Lifetime prediction of a blue PE100 water pipe

The traditional method to assess the lifetime of plastic pipes is based on hydrostatic pressure testing. A complementary approach has been conducted to monitor the depletion of antioxidants and initiation of thermo-oxidative degradation on a PE100 blue water pipe that had been exposed to hydrostatic pressure in water at low test temperatures (maximum 80 °C).Depletion of antioxidants was monitored using OIT testing and initiation of thermo-oxidative degradation was assessed by iodometric detection of hydroperoxides. An empirical model based on the Arrhenius fit of the data was developed to extrapolate the lifetime of the PE100 pipe material at various service temperatures (10-25 °C). Associated activation energies, E_a, were determined and appeared to be in line with the values obtained from experiments carried out at low test temperatures. The combination of pressure testing and chemical analyses proved to be a very powerful tool to extrapolate the lifetime of plastic pipes.     

Notched Ring Test for Measuring Slow Cracking Resistance in Plastics Pipes and Fittings

It is known, that the lifetime of polyethylene pipes is essentially limited by slow crack growth (SCG). For state of the art PE materials common SCG testing methods have reached their limits with respect to extension of testing times. A comparatively new method is the Notched Ring Test (NRT) as developed by Choi et al.^[1] Pipe rings notched at the inner wall are used. The test is carried out in 80 °C water under constant bending load. The arrangement of the notch at the inner wall reduces testing times using the residual stress of extruded pipes. A disadvantage of this method is that there is no clearly defined failure time because SCG takes place between two phases of creeping. The output of this test is an “on-set slow cracking time” (crack initiation), obtained by analysis of the displacement curve. In this work it has been shown that the NRT method yields to brittle fracture within acceptable time frames.^[2] Methods for data analysis are presented. This test could be very useful applied in research and development for resin evaluation and as a tool in quality control in pipe production for evaluating the process conditions.     

Prediction of the remaining lifetime of polyethylene pipes after up to 30 years in use

Plastics pipes made of polyethylene (PE) play an outstanding role in gas and water supply. While for modern pipe grades typical lifetimes of 50 years are taken for granted and service times of 100 years are discussed, pipes made of PE with a lower performance have been used for decades. As the repair and rehabilitation of existing pipe systems involve immense costs, the question of their qualitative condition has to be considered. In this paper, four different pipes used in the gas and water distribution in Austria with an age up to 30 years have been investigated. After a morphological and mechanical study, particular attention was paid to material stabilization, which is essential for long-term applications. Fracture mechanics tools have been used to gain information on the resistance to crack initiation and slow crack growth. Furthermore, a fracture mechanics extrapolation procedure has been applied to predict the remaining lifetime of the pipes. The results have indicated that all the pipes investigated are still in a very good condition and are likely to be sufficiently safe to remain in use.     

Stabiliser diffusion in long-term pressure tested polypropylene pipes analysed by IR microscopy

Pipes of random polypropylene was (PP-R) were hydrostatic pressure tested and the distribution of the primary stabiliser, Irganox 1010, was measured in the radial direction over the pipe wall by Infrared (IR) microscopy. Parabolic concentration profiles of the stabiliser develop during testing indicating a loss of stabiliser, at both the inner and outer pipe walls. Raising the temperature of the water bath leads to a uniformly accelerated loss of stabiliser. An increase of the hoop stress accelerates the stabiliser migration at the inner pipe wall.The concentrations of Irganox 1010 averaged over the pipe wall as determined by IR microscopy were in excellent agreement with those obtained from High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Oxidation Induction Time (OIT) analysis. Diffusion constants were calculated from the stabiliser concentration profiles based on the Fickian equations using appropriate initial and boundary conditions. A literature value is compared to these experimental results. The developed IR technique allows monitoring the stabiliser migration faster and more reproducibly than the conventional approach by manual abrasion of layers and measurement of the OIT. Additionally, this brings a tremendous improvement with regard to spatial resolution. As a result the impact of hoop stress and extrusion rate on the migration of stabiliser in PP-R pipes can be shown for the first time.     

Numerical Assessment of PE 80 and PE 100 Pipe Lifetime Based on Paris-Erdogan Equation

Summary: A novel accelerated fracture mechanics extrapolation procedure based on cyclic test with cracked round bar (CRB) specimens was verified by a correlation of real pipe failure time to simulated failure times at a temperature of 60 °C. The procedure was applied to predict the long-term failure of modern PE 80 and PE 100 pipes 23 °C. Moreover, the used stress intensity factor concept also allows to consider the impact of arbitrary additional loading situations like soil loads or point loads and to assess pipe lifetime under complex loading situations.     

