Thorite has teamed up with Norgren to produce a free guide to energy saving. The guide demonstrates how to cut waste and increase compressed-air-usage efficiency, with the resulting cash savings clearly laid out. An energy and safety section also shows how components fitted for safety reasons, such as preset regulators and shut off valves, can also make important contributions to energy savings.

Many people in industry wrongly assume that compressed air is a cheap, or even free, source of power. This is not the case, with numerous independent studies confirming that industry wastes around 30 per cent of the compressed air it generates. In a typical 1,000cfm workshop installation this equates to GBP12,000 a year.

Compressed-air wastage results from leakage, misuse, over pressurisation, pressure drop, inefficient generation, lack of maintenance and poor installation engineering. The solutions to each problem are explained in the guide, with the expense of carrying out remedial work shown and the savings highlighted. The guide is available from any of Thorite’s nine regional sales and service centres in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the North East, or can be ordered from the company website.

AMI Reviews Plastics In Sewerage Conference

In October 2009 AMI launched the first international conference on plastics in sewerage and drainage pipes in Germany: here Dr Sally Humphreys of AMI presents a review of the conference. Noru Tsalic began by detailing the trends and developments in the European market, predicting a decline in overall new construction into 2010. However, there is also renewal of existing infrastructure, such as ageing pipelines and the need for full networks of sewerage pipes in eastern and central Europe.

For example, Water UK estimated that GBP10.4bn would need to be invested in sewerage systems between 2005 and 10. PVC currently dominates the plastic-pipes segment, followed by PE, PP and GRP. However, for larger pipes of diameter over 700mm, more traditional materials such as concrete are still prevalent. The Wroclaw University of Technology has studied the Polish sewerage and drainage systems: there were around 90,000km of pipes in 2007 and there is extensive annual growth because only 70-80 per cent of towns are served and only 15-20 per cent of some rural areas.

In one project, a 2.5km marine-outfall pipeline was constructed from HDPE KHW Wehopipe and laid along the Gdansk bay. HDPE pipes were also used to reline leaking iron sewerage pipes in Tarnow and for rehabilitation of a damaged concrete sewer in Wroclaw. On joining the EU, Poland committed to put sewage systems in place in towns by 2010 and in rural areas by 2015. The Polish Waterworks estimates the capital costs to be around EUR20bn. Solvin has been developing twin-wall PVC pipes for sewerage and rainwater drainage. In impact tests the outer layer takes the brunt of the force, leaving the inner layer relatively undamaged.

Only one layer needs to have an impact modifier to cut costs: dies and feed block have to be adapted but existing extruders and haul off can be used. New grades of high-modulus PP (PP-HM) have been developed for this market, where block copolymers have been in use for over 30 years. Borealis has a new copolymer PP material with a high crystallinity and a dispersed rubber phase to improve impact strength. Better performance and lower weight per metre meant that, in the Parma-Vicofertile project, a worker could carry a 6m length of pipe and installation took 10-15min, including trench opening and closing.

Lyondellbasell has also developed PP-HM as defined in EN 1852. It has very high stiffness with E-modulus more than 1,700MPa, high wear resistance and good impact resistance at low temperature. This has been used in Gigapipe structured twin-wall sewerage pipes. Ineos Olefins and Polymers is another company with new PP-HM material and has highlighted the enhanced processability, with one study of smooth pipes reducing weight by 15 per cent and increasing output by 7 per cent. Sica has an inline thermoforming system to produce sockets on PP and HDPE corrugated pipes. A rubber coupling partially expands the pipe end and it is enlarged again with heated mechanical inserts.

Forced cooling contracts the pipe back onto the mould and into the final shape. STFA-Marine Construction has been involved in repair of the Kucukcekmece marine outfall pipe. 578m of HDPE pipe had to be removed and floated out and the new pipe had to be ballasted with concrete blocks, surface towed, then sunk by ballasting of buoyancy tanks. Pipeline rehabilitation is a common use of polymers. LGA Bautechnik has used a close-fit, cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) system for pipes from 100 to 2,000mm diameter, including egg and other shapes. It also uses pre-deformed PVC and HDPE pipe for insertion and reforming using heat; this technique can be used in pipes from 100 to 500mm in diameter.

