What Does UV Light-Curing Technology Mean?
U/V (ultraviolet) light curing technology is a type of curing process for pipe liners used in cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation work.
A fabric liner, impregnated with an epoxy resin, is pulled into a section of damaged pipe. The ends of the fabric liner are sealed with removable caps. High pressure air is forced into the damaged section of the pipe to push the fabric against the pipe walls. A U/V light machine is then pulled through the pipe. As the U/V light shines on the fabric, the light transfers a charge to the resin and the resin becomes reactive, changing into a polymer similar to Fiberglas.
Trenchlesspedia Explains UV Light-Curing Technology
The U/V light curing is not new technology. It first appeared in the 1960s. This method, used to cure the liner in the CIPP process, is similar in many ways to the process used in the construction of fiberglass boat hulls where fiberglass material and resin is placed inside a mold of the boat hull and exposed to U/V light to set the mold.
In CIPP, the resin and liner are inserted into the pipe (the analog of the hull mold), expanded by compressed air to fit the liner against the sides of the pipe, and then the liner is then exposed to U/V light to cure the material and complete the CIPP repair. After the pipe liner is cured in place, the trenchless contractor who performed the CIPP work can introduce equipment into the laterals -- the pipes that cross or connect to the newly lined pipe -- to cut through the lining and renew connections.
