EBAA Iron Designs Record 72-Inch Flexible Ball Joint For San Francisco PUC For Seismic Upgrade Pipeline Project

Eastland, TX - Its customers have learned to depend on industry leader EBAA Iron, Inc., for better joint restraints for water and wastewater pipelines, and now EBAA Iron also is designing them bigger.

Engineers at EBAA Iron have designed a 72-inch flexible ball joint for water and wastewater transmission pipelines located above or below ground. Constructed of ductile iron, it conforms to ANSI/AWWA standards and provides deflection to protect the pipelines from shear. Applications include fault crossings, unstable soils, docks or other floating structures.

The City of San Francisco and its Public Utilities Commission have selected EBAA Iron's new 72-inch flexible ball joint to use in a seismic upgrade project on a transmission line in the vicinity of the Hayward fault in Fremont, Calif. Installation of the EBAA product is intended to help ensure that the San Francisco PUC can continue to effectively supply water to its 2.5 million customers.

A model of EBAA Iron's newest 72-inch product will be displayed in the EBAA booth at the upcoming show of the Water Environment Federation Oct. 2-6, 2010, in New Orleans, La. It was also shown in Chicago June 20-24 at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Water Works Association, and FLEX 972, as EBAA Iron calls the product, will be displayed again June 12-16, 2011, at next year's AWWA event.

Previously, the largest joint restraint made by EBAA Iron was 48 inches in diameter. "This is substantially bigger," Karl Miersemann, product support manager for EBAA Iron on the west coast, said, "and it's the largest in the world that we know of. The City of San Francisco looked for a product of this size, and EBAA Iron was the only company to agree to design it.

"It puts EBAA Iron in a different league for design with large-diameter pipe for seismic projects," Miersemann added. "There has been additional interest from customers both domestic and international for this FLEX 972. The high-pressure testing EBAA did on this product exceeded what we normally do in testing. It's definitely not an off-the-shelf product."

Michael Lundstrom, manager of product engineering for EBAA Iron, said the project "marks an exciting milestone for us, both professionally and personally." He added, "The size and construction were only half of the challenge. Testing requirements pressed everyone for innovative and effective solutions. A number of people collaborated to make this possible, and everyone at EBAA is ready to do it again with an even larger diameter."

Flexible ball joints from EBAA Iron are designed to be used with ductile iron, steel, PVC or HDPE pipe. They are constructed of ASTM A536 ductile iron and hydrostatically tested prior to shipment.

EBAA Iron, based in Eastland, Texas, is a recognized quality leader in manufacturing innovative solutions for the waterworks industry. Now in its 46th year, EBAA Iron ships millions of units each year of pipe restraints and flexible expansion joints for the water and wastewater pipeline industry. The company also operates foundries in Cordele, Georgia, (since 1985) and Albany, Texas (since 1996).

EBAA Iron marked its beginning March 1, 1964, in the garage of company founder Earl C. Bradley in Dallas. Bradley, who led the company until his death in 2005, later opened a foundry in Frisco, Texas. With the help of the Eastland Industrial Foundation, he moved EBAA Iron in 1973 to an abandoned electrical power plant originally built in 1922 by Oil Belt Power Co. EBAA Iron has experienced several expansions of facilities since moving to Eastland.

EBAA Iron is a member of American Foundry Society and American Water Works Association, and its products meet AWWA standards. EBAA Iron joint restraints are used in residential and industrial installations in cities across the U.S. Earl C. Bradley received the Gold Water Drop Award from AWWA and the Freedom Founders Award from AFS for his leadership and longtime service to the industry.

SOURCE: EBAA Iron Sales, Inc.