Three meter pipe rehabilitated by Amex Seal

Seville is the capital city of Andalusia province in Spain with its historical roots dating back to the time of the Romans. As the city grew, so did its infrastructure needs. In the beginning of 2020 a leak was noticed at the joint of a large irrigation pipe outside the city.

As the irrigation pipeline was over 3 meters in diameter and under extremely heavy loads, the number of solutions that could be used by the end client were minimal. With the Amex© Seal system being able to seal pipelines up to 6 meters, it was the ideal solution for the client’s needs.

This is actually a hydraulic channel used for irrigation, so it is quite different from a sewage line. At the beginning of the aqueduct and at the end near the siphon there can be what is called a hydraulic ridge, making the area turbulent. In addition to this, you can often find really heavy items flowing through here, like motorbikes for example. So we needed something strong and flexible, and the Amex© Seal was perfect for the job.

Guillermo Solano Molí, C.L.A.B. Ingeniera

Challenges

The biggest challenge in this repair was the amount of heavy objects hitting the sealing area during operation and the size of the pipe. With a diameter of over 3 meters, special equipment and support rods were required to install the Amex Mono© seal. In addition, Amex worked with the customer to develop a special metal cover to protect the seal from the impact of large items passing through the pipe. Extensive testing on the Amex premises by an experienced team of technicians and engineers and the active exchange of information with the customer resulted in an Amex solution that is unique in the world.

Additionally, upon entering the job site, it was realized by Amex Sanivar technicians that extra cleaning and preparation of joint needed to be done to both protect the rubber and help create the optimal conditions for a tight seal. Given the size of the pipe, this required substantial work.

Outcomes

Over the course of 3 days, Amex Sanivar was able to clean and prepare the joint, place the seal with its two supporting bands and apply the steel protector over the seal. After three days the client was more than satisfied with the outcome, even throwing a party for the Amex Sanivar technicians’ fantastic work.