Hydrostatic pipe machine to test beyond
the standard API grades
Vallourec, world’s leading company in
tubular solutions, and Fives, an international
engineering group, commissioned an
innovative hydrostatic pipe tester at the
Vallourec’s plant in Düsseldorf-Rath (Germany).
This technically demanding machine will push
the limits of small batch processing while still
providing the highest quality and flexibility. This
machine is also designed to facilitate maintenance
and quick tool change.
Pipe testing machines at tube plants aim to
reduce delays on the finishing floor during the
testing phase. The test hold time is varied to suit
the specific standard to which the pipe is being
tested. Fives has been specializing in engineering
hydrostatic pipe testing machines under the brand
Taylor-Wilson since 1911, having supplied more
than 49 of hydrotesters, leak testers and collapse
testers worldwide.
The Taylor-Wilson hydrostatic pipe testing
machines were the first to address alternative
pressures that the American Petroleum Institute
(API) implemented to deal with the ever-changing
demands in drilling for oil in deeper and harder to
find areas throughout the world.
The Taylor-Wilson machines are capable of testing
tube and pipe with O.D. from less than 25mm to
over 660mm. Designs can accommodate plain end
or square cuts, API line pipe ends, threaded and
coupled ends, mill sawed or pierced ends.
To test beyond the standard API grades
The hydrostatic pipe tester designed and supplied
to Düsseldorf-Rath plant has the ability to test
beyond the standard API grades, and is capable
of testing up to premium Cr13 pipes at over 1250
bar (18,130 PSI). With a maximum diameter of
406.4mm (16”) and a heavy wall thickness up to
50mm (1.97”) the end load of 8,944 kN (2,010,620
pounds) is one of the highest Fives has ever
manufactured.
TN October 2016
Fives has already supplied more than 10
straightening lines to different Vallourec’s plants in
the past ten years, showing the trust they have in
Fives and their confidence in the technology and
equipment.
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