Large Diameter Pipe for Water Circulating Project

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The photo shows one of many large diameter pipe spools for a circulating water project. We worked closely with the customer’s installation contractor to meet their delivery needs. The jobsite had limited laydown area and to transport each pipe multiple times onsite was not economical or efficient. We staged pipe at our facility and held a strict production schedule to ship just in time.

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Fiberglass reinforced composite resin “fiberglass pipe” has several benefits over traditional
ductile iron, concrete, thermoplastics and vitrified clay systems:

  • lightweight and easy to handle compared to other materials.
  • excellent chemical resistant in corrosive environments.
  • high strength.
  • very low Fluid flow resistance
  • long life and durability

Fiberglass pipe is lightweight compared to ductile iron, concrete and vitrified clay. It can be easily moved into place during installation. Fiberglass pipe can be made with many different types of resin to meet the particular corrosive environments needed. Fiberglass welded joints have long wear compared to vitrified clay and concrete which may crack and be susceptible to chemical attack. Another benefit is that fiberglass pipe has a high strength ratio compared to thermoplastics. Lastly it has a very low Hazen-Williams Coefficient compared to steel and concrete. In some applications pump size can be reduced which reduces power consumption with money savings in yearly operating costs.

When you need fiberglass piping for your water circulating and waste water needs, call us here at Beetle Plastics to see how we can deliver a custom solution.

FRP Pipe Testing using a Vacuum

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Have you ever wondered what would happen to a 26″ diameter pipe in a vacuum? Well, we have and because we’re always looking for ways to make our products better, we found out.

We performed vacuum testing on a 26″ diameter pipe to study the effects of fiberglass pipe when subjected to a vacuum condition. The test performed was in accordance with ASTM D2924 and allowed us to determine the vacuum required to cause failure as well as the ultimate failure for analysis. With some outside of the box thinking our engineering was able to set up the test so that the inside of the pipe could be seen throughout the test. What was going on inside the pipe when exposed to a vacuum condition was one of those interesting things that we could not visualize, so we found a way to watch it. The results of the testing provided us important data about our product that can be utilized by our engineering and design personnel and contribute to the continuous product improvement at Beetle Plastics.

The ASTM Test D2924 was conducted on a 26” Diameter Pipe to determine the vacuum required to cause failure mode, and ultimate failure for analysis. The results of the test showed the failure mode was cracking along the lateral line of the inside of the pipe, however the outer wall of the pipe had no visible damage.