November 2018
Features
Keeping Up with the Times: Mechanical Grooved Couplings Still Deliver
By Austin Stevens It is not often that looking backward provides insight into the future, but examining the evolution of the world’s first mechanical coupling can give us an indication of what lies ahead. Next year marks the 100th anniversary of what began as the “victory joint,” a mechanical grooved coupling with a gasket seal that has played a pivotal role for nearly a century in transporting and handling crude oil, gas and refined products, and in the extraction and refining of petroleum products. Before this device was introduced, industry relied primarily on welders to join pipe, an expensive and time-consuming method that required skilled workers, and special equipment. In addition
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