February 2022 Plastic Pipe Blog – Bryan Hauger Consulting, Inc.e
February 14, 2022
How to Avoid Pipe Bursting When Frozen Temperatures Produce
Pipe bursting happens when frozen temperatures produce ice blockages at areas within the pipe. PEX tubing is a highly freeze-break-resistant piping material, and  proper installation and protection of piping can prevent freezing of fluids inside PEX.

  • Thermal conductivity: The average thermal conductivity for PEX is 2.86 BTU·in/ft2·hr·°F, and for PE-RT it is 3.15. This compares with a thermal conductivity for copper tubing of 196 BTU·in/ft2·hr·°F.  
  • Material elasticity: The modulus of elasticity quantifies the strength and flexibility of a material. A higher modulus of elasticity means the material is more rigid.  
  • Cold weather behavior: At temperatures below -40 F PEX and PE-RT tubing maintain their flexibility. Meaning that if water-filled PEX or PE-RT tubing freezes solid, the elasticity of the material would allow them to inflate without any cracking or splitting.  
  • Research: One research report comments that “PEX pipe was conclusively shown to be freeze tolerant up to 400=plus cycles” and “PEX piping materials are experimentally and analytically shown to be reliable under repeated freezing conditions.”          
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February 23, 2022
Advent International Corp Invested $262M in Tigre to produce Infrastructure Products
Advent International Corp, located in Boston, has attained ¼ stake in Tigre Group, located in Brazil. They have invested $262 million to produce infrastructure products for both Brazil and the United States. Tigre was founded in 1941 with a range of 15,000 products produced in nine different facilities in Brazil and 13 around the world, including three in the United States. The United States is a crucial market for Tigre's civil construction and water treatment products, including PVC plumbing elbows and drain, and waste and vent fittings. Advent and Tigre will collaboratively work together to grow the company’s solution of civil construction, infrastructure and irrigation and the technology to enhance water use efficiency. Tigre will use the earnings on obtaining competitors, growing production lines and building new factories.
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February 28, 2022
Blue Diamond Industries Announces $18M Investment
Blue Diamond Industries has declared the area of its first East Coast plant, Clinton, South Carolina. They will invest $18 million to have a manufacturing operations center. The project is expected to create 90 jobs in Lawrence County. This 190,000 square foot space anticipates creating 30-45 jobs once operational by July 2022 and increasing to just about 90 jobs. This new facility in Clinton will create high-density polyethylene conduit materials, including micro ducts. Blue Diamond Industries products preserve cables for optical fiber, data and power assortment from wind and solar energy and for highway and street lighting.
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