In some cases an HDPE pre-liner is used, followed by a liner with injection spacing so that mortar can be injected around the thermoplastic insert. In the Wuerzburg pipe rehabilitation, where the existing pipe was not able to carry load, mortar was injected around a GRP pipe insert. This mortar injection partly fills cracks in the existing pipe. PE pipes have been used to reline wastewater pipelines by Hessel Ingenieurtechnik using rolldown, swagelining or sublining techniques. Light-curing pipe lining was used by Brandenburger Liner in Bremen in an oval-shaped sewer. The liner is pulled into the sewer, expanded with compressed air then cured with UV light.

Another sewer-renewal project in Bremen involved the use of high-load-bearing PE100 pipe, which was specified because there was only low cover of 500-700mm and permanent traffic load on the existing pipe. Asset International has examined the performance of HDPE pipes under buried conditions using FEM analysis. In one case study, a 6,000m3 storage tank was constructed of 150m interconnected 2,100mm (internal diameter) pipe for a UK water authority. Bacteria in sewage can cause corrosion and the aggressiveness depends on factors such as acidity and the sulfur level, as well as flow velocity and temperature. Flowtite Technology has been collecting test data on the chemical resistance of GRP pipes for 30 years and the experiment is still running.

Extrapolation indicates a potential lifetime of over 150 years. In one case, in Riyadh, a sewer pipe was installed in 1980 and inspected by Bureau Veritas. The internal surface remains smooth and colour intact, except for a few brown stains, while the pipe stiffness has only reduced by 12.5 per cent. In a second case of an outfall pipe in operation in Norway for over 33 years, there were no signs of ageing; the pipe was taken out of service due to failure of the steel supports.

Industrie Polieco has developed corrugated pipe with outer and inner layers of HDPE and a core in steel, coated with PE. A rotomoulded male PE coupler is welded to one end of each section. The resulting pipe is inert to chemicals, resistant to abrasion, lightweight and shows high resistance to deformation. Friatec specialises in pipe-joining systems and has worked on joining PE pipe to concrete inspection chambers in sewerage systems. Electrofusion systems leave a smooth internal surface. The company also has transition fittings for connecting PE to materials such as PVC and clay pipes.

Plasson works in a similar market and offers fully welded PE80 and PE100 systems for non-pressure wastewater applications. Its electrofusion couplers are specified for operating pressures of 10 bars and it supplies adapters that can be integrated into concrete chambers for joining PE pipes. Joints need to be tightly sealed and this has traditionally been achieved with rubber, however DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers has been supplying thermoplastic vulcanisates (TPV) into this market. The TPV can be injection moulded as one component, whereas a typical SBR design involves a ridged ring and a rubber seal. The material shows good ozone resistance, thermal and UV stability, good chemical resistance and design flexibility.

SMC One-Touch Fittings Use Single Thread Type

The uni-thread in the KQ one-touch fittings series from SMC means users need only ever stock a single thread type. By using fittings with the uni-thread, tubing can be connected to parts that use parallel as well as taper-type threads in British Standard Pipe and National Pipe Thread (US standard). The seal is made by an NBR laminated stainless-steel gasket and is suitable for all female threads with a standard 45deg chamfer; this minimises the risk of contamination and means a consistent height can be achieved when fitting into a manifold.

Because the uni-thread seals on a gasket rather than on the fitting’s thread, the overall installation height of the fitting is reduced. SMC’s uni-thread fittings can be reused many times and can lead to assembly-time cuts of around 75 per cent.

