The “I” in “IKT” doesn’t actually stand for “International”, but that’s not stopping anybody at the IKT from working with partners from around the world. One result of cooperation with the International Right of Way Association (IRWA), an e-learning opportunity can now be booked and accessed on-line.

Cooperation on in-service further training

A new IRWA University e-learning course “Underground Infrastructure Panorama” has been developed jointly by IKT and IRWA . Interested parties from around the globe can book this course either separately or as part of the “IKT/IRWA International Underground Infrastructure Certificate” course.

The emphasis is on highly topical underground and pipeline-engineering issues, on vegetation and infrastructure, electricity, district heating, gas, telecommunications and more. Six highly regarded speakers present their knowledge on the development and management of underground infrastructures and discuss the latest status of research and science in these fields. Three of the six modules are devoted to the focal topic of vegetation and infrastructure. The other modules serve to broaden and deepen knowledge of underground-infrastructure fundamentals, with emphasis on the work of system operators, and to examine completed projects from which much can be learned.

This unique new course is now on-line at the IRWA University website, and can be booked there: Underground Infrastructure Panorama

A profitable partnership

The partnership between IRWA and IKT has grown continuously during recent years. It is also becoming increasingly apparent just how well the two organizations fit together. IKT stands for practically orientated research and well-founded knowledge in the field of pipe-based infrastructures in Europe, while IRWA, with its many thousands of active members around the world, is known for its management know-how and for its high-quality training and certification programs.

The International Right of Way Association (IRWA), headquartered in Los Angeles, USA, is a not-for-profit organization for experts in infrastructure real estate. Since its foundation in 1934, the IRWA has assisted specialists in acquiring, managing and transferring the land and property rights necessary for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure networks. Above all, the association offers facilities for in-service further training for its nearly 10,000 members from some fifteen countries. These courses are also open to non-members.
The IRWA website

Through our cooperation, IRWA and IKT’s intention is to promote management methods and technical specifications for the operation and maintenance of underground pipeline infrastructures, to develop in-service further training opportunities in this field, and to support global networking of specialists from this industry.

Mutual commitment

Reciprocal memberships underline the commitment of both organizations. IKT members of IRWA include:

• Roland W. Waniek, Managing Director
• Prof. Bert Bosseler, Scientific Head
• Dr. Sissis Kamarianakis, Head of Further Training

Also IRWA is currently becoming a member of the Industry Friends of IKT Association.
Read more about the IKT support organizations:
IKT-Association of Industry and Services
IKT-Association of Network Operators

Face-to-face interchange

Regular reciprocal visits are planned, in order to intensify contacts. IKT Managing Director Roland W. Waniek recently spoke at the IRWA’s 2016 annual conference in Nashville on the planned installation of underground high-voltage lines in conjunction with Germany’s energy turnaround. As he noted, this project raises numerous technical issues, including how, for example, how construction can be carried out in a soil-conserving and environmentally safe manner, how thermal insulation and resistance to root damage can be assured, and how maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement construction can be organized.

Dr. Sissis Kamarianakis also spoke at the conference on innovative concepts for the grouping of various infrastructures for more efficient use of the underground space and for cost-savings – for example: broadband cables installed in sewers. Unanswered questions here concern operation, maintenance and rehabilitation. Another paper focussed on research into the technical feasibility of the installation of underground cables for transmission of green electricity across long distances. Dr. Kamarianakis had presented the concept and the contents of the joint on-line course one year previously, in San Diego, and also took a look into the future at more ideas for joint IKT/IRWA training opportunities.

In 2013, at the IRWA conference in Charleston, West Virginia, Prof. Bert Bosseler had already delivered a highly acclaimed paper concerning the challenges presented by the restricted space available for underground infrastructure. In 2014, he also spoke, in Hartford, Connecticut, on the German energy turnaround and its implications for infrastructure networks.

Representatives of IRWA have also been welcome guests at IKT in Gelsenkirchen, with Lee Hamre, the then president of IRWA, gaving a speech welcoming visitors to IKT’s 20th anniversary celebrations. She was attending as a member of an IRWA delegation led by CEO Mark Rieck, which took part in the 2014 International Conference at IKT and contributed interesting addresses on various infrastructural topics.

Bill Busch, a leading IRWA representative, who co-initiated the contact between the IKT and the IRWA some years ago, gave an address on vegetation and infrastructure, and chaired the afternoon workshop. IRWA representative Glenn Winfree, of Duke Energy, spoke on the operation of overhead power lines and the management of trees along their routes.

