JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012 - 39

standard (“General recommendations for components used in wastewater disposal systems, water service systems and free-flow sewer systems”). - The products are manufactured in European plants that are ISO 14001 and ISO 9001-2008 certified, and the pipes have a minimum stiffness of SN 10,000 N/m². - The couplings are type PN 1 to 6 and come with EPDM gaskets that cover the entire inner surface in contact with the effluent. - The pipes and fittings are compliant with the NF EN 14364 standard. - The pipes and fittings have a highly corrosion-resistant inner layer made of pure resin at least 1000 μm thick. - The standard unit lengths for the pipes are 3 and 6 metres. The pipes are delivered from the plant with a pre-mounted FWC coupling, and are uniformly light-coloured on the inside to facilitate future operation.

Fig.1: From outer core to center: Outer protective layer (resin + sand). 2. Outer reinforcing layer (glass fibre and polyester resin). 3. Transitional layer (glass fibre, polyester resin and sand). 4. Stiffness layer (sand, glass fibre, polyester). 5. Transitional layer. 6. Inner reinforcing layer. 7. Inner protective layer (liner). 8. Pure resin liner at least 1 mm thick.

Centrifugal casting process
The pipes are manufactured using a centrifugal casting process (Class C in compliance with the NF T 57-200 standard) that can be used to produce a range of pipes from DN 150 to DN 3600. The raw materials are fed into a rotating mould. The machines are controlled by a computer, so the manufacturing process can be customized for the specific requirements of the projected pipe use, with perfect reproducibility of the products. The pipes are manufactured in 6-metre unit lengths and then cut to the desired length, usually 1, 2 or 3 metres or other submultiples. The necessary fittings are manufactured in a plant using various technologies and have the same characteristics and properties as the pipes.

polyester-based matrix that has a high elongation under load, an embedded reinforcement of chopped glassfibre stands, an inner protective layer that can be adapted for the type of corrosion associated with the specific effluent, and various additives: quartz sand, pigments. As shown in the Fig.1, this gives a structure with a variable composition.

Joints for every scenario
The pipes are assembled using premounted FWC couplings. The couplings are filament wound on ribbed EPDM rings. The EPDM rings have two symmetrical sealing lips (a single asymmetrical lip for PN 1 pipes) and cover the entire length of the coupling. The joints are compliant with

Feature Construction

Structure with variable composition
The pipes are made of glassfibrereinforced polyester (GRP), a composite material composed of a

Fig.2: FWC PN 6 couplings

No77 December 2012 /

jec composites magazine 39

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #77 - December 2012