1. business and industrial
2. company
3. joint venture

Design and installation considerations for
successful PE water pipelines
Timplas Industries and Borouge Pte.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia 1 December 2011
Slide 1
© 2011 Borouge Pte Ltd
Contents


A brief introduction to Timplas and Borouge


The design of pressure pipelines


How to ensure you specify the best quality PE100


The life span of PE100 pipes at higher temperatures
What is polyethylene, PE80 and PE100
Jointing of polyethylene pressure pipelines
Whole life cost savings using PE100 pipes
Conclusion
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A brief introduction to Timplas and
Borouge
A successful international partnership
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© 2006 Borouge Pte Ltd
Borouge…. A successful joint venture combining
resources, feedstock and technology leadership
 Borouge – A JV between
ADNOC and Borealis,
combining the best of
Europe and the Middle East
 JV formed in 1998,
production start up in 2001
in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
Current capacity of over
2,000 KT/year of PE and
Polypropylene (PP) .
 Will increase to over 4,000
KT/year in 2014 once
Borouge 3 commissioned.
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UAE
Austria
Borouge – a leading force in the
international plastics market
Borouge Production Head Office
Borouge Sales and Marketing Head Office
Borouge production
Borouge sales offices
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Borouge representative office
Innovation Centre
Borealis customer service centre
Borealis Head Office
Borealis production
Providing Solutions in Polyolefins
Infrastructure
Automotive
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Advanced Packaging
What is polyethylene, PE80 and PE100
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Polyethylene molecular shapes and densities
HDPE
(PE100)
MDPE
(PE80)
LLDPE
LDPE
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PE
Material
Density
(kg/m3)
HDPE
940 - 965
MDPE
930 - 940
LLDPE
910 - 930
LDPE
900 - 910
Molecular density and material properties
- common misconceptions
Polyethylene
 High Density Polyethylene - HDPE
 Medium Density Polyethylene - MDPE
 Linear Low Density Polyethylene - LLDPE
 Low Density Polyethylene – LDPE
Increasing density,
tensile strength,
elastic modulus,
crystalinity,
abrasion and
chemical resistance
Not all MDPE is PE80 and not all HDPE is PE100 – Most of it isn’t!
 PE having a MRS (Minimum Required Strength) of 10 MPa (N/mm2) can be
a PE100 - PE number = 10 X MRS in MPa
 Also a PE having an MRS of 8MPa can be a PE80
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 Must meet the requirements of ISO4427 or MS1058 (water) / ISO4437 (gas)
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Evaluating a material’s MRS using the
ISO9080 standard method
MRS is the continuous
hoop stress that the
PE must sustain after
a 50 year design life
at a continuous
temperature of 20oC.
High quality PE pipes
can now meet this
after 100 years
Test is carried out at
high temperatures to
accelerate the aging.
1 year at 80oC =
100 years at 20oC
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The development of polyethylene since 1955
HD
High Density
>PE100
•„
LS-H
PE100
•HD
HD/
BM
PE80
MD/BM
PE80
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LD
Low Density
UM
Unimodal
HD
Borstar® era
LD
•LD
1950’s
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••„LS―
LS
HD/UM
PE63
PE32
MD
Med. Density
1960’s
1970’s 1980’s 1990’s
2000’s
2010+
BM
Bimodal
LS
Low Sag
H
HSCR
Design of polyethylene pipelines
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Principal standards related to design of
polyethylene pressure pipelines
 MS 1058 : 2005 parts 1 and 2 (SIRIM)
PE Pipe for Water Supply
 ISO 4427 : 2007 parts 1, 2, 3 and 5
Plastics piping systems — Polyethylene pipes and fittings for water supply
 ISO 4437: 2007
