Cornati Alessandro
# 2012 Barcelona
In April 2009, a major Earthquake hit the central region of Italy and the historical city of L’Aquila, provoking severe human damages and destruction of many building in the region.The gas distribution system was also affected, and evaluation of the damages organised by Enel Rete Gas, the operator of the system, showed that most of the failures occurred on steel parts of the network, while PE pipes where almost not affected. For the re-construction of the distribution network, new design criteria, based on this experience were put in place, in order to maximise the safety in this earthquake sensitive area. This analysis lead to the decision to use PE100-RC for the pipes, this latest generation of PE material presenting the best technical option and at the same time creating opportunities for reduction of the installation costs.