Using developed creep constitutive model for optimum design of HDPE pipes

Unlike metal pipes, high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes are not susceptible to erosion and corrosion. However, the most important mechanical feature of the HDPE pipes is that this material creeps even at room temperature. Therefore, it is essential to study the creep behavior of this material in order to develop a model. In this paper, creep behavior of HDPE at different temperature and stress levels has been experimentally studied to obtain the creep constitutive parameters of the material. These parameters are used to predict the creep behavior of different structures such as HDPE pipes. For this purpose, a number of specimens have been machined from industrial manufactured pipe walls. Uniaxial creep tests have been carried out and creep strain curves with time for each test were recorded. Then, a constitutive model is proposed for HDPE based on the experimental data and optimization methods. The results of this model have been compared with the test data and good agreement is observed. The developed constitutive model and reference stress method (RSM) were used to produce graphs which provide optimum creep lifetime and design conditions for HDPE pipes that are subjected to combined internal pressure and rotation. These graphs can facilitate the design process of HDPE pipes.     

高耐压HDPE自增强管挤出系统及试样的结构与性能

本文针对管件在输送压力流体时的特殊应力状态,提出了管材周向自增强的构想,据此设计出了自增强挤出系统.该系统利用芯棒旋转,使大分子链沿管周向取向并在适当的压力、温度条件下生成串晶结构,从而大大提高了管材的周向强度及模量.利用DSC、WAXD和SEM等检测手段对试件的凝聚态结构进行分析,找到了周向强度提高的理论依据.     

Determination of slow crack growth behaviour of polyethylene pressure pipes with cracked round bar test

In this work, a short time test method to determine the slow crack growth behaviour of samples made out of pipes was evaluated. The cracked round bar (CRB) method used provides results below 48 h with brittle fracture surfaces, which indicates the type of slow crack growth failure. To evaluate the usability of the method, the results were compared with well-known tests such as notch pipe test, 2 notch creep test and instrumented Charpy impact tests. The results indicate that the CRB test can be used to predict long term slow crack growth behaviour of PE pipes.     

NMR imaging of polyethylene pipes

¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging techniques have been used to image the extrusion aid (EA) in polyethylene (PE) pipe samples. The resulting two-dimensional images show the distribution of EA within the pipe. EA is found to be uniformly distributed in a normal pipe. Examples of degraded pipes, due to exposure to extreme conditions, show migration of EA to the pipes' wall surfaces. NMR images of a normal pipe and two examples of damaged pipes are presented. The imaging technique and the results are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Special fracture mechanics specimens for multilayer plastic pipes testing

Pipes consisting of layers of different materials (multilayer pipes) are considered. The fracture toughness value of the main pipe is taken into account as a parameter relevant to fracture assessment connected with the resistance of pipe material against slow crack growth. With the aim of simplifying estimation of main pipe material fracture toughness, non-homogeneous test specimens cut directly from multi-layer pipes are suggested and numerically analysed. The values of the corresponding stress intensity factor K_I and biaxiality factors B are calculated for the case of two and three layer test specimens. Based on the results obtained, the transferability of fracture toughness values measured on laboratory specimens to pipe systems is discussed. It is shown that in most cases of multi-layer commercial pipes and routine fracture toughness measurements the values of the stress intensity factor calculated on the basis of homogeneous specimens can be used.     

Determination of the long-term hydrostatic strength of multilayer pipes

In this paper, a new methodology for prediction of the long-term (creep rupture) behavior of multilayer pipes under internal hydrostatic pressure is presented. For this purpose, a procedure using the three dimensional theory of thick-walled multilayer pipes together with a combined quadratic/linear regression analysis is used. The theory of thick walled tubes is used to assess the role of each layer in carrying the internal pressure and also the onset of the creep rupture in the composite pipe. For long-term extrapolation, a combined quadratic and linear regression analysis was used and the contribution of each component to the long-term strength of the composite pipe was quantitatively assessed. Using this procedure, the layer at which the creep rupture under internal pressure first initiates would be identified and the additional capacity of the remaining layer would be quantitatively assessed. This procedure is already incorporated in the pipe software called ADAP dealing with the automated design and analysis of pipelines. An example showing this procedure using ADAP is presented. The proposed methodology overcomes the limitations in the existing testing and extrapolation standards and, thus, can be used as a new extrapolative procedure for prediction of the service life of multilayer plastic pipes and pipe fittings. As particular applications, the procedure can be used for the estimation of the long-term behavior of multilayer pipes with metallic inter-layers and also single layer as well as structured pipes.     

