Our site uses cookies necessary for its proper functioning. To improve your experience, other cookies may be used: you can choose to disable them. This can be changed at any time via the Cookies link at the bottom of the page.


Predicting service life for recycled PE materials via the unnotched constant ligament stress (UCLS) test

 

Papers

Plastic Pipes Conference Association # 2016 Berlin

Michael Pluimer, Rick Thomas

A new test method was developed to evaluate the stress crack resistance of HDPE materials containing recycled content. The method involves testing un-notched specimens in an elevated temperature bath under a specified stress. The new test method was published in March of 2016 as ASTM F3181, Standard Test Method for the Un-Notched Constant Ligament Stress Crack Test (UCLS) for HDPE Materials Containing PostConsumer Recycled HDPE. Failure data generated from this test may be bi-directionally shifted to predict the service life of pipes manufactured with recycled materials. The service life prediction model has been validated on full-scale pipes tested in both field and lab environments. 

Corrugated HDPE pipes manufactured with recycled materials have been used in the agricultural and land drainage industries for decades. However, most specifying agencies in the United States do not currently allow recycled materials to be used in HDPE pipes for highway applications due to the lack of research regarding the long-term service life of these pipes. Because of the economic and environmental benefits of incorporating recycled materials into corrugated HDPE pipes, specifying agencies are expressing an interest in these pipes for their drainage infrastructure. Two National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) projects have been recently funded to assess the long-term service life of pipes manufactured with recycled content. 

One of the primary factors governing the service life of corrugated HDPE pipes is Stage II stress cracking. To address this concern, corrugated pipe specifications contain a Notched Constant Ligament Stress (NCLS) test performance requirement. An additional concern for pipes manufactured with recycled materials is the presence of contaminants that may act as stress risers that could accelerate Stage II stress cracking. To evaluate this concern, an Unnotched Constant Ligament Stress (UCLS) test was developed. Since there is no notch in the test specimen, cracking originates from the presence of contaminants (e.g. sand, non-HDPE materials, glass, paper, etc.) that may exist in recycled materials. If the test is conducted at multiple temperatures and stresses in water, bi-directional shift factors may be applied to the failure times of specimens to predict the service life in typical field service conditions. 

The service life prediction model has been evaluated on several full-scale corrugated HDPE test pipes manufactured with varying levels of recycled materials in a test installation in the field and in constant deflection test in the laboratory. Based on the fullscale pipe test results, the service life prediction model via the UCLS test was validated. An ASTM standard (ASTM F3181) for the UCLS test was recently published within ASTM F17.

Related keywords : UCLS; BFF; Recycled Materials; PCR; HDPE.
Please note that the whole article content is available on PPCA website only :

Related papers

2021 Amsterdam : A TRADE ASSOCIATION EXPLORED

Author(s) : Drew Mueller, Peter Dyke

HDPE Pipe holds a dominant position in several markets in North America: natural gas distribution, oil patch, mining, landfill and geothermal. So why are polyethylene’s municipal water and wastewater market shares so much lower than these other industries? How has the polyethylene industry been successful in growing...

2021 Amsterdam : APPLICATIONS OF HDPE PIPING TO SUPPLY WATER TO RURAL VILLAGES IN MOROCCO

Author(s) : Donald Swen, Leanne Pichay, Nicholas Vallin, Alice Wu, Jim Johnston

In the rural commune of Ait Bayoud, Morocco, two of the most remote villages in the area, Ilguiloda and Izgouaren, live with water scarcity. To meet their water needs, women and children walk several kilometers to the nearest spring each day, often multiple times a day. Consequently, children cannot attend school...

2021 Amsterdam : CHALLENGING THE 10% WALL THICKNESS RULE FOR HDPE MARINE PIPELINES

Author(s) : Ilija Radeljic, Ebbe Smith

HDPE pipe can be relatively easily scratched during the manipulation on the site, which is especially true for the marine pipelines. Installing the scratched marine pipe with the S bend method presents a risk and repair methods are usually performed. Currently, there is no standard defining the repair procedure, in...

