Bagela 100 t pipe renewal winch in long term use

Bagela 100 ton Pipe Pulling Winch in long-term use to install thin wall PE liner to the Vyrnwy Large Diameter Trunk Main.

Bagela Baumaschinen generated a new pipe pulling winch with a pulling force of 100 tons.  The winch is in operation on a long-term project between Oswestry in Shropshire and Malpas in Cheshire.

United Utilities has entered into an undertaking with the drinking water inspectorate to clean/refurbish six Large Diameter Trunk Mains(LDTM) among them the Vyrnwy LDTM. The cleaning work will reduce the risk of discoloured water being supplied to customers and will help ensure the water meets the required standards for iron and manganese.

The Vrynwy aqueduct comprises of three potable water mains running parallel from Oswestry Water treatment works in Shropshire to Prescot in Merseyside.  The project consists of lining 2 of the cast iron mains from Oswestry to Malpas in Cheshire using Die Drawing Technique.
The main contractor of the project is the company Balfour Beatty. The water supply must be provided permanently; therefore only one pipe of the three can be renewed at a time.

The inner diameter of the steel pipes is 990 mm. The new PE-pipes SDR 51 which is to be inserted has an outer diameter of 1030 mm.  In the reducer, the outer diameter tapers down to 919 mm but with an outside temperature of about 20°C it increases only back to 965 mm as long as pipe is under tensile stress.
The first length of main to be lined was 505 m in length.  Within three hours the 100 ton winch had be maneuverer into position the rope connected, anchored with the necessary trestle and deflection pulley. The confined space behind the starting pit allowed only a pipe length of 70 m. With a permanent pulling speed of 5 m/min a pulling force of 50 tons was necessary. The hydraulic cylinders of the reducer were not used in order not to interfere the steady pulling. During the process of welding the PE pipe strings together the winch kept a minimum pulling force of 40 tons for about an hour to stop the pipe moving.

The last 200m were pulled at 5 m/min too, with a pulling force of 72 ton. The duration of the pull was a total of 8.5 hours.

The Bagela 100 ton winch enables the insertion of the pipe run into the welding rig  in a very sensitive way and with millimetre precision.
It is planned to pull one pipe run almost every week over the next 2 years with pulls up to 900m long

The Bagela winches are equipped with 1500 m rope each. The new 100 ton winch is especially suited for all building sites where long pipe runs had to be inserted. Even a duplication of the pulling force via a revolving deflection pulley system is possible in order to provide a pulling force up to 200 tons at the end of the pulling operation.

The approved hydraulic and stepless speed and pulling force adjustment of the Bagela winches is essential for the new winch too. Pulling long liner or renewal system as Die Drawing lining  becomes easier with less setup time, building pits and bigger renewal lengths.