Live transmission from San Diego to Gelsenkirchen

A special highlight of the International Conference was live transmission, via web-conferencing, of a paper by Bill Rose and Vic Bianes, of San Diego County Water Authority, on the effects of tree roots on large-diameter drinking-water pipelines – with 9,200 kilometers and nine time zones between the speakers and the audience!

For the filming of the new “Underground Infrastructure Panorama” on-line training course at IKT last year, Deidre Alves, M.Ed., Vice President Professional Development, came from Los Angeles to direct and officiate jointly with Sissis Kamarianakis.

Interchange on other topics

The ever closer contact between IKT and IRWA will make it possible to exchange knowledge and ideas on many other topics in the future. Therefore IKT would like to request that interested employees of system operators and companies within the IKT support organizations to propose relevant discussion topics and to take part in the exchange of ideas. As Prof. Bosseler notes: “We look forward to our members’ suggestions!”
Read more about the IKT support organizations:
IKT-Association of Industry and Services
IKT-Association of Network Operators

IKT is widely networked, both in Europe and globally: IKT cooperation partners

Contacts

• Bert Bosseler, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil.
  Telephone: 0209 17806-0
  E-mail: bosseler@ikt.de
• Sissis Kamarianakis, Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing.
  Telephone: 0209 17806-42
  E-mail: kamarianakis@ikt.de

 

Sewer manholes in roads have a lot to put up with. They are exposed not only to vertical, but also to horizontal loads. For this reason, newer types of manhole cover are secured against lateral displacement. However, older types of manhole, with no such security, are still predominantly found in roads. For these, there is now an adapter ring available that is claimed to prevent displacement. IKT has tested this new solution.

Read more

Contact

Martin Liebscher, Dipl.-Ing.
T: +49 209 17806-23
E: liebscher@ikt.de

 

It was lucky that IKT scientist Stefan Bretz, B. Eng., was not required to sit still on this day – he would have been much too excited, because this was when he finally handed over to the customer the MAC system for testing the condition of large diameter pipes, which an IKT team has spent three years developing and several months building. And not to just any ordinary customer, but to Dr. Olivier Thépot of Eau de Paris (the French capital’s water and waste-water management authority). As Bretz notes: “It has been a great honour to build a MAC system for the inventor of the MAC method”.

Customised: an individual Mini-MAC

Paris already has a MAC, of course. However, that one was designed for very large diameters. Instead, the system operator wanted another MAC system suitable for use in DN 1000 to DN 1500 pipes. The French engineers also attached importance to acquiring measured data accurate to the millisecond and the micrometer. Furthermore, they required the whole system to fit neatly onto a standard Euro-pallet, with nothing protruding. IKT engineers Stefan Bretz and Frank Bersuck have realised these requirements in this new MAC version, fondly dubbed the “Mini-MAC”.

Olivier Thépot, MAC project manager at Eau de Paris and inventor of the MAC system, visited IKT with two of his co-workers during the morning for a training course on the use of the new Mini-MAC unit. Jean-Philippe Meynier and Laurent Martin will, in future, inspect the sewers of the city “de l’amour” using the new system.

Pressure is the key: how the MAC system works

The MAC method makes it possible to identify weak points in the pipe/soil system. In a series of non-destructive tests, the hydraulic cylinder of the MAC system applies sufficient force to the walls of the sewer to move them apart, in a controlled manner, by only a few tenths of a millimetre. High-resolution sensors measure the resulting deformation. This is so slight that no damage to the sewer can occur, but nonetheless is sufficient to permit calculation of the condition of the pipe and the surrounding soil.

Hand-over of the system took place in the afternoon and Stefan Bretz presented the thick manual. IKT Managing Director Dipl.-Ök. Roland W. Waniek and Head of Project Dipl.-Ing. Martin Liebscher were also there to congratulate Thépot, Meynier and Martin on their new large-diameter inspection system. The new MAC owners were extremely pleased with the high-quality workmanship of the unit, the intensive training course and the high level of detail contained in the manual. The day’s definitive statement came from Jean-Philippe Meynier: “Every sewer is different, and the Mini-MAC now enables us to get to know each and every one individually and in detail”.

Fits on a pallet: a compact unit

Stefan Bretz then helped stow the MAC in the cargo space of an Eau de Paris Kangoo Maxi. After which that vehicle disappeared away around the corner, complete with the MAC system – destination: Paris! So now our colleague Stefan Bretz can again sit calmly at his desk – most of the time!

