TEXTILES.ORG
Installation of a double-pipeline for water conveyance across the Ruhr River in Germany was completed last year with the help of a sheathing of Incomat, an industrial woven synthetic material manufactured by Huesker, according to a press release from the company.
The tailor-made “jackets,” produced to encompass the two steel water pipes, were made from a double layer of geotextiles that were filled with concrete to form a 21.5cm (8.5in.) thick shell to protect the pipes (see photos).
The double-pipelines transport untreated water to—and purified drinking water from—a purification plant in the area where it crosses the Ruhr between Essen-Horst and Überruhr in west-central Germany, said the description in the press release.
The dimensions of the double-pipeline include an overall length of 92m (100yd), with nominal diameter (ND) of 1400mm (18ft). A total of 54m (60yd) in the horizontal area of the riverbed was coated with the geotextile/concrete sheathing, bringing the total weight of the culvert to 600 tonnes (661 U.S. tons). Also included was an additional 1200mm ND conduit positioned between the encased pipelines for cables required for this project.
The press release described how double-walled sleeves in 5m lengths were custom manufactured for the two 54m pipe segments that required both protection and uplift prevention in the river. Eleven of the 5m sections were installed adjacently to provide cladding for the straight segments of the pipelines and shorter sections were connected for the bending segments.
All work on the pipelines was performed in a dry dock adjacent to the river crossing site (see photos). Finally, using cranes and a construction pontoon, the double-pipeline, with its geotextile/concrete casing, was floated out and positioned on the Ruhr riverbed.