ARMOR-CLAD©  FLEXIBLE PIPE

Armor-Clad is most commonly used to drain water from the floating roof as part of a flexible drain system in an aboveground storage tank (AST). Armor-Clad is also used in flexible skimmer systems (used to drain a light liquid product from a tank) and foam delivery systems (used to distribute foam around the storage tank's rim area). Armor Clad features a single coil, repeating lay pattern and smooth internal fluidway.

Armor-Clad assemblies can have a service life expectancy of up to 20 years provided the system is sized, installed and operated in the intended/designed service.

Armor-Clad is designed and manufactured as a true flexible drain system with repetitive lay pattern. This design will not exert undue force or maneuver the floating roof. The whole assembly is designed and manufactured in a single continuous length with no intermittent joints or couplings known to cause flow restriction or wear and tear. Armor-Clad has a smooth inner fluid conduit for non turbulent and faster water evacuation and a corrosion resistant stainless steel "armor" to protect the inner fluid way from transit, handling damages and abrasive attacks from the bottom. Other drain systems, articulating swivel designs, have elbows at every joint. Each elbow introduces 7-10 feet of additional hard piping to flow restrictions. On a typical 48 ft tall tank, an articulating rigid pipe drain system will have 10 flange joints and thus 10 potential leak points. Still other designs of roof drains manufactured with convoluted stainless steel fluid core have internal corrugation which provides space for build up of abrasive compactable dust, fine sand and rust from the floating roof. These systems owing to its inherent design and manufacturing characteristics cannot remove as much water in GPM as the Mesa smooth flow internal design. Armor-Clad is maintenance free and supplied in a ready to install condition.

Armor-Clad features negative buoyancy in all storage tank products. It will not slide on the tank floor as the roof raises or lowers. Armor-Clad can be installed between sump to shell nozzle without rigid piping if desired. Many customers install Armor Clad in direct shell nozzle connection mode without a floor spool. This installation option eliminates the risk of leakage from flange joints of floor spool attached to the shell nozzle and tank floor when the tank bottom settlement occurs.

Standard Armor-Clad specifications operate in temperatures ranging from -40° to 180°F. Armor-Clad suffers no damage from freezing and is also available in high temperature specifications. Being a flexible design, the Mesa system will move with the roof, allowing the roof to move as it will without putting undue pressure on the roof, roof drain, or shell connection. Articulating rigid pipe systems work in a scissor design. In order for these to work properly, the floating roof must actuate in a vertical only altitude. Any side movement, such as rotation about the gauge pole or simple lateral movement at the seals will cause the pivots to bind and gaul resulting in premature failure. Also, if the pipe lengths used in conjunction with the articulating designs are not precisely fitted properly, the scissor design will be affected. This can result in the roof being shifted to one side causing larger than normal rim spaces at the seal on one side and smaller than normal at the other, which could put the seals out of air quality seal compliance. It can also cause excessive pressures on the floating roof and the shell nozzles. The articulating roof drains in these instances are manipulating the roof where, in the case of Mesa’s flexible system, the roof manipulates the roof drain. If the hard piping on a Mesa design does not line up correctly linearly, the flexibility will compensate. The installation of Mesa designs is less time consuming It is very forgiving for irregularities in the tank. Armor-Clad's smooth bore with no short radius elbows yields higher flow rates for any given bore size. Armor-Clad's torsionally elastic conduit ensures consistent lay down pattern with a single coil. Armor-Clad does not skid on the tank floor. Armor-Clad is not susceptible to damage from internal abrasive contamination or lateral roof movement. Armor-Clad features a stainless steel exterior "armor" for protection during installation and service. This protective exterior has a low coefficient of friction. Armor-Clad is designed for specific applications, including roof drains, skimmers and foam systems, and is not an afterthought or adaptation of a flexible conduit. Armor-Clad is Made in the USA.