Engineering Ensembles: Addressing Technology Challenges Through Research Collaborations

Abstract

Many trenchless construction procedures have been developed over the past few decades that offer new approaches to pipe installation, pipe assessment and pipe rehabilitation. However, adoption of an innovative product or process can be hindered when there is a limited track record for the new technique, there may be no formal design procedure, and when academics able to help resolve these issues are unaware of industry’s needs. This paper illustrates how the author has undertaken a series of collaborative research projects with partners from the Cities of Hamilton, Kingston, and Toronto in Ontario, Canada, key consulting companies, and a range of inspection, installation and rehabilitation contractors. The projects investigate various technologies, explain their characteristics, create new soilpipe interaction solutions and/or use experiments and field trials to evaluate the performance of the resulting designs. The presentation provides an overview of the industry problems these projects worked to resolve, and the benefits realized to date. Outcomes have included new understanding of the implications of soil and structural deterioration, answers to ‘how much deterioration is too much’ (i.e. assisting decisions on when to rehabilitate), explanation of strength limits of deteriorated and repaired pipes, development of rational design methods for culvert, sewer, and water pipe liners, and other guidance for contractors and consultants. The paper concludes with brief recommendations on how to develop research partnerships, including the opportunities created by industry associations like ASTT and the NoDig conferences.