Abstract: Pipe joints and more particularly circular push-on type pipe joints including a flexible gasket having both hard and soft sections and where the hard section has a chamfered outer edge and a “C”-shaped grooved portion on a side opposite of the chamfered outer edge in which a portion of the soft section fills and is connected to and the soft section is configured to partially overlap a flange on an interior surface of a pipe bell end.

Abstract: Pipe joints and more particularly cylindrical push-on type pipe joint fittings with earthquake resistant functions.

Abstract: Pipe joints and more particularly cylindrical push-on type pipe joint fittings with earthquake resistant functions.

Abstract: Pipe joints and more particularly circular push-on type pipe joints including a flexible gasket having both hard and soft sections and where the hard section has a chamfered outer edge and a “C”-shaped grooved portion on a side opposite of the chamfered outer edge in which a portion of the soft section fills and is connected to and the soft section is configured to partially overlap a flange on an interior surface of a pipe bell end.

Abstract: Pipe joints and more particularly circular push-on type pipe joints including a flexible gasket having both hard and soft portions and where the soft portion overlaps a flange and an inner curved section of the hard portion.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for gauging and rounding, at room temperature, a section of fully formed seamless ductile iron pipe that has an out-of-round initial cross-section profile and/or a larger than desired initial gauge. The apparatus includes a set of hour-glass shaped gauging/rounding rolls arranged so that the combined profiles of adjacent rolls forms a substantially continuous circular of precise diameter. In operation, the ductile iron pipe is passed though the opening in the set of gauging/rounding rolls, thereby causing the pipe to be gauged and rounded. The pipe is conveyed through one or two sets of rolls to accommodate multiple pipe diameters by a transport mechanism consisting of a rail mounted push car which is moved by one or more fluid actuated cylinders anchored to a base in common with the rail.

Abstract: A high strength, high toughness, low carbon/low manganese steel is provided that is further resistant to stepwise cracking and sulfide stress cracking. The steel can be produced by conventional or thin slab casting techniques using normal speeds, with low manganese segregation levels. The steels are excellent candidates for linepipe applications in severe sour gas service.

Abstract: An adjustable-height extension stem and valve box assembly is provided for use with buried valves that is lightweight, readily adjustable to a large range of heights, and is capable of absorbing loads and impacts such that the loads and impacts are substantially not transmitted to the buried valve or surrounding pipeline. The valve box is made up of a valve box base, a valve box lower section, a valve box upper section that telescopes within the lower section, and a valve box top. An upper section of the extension stem extends from the interior of the valve box top through a bottom opening, and an extension stem lower section extends downwardly from the upper section, with the two sections being made from square hollow metal tubing such that the upper section telescopes within the lower section. A grit washer having grooves cut in a bearing surface is attached to the extension stem upper section and supports the upper section in place within the valve box top.

Abstract: A method of and rounding devices for inserting an out-of-round pipe spigot into a pipe bell by installing the rounding devices on the open end of the pipe bell. The rounding devices have cam surfaces for engaging the end of the out-of-round spigot and have sufficient strength and stiffness to deform the out-of-round into a substantially circular cross sectional configuration upon application of insertion force between the bell and spigot. The rounding devices may be removed and reused after the bell and spigot joint is assembled.

Abstract: A pipe joint capable of transmitting high axial compressive loads includes a reduced wall thickness section at the ends of the pipe to be joined and a coupling sleeve supported in telescoping relation with the reduced wall thickness section. Shoulders formed at the ends of the reduced sections bear against the ends of the sleeve, and the ends of the reduced thickness sections bear against each other so that a portion of the axial compressive load is transmitted through the coupling sleeve and a portion through the reduced thickness sections and a substantially uniform unit stress is maintained. O-rings carried by the coupling sleeve provide a fluid-tight seal between the sleeve and the adjacent surface of the reduced thickness section of the pipe.

Abstract: A method of and rounding devices for inserting an out-of-round pipe spigot into a pipe bell by installing the rounding devices on the open end of the pipe bell. The rounding devices have cam surfaces for engaging the end of the out-of-round spigot and have sufficient strength and stiffness to deform the out-of-round into a substantially circular cross sectional configuration upon application of insertion force between the bell and spigot. The rounding devices may be removed and reused after the bell and spigot joint is assembled.

