Potable water pipe connections 5

[iainuts]

I've volunteered to work on a small, water distribution project in the Dominican Republic which will benefit the local community. One of the first goals is to install roughly 3000 feet of 4" pipe from a well to an open tank. Maximum pressure expected is only about 70 psi. The pipe will be steel, ductile iron is being proposed. I suspect galvanized steel or black iron may be considered as well. The pipe will be buried.

I'm very familiar with welded, flanged and other forms of pipe construction but I'm being told there's another, more simple method that might use some sort of mechanical joint similar to a Fernco coupling, but I gather these Fernco couplings are only intended for low pressure lines (less than 5 psi).

https://www.fernco.com/

Unfortunately, the dozen or so engineers who have volunteered for this work are not piping experts and my background is primarily industrial piping and I've never heard of anything like this kind of piping connection system.

Is there any other method of connecting steel piping for use at up to ~ 100 psi?

If there is no easy way to connect lengths of pipe, would PVC be a suitable solution?

 

[zdas04]

The first PVC pipe was mass produced in the 1970's. Around 40 years ago. I don't know if any of that pipe is still in the ground, but I know that none of it has demonstrated a 100 year life.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

 

[LittleInch]

Back to my PE pipe - this lot make SDR17 PE 100 pipe in 100m lengths. I can't believe other don't do the same,

http://www.gpsuk.com/range/44/excel-pe100-pipe-black.html

From another brochure of theirs a 110mm (equivalent to 4") is a reel 2.5m in internal, diameter, 3.1m external diameter, 570mm wide and weighs 206 kg. A fair size, but with enough men and women can be handled. For 3000 ft ~900m) this is only 9 joints. Just use an electo coupling which works off a car battery. I'm fairly sure you can get it in larger lengths and just tow it behind a 4 x 4 on a cable drum puller. something like this

http://www.globalpipe.de/news-redefining-installation-of-dn90-to-dn315mmhdpe-pipe

I endorse zdas04s concern over GRP and PVC. Great stuff in the right environment, but underground pipelines isn't it.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[jgailla]

I'm surprised that the pipeline engineers don't like PVC.
It is the preferred material for potable water distribution and sanitary sewer collection piping in the southeast US and in general throughout the US.
There are sometimes reasons to use other kinds of piping, but I think that more than 90% of the pipe I've specified is PVC.
I've looked into PVC use in the US and it appears to have a long lifespan when installed correctly.

 

[pumpingtips]

There is only one economic option to solve your piping material question. HDPE. High density polyethylene (or PE as some have been calling it). Buy it in long rolls for this diameter. Great life expectancy (100 years). Best part is it is mechanically tough. You can drive over it, hit it with hammer, drag it around with a vehicle, its light, cheap, throw a long length into a trench then bury it with whatever, doesnt corrode. You can use basic mechanical plastic couplings. It is used in the mining industry all over the world in a range of applications including your example. Talk to barricks Pueblo Viejo mine in DR and see if they can donate it!! Tell them you need you need at least a PN10 rating, 110 OD. Thats how HDPE pipe of this size will be designated (75, 90, 110, etc). Funny sizes but they use outside diameter instead of inside diameter.

A word of warning. Make sure you have done your homework on the design flow rate and let me know. We dont want too much friction loss for the 3000 foot length. The well pumps might over-pressurise the 110 line. Keep in touch and let me know what the flow rate and terrain profile looks like, or if you need help with a possible pipe material donor in DR.

 

[europipe]

I'm also with the HDPE camp.
The few welds You need can do with the very easy electroweld system.
It's just great.

 

[SDMAX]

A couple of years I looked at the Zap-Lok system for a short onshore oil line, that project did not go ahead, but it may be a system that would be suitable for your application. Since I looked at it, the company has been bought by NOV,

https://www.nov.com/Segments/Wellbo...pe/Line_Pipe_Connection_Systems/Zap-Lok.aspx,

they may have some information on materials/costs that you could use to price up your project.

This technology would only work with steel lines, I am not sure if it has been used with black or ductile iron.