Study of causes of plastic pipe failures

Abstract

It has been observed that critical failures and loss of function occur in a shorter period than specified service life during operation of polypropylene pipes in hot water systems. The paper analyzes the failure causes of polypropylene pipes in closed loop hot water systems, and provides recommendations for increasing their service life. It has been established that the primary factors responsible for ageing and failure of polypropylene pipes during operation are medium temperature, stress due to internal pressure, water composition. It has been observed that a combined influence of the above mentioned factors provides a synergistic effect. We developed the recommendations for increasing a pipe service life, including close monitoring and recording of energy carrier temperature and pressure; changes in specifications for propylene pipes, including the recommendation for using random propylene pipe grades with high thermal oxidation stability in hot water systems.