PIPE JOINING | MACHINERY
has been qualified to the MRS 25 standard. “Creating our IA608 grade was quite a chal-
lenge,” said Luca Spetolli, of Benvic’s R&D depart- ment. “We needed to meet all the technical and legal constraints attached to the water fitting product – and it had to be moulded in a material that would stand the test of time for over several decades in use.” The company has also set up a survey pro-
gramme to identify the substances at risk regarding their future compliance with Reach. The reason for this is be able to anticipate future
bans or restrictions – as the MRS 25 qualification requires significant time. Some substances have already been identified, making a new product release possible in the short term, said the company.
Fusion guides US-based Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has pub- lished two new technical reports with guidance on the fusion of polyethylene and PA12 gas piping. While PE is long-established for gas transport, poly- amide has only recently received approval in this type of application. Randy Knapp, engineering director of PPI’s
energy piping systems division, said a task force was formed in 2017 to look at the differences and similarities in joining procedures for PE pipe. “It was a goal to provide a more uniform, or
generic, joining procedure that could be imple- mented by pipeline operators for regulated gas applications,” he said. The TR-49 report, Generic Electrofusion User Guide for Field Joining of Polyethylene Gas Piping, is a step-by-step guide that incorporates the group’s findings. It contains guidance based on recent research on surface preparation, cleaning and scraping techniques published by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI). The second guide, TR-50 Generic Butt Fusion
Joining Procedure for Field Joining of Polyamide-12 (PA12) Pipe, focuses on “one of the newest gas piping materials”, he said. “PA12 piping is now approved for use in
regulated gas applications and is well suited for high-pressure gas installations,” he said. “This report provides a uniform joining procedure that brings a greater consistency to this aspect of gas pipeline installation. It will help to facilitate the pipeline operator’s efforts to qualify the procedure, reduce costs, and simplify DOT’s enforcement duties. It also discusses fusion parameters and visual inspection guidelines specific to PA-12.” Both guides are available free from PPI’s website.
Swedish guidelines The Research Institutes of Sweden (Rise) has completed a project into improving how polyethyl- ene pipes are joined using electrofusion. The Suspipe 3 project has used interviews,
measurements and simulations to try and improve the process of joining large diameter PE pipe. Recommendations on the process side includ- ed: network owners should demand that work complies with the AMA Anläggning 20 standard; welders must be training with an EWF certificate;
Above: A new technical report from PPI gives guidance on the fusion of PA12 gas piping
IMAGE: PPI
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