TPi July 2015

products & developments Freeze sealing for pipe repairs

The Pipestoppers division of Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT) has introduced two new product ranges – Qwik-Freezer ® and Accu-Freeze ® systems – for making repairs to pipes with fluid inside. Freeze sealing is an increasingly popular alternative to ‘hot-tapping’, and eliminates the need to shut down or drain a system for repairs and maintenance. The systems work by creating ice plugs (or ‘freeze seals’), either upstream of the repair site or on either side of an area where a pipe system needs to be maintained, for example where a valve has to be replaced, a section of pipe needs to be cut out, or a leak has to be fixed. The Qwik-Freezer system uses liquid carbon dioxide and a series of insulated freeze jackets to wrap around the pipes to freeze the contents inside the jacket. The system is quick and easy to use, requiring almost no set-up time. It is claimed to be the only CO 2 pipe- freezing system capable of freezing up to 8" pipe. Accu-Freeze uses liquid nitrogen with either copper coils wound around the pipe or with aluminium clamshell-

style LN 2 freeze jackets that are bolted together around the pipe. The primary advantages of this system include the increased freezing capability of liquid nitrogen, and the ability to control the pipe wall temperature throughout the freeze process.

and reduces the amount of LN 2 that is consumed. The system can also be operated remotely, making it suitable for use inside ‘hot’ nuclear areas where personal exposure must be kept below certain limits. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques – UK hft@huntingdonfusion.com www.huntingdonfusion.com cut and bevelled in six minutes and 34 seconds. Pipe is loaded into the machine and clamped in seconds by a rapid self-centring jaw system. Power is delivered from a new single-phase 1.75kW NC-controlled servo motor that delivers power and torque, even under heavy load, enabling uninterrupted cutting and bevelling. The system can be coupled with TAG’s new programmable Delta touch screen control. The Delta NC control delivers a signal to the servo motor according to the operator’s touch screen instruction. Pulse (jog), start/stop and soft start features are incorporated into all modes, allowing tool set-up and final checks of tool positioning to be made. TAG Pipe Equipment Specialists – UK sales@tag-pipe.com www.tag-pipe.com

The LN 2 injections are automated, which reduces the operator’s workload

Developments in cutting and bevelling The E-Z Fab is an innovative development in workshop-based, semi- portable, self-centring, semi-automated cutting and bevelling systems, offering high pipe cutting and bevelling speed, range and capacity. Seven models enable the TAG E-Z Fab to cover a range of ½" to 30" pipe.

TAG’s split-frame toolboxes are bolted to a rotating ring on the E-Z Fab machine. Due to the rigidity of the frame and the strength of the ring, these toolboxes, fitted with TAG HS HD tooling, can be rotated around the contour of the pipe at high speed (up to 35 rpm), and are fed into the cut on every rotation by a striker system, feeding the tooling down a thread via a gear-controlled transmission slide.

As an example, 6" carbon steel with 22mm wall thickness can be set up,

TAG’s E-Z Fab pipe bevelling machine

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Tube Products International July 2015

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