DANCO MANUFACTURING & QC

ASSURANCE METHODOLOGY
QUALITY PIPES & INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
 DANCO HDPE AQUAFLEX PIPE MANUFACTURING METHODOLOGY

Danco Aquaflex HDPE pipes all go through the same manufacturing methodology, from
parameter control to quality assurance. Danco completes any manufacturing job in three
sections – Pre inspection, Production, Post production. Below is the procedure for each
section, with a zero tolerance policy on all components of the process.

1. Preproduction

a.) Raw material evaluation & logistics

PE100 material is single sourced from Borouge, Abu Dhabi. The grade used is HE
3490LS exclusively. This material not only gives Aquaflex pipes excellent strength &
flexibility, but also favourable processing characteristics.

Every raw material shipment is accompanied by an EXCLUSIVE BATCH NUMBER

indicating the reactor batching information tracing back from the oil refinery at
Borouge.

Every batch is accompanied by a materials testing report from a material testing

facility based in Abu Dhabi. Attached labled Annex A is an example of a batch
testing certificate accompanied with a raw material shipment.

This exclusive batch number is attached to every one of its consequent pipe products
in our records.

DOCUMENTATION – BATCH RAW MATERIAL CERTIFICATE

b.) Production Orders & Job Cards

Once an order is confirmed, production will evaluate the raw material batch
certification. If this is satisfactory, the production coordinator will release a
production order. The technical supervisor will then create a job card with the correct
dimensional requirements, and material specification.

DOCUMENTATION – PRODUCTION ORDER

DOCUMENTATION – JOB CARD

2. Production

a.) Parameter setting

Production parameters for the machine are set up, and recorded before raw
materials are fed into the machine. This ensures that the correct temperatures, and
machines settings are thoroughly checked before commencing production. The raw
material batch number is also recorded on this documentation. This is signed off by
the machine operator, and reviewed and approved by the production manager

DOCUMENTATION - PARAMETER RECORD

b.) Sizing and wall thickness

Pipes are sized, and wall thickness is maintained by manipulating settings on the
machine. This is where Danco’s quality control supervisor constantly engages with
the production team to evaluate quality during the production run.

Quality control supervisor will independently take pipe samples at random (no less
than 2 samples per hour). These pipe samples are measured on specific criteria as
seen in the quality control report attached.

DOCUMENTATION – QUALITY CONTROL REPORT

c.) Ultrasonic wall thickness measurement & calibration

All machines at Danco have an inline wall thickness ultrasonic scanners. This
measures the wall thickness of the pipes as they are being produced. The machine
will automatically store this data, and this is available with the pipe production order.
This machine will also reject pipes that are below the require KS ISO 4427 wall
thickness requirement for the pressure requirements for the pipe. The ultrasonic
scanner is calibrated twice every manufacturing job lot.

DOCUMENTATION – ULTRASONIC WALL THICKNESS REPORT

d.) Pipe weights

Every pipe that is produced is weighed. This pipe weight is recorded, and approved
by quality control, production supervisor and the production manager

DOCUMENTATION – PIPE WEIGHT RECORD

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The manufacturing process is best shown in the below diagram.