Abstract: A pipe joint and a locking member for use with the pipe joint are provided for a bell and spigot type joint, the locking member being a separate element disposed axially outwardly of a fluid seal gasket within the bell end of a first of the pipe elements, the locking member being made up of an elastomeric backing member and at least one locking segment, the elastomeric backing member being adapted to seat in a first annular recess in the bell end, and against a radially inwardly protruding shoulder, this seating position urging the outer surface of the locking segment into contact with the wall of the first annular recess, to effect a constant, positive wedging action against a spigot end of a second pipe element inserted into the bell end of the first pipe element.

Abstract: In a process for centrifugal casting metal pipe in a metal mold in which the mold is cooled by the application of cooling water to the external surface, the application of cooling water is interrupted for a time just prior to the pouring of molten metal to a time generally corresponding to the time of separation of the pipe being cast from the inner surface of the mold to thereby permit limited dilation of the mold and reduce tensile stress in the external portion of the mold.

Abstract: A self-actuating restraining gasket having optional integral sealing means is provided which is used particularly in bell-and-spigot pipe joints or joints employing pipe appurtenances, and more particularly in joints to be assembled in the field, the bell end of the pipe or pipe appurtenance to be employed having an annular recess adapted to receive the gasket therein, the gasket further employing a plurality of pairs of cooperating metal retaining elements embedded in the elastomeric gasket, the pairs of retaining elements being spaced apart around the circumference of the gasket, each pair of retaining elements comprising a wedging member and a backing member for the wedging member, and wherein the pairs of retaining elements act as the self-actuating retention or restraining elements, and an optional compressible back part of the gasket acts as a fluid seal when a pipe spigot is inserted in the bell.

Abstract: A computer controlled concrete injector pump and process for lining pipe comprises a pump chamber having an outlet connected to a spray lance through a first check valve and having first and second inlets, one inlet being connected through a second check valve to a hopper, and the second inlet being connected to an injector tube having a piston moveable therein by a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is controlled by a programmable logic controller in a control system which has provisions for operator input of lining process parameters. The volume and flow rate of material from the pump may be controlled accurately by controlling the movement of the piston within the injector tube. The valve housing of the second check valve between the chamber and the hopper is split into two portions which are connected by a quick-disconnect coupling. The valve housing may be separated for access to its interior for maintenance and cleaning.

Abstract: A boltless bonnet assembly is provided for use with a valve, particularly a gate valve having a valve body comprising an upper housing, a lower fluid passageway, a gate, and a valve stem having a thrust washer. The bonnet assembly has a bonnet with a lower plate adapted to sealingly engage an underside of a lip of the upper housing, the lip defining an opening in the upper housing, and a cylindrical neck having inner and outer sets of threads at an upper portion. A bonnet clamp or alternatively a lock ring and clamp ring are provided to engage the outer threads of the bonnet to clamp the plate tightly against the underside of the lip, and a bonnet cover is provided for retaining the thrust collar of the valve stem in a recess in the bonnet, the bonnet cover being threaded into the set of inner threads of the bonnet.

Abstract: A computer controlled concrete injector pump and process for lining pipe comprises a pump chamber having an outlet connected to a spray lance through a first check valve and having first and second inlets, one inlet being connected through a second check valve to a hopper, and the second inlet being connected to an injector tube having a piston moveable therein by a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is controlled by a programmable logic controller in a control system which has provisions for operator input of lining process parameters. The volume and flow rate of material from the pump may be controlled accurately by controlling the movement of the piston within the injector tube. The valve housing of the second check valve between the chamber and the hopper is split into two portions which are connected by a quick-disconnect coupling. The valve housing may be separated for access to its interior for maintenance and cleaning.

Abstract: A method of producing substantially distortion-free weld metal tubing wherein a mandrel and a thin metal layer covering the mandrel are used to provide structural support for a starter tube while a weld metal is being deposited on the exterior surface of the starter tube to a desired thickness. The material used for the thin metal layer is selected to have a lower melting temperature than that of the mandrel, starter tube and weld metal, and after the weld metal deposit process is completed, the entire assembly is heated to a temperature in excess of the melting temperature of the thin metal layer, the molten material is flowed out from between the mandrel and the starter tube, thereby facilitating extraction of the mandrel from the weld metal tubing.

Abstract: An improved form of articulated, segmented ring structure for an axially restrained pipe joint has an articulated, segmented ring formed from articularly interconnected ring segments and a ring adjustment mechanism operable from the exterior of the pipe joint for radially contracting the ring onto the spigot end of one pipe received within the bell end of another pipe. The segmented ring structure provides improved flexiblity in joint assembly and enhanced deflection characteristics for accommodating axial misalignment of the pipes. A ring adjustment mechanism is disclosed which is particularly suitable for use in many cases, including underwater and other limited visibility applications.