SMTC Power & Industries

DUCTILE IRON PIPE

The strength, durability, and long service life of Ductile's predecessor, gray Cast Iron pipe, are widely recognized. The first official record of Cast Iron pipe installation was in 1455 in Siegerland, Germany.

Cast Iron pipe was introduced to the United States as early as 1817, when it was installed in the Philadelphia water system.

Stronger and Tougher than Cast Iron for Unmatched Dependability

Ductile Iron not only retains all of Cast Iron's attractive qualities, such as machinability and corrosion resistance, but also provides additional strength, toughness, and ductility. It is lighter, stronger, more durable and more cost effective than Cast Iron.

Although its chemical properties are similar to those of Cast Iron, Ductile Iron incorporates significant casting refinements, additional metallurgical processes, and superior quality control.

Ductile Iron's improved qualities are derived from an improved manufacturing process that changes the character of the graphite content of the iron. Ductile Iron's graphite form is spherical, or nodular, instead of the flake form found in Cast Iron. This change in graphite form is accomplished by adding inoculants, usually magnesium, to molten iron of appropriate composition during manufacture.

Due to its spherical graphite form, Ductile Iron has approximately twice the strength of Cast Iron as determined by tensile, beam, ring bending, and bursting tests. Its impact strength and elongation are many times greater than Cast Iron's.

Why Ductile Iron Pipe Defines Durability

The Stuff Legends Are Made Of Since its introduction into the marketplace in 1955, Ductile Iron pipe has been recognized as the industry standard for modern water and wastewater systems. More than four decades of field experience have proven its strength, durability, and reliability for transporting raw and potable water, sewage, slurries, and process chemicals.

Ductile's high degree of dependability is primarily due to its high strength, durability, and impact and corrosion resistance. Ductile Iron has minimum strength requirements of 60,000 psi tensile strength, 42,000 psi yield strength, and 10 percent minimum elongation. Designed and manufactured to the industry's most stringent standards, Ductile Iron pipe resists damage during shipping and handling, and, once installed, withstands the most demanding operating conditions, including water hammer, frozen ground, deep trenches, areas of high water table and heavy traffic, river crossings, pipe on supports, rocky trenches, and areas of shifting, expansive, and unstable soils. Additionally, numerous laboratory and field tests have proven that Ductile Iron's corrosion resistance is equal to or greater than that of Cast Iron, which has a service history that is unequaled by any other piping material.

Installation is simple. Unlike some pipe materials, Ductile Iron pipe requires no complex line-and-grade drawings or laying schedules. It can be installed in a wide variety of trench and standard laying conditions and can be easily cut in the field. Direct tapping, even in straight lines, doesn't affect its integrity. And, once installed, Ductile Iron pipe is virtually maintenance-free.

Tapping Ductile Iron Pipe

The pipe is manufactured in 18- or 20-foot nominal laying lengths and 3- to 64-inch diameters in a range of standard pressure classes and nominal wall thicknesses. Ductile Iron is furnished with several different types of joints and a wide variety of standard fittings is available without special order. Although Ductile Iron is usually furnished with cement-mortar lining, optional internal linings are also available for a wide range of special applications.

And Ductile Iron's generally larger than nominal inside diameters, combined with its high flow coefficient (C = 140), offers substantial savings on pumping and power costs over the life of the pipeline.

Hydraulic Considerations for Ductile Iron Pipe

Ductile Iron pipe is the kind of pipe that utility engineers dream of. Its reliability, derived from its strength and adaptability, give those engineers the peace of mind that can only come from using a product that they know will be there when duty calls. They know that the good service they demand for their customers follows directly from their decision to install Ductile Iron pipe ... the Right Decision

FERRO ALLOYS

In a world that is changing at an ever-increasing pace, with emerging countries developing rapidly, the demand for steel and stainless steel has never been greater. At the same time the world is becoming more dynamic, which makes the supply of raw materials harder to control, for both large and small steel producing companies. In this environment, you need a solid partner that both enables and encourages continuity, rather than compromising it. A partner that is not only sustainable and reliable, but who can also be flexible and innovative if needed.

The world's single largest port and distribution center for metals, our international outlook and entrepreneurial business sense have always been about trust. From our foundation we have developed years of experience as a reliable supplier of Ferro Alloys. Today, we are active in the central region catering to almost every buyer of Ferro Alloys.

By identifying and securing primary and alternative sources of supply and by being a versatile player in the supply of Ferro Alloys to the Steel Industry, we have created a unique position in the supply chain. Our major strength is our extensive knowledge of the Alloy industry, which allows us to cooperate with our customers to optimize their raw material strategy and with our suppliers to optimize their product mix and production process. In doing so, we provide our customers with the goods and services they require to achieve their goals and objectives.

Sourcing, supplying and supporting

As miner, Trader, producer, Exporter, recycler, and financier, we can play a crucial part in every phase of the Ferro Alloys supply chain. We continuously search for alternative sources of supply from all over the world, or even create new products by refining and blending different metals in innovative ways. By operating local representative offices, developing methods of secondary mining and controlling production through strategic mining partnerships, we can ensure a long-term, reliable continuity of supply for our customers.