The Series is an economical solution that couples similar or dissimilar water or wastewater plain-end pipes together while also providing restraint to the coupled pipe joints. It consists of a coupling body with Mechanical Joint gasket cavities, two MEGALUG® Mechanical Joint Restraints, two EBAA-SEAL® Improved Mechanical Joint Gaskets* and an array of double ended thrust rods.
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DI being installed on 54-inch Ductile Iron Pipe
While there are many couplings on the market, very few are designed to be restrained. Typically, most choices for restraining a coupling required the use of an unrestrained coupling then harness up and over which can be cumbersome or utilize Mechanical Joint (MJ) restraints on a ductile iron fitting such as a MJ by MJ Cut in Sleeve. Also, many other “restrained” couplings on the market are limited in size or pipe material they can grip. Neither of these solutions are quick to install or economical. With the demand increasing for restrained couplings EBAA IRON setout to develop what would become the Series MEGA-COUPLING. A way to not only couple but also restrain pipelines against the forces generated by the hydrostatic pressure.
The Series can couple and restrain the following pipe types and sizes:
The has a minimum safety factor of 2 to 1 and is constructed of:
The coupling also meets or exceeds the applicable requirements of:
For Nominal Pipe Sizes 4 inch through 12 inch the Series MEGA-COUPLING utilizes a common restraint ring for Ductile Iron Pipe (DIP), C900-16 PVC Pipe, ASTM D PVC Pipe (IPS), Carbon Steel Pipe, and HDPE Pipe (with internal pipe wall stiffener for HDPE). The only item that needs to be specified during the order process for 4 inch through 12 inch is what type of gasket is required for joint assembly for the various pipe O.D.’s:
For Nominal Pipe sizes 14 inch and above the Series MEGA-COUPLING utilizes the Series MEGALUG® restraint on DIP and the Series PV MEGALUG restraint on C900-16 PVC. Since the O.D. of both DIP and C900-16 PVC is the same, the EBAA-SEAL™ Improved Mechanical Joint Gasket is provided.
*Transition Gaskets are available for pipe with ASTM D O.D.
**HDPE pipe with C900 or DI Pipe O.D. and requires an internal pipe wall stiffener.
Good Question! Today's Iron Strong Blog answers it. At first glance, you might think longer lengths mean fewer joints, and that has got to be better. So why don't all manufacturers make longer pipe? This perceived advantage is really a myth and we will look at that in a minute. In fact, there are more Ductile iron pipe plants in North America that manufacture 18-foot length pipe either entirely or as a significant portion of their product mix.
And don't get me started on the poly/welded steel pipe because, yes, those are joints, and yes, they can leak and separate if not appropriately assembled – it does happen. Besides, those joints often take longer to make up than it takes to dig the trench to lay the pipe! But let’s first talk about why you would need or want longer or shorter lengths of pipe.
What is true is that pipelines are more often composed of many curves, particularly in residential areas. In , residential community construction and development changed forever with the beginning of Levittown, NY. Levittown is most often credited with being the first residential planned community in North America. Its curved residential street design is carried on today throughout Canada and the United States.
Want more information on Ductile Iron Flexible Coupling? Feel free to contact us.
Often, these curves can be accommodated by using 18-foot lengths, eliminating the need for costly fittings and associated installation costs. Not only must you pay for the extra fittings but also the additional joint restraints, labor, and lost time.
You can calculate the radius McWane Ductile 18-foot lengths can make by using the McWane Pocket Engineer: https://pe.mcwane.com/groups/ductile-iron-pipe/mcwane-ductile/calculators/radius
Shorter lengths are usually mostly preferred in urban situations. In fact, requests for shorter than 18-foot pipe are not unusual. Even though the old streets may be laid out straight in a grid-like fashion, urban environments are often congested underground with many other buried utilities making installing long pipe lengths difficult.
As can be seen, long lengths would be detrimental to deal with in these crowded urban situations, but even outside urban centers, the underground environment is getting more crowded.
Rural areas are not immune to the problem of existing utilities, either. There are often drainage issues in or along roads that pipelines must curve around or under. These rural scenarios are another area where 18-foot lengths can save utilities and installers time and money. In these cases, the reduction of eight joints, eight joint restraints, and the time and money to install all of that besides cutting pipe to fit can often be obtained using 18-foot pipe.
Another factor affecting pipe installation and the benefit of 18-foot length pipe is construction zone width limitations. Occasionally, pipeline installations are required along roads and streets that necessitate the maintenance of traffic flow. While the difference of 2 feet may not seem much, it could be significant in a situation with limited swing space. Standard road lane widths are 8 to 10 feet and shoulders, when present, narrower. Combined with equipment width and lane isolation requirements, traffic safety could dictate using shorter lengths versus undesirable and more expensive temporary traffic closures requiring flaggers, police details, and barriers.
Speaking of Safety, most pipe installations now require the use of trench shoring of some type. Often this shoring is accomplished via the use of trench boxes. An 18-foot length pipe doesn't require as long a box as 20-foot pipe. A smaller box is easier to move due to lighter weight, thereby speeding up installation while being less expensive to rent or buy, resulting in saving money while maintaining a safe installation environment. These safety and trench box issues are compounded on deep pipe installations.
Eighteen-foot length pipe is also better suited than longer lengths in wet trench installations. Often wet trench or high groundwater installations can be completed by running pumps instead of well-point systems. Still, longer trenches required for longer pipes may necessitate not only larger, more expensive, capacity pumps, but more of them. Moving the pumps and the extra cost of refueling and downtime during refueling may add additional costs not often considered.
Modern technology has also made 18-foot and even shorter length pipe more desirable. This is especially true in the arena of trenchless technologies, especially Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) installation. HDD installs have a curve-based profile by necessity. As previously discussed, 18-foot lengths, especially with high deflections available in some joints (up to 15), can accommodate a much tighter radius. This deflection capability could even make the difference between a doable project to a prohibitive project.
Check out McWane Ductile’s Pocket Engineer to use for calculating pipe curve geometry in HDD installations.
As these costs accumulate, the small margins installers work on can be eroded, making the project a losing proposition for an installer. No one wants that to happen as corner-cutting and disputes over extras arise due to poor product selection. Choosing the right product can make long term contributions to the installers as well as designers, and utilities. In some instances, a project might benefit from using even shorter than 18-foot lengths, so contact your local McWane Ductile Representative more information early in the design stages.
We have team members who have managed small and large water utility systems, served in engineering consulting firms, and bring decades of experience in solving field issues involving pipeline construction and operation. From design, to submittal, to installation, we strive to provide education and assistance to water professionals throughout the water and wastewater industry.
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