Inflatable Pipestopper stops swarf contamination

A UK repair facility for military shipping had a problem cutting a metal valve out of position without swarf entering the sensitive power plant of the vessel reactor: so they turned to Pipestoppers!

When a UK repair facility for military shipping had a problem in cutting a metal valve out of position without swarf entering the sensitive power plant of the vessel, they turned to Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT) Pipestoppers Division for help.

A special inflatable stopper was designed and manufactured, using their inflatable Pipestopper technology, allowing safe removal and rewelding of the new part.

A military dockyard recently had to remove a valve from the lid of a nuclear pressuriser in a naval submarine but had to be sure that debris would not fall inside the sensitive power plant.

With a 953mm internal diameter but just 60mm entry aperture, the pressuriser was difficult to protect, so a device preventing debris from falling inside had to be specially designed and manufactured and be strong enough, in position, to catch swarf and other debris without slipping, or tipping.

In the worst case, a one kilogram chunk of metal could be falling a distance of a metre onto the stopper.

Another, major consideration was the fact that this special stopper had to be manufactured using nuclear industry-approved materials.

In conjunction with military experts and nuclear engineers, HFT Pipestoppers division designed and made the special device which has served its purpose perfectly.

The inflatable stopper was constructed using a design and materials that were approved by the dockyard contractors and had integrated support straps as a backup for retrieval purposes.

The stopper device was able to be fed through the upper aperture and inflated via a tube-fed valve to seal the vessel and support the debris.

HFT Pipestoppers division manufactures a wide range of devices for sealing, stopping and purging tanks, pipes and tubes, in a range of materials, for the automotive, aerospace, welding, food, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, as well as plumbing, construction and general engineering applications.

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