The Fluid Highway® is a game changer.
Through its unique and groundbreaking technology, the Fluid Highway® has the potential to leapfrog conventional pipeline materials and construction methods to bring far-reaching changes and improvements to the fluid transportation industry.
Why is the Fluid Highway® considered to be a game changer? The Fluid Highway® will possess many industry competitive advantages in a range of applications, and offers an opportunity to address a number of limitations in existing pipe materials.
The Long Pipe Fluid Highway® is lined with a thermoplastic polyurethane. As a consequence the Fluid Highway® has a high level of internal corrosion resistance to saline water, hot brine, hydrogen sulphide and other chemicals, resulting in the improvement of safety and environmental performance;
The Fluid Highway® is extremely strong and durable yet very light, making it easy to handle and requiring minimal heavy lifting machinery.
The Fluid Highway® has the ability to accommodate extreme temperatures as well as large and rapid temperature variations during production and operation. This is particularly important in very low temperatures where the Fluid Highway® will not suffer brittle fracture resulting in major gas leaks;
The Fluid Highway® supply costs will generally be very competitive and logistics cost will provide substantial savings. This is due to speed and resource simplicity in production and the ability to transport more pipes per truck due to its weight advantage over competitor product.
The Fluid Highway® has one third the carbon emissions of steel and polyethylene pipes.
The Fluid Highway® aims to become the Game Changer that pipeline owners, operators and engineers around the world are calling for.
The Fluid Highway® pipelines are manufactured from composite materials, comprising a nylon or polyurethane inner lining, multiple resin impregnated glass reinforcing layers and an outer protective casing.
(1) The polyurethane inner liner
The thermoplastic polyurethane or nylon inner liner is continuous and seamless.
The inner liner is designed to separate and isolate the pipeline contents, whether a fluid, slurry or gas, from the reinforcement layer. The polyurethane is not sprayed onto the pipe as in conventional pipelines. In the Fluid Highway®, the polyurethane inner liner is a solid continuous sock or shield like structure comprising up to a number of fused layers. These multiple layers ensure that the inner liner does not leak.
The material is very tough and durable and is typically used in areas of high abrasion and corrosion to overcome problems of wear.
The inner liner is 0.50 mm thick.
(2) Resin impregnated glass reinforcing layers
The reinforcing layers are made up of fibreglass and resin. The fibreglass has been specifically designed to maximise the strength of the pipe in both the axial and the circumferential directions. The number of fibreglass layers can be varied in accordance with the application and design requirements.
(3) Protective outer casing
The outer layer is a premium quality spread coated PVC. The material has UV stabilisers and fire retardant inhibitors. In the case of fires the material is self-extinguishing. This material has been exposed to the sun for more than ten years without any degradation.