Innovative pipe fix set to create jobs
NEW jobs are set to be created thanks to a Derbyshire company’s cost-effective, non-disruptive method of curing corrosion issues that can weaken gas pipes in highrise flats.
MW Polymers showcased its work on a visit by Mid Derbyshire’s Conservative MP, Pauline Latham.
Mike Wild, managing director said: “These are exciting times, as the predicted number of kits required to meet the demand just on high rise buildings both here and in Europe mean increasing production methods and the creation of many new jobs.”
The Little Eaton company explained that unprotected metal gas pipes which are fastened to the outside of the buildings by metal clips have been subjected to decades of weathering which causes erosion to occur just at the metal clips, with the rest of the pipework looking as good as the day it was fitted.
The company says replacement causes huge disruption to flat owners and, despite the small size of pipework, it is a major cost to carry out the work safely, with scaffolding, gas engineers working at height, gas needing to be turned off, and alternative sources of energy to keep people, some who are in warden-protected flats, warm and able to make meals.
Laboratory and field testing has shown the metal clips holding the pipes act as a local earthing point to accelerate the pipe erosion, so the design included an anode system that moves the erosion away from the clip to an easier, safer access location for inspection and replacement of the anodes in the future.
MW Polymers’ solution sees the eroded section strengthened using a two-part method employing an outer fireproof sleeve filled with a high-performance resin. This in a cost-effective solution that extends the life of the gas pipe systems and causes no disruption to people in the flats.
The problem is wide ranging and can be used on any metal pipes using the universal fastening clips. Currently there is interest from Transport for London to consider using the system on London Underground electric cables.