26
Tube Products International July 2014
products & developments
Venturi effect ram pump
by Eng Luca Posca, Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA
Moving all kinds of water, wherever
necessary and in any quantity, but
without using electricity is a key
challenge in the world today. This is the
challenge that the UK company Papa
Ltd decided to accept by introducing
into the marketplace a new line of
Venturi valve pumps capable of moving
up to 20,000 litres of water per day,
without interruption, and with low cost
maintenance.
Based on its technical capability and
knowledge of historical metal pump
production, Papa further reviewed the
overall objectives with the design of a
much lighter, more practical and cost-
efficient range of pumps, ensuring
performance comparable to traditional
models in steel and bronze with a
minimum inlet flow rate of less than ten
litres per minute.
The new range of Papa pumps are also
designed for use in particularly stringent
applications such as agriculture, for
pumping polluted water in cases of
emergencies such as flooding, and
for the efficient management of water
storage.
Overall the pump is required to operate
even in the presence of very dirty and
contaminated water containing debris
such as sand and small particulates.
In addition to these difficult working
conditions it must be extremely reliable,
and the Papa pumps need to contribute
very quickly at very low running costs,
so ease of transport and assembly is
essential to the overall cost equation.
The combination of cost-efficiency and
ease of use allows the pumps access to
interesting but complex markets, such
as in developing countries, where the
need for water is associated with heavy
use conditions.
In order to develop an innovative product
meeting the project requirements, Papa
Ltd decided to abandon the use of
metal and instead adopt a polymer
compound route, not only ensuring
robustness and light weight, but also
a low environmental impact in line with
the company’s green aspirations.
Papa’s engineers focused their attention
on Latigloss 66 H2 G/50 F2 after
rejecting the option of using thermoset
materials and compounds, which are
robust but non-recyclable, and thus
environmentally unfriendly.
Manufactured on a Nylon PA66
matrix with 50 per cent glass fibre
reinforcement, Lati’s injection moulding
compound is formulated so as to ensure
excellent mechanical performance
combined with a lightweight advantage
over metals, thanks to a density
(1.57g/cm
3
) that is less than one fifth
that of steel and almost half that of
aluminium.
From a structural point of view, it should
be considered that the pressure inside
a pump exploiting the high hydraulic
pressure effect of water can reach very
high levels, but thanks to the stress
at break of Latigloss, which exceeds
2,000kg/cm
2
, all final testing and field
tests were successfully passed.
The use of such a high performance
compound was necessary to prevent
failures due not only to the internal
pressure of the pump assembly, but
also the possible mishandling of the
pump during assembly and operation.
Considering that it could be used in
locations such as mines, fields crossed
by tractors, and on farms, inherent
strength must be also associated
with resilience, which is obtained by
combining glass fibres with specially
selected thermoplastic matrices capable
of gaining impact resistance thanks to
the natural affinity of polyamide with
ambient humidity.
The pump reliability has to be
guaranteed even in the management
of polluted waters such as those in
urban streams, industrial reservoirs
or drains, and floodplains. In these
cases, the polymer matrix based on
polyamide 66 ensures maximum inertia
towards organic contaminants of all
kinds: hydrocarbons, oils and solvents,
sewage and other inorganic agents.
Latigloss 66 H2 G/50 F2 is also
designed for the transport of cold and
warm drinking water, as recognised
by all major certification bodies.
Certifications of suitability for contact
with drinking water issued by KTW,
NSF, ACS and WRAS can be found
on Lati’s website. Latigloss does not
release any harmful metallic pollutants
such as lead, zinc or copper into the
environment.
Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA
– Italy
Comprehensive inventory
of alloys
United Performance Metals is a
supplier of stainless steel, nickel,
cobalt, aluminium and titanium.
The company’s inventory of high
temperature, high strength and
corrosion resistant alloys includes
sheet, coil, strip, plate and near net
shapes that can be processed to
customers’ exact specifications using
its proprietary Firstcut+
®
services.
Headquartered in Hamilton, Ohio,
USA, United Performance Metals
maintains branches in La Mirada,
California, and Houston, Texas, as
well as sales and stocking locations
worldwide.
Speciality divisions of the company
include Plus Ten Stainless located in
Benicia, California, and Vulcanium in
Northbrook, Illinois.
United Performance Metals is one of
14 brands owned by O’Neal Industries,
Inc. With sales of approximately
$2.3bn in 2013, O’Neal Industries is
based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA,
and has more than 90 specialised
facilities throughout North America,
South America, Europe and Asia.
United Performance Metals
– USA
