EXTENDED LIFE ELBOW CASE STUDY
THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR NEW EXTENDED LIFE ELBOW
Valmet sand foundry in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has been an Ultra Tech customer for over five years. Pneumatic sand transport is one of the most difficult applications for any pipeline system. It involves abrasive material moving at high speed, which creates both sliding and impact wear. Ultra Tech successfully converted numerous sections of Valmet’s foundry sands pipeline to UT 600 AR steel pipes, resulting in significantly improved durability and cost savings. CUSTOMER – VALMET
Optional rotating, reusable flange
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Despite the overall successful pipe conversions, there remained a few short, 90-degree elbows where our UT 600 could not be installed. This is because it is not possible to form an induction- hardened pipe into a short, 90-degree bend.
The Ultra Tech R&D team decided to tackle the problem with a new solution. Through research and internal testing in our state-of- the-art Metallurgical Lab, we identified a steel chemistry with high manganese content as the ideal starting material. The benefit of this steel chemistry is that it actually hardens over time as it absorbs impact! Our engineering team designed a 90-degree bend that fits within most existing Schedule 80 pipeline layouts, but it is cast with maximum wall thickness on the extrados of the pipe to improve durability where needed most. When paired with standard 150# split flanges for easy installation and reusability, the new 4” Ultra Tech XLE (extended life elbow) was ready for field testing.
Tested & inspected
Ultra Tech XLE was installed at Valmet at the top of their silo pipeline that receives sand deliveries. It was in place for a full year and transported over 4 million pounds of sand! When inspected at the one-year mark, it still had over half of its wall thickness in place. Ultra Tech is excited to bring this product to market in 3”, 4”, 5” and 6”, Schedule 80 sizes. RESULTS
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