Frans Alferink and Jos Oosterik
Papers # 2012 Barcelona
PVC-O pipes were already introduced in the mid-seventies, but why did it take until the beginning of this century before this high quality pipe product really expanded successfully into the water markets? The second part of this paper will present an answer to that question. Feedback from various pipe markets around the globe on different success factors of PVC-O will be presented. The first part of this paper deals with different technical aspects of PVC-O. At first the parameters that determine the long term strength and the quality of the pipe will be explained. It will be shown that if the feedstock pipe fulfills the regression of MRS 250, a fast procedure can be used for obtaining the MRS of the oriented pipe. As far as the standardization is concerned, the main changes in the update of ISO DIS 16422 will be highlighted. The pipe orientation using an in-line process brings an additional advantage : the process acts as a continuous quality control test. The quality of the feedstock pipe as well as the orientation process itself, is automatically and continuously controlled, which is the solid basis for a good PVC-O pipe. The overall performance of the pipe and the specific advantages will be presented and also the performance of the pipe during and after installation will be reviewed. The PVC-O material with ultra-high strength makes it possible to manufacture very strong pipes with lower ring stiffness. In this respect also the limitations of utilizing the full strength of the material will be explained. In general the advantages during installation will be highlighted. The last subject of the first part of this paper shows different types of jointing techniques. Next to the traditional flexible socket-seal joint, also two versions of tensile resistant joints will be presented. )1 Both authors work at Wavin Overseas BV Rollepaal 19 7701 BR Dedemsvaart The Netherlands Email addresses. Frans.Alferink@wavin.com; Jos.Oosterik@wavin.com