MacLean Power Civil Products Group Receives Patent for Strength Squared Coupling Product

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MacLean Power Civil Products Group is Awarded a U.S. Patent for the Strength Squared Pipe Coupling System

by Mark Bryant

July, 2014

MacLean Power Systems Civil Group (MPS Civil) is proud to announce the award of United States Patent number US 8,777,520 B2 (click here to read the patent) on July 15, 2014. This achievement represents hours of effort by our engineering team to be the industry leader in new technologies for the Helical Product Industry. This patent represents the strength squared pipe coupling system, out of round pipe coupler systems and the cast repair bracket. As installers of MPS Civil pipe products already know, these new technologies are both effective in ease of installation and increased performance in load testing.

The pipe coupler systems (see Figure 1.) represented in this patent are out of round coupler systems designed to redirect the installation torque into the coupler and welds to offer the needed material resistance in installation. Previous coupler designs direct installation torques stress directly into the coupling bolts and pipe shaft creating opportunity for pipe shaft damage. The MPS Civil coupler design offers the following improvements:

The full strength of the pipe shaft can be utilized to resist installation torque.
The pipe shaft is not damaged during installation due to coupling hole elongation.
The corrosion resistance on the pipe shaft remains intact due to lack of damage at coupling.

The MPS Civil foundation repair bracket (see Figure 2.) represented in the patent is the product of numerous hours of design and field efforts. The three goals behind the cast foundation bracket design were ease of use, performance of product and economics. The streamlined cast product reduces both weight and bulk of past repair bracket designs. The elimination of welds on the bracket allow more control of production to ensure the design strength is reached or exceeded. The lack of handling due to cutting sheet steel and welding help to produce a viable economic alternation to labor intensive designs.

“Our first step in the design of the repair bracket and strength square coupler systems was to ask our installers what could be improved in the product to help in the field. Our installer’s response and our observations during actual installations by our engineering staff were incorporated into our design”, Wei-Chung Lin, MPS Civil lead designer.

MPS Civil is dedicated to supplying the helical market with new, innovative and cost effective solutions to deep foundation projects. Our cast products, including the strength square coupler and foundation repair brackets, are providing a first step in developing future products to aid our customers in being awarded and completing projects that require a new and innovative solution to construction issues.