2021 Amsterdam : CONCEPT TO STANDARD – HOW RECYCLED MATERIAL WAS EFFECTIVELY ADDED TO U.S. STANDARDS FOR CORRUGATED HDPE PIPE

Author(s) : Daniel Currence, Michael Plumier

Over a ten-year period, the North American corrugated plastic pipe industry successfully demonstrated that post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials could be responsibly incorporated into corrugated pipes used for drainage applications. Prior to this work, the material standards were established for ...

2021 Amsterdam : DESIGN BUILD OF A 54” REDUNDANT FORCE MAIN UTILIZING HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

Author(s) : Bruce Mowry, PhD, P.E., Brian Dorwart, P.G., P.E., David Mancini, Bryan Fletcher, Roger Williams, P.E., Rene Brito, EIT, Arnelio Alfonso, P.E .

The City of Miami Beach owns and operates a 54-inch sanitary sewage PCCP force main (FM) that was built in 1977. This FM is the only transmission pipeline for conveying about 22 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw sewage to the wastewater treatment plant. In 2012, the City identified structural deficiencies in the...

2021 Amsterdam : DEVELOPMENT OF A RAPID AND INNOVATIVE IN-FACTORY PROCEDURE FOR TESTING THE PERFORMANCES OF PE PIPES CONTAINING VARIOUS PROPORTIONS OF RECYCLED POLYMER MATERIAL

Author(s) : Dominique GUEUGNAUT, Pascal AUSSANT, Romuald BOUAFFRE, Myriam BECHROURI

Concerns regarding the environment and sustainable development have revived interest in the reprocessing and re-use of polymer materials from manufactured objects that have reached the end of their operating life. Within this framework, formal professional agreements have been put in place at global level under the...

2021 Amsterdam : DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN CONDUIT PRACTICES

Author(s) : Tom Stewart, Richard Hicks, Patrick Vibien, Lance MacNevin

Arguably, broadband technologies have become as vital to society as water delivery, waste removal and energy distribution. However, the role of plastic conduit in broadband is often overlooked within the piping industry and society in general. HDPE conduit is an essential component to the build -out of 5G cell...

2021 Amsterdam : DRAINAGE HANDBOOK STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR CORRUGATED POLYOLEFIN PIPE

Author(s) : Joe Babcanec, P.E., Dan Currence, P.E.

The newly released Drainage Handbook provides complete guidance on corrugated polyolefin pipe. Perhaps the biggest contribution this new handbook makes to the advancement of both HDPE and PP corrugated plastic pipe is the design procedure presented. The design procedure reflects the industry’s recommended practice...

2021 Amsterdam : FROM MULTILAYER LAMINATES TO INDUSTRIAL PIPE APPLICATIONS – A GUIDELINE

Author(s) : Gerald Pinter, Johannes Wiener, Florian Arbeiter, Abhishek Tiwari, Otmar Kolednik

For pipe applications, catastrophic failure due to crack growth has to be prevented by all means. Techniques to develop new and even tougher pipe materials are explored in this contribution. The aim is to create a multi-layer architecture, that exhibits high toughness as well as damage tolerance towards sharp notches....

2021 Amsterdam : HISTORY OF HDPE USE AT THE CITY OF PALO ALTO FOR POTABLE WATER DISTRIBUTION

Author(s) : Greg Scoby, PE

This paper will detail the steps taken during adoption of HDPE for potable water systems improvements including material justification, creation of related specifications, investigation of available piping components, qualification of contractors and the construction/inspection of related systems. The City of...

2021 Amsterdam : LARGE DIAMETER & THICK WALL HDPE PIPES PRODUCED AND DEVELOPED IN THE MIDDLE EAST – 3 CASE STORIES

Author(s) : Eng. Grigorios Vigellis, Eng. Mohamed Hageb

Continuous development and innovation in the production of plastic pipes made by high density polyethylene (HDPE) has enabled the industry to produce much larger diameter systems than ever believed possible. The enablers for production of such large plastic pipes are three main pillars: continuous innovation...

2021 Amsterdam : MULTILAYER POLYMER PIPES – THE INFLUENCE OF RESIDUAL STRESS ON FATIGUE LIFETIME

Author(s) : Lukas Travnicek, Pavel Hutar, Jan Poduska, Andreas Frank, Florian Arbeiter, Jaroslav Kucera, Jiri Sadilek, Gerald Pinter, Lubos Nahlik

The application of recycled material in pressure piping systems has been considered lately – it was suggested, that the recycled polyethylene could be used as a part of a multilayer pipe together with virgin material. This type of pressure pipes is not availableon the market yet, so their properties can be only...

