Almost 40 years have gone by since Beele Engineering developed a sealing plug for use in the sinking ground This plug made the gas pipes for residential buildings gas-tight, thus guaranteeing safety. Some four decades later and the company is still ahead of the rest, developing innovative systems for optimum sealing processes. This time it’s not for leaking gas pipes but for the reliable sealing of transits which are exposed to earthquakes and severe landslides. This new system ensures that pipes in and under buildings are better able to withstand the effects of earthquakes and land displacement. Similar to the sealing plug, the NOFIRNO system that is used for this purpose is easy to install.

Continuous development

The sealing plug which was developed in the ‘70s was just one of the propellants behind Beele Engineering’s foray into the international market. Today, as then, demand from the market was behind the development of this product. Beele Engineering’s NOFIRNO system has already been on the market for some time as a quick workable solution for cable and pipe penetrations that have to be fire-, gas-, water- and smoke-tight. The continuous development of existing products and systems is typical of the company’s approach.

No to foot-dragging, yes to innovation

Under the motto ‘No to foot-dragging, yes to innovation’, the company constantly responds to market demands and implements a non-stop testing programme. As with other Beele systems and products, these elements form the basis for the continued improvement of product features and optimisation of the NOFIRNO system. One of these is ductility, or deformability – a vital feature when making buildings earthquake resistant.

The trick here is to develop a material which can deform without breaking but that can absorb forces. NOFIRNO is fully equipped for this. An additional advantage, which is especially important in earthquake-prone areas, is the excellent fire resistance. The system already confirmed with EN1366  and withstood the extremely tough jet fire and hydrocarbon fire tests.

Extremely tough tests

The NOFIRNO system’s earthquake resistance was proven by undergoing extremely tough mechanical load testing. The results of these long-term tests confirm that the system can absorb sudden, sharp land displacements. During these tests, the system was exposed to longitudinal land displacements (axial) and displacements which were perpendicular (radial) to the transit.

The displacement tests revealed that the system’s sealing layer (thickness 20 mm) could absorb a 50 mm axial displacement without any problems and without compromising the sealing properties. In the radial direction, the transit pipe moved up (5 mm) and down (5 mm) more than 22,500 times with a force of 5,000 N and a maximum displacement speed of 100 mm/minute. During a 365-day pressure test, the water tightness after these tests was set at 2.5 bar.