DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 1/9 PH-DT - WP1: REMOTE LEAK REPAIR- Update Report on status of leak analysis/quantification presented at DCP by M. Castaldo on June 23 rd (see slides at: Now reporting about very first results from remote leak repair tests (tests performed by M. Castaldo during July/August)

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 2/9 PH-DT - The sealant - The sealant used for our tests is Seal- up® by Blue-Magic® (Houston, TX) The sealant forms cellulose fibers which grow rapidly via a thermal process. The fibers follow the changes in flow direction at the leak site and where the flow pattern compresses the fiber tails become entangled and a tangled mass develops on the upstream side of the hole. The metal particles and sodium silicate fill into the interstices of the tangled mass and complete the seal on the inside The requirements to make the product work are: Pressurized system Thermal Process Condition of the flow must not be static

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 3/9 PH-DT - The set-up - As lightly simplified set-up (w.r.t. the one used for the test at SRNL) has been prepared for the preliminary series of tests It combines a vertical multi-stage pump with a pressure and flow regulation panel and a tank containing the mixture of WATER and sealant. The test section is arranged on top of the tank in such a way that the leaking fluid is recollected in the tank during circulation. The tank is equipped with a controllable heater. However, for the first tests, the heating power of the pump was enough to warm-up all the liquid up to the desired temperature; therefore the heater was not used during these tests.

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 4/9 PH-DT - First test programme - Fluid: water Copper pipes Ø 13mm H ole diameters (  ): 0.6 – 1.2 mm Temperatures (T): 25 – 70 °C Pressures (p): 0.5 – 3.0 barg Flow-rates (flow): 5 – 12.5 l/min Preliminary definition of working conditions “Ideal” (reproducible) cases “Application” cases

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 5/9 PH-DT - Repair results for “ideal” cases - WATER LEAK PLOTS flow: 5 l/min; pipe dia = 13 mm; hole dia = 0.6 mm No repair 2 bar 30, 50 and 70 °C 1 bar 30, 50 and 70 °C Ultimate pressure before repair breaking: 3 – 22 bar Ultimate pressure before repair breaking: 16 – 60 bar

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 6/9 PH-DT - “Application” case 1: flexible pipe - Two flexible steel pipes have been chosen from scrapped parts. Both of them had a little horizontal scrap, in which a hole of 0.4 mm has been made. They have been tested at the best conditions that were found for the copper pipes: p=1 bar, flow= 5 l/min, T=45°C. Water and product were heated up together. TEST 1 (pipe label: 2) After 1.40 minutes the flow stopped, T=46.9°C Switched off after 20 minutes, T= 49.5°C There is the drop that encircles the hole TEST 2 (pipe label: 1) After 2.20 minutes the flow stopped, T=45.4°C Switched off after 20 minutes, T=49.5°C There is the drop that encircles the hole For both of them the ultimate pressure test has been done. For the first pipe the value of the pressure is 7 bar, and for the send pipe is 16 bar.

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 7/9 PH-DT - “Application” case 2: connector leak - Test on four connectors have been done: Two connectors with a horizontal scrap Two untaught connectors Test conditions were the same for all of them: p=1 barg, flow= 5 l/min, T=45°C. For connectors with scrap, the repair seems to be longer (even 40 minutes). The untaught connectors are repaired in a very short time (less than two minutes). Ultimate pressure test has been performed with this result: For the scrapped connectors: p = bar For the untaught connectors: p= bar

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 8/9 PH-DT - Chemical analysis - The sealant used for our tests is Seal- up® by Blue-Magic® (Houston, TX) 5

DCP Meeting – September 12 th 2010 WP1/4: Leak Search & Repair- Paolo Petagna 9/9 PH-DT - Next steps - Set-up enhancement: peristaltic pump; tank sealing; independent (swapping) rinsing circuit Explore more in detail the connector leak repair Analyze behaviour w.r.t. orifices Define minimum diameter for application Test repair in long and complex shape ducts With TE/VSC-SCC: Rinsing and cleaning procedure after repair Contact with company: define role and relevance of metal powders in the product With TE/VSC-SCC and company: possibility of replacing water with C n F 2n+2 ONLY POSSIBLE IF A TECH STUDENT IS MADE AVAILABLE (request entered)