IWC, African leaders in water cooling technology, will be showcasing their dynamic GRP Pipe System (“Glass Reinforced Polyester” Pipe System) at the Water Show Africa 2015, happening from 24 - 25 March 2015 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

IWC’s GRP pipes are extremely corrosion resistant, very lightweight and have a low friction loss coefficient, providing a massive saving in energy costs for pumped water applications, or a higher "q" value for gravity flow. With an infiltration and exfiltration free coupling system, no water is lost from the source up to the end user.

Says Roger Rusch, IWC CEO, “Our GRP pipe system is the leading technological solution to large water applications due to its resistance to galvanic and electrolytic corrosion. This resistance to corrosion makes it ideal for municipal water applications as well as transfer pipelines for potable water, sewerage, seawater, desalinated water, power plant cooling water, chemicals, industrial waste water, and irrigation. Once installed, there should be little need for maintenance on the piping for over 50 years, making it the most cost effective life cycle investment available.”

To construct their GRP pipes, a dense laminate is created using two primary raw materials: resin and glass-fibre roving. The GRP manufacturing process is described as the “discontinuous helical filament winding process”. This helically wound glass reinforcement, impregnated with resin, ensures simultaneous hoop and axial structural strength for each pipe length, with the cured resin providing the ‘plastic’ corrosion resistant component. A third component, sand, is sometimes added as a layer to gain stiffness while maintaining the low mass ratio typical of GRP pipes. For extremely corrosive conditions, typically for industrial chemical uses, a high quality resin known as ‘vinyl ester’ can be used to enhance the corrosion resistance level of the piping.

IWC typically supplies pipes in lengths of 12m which use a bell and spigot coupling system. However the system is flexible: lengths can be supplied in any configuration less than 12m, while the joints may also be configured to the customer’s preference, such as plain ended with steel sleeve couplings, full face or stub flanged, or butt and strap laid up joints (the equivalent of GRP “welding”). Pressure classes typically range from PN6 to PN40 and standard diameters from 200mm -1200mm.

Says Rusch, “Thousands of kilometres of existing water and sewer pipes need rehabilitation, while thousands more still need to be installed.  IWC manufactured GRP piping’s resistance to internal and external corrosion and environmental extremes, its superior flow characteristics and lower total life cycle costs, make it a cost effective alternative to pipes manufactured from materials such as coated mild steel or stainless steel.”