Blog Category: PIPING TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Figure Conversion Chart on the Web
September 15, 1998

PT&P’s World Wide Web site will soon host another valuable technical resource for engineers around the world. A figure number conversion tool will allow engineers to enter alternative figure numbers (Grinnell and others) and find matching PT&P figure numbers.Engineers are encouraged to replace alternative figure numbers with corresponding PT&P figure numbers in their technical specifications.  Look for the PT&P Figure Conversion Tool online at our web site.

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Pipe Support News
October 24, 1997

News from Quality Control
PT&P’s QC Manager, has lead several testing efforts including three at cryogenic temperatures. Two of these tested coils in springs, the other tested an anchor for cryogenic pipelines. Tests on aluminum travel stops proved successful and these are a new PT&P standard. Other new standard procedures cover bonding processes.

QC Manager Testing an Expansion Joint
QC Manager Testing an Expansion Joint

The picture at left shows PT&P’s QC Manager as he is preparing to test the pressure capability of a 4″-150 lb. rated metal expansion joint unit. The unit is sealed and gauged as air is introduced through a fitting on the top blind flange. As a pump supplies air, the gauges indicate how much pressure the unit is experiencing.

Big Pipe Spools

Pipe Spools
Pipe Spools

This photo shows a few of the spools loaded on a truck going to the port of Houston. These were fabricated by SWECO for a major Houston E&C firm for their project in Trinidad.

Big Pig Launcher

Pig Launcher
Pig Launcher

Shown in this photograph is a pipeline pig launcher-receiver fabricated by the SWECO FAB Division of Piping Technology. Our client supplied this one to a British Petroleum project in Columbia. These special “pressure vessels” are a SWECO specialty.

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WHK Historical Research Completes PT&P's History
October 17, 1997

Dr. William Kellar of WHK was the Project Historian for a team which prepared archives and a book covering the first twenty years, 1978-1997, history of PT&P. Dr. Joseph Pratt of the University of Houston served as Project Editor. Kellar conducted extensive interviews with current and former customers and employees and lead the effort of sorting through the many documents, photographs and stories about experiences many of us shared. PT&P will publish the book in 1998. A big “thank you” to Bill and all who contributed to this project. Happy reading to all!

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PT&P Collaborates on PDS Software
October 4, 1997

Piping Technology & Products is collaborating with other sponsors to create a pipe support module for an industry leading plant design software package, PDS. The concept for the pipe support module was developed by another company, and PT&P became involved in August 1997.

Programming has been added which will enable users of PDS to easily integrate PT&P pipe supports and hardware components with their PDS models. To prepare for the project, PT&P has participated in 4 weeks of training at Intergraph’s site in Huntsville, AL learning the PDS system and the EDEN programming language.

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PT&P Establishes a Plus Agreement
September 4, 1997

The photo (below) shows PT&P’s Engineering Manager, Anthony Palisch, accepting a plaque while Randy Bailey (left) and Durga Agrawal (right) look on.

Accepting a Plaque
Accepting a Plaque

The plaque states “In an effort to demonstrate the unified pursuit of quality and cost reduction through a long term relationship, this agreement is established with Piping Technology and Products. The mutual goal… is to achieve a high standard of excellence in both product and service to our clients through innovative work processes and shared cooperative effort.” Piping Technology was the first vendor selected for this recognition.

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PT&P Acquires U.S. Bellows, Inc.
September 1, 1997

In July of 1997, Piping Technology & Products, Inc. acquired U.S. Bellows, Inc. from Ketema Process Equipment in California. As a part of the purchase, PT&P acquired all U.S. Bellows manufacturing equipment, all design and technical software, and the company’s historical files. During the month of July, PT&P personnel worked hard to move the manufacturing equipment from California to Houston. As a part of the transition, former U.S. Bellows engineers conducted a one-week training session at PT&P’s facility in Houston.

U.S. Bellows, Inc. has been servicing the industry since the 1960s and has a long history as a reliable expansion joint manufacturer. U.S. Bellows, Inc. will now operate as a division of Piping Technology & Products from our facility in Houston. U.S. Bellows will continue to offer the same expertise in expansion joint design, production, and customer service that has always been the PT&P trademark.

PT&P acquired R.M. Engineered Products metal expansion joint business in 1995 and relocated that equipment to our 15 acre manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas. The R.M. Engineered Products equipment and the newly acquired U.S. Bellows operating machinery combine to make U.S. Bellows and Piping Technology & Products among the most capable expansion joint/metallic bellows manufacturers in the world.

