Victaulic’s fire protection piping systems were installed recently at the exhibition space owned by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec).

As well as the fire protection system, Victaulic provided grooved-end couplings and fittings for the plant room, chilled water distribution and portable water piping.
Manoj Kumar Dhoot, senior general manager of ETA M&E Abu Dhabi, which worked on the project, said: “The highly technical nature of this installation and the building’s sheer size meant we had to depend on suppliers that were used to working on serious jobs with serious deadlines. Companies such as Victaulic enabled us to complete the project to time.”
Victaulic fire protection products are manufactured according to the most stringent quality standards in the industry and are UL/ULC-listed and FM-approved. A full line of fire protection products are offered for wet, dry, deluge and pre-action systems, including IPS carbon steel couplings, fittings, valves, and accessories, FireLock automatic sprinklers and accessories, and FireLock automatic devices including the Series 745 Fire Pac. Also offered in the system is a complete line of CPVC FireLock piping products and the Pressfit system.
Earlier, Victaulic proved its worth by delivering valves to one of the biggest fire protection installations ever seen at Dubai International Airport in record time.
The international airline, Emirates, commissioned the $353 million facility in Dubai.  The new centre sits on 55 hectares and its eight hangars together form the largest free-spanned structure in the Middle East.  Seven royal hangars have also been built.  The roofs are supported by 110-m-long single spans and the construction has meant that the facility now ranks as one of the world’s largest civil aviation engineering centres.
The new hangars have not only been designed to house the Airbus A380, but to also accommodate an anticipated growth in Emirates’ fleet, which is expected to double over the next seven years.  During construction, the main contractors, Emirates Trading Agency (ETA), which designed and installed the entire fire protection main loop and deluge system for the hangars, was faced with a range of challenges because of the size of the installation. 
Due to the expanse to be protected, 12-inch fire protection pipes traditionally used throughout the main loop were replaced with pipes up to 32-inch in size.  Throughout the system Victaulic Zero-Flex couplings were used alongside Victaulic elbows and tee’s and over 150 Victaulic Firelock 4-inch and 8-inch deluge valves.  The valves were installed to enable maximum coverage throughout the hangars and the larger pipe diameter and increased proximity of deluge valves ensured that the volume of water required for such an expanse could be dispersed through the system within seconds if required.
Victaulic made the first rigid couplings that featured a unique, angle bolt-pad design that eliminated the torque requirements of earlier rigid couplings. Introduced as the Zero-Flex coupling, the patented design allows the coupling to resist flexural and torsional loads. The housings slide along angled pads as the nuts are tightened to provide a visual verification of proper installation while the coupling forms a mechanical lock within the pipe groove walls. While eliminating expansion, contraction or linear movement, the Zero-Flex design retains vibration and noise attenuation benefits of flexible couplings.
“Not only did the use of Victaulic speed up installation of the job dramatically, but due to our sophisticated forecasting and planning procedures, the deluge valves were on-site only four days after the order was placed – rather than the normal lead-time of 10 weeks for this product,” Rami Mahmoud, regional manager of the Middle East for Victaulic, said.