PE100 | MATERIALS


pressure resistance of the material,” said Pierik. “If all pipes have the same dimensions, it doesn’t matter if the pipe comes from Producer A and the fitting from Producer B – everything fits together.” While there is still no uniform resin or pipe


requirement for resistance to slow crack perfor- mance, PE100+ Association is working to develop new and faster – but still reliable – accelerated test procedures. These include a Strain Hardening Test (SHT), originally developed by SABIC, which is now an ISO standard ISO 18488. Also, accelerated versions of the FNCT (Full Notch Creep test ISO 16770) and NPT (Notch Pipe Test ISO13479) have been developed. “We see many opportunities in emerging and developing countries,” he said. “In China, for instance, the new national standard GB/T 13663 for PE piping systems for drinking water applications was released this year.”


have an expected service lifetime of more than 100 years – exceeding the predicted design point of the common extrapolation methods for plastic pipes (ISO 9080 and ISO 12162). This is for a variety of factors, including lower


real pressure levels (stress) over the pipe’s lifetime, lower real temperatures in the ground, consistent zero-to-plus range tolerances for wall thicknesses and safety factors applied in the design stages. PE100+, in collaboration with The Plastic Pipes &


Fittings Association (Teppfa), has published a position paper on the subject. The paper says that the design life (usually 50 years) must not be confused with actual lifetime. “Polyethylene material developments started


around 1953 with the first generations of PE40, PE50 and PE63,” said the paper. “These materials have exceeded 50-70 years’ service life and are partially still in service.” At the same time, PE100+ is celebrating its 20th anniversary. One of its roles is to monitor the test methods for PE pressure pipes in round-robin tests – which involves it checking to make sure that the independent test institutes verifying pipes are performing tests in ways that make them comparable. “We need to be sure that for any given material,


different test institutes provide the same outcomes within a certain bandwidth,” said says Hans Pierik, president and chairman of PE100+. “We also provide this information to the ISO committee that is responsible for the updating test method standards.” Today, fittings and all the tools used to install


pipes are also organised to comply with PE100. “It’s not just about material quality but also about pipe diameter and thickness based on the


www.pipeandprofile.com


Testing expansion PE100+ recently added CEIS of Spain to its group of international laboratories that carry out the qualification tests of PE100 compounds for pipes. CEIS is an independent Spanish laboratory with


more than 20 years’ experience providing support in the Assessment of Conformity to national and international Certification Bodies, as well as providing specialised technical assistance in its fields of expertise.


PE100+ has defined a control system for raw


materials from a small group of manufacturers, which includes three fundamental properties: Creep Rupture Strength (CRS), Stress Crack resistance (SCR) and Resistance to Rapid crack propagation (RCP) – in accordance with ISO 1167, ISO 13477 and ISO 13479.


CEIS says it will now carry out these tests with the quality and frequency defined by PE100+. And at K2019, SABIC showcased voltage cable ducts made from its Vestolen A Rely 5944HT material – a PE100 grade – which can operate at elevated temperatures and for an extended lifetime. These ducts are typically used in solar and wind farms and are used to protect the high voltage underground cables that lead from the installation.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � www.agru.at � www.plasticpipe.org � www.pipe.us (Pipeline Plastics) � www.pe100plus.com � www.teppfa.eu � www.ceis.es � www.sabic.com


April 2020 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 41


Left: CEIS now carries out qualification tests of PE100 compounds for pressure pipes


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