For the new £33m Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) Centre of Excellence near Edinburgh, the specification of clay pipes from Hepworth Clay as an underground drainage solution will provide durability, long term performance and a low lifetime cost.

Application

The new centre at Heriot-Watt Research Park will be a hub for processing, testing, supply, research and development for blood and human donor tissues and cells. The state-of-the-art centre will comprise laboratories, offices, ancillary buildings and parking facilities.

As part of the groundworks package installed by specialist contractor WH Malcolm, the requirement for the foul drainage in the laboratory areas led to the specification of Hepworth SuperSleve clay pipes from Hepworth Clay to ensure chemical resistance, longevity, strength and a trouble free future.

Set for completion in the spring of 2017, Scotland’s new purpose built national blood centre will have a foul drainage system that will ensure the important work of facility will be unhindered, ensuring the safe future supply of blood, tissues and cells for patients in Scotland.

For use in commercial or industrial construction, adoptable sewers, highways and general building works, the Hepworth SuperSleve system is available in 100mm, 150mm, 225mm and 300mm diameters and consists of plain ended pipe and fittings with additional push fit flexible couplings.

Conclusion

Paul Wydell, Product Manager at Hepworth, said: “The durability of clay pipes is as much an advantage during its service life as it is for installation. With a lifetime jetting guarantee, Hepworth pipes are able to withstand jetting pressure of 7500psi, at 20 gallons per minute held static for five minutes, allowing blockages to be cleared with reduced risk and in less time.

“Clay drainage pipes also allow specifiers to reduce installation costs as well as environmental impact by minimising the volume of primary aggregate needed from quarries. Clay pipes have tremendous compressive strength which allows their installation with reduced amounts of granular bed and surround, recycled material or even reused as-dug material if suitable.”