Contacts

• Dipl.-Ing. Martin Liebscher
  Project Manager
  T: ++49 (0) 209 17806-23
  E: liebscher@ikt.de
• Stefan Bretz, B. Eng.
  T: ++49 (0) 209 17806-26
  E: bretz@ikt.de

 

 

There are many water management and operational targets for wastewater systems which can be achieved only if private site drainage is included, as early as the conceptual planning stage concerning construction, operation and rehabilitation. This is legally supported by identical technical requirements for both private and public sewers in the German Water Management Act. Municipalities are therefore obliged to provide timely information and advice to site owners on both technical and legal requirements.

Water management needs to start at private sites

Neither legal nor technical codes of practice differentiate in principle between public and private sewers. This is true both of European requirements and their specific expression in national legislation. What does this mean for site owners and for municipalities who bear responsibility for the disposal of wastewater? It is clear that more than just the water-tightness of the sewers is involved. The condition and functioning of the public and private network as a whole must be included and assured. Questions range from controlling the risk of blockages to the elimination of illegal connections, the prevention of infiltration and the avoidance of nuisance odours. Thus, it is clear that water management needs to start at the individual site.

Read more

Contact

Thomas Brüggemann, Dipl.-Ing.
T: +49 209 17806-18
E: brueggemann@ikt.de

 

Get the experts‘ overview of the major issues in sewerage and their technical background, refresh your existing knowledge, and get an update on international developments – at the IKT International Masterclass “Sewers and Pipelines: Construction, Operation and Maintenance”. The course is focussed on sewerage, however, it offers insights for other types of pipe networks as well.

Knowledge on university level

This course uses core elements from university lectures and a master course held by Professor Bert Bosseler, Scientific Director of IKT, supported by case studies and research results from IKT colleagues and updates from experts from international standardization committees at CEN and ISO. Contents of this masterclass are part of the curriculum at the Ruhr-University Bochum and Leibniz University Hanover, both being leading universities for civil engineering in Germany.

Discussing and networking on international level

You can attend the course on site at IKT in Gelsenkirchen, Germany or online via web conference. Online participants are given full access to all course contents and can communicate with speakers and other attendees during the course. You will have the opportunity to meet and network with experts from network operators, industry, science, research, and international standardization.

Key Subjects:

• Construction and installation of sewers and pipelines
• Operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of sewers and pipelines
• Testing and rehabilitation of large sewers and manholes
• Principles of asset management and smart community infrastructure

Optional exam with certificate

The course is open to all professionals. Attendees can take an optional exam to receive a certificate of “Successful attendance of IKT’s Masterclass Sewers and pipelines: construction, operation and maintenance”. The certificate summarizes the course content, its role in university studies at German Universities and confirms the successful result for the attendee.

IKT Masterclass

10-14 October 2016
Alternative dates:
– 30 January ‑ 3 February 2017
– 23-27 October 2017
Programme and registration

Contact

• Mirko Salomon, M.Sc.
  Phone: +49 209 17806-25
  E-mail: salomon@ikt.de
• Dr. Sissis Kamarianakis
  Phone: +49 209 17806-42
  E-mail: kamarianakis@ikt.de

 

Pressure sewer pipes are well down a sewer operator’s list of their favourite parts of the network. Because there are no inspection or maintenance ports. Because the precise location of the pipe is often not known. Because numerous bends obstruct the flow. They can be found in practically all drain and sewer networks, but their characteristics and their special design confront sewer network operators with a real challenge when it comes to inspection and condition surveying.

Legal provisions

Pressure sewer lines are subject to the legal provisions concerning inspection and condition survey, as defined for example in German federal states’ regulations for self-inspection and self-monitoring. Sewer network operators frequently find themselves facing special challenges in implementing the required inspection work. High points and low points with no valves complicate draining and venting. There is a danger of blockages of the gravity system if pump operation is interrupted, with the potential for back-ups and flooding.

IKT research project

The IKT research project “Inspection and condition-surveying of pressure sewer lines and culverts”, which was conducted by IKT jointly with more than twenty sewer network operators, found that life-cycle observation of pressure sewers is becoming ever more important. The main results provide sewer network operators and technology suppliers with better understanding of the requirements for inspection technologies, the performance of water tightness tests and the selection of rehabilitation methods for pressure sewer pipes. A qualitative risk model for prioritizing pipe-specific inspection, which is already being used by operators, is also discussed.

Contact

Sissis Kamarianakis
Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing.
T: +49 209 17806-42
E: kamarianakis@ikt.de