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No mere pipe dream: UCI engineers are working on robotic technology to rehabilitate the nation’s aging water infrastructure

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 8:02 am

robotFrom PhysOrg:

“The growing U.S. infrastructure crisis involves more than crumbling roads and bridges. Underground and out of sight looms a worsening problem every bit as critical.

Thousands of miles of aging water pipes are breaking down. Each day, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers — which periodically grades the country’s infrastructure — 6 billion gallons of clean, treated drinking water disappears, mostly due to old, leaky pipes and mains. That’s enough water to supply California for a year, according to Maria Feng, civil & environmental engineering professor at UC Irvine.

“This is a nationwide emergency,” she says. “Some pipelines are nearly 100 years old, and the problem is very serious, especially in urban areas, where it’s difficult to access leaking and burst pipes.”

A UCI engineering research team led by Feng is working with two companies to build a prototype robot that could repair and retrofit aging water pipes by applying a tough reinforcement material around their interiors – eliminating the need for costly excavation or replacement. … “

Read more from PhysOrg by clicking here.

February 9, 2010 · Filed Under Infrastructure

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