric GPR imaging by tagging the pose with GPR measurement in real-time. Moreover, to improve the 3D GPR imaging, we introduce a learning-based GPR data analysis method, which includes a noise removal module to clear the background noise in raw GPR data and a Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network (CRNN) to estimate the dielectric value of subsurface medium in each GPR B-scan data. We use both field and synthetic data to verify the proposed methods. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed methods can achieve higher performance and faster processing speed in 3D GPR imaging than baseline methods.

Effect of Position of Opening in RC Beams Subjected to Flexure and Shear

Effect of Position of Opening in RC Beams Subjected to Flexure and Shear

Maintenance robot for remote assembly of protective jackets on live gas risers

Combining high-rise robotics research and polyurethane (PU) repair techniques presents new opportunities and unique challenges for utility pipe maintenance. Aiming at solving the complex pose alignment issue of robots and control PU curing, this paper automates the repair process by assembling protective jackets with PU foam. A wire-hoisted robot was equipped with anchors and a twin-gripper mechanism for workspace definition, along with a manipulator that positioned a pair of mirrored end effectors to perform surface polishing, jacket installation, and PU curing onto the pipe. Consequently, the robot pose was stabilized. The jacket pair was assembled onto the pipe with high precision, yielding high-quality repair, a success rate >96%, short cycle time, and low material wastage. This research may inspire innovative automation approaches for building maintenance, while utility companies can deploy the robot system for sustainable pipe service life.

Compressive Behavior of Pultruded GFRP Boxes with Concentric Openings Strengthened by Different Composite Wrappings.

Web openings often need to be created in structural elements for the passage of utility ducts and/or pipes. Such web openings reduce the cross-sectional area of the structural element in the affected region, leading to a decrease in its load-carrying capacity and stiffness. This paper experimentally studies the effect of web openings on the response of pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (PFRP) composite profiles under compressive loads. A number of specimens have been processed to examine the behavior of PFRP profiles strengthened with one or more web openings. The effects of the size of the web opening and the FRP-strengthening scheme on the structural performance of PFRP profiles with FRP-strengthened web openings have been thoroughly analyzed and discussed. The decrease in load-carrying capacity of un-strengthened specimens varies between 7.9% and 66.4%, depending on the diameter of the web holes. It is observed that the diameter of the hole and the type of CFRP- or GFRP-strengthening method applied are very important parameters. All CFRP- and GFRP-strengthening alternatives were successful in the PFRP profiles, with diameter-to-width (D/W) ratios between 0.29 and 0.68. In addition, the load-carrying capacity after reinforcements made with CFRP and GFRP increased by 3.1–30.2% and 1.7–19.7%, respectively. Therefore, the pultruded profiles with openings are able to compensate for the reduction in load-carrying capacity due to holes, up to a D/W ratio of 0.32. The capacity significantly drops after a D/W ratio of 0.32. Moreover, the pultruded profile with CFRP wrapping is more likely to improve the load-carrying capacity compared to other wrappings. As a result, CFRP are recommended as preferred composite materials for strengthening alternatives.

Utility trenches: sinks or barriers? Modeling the fate of leaked water in a crowded subsurface

High permeability sand/gravel trenches surrounding utility pipes are deemed to create preferential pathways for water in the subsurface of urban environments. Although this can be true when both trench filling material and surrounding soils are fully water saturated, the same is not obvious in the unsaturated zone. This study explores the behavior of these anthropogenic features in the unsaturated zone and their role in the formation of the urban karst with specific interest to the fate of water leaked from utility pipelines and its potential to affect urban aquifers. A series of 3D steady state numerical simulations was performed assuming two groups of nearby utility trenches hosting a water pipeline, up to 6 concurrent leaks, different leak rates, native soil properties, slopes of the utility trenches, and initial water saturation profiles. The analysis showed that utility trenches in the unsaturated zone are more likely an obstacle to water flow originated from leaking water utilities. Indeed, they served as capillary barriers rather than sinks in the simulations, although with a limited diversion capacity. Nevertheless, a pronounced lateral spreading of leaked water within the trenches was predicted in some scenarios, which suggests that there is still potential for the urban karst effect to occur when native soil properties are not that far from those of the trench filling material, although high initial effective water saturations would be required in this case.

