Plastometrex in Houston – Introducing the Next Generation of Pipeline PMI

Published on 

October 26, 2022

The week of the 10th October in Houston started with our team heading to the PRCI (Pipeline Research Council International) NDE Summit. This was a great start for the team as we enjoyed a rich programme of presentations, and introduced our technology to industry leaders, all of whom shared some fantastic insights on where the industry was headed and how we could support them.

Following the NDE Summit, we turned our focus to our soft launch for the Portable Plastometer, kindly hosted by Element Materials Technology at their Houston facility. Our attendees started the day with a light breakfast and coffee while James took them through the underlying science behind the technology, already in use across the globe via our Benchtop Plastometer. Following this, Jimmy showed the Benchtop in action by demoing its testing capabilities.

A tour of Element's facilities
During break time, attendees were taken on a tour of Element's facility

After lunch, came the formal introduction of our new Portable Plastometer by Marcus and his team, demonstrating just how simple the device will be to use, performing a live-streamed demo from our Cambridge lab. Conversations continued into the late afternoon at our BBQ and drinks reception as day one drew to a close.

Manoj, demoing the Portable prototype via livestream from Cambridge
Manoj, demoing the Portable prototype via livestream from Cambridge

On day two, we worked with attendees one-on-one to road-test our technology as they tested their own material on our Benchtop Plastometer – the lab-based version of our Portable Plastometer.

View our highlights video here!

Great conversations were had throughout our trip, many of which will help us to further enhance our solution as we continue the final stages of development. We’ve all returned home feeling excited about the future of this device and how we can support this industry during a time where material verification has never been more of a priority.

We’ll be conducting in field validation tests for the Portable Plastometer in early 2023, with the device being ready for deployment by the middle of the year.

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Compact and easy to use, the PLX-Benchtop extracts metal stress-strain curves in just a few minutes from small and irregular specimens, and maps properties across parts or welds.

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An add-on module to the PLX-Benchtop that generates stress-strain curves at temperatures up to 800 °C in minutes.

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