Victaulic Depend-O-Lok Couplings STI / SPFA Pipe Section Meeting January 14, 2011
What is the Depend-O-Lok (D-O-L) family of products? Bolted split-sleeve type coupling per AWWA C227. Core products ExE Unrestrained, FxE Expansion and FxF Restrained. Used primarily in civil construction projects. Engineered product designed and custom fabricated per application requirements. Specialty products Internal Joint Seals InnerSeal, EndSeal Bellows Expansion Joints OmniFlex Mechanical Expansion Joint Air/FluidMaster Coupling Encapsulating Coupling
D-O-L coupling components 1. Body or Housing 2. Sealing Plate 3. O-ring Gaskets 4. Hardware 5. Restraint Rings (welded to pipe when required) 5 4 2 3 1
Types of pipe connections Couplings Flanges Welded joint Bell and spigot (stab-joint)
Coupling Manufacturers Baker Dresser Robar Romac Smith-Blair Straub Victaulic Viking Johnson
AWWA Standards AWWA C227 Split Sleeve Victaulic Depend-O-Lok, Straub Non restrained Restrained Expansion AWWA C219 Bolted Sleeve Baker, Dresser, Romac, Smith-Blair, etc. Non restrained Can be restrained with AWWA M11 harness Flanged adapter, dismantling joint, transition (stepped or reducing) coupling AWWA C221 Mechanical Expansion Joints up to 10 axial movement for a single unit
Why use a coupling? Savings - joint cost / installation time Field welding not allowed or difficult to perform due to environmental conditions. Pipe accessibility Flexibility
Flexibility Axial movement typically at least 3/8 ; in some cases up to 4 Angular deflection (rotation) static and dynamic Lateral offset differential settlement; typically accommodated by two or more flexible couplings
Flexibility / System Protection Pipe can experience dimensional and positional changes due to changes in temperature, earth settlement or variation in landscape contour. Inadequate accommodation for these changes can cause excess stress on a piping system, potentially resulting in: ruptures and leaks increased stress on equipment such as valves, meters, and other equipment/components escalated downtime and labor expenses due to repairs Solution: Mechanical pipe couplings are designed to provide a leak-proof joint while permitting some axial and angular misalignment or movement to avoid build-up of excess stress in the pipe or equipment.
D-O-L ExE Unrestrained coupling Flexible joint No axial restraint; limited axial movement Static deflection; limited dynamic deflection (half of static) Pipe stop in center of coupling can prevent the coupling from walking off of the joint High pressure designs ExE Type 1 ExE Type 2 ExE Type 2 HP
D-O-L FxE Expansion coupling Flexible joint No axial restraint Not designed for joint deflection (axial movement should be guided) Axial movement up to 4 Type 1 couplings up to 1-1/2 Type 2 couplings 2 to 4 (14 to 18 wide body) FxE Type 1 FxE Type 2 FxE Type 2 (with cladding on steel pipe)
D-O-L FxF Restrained coupling Flexible joint Axial restraint at full thrust; limited axial movement Some static deflection; limited dynamic deflection (half of static) High pressure designs FxF Type 1 FxF Type 2 FxF Type 2 HP
D-O-L FxF Type 2 Modified restrained coupling Flexible joint Axial restraint at full thrust; some axial movement Allowable static and dynamic deflection are same Axial movement and deflection are non-concurrent Typically used in pairs outside of structures to accommodate differential settlement FxF Type 2 Modified
Cautionary notes Couplings typically provide for flexible joints. Piping systems must be designed to accommodate this flexibility. Flexible joints do not perform well in shear and require proper piping support. Rule-of-thumb: One pipe diameter distance on either side of the joint. Restrained does not mean rigid.
Markets / Applications Municipal water and waste water treatment; desalination; water transmission and distribution Power penstocks and hydro-electric projects Mining water, slurry, tarsands, etc. Bio-fuels ethanol Chemical
Two DOL FxF Modified restrained couplings on buried pipeline outside of a structure
Depend-O-Lok ExE Unrestrained couplings with AWWA M11 harness
Pipelines using flexible couplings (36 D-O-L FxF Restrained couplings, Harbor Bridge, Sacramento, CA)
Penstock Piping (144 D-O-L FxE Expansion couplings, TVA Penstock)
168 Depend-O-Lok ExE High Pressure at Lake Fork Interconnect Vault
144 Depend-O-Lok High Pressure Restrained Couplings (Eastside Reservoir, Riverside County, CA)
Couplings in Valve Vault (72 D-O-L FxF Restrained couplings, Hollywood, CA)
Support of Flexible Couplings on Steel Water Pipe (36 D-O-L restrained couplings, Platte West WTP, Omaha, NE)
Flexible Expansion Coupling (Depend-O-Lok 36 FxE Expansion coupling, Henrico County WRF, Richmond, VA
D-O-L FxF High Pressure Restrained Couplings 144 D-O-L FxF HP Restrained coupling Diamond Valley Lake Dam, Eastside Reservoir Project 72 D-O-L FxF HP Restrained coupling Shoal Creek WTP, Gwinnett County, GA
Flexible Couplings on Aerial Piping (90 D-O-L ExE Unrestrained couplings, Rocky Reach Dam, Wenatchee, WA)
Unrestrained Coupling with M11 Harness (D-O-L ExE Unrestrained, Marston Plant, Denver Water Board)
Expansion Couplings on Steel Pipe (D-O-L FxE Expansion couplings, North Canadian WTP, Oklahoma City, OK)
OmniFlex Bellows Expansion Joints
Depend-O-Lok InnerSeal II
Depend-O-Lok AirMaster Coupling
Depend-O-Lok Encapsulating Couplings