Ultra-Blue PVC Pipe: Molecular Oriented for Improved Strength & Design

[Ivan Seeking]

PVC (MO) stands for Molecular Oriented Poly(Vinyl Chloride).The process of molecular orientation has long been used to strengthen many materials. Ultra-Blue is manufactured by a process that reorients the molecules of conventionally extruded PVC pipe. The pipe, approximately half the diameter and twice the wall thickness of the finished Ultra-Blue product, is placed inside a mold sized to the proper outside diameter of the finished product. The temperature of the pipe is raised to the appropriate level for expansion and internal pressure is applied. This internal pressure causes the pipe to uniformly expand to the inside dimensions of the mold. The mold is designed so that during the process, the bell and gasket groove are also formed, producing a high quality bell. During the pipe expansion process, the molecular orientation is changed and the physical properties of the finished pipe product are established.

Improvements in design and physical properties include:

Non-Corroding
Ductile Iron Pipe O.D.
Larger I.D. than Ductile Iron and Convential PVC
Lighter weight than Ductile Iron and Convential PVC
Higher Impact Strength
Greater Cyclic and Hoop Strength
Higher Design Stress
Superior Notch Resistance
One of the Safest and Easiest Pressure Pipes to Tap
Thicker Walls than all PC 350 and Special Thickness

http://www.jmeagle.com/plastic-pipe/pvc-pipe/ultra%20blue.html

This is a product that I helped to develop. The expansion process is terribly tricky but we finally nailed it!

It always gives me a thrill to see these things hit the market.

 

[Integral]

Is it true that after they got your bill they had to double the price of their product?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Is it true that after they got your bill they had to double the price of their product?

No, but I wasn't nearly as popular!

As Integral knows, at one point I was paid to sit and watch movies in my hotel room for a week. They were stuck, and I was way behind on my movies. And then it still took another five weeks. But, considering that they had made no progress in the six months before I got there... I was crying all the way to the bank.

 

[berkeman]

Pretty cool, Ivan. Props to you for pushing them along and helping to make it possible.

 

[FredGarvin]

Congrats on the achievement. It's always a great thing to be on the ground floor with a product (even if, at the time, it's not so fun).

I'll have to keep this material in the brain bucket.

 

[chemisttree]

Similar to the way that PET is strain hardened? No doubt the crystallinity is much higher after the process. Have they tested it for slow crack growth?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Thanks guys. It was a pretty big deal. By the time I walked in, the plant manager, engineering director et al literally had their heads on the chopping block. The pressure doesn't get much worse.

Similar to the way that PET is strain hardened?

I couldn't say. We go to the glass transition temperature and then a little, stretch and expand at precise rates using a specific tension and internal pressure, expand to a certain external pressure, maintain for a fixed time, then cool at a precise rate. The diameter, wall thickness, molecular orientation, roundness etc., all happen in one move. I can tell you that every piece of equipment was running at the absolute limit of precision possible for the technology. We barely made it - about 0.5% error max on any system.

No doubt the crystallinity is much higher after the process. Have they tested it for slow crack growth?

I was not aware of any issues here. Exposure to temps greater than about 130 or 140 something degrees F can cause it to shrink back to the original size. And some chemicals can be a problem...I think acetone was one of them.

The stuff is incredibly hard and strong. One guy took a whack with a hammer expecting to break it like the regular pipe, but the pipe didn't break, and the hammer bounced back so hard that he took it in the head and nearly knocked himself out!

Berkeman, you will likely appreciate this: The system was so tight that we found a math error in the AB processor. It was so small that no one had ever noticed before. There was a firmware revision with my name on it.

One other note: Almost as soon as we got it working, the company, PW Eagle, formerly PW Pipe, was sold to a foreign company.

 

[Astronuc]

Very cool Ivan! Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[pdguevara]

Intersted in MOPVC Technology

Ivan, i just saw your post about MOPVC. Do you still are in connection with people of the Eagle company or you just have been contact for this problem that they have only? I work for a pipe manufacturer myself and we are strugling with this process for more than 3 month. Are you interested in share your knowlegde? Thank you and i hope i can get in touch with you. If you are interested i can go a meet you in USA...priv msg me

Thank you