Overview
Hydrascan Ltd, the R & D subsidiary of Green Spark Environmental, was formed to meet the challenge issued by Northumbria Water to clean large diameter water mains in North East England. The first product developed by Hydrascan was the Typhoon System which went on to carry out cleaning works in AMP 5 on over 50km of water mains ranging in diameters from 10 inch to 38 inches.
In 2008, with the aim of enhancing water mains cleaning technology within the water industry, the innovative Typhoon system was developed with engineers and a University research team and has gained industry recognition.
How does it work?
The Typhoon system is propelled forwards in a pipe by pressurised water through rear facing jets to the target area. Once reached, the switching valve at its centre is switched remotely, expelling pressurised water through fan jets on the cleaning manifolds arranged circumferentially. The pipe wall is then cleaned in a single pass as the Typhoon is drawn back towards the launch point.
The switching facility between propulsion and cleaning can be carried out many times, allowing sections of pipe to be cleaned several times if necessary. Our cleaning system is fully adjustable: water pressure, the manifold angle of attack, fan spread angle and distance of the fan jets to the pipe wall are all variable ensuring that pipes are not damaged in the process. All water is filtered, recycled and reused, significantly reducing water use and waste disposal costs.
The Typhoon has bee designed to traverse multiple pipe bends as severe as 1.5D – 90 degrees with a minimum crash bore of between 10 – 20%. It can be used to clean lengths of water mains of 600m in both directions from a single point of entry and has successfully spanned high level bridges and negotiated vertical sections of pipeline.
Key Features
Speed
Travels at up to 1.5m/s along the pipe before returning and cleaning at 0.5m/s to 0.1m/s
Range
The Typhoon System can clean up to 1km from a single access point.
Flexibility
The Typhoon System Easily cleans 6 into to 72 inch.
Footprint
Tyhoon System Requires no additional winching machinery.
Excellent Cleaning Results
Exceeds standards required by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
No Winching
The Typhoon System Requires no winching machinery.
Environmentally Friendly
Uses less equipment, requires only one excavation and all water is filtered and reused.
No Settlement Tanks
No need for large lagoons as water is pumped immediately to recycling vehicle – perfect for urban environments.
Non-abrasive Cleaning
Does not damage the internal integrity and lining of pipe infastructure.
Agile
Cleans around bends and up to valve faces.
The Typhoon Range
The Transformer
The Transformer Pig is the latest innovation in the Typhoon Cleaning System range. Developed to enable cleaning of very large diameter water mains on the Manchester Ring Main, this new technology means a single pig can clean water mains with diameters that vary between 32 and 72 inches. With the capability to fit access pipes of 24 inches and above, the system doesn’t require large open excavation pits and can be propelled to a range of 600 metres using a single water recycling vehicle. The system is jetted to the target area in propulsion mode and withdrawn when in cleaning mode. The transformer ‘legs’ are opened and collapsed depending on the diameter of the pipe and cleaning is by way of water jetting against the pipe walls. Wheels on the transformer legs ensure the pig moves freely and the wall and any linings are protected.