Pipe leaks can occur for a variety of reasons, so how can you quickly analyse and identify the cause of the leak and use the correct method to remedy the problem?
This article analyses the possible causes and solutions to leaks based on water supply pipes, using common ductile iron and PE pipes as examples.
Ductile Iron Pipe
Ductile iron pipe is a kind of iron-carbon alloy ductile iron, with the nature of iron, steel performance, excellent corrosion resistance, ductility, good sealing effect, the general inner wall is lined with cement mortar, magnesium-rich water through the magnesium ions, magnesium ions will produce magnesium-iron spinel effect and the formation of a layer of thin film coated with the cement outside, destroying colloidal in the water so that calcium and magnesium ions can be retained, which can be seen with a reduction of scale It can be seen that it has the characteristic of reducing the growth of scale and is not easy to be scaled. Service life can be up to 50 years.
If you need good quality ductile iron pipes, contact judberd to assure your pipeline in good situation.
Why Ductile Iron Pipe Leak?
But the ductile iron pipe will also occur leakage, generally speaking, caused by the following reasons
1, Leakage is caused by not qualified ductile iron pipe, for example, because the material is not uniform, casting temperature is not appropriate, uneven cooling rate caused that the tensile strength, yield strength, elongation is not qualified, or there is a cold grid, trachoma and other defects which will cause to leakage, so when you buy the ductile iron pipe, be sure to choose the quality of qualified, preferably well-known brands of ductile iron pipe. In order to ensure the quality. Generally the world’s more well-known ductile iron pipe manufacturers are Saint Gobain , Xinxing ductile iron pipe , Electorsteel ,because the pipe in the whole pipeline accounted for most of the cost, it is clear that the choice of quality risk of ductile iron pipe is very unwise choice.
If the leakage is caused by the quality of the ductile iron pipe itself, then the leakage may occur in the pipe body or at the pipe joint part.
2,Leakage is caused by incorrect connection , general ductile iron pipe is used socket and spigot end connection, socket and spigot ends connect with a self-sealing function t type gasket. This type of gasket has a better sealing effect when the pipe is pulled out. So unless it is not installed correctly, generally does not occur leakage. Therefore, it must be installed according to the correct ductile iron pipe installation instructions, by professional operators to ensure that the pipe is well sealed. If the pipe is not properly connected, leakage occurs at the joint, not at the pipe body.
3, Leakage due to the aging of the pipe, the outside or internal damage to the pipe, the leakage may occur in the pipe body may also occur at the joint.
4, because of the installation of the ground vibration, settlement, or stretching of the pipe cause the pipe connection loosening or pipe rupture, thus leaking.
How to Repair Leaking Ductile Iron Pipe?
Above reasons cause the leakage of ductile iron pipe, you can use the following methods to remedy the situation.
1, For the newly installed pipe, must ensure the good quality of ductile iron pipe, in addition to ensure that the installation of the ground is flat, solid, try to avoid ground settlement, vibration, movement and other situation which is easy to cause pipe rupture and leakage.
2, For some easy to loosen ground, to choose connection with self-anchoring function, such as choose Tyton -Sit Thrust Resisting Gasket (as below)
Or choose mechanical joint (also called MJ joint or K type joint),TF self-anchored joint etc to avoid leaking in joint part.
3,For the rupture of the pipe body part, as shown in the figure below, a repair clamp can be used.
Repair clamps can be used to seal water leaks from a ruptured pipe by tightening the bolt and squeezing the band of the repair clamp against the surface of the pipe. It is a fast and permanent repair method.
Repair clamps are usually made of stainless steel or ductile iron. You can choose according to your needs. Stainless steel is lighter and more affordable. Ductile iron is stronger and has a longer service life. Both types of repair clamps are good for repairing.
4, For leakage in connection part, we should firstly check whether it is because of improper connection , if so, need to reconnect, if the rubber ring is damaged to replace the rubber ring in time. At the same time to check the connection is not damaged or destroyed, thus causing leakage. Check if the damaged parts can be repaired. If the conditions do not allow for re-installation or repair, you can also use the bell joint repair clamp which is designed specially for socket-spigot connection , or flange repair clamp which is designed for flange leakage.
The bell joint repair clamp is a simple and efficient repair device developed by judberd specifically for the most common socket spigot leaks, as shown in the figure below.
Alternatively, the entire connection part can be repaired by wrapping it in a capsuled repair clamp , as shown below.
5, For larger rupture, it is recommended to replace the entire pipe or part of the pipe, so as to ensure the normal operation of the pipeline.
In recent years, HDPE pipe is more and more widely used in water pipelines because of its corrosion resistance, good toughness, high impact strength, light weight, good construction and other advantages.
Why HDPE pipe leak?
HDPE pipe leakage are mainly caused by the following problems
1, Electrofusion connection does not strictly comply with the regulations of the operating procedures to control the temperature, pressure and time three parameters, resulting in unstable connection quality.
2,Directly buried pipeline is not in strict accordance with the correct technical requirements for HDPE pipeline sand filling, backfill and other construction specifications to control the quality of soil covering, resulting in leakage in connection part. Some places the depth of the buried pipe does not meet the specification requirements, resulting in insufficient thickness of the cover soil.
3,Trench laying pipe, due to the bracket and pipe card installation is not uniform, part of the pipe card bolt fixing is not tight, seasonal temperature changes caused the longitudinal retraction, the decomposition of each joint is not uniform, resulting in uneven pipe stress cracking thermal fusion joints.
4,Pipeline laying in the uncompacted fill, uneven settlement leads to deformation of the pipeline wall so that the pressure inside the pipe uneven force and thus cause pipe rupture.
5, Electrofusion joints are not professionally installed by professionally trained personnel, resulting in leakage.
How to repair the leaking PE pipe?
1 ,Sawing off the pipe and repairing it after cutting off the water.
PE pipe leakage, turn off the valve, sawing off the damaged pipe, but the water is sometimes not easy to be cut off completely, can not make the joints dry, such with water situation can only be used as follows mechanical joints and flange joints to repair, if you can keep the damaged pipe dry, then the following mechanical joints, flange joints and electrofusion joints can be used to repair.You know electrofusion joints method can be used only if the damaged pipe is dry, it can’t be handled in the wet condition.
Mechanical Joint
Flange Joint
PE pipe Electrofusion connection
2,No need to saw the pipe, under water pressure for repair
Repair clamp is a combination of stainless steel or ductile iron shell and rubber ring, it is wrapped around the pipeline leakage point to complete the repair, with a small footprint, light weight, fast and rapid installation, vibration and noise reduction, impact resistance, suitable for repeated loading and unloading, anti corrosion, the connection of the pipeline does not require any welding or processing etc. Using the repair clamp, there is no need to carry out special smooth treatment on the surface of the pipeline at the construction site, as long as there is no deformation, after cleaning soil ,it can be installed and constructed. It can be used normally when there is some misalignment and tilt between pipes, and can also be used effectively when there is external impact, vibration, extrusion and thermal expansion and contraction, etc. It has good reusability, so it is more popular in the construction of temporary pipelines.
Installation can be completed without auxiliary equipment.Very easy and quick.
Judberd can offer many different repair clamp, no matter you need high pressure or low pressure type, Judberd can offer the right products for you.