Project news: Large diameter PP system - July 2006

This above ground piping project involved the design and installation of a polypropylene pipeline to transfer CO2 at very low pressures. The difficult pipe route ran for over 2km and incorporated more than 2000 pipe welds.

The project involved the installation of 560mm diameter SDR 28 polypropylene pipe, together with a large quantity of fabricated bends, flanges and numerous specially manufactured parts. IPS also supplied the CNC controlled WIDOS 6100 welding machines that were used to carry out the site installation.

A unique challenge for the project was to devise a method to control the expansion and contraction of this single complex pipe run over such a long length. Installed outdoors, the wide ambient temperature conditions accompanied by the heating effects of UV created difficult conditions.
Using specially designed anchor fittings installed at pre-determined points, the forces caused by the expansion and contraction were effectively dissipated into the anchor mountings. As a result the entire system was installed without the need to use traditional expansion loops to control the thermal movements.