Pipe Bursting For Non-Disruptive Renewal of Water Main in Heimdal

The municipality of Trondheim has been using piping solutions by Pipelife Norway in several projects, including the rehabilitation of a major potable water main in the village of Heimdal. One of the challenges of these works was replacing an aged and therefore leaking pipe. Pipe bursting, a trenchless technology, allowed to complete the task quickly and without greater disruptions to the inhabitants.

_{Leaking Pipe System Causes Water Loss}

The old cast iron DN 150 water main at Simon Leinum’s Road was showing heavy signs of corrosion and had reached the end of its service life. However, replacing the old pipe was not straightforward, as it was crossing a densely built-up area in Heimdal.

The contractor Søbstad responsible for the project already had been working with piping solutions by Pipelife Norway in the past. To replace the problematic pipe in a way that would not be disruptive to the village infrastructure, a trenchless solution was needed. The contractor opted for pipe bursting technology, replacing the outdated main with an OD 180-mm Pipelife PE 100 RC pipe. 

_{Non-Invasive Construction in an Urbanized Area}

Pipe bursting causes minimal disturbance to the surrounding environment. Excavation is only required for the insertion- and the exit shafts, and previously installed manholes can be used for these purposes as well. For this project, two yards were used for the shafts.

“The main reason why pipe bursting was used was that the municipality did not want extensive excavations,” explains Lars Jakob Bugten, sales engineer of Pipelife Norway.

The pipe bursting process works by attaching a new pipe to a conical-shaped bursting head which is then pulled through the existing pipeline. The bursting head expands and breaks the host pipe, while its fragments are pushed into the surrounding soil. This method allows not only replacing aged pipelines but also upsizing them.

Thanks to pipe bursting, the installation of the new 110-meter water main section in Heimdal was quick and non-disruptive. The renewed pipeline is expected to have a service life of more than 100 years.