Quality Assessment of HDPE Pipes by Mechanical Testing [PE]

The quality of HDPE pipes for water and gas conveyance is central to the performance of the installation and to the reputation of the plastic pipe industry. The paper aims at identifying a rapid test protocol that can discriminate between top quality and poor quality materials and can be used for conformity control when the pipe hits the field. The results of monotonic tensile tests and cyclic flexural tests on an assortment of commercial pipes are presented, that show differences in the measured response. The ultimate tensile strength and the work of fracture supplied by the tensile test, seem good indices of the material quality when divided by the yield strength. The greater these indices, the greater the toughness of the material and the better the expected performance of the pipe. This makes of the standard tensile test, well established and easy to perform, a good candidate for the scope of the investigation.