machinery feature | Corrugators
Balzanelli’s EC1200C automatic coiler, can
handle flexible corrugated pipe from 12-50mm diameter
range. It can produce pipes of small diameter, and in thin wall thicknesses. Thanks to a reduced bending radius, the length of the nozzles can be reduced – which reduces the pressure at the extrusion die head, says the company.
The C2 and C3 ranges are both modular corrugators
that are suitable for making variable-sized pipes in a range of materials – including PVC, PP, PE and nylon. They can be supplied with lifting mechanisms for height adjustment, allowing the height of the working axis of the corrugator to be changed. It is also possible to use double-cavity moulds, so that two different pipe diameters can be produced at the same time. The C2 range produces pipe in the 10mm inside
diameter and 55mm outside diameter range, while the C3 makes 12mm inside diameter and 65mm outside diameter pipe. All three ranges are water-cooled. The EC1200C automatic coiler from FB Balzanelli,
for flexible corrugated pipe, has a compact structure and can handle pipe from 12-50mm diameter. The twin-coil machine – which includes an automatic
strapper unit that serves both coils – has a central outfeed. It produces coils of 25, 50 and 100m lengths. The machine is connected to Balzanelli’s ‘Teleser-
vice’, which means its status can be monitored at all times. “Automatic coilers are specified when the line is too
fast for the operator to cope with, or the cost of production is too high to justify using people at the end of the line,” said Angelo Paganizza, sales area manager for FB Balzanelli.
Recycled pipe At the Plastic Pipes in Infrastructure conference in London in April, John Kurdziel, chief engineer at Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) in the US, told delegates how his company is making corrugated pipe from recycled HDPE bottles. Recycling of HDPE bottles in the US tops 1 billion pounds (around 450,000 tonnes) per year, he said – a recycling rate of around 33%. “HDPE corrugated pipe uses approximately 75% of this material,” he said. Two examples he
cited were agricultural drainage pipe (ASTM F667) and storm drainage pipe (ASTM F2648). Some of the issues of converting waste HDPE to pipe
include: contaminants; stress crack resistance; and long-term mechanical properties. For these reasons, pipe must be carefully designed to overcome these factors.
Pipes must be tested to ensure that they withstand
chemical degradation and stress cracking. Materials must be thermally stable – with an oxygen induction time (OIT) of at least 20 minutes. Also, products must pass crack initiation and crack propagation tests. A number of National Cooperative Highway Research
Program (NCHRP) reports govern these test regimes. For example, NCHRP Report 696 (Task 2) defines the crack initiation testing: a compression-moulded un-notched dog bone sample is given three different stresses and temperatures, which are then shifted to ambient (design) temperature and used to develop lifetime estimates. “Mechanical properties of recycled and virgin HDPE
pipe are essentially the same,” he said. The most critical requirement for recycled HDPE pipe was Stage II stress-crack resistance, he concluded. At the same time, oxidation and thermal stability can be addressed with recycled HDPE by requiring OIT.
Strong chamber Meanwhile, ADS has added a low-profile, high strength chamber to its StormTech product line. The StormTech SC-160LP Chamber is 12in (30cm)
ADS has added this low-profile, high strength chamber to its StormTech product line
14 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | June 2016
tall with an installed volume of 15 cubic feet of water for underground infiltration and detention systems. The new unit requires 14in (35cm) of total cover to carry AASHTO HS-20 live loads, which reduces site develop- ment costs in shallow applications by minimising the amount of needed fill and maximizing open infiltrative areas.
“Most chambers typically call for around 18-24in of
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