HDPE Pipe

Features and Benefits of HDPE Pipe

When selecting pipe materials, designers, owners and contactors specify materials that provide reliable, long-term service durability, and cost-effectiveness. Solid wall polyethylene pipes provide a cost-effective solution for a wide range of piping applications including gas, municipal, industrial, marine, mining, electrical and communications duct applications. Polyethylene pipe is also effective for above ground, buried, trench less, floating and marine installations. According to David A. Willoughby, P.O.E., “…one major reason for the growth in the use of the plastic pipe is the cost savings in installations, labor and equipment as compared to traditional piping materials. Add to this the potential for lower maintenance costs and increased service life and plastic pipe is a very competitive product.

Natural gas distribution was among the first applications for medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe. In fact, many of the systems, currently in use, have been in continuous service since 1960 with great success. Today, polyethylene pipe represents over 95% of the pipe installed for natural gas distribution in diameters up to 12” in the U.S. and Canada. PE pipe has been used in potable water applications for almost 50 years and has been continuously gaining approval and growth in municipalities. The production, quality assurance and testing of PE gas pipes, including joints, are carried out according to international AWWA, NSF, and ASTM standards. The fear often expressed in the early days that HDPE would have insufficient resistance to the aromatics contained in natural gas (such as tetrahydrothiophene (THT), concomitant substances and condensates) has not been confirmed, either by laboratory tests, or by practical experience. Other material alternatives do not share PE’s advantages. For instance, there are about 23,000 fractures and corrosion failures of iron mains across the United Kingdom each year. Of these events, the majority are located and dealt with in a safe manner. However, on average, about 600 of these results in the leakage of gas into buildings and annually this results in 3 to 4 major incidents involving fire.