Socap’s inflatable plugs ... available in a range of diameters.
Sewer pipe testing solutions from Socap
01 March 2006
Socap, the Italy-based company specialising in inflatable plugs, offers municipal authorities and sewerage contractors a reliable and low-cost solution for detecting leaks or cracks in pipes.
“The need to prevent contamination of underground water is increasingly being felt around the world, especially with the growing incidences of waste water spilling from cracked sewer pipes,” says a spokesman for Socap.
He continues: “Previously, a visual inspection of the sewer pipes was deemed sufficient to assess their condition before joining them together in the trench. Even then, the joints of pipes were not thoroughly checked.”
“Municipal authorities, who are also blamed for the chemical and biological impurity of underground water used for civil purposes, are now are putting pressure on sewerage and drainage contractors to ensure leak-free pipes and conduits.
“It is now well recognised that concrete conduits are prone to internal corrosion especially if industrial wastewater is not properly filtered and purified before being released into the sewer mains. Hence, it has become a standard procedure to test sewer conduits both at the moment of start-up and after years of intense use.”
This is where Socap’s inflatable plugs come into their own, says the spokesman.
“While a number of temporary pipe plugging systems have been developed over the years to conduct these tests, Socap’s inflatable plugs – available in diameters ranging from 20 cm to 4 m – are the most practical and reliable ones available,” he claims.
These plugs, made of an airtight polyester fabric coated on both sides with special plastomers, are placed within the two ends of the sewer line that is to be pressure-tested and inflated with air.
He elaborates: “The pressure testing procedure is initiated by introducing water under pressure into the sewer line to check for leaks and cracks in the pipe structure. Once testing is completed, the two plugs are deflated, retrieved and are immediately ready for subsequent uses.”
Socap inflatable plugs provides an ideal solution for testing at a low cost and with a simple and reliable sequence of operations, he concludes.
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