Chene has developed a valve proposal for companies with non-destructive-testing (NDT) needs. It focuses on machining artificial defects on metal pieces then used as reference standard models for NDT. Such testing using ultrasonic, Eddy currents or other methods is carried out in many industries requiring a high degree of reliability. The company works hand in hand with each customer to meet specific needs and is able to adapt its machining to complex designs.

Using highly precise electrical discharge machining, Chene is able to produce notches as narrow as 0.0008in (0.02mm) and holes with a diameter as small as 0.0008in on all kinds of metal pieces. Chene works with aerospace, nuclear energy and petroleum industries. The company currently operates in Europe, but is currently looking to expand its export activity on the North American market. Chene is exhibiting at the SAE Aerotech Congress and Exhibition in Seattle, which is scheduled to run until 12 November 2009.

Instron Introduces Syringe Test Fixture

Instron has introduced a syringe test fixture designed to investigate the forces necessary to collect force-versus-time data to evaluate the performance of syringes and syringe-needle combinations. Data is produced as the crosshead moves down to expel the fluid from the syringe in a compressive test mode. The fixture can determine breakaway forces at the beginning of injections, as well as sustaining forces throughout the injection process.

The syringe fixture features plastic inserts that offer a range of flexibility to accommodate a variety of syringe sizes and volumes. It allows for the ejection of medications and fluids from syringe or syringe-needle devices and it accommodates a variety of syringe diameters. The maximum syringe diameter is 20mm (0.78in). The fixture includes two threaded holes for optional drip tray and it can be positioned downwards to perform a needle cap pull-off test (the lower grip is sold separately). It mounts to any Instron single-column or dual-column testing system.

Stemmer Camera Has Monochrome CCD Sensors

Stemmer Imaging’s latest camera offering, the JAI AD-081CL, features two monochrome progressive scan CCD sensors mounted to a custom-designed optical prism. The prism-based design enables the camera to simultaneously capture two channels of 30fps video of the same field of view to within one-quarter pixel accuracy. A choice of operating modes allows the camera to be used for high dynamic range, high-speed operation or particle-imaging velocimetry.

Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) is a planar-optical technique that measures the velocity of seeded particles (1-50um in air) in the flow of interest. Applications include vortex forming in artificial heart chambers, combustion analysis in engines and air-flow studies in wind chambers. The AD-081CL features a PIV mode that allows the camera’s two-channel operation to capture three closely spaced images on a single trigger instead of two, providing 50 per cent more data for improved analysis of ultra-fast events.

Independent control of shutter speed and/or gain for each channel provides the opportunity for wide-dynamic-range operation. This is especially useful in inspection applications where there is a particularly bright light background, such as LED inspection or welding. One channel is adjusted for the bright output, while the other channel is tuned for lower light output.

The two images can then be analysed separately or combined to produce a dynamic range nearly double the normal CCD response. This enables the camera to achieve dynamic-range levels as high as 20 bits per pixel (120dB) in a linear fashion, avoiding noise, shutter and compression issues. The versatile AD-081CL can also operate at an effective frame rate of 60fps, which is achieved by interleaving the images from the two sensors into a single-output stream.

This high-speed/low-noise mode does not increase in the clock frequency of the camera itself, keeping clock noise to a minimum. Each sensor has 1024 x 768 pixel resolution and 8 or 10 bit pixel depth. The camera features two configurable Camera Link outputs, allowing single-cable operation or separate cables for each channel. Other features include partial scanning and vertical binning capabilities, as well as analogue-video output to support auto-iris lenses.

Power Systems Offers Aircraft Frequency Converters

The EF 40 Series of frequency converters has been introduced by Power Systems International to coincide with the Inter Airport exhibition in Munich. This range of frequency converters is designed for aircraft ground power applications, for outdoors point-of-use installations at aircraft parking stands, in maintenance hangars or in avionics workshops, in aircraft manufacture and for training simulators.

The product utilises power conversion switching technology to provide all types of aircraft with 400Hz power security at exactly the place where it is needed as a more cost-effective and flexible alternative to the restrictive centralised 400Hz systems found at many older airports. The EF 40 frequency converters are supplied with 115V single-phase output up to 15kVA and from 10kVA to 10kVA with 200V three-phase output. The basic mechanical construction is in vertical format with ingress protection IP31 or IP41.

