Plastic Pipes Conference Association # 1998 Gothenburg
Clutton, Rose, Capaccio
The development of pipe grades requires the careful balance of several mechanical properties, of which two of the most important are the resistance to slow crack growth (SCG) and rapid crack propagation (RCP). In this paper, we present small-scale tests which enable the rapid assessment of these properties. These development tools have been shown to correlate reasonably well with the more common industrial test methods for SCG and RCP resistance. In addition, these techniques have been used to develop an understanding of how molecular structure relates to properties, and this provides a framework within which the structural requirements for property balance can be discussed.
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