Abstract
This report highlights the principal causes of failure of underground district heating pipelines installed in the UK over the last 20 years. Standard UK practice is to use prefabricated pipe in pipe conduit systems. Both steel and plastic cased systems have suffered from penetration of the outer conduit, especially at the location of the main joints. This has enabled moisture to enter the systems and corrode the hot steel carrier pipes within. An improvement in site supervision and the introduction of a registered training scheme for completing conduit closures could increase the reliability of future installations. This is vital if the UK is to benefit from the potential energy savings of city-wide CHP schemes.
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