Piping on a fast-track

The ever-increasing pressures being placed on plant construction teams has led to more and more off-site preparation work. However, in the field of waste and water treatment, where piping is the essential ingredient, what options are there for increased speed?

Pre-planning equals speed in plant construction and the trend of buying piping and joints ‘bagged and tagged’ so that a Meccano-like set arrives on-site for assembly is increasing in popularity, as is the provision of off-site pre-cut pipe to length.

Victaulic, which specialises in the provision of grooved-end jointing systems, has seen a dramatic increase in the use of its non-weld systems in the UK over the last few years due to this demand to save even more time on-site.

Examples of this are two of Europe’s largest sewage sludge incineration plants at Beckton & Crossness Sewage Treatment Works in East London. Flexibility of design and speed of installation were key requirements determining all aspects of construction and the Victaulic system was used as it is easy to disassemble and reassemble, ensuring design flexibility throughout its lifetime. In addition, the use of the system throughout the compressed air lines, potable water supply and dry risers, helped keep the massive projects on their fast track construction schedule.

Assembly speed and a cost-effective alternative to welding were also the reasons why Victaulic was specified on the Staveley Water Sewage project in Derbyshire. Here, more than 100 galvanised joints were used on the 8-10in aeration pipework, along with a wide range of fittings to provide the flexibility and versatility required.

Working within a limited time constraint, the project took only a fortnight to complete as all the Victaulic products were delivered on site pre-galvanised. Using only a spanner to install, and three times faster than traditional methods, the products led to an installed cost saving of approximately 30%.

Not only are speed of installation and design flexibility issues for today’s project managers. There is also increasing pressure from plant managers to ensure that easy maintenance and longevity are built into the piping system as well. Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, Victaulic can point to the viability of its non-welded piping joints.

A case in point is the Vine Lane Thames subway, built in 1925. One of London's first commercially built subways, Vine Lane was originally a foot tunnel under the river, but decreased in popularity with the opening of Tower Bridge.

When the tunnel was built, 24in Victaulic shouldered couplings were installed on two large diameter water mains (800psi). Today these same pipes and couplings still exist to ship water under the Thames in an emergency. Recently, as part of the London Bridge City development, Thames Water required the original mains extending. They achieved this by using a large number of today’s 24in Victaulic couplings alongside the original couplings, already in maintenance-free service for over 67 years.

The pressures being placed on plant construction may be increasing, but accelerated schedules are also an opportunity for project managers to look at alternatives to the traditional time-intensive welded pipe.

David Snodgrass is UK and Ireland country manager for Victaulic.