高耐压等级聚乙烯管材树脂的研究进展

高耐压等级聚乙烯管材树脂主要用于生产给水管、燃气管及各种工业用管,是一类技术含量较高、市场前景较好的聚乙烯专用树脂。高耐压等级聚乙烯管材树脂多为双峰或多峰结构,采用茂金属催化剂或具有高共聚性能的齐格勒纳塔(Z-N)催化剂双釜或多釜串联聚合生产。本文介绍了高耐压等级聚乙烯管材树脂的分子结构和性能特点,以及制备该类树脂的催化剂和工艺技术,并对国内的相关催化剂及制备技术作了评述。     

Strain hardening test on the limits of Slow Crack Growth evaluation in high resistance polyethylene resins: Effect of comonomer type

Long term performance assessment of polyethylene pipes is an issue that has greatly increased in importance in recent years due to the incorporation in the market of high resistance to crack polyethylene grades (PE100RC), where established Slow Crack Growth (SCG) evaluation using traditional tests such as Full Notch Creep Test (FNCT) or Pennsylvania Notch Tensile (PENT) Test is insufficient. The development in recent years of fast evaluation techniques such as Strain Hardening (SH) modulus has opened an important alternative for quick SCG evaluation since it correlates well with other conventional tests such as FNCT and PENT. In this work, a large number of commercial and experimental polyethylene pipe resins with different comonomer types were evaluated in order to define their SH values to rank the resins as PE100 or PE100RC. A relationship is proposed that utilizes SH test results to estimate the SCG resistance of PE pipes. 1-Butene copolymer resins display threshold SH values of 38 and 53 MPa that have been assigned to PE100 and 100RC grades, respectively. Moreover, dependence of the SH values on comonomer type used has been demonstrated. The experimental results show that 1-hexene copolymer resins exhibit higher SH values than 1-butene comonomer based resins.     

Rapid quality checking of polyethylene water/gas-pipelines: a model based on pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and discriminant analysis

Eighty-five samples taken from polyethylene (PE) water/gas-ducts were pyrolyzed (from triplicate to 9-fold analyses) at 700 °C for 20 s in an N₂ atmosphere using a platinum coil pyrolyzer and a tube cooled in liquid nitrogen. The pyrolyzed products were identified and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and subjected to discriminant analysis. The samples included intact materials and sections fractured both in-field and following laboratory tests. Statistical data treatment allowed the samples to be subdivided into three groups. These groups were consistent with a pattern that fits well with sample rating after a modified stress-cracking test based on pipe resistance to increasing internal pressure. Such results can be explained through the relationship between pyrolysis (PY) fingerprint and polymer structure, which is in turn known to be related to the lifetime of the material. Compared with semi-empirical mechanical tests which are seldom used by water companies because of their lengthy duration, the PY and GC/MS approach is faster, simpler, cost effective, and provides molecular data on the original samples. The statistical models based on PY and GC/MS can be a valuable tool for water/gas companies that need to check the quality of PE pipes and predict their lifetime prior to purchase and installation, thus, helping companies set appropriate quality standards to reduce the occurrence of failures along operating pipelines.     

Measurement of residual stresses in film insert molded parts with complex geometry

Residual stress distribution of injection molded and film insert injection molded products were measured by using the hole drilling method after ejection and annealing, respectively. Non-isothermal three dimensional flow analysis was carried out for filling, packing and cooling stages. The flow analysis results were transported to a finite element stress analysis program and three dimensional stress analysis was performed for prediction of residual stresses in the parts. For comparison, residual stress distribution was measured by the layer removal method and calculated by the three dimensional numerical simulation in order to evaluate accuracy of the hole drilling method. Residual stress distributions obtained by both experiments and numerical methods accorded well with each other. Therefore, the hole drilling method is a reliable and useful method for measurement of residual stresses in injection molded parts, especially, products with complex geometry.     

Multi-Layer Pipes for Hydrocarbons Conveyance

The replacement of metals with plastics in piping systems is a well established practice in a vast range of public and industrial applications. However, difficulties still exist, mainly related to the limited chemical resistance of the polymers commonly used in pipe manufacturing to some conveyed fluids. This prevents using plastic pipes in important applications such as the transport of liquid hydrocarbons, particularly in oil fields. The use of chemically resistant polymers, such as fluorinated polyolefins, is precluded by high cost and poor mechanical properties. Co-extrusion of multi-layer pipes carrying an internal chemically resistant liner can be a viable alternative capable to extend the use of plastic pipes to refining and chemical industries. An experimental PE/PA multi-layer pipe has been developed whose resistance to diffusion and mechanical properties have been tested. Tests in real oil fields confirm the good performance of the new pipes.     

