TPi July 2015

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44 Tube Products International July 2015
products & developments
Freeze sealing for pipe repairs
The Pipestoppers division of
Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT)
has introduced two new product ranges
– Qwik-Freezer® and Accu-Freeze®
systems – for making repairs to pipes
with fluid inside.
Freeze sealing is an increasingly
popular alternative to ‘hot-tapping’, and
eliminates the need to shut down or drain
a system for repairs and maintenance.
The systems work by creating ice plugs
(or ‘freeze seals’), either upstream of
the repair site or on either side of an
area where a pipe system needs to be
maintained, for example where a valve
has to be replaced, a section of pipe
needs to be cut out, or a leak has to
be fixed.
The Qwik-Freezer system uses liquid
carbon dioxide and a series of insulated
freeze jackets to wrap around the pipes
to freeze the contents inside the jacket.
The system is quick and easy to use,
requiring almost no set-up time. It
is claimed to be the only CO2 pipe-
freezing system capable of freezing up
to 8" pipe.
Accu-Freeze uses liquid nitrogen with
either copper coils wound around
the pipe or with aluminium clamshell-
style LN2 freeze jackets that are bolted
together around the pipe. The primary
advantages of this system include the
i
n
p
freeze process.
The LN2 injections are automated,
which reduces the operator’s workload
and reduces the amount of LN2 that
is consumed. The system can also be
operated remotely, making it suitable
nside ‘hot’ nuclear areas where
l exposure must be kept below
imits.
Huntingdon Fusion Techniques – UK
Developments in cutting and bevelling
The E-Z Fab is an innovative
development in workshop-based, semi-
portable, self-centring, semi-automated
cutting and bevelling systems, offering
high pipe cutting and bevelling speed,
range and capacity. Seven models
enable the TAG E-Z Fab to cover a
range of ½" to 30" pipe.
TAG’s split-frame toolboxes are bolted to
a rotating ring on the E-Z Fab machine.
Due to the rigidity of the frame and the
strength of the ring, these toolboxes,
fitted with TAG HS HD tooling, can be
rotated around the contour of the pipe
at high speed (up to 35 rpm), and are
fed into the cut on every rotation by
a striker system, feeding the tooling
down a thread via a gear-controlled
transmission slide.
As an example, 6" carbon steel with
22mm wall thickness can be set up,
cut and bevelled in six minutes and
34 seconds. Pipe is loaded into the
machine and clamped in seconds by a
rapid self-centring jaw system. Power
is delivered from a new single-phase
1.75kW NC-controlled servo motor that
delivers power and torque, even under
heavy load, enabling uninterrupted
cutting and bevelling. The system can be
coupled with TAG’s new programmable
Delta touch screen control.
The Delta NC control delivers a signal
to the servo motor according to the
operator’s touch screen instruction.
Pulse (jog), start/stop and soft start
features are incorporated into all modes,
allowing tool set-up and final checks of
tool positioning to be made.
TAG Pipe Equipment Specialists – UK
TAG’s E-Z Fab pipe bevelling machine