Buried polyethylene pipes for supply of gaseous fuels
 EN 1295 : 1997
Structural design of buried pipelines under various conditions of loading
 BS 9295 : 2010
Guide to the structural design of buried pipelines
 ISO 9080: 2003
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Plastics piping and ducting systems - Determination of the longterm
hydrostatic strength of thermoplastics materials in pipe form by extrapolation
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SDR - Standard Dimension Ratio and
pressure pipe design
SDR 17
σh = p x dm
2xs
P x do - s
10 2 x s
σh = hoop stress (N/mm2)
P = internal pressure (bar)
dm = mean pipe diameter (mm)
do = outside pipe diameter (mm)
SDR 11
s = wall thickness (mm)
Combining the equation for hoop stress and the SDR expression we get:
σh = P x (SDR -1)
20
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PN = 20 x MRS
MRS = min. required strength (MPa)
(SDR -1) x SF
PN = pipe nominal pressure (bar)
SF = safety factor
Safety factors, pressure ratings and
resistance to surge pressures
 As MRS refers to the maximum continuous hoop stress, which is due to
operation pressures, rather than peak pressures, hence the safety factor is
1.25 for water and 2.0 for gas pipeline systems
PN =
20 x MRS
(SDR -1) x SF
SDR11 (PE100)
SDR17 (PE100)
Water PN 16 bar
Water PN 10 bar
Gas
Gas
PN 10 bar
PN 6.25 bar
PE pipes are designed for service life, not catastrophic or ultimate conditions
PE is a plastic material and the short term (1 minute) burst resistance of the
material is 3.5 – 4.5 the rated pressure – ASTM D1599 : 1999
PE pipelines are therefore normally designed as having a ‗surge rating‘ of 1.5
or 2.0 twice the rated pressure. ie. 20 bar in the case of a PN10 pipeline
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With low sag
PE100 pipes
should not be
limited to small
diameters and
low pressures
SDR
16
Max.
Operating
Pressure
[bar]
26
6.3
22
7.5
21
8
17
10
13.6
12.5
11
16
9
20
7.4
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Pipe wall thickness
[mm]
450
17.2
20.5
21.5
26.7
33.1
40.9
50.3
61.5
500
19.1
22.8
23.9
29.7
36.8
45.4
55.8
68.3
560
21.4
25.5
26.7
33.2
41.2
50.8
62.5
76.5
630
24.1
28.7
30.0
37.4
46.3
57.2
70.3
86.0
710
27.2
32.3
33.9
42.1
52.2
64.4
79.3
96.9
800
30.6
36.4
38.1
47.4
58.8
72.6
89.3
900
34.4
41.0
42.9
53.3
66.1
81.7
1000
38.2
45.5
47.7
59.3
73.5
90.7
1200
45.9
54.6
57.2
71.6
88.2
109.1
1400
53.5
63.7
66.7
83.0
102.9
1600
61.2
72.7
76.2
94.8
117.6
1800
68.8
81.8
85.7
105.8
2000
76.4
90.9
95.2
117.6
Structural design of buried pipes, ring
stiffness and nominal stiffness
 A pipes ability to resist external loads is
referred to as its Ring Stiffness
 Pipe ring stiffness (S) = E I/D3
I = pipe wall moment of inertia
(I = e3/12 for solid walled pipes)
e = wall thickness
E = short term modulus of elasticity
(Young‘s Modulus)
D = mean pipe diameter
 ‗E‘ for PE 100 = ~1100 MPa
 Nominal stiffness (SN) is the pipe ring
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stiffness in MPa (KN/m2)divided by 1000
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Pressure pipes have very high ring
stiffness
 Gravity pipe manufacturers and the standards refer to nominal pipe stiffness
classes. Typically SN4 and SN8 with SN16 being the highest class.
 Pressure pipes have a relatively high wall thickness (e) and therefore have
a very high ring stiffness
 gravity pipes highest class
SN16
 SDR 17 (PN10) PE100
SN22
 SDR 11 (PN16) PE100
SN92
 Hence Engineers do not in practice consider the structural design of buried
pipelines due to external loads unless there are exceptional circumstances
 When distribution network pipes (not > OD 315 mm) are laid beneath roads
with less than 0.6 m cover it‘s best to check structural calculations.
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Design of the pipe bed and surround for
regular PE100 pipelines
The bed and surround
should ideally comply with
UK water industry standard
WIS 4-08-2. Otherwise:
 gravel or broken stone


