The Introduction of High Stress Crack Resistant PE100 and its use in several demanding projects in Asia and the Middle East [PE]

PE100RC, HSCR, Stress, Asia, Middle East The rapid development of Asia and the Middle East, has called for an equally rapid expansion of their infrastructure networks. At the same time, increasing urbanization has led to an increased use of trenchless technology for the installation, replacement and renovation of infrastructure of pipelines. Trenchless technology applications increase the risk of pipes being damaged during installation and / or being subjected to significant point loads after installation. These are conditions which can lead to the initiation of cracks in the pipe wall and the subsequent propagation of the cracks through the slow crack growth (SCG) mechanism. Several polyethylene resin manufacturers, including Borouge, have developed High Stress Crack Resistant (HSCR) PE100 grades (PE100RC) which have a much higher resistance to SCG. Borouge has supplied HSCR PE100 for use on a range of challenging project over the last 2 years. These have included lining slurry pipelines in Australia, the lining of water injection and oil flow lines in the oil fields of the Middle East, horizontal directional drilling projects in China and New Zealand and the laying of pipes in the mountains of Afghanistan. This paper provides a background to HSCR PE100 including how to measure the material’s performance and then discusses Borouge’s experience in introducing HSCR PE100 to pipe producers and end users in the region before providing details of four projects on which the material has been employed, together with detailing some of the lessons learnt along the way.