DIPRA Outlines Industry Guide For Ductile Iron Pipe In HDD Applications

To ensure that Ductile Iron Pipe is installed in HDD applications in the best possible way, the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association (DIPRA) has determined some installation factors.

Horizontal Directional Drilling has become an industry standard because it increases productivity, eliminates major excavation, and reduces operational risks when installing pipe. Since the purpose of HDD is to not disrupt the environment or disturb the aesthetics of a location, it only makes sense that today’s HDD contractors are relying on the modern improvement of a product that’s been around for hundreds of years: Ductile Iron Pipe. The following are the installation factors that must be considered in the forthcoming guidelines.

• Methods of installation–including cartridge, assembled joint, straight pulls, radius

pulls

• Joint applications

• Joint deflections

• Pipe hole friction

• Pulling force capability

• Pulling heads

• Drilling fluids

• Corrosion control

• Installed projects

• Do’s and don’ts

In a word, Ductile defines durability, so it stays put, and the environment doesn’t have to be excavated again and again for repairs. Troy Stroud, President of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association said, "Of all other products used in HDD applications, only Ductile offers the advantages of a strong, durable product that has withstood the centuries. Utilities don’t have to settle for substitute materials that cannot hope to match the performance of Ductile Iron Pipe when considering HDD installations."

Combine the durability and strength with an outstanding coefficient of flow, and the result is a cost-efficient piping product for the most demanding HDD conditions. Stroud said, "We’re discovering that when it comes to water and sewer pipe, voters and utilities in communities overwhelmingly want to bury it and forget it. With Ductile Iron Pipe and HDD, they can do just that."

Source: Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association