graded 5 – 10 mm
coarse sand or a sand
and gravel mix with
gravel less than 20mm
good quality granular
material free sharp
stones or large lumps ie.
20 mm or not > pipe wall
thickness)
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 Minimum compaction of 85%
standard Proctor density required
Key points concerning the continuous
nature of PE pipelines
 PE pipes should be welded or mechanically joined together to form a
continuous pipeline
 By doing so designers can avoid the need for thrust blocks and the
construction of large valves chambers or anchors designed to take thrust
 The ends of the PE pipeline must be anchored in some way in order to
prevent ‗pull out‘
 Because of their high level of toughness, flexibility and continuity, PE100
pipelines are the best option for areas having poor ground conditions
 For the same reasons, PE is also the preferred material to use in
trenchless technology applications
 Using coiled pipes greatly reduces the number of joints so reducing costs
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and jointing time
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Specify coiled pipe for 160 mm OD and
higher, depending on local producers
European pipe
producers regularly
coil pipes of up to
225 mm OD and
have coiled pipes of
up to 315 mm OD
Many producers can
provide 50 to 100 m
long coiled pipes of
up to 160 mm OD
Max. coil length for
small diameters is
500m
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Jointing of polyethylene pressure
pipelines
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Jointing of PE100 pipes and fittings -
Butt Fusion Jointing
Electrofusion Jointing
Mechanical Jointing
Preferred option, joint is To be used when pipes To be used in very
stronger that the pipe
No fittings required
Continuous fully
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homogeneous pipe
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cannot be butt welded
Electro-fusion fittings
required
demanding conditions
End load resistant fittings
Also used for connecting
to other materials
Use the international standards to help
specify good pipe jointing
 ISO 14236 – 2000
Plastic pipes and fittings – Mechanical joint compression fittings for use with
PE pressure pipes in water supply systems (up to 110 mm OD)
 ISO21307 – 2011
Butt fusion jointing procedures for PE pipes and fittings used in the
construction of gas and water distribution systems (up to 70mm wall thickness)
 ISO12176 : Part 1 – 2010
Equipment for fusion jointing of PE systems - Butt fusion
 ISO12176 : Part 2 – 2008
Equipment for fusion jointing of PE systems - Electrofusion
 ISO8085 : Part 3 – 2004
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PE fittings for use with PE pipes for the supply of gaseous fuels - specification
for electrofusion fittings (up to 630 mm OD) - can be applied to water fittings
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Animation showing the butt fusion process
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How to ensure that you specify the
best quality PE100
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•d o n ‘ t
crack
under
pressure
The PE100+ Association and its role
for PE pipe quality assurance
Slide 27
© 2011 Borouge Pte Ltd
PE100+ Association
Founded on 24th February, 1999 by Borealis, Elenac and Solvay
Consisting of 8 member companies currently - Borealis, Borouge, Ineos,
LyondellBasell, Prime Polymer, SABIC, SCG Plastics (Thailand) and
Total Petrochemicals
Supported by Advisory Committee and working closely with other plastic
pipe, standards and utility bodies
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What does the ‘+’ in PE100+ represent?
and the benefit to water and gas utilities
 Certified PE100 material consistency of 3 critical properties due to regular
testing cycle
 Promotion of quality beyond the raw material to the entire chain of pipes &
fittings, installation and maintenance
 Peace of mind for utilities due to use ready made compounds without the
influence of carbon black master batch compatibility/consistency, due to
poor homogenisation during extrusion and incomplete testing/certification
 Applicants and members each have to send 5 no. 110 mm OD SDR 11
pipes to 3 independent testing laboratories every 7 months. After passing 2
test cycles applicants can become members
 If utilities and other end users specify that their pipes and fittings must
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be manufactured from a PE100+ certified material they can be
confident that they are getting the best.
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PE100+ Membership Technical Requirements
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Whole life cost savings using
PE100 pipes
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Background to asset management and
whole life costing – why do we look at it?
Asset management is
the systematic
approach to sustainably
managing assets, their
performance and costs
over the whole life
cycle
Studies undertaken by
European utilities and
in Shanghai show that
construction costs are
typically be less than
25% of whole life cost
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Design and
Construction
Commissioning
Replacement
and Disposal
Failure Rates and
Repair Costs
O & M Costs
inc. Pumping
and Leakage
Whole life cost in RMB per km
Typical breakdown of whole life costs for a
DN100 pipeline in Shanghai’s suburban areas
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Xu Zhaikai, Chen Zhihui, Zheng Xiaoming
