FEATURE FLUID HANDLING
H
DPE is the fastest growing piping
material in mining, commercial
and industrial applications, with
adoption expected to increase
5% a year.
In response to this trend Victaulic
introduced its Refuse-to-Fuse system.
h e technology overcomes the harsh
weather and strict certii cation barriers that
ot en slow fusing installations across sites in
Australia.
Victaulic vice-president and general
manager of South Asia Pacii c David
Sharkey said butt fusion and electrofusion
were previously accepted as the standard in
joining techniques.
He said those techniques were frequently
delayed or compromised due to the
challenging conditions on many Australian
sites.
Victaulics Refuse-to-Fuse system is
designed to meet or exceed the performance
of fused joints and can be installed up to 10
times faster with common hand tools in any
weather condition.
Specii cally designed with strength and
durability in mind, mechanical couplings
with HDPE commonly exceed the pipe’s
pressure ratings.
h at allows tensile load, minimum bend
radius and dragability.
“Mechanical joining eliminates the
challenges faced when fusing,” Sharkey said.
“Installed simply by tightening two bolts
and nuts, no expensive specialty equipment
is required and pipe-end preparation is
minimal.
“h e lack of specialty equipment and pipe
end preparation means that special training
or fusion-certii ed installers aren’t necessary
either, allowing skilled tradespeople to
work on more demanding areas of the
project.”
h e system has been formulated to meet
the Australian water industry’s WaterMark
standard of excellence.
h e system can be supplied with a Fusion
Bonded Epoxy coated housing and Xylan
coated bolts and nuts to ensure protection
against corrosion in underground buriedwater lines and outdoor lines exposed to the
elements.
For added durability, the gasket is
comprised of ethylene propylene diene
monomer rubber formulated specii cally for
water systems.
“As leaders in the mechanical joining
business, we are extremely proud of the
Refuse-to-Fuse solution,” Sharkey said.
“We understand businesses are looking to
cut costs through faster, more ei cient and
af ordable processes.
“We’re excited by the potential operational
benei ts and savings that can be achieved by
switching from fusion to mechanical joining
in various projects around the country.”
Victaulic’s mechanical joining products for
HDPE include couplings for both plain-end
HDPE pipe of diameter 63mm to 225mm
and grooved-end HDPE pipe with diameters
250mm to 1200mm.
Victaulic designs and manufactures
mechanical pipe joining solutions. Since
1919 it has progressed with a no-l ame,
mechanical pipe joining approach.Refuse to fuse
A pipe-joining system maker has launched a mechanical
joining solution for high density polyethylene pipes.
34 AMM December 2017 http://www.miningmonthly.com
The Victaulic Atlas
Manifold, part of its
Refuse-to-Fuse system.