Pipelining, as it is known today, is the process of reconditioning the inside of a pipeline with an internal coating or casting to extend the remaining useful life of the piping asset. Pipe coating has been utilized in pressurized pipelines for more than 60 years.
Cured-in-place pipelining technology was first implemented in Europe in 1971, and it was used to rehabilitate storm drains in an aged building to stop rainwater from leaking into the building. The process works this way: A resin-saturated fabric is pulled through an existing pipeline, and then an internal bladder or calibration tube is inflated to press the fabric against the host pipe. The fabric is left to harden and cure before the bladder is deflated and extracted from the rehabilitated new pipe inside the old pipe. It is known as insitu form, the Latin for “formed in place.” Eric Wood, the man who pioneered this technology, used the shorthand for the name of his own company, Insituform Technologies.