Shanghai Municipal Waterworks Fengxian Co., Ltd.
Comparison of whole life costs for different
pipelines in Shanghai’s rural areas
PE whole life
costs are for
SDR 17 (PN10)
pipelines
Total WLC cost in Shanghai rural with current unit price
￥1 8 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥1 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥1 4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
Shanghai uses
only 6 m pipes.
Installation
costs could be
further reduced
by using longer
pipes and
coiled pipes
￥1 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥1 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
PE
DI
Steel
￥8 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
￥0
DN100
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DN150
DN300
DN400
DN800
The life span of PE100 pipes at
higher temperatures
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Different factors affecting the lifetime of
plastic pipes
Material Factors
Initial MRS & aging rate
Slow crack growth
Additives – carbon black
Pipe manufacture
Lifetime
Environmental Factors
Average temperatures
Quality of backfill
Abrasion (slurries)
Chemical attack
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Loading Factors
Operational pressures
Surge pressures
Soil loads
Notches and scratches
Material Lifetime Assessment – 100 years
lifetime with modern high quality PE100
σLPL = lower confidence
limit hydrostatic strength
50 years = 10.633 MPa
100 years = 10.50 MPa
High quality PE100
materials still exceed the
MRS after 100 years at
20oC
The average annual
temperature in coastal
Sabah is 27.5oC
(BBC & World Met. Centre)
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50 years = 105.64 hours
100 years = 105.94 hours
Pressure reduction factors due to higher
ambient temperatures - ISO 4427
Annex A of ISO 4427 includes a
temperature reduction table
conservatively based on an old
PE100 grade (Type A)
As modern PE100 grades have a
much better performance it allows
designers to take account of these
The pressure reduction for the
type A material at 27.5oC is 10%
The pressure reduction for a
modern material such as Borouge
or Borealis HE3490-LS is less
than 1%.
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Conclusion - Pipelines are like a chain,
only as strong as their weakest link
 PE100 pipeline projects must be economically designed by engineers who are
familiar with the material and whom have been trained in its proper use
 The pipes must be manufactured from a high quality raw material
PE100+ and MS1058 : 2005 Part 1 certified
 They should be manufactured in a high quality facility and in full accordance
with national and international standards
 They must be joined together by properly trained and certified welding
technicians using equipped that is tested and certified in accordance with the
international standards
 The pipelines must be correctly installed in accordance with the standards and
engineering specification by an experienced contractor employing trained staff
 The supervision of the works should be undertaken by a suitably trained and
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experienced site team
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Thank you for your attention
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Andrew Wedgner
[email protected]
KH Lou
[email protected]
PE100 pipe case studies
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Case 1: Water supply to Quomoy Island,
China
Subsea pipeline from Xiamen water
treatment plant around bay and to
island of Quemoy.
Project by Xiamen water company and
Pipe producer – Chinaust Plastics
Design of two 12.6 km 800mm OD,
SDR17 PE pipes
Special railway built to transfer 300m
welded PE pipe strings
BorSafe HE3490-LS PE100 material
specified due to demanding
installation conditions and need for a
high security of supply
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Case 3: Yas island gas distribution network,
Abu Dhabi, UAE
This was the largest single
gas distribution network so
far laid in Abu Dhabi
It comprised just over 20 km
of SDR 11 PE100 pipelines
of up to 400 mm OD
The network supplied facilities including the the
Formula 1 race track, the Ferrari World theme park
and the 7 star Yas Island Hotel
The pipes were produced in the UAE by Union Pipe
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Industries and Hepworth‘s using BorSafe HE3490-LS
Case 3: Overcoming challenging conditions to
supply the Tianjin eco-city in China
This 4.5 km 800 mm OD SDR 17 pipeline
was laid in very challenging conditions
including a horizontal directionally drilled
section under the Ji Canal
Due to the conditions the end user
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decide to us a High Strength Crack
Resistant (HSCR) PE100 material
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Tianjin TEDA water company:
―the provision of pipe produced
from high stress crack resistant
BorSafe HE3490-LS-H for the
canal crossing addressed all our
concerns regarding installation
and possible abrasion damage.‖
Case 4: Borouge 2 seawater cooling pipelines
produced from our own PE100
For Borouge 1 large GRP pipes were
used which failed twice causing
emergency shutdowns of the plant.
Borouge decided to use their own
material for the 2nd plant:
• 4 x 2.5km 1600mm dia. 3 bar inlet
pressure pipelines
• 6 x 2.5km 1600mm dia. gravity outfall
pipelines

All 25 km of 1600mm pipes, which were
all produced in Abu Dhabi by Union
Pipes Industry using Borouge‘s
HE3490-LS material
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