For outdoors use in IP54 enclosures, there is a horizontal version available for mounting on a mobile trolley, trailer or floor stands. The EF series of frequency converters has a high power factor of 0.98 with a low harmonics input stage. The standard output of the frequency converter is via a circuit breaker for indoor use with optional contactors for outdoor use and can be delivered with a single output or dual output and supplied with flexible cables fitted with standard or custom-designed aircraft connectors.

Optional features include: supplementary metering; 50Hz or 60Hz input frequency; an output contactor with an interlocking 15m flexible cable with aircraft connector; no-break power transfer to aircraft service; remote monitoring by interface PCB RS485; remote monitoring by computer; a second output contactor and interface; ingress protection to IP54; line drop compensation; trolley converters 45kVA and 90kVA; and special paint colours and finishes.

Objet Geometries has released a digital material pack that allows manufacturers and designers to create parts and models for product-design testing, simulation and validation. The offering is available exclusively on the Connex350 and Connex500 – 3D printers capable of simultaneously printing multiple materials with different mechanical and physical properties.

The pack provides 3D printing users with 18 materials comprised of combinations of VeroWhite and TangoPlus or TangoBlack Plus, the latest addition to the Tango range. The materials encompass the full Shore A hardness scale (from 27 to 95), characterising a range of rubber/elastomer-based products.

With these materials, Connex users can print parts, such as wires and cables, grips and handles, plugs and connections, shock absorbers, function buttons, gaskets and seals, among other rubber applications. The rigid materials simulate the strength and toughness of products made of such standard plastics as PP, LDPE, HDPE, PVC and PS. Up to 11 different rigid and flexible materials can be combined in a single part in one build.

Softinway is offering an intensive course on turbomachinery design that will take place in Singapore on 15-19 December. Axial Turbine Fundamentals (15-16 December) is a comprehensive overview of steam and gas turbine basics, including turbine designs and cycles, initial turbine sizing, multistage turbines, turbine calculation, design and off-design operating modes, profiling and 3D blade design.

The course is dedicated to engineers who want to acquire a more detailed knowledge of thermodynamics, gas dynamics, structural analysis and basics of axial turbines and their elements. Axstream Interactive Workshop on Turbomachinery Flow Path Design and Optimisation (17-19 December) includes a track customised to participants’ interests (axial and radial turbomachinery, axial turbine, axial compressor, radial turbine, centrifugal compressor and retrofitting, and performance upgrades).

The training contents include: turbomachinery design theory and the use of axstream in engineering practice; axial and radial turbomachinery: design characteristics and basic parameters; design of an optimised flow path from preliminary design to generation of 3D blade profiles; innovative approaches to multidisciplinary analysis; and practice: creation of an original turbomachinery flow path.

SGS Colombia SA has performed storage tank inspections for the expansion of the Cartagena Refinery. SGS was responsible for the inspection of floating-roof and conical-roof tanks with sizes between 20,000 and 130,000 barrels. In terms of the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Services for storage tanks, the inspection carried out by SGS Colombia included the evaluation of tank bottoms and roofs, as well as tank shells.

For the inspection of tank bottoms and roofs, SGS inspectors used Ultrasonic Testing (UT) methods, such as B Scan and C Scan, in order to detect corrosion. B Scan provides a cross-sectional image of the material and detects material thinning that is caused by corrosion in the inside of tank walls. The C Scan is able to make cross-sectional images and identify failures of items located underground.

For the assessment of the wall thickness of tank shells, SGS used an ultrasonic crawler, a tool designed to take ultrasound thickness measurements on above-ground ferromagnetic structures, without the need for scaffolding or industrial rope access. The SGS inspection services were carried out in accordance with applicable health, safety and environment requirements, as well as to the API 653 Programme.