Skip to main content

Tracto-Technik’s the wa-ter go

Sub-contractors used equipment from Tracto- Technik to renew two sections of an old grey cast iron water transport pipe covering a total of 200m as part of a complete street restructure in Linz, Austria. In order to prevent any traffic chaos and potential loss of trade for shopkeepers on busy Haidfield Street, while, at the same time, ensuring that the pipe cross-section ND 400 and the hydraulic pipe remained intact, Linz AG Water Department sub-contractors Swietelski- Faber (SF) decided to apply the static
October 31, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Sub-contractors used equipment from Tracto- Technik to renew two sections of an old grey cast iron water transport pipe covering a total of 200m as part of a complete street restructure in Linz, Austria.

In order to prevent any traffic chaos and potential loss of trade for shopkeepers on busy Haidfield Street, while, at the same time, ensuring that the pipe cross-section ND 400 and the hydraulic pipe remained intact, Linz AG Water Department sub-contractors Swietelski- Faber (SF) decided to apply the static pipe bursting method to renew the pipes in three days over a recent weekend.

Using this method, pipes with the same size or larger pipes can be renewed in the same bore path. It is unusual to replace an old cast iron pipe with a new cast iron pipe of the same nominal size with the trenchless method, but it is possible and common with the pipe bursting method without any restrictions.

In order to burst the old cast iron pipe, to expand the bore channel and at the same time pull in the Duktus manufactured ductile iron pipe ND 400, obtaining a machine technology with tensile strengths was said to be crucial to SF’s chances of meeting its tight working deadline. A further requirement was the task of measuring and documenting the tensile strengths, as the pipes were only allowed to be strained up to 650 kN.

As a result, SF used 2738 Tracto-Technik’s (TT) GRUNDOBURST Type 1900 G with 1900 kN tensile strength pipe bursting system and the tensile strength measuring device GRUNDOLOG.

The measured and documented tensile forces were 500 kN, well below the permitted strains for the connection of the new pipe.

TT said the “exemplary co-operation” of all the companies involved in the project enabled the on-time completion of what was said to be one of the largest static pipe bursting method jobsite works ever undertaken in Austria.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • 'Tricky' bridge project
    February 7, 2012
    Contractor Ringway has completed work on a tricky project to replace Stile Farm Bridge, which crosses the Great Stour River near Chilham in County Kent, south-east England. Built in the 1920s, the bridge was in a severe state of disrepair resulting in weight restrictions of just 3tonnes. The new structure has a 16m span and is constructed using pre-cast concrete, with pre-stressed steel-reinforced beams based on cast in-situ abutment, and enables the bridge to carry heavier traffic. As well as helping to ea
  • Modern formwork systems - fast, flexible, safe
    February 21, 2012
    Speed of erection, safety, cost-efficiency and flexibility are among the attributes of modern formwork systems. Modern formwork and scaffolding systems are attractive in particular for their speed of erection, safety, cost-efficiency and flexibility.
  • Water removal
    February 9, 2012
    Strength and resilience are claimed for the BluTop range of small diameter ductile iron water pipes from Saint-Gobain PAM UK.
  • New EU-Russian highway connection
    February 18, 2013
    Among the forests and lakes of Finland, one of Europe's newest motorway links is being built as a Green highway linking Europe to Russia - Adrian Greeman reports The road eastwards from Finland's capital Helsinki, along the north coast of the Gulf of Finland, has not carried heavy traffic volumes, at least until recent times. Highway seven as it is designated locally, or E18 in European nomenclature, is partly motorway but in some sections still dual carriageway or even just a single lane each way, finishin