1. Raw material is moved to the production warehouse with individual batch

numbers
2. Raw material is dehumidified with batch tracking now active for the
production job
3. The material is fed into the extruder using a gravimetric feeding system to
ensure accurate weight per metre
4. The material melts as it is drives through a screw and barrel at temperatures
of approximately 200 degrees celcius. The powerful motor and screw ensures
a homogenous melt, and uniform density across the liquid plastic
5. The liquid plastic is injected in the die head. This die head with determine the
wall thickness, and outer diameter of the pipes. The die head will also remove
the memory from the plastic as it was converted from solid to liquid. The
liquid plastic is then forced into the vacuum sizing chambers.
6. The liquid plastic is sprayed with chilled water inside a cooling tank. This
water is circulated in a closed loop through chillers and an underground sump
tank. There should be no continuation in this water, and should have inline
strainers and filters within the process chilled water circuit. The liquid pipe
forms, and becomes solid.
7. The haul off is a tracked machine, that provide the pulling force to haul the
formed plastic from the diehead to the cutter.
8. Printing is done on the new formed pipe using either hot stamp foil printing, or
inkjet printing. This is done in accordance to the ISO 4427 marking
requirements for pipes
9. The pipe is cut at this station, using accurate encoder technologies to cut the
correct lengths of pipes. The saw is a circular saw spinning at high revolutions
to ensure a smooth cross sectional cut in the pipe wall.
10. Finished and cut pipe lengths are then taken to the storage area, where
quality control will do a final inspection and report before dispatch. If the pipe
is not to ISO standards, the pipe is rejected and destroyed.
11. Finally, the pipe is dispatched. For diameter above 125mm, the HDPE pipes
are manufactured in 12m lengths and use a semi-trailer for transport to site.
For longer lengths, this can be arranged through the use of specialised
transport options
 DANCO QUALITY CONTROL TESTING

Danco Capital Limited quality control commits himself to provide whole resources and
necessary facilities for achieving goals and standard requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and
continuous (standing) improvement of activities. All employees are committed to
increase (progress) their knowledge about all parameters of QC lab and obey those
principles.

Quality Control Laboratory at Danco Capital Limited has been established with the
purpose of creating a professional centre to provide special facilities to experiment High
Density Polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene random pipes (PP-R) and its fittings
according to the national and international standard. This laboratory is currently working
towards attaining accreditation for with international standard ISO/IEC 17025 in a bid to
provide excellent services with great effort in dynamic, improvement of activities
effectiveness, standing progress and customer satisfaction.

The quality tests are undertaken both inline and laboratory quality control tests. The
inline tests are undertaken on the shop floor which entails checking of the physical
dimensions of the pipe including the Nominal diameter (DN), wall thickness (e), Ovality,
Length, weight, and appearance. The physical dimensions are crucial to the overall
quality of the pipes as it determines the accuracy of the laboratory quality tests.

Danco Capital limited has an established quality plan (attached in the appendix) that
seeks to establish the testing procedures including the sampling and testing procedures.
The quality plan includes all the test methods and procedures relevant to all the pipes
that we produce at our premises. Standard operating procedures for every equipment in
the laboratory have been developed to ensure consistency of the results from different
laboratory analysts during operations.
Sampling

A test piece with correct parameters as per the standard is collected from the production
at intervals stated in the quality plan and taken for preparations to undertake various
tests. The sample test piece is stored under favourable conditions at the lab situated
close to the production shop floor awaiting sample preparation.

Quality laboratory testing

Hydrostatic pressure testing

Equipment unit

▪ Booster pump
▪ Hydrostatic pressure tester
▪ Accumulator
▪ Cold water test tank
▪ Hot water test tank

Utilities

▪ Endcaps

Scope

This test specifies determining the

resistance to internal hydrostatic
pressure at a given temperature of
the thermoplastic pipes, fittings and
piping systems used in the
transportation of fluids. The test
follows the standard procedure of
ISO 1167-2. The booster pump
provides the required pressure while
hydrostatic pressure tester rates the Fig 1: hydrostatic tester with booster pump for
internal pipe pressure testing at Danco Capital
pressure required for different types
Limited.
of the test pieces.

The accumulator serves to provide consistency in the pressure equipment by injecting

pressure in case of deficit. The pressure transducer convers the pressure into a rated
electrical signal that is view in the PC. Thus, the pressure is monitored in the computer.
The expansion or any other effect of the test piece can be view on a regression graph
developed by the software installed in the PC. The cold-water test tank is used for short
term tests that will take place at 200C for 100 hours. The set pressure of the pipe for
testing are determined by the pipe nominal diameter, wall thickness and Hoop stress
(circumferential stress).

Test piece is fitted with the pressure tight endcaps on both ends before being
pressurized for the specified period as stated above.

