Aug 17 2007
Wavin Plastics’ innovative OSMA Tegra 600 non-entry inspection chamber has passed rigorous industry tests to achieve a certificate of approval from the BBA (British Board of Agrément).
Designed to provide easy installation, inspection and maintenance to non-adoptable domestic and commercial drainage systems, the chamber successfully passed a range of technical investigations to receive the industry accolade.
Spokesperson for Wavin Plastics, Michelle Fleming, said she is delighted with the recognition.
“We were always confident that Tegra 600 would make a real impact, but to achieve BBA approval with the new product is great. It is a credit to the engineers and designers who worked behind the scenes,” she said.
Tegra 600 is constructed from strong polypropylene and is much lighter and easier to handle than large concrete manholes. The chamber can be installed by hand and backfilled in a day, three times faster than its rival. There is also less of a health and safety risk with Tegra 600 which can be used to examine buried pipework up to 5 metres deep.
“It is an extremely safe and easy-to-use inspection chamber that significantly reduces the installation costs associated with routine pipe maintenance. Using the Tegra 600 means far less risk to personnel, both during installation and service.”
During its assessment by a BBA panel of experts the chamber was subjected to a number of tests where its mechanical properties came under close scrutiny. It was found that the chamber has adequate stiffness for depth of burial and is not directly affected by wheel load from traffic.
Other tests successfully carried out on OSMA Tegra 600 were done to determine water tightness, strength of joints, a resistance to negative pressure, dimensional accuracy and impact resistance. The results concluded that:
- Joints between the chamber and pipeline remain watertight under conditions where pipeline movement is in excess of those expected to occur in normal good drainage practice
- The chamber to the shaft connection does not allow seepage of water
- The chamber has satisfactory flow characteristics to prevent blockage
A further evaluation of the chamber was made to assess its structural integrity, durability, practicability of installation and ease of maintenance from ground level. All were successfully negotiated.