WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — Large Inflatable Rubber Plugs have been in use in large-scale infrastructure projects since at least the early 1920’s, when they were used in large cities to isolate and empty sewer sections to enable repairs avoiding excavation. Storm drainage pipelines, sanitary sewer lines, and low-pressure underground pipelines do not have valves or spectacle flanges to block fluid flow in the line. Blocking these lines and permitting access to them without the need for expensive, maintenance-intensive valves and flanges so that the pipeline becomes accessible for inspection, maintenance, or modification proved somewhat difficult.

Now, one century later, such systems, i.e., collapsible bladders or plugs inserted into sewer or industrial pipelines and inflated to create a dam or a block, are used in nearly all infrastructure sectors, from deep sea platforms to hydroelectric facilities, to overflow and miscellaneous sewers as well as the whole land based petrochemical sector.

One company providing plugging systems is the Pipestoppers® Division of Huntingdon Fusion Techniques HFT®. As well as their Mechanical and Freeze Range of plugging systems, HFT® are providing a wide range of Inflatable Plugs and Bladders, which are no longer regarded as expensive as they were traditionally in the past.

In addition to the standard range of Inflatable Plugs, HFT® can deliver purpose designed models. Examples include plugs working in high-pressure applications for pipelines in the Oil and Gas industry plus those that are needed for very high temperatures and others needed for caustic environments. For more information, visit www.huntingdonfusion.com.