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Piping Work Inspection Equipment “TestPlug” and “GetData®”

1.

INTRODUCTION

Conventional metal pipes including galvanized steel pipeand resin lining pipe as residential piping materials haveincreasingly been replaced, keeping pace with the times,by resin pipes (cross-linked polyethylene pipe) which
offer safety from corrosion as well as ease of construction. In the piping work, leakage inspection is carried out
by applying a specified pressure onto the joints in order
to confirm whether the resin pipe and coupling are properly connected. Conventionally, however, there has been
no inspection equipment available to execute this troublesome work thereby storing the inspection data into thedatabase. We have recently developed and marketed piping work inspection equipment “TestPlug” and“GetData®”, aiming at making the piping leakage inspection more simple and reliable. These products will be
described in the following.

Data gathering equipment

Mobile phone

2.

PIPING WORK LEAKAGE INSPECTION

3.

TESTPLUG

Figure 1 shows the schematic of the piping work leakage
inspection. In the inspection, the end terminals on thesecondary side of completed piping are terminated with aplug (TestPlug) individually, and a hydraulic pressure isapplied under the specified conditions from the primaryside using a test pump. Then, the pressurized conditionof the piping is monitored using a pressure gage on
GetData to carry out piping work leakage inspection.

3.1 Structure
TestPlug is installed on the secondary end terminals ofcompleted piping to carry out leakage inspection. Its
appearance and structure are shown in Photo 1 andFigure 2, respectively.
3.2 Features
Features of TestPlug, as can be seen from Photo 2, maybe summarized into four points shown below.

Digital pressure gauge

GetData
Test pump

AC 100V

AC 100V
Manifold

Photo 1

Appearance of TestPlug.
Body of resin

Cross-linkedpolyethylene pipe

Push button
O ringTestPlug
Figure 1

Schematic of piping work leakage inspection.

Grip ring

Figure 2

Structure of TestPlug.

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2005

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Piping Work Inspection Equipment “TestPlug” and “GetData®”

1) Single-touch connection
Connection to the piping can be completed simply byinserting the pipe into a TestPlug.
2) One-push air bleeding
Residual air in the piping can be released just bypushing the button.
3) Safe and secured disconnection using an exclusive
tool
After leakage inspection, TestPlug can be disconnected using an exclusive tool, and can be reused.
4) Weight reduction achieved through the use of resin
The use of a translucent resin for the body of TestPlug
achieved a reduction in weight, also enabling visualconfirmation of pipe insertion.
3.3

Photo 3

System components of GetData.

Figure 3

A graph of pressure inspection data.

Connection Method

1. Connection to TestPlug

2. Confirmation of connection

3. Air bleeding

Photo 2

4.

Connection method of TestPlug.

GetData

4.1 System Configuration
GetData is electronic equipment for recording hydraulicpressure data obtained at piping leakage inspection, andcan be used to attach additional information such as thename of inspector and the place of inspection onto themeasurement data. It can also send, by means of amobile phone, the obtained data from the site to a personal computer in the office connected to the phone line,
thereby facilitating data management using the computer.
It can be said that GetData is an efficient system toeliminate the requirement for the on-site presence of asupervisor and for manual recording of pressure data,
thereby achieving upgraded quality control of piping workmanagement.
4.2 Features
Features of GetData can be summarized into four points
shown below.
1) Simple operation
Hydraulic pressure data can be recorded on-site easily by push-button operation.

2) Easy data transfer using a mobile phone
Measurement data can be easily transferred from thesite to the office using a mobile phone.
3) Automatic database compilation of measured data
The date and place of measurements are automatically converted into a file name. Personal computers
can be used for data management enabling easy
data search.
4) Easy creation of graphs
Graphs are automatically created merely by selecting
a file. They embrace pressure data as well as the dateof measurement, name of inspector, place of measurement and comments, rendering the preparationof inspection report much easier.
4.3 Specifications• Power supply: AC 100 V±10%, 50/60 Hz• Measurement range: 0~2.5 MPa• Accuracy: ±1% FS + 1 digit• Data gathering: Gathering period: once per 10 secMaximum measuring period: 1 hr (measurement
stops automatically when 1 hr elapsed)
Number of maximum recordable data: 20• Inclusive data: Inspector, place of measurement, andcomments can be included

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200566

Piping Work Inspection Equipment “TestPlug” and “GetData®”• System components: Main body, digital pressuregauge, AC adaptor, RS-232C cord, 16-core cord formobile phone, drip-proof case, carrying case, andinstallation CD for personal computers

5.

CONCLUSIONSTestPlug and GetData constitute a piping work inspection
system which you may find helpful. We trust that they may
have the opportunity of serving you together with
“METRON”, a Furukawa Electric’s piping system withsheathed piping and manifold.
For more information, please contact:
Marketing Development Unit, Pipe Products
Department, Industrial Products Division
TEL: +81-3-3286-3471
FAX: +81-3-3286-3454

Furukawa Review, No. 28200567