Papers
Plastic Pipes Conference Association # 2012 Barcelona
Steven Folkman, Ammon Sorensen, Thomas Fronk
During 2011 Utah State University conducted a survey of utilities across the USA and Canada to obtain data on water main failures of municipal and private water supply systems. A total of 1,051 surveys were distributed and there were 188 respondents. The total length of pipe covered by the survey is 189,264 km (117,603 miles). The focus of this survey was to examine the number of failures utilities were experiencing and how those failures related to the pipe materials used. A goal of this survey was to look at which materials were performing best at the current time and to track how pipe age affects failure rates. The results show that PVC pipe failure rate being approximately one half that of ductile iron and one tenth that of cast iron. The survey also looks at other aspects including current pipe inventories that are in use, how inventories vary on a regional basis, operating parameters, failure modes, and which pipe materials are allowed at utilities.
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Author(s) : Steven L. Barfuss
In 2022, USU completed the most comprehensive water main break survey ever undertaken in North America to determine the performance of different pipe materials. More than 800 utilities responded to the survey. The survey respondents from this study represent 410,000 miles or 16.7% out of an estimated 2.45 million...
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The Cyclic Cracked Round Bar (CRB) Test has been applied to study the slow crack growth (SCG) resistance of virgin, recycled, and reprocessed PVC-U. This fracture mechanical test allows a quick ranking of the SCG resistance of PVC-U. A clear correlation between the K-value and the SCG resistance has been elaborated....
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Author(s) : Steven Folkman
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Author(s) : Thomas R. Kratochvilla, Raimund Eremiasch, Christoph Bruckner
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Author(s) : Markus Gall, Reinhold W. Lang, Joerg Fischer, Ansgar Niehoff, Steven Schmidt
Despite recent efforts in promoting the utilization of recycled polymeric materials for more diverse and more advanced applications, there are still significant knowledge gaps with regards to the applicability of certain recyclate types for specific “re-use” purposes. When it comes to pipe applications, for instance,...
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Author(s) : Richard St-Aubin, Dr. Thomas O’Rourke, Dr. Brad Wham, Blake Berger
Molecularly oriented polyvinyl chloride (PVC-O) pipe has been found to withstand large ground deformation during seismic events without damage. The properties of PVC-O pipe that support this performance have been investigated in a multi-year testing program undertaken at the Geotechnical Lifelines Large Scale Testing...
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Author(s) : Lonnie Corley, Dane Chang, Harvey Svetlik, Matt Brandes, Thomas Musto, Frank Schaaf, David Fink
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The premature failure of polyethylene pipes in contact with high chlorine and chlorine dioxide, used as residual disinfectants in drinking water distribution, remains an area of concern for water companies particularly in regions where temperatures are regularly or seasonally high. Multiple factors can amplify the...
Author(s) : Steven Folkman, Ron Bishop
There are guidelines in AWWA standards for de-rating a PVC pipe’s pressure class if the operating temperature exceeds 23°C. These de-rating factors are appropriate for a system operated at a constant elevated temperature. In the warm desert climates in the USA it is common for the water mains to exceed room...
Author(s) : Steven Folkman, Ron Bishop
One of conditions design engineers face is selecting an appropriate pipe wall thickness (or DR) that will accommodate both maximum operating pressure and repeated surge pressure events. Methods for assessing the number of cycles to failure is quite well developed for PVC pipe. Fracture mechanics approaches can be...
Author(s) : Thomas C. Pedersen, Robert R. Kwapisz
This paper presents rheological data on simple rigid PVC compositions lubricated paraffin wax, calcium stearate, and oxidized polyethylene wax. These three materials comprise the most widely used lubricant system for rigid PVC in North America. The influence of certain paraffin wax characteristics will be discussed....
Author(s) : Stefan Kremling, Thomas Hochrein, Peter Heidemeyer
In plastics industry, the use of terahertz technology opens up opportunities for novel non-destructive and contactless testing applications. For example, the thickness of individual layers of a foamed multilayered plastic pipe can be monitored contactless and continuously during the extrusion process. Furthermore,...
Author(s) : Michael Pluimer, Rick Thomas
A new test method was developed to evaluate the stress crack resistance of HDPE materials containing recycled content. The method involves testing un-notched specimens in an elevated temperature bath under a specified stress. The new test method was published in March of 2016 as ASTM F3181, Standard Test Method for...
Author(s) : Reinhold W. Lang, Patrick R. Bradler, Joerg Fischer, Dominik Poehlmann, Steven Schmidt, Ansgar Niehoff
In the present paper, a highly effective test and characterization concept for polymer recyclate materials is proposed and validated. Based on the proposed methods, a study was carried out to investigate the potential of in-plant and post-use PE recyclates from various applications to be utilized in PE recyclate...
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