RACI has always supported the customer in the research and development of the best technical solutions, in order to best meet their specific needs. By collaborating with companies operating in the field, in 1975 the innovative system of our HDPE spacer collars has been designed and patented for crossing pipes within jacket pipes.

In fact, in many countries the crossings of pipelines located parallel to the roads or railway lines must be protected by casing pipe. RACI spacers allow, for example, to satisfy the requirements of EN 1594, for the construction of stretches of pipes/counter pipe in gas distribution pipelines.

The RACI spacer rings protect pipelines for drinking water, sewerage, gas and petrochemical fluids in a simple and effective way.

ADVANTAGES

• Electrical insulation between the pipeline and the casing pipe, for long-lasting protection against corrosion.
• Easy insertion of the main pipe, preventing damage to the protective coating.
• Excellent fixing on the main pipe to prevent horizontal sliding during insertion.
• Dielectric chemical-resistant material.
• Resistance to thermal shock and stress during insertion to ensure continuous and lasting support to the main pipe and its contents.

CHARACTERISTICS

• Entirely made of high density polyethylene (HDPE), no metal connection components are required.
• Modular rings composition system that allows the spacers to cover a wide range of pipe diameters, thereby minimizing the stocking quantities.
• Easily assembled, by inserting one element into the other.
• Low friction coefficient.
• Can be installed on steel, concrete, cast/ductile iron or plastic pipes.

DESIGN AND QUALITY

The RACI spacers are the result of an in-depth structural, design and production analysis assisted by the solid modeling systems. So they represent the best compromise between mechanical resistance and used raw material.

The RACI spacer collars are divided into eight families covering a wide range of diameters. All elements are designed according to their different applications.

They must therefore offer certain static and dynamic characteristics, as to ensure a successful pipeline insertion into the casing pipe.

Each family offers different heights so that the collar rings can overcome flanges, coupling joints, socket joints, or simply to obtain a better centering.

Heights are available from 15 to 200 mm.

Special versions of spacer elements made of other polymers may also be produced in accordance with the mechanical and temperature resistance values required by customers (the variations of the raw material are linked to minimum order batches, due to production requirements).

QUALITY CONTROL

All RACI tests are carried out by our laboratory according to the standard UNI EN 527-2. For each production batch, 10 specimens are tested to check that the design characteristics are always satisfied.

Once the mechanical characteristics are verified, we start the produc¬tion of the specific batch, by marking each element with the same batch number, in order to ensure its traceability.

During production, all elements undergo a dimensional control in accordance with the construction drawings and before packaging they are visually inspected to ensure that all elements reach our quality standards.

The RACI quality department also schedules the testing of some specimens for creep phenomenon, by simulating the application on a pipeline and by performing the ageing cycles in a climatic chamber for a duration of 15 days with temperature excursions from -20°C to +80°C.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE MODEL