Become a believer!

June 16, 2014 by Miaja Cornelius

Engineers at Alexandria Sanitation Authority’s municipal wastewater treatment facility, a sprawling plant that treats more than 80 million gallons of wastewater a day from the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., had had enough troubles with lime spills. It was the mid-1990s and the plant was new and state-of-the-art, but the lime — which is carried in pelletized form through two four-inch pneumatic lines from truck to silo and used for pH control — kept wearing through pipe elbows in the line every six months or so.

Even replacing the conventional elbows with tougher, heavy-duty wearback elbows and wide-radius sweeps didn’t show much of an improvement, lasting maybe an additional three months before rupturing. The resulting dust and downtime in a plant that operates under strict EPA regulations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, was a real problem that needed a solution.

In early 1998, ASA Lead Mechanic Bob Devereaux received a post card. The post card offered a free trial of the HammerTek Smart Elbow^® deflection elbow. The Authority began replacing the sweeps in its lines with Hammerloy™ Smart Elbow products in April of that year, and by June the plant had five Smart Elbow units in service for testing.

Six months passed. Nine months. One year. A year and a half. It was beyond belief.

After two years with no failures, Devereaux pulled a couple of the Smart Elbow deflection elbows out of service and inspected them for wear. Finding none, the Authority continued replacing its old-style sweeps with Smart Elbow units, which have consistently resisted any hint of wear. Devereaux says the switch to Smart Elbow deflection elbows has more than paid for itself.

The secret to the Smart Elbow deflection elbow is its patented Vortex Chamber, a nearly spherical chamber located at the back of the bend where traditional elbows fail. The chamber’s patented shape allows the formation of a slowly rotating ball of material which, instead of creating eddies or other pockets of turbulence, redirects and smooths the flow of material into its new direction without allowing it to contact the elbow wall, where friction with the product causes conventional elbows to fail. The elimination of elbow wear helps save energy in pumping costs, and increases product quantity and quality by improving material delivery rate and flow.

Smart Elbow models are available in 45° and 90° angles, and in diameters from 1-1/2 to 16 inches. They are furnished with plain or flanged ends in carbon steel, cast iron, stainless steel, HammerLoy, or aluminum.

Make the smart move to Smart Elbow deflection elbows now, and put an end to your pipe elbow woes. We’ll be more than happy to provide further information about our product and the warranty that stands behind it. Like Bob Devereaux, we’ll make a believer out of you.