Cooling Tower FRP Line Repair

Addressing an Emergent Line Leak

A large nuclear plant in the Midwest faced a critical challenge when a leak was discovered in a fiberglass pipe leading to the unit’s cooling tower. This leak forced the station to deregulate their megawatt producing capabilities during a critical time for demand. The first attempt to repair the line was to install a new section of fiberglass pipe. However, the clamps used to join the new and existing line cracked the ends of the existing pipe. The plant needed to find a solution and, more importantly, a specialty contractor that could help design and install a solution while the unit remained online and the basin filled with water.

Experience Always Overcomes Challenges

The CFES-proposed solution was to join the pipes with a multilayer, bidirectional fiberglass wrap. This solution presented some unique challenges for the station and the dive team of JF Brennan.

1. Will the FRP wrap perform as designed in a field application while being installed underwater?
2. Will the divers be able to install the FRP wrap under the current site conditions?

To answer these questions, CFES made a mockup of the pipe and simulated the actual field conditions in a large tank of water at the CFES lab

CFES was able to simulate the workability of the CFES FRP system and prepare the divers for the installation challenges that the dive team would face in the field

CFES was able to validate their design through an empirical approach

CFES was able to provide an onsite training and was responsible for the technical oversight