Review of PIM (Pipeline Insertion Method) Technology

by Richard J. Scholze, Jr., U.S. Army Construction Engineering, Research Lab (USACERL), United States,
Stephen W. Maloney, U.S. Army Construction Engineering, Research Lab (USACERL), United States,
Ed D. Smith, U.S. Army Construction Engineering, Research Lab (USACERL), United States,
Prakash M. Temkar, U.S. Army Construction Engineering, Research Lab (USACERL), United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Pipeline Design and Installation

Abstract:

The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) conducted the first demonstration of PIM (Pipeline Insertion Method, formerly Pipe Insertion Machine) technology for sewer rehabilitation in the United States in 1987, complete with a battery of physical testing for vibration and soil deformation. The technology, first developed for gas main replacement, uses an impact mole to burst the existing pipe outward into the surrounding soil and replace it at the same rate with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). PIM is the foremost trenchless technology which can replace existing pipe with equal or larger diameter pipe. This paper will summarize the existing state-of-the-art of the technology with wastewater collection systems including information on applicability, economics, advantages and disadvantages, and lessons-learned.

Subject Headings: Plastic pipes | Wastewater management | Sewers | Synthetic materials | Soil-pipe interaction | Rehabilitation | Polyethylene

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