Ticona made composite pressure pipe bags JEC award

Composite Fluid Transfer, Ticona and Valéron Strength Films, which supplies a protective outer wrap, will receive the “Pipes & Water Management” category award at 4 p.m. on Oct. 2, Wednesday, during the awards ceremony at the JEC Americas 2013 – Composites Show & Conference in Boston.

The award recognizes the innovative Fiberflex-11 pipe with multiple options for robust connections that Composite Fluid Transfer of Kilgore, Texas, designed for general water transport infrastructure applications.

Ticona will showcase the composite pressure pipe with Celstran CFR-TP at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), Booth #2539, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in New Orleans, and JEC Americas 2013, Booth #G22, Oct. 2 to 4 in Boston.

The composite pipe incorporates Celstran CFR-TP continuous fiberglass reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) thermoplastic composite tape, which is wound around a specially designed, extruded thin-wall HDPE thermoplastic liner and heat consolidated by a proprietary process developed by Composite Fluid Transfer.

The pipe construction adds an outside layer of HDPE film manufactured by Valéron to protect the system from both ultra-violet and abrasion damage.

At 4.26 pounds per foot, the Fiberflex-11 pipe is lighter than comparable diameter and pressure rated composite and plastic pipe. Two people in the field can easily lift and carry the pipe, which avoids the high cost of using large unloading equipment, increases safety and minimizes work site damage and reclamation costs.

A 30-foot section weighs only 128 pounds vs. the same length of 12-inch HDPE SDR 9 pipe that weighs 655 pounds, making it 80 percent lighter. The Fiberflex-11 pipe system also offers several robust coupling/connector options, including a two-bolt patent-pending quick coupling design.

This is the fourth time Ticona has been recognized with a JEC Innovation Award for composite applications:

2013 JEC Innovation Award in the Aeronautics category — Fokker Aerostructures, AgustaWestland, TenCate Aerospace Composites and Ticona developed the first thermoplastic composite tailplane put into production on the AgustaWestland AW169.

2011 JEC Innovation Award in the Thermoplastics category — Cutting Dynamics Inc. (CDi), along with Ticona, TenCate Advanced Composites and A&P Technology (A&P), developed a modular composite seat back assembly used in passenger seat assemblies on lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

2010 JEC Innovation Award in the Aeronautics category — Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Fokker Aerostructures, KVE, TenCate and Ticona developed the first welded thermoplastic composite aircraft primary structure on the Gulfstream G650.