The development history of PE pipe

Understand the development history of PE pipes, and be familiar with the basic characteristics of PE pipes to better serve your life.

1.International application of PE pipes:

In 1933, the British ICI company first discovered PE plastic particles, and then it has been developed to this day. PE pipes are produced by a variety of processes, with a variety of structures and characteristics and a variety of types of resins, which have accounted for one-third of the world’s synthetic resin production, ranking first. During the Second World War, due to the shortage of copper and steel, foreign countries began to use plastic pipes in the fields of gas transmission and distribution. At the same time, with the passage of time, the use of polyethylene pipes has increased significantly compared with the performance of various plastic pipes; today, in the gas field, whether it is for the repair and renewal of new laying or old pipelines, polyethylene pipes are the main Choose one.

The penetration rate of PE gas pipelines in Europe is extremely high, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and other countries are more than 90%, and almost 100% of the newly laid gas pipelines in France in 1998 use polyethylene pipelines. As early as 1988, at the meeting of the International Coal Union (IGU) Gas Distribution Committee held in Munich, the members agreed that the use of polyethylene (PE) buried gas pipelines was reliable in quality, safe in operation, easy to maintain and economical in cost. Our country began the research work of polyethylene gas pipes in the early 1980s, and the earliest use of polyethylene pipes to transport urban gas was in Shanghai in 1982.

The use of PE pipe In order to make the research work of polyethylene gas pipe pay attention and proceed smoothly, the State Science and Technology Commission listed “development of special materials for polyethylene gas pipe and development of processing and application technology” as a national “Seventh Five-Year Plan” research project in 1987. Raw materials—processing of pipes and fittings—engineering applications—standards and specifications have been systematically studied, and fruitful results have been achieved. In 1995, the State Bureau of Technical Supervision and the Ministry of Construction respectively issued national standards for PE gas pipes and fittings and industry regulations for engineering technology. At present, PE gas pipes are being rapidly promoted and used in China.

PE pipe is a kind of hygienic and non-toxic plastic pipe. In China, it is generally a black pipe with 4 blue marking lines. The diameter of the pipe varies from Φ32mm to Φ710mm. The diameter of the pipe can be coiled into a coil, pipe fittings, elbows, tees are available. PE pipes are used in the field of cold water and liquid transportation. In addition, PE pipes also occupy a certain share in mines, ores, and mud.

2.the performance characteristics of PE pipes:

Since the PE pipe adopts hot-melt and electric-hot-melt connection, the integration of the interface and the pipe is realized, and it can effectively resist the hoop stress and axial impact stress generated by the internal pressure, and the PE pipe does not add heavy metal salt stabilizers, and the material It is non-toxic, non-scaling, and does not breed bacteria, avoiding secondary pollution of drinking water.

1. Long service life – PE pipes can be used safely for more than 50 years under rated temperature and pressure conditions.
2. Excellent corrosion resistance – except for a few strong oxidants, it can resist the erosion of various chemical media; no electrochemical corrosion.
3. Excellent wear resistance – when transporting ore slurry, the wear resistance of PE pipe is more than 4 times that of steel pipe.
4. Good hygienic performance – No heavy metal salt stabilizer is added during PE pipe processing. The material is non-toxic, has no scaling layer, and does not breed bacteria, which better solves the secondary pollution of urban water.
5. Better impact resistance – PE pipe has good toughness and high impact resistance strength, and heavy objects will directly press through the pipe without causing the pipe to break.
6. Reliable connection performance – the strength of the hot-melt electrofusion joint of PE pipe is higher than that of the pipe body, and the joint will not be disconnected due to soil movement or live load.
7. Good construction performance – the pipe is light in weight, the welding process is simple, the construction is convenient, and the comprehensive cost of the project is low.

In addition, PE polyethylene pipes have many excellent characteristics, such as low temperature resistance, good toughness, and a combination of rigidity and flexibility. Therefore, it is even more useful in some special purposes, because in these fields, the traditional material pipes are not inapplicable, but the cost is high, and the safe use of the pipes cannot be guaranteed. For example, the problems of steel pipes and cast iron pipes are corrosion and joint leakage that generally occur during the service period. Polyethylene pipe has obvious advantages, and satisfactorily solves the two major problems of corrosion and joint leakage of traditional pipes.

For example, as an outdoor line pipe laid in corrosive soil, earthquake areas, mountains and swamp areas; as a socket pipe inserted into the old pipeline to repair and update the old pipeline. Due to the unique construction characteristics, it often brings huge economic benefits to users. As reported by American data, the installation cost of polyethylene pipes is 50% lower than that of steel pipes, and the interspersed method saves 30-40% compared to direct burial of polyethylene pipes.

At present, many places in our country are vigorously promoting the use of PE pipes. From the second half of this year in Beijing, the water supply and gas supply network will gradually adopt environmentally friendly polyethylene pipes (PE pipes) to replace the commonly used steel pipes or cast iron pipes with poor pressure resistance and easy corrosion. When it is used, it is more convenient and safer than steel pipe or cast iron pipe, and the range affected by gas outage during emergency repair will be reduced. Starting from this year, in the installation of new residential pipes in Guangxi, the promotion and application of polyethylene (PE) pipes for water supply that have been recognized as non-toxic and non-polluting to replace the current cast iron pipes and galvanized pipes, and on this basis, Promote and apply to outdoor water pipes below DN300.

3.The application prospect of PE pipe:

In developed countries, due to restrictions on the use of PVC pipes, the amount of PVC pipes is tending to decrease, and the use of PVC pipes is replaced by PE and PP pipes. The use of PE pipes worldwide is growing at a rate of 6% per year. The growth in its usage is mainly driven by the telecommunications industry and the demand for natural gas transmission. my country’s PE pipe market has huge potential.

It is reported that the annual growth rate of demand for plastic pipes in my country will reach more than 9%. According to the advanced experience of developed countries and my country’s specific national conditions, the relevant state departments have determined the strategic decision to vigorously develop and apply chemical building materials. PE pipes will have greater development in my country’s outdoor water supply pipes, building water supply pipes, building drainage pipes, buried drainage pipes, gas pipes, and agricultural irrigation pipes.

Summarizes the outstanding advantages of PE pipes in water supply. It has become the first choice of water pipelines in many countries. In China, which is building a well-off society in an all-round way, PE pipes for water supply coincide with historical opportunities and have broad market prospects and application places.