AVK gate valves with PE ends for a fully welded PE pipe system
A fully welded PE pipe system offers a lot of benefits such as reduced risk of leakage, ease of installation and a high durability. With AVK gate valves with pre-mounted PE pipe ends you can design a fully welded pipe system up to 630 mm.
Advantages of PE pipes within water supply
For most applications, PE (polyethylene) pipes have advantages over pipes of more traditional materials like PVC or cast iron. Primarily it gives you a fully welded pipe system with no bolts, no mechanical joints and thereby a much lower risk of leakage and defects.
The fusion and electro welding processes provide a joint which is even stronger than the pipe itself and allow for the pipes to be welded above ground, rather than in the trench, for easy installation. In addition, PE pipes can be installed in a trench, which is not in level. There is no need to level the soil in the trench, as the PE pipes are flexible and follow the terrain. Furthermore, there are no special requirements for the soil conditions and less space is needed in the trench for the installation. PE pipes can also be used for installations submerged under water and they are typically the preferred choice for relining or pipe cracking applications. Finally, the soft PE material allows the pipes to be squeezed together for a temporary shut-off during repair.
Service life for PE pipes
The PE pipes have an extended service life compared to traditional pipe materials. The pipes are corrosion resistant and are not very sensitive to damages or scratches from the surroundings. For even more robustness, PE pipes with a shell of polypropylene outside the PE pipe itself are available. The relatively light weighted PE pipes are also easy to handle and transport.
There are only very few disadvantages of the PE pipes – at least for standard applications. High temperatures or chlorinated water will however reduce the life time of the PE pipes significantly, and it is also worth a mention that the PE pipes are not diffusion tight so aromatics like e.g. petrol can diffuse through the pipe wall under special circumstances. In those cases, you may want to choose barrier pipes with an extra layer of e.g. polymer or aluminum.
A fully welded PE pipe system – up to 630 mm with AVK valves
The advantages of using PE pipes are many and so are those of using valves with pre-mounted PE pipe ends as part of your PE pipe system. Most importantly, the valves with PE pipe ends will be an integrated part of the PE pipe system. There will be no couplings with the risk of leaks, the joints will be as strong as the pipe itself – and thus as the rest of the system – and no bolts can come loose and cause couplings or flanges to leak if the ground settles around the valve.
Same approvals and welding parameters for the entire system
To obtain the full advantage, the PE pipe ends on the valve must though be made of the same PE material as the PE pipes used in the installation. When using the same PE material for both valves and pipes, the same welding parameters can be used for all joints and costly mistakes during installation can thereby be avoided. And not least, the same PE pipe approvals will be valid throughout the entire system.
AVK gate valves with PE ends can be fully integrated
Our valve design allows us to mount all standard PE pipes on the valves. When using AVK valves, you can therefore obtain a pipe approval that covers the entire PE network including valves. The extra-long pipe ends even leave room for an additional weld, if needed.
The demand for PE pipe systems has increased due to the obvious benefits. Due to global climate change and water scarcity, water must be transported over long distances, and therefore the demand for PE pipe systems in large sizes is also on the rise. To accommodate this, AVK gate valves with PE pipe ends for water supply are available for pipe sizes 75 mm to 630 mm:
36/80-116 Gate valves with PN16 SDR11 pipe ends
36/80-126 Gate valves with PN10 SDR17 pipe ends
Renowned AVK valve design – as tight as the pipe itself
In our production process a piece of standard PE pipe is pressed directly onto the grooved valve end, and the grooves combined with a sleeve around the valve/pipe connection ensure that the PE pipe material is firmly secured and that the connection remains tight and tensile during the entire service life of the pipeline. The connection is sealed with a shrink hose to provide corrosion protection.
AVK gate valves – the safe choice
The full and straight bore ensures minimum pressure loss and makes under pressure drilling possible. Furthermore, our renowned sturdy design, state-of-the-art rubber compounds and strong coating all made in-house ensure reliability and therefore a cost-efficient solution in the long run.
AVK valves comply to the highest standards and hold worldwide drinking water approvals for coating, rubber and brass materials and for the valve itself.