2021 Amsterdam : RECYCLING COMMITMENT OF THE EUROPEAN PLASTIC PIPE INDUSTRY

Author(s) : Ludo Debever, Peter Sejersen

The European Plastics Strategy is a priority for the European Union. Recycling more post- consumer plastics (PCRs) is paramount. That is why the Circular Plastics Alliance has been established. The alliance gathers public and private stakeholders in the plastics value chains to promote voluntary actions and...

2021 Amsterdam : Sustainability is achieved through less time for excavation, less handling of soil excavated from trench, less hauling of materials (both to and from construction sites), and reuse and recycling. This all means less energy consumption: In many cases, thes

Author(s) : Amster Howard

Deeper pipe burial, less expensive and environmentally friendly backfill, uniform language for contractors and inspectors, simplified installations for smaller pipe, and allowable construction in poor soil conditions are highlights in the latest edition of AWWA M55 and all benefit the users of HDPE pressure pipe. This...

2021 Amsterdam : TESTING SPOOLABLE REINFORCED FLEXIBLE PIPES AND LINER MATERIAL FOR HIGH-PRESSURE HYDROGEN TRANSPORT

Author(s) : Sjoerd Jansma, Peter Cloos, Ernst van der Stok

This paper describes two different test methods used to determine the permeation rate of hydrogen through a reinforced thermoplastic pipe (RTP) system with a HDPE liner pipe and a gas-tight layer at a pressure of 42 bar(g) hydrogen and ambient temperature. One method involThe results of the aforementioned tests...

2021 Amsterdam : THE ADVANTAGES OF PE 100 GLOBAL CASE STUDIES

Author(s) : Youssef Taha, Rainer Kloth

In the early fifties, the first Polyethylene for the use in pipes was produced. Since then, the use of Polyethylene piping systems has spread rapidly around the globe to serve in various applications. In order to demonstrate the versatility and benefits of PE100, several companies founded in 1999 an association...

2021 Amsterdam : UTILIZATION OF HDPE RECYCLED MATERIALS IN SANITARY SEWER APPLICATIONS

Author(s) : John M. Kurdziel

The use of recycled plastics in high density corrugated polyethylene pipe for storm sewers, highway culverts and general land drainage applications has now been widely accepted by municipalities and transportation agencies. This acceptance has made it possible to convert what was once considered a single use plastic...

2018 Las-Vegas : Chlorine dioxide resistant HDPE mechanism, analytical tools and solutions

Author(s) : M. Boerakker, S. van Mierloo, D. v. Beek, R. Schipper, P. Voets, M. Soliman, K. Jacobson, D. Lukes, B. Rabaud, F. Zraick

HDPE pipes are used for standard pressurized water pipes, offering an excellent solution for safe transport of (drinking) water. The HDPE pipe market is growing globally. Especially in countries that suffer from water scarcity, surface water and water from rivers have to be used for drinking water supply. To...

2018 Las-Vegas : Engineering and testing requirements for infrastructure pipeline applications utilizing HDPE recycled materials

Author(s) : John Kurdziel, Michael Pluimer

Corrugated HDPE pipes have been successfully used for decades for sewers, culverts and land drainage applications and are advantageous due to their durability and service life in a variety of installation conditions. Pipes used for highway and storm sewer applications typically require stricter material standards...

2018 Las-Vegas : Guidelines for corrugated HDPE pipes manufactured with recycled materials for highway culvert and storm drain applications

Author(s) : Michael Pluimer, Richard Thomas

Over the past decade, there have been several key research projects to evaluate the performance of corrugated HDPE pipes manufactured with post-consumer and postindustrial recycled materials for highway and railroad drainage applications. Three of these projects were recently completed and published (NCHRP Project...

Members of the Association

BOREALISBOROUGEFormosa Plastics CorporationHanwha TotalEnergiesINEOS O&PIRPCKorea Petrochemical IND. Co., LTD (KPIC)LyondellBasellORLEN UnipetrolPetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical CompanyPRIME POLYMERSABICSCG Chemicals & Thai PolyethyleneSinopecTASNEE