LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OF A POLYMER COMPOSITE REPAIR SYSTEM FOR GAS-PIPELINES

Predictions were made of the long-term behavior of a new repair system for gas pipelines, which involves the wrapping of a polymer composite tape coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the damaged pipe. T he time- and temperature-dependent behavior of the tape and the adhesi ve was experimentally evaluated using constant strain rate tests. A th eoretical model was developed for the winding, taking into account the nonisothermal viscoelastic behavior of the materials. A good agreemen t was found between theoretical predictions and full-scale experimenta l results. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.