Technical Blog

“Conservative” design is taught continually to all engineers during college and throughout their employment. I think we can all agree that this is a good idea – we don’t want engineers to cut corners and cause potential problems.

The presence of air in a pressure pipeline is unavoidable, since dissolved air is present in the fluid being transported. This entrained air comes out of the fluid during certain operating conditions and gathers in pockets at high spots in the pipeline.

Internal pressure causes longitudinal thrust forces in pipe systems. These forces are developed at changes in flow direction or pipe size, as well as at dead ends. To keep pipe joints from pulling apart, either joint restraint or concrete thrust blocking is required.

Engineers who are unfamiliar with PVC pressure pipe sometimes have a list of questions about the product. These questions, which often arise from misinformation propagated by competitive materials, usually have logical answers based on engineering principles.

The PVC pipe industry sometimes makes use of technical abbreviations that may not be fully understood by utility and consulting engineers. “DR” is a case in point.

PVC pipe’s organotin stabilizers — not a health concern.

During 70 years of sustained growth for PVC water pipe, iron pipe’s market share has decreased dramatically. The iron industry has reacted by negative attacks and by spreading misinformation about PVC pipe. We thought it was time to provide a more-balanced view.

PVC Pipe Association's guide for safe and effective field-cutting of PVC pipe.

Installation practices for underground infrastructure can play an important role in the performance of pipe networks.

Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC) paper on the importance of using transparent and verifiable standards when determining the environmental impacts of a pipe product. No other pipe material has disclosed environmental impacts to as transparent and regulated a degree as the PVC pipe industry.