High Stress Crack Resistance BorSafe PE100 for the toughest conditions

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PE is the pipe material for the 21st CenturyOver the last forty years polyethylene pipe has seen a sharp rise in popularity amongst utilitycompaniesduetoitseaseofuseandgoodtrackrecord.AstheconfidenceinPEhasgrown,engineershavesoughttoreduceinstallationcostsbyusinglessimportedbackfillmaterialsandmoretrenchlessinstallationmethods.BothofthesetendtoincreasethesurfacedamageandthestressesonthePEpipesdemandingevengreatertoughnessanddurabilityfromthePEmaterial.

PEpipesarealsonowbeingused in theoilandgas industryand themining industry to linesteelpipelines to protect them against corrosion and abrasion. The lining process is usually carried outusing “swagelining” or a similar “close fit” insertion technique which can also create additionalsurfacedamageandstressesinthePEpipes.

The increasing demands on PE pipeTheuseof“selectedas-dug”materialstobackfill thepipeortheuseoftrenchlessinstallationtechniquescan lead toconsiderablepoint loadson thepipe fromstonesandothermaterials.Theseloadsontheoutsideofthepipeimposeahightensilestressontheboreofthepipe,whichcanleadtocrackingandultimatelytofailure.

Tocopewiththeseloadingconditionshighstresscrackresistantmaterialsarerequired,whichis exactly why BorSafe™ HE3490-LS-H was created. This material will resist these additionalstressesandensurethatthedurabilityofthepipeismaintained.

Increasing use of trench-less installation techniquesBased on the success of the early “slip lining” projects many different “no dig” installationtechnologiesweredevelopedtomeetdifferentconditions.Thesetechniquesprovidethesystemownerwitha“new”pipelineatsignificantlylowercostsandreducetheenvironmentalimpactcomparedtonormalreplacementmethods.

Howeverthesetechniquescangiverisetoahighlevelofscratchingandscoringoftheoutsideofthepipewhichcanleadtocrackgrowthandultimatelytofailure.Thisisparticularlysowhentechniquessuchas“pipebursting”areused,wheretheoldcastiron,steelorotherpipeisburstbyanexpandinghydraulicmandrelandanoversizedPEpipeispulledthroughtheholethatiscreated.However,evenifthedamageissevereBorSafeHE3490-LS-Hwillresistthedevelopmentandgrowthofacrackandensurethatthedurabilityofthepipewillbemaintained.

High Stress Crack Resistant Materials for Additional Security

Trenching in rocky terrain Pipe outer surface after burst lining

Measuring the slow crack growth resistance

Therearemanydifferentwaysofmeasuringtheslowcrackgrowthresistanceofdifferentpolyethylenematerials.Themostwellknownisthenotchedpipetest(NPT),whichisspecifiedintheInternationalStandardsforgasandwaterpipes(ISO4437&ISO4427).

TheNPTtestworkswellwiththeolderunimodalPEmaterials,butforthenewbimodalgradesthetesttimestendtobelong(usuallyinexcessof1000hours)andforhighstresscrackresistantmaterialslikeBorSafeHE3490-LS-Hthetesttimescanbeovertwoyears.

InGermany,DVGWhasdevelopedanewspecificationcalledPAS1075, which is particularly relevant for pipe installation in rockyterrain and using alternative installation methods. Within thisspecificationtheydescribethepointloadtest(PLT)inwhichthePEpipeispressurisedandsubjectedtoaconstantlevelofindentationusingapiston.Elevatedtemperatureandanaqueouswettingagentareusedtoacceleratestresscracking.Inordertoqualifyasahighstress crack resistant material suitable for alternative installationmethods,suchasdirectionaldrillingandpipebursting,thematerialinpipeformisrequiredtopass8760hourswithoutfailure,whichis claimed to be equivalent to 100 years operation at 20°C inwater. Even under these severe conditions BorSafe HE3490-LS-Houtperformsthisrequirementbyalargemargin(seegraph).