Constitutive model and failure locus of a polypropylene grade used in offshore intake pipes

BorECO^®™ BA212E is a polypropylene block co-polymer which has become a common material in the manufacturing of large diameter non-pressurized gravity offshore intake pipelines. These lines are used for transportation of sea water for cooling of petrochemical process plants. The pipe sections are joined by butt heat fusion welding to create the pipeline. Recently a few premature failures of such pipelines have been reported in the field. Hence, there is a need to characterize the constitutive behavior of the pipe and weld material in order to properly design these pipes. The aim of this work is to determine the material constitutive behaviors of the pipe material and the welded joint material. Uniaxial tensile tests of both the pipe and weld joint material are conducted at various strain rates. Both the pipe and weld material show a rather high strain rate dependency, with the weld material having about half the yield strength than that of the pipe material. An analytical constitutive material model is developed for both the pipe and weld material, incorporating the effect of strain rate. The failure locus, expressed in terms of the equivalent plastic strain at failure vs. the stress triaxiality, for both materials is also determined as part of the constitutive model using notched dumbbell specimens. The constitutive model and failure loci for the pipe and weld material are implemented in a finite element model (FEM) and are validated by conducting a series of independent four-point bend experiments on both material types. The validation is carried out by comparing the FEM results of the four-point bend model with the experimental results, which show a rather good agreement.     

Ageing of polyethylene at raised temperature in contact with chlorinated sanitary hot water. Part I - Chemical aspects

In France, hot water quality control inside buildings is occasionally assured by disinfection treatments using sodium hypochlorite (between 0.5 and 1 ppm residual free chlorine). This disinfectant is a strong oxidizer and it could interact with metallic and polymer pipes used in hot water systems. To assess the long-term performance of these pipes, it is then necessary to study the impact of these treatments on the material behaviour, in particular for polymeric materials, even at relatively low disinfectant concentrations as used in potable water treatments. The objective of this work was to study the influence of sodium hypochlorite concentration on PERT/Al/PERT (PolyEthylene Raised Temperature) pipe degradation. Pipe samples were filled with chlorinated water solutions (concentrations ranging between 0 and 100 ppm) and maintained in static conditions during 270 days at 70 °C. The antioxidant depletion profile through a PERT wall was monitored using the oxidation induction time (OIT) method, which is a conventional technique of Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Chemical changes on the aged polymer were checked by Infrared Spectrometry. OIT change showed that the PERT stabilizing system was rapidly chemically consumed by the action of chlorinated water at 25 and 100 ppm concentrations. However, PERT degradation was strictly confined to the immediate inner wall. Only a 0.3 mm thick layer (inner part of the pipe) showed significant antioxidant depletion. An increase of the OH and C-O-C infrared bands was also observed on inner part of any samples during ageing which characterize the oxidation of the PERT on the inner wall.     

Classifying formulations of crosslinked polyethylene pipe by applying machine‐learning concepts to infrared spectra

Crosslinked polyethylene (PEX‐a) pipes are emerging as promising replacements for traditional metal or concrete pipes used for water, gas, and sewage transport. Understanding the relationship between pipe formulation and performance is critical to their proper design and implementation. We have developed a methodology using principal component analysis (PCA) and the machine learning techniques of k‐means clustering and support vector machines (SVM) to compare and classify different PEX‐a pipe formulations based on characteristic infrared (IR) spectroscopy absorbance peaks. The application of PCA revealed that a large percentage (89%) of the total variance could be explained by the first three principal components (PC1‐PC3), with distinct clustering of the data for each formulation. By examining the contribution of the individual IR bands to the PCs, we determined that PC1 could be attributed to different peroxide crosslinkers, whereas PC2 and PC3 could be attributed to differences in the additives. Using the PCA results as input to k‐means clustering and SVM resulted in very high accuracy of classifying the different pipe formulations. Our approach highlights the advantages of using PCA and machine learning techniques to characterize different formulations of PEX‐a pipes, which is important to achieve a detailed understanding of the pipe formulation and manufacturing process. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1255–1262     

A survey of methods for the detection of thermal oxidation in high-density polyethylene pipes

Seven methods for the detection of thermal oxidation of the inner wall surface of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes are presented. The methods presented include infrared spectroscopy, polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, gloss measurements and uniaxial creep tests. These tests have been developed on the basis of earlier reported data for a large number of PE pipes. The tests are compared with each other and with the internal pressurizing test with respect to reliability of results, the time taken to determine whether or not a pipe is oxidized, the experimental difficulties, costs, etc.