Continuous-Glass/Thermoplastic Wins Award in Composite Pressure Pipe

Celstran continuous-fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFR-TP) from Ticona, Florence, Ky., is used in the new Fiberflex-11 pressure pipe from Composite Fluid Transfer of Kilgore, Texas. The pipe recently won a JEC Americas 2013 innovation award in the Pipes & Water Management category. Sharing the award were Ticona, Composite Fluid Transfer, and Houston-based Valeron Strength Films, which supplies the protective outer wrap.

Fiberflex-11 pipe has 10.5-in. ID, 11.1-in. OD, and 250 psi operating-pressure rating. It incorporates Celstran continuous-glass reinforced HDPE tape, which is wound around an extruded thin-wall HDPE liner and consolidated with heat. A 30-ft section of the pipe weighs only 128 lb, easily lifted by two people in the field, while the same length of 12-in. HDPE SDR  9 pipe weighs 655 lb.

The pipe is designed for general water-transport infrastructure, including distribution systems, oil and gas operations, hydraulic fracturing operations, large irrigation systems, tank farm operations, and dewatering systems. The specific design of the pipe can be easily altered for larger diameters and to operate at higher pressures or temperatures, in tougher environments, and with any type of piping connections. For example, the burst pressure of the pipe can be increased as necessary from the current design level of 500 psi by varying the number of layers of Celstran tape applied to the HDPE liner.