What Is HDPE Pipe
What Is HDPE Pipe
HDPE pipe is a flexible plast ic pipe made of t hermoplast ic high-densit y polyet hylene
widely used for low-t emperat ure fluid and gas t ransfer. In recent t imes, HDPE pipes got
t heir ext ensive uses for carrying pot able wat er, hazardous wast es, various gases, slurry,
firewat er, st ormwat er, et c. The st rong molecular bond of HDPE pipe mat erials helps it t o
use for high-pressure pipelines. Polyet hylene pipes have a long and dist inguished service
hist ory for gas, oil, mining, wat er, and ot her indust ries. Due t o it s low weight and high
corrosion resist ance, t he HDPE pipe indust ry is growing t remendously. In t he year 1953,
Karl Ziegler and Erhard Holzkamp discovered high-densit y polyet hene (HDPE). HDPE pipes
can work sat isfact orily in a wide t emperat ure range of -2200 F t o +1800 F. However, t he
use of HDPE Pipes is not suggest ed when t he fluid t emperat ure exceeds 1220 F (500 C).
HDPE pipes are made by t he polymerizat ion of et hylene, a by-product of oil. Various
addit ives (st abilizers, fillers, plast icizers, soft eners, lubricant s, colorant s, flame ret ardant s,
blowing agent s, crosslinking agent s, ult raviolet degradable addit ives, et c.) are added t o
produce t he final HDPE pipe and component s. HDPE pipe lengt hs are made by heat ing
t he HDPE resin. It is t hen ext ruded t hrough a die, which det ermines t he diamet er of t he
pipeline. The Pipe wall t hickness is det ermined by a combinat ion of t he die size, speed of
t he screw, and t he speed of t he haul-off t ract or. Usually, 3-5% carbon black is added t o
HDPE t o make it UV resist ant , which t urns HDPE pipes int o black in color. Ot her color
variant s are available but usually not used frequent ly. Coloured or st riped HDPE pipe is
usually 90-95% black mat erial, where a colored st ripe is provided on 5% of t he out side
surface.
Governing Codes: ISO 1183, ISO 4427, AS/ NZS 4130, BS EN 12201, EN 12056,
AWWA C901, AWWA C906, et c
Available size range: DN 16 t o 1600 (However, ot her cust omized sizes can be
manufact ured)
The densit y of HDPE Pipe: 930-970 kg/m3
Typical Mechanical Propert ies of HDPE Pipe are given in Table-1 below. However,
t hese values vary from one manufact urer t o anot her. So, must be consult ed wit h
t he manufact urer.
Mechanical Propert ies HDPE Propert ies
Again, based on t he t ypes of mat erials used HDPE pipes are grouped int o t he following
t ypes:
The numbers following PE indicat e t he minimum required st rengt h in Bar at 200 C for 50
years life span corresponding t o ISO-4427. The rat ed working pressure of HDPE pipes is
det ermined at 200 C. For higher t emperat ures, a derat ing fact or (Table 2 Below) is used t o
det ermine t he maximum pressure t o which t he HDPE Pipe can be subject ed.
Fluid Temperat ure (0C) Temperat ure Derat ing factor
0-20 1
>20-25 0.9
>25-30 0.8
>30-35 0.7
>35-40 0.6
>40-45 0.5
>45-50 0.4
Elect rofusion Welding: Elect rofusion is a simple and quick met hod t o permanent ly
join individual pipes and HDPE fit t ings or prefabricat ed sect ions in t ight places. This
met hod is suit able for on-sit e joint s.
But t Welding: But t -welding homogenously joins HDPE pipes and fit t ings int o
prefabricat ed sect ions using heat and pressure wit hout using addit ional connect ion
fit t ings.
Various t ypes of mechanical joint s can be used for joining HDPE pipes t o HDPE or
dissimilar pipes. They are
Plug-in joint
Snap joint
Screw-t hread joint
Flanged joint
Cont ract ion sleeve
Sleeve coupling
Met al coupling
Rubber collar joint
Bends
Elbows
Reducers
Branches
End caps
Elect rofusion couplers
Mechanical connect ion fit t ings
Traps
Sanit ary fit t ings
Spare part s
Temperat ure: For pressure syst ems, t he use of HDPE pipes are usually limit ed t o
-400C t o 500 C. For non-pressure services, higher t emperat ures can be used. Consult
wit h t he manufact urer for get t ing informat ion about t heir product . Not e t hat , t he
co-efficient of linear t hermal expansion for HDPE pipes is approximat ely 10 t imes
higher t han t hat of met al pipes. So, t he pot ent ial of t hermal expansion due t o
t emperat ure fluct uat ions is very high and must be considered in t he design. A t ypical
Thumb rule is HDPE pipes will expand or cont ract by 0.2mm per met er per °C
increase or decrease in t emperat ure.
St andard Dimension Rat io or SDR which is defined as t he rat io bet ween t he out side
HDPE Pipe diamet er and t he wall t hickness.
The hydrost at ic design st ress of t he HDPE mat erial being used (PE63, PE 80,
PE100) for HDPE Pipe Manufact uring.
The maximum and minimum operat ing t emperat ures.
The durat ion and variabilit y of t he st ress applied by t he int ernal hydrost at ic pressure
during hydrost at ic t est ing.
The chemical resist ance of t he HDPE pipe for t he service chemical (t he st andard
pressure rat ing is based on a pipe carrying wat er).
Usually, HDPE pipe can wit hst and short -t erm hydrost at ic wat er pressures t hat are
considerably higher t han t he pressure rat ing, or class. But t he dut y of t he HDPE pipe
should always be det ermined following t he pipe’s long-t erm st rengt h at 20°C t o ensure a
design life of at least 50 years.
The Barlow’s Formula is also applicable for HDPE piping t hat is relat ed t o t he int ernal
pressure, pipe out er diamet er, wall t hickness, and t he circumferent ial hoop st ress and is
given by
p = 2 x t x σ /d or alternatively t = p x d/(2.σ + p)
Here:
The design hoop st resses for HDPE pipe mat erials are considered as follows as given ISO
4427:
PE 63: 5 MPa
PE 80: 6.3 MPa
PE100: 8 MPa