Pipe production, filament winding process

Fig. 54 Pipe production using the filament winding process (schematic)...

Because of the continuous nature of the fibres and the mechanization of the process, filament winding lends itself particularly well to the production of pressure pipe. It is also used quite frequently for the production of larger diameter structures such as tanks and storage vessels. 

Various processes are reported to provide a means to pulsate the melt to improve performance of the extruded product. An example is the Scorim process reviewed in the Injection Molding section in this chapter. A variation in the IM process has been applied to production of reinforced extruded TP pipe. This has been a center of interest, on the argument that a predictable orientation of fiber would considerably increase the pressure resistance of the pipe, without the need to increase wall-thickness (on the analogy of winding a TS resin pipe with continuous filament). The Scorim process combines the extrusion of a fiber-reinforced compound with pressure pulsing around the periphery of the die, which appears to have the effect of orientating the reinforcement. 

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