RPS Composites has been manufacturing FRP pipe and fittings with the Tapered Adhesive joint (TA joint) for more than 40 years. In fact, it’s become one of our signature features, and customers continually ask for it by name.
Of course there’s a lot of engineered design, testing, and analysis behind our TA joint. Fittings are formed on customized molds that shape the perfect bell, and the mated pipe end can be tapered to a specific angle quickly and accurately. The pieces are permanently bonded together using adhesive formulated from the same resin used in the pipe corrosion barrier, resulting in a streamlined spool that has as much, if not more, pressure strength as the butt & wrap joint. Our robust quality assurance program gives us complete confidence in the integrity of this joint.
But the real beauty in this method of joining is in its leaner materials requirements and decreased assembly time both in the shop and in the field. Consider, for example, the 4-inch dia. pipe: the butt & wrap joint takes a full 284 minutes to create. Compare this to the RPS Tapered Adhesive joint which is created and cured in 94 minutes. That’s one-third the time, and a considerable savings if there are several joints in your design. And yes, this ratio is repeated through each size we create, from 1” to 12” in diameter.
The relative cost of materials is equally astounding. A 4-inch dia. tapered adhesive joint requires $2.60-worth of materials, while the materials for the same size butt & wrap joint will cost $36.50.
Bruce Hebb, V.P. Engineering at RPS Composites is pleased with this innovative design that has given piping system designers additional options: “The TA joint is easy to get right, it’s very reliable, and it provides the greatest pressure strength of any joint.”
It’s not hard to see the significant time and money savings of the TA joint, savings that we pass along to our customers, while maintaining excellent quality and integrity of our products. For more information on this and other features of our product line, visit our Products page, or download the Tapered Adhesive Joint – Benefits and Savings bulletin.
This is the first in a series of articles that differentiates RPS Composites in the engineered composites industry.