Saudi Review

Victaulic products used in Makkah

A Victaulic coupling

Victaulic has reported that DOKAAE (Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, has solved engineering challenges using its grooved products.

Victaulic, the world’s largest manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining systems, said consultants and the contractor chose its grooved products when faced with what it said was an exceptionally large install and a very tight time frame.

Just a short distance from the world’s largest mosque, the DOKAAE complex includes seven towers, each taller than the next, in a pattern designed to deliver maximum visibility of the Holy Mosque and a maximum capacity of 65,000 guests or visitors. The developer and contractor is the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Binladin Group.

Known as the Abraj Al Bait Towers, these seven structures currently hold several world records of their own, including the world’s tallest clock tower at 530 m, the largest clock face at 1,849 sq m and the world’s largest floor area at approximately 1.5 million sq m. The Towers also contain the world’s tallest hotel, which at 601m is currently the second highest building in the world.

Victaulic grooved mechanical piping systems were used in all areas of DOKAAE including HVAC, fire protection and desalination, with pipe sizes ranging from 2” up to 60” (50.8 to 1,525 mm) and pressure ratings of up to 17.75 bars. Piping materials used included both copper and stainless steel.

The project took over seven years to complete and included a nine-storey chilling plant with more than 65,000 tonnes of cooling water capacity. Victaulic was used extensively, including 168 heat exchangers, as well as on main connections and risers.

Using Victaulic systems enabled prefabrication, whilst flame-free assembly using grooved products not only sped up installation times but kept welding to a minimum as local ambient temperatures rose over 50 degrees C.

The grooved pipe joining method – which dramatically reduces the amount of installation time as compared to welding, threading or flanging – is now used extensively in a variety of piping applications.

Victaulic grooved products comprise a complete system: rigid and flexible grooved couplings, grooved accessories (such as grooved strainers and grooved suction diffusers), grooved valves, grooved fittings and grooved adapters, gaskets and grooving tools and accessories.

The Victaulic grooved pipe joining method accommodates most piping materials, including lightwall, standard and extra-heavy steel, stainless, aluminum, PVC and other plastics, as well as high-density polyethylene. In addition, products for copper tubing (CTS) and ductile iron (AWWA) for water supply as well as underground- and waste-treatment process piping are available.

Victaulic products are manufactured to accommodate piping standards including ANSI, DN, JIS, CIS, AS and BS. The company also offers products using unique joining methods. For example, utilising a spline-to-joint pipe, Aquamine products offer reusable, high-impact PVC pipe, PVC couplings and PVC fittings for water-system solutions. The Depend-O-Lok line of products allows mechanical joining of large diameter carbon and stainless steel pipe, regardless of the size or standard. There is also a press-to-connect system for joining schedule 10 stainless steel (Victaulic Vic-Press system) and push-to-connect systems for joining copper tube via the Victaulic PermaLynx system.