Reporting

The software auto generates a pressure test reports containing recorded parameters
and a regression graph showing the behaviour of the pipe during test. At the end of the
test, it gives the status of the test piece whether broken or successfully completed the
test. The report is printed and filled. A soft copy of the same is stored as back up.

Hydrotesting tanks for internal pipe pressure

testing at Danco Lab. Picture of solid wall pipe
undergoing conditioning before insertion into
water tanks for hydrostatic pressure test
Longitudinal reversion

Scope

This test specifies the method for determining the longitudinal reversion of
thermoplastics pipes, to be carried out in either a liquid or in air. In case of dispute,
heated liquid is used as the reference. This test follows the standard ISO 2505 that is
applicable to all thermoplastics pipes with smooth internal and external walls of
constant cross-section. It is not
applicable to non-smooth
structured-wall thermoplastics
pipes.

NB. Measurement of
longitudinal reversion is not
considered relevant for pipe
wall thickness greater than 16
mm. Hot Air Oven for Longitudinal reversion test at Danco
Capital Limited.

Procedure

A pipe of specified length is placed in a hot air oven at a specified temperature for a
specified time (HDPE and PP-R have different heating temperatures and durations). A
marked length of this portion of pipe is measured, under identical conditions, before and
after heating. The reversion is calculated as a percentage of the change in length in
relation to the initial length. The surface appearance of the test piece shall not be
changed after heating.

Reporting

An individual report is generated showing the test parameters and the overall
longitudinal reversion (RL) of the pipe.
Density measurement

Specific gravity is an important aspect of our production process. The density of the raw
material and the finished product are paramount to the final weight of the pipes. The
raw material density testing is undertaken for recertification process.

Fig 4: Specific gravity determination apparatus Danco Capital Limited.

Tensile testing

Scope

The tensile testing for our HDPE pipes is carried out as per the ISO 6259-1 test method.
Because extruded HDPE properties vary in the hoop and axial directions and the
properties are highly affected by temperature, specimens were cut in both the hoop and
axial directions. The test piece is pulled on both sides until it fails. A hand press is used
to prepare a test piece as shown in the figure below.

Fig 5: test piece prepared for tensile test

Upon failure the computer connected to the machine will develop a stress against strain
of the test piece under consideration as shown in the figure below.

Fig 6: typical graph of tensile testing process. The graph is generated

by a software installed in a computer. On the right is the UTI machine
at Danco Capital Ltd

Carbon content testing

Danco Capital limited considers very essential and protective test which is performed to
test the efficiency of polyethylene raw material and finished product. It helps to measure
the quality of the test sample in a static atmosphere which works in accordance with the
gravimetric difference. The glass of the lab instrument is designed and constructed
using the best quality of alloys to preserve the untimely fusions. The temperature of the
machine is controlled by built-in electronic controllers to avoid practically for better
temperature stability. The test procedure is carried out as per the ASTM D1603.
Reporting

The percentage carbon black, test parameters, acceptability ae reported.

Fig 7: Carbon black content tester at Danco Capital Limited.

Oxidation induction time test

The oxidation induction time (OIT) is a standardized test performed in a differential

Thermal Analyser which measures the level of thermal stabilization of the material
tested under the standard ISO 11357-6. The test is used to assess the level of
stabilization of a material by determining the time of oxidative decomposition. The
measurement is carried out in an oxygen atmosphere at a temperature that is sufficient
high (usually at 200-210 oC for polyethylene materials) to assure that decomposition
begins within a reasonable time. Polyethylene in particular, which is highly used in the
production of pipes is subject to oxidation which over time weakens the pipe and
promotes failure. As a result, polyethylene resin manufacturers normally add stabilizers
to improve the resistance of polyethylene to oxidative degeneration. The composition
should be conclude at least in 20 minutes time as per ISO 4427.
 Fig 8: Differential Thermal Analyser for oxidation Induction time at
Danco Capital Limited.

Danco manufactures to strict ISO standards, and through its in-house quality testing
procedures, guarantees the best quality at all times.