Design, fabrication, and installation of the cryogenic distribution system for FRIB target and fragment pre-separator superconducting magnets

The target and fragment pre-separator segment of the continuous wave heavy ion beam linear accelerator at FRIB consists of fourteen superconducting magnets. The cryogenic distribution system for these superconducting magnets include six cryogenic process pipes (two each for 4.5 K helium, cool-down and thermal shield) housed in an approx. 175 m long vacuum jacketed transfer line, along with associated distribution boxes, cool-down heat exchanger, utility piping (such as magnet lead flow return, purge gas etc.) and a liquid helium storage vessel for magnet quench management. Due to the physical constraints in the routing of the beam-line at this segment, designs for these magnets and the associated cryogenic distribution system are complex in nature. It poses challenges in several aspects of the design process such as, routing of the transfer line, design of piping supports and anchors, thermal shielding, mechanical flexibility etc. Design of most of the elements of the cryogenic distribution system are carried out from the ground up, and in-house at FRIB. This paper presents an overview of the process design, analysis, fabrication and installation the target and fragment pre-separator cryogenic distribution system at FRIB.

EFFECTS OF WEB OPENINGS ON SHEAR BEHAVIOUR OF NORMAL AND INTERNALLY STRENGTHENED CONCRETE BEAMS

Web openings in reinforced concrete (RC) beams are provided to pass utility pipes and ducts through them. This causes high stresses (with local cracking) around the transverse web openings, which may lead to reduction in ultimate strength and stiffness of RC beams. Internal strengthening with shear reinforcement can increase ultimate strength of the beam with web openings. This paper presents an experimental study which was conducted to investigate load carrying capacity, mid-span deflection and failure modes of beams with web openings. A total of eighteen RC beams were included in the testing programme, which were tested under two-point loading. The beams contained both pre-planned and post-planned web openings. Experimental results showed that ultimate load of the beams decreased from forty-two to sixty-seven percent due to the presence of web openings in the shear zones. Shear strength of the beams with pre-planned web openings increased by thirty-six percent and one-hundred two percent as compared to the reference beam due to the increase of shear reinforcement by one-hundred twenty-two percent and three-hundred three percent, respectively. Similarly, increase in shear capacity up to six percent and fourteen percent was found for the beams with post-planned web openings due to the aforementioned increase in the area of shear reinforcement, respectively. The ultimate load carrying capacity was also compared with the theoretical models. Internal strengthening and pre planned opening were found effective for providing web openings in the beams.

Feasibility study to implement the composite material plating in Floaters

The Floaters find wide application in the offshore oil and gas industry for drilling, extraction, storage, and processing of crude oil and gas. The more predominant concern about floaters is their weight, and where the floor plating contributes more weight. Each additional tonnage changes the floaters' stability, capital expenditures, and revenues. A decade ago, in the offshore industry, composite materials were chosen as alternate materials and they are being used as utility piping, risers & guards, production tubing, walkway grating, etc., This feasibility paper will analyse deeply why the composite material is still in an ideal state for plating application, issues to be faced during engineering, construction, installation and operation phases, along with solutions and economic and technical benefits of its implementation. This paper is fully focused on implementing this technique in floating products in offloading and storage. This paper definitely brings out the valuable guidelines for the industry to implement this idea widely in all the forthcoming floaters.

