Ferro-concrete pipes made with German technology

At the ZhBI-4 factory, the Barrikada Combine has organized the industrial production of new ferro-concrete, free-flowing pipes. The pipes have been manufactured according to German technology and have a number of differences from their predecessors that were made in Russia.

The first and most important difference is that the pipes join up without the use of a cement-based mortar. This significantly reduces both the cost of the work involved in pipe-laying and the amount of labour required. The point is that the operation for concreting over the join is simply unnecessary. Joining the pipes without the use of additional materials becomes possible thanks to a complete lack of any divergence in the geometrical sizes of the products and the presence of a rubber seal at the socket joint.

Another, no less important advantage, is the improved quality of the surface. The ideally smooth walls of the new pipes prevent an accumulation of dirt on the internal surfaces of the pipes. As a result, the speed of flow of the liquids carried along the pipe does not slow down with time. This means that utilization costs due to cleaning and general repairs of the engineering network can be reduced.

The concrete from which the pipes are made has higher coefficients of frost resistance and waterproofing, which prolongs the life of the pipes for several years.

But the pipes produced by German technology differ from the Byelorussian products available on the St. Petersburg market today not only in respect of their qualitative characteristics. The new pipes are 2.5 metres long instead of the usual 4. In the first place, this makes transporting them possible using smaller vehicles and, secondly, instead of needing a crane, an ordinary excavator can be used. This is how the German builders, who are used to rationalizing, make savings by preferring not to use an additional crane.

The official opening of the pipe-production line will take place in June, but the products manufactured on the new equipment are all ready to go on the market. This is particularly relevant with the onset of the building season, when buyers are standing in queues for building materials. Bearing in mind that the time cycle for making pipes has been reduced to a third, the amount of pipes produced will be increased. This means that from this summer there is not expected to be any shortage of ferro-concrete free-flowing pipes on the St. Petersburg market.