Products - Fittings

What ranges and types of fittings are available?

A full range of injection moulded fittings is available in pipe sizes up to 500mm including: tees; elbows; reducers; branch connections; etc. Additionally fittings for specific applications can be fabricated in larger diameters from material of the same grade. Also a range of long radius bends specially formed from the pipe is supplied in a wide range of diameters and angles.

The manufacturers can supply information on the full range of fittings available and reference should be made to them for further information.

Are any special pipes available for specific applications?

Yes. The PE pipe producing industry is very innovative in developing pipes for special applications and to be more cost-effective in dealing with installation and service needs.

The special pipes are mainly multi-layer materials. These are co-extrusions of different thermoplastic materials to form pipes with two or more layers in their walls, with each layer performing a specific function.

The multi-layer pipes may have:

A harder thin outer layer to protect the main body of the pipe from damage where good quality bedding is not available, where installation is with directional drilling through coarse, granular soils, or where installation is by pipe bursting.
A stiffer inner layer to improve crack resistance in specific conditions.
A thin, peelable outer layer to obviate the need for scraping prior to electrofusion, thus making the fusion process simpler in difficult conditions.
A metallic foil sandwiched between two layers of thermoplastic to protect potable water against any permeation of contaminants in the soil or ground water and to assist in detection of the buried pipe from the surface.
Certain combinations of the above.

How can PE pipe be connected to other pipe materials?

PE100 pipe can be connected to pipe in other materials by a range of mechanical fittings available from the relevant manufacturers. These can either be transition couplers to connect the pipes together directly or flange connections.

Transition couplers typically consist of an outer body compatible with the size of the pipes to be joined, an elastomeric sealing ring to provide the leak tightness and an internal pipe stiffener to provide long term integrity. It is imperative that the correct pipe sizes need to be specified when ordering the fittings to ensure compatibility of the pipes and fittings.

Flange fittings can be fused directly onto the PE pipe to provide a conventional bolted connection to the other pipe material or ancillary equipment.

References

ISO 9623:1997 PE/metal and PP/metal adapter fittings for pipes for fluids under pressure - Design lengths and size of threads - Metric series
ISO 3663:1976 Polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes and fittings, metric series - Dimensions of flanges
ISO 9624:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for fluids under pressure - Mating dimensions of flange adapters and loose backing flanges
ISO/TS 10839:2000 Polyethylene pipes and fittings for the supply of gaseous fuels - Code of practice for design, handling and installation

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