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Valuable Ideas Come From Customers
August 17, 1996

One of the “success stories” of Houston businesses during 1996 is Continental Airlines. In their March 1996 magazine Chairman Gordon Bethune credited Continental’s customers in an article titled Thanks for your Ideas. This article struck a cord with our President, Durga Agrawal, and we began to review the many ideas for improvement at Piping Technology that came from our customers. Here are some examples of ideas for improvements which help make us so competitive.

The most recent suggestion came from an engineer at Tippet & Gee for an improvement to figures 700 through 1200, pipe shoes with slide plates. If the web is cut so that the center of the web is taken up to the surface of the pipe, any bending movement produced by overloading which might cause deflection to the slide plate will be prevented. This is a simple but elegant solution which is inexpensive to fabricate.

Some improvements to our constants suggested by customers include: a full size travel scale which allows field engineers to observe actual movement of supported pipes in the field (Bechtel engineer working with Houston Lighting & Power); addition of scales for field adjustment of loads (HL&P engineer); the use of DU bearings to hold stainless steel pins eliminating any failure of this component during the life of the constant and eliminating any need of lubrication of the bearing (Brown & Root engineer).

For many years the fine companies who provide us with galvanizing services have experienced problems with the many small pieces we send to them. (They get lost in the bottom of the vats required for large structural steel.) A customer suggested we combine small parts in some way. This lead to the idea of drilling holes and wiring many small pieces together. While adding some cost to the process, this has significantly reduced the number of parts “lost at the galvanizer” and has improved our ability to deliver on time. Like Continental, we here at PT&P say, “Thanks for your ideas!”

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Testing Proves Spring Coils Will Function In a Hot Environment
August 15, 1996

An engineer with a major Houston E&C firm had concerns about the effect the temperatures in the furnace his company was designing would have on the coils in the spring supports used to support the tubing. PT&P engineers put the same question to the major suppliers of coils in the U.S.A. No one seemed to have the data to prove the coils would withstand the temperatures. The E&C firm included a requirement to test for relaxation of the coils with their purchase order to PT&P.

A random sample of coils of the size required was selected from PT&P’s inventory. The loads required to compress the coils through ten inches of travel were recorded and the coils were placed in a furnace at a controlled temperature of 176 degrees F for forty-eight hours. After the coils were cooled they were again compressed. No difference in the loads required was observed.

We did not expect any relaxation of the coils, but it was nice to have the experimental data to back our judgment.

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PT&P Facts
July 10, 1996

“Like a Rock” Polyurethane Blocks
Chevrolet uses the phrase “Like a Rock” to advertise their pick-up trucks. PT&P recently produced some polyurethane blocks for a major E&C customer to their specification of 2,000 pound compressive strength as measured by ASTM D1621 tests. Our supplier produced a special chemical blend for a nominal density of 38 pounds/cubic foot and PT&P built special molds to satisfy this “Like a Rock” requirement for the Gulf Coast ethylene plant.

PT&P Technical Team Goes to Algeria
In March, PT&P sent a technical team to a LNG facility near Skikda, Algeria to provide assistance on pipe support replacement for the GL1K project. This large facility has several units that have operated for more than twenty years. Our team examined the units and recommended replacement of cryogenic and spring supports. Since travel in Algeria is subject to heavy restriction, our team had to fly from Tarbarka, Tunisia by helicopter to and from the job site. The trip lasted about two weeks.

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News Bits From Other Publications
July 2, 1996

The Nov.-Dec. issue of World Cogeneration reports that Westinghouse Electric received a $15 million contract to provide full-scope operation and maintenance to the Bellingham Carbon Dioxide Recovery facility in Bellingham, MA. They also provide O&M services to the three-hundred megawatt co-generation plant next door. Piping Technology fabricated the large ducts which connect the two facilities when Fluor Daniel did the original construction.

The Dec. 11, 1995 issue of ENR has an article (and pictures) about the 240 MW co-generation plant in Crockett, CA built by Bechtel Power. This was the first project that Piping Technology supplied to Bechtel under their new MPA agreement with selected vendors. The article explains the unique problems associated with building a facility this large on their 2.6 acre site and the necessity to add penalty clauses to all supplier contracts to help meet their schedule. For pipe supports they also added extra crating requirements to minimize the chance of damage during shipment which might delay construction. Bechtel was pleased with PT&P’s performance on this challenging project.

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