The chemical process industries have relied on plastic-lined piping (PLP) to solve complex corrosion problems for over forty years. The fugitive emissions regulations of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) have created concerns about the large number of flanged connections traditionally associated with PLP. New flange or joint reduction technologies (JRT) have been introduced to minimize the number of flanged connections in a PLP system. Flanges are eliminated by using longer pipe lengths, proprietary pipe bending techniques, and flangeless connections. The discussion will focus primarily 0:1 the flangeless connection, which involves buttwelding the inner plastic liners of the pipe sections to be joined, and connecting the outer steel shells with a mechanical coupling. All aspects of JRT will be discussed including: the testing involved in qualification anti verification of the flangeless connection, field installation capabilities, and customer case studies.
Keywords: Flangeless connection, mechanical collpling, plastic-lined pipe, flanged connection, butt welding, bent pipe, flanges