PIPE JOINING | MACHINERY


Getting it together: plastic pipe joining


Plastic pipe offers many advantages over other materials – including the ability to join different sections together quickly and efficiently


As plastic pipe is increasingly used in more challenging environments, so the technology to connect separate sections together must also continue to improve – no matter what material the pipe is made from. McElroy, a US supplier of pipe joining equip-


ment, has completed its first large-diameter HDPE pipe project in India, for a fertiliser producer. Against competition from local vendors, McElroy India and Dura-Line India were chosen for the project, after a quality team inspected a TracStar 900 machine at McElroy India’s office in Bangalore. The client, Paradeep Phosphates Limited, has a 12m tonnes/year capacity of fertiliser. The new pipeline carries gypsum – in slurry form – more than two miles from the plant to the catchment area.


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The TracStar 900 is used to make consistent, high-quality joints. One of its advantages is the fusion carriage which is mounted on a rugged track system that is a self-propelled, all-terrain vehicle. Because the TracStar is self-contained, with an onboard generator, there is no need for a separate power source on the job site. The carriage can also be easily removed and converted from four to three jaws for a smaller unit to fuse pipe in close quarters or in the ditch, says McElroy. The project was finished in 62 days with no joint


failures. This compares favourably with a previous job – done using a traditional machine – which took six months. The client changed most of its flange joints to butt joints, and more than doubled pipeline pressure to 7kg/cm2


, compared to June 2018 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 33


Main image: McElroy India used its TracStar 900 to create a two-mile


pipeline for a fertiliser manufacturer


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