STEEL PIPE COATING
Quality & R&D
Quality Control
It is not only responsible for verifying that the parameters of our products fall within the ranges declared in the respective TDS, but also – and perhaps more importantly – for ensuring that the same rigorous checks are carried out on incoming raw materials. Compounding activities require particular care in the selection and testing of polymers and additives in order to minimize any variability attributable to the materials used.
Thanks to the Pilot Plant available at MPB, which faithfully replicates the conditions of an industrial line, Quality Control is not limited to raw materials but also verifies that adhesives and top coats, once applied, comply with international standards and project technical specifications.
The MPB laboratory is equipped to perform the following tests on samples taken from pipes coated on its Pilot Line:
- Measurement of adhesion strength, from –40 ºC to +150 ºC
- Cathodic disbondment
- UV aging
- Thermal aging
- Hot water immersion test
- Mechanical tests (impact, indentation, elongation, tensile strength) at temperatures from –40 ºC to +150 ºC
R&D
Naturally, the most valuable asset for this department is the Pilot Plant, which makes it possible to put previously developed theories into practice and to identify the limits and potential of each product or “system” (adhesive + top coat combination).
Purchased from Selmers – a leader in the engineering and construction of plants dedicated to this sector – it is unique in the world: in fact, it is not a small laboratory-scale reproduction, but a real industrial line in reduced scale.
The distinctive feature of this plant lies in its maximum flexibility, which allows the reproduction of the line layout of any coating plant: the position of the machines that compose it can be freely modified, so that any production condition can be simulated.
The Pilot Plant makes it possible to perform several functions:
- Demonstrating the superiority of MPB adhesives’ properties to Coating Contractors and Pipeline Owners.
- Verifying the effectiveness of new materials on a plant that faithfully reproduces the real conditions of any coating line represents the ideal step between laboratory testing and an expensive scale-up on an industrial plant. This possibility, in addition to being extremely useful for MPB, is also particularly appreciated by FBE producers, who often use the Pilot Plant to carry out their own tests, with the guarantee of confidentiality and intellectual property protection provided by the NDAs signed with MPB.
- Thanks to the ability to recreate the line layout of Customerss and to simulate both adhesive application by extrusion and by powder, MPB can reproduce coating defects observed on their plants and analyze them in detail in order to identify effective solutions. A brilliant example is how a Customers was supported while coating pipes destined for South Stream — here is the link to the Case History.
- Training center for new operators in the sector.
- Demonstrations for Pipeline Owners and Pipeline Builders.
