Proco “ITR” Integral Tie Rod Design
Proco offers an “ITR”, Integral Tie Rod design on all series of Rubber Expansion Joints with an optional demounting feature. This demounting feature is intended for use on applications requiring retraction of the rubber expansion joint away from a pump (or valve) to facilitate scheduled maintenance of the adjacent equipment.
The ITR design also eliminates the concerns with pump or valve casing interference issues (shown in Figure 1) when installing the standard triangular control rod plate design as well as the concerns with pressure thrust forces being transmitted to the backside of the pump or valve mating flanges. 
This ITR design concept can also be applied to non-metallic piping systems where the flanges will not tolerate the pressure thrust loads being applied to the plastic/fiberglass mating flanges through the traditional triangular rod plate arrangement (shown in Figure 2).
The Integral Tie Rods are designed to meet 1.5 times the maximum pressure ratings of the rubber expansion joint series selected. Our standard in-stock control rods are ASTM F1544- Grade 36 Melt USA with ASTM A563 A finished hex nuts and USS flat washers zinc plated to ASTM B633 Type 3 clear zinc. Optional Hot Dipped Galvanized Hi-Tensile Strength A193 B7 rod with A194 2H hex nuts are available upon request.
The ITR arrangement pictured below (shown in Figure 3) is also ideally suited to address unequal flange pattern applications such as ANSI 150# drill X DIN PN 16 drill patterns. This design, along with the others listed, are engineered solutions available today from Proco Products, Inc. Please contact us for more information.