Flexural Capacity of RC Beams with Opening Strengthened using CFRP Sheet

The use of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) in strengthening has found to be an effective material which comprises of characteristic that comply to the requirement of structural component. CFRP was selected as strengthening material because of the capability to resist the corrosion and could regain the loss capacity due to presence of opening. The opening in structural member was essential in order to provide the route for the utility pipe, air conditioning, water supply and electrical conduit. However, the presence of opening has contributed to the reduction of stiffness, increase of deflection and extension of cracking of the beams. Therefore, this research was conducted to overcome the problem where the flexural capacity and the load deflection behavior of RC beam with opening strengthened by using CFRP sheet was analyzed. A total of five beam have been casted and tested. The specimens consist of beams with different type of opening which are rectangular and circular. The size of all specimen was 200 mm width, 250 mm height and 2000 mm for total length. The size of circular opening was 150 mm in diameter while rectangular opening was 150 x 200 mm. Bi-directional CFRP sheet were applied at the opening area as strengthening material and all beams were tested until failure. All of specimen were produced with the designed using 30 mm concrete cover, 6 mm link size and 10mm main bar size. The testing of specimens comprises of cube compressive test and four-point load for beam testing in order the determine the flexural strength of RC beam. The result from this research indicated that strengthened beam with circular opening which is SBOC-BI exhibit the highest ultimate load of 71.5 kN with flexural failure as the mode of failure.

A review on the behaviour of reinforced concrete beams with fibre-reinforced polymer-strengthened web openings

Web openings often need to be created in reinforced concrete (RC) beams for the passages of utility ducts and/or pipes. Such web openings reduce the cross-section area of the beam in the affected region, leading to decrease in its load-carrying capacity and stiffness. Therefore, a fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP)-strengthening system generally needs to be applied around the web opening to ensure the safety of the weakened beam. A number of studies have been conducted by researchers all over the world to examine the behaviour of RC beams with FRP-strengthened web opening/web openings, and plenty of useful findings have been generated. This article presents a critical literature review of existing relevant research from three aspects: experimental studies, numerical studies and theoretical studies. The effect of main factors, including the size, shape, location and number of the web opening, the shape and shear span ratio of the beam, the concrete strength, the loading scheme and the FRP-strengthening scheme, on the structural performance of RC beams with FRP-strengthened web opening/web openings have been thoroughly analysed and discussed. Finally, directions for future research based on the gaps which exist in existing studies are pointed out.

Teleoperated service robotic system for on-site surface rust removal and protection of high-rise exterior gas pipes

Utility pipes on the façades of high-rise buildings are susceptible to the harsh environment. Damaged pipes are conventionally replaced manually, which is inconvenient to customers and leads to material wastage and worker safety concerns. This work proposes a different approach by developing a robotic solution in a preventive maintenance manner. The entire robotic system consists of a service robot working at heights and a remote ground station. This paper presents the work process and the major robotic modules: a manipulator arm, a two-finger gripper with force feedback, a sparkless polishing tool with contact feedback, a painting tool with a dip replenish mechanism, and on-board visual monitoring. Field deployment test results validate the effectiveness of the concept. The proposed system saves time from eliminating scaffold preparation setup and reduces material wastage compared with conventional methods. The developed robotic system and process have a potential application in relevant high-rise utility operations.

Case Studies in Graphitic Corrosion of Cast Iron Pipe

Throughout many parts of the world, cast iron pipe has been and continues to be used for utility piping (water and sewage) and gaseous media piping. Gray cast iron is known to have a limited life in service but is often left in place beyond its reasonable service life. Therefore, end of life is then left to be defined as a rupture or a crack and a subsequent leak, often at an unpleasant time with unpleasant results. The controlling mechanism involved is time dependent and known as graphitic corrosion. This paper provides a review of the phenomenon of graphitic corrosion in the form of key characteristics. Several references are cited that further explore the mechanism involved and corrosion prevention/mitigation. Two case studies are presented that explore graphitic corrosion in gray cast iron pipe from a failure analysis point-of-view. Both case studies feature conditions that further aid in the interpretation of graphitic corrosion and an appreciation for when and how this phenomenon occurs.