SOVIET INDUSTRY SUBSTITUTES GLASS PIPES FOR METAL PIPES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070020-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2011
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: June 4, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070020-0
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY
USSR DATE OF
INFORMATION
1951 - 1952
SUBJECT
HOW
Economic - Glass pipes
DATE DIST. 1~-
Jun 1952
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
Daily newspapers; monthly periodical
USSR NO. OF PAGES
3
DATE
PUBLISHED
10 Jan - 8 Apr 1952
LANGUAGE
SUPPLEMENT TO
Russian REPORT NO.
THIS SOLO...T COnra.S INFORNAnox AH ICTIN. INS NATW.AL .VLSI
Or TOE ANITIO STATES WITax INK ?Uxlxt Or 13r1ONANI ACT SO
d. x. C.. it ..x SS.ANT MASS.. O A I. I IN-. ox T..
Or ITE coa[.TE 1. A.T YM.xx .. VxA IN IN P O I...OO I. rx0
nwno n .Aw. xvxaxuenon or Txu Sox. n r.oninno.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOVIET INDUSTRY SUBSTITUTES
GLASS PIPES FOR METAL PIPES
fRiumbera in parentheses refer to appended sources-7
In an effort to save metal, Soviet scientists have tried to find new
materials for the production of pipes. Until now, extremely large quantities
of metal pipes have been used, both for civilian needs and in industry. For
example, 50,000 tons of steel pipe were laid in the construction of the Saratov-
Moscow gas main. The chemical industry, which dee.ls with corrosive liquids,
including acids and alkalies, uses pipes mad' of expensive metals, such as
copper and lead.(l)
Scientists are working on the problem of substituting glass pipes for
metal pipes. Glass pipes have a number of advantages: they are cheap, durable,
sufficiently strong, and corrosion-proof, and they have good dielectric qual-
ities.(2)
A large amount of experimental work in the manufacture of glass pipes has
been done by the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Glass, Ministry of
Construction Materials Industry USSR. Scientists visited a number of plants
and cooperated with leading plant workers in finding new methods to produce
glass pipes. The Bytosh', Bucha, Gomel, Lisichansk, and "Krasnyy Oktyabr ,"
glass plants organized the production of pipes with an inside diameter of 12
to 100 millimeters and a length of 3 meters. The pipes are able to stand an
inner hydraulic pressure of 8 to 20 atmospheres.(l)
The Bucha Glass Plant has started production of seamless glass pipes.
Over 60,000 meters of glass pipe were manufactured as an experiment. They
can stand a pressure up to 25 atmospheres; and they are acidproof and much
cheaper than met:' pipes. Thz prnd?'ats of this pi.ar_t have been shinsd to
more than 50 enterpriaea of the food industry-.(3)
STATE
ARMY
DISThIBUTION
-T-
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The glass industry now uses three different methods for manufacturing
glass pipes: vertical or horizontal stretching (drawing), and a method which
consists of winding a thin jet of melted glass around a rotating metal shaft.
The most commonly used method is that of vertical stretching, based on
an invention of Stalin Prize laureate S. I. Korolev.(l)
One of the most productive methods for manufacturing glass pipes is hor-
izontal stretching, which makes it possible to produce 250-300 meters of pipe
per hour; however, for the time being, the diameter of these pipes has to be
limited to 50 millimeters, and the thickness of the balls to 4-5 millimeters.(2)
The Misheronskiy Glass Plant in Moscow Oblast recently' installed a machine
for horizontal stretching. .is machine is to have an annual piouu LiviLy of
800 kilometers of glass pipe with a diameter up to 50 millimeters.(l)
Pipes with a larger diameter and thicker walls are produced either by
the method of vertical stretching, or by the "winding" method mentioned above.
The two latter methods still require considerable improvements to increase
their productivity. Glass-making experts and scientists are continuing to
work on this problem.(2)
The glass ingredients used for the production of pipes have to be some-
what different from those used in the production of window glass, as the latter
would be too expensive. The Institute of Glass suggested making alkali-free
or alkalescent glass.. A glass mixture containing sand, kaolin, dolomite, and
fluorspar was developed, By adding a small quantity of sodium sulfate, alka-
lescent glass was obtained. Many regions of the USSR have large reserves of
clay, furnace slag, etc., which can be used as raw material for the production
of this type of glass. The process of manufacturing pipes of alkali-free and
alkalescent glass is now being mastered. This type of glass is much cheaper
than window glass; it has great mechanical strength and chemical resistance,
and can withstand sudden temperature changes up to 100 degrees.
Until recently, a serious obstacle to large-scale production of glass
pipes was the lack of reliable methods for joining the pipes. However. this
problem has now been solved.(l) Sleeve joints of asbestos-cement, cast iron,
or glass with rubber gaskets have been developed. Experiments have also been
made in the use of thread joints.. To improve the strength of threaded pipe
ends, scientists have studied the possibilities of covering them with a plastic
or metal coating. With the help of a special device, the ends of glass pipes
are covered with a layer of iron, aluminum, or other metal, which has been
pulverized in a jet of oxyacetylene flame. This metal dust firmly adheres
to the glass, forming a 2-3 millimeter layer in the required place. Plastic
also provides a good coating material. Threading of metal and plastic pre-
sents no difficulties. The over-all mechanical strength of glass pipes can
be improved considerably by hardening processes,(2)
A 150-meter water main made of glass, built in Izmaylovskiy settlement of
Moscow, is now being tested. Glass water pipes at the Bytosh' and Misheronakiy
glass plants are also being tested. A 30-meter water standpipe made of glass
was installed in the wall of a new nine-story apartment building in Moscow
This pipe was able to stand a pressure of 10 atmospheres.
The Moscow Experimental Vitamin Plant is now using 3-inch glass pipes for
draining waste products, such as acids and orcanic substances, This had re-
duced production rascs .. i?9 s_`ly. as -lie ^=`s in?s this Industry were
r,nztant_, seine ,_r^ded b? acids, al,a ,.ai cc rep _cen.
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F
A glass pipe installed in one of the petroleum refineries has successfully
passed a 3-month test. It is used to conduct kerosene catalyst, a very corrosive
product.
Glass pipes have a great future. The Soviet national economy plans to
use them in large quantities, thereby releasing hundreds of thousands of tons
of metal. Scientific tests have proved that glass pipes can be used success-
fully not only for water mains and sewage systems, but also in laying tele-
phone and electric cables, concealed electric wiring, and in the chemical,
petroleum-refining, food, and other industries. In the not too distant future,
it should be possible to replace metal pipes completely by glass pipes.(1)
SOURCES
1. Ashkhabad, Turkmenakaya Iskra, 8 Apr 52
2. Moscow, Znaniye-Sila, No 3, Mar 52
3. Tashkent, Pravda Vostoka, 10 Jan 52
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CONFIJENTIAL
L
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