Plastitalia releases the “Plast App” for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app_plastitalia.app&gl=IT) and iOS (https://apps.apple.com/it/app/plast/id6443774811).

The aim of this App is to provide technical support to the operators and engineers that have to quantify and or qualify the work to be done in the field. Let’s see in detail what the application is able to do.

This App has been conceived for reading the barcodes sticked to the electrofusion fittings, to calculate the bolting torque force to apply to flanged joints and to calculate the fusion process times for butt welding. All three features are of major interest for people involved in piping matters.

Today two barcodes are easy to be found on the fittings. The one that provide all data to the control unit for the correct fusion process (conform to ISO 13950) and the other that contains the traceability data related to the plastic piping component (conform to ISO 12176-4). This App can provide the descriptions and the contents of both barcodes in plain text making the barcodes “human readable”.

Very interesting is the feature that can change the “nominal” fusion time into the “actual” one connected to the ambient temperature when the user changes the settled value of 20 °C in the specific field. As we know there are many control unit working in “manual mode” without the use of the scanner extension. This App may help the operators to introduce the correct welding time in such type of control units, following the fusion time data as they are in the barcode.

For people dedicated to field inspection should be interesting to have the availability of a means that can provide them with the data of the fitting electrical resistance in a way that they become able to check if the control unit has sufficient power to fuse the specific electrofusion fitting. Not only, for controllers, the possibility to immediately check the traceability data can be of paramount importance into verify the contract compliance.

In the section “calculation” you can find two options: the first is about butt welding times and the second is related to the bolting torque force. Both features are based on standard documents: ISO 21307 for butt welding and UNI/TR 11588 for torque force.

Looking at the calculation of butt welding times we can say that nothing can be so easy as it is in this App. It is sufficient to introduce the pipe dimension (SDR and diameter) and the time for each phase appears on the display (at the end of this article the formula for phase 5 is given). This feature refer to the processes specified in the standard as: “single low pressure” and “dual low pressure” (this last applicable to pipe with a wall thickness greater than 18 mm). The phase in which the joint has to remains under pressure, by the ISO 21307, is connected to the ambient temperature, too. So, a specific field is provided and the operator can change the ambient temperature according to the real one and have the new time displayed.  For engineers who have to schedule the site working processes this App can provide a real time for each butt fusion process. What is out of this application is the time of the phase one (that’s not codifiable) and the time for the alignment and the planing of the pipes ends in the butt fusion machine. A valid instrument to estimate the construction costs.

But is the section with the calculation of the bolting torque force that is the flagship of this App. The effort has been great and the result it is at the level. It is possible to display the torque value when the components to be joined are made both by polyethylene (PE-PE) or are made by different materials (PE-Other) for example PE flange adaptor joined to ductile iron gate valve. The App consider the different surfaces where the bolts’ pre-tension has to act to contrast to the internal pressure. The App display the torque force, the result of the gasket verification under the load (the field may turn from green to red) and the pressure limit to be applied at the joint (the field may turn from green to red).  All calculation refer to Plastitalia’ products (because of the know surfaces) selectable by convenient drop down menus.  The App is completed by the section that contain the disclaimer and the instruction of use in five different languages

Phase 5 “Minimum cooling time in the machine under pressure, for wall thickness ≥ 18 mm” formula: 0,015 × eₙ² − 0,47 × eₙ + 20