ForregularqualitytestingofpipestheDVGWallowaFullNotchCreepTest (FNCT) to ISO16770 tobeused, the resultsofwhichhavebeencorrelatedagainstthePointLoadTest.Ashorterformof FNCT test, the ACT is also allowed. As shown in the graphBorSafeHE3490-LS-Halsoexceedstheperformancerequirementsofthesetests.

BorSafe high stress crack resistant materials provide protection against crack growth of rocky backfill materials or “no dig” installation techniques. It allows the installer to benefit from the cost savings by using these techniques whilst providing the network owner and operator with “peace of mind”.

The importance of slow crack growth resistance

If,duringinstallation,thepipesurfaceisheavilyscoredornotchedthereisadangerthatunderserviceconditionsofpressureandsoil loadingthisnotchmaydevelopintoasharpcrackwhichthen grows through the wall of the pipe andcauses premature failure. The progress of thecrackisinhibitedbythestructureofthepolymerand in particular the number and strengthof the tie molecules. The Borstar bimodalprocess has enabled us to develop a polymerwith an extremely high resistance to crackgrowth,whichwill resist thedevelopmentandgrowthofacrackfromthescoresandnotchesdeveloped during installation and therebymaintain the design life of the pipe. Indeed,BorSafe HE3490-LS-H provides a step improvement in performance compared to standard PE100 materials.

Container

Sample

Piston force

Water 80ºC

Pressure 4MPa (8 bar)

Arkopal 2%

Point load testing

Standard PE100 BorSafe PE100 HSCR

Notched FNCT FNCT PointPipe Test (ACT) Load Test

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0

Life

Hou

rs

Standard PE100 BorSafe PE100 HSCR

Ductile failure/invalid result

Directional Drilling in Tianjin Eco – CityTheTianjinEco–CityisajointdevelopmentbetweentheChineseandSingapore governments. During its construction there was an urgentneedtobringadditionalwatertothearea.The Tianjin TEDA Water Company were keen to use PE100 for thecompletepipelinedue to the increasedspeedof installation,howeverthey were concerned about the damage that could be caused by thedirectionaldrillingoperationundertheJiCanal.Toallaytheirconcernsthecontractorusedpipemanufacturedfromhighstresscrackresistantmaterial BorSafe HE3490-LS-H for this section, which provided thehighestresistancetoanysurfacedamagethatcouldhavebeeninducedduringtheinstallation.

Relining water injection pipelines for Kuwait Oil CompanyInternalcorrosionofsteelpipeisamajorproblemformanyoilcompanies,especiallythosewitholderwells,wheretherearehighlevelsofhydrogensulphide. An alternative to regular replacement is to use “close-fit”internalliningusingPEwhichwillextendthelifeofthepipeline.

TheKuwaitOilCompanychosetotestthisoptionandforhighersecurityspecified high stress crack resistant BorSafe HE3490-LS-H. The PE pipelengthswereweldedandpressuretestedandtheninsertedintothesteelpipe using the “Swagelining” technique. The lined section of pipe wasthenputbackintoservicesothattheperformancecouldbemonitoredandcomparedtounlinedsections.

Relining water pipes in ShanghaiInShanghaiover16,000kmofironpipehasbeeninstalledinrecenttimes,butleakageratesarearound25%andinsomeareasthewaterqualityispoorduetotheinternalcorrosionoftheironpipes.ThesolutionistousePE100pipesto linetheoldcorrodedwatermainsbut therewasconcernaboutpotentialsurfacedamagetothelinerandthereforeBorSafeHE3490-LS-Hwasspecified.

A demonstration project was undertaken to line a corroded iron pipewitha300mmdiameterhighstresscrack resistantPE100pipeusing the“Swagelining”technique.ThesuccessoftheprojectclearlydemonstratedthepotentialvalueofthecombinationofNo-DigtechnologyandthenewhighstresscrackmaterialinhelpingtosolveChina’swaterproblems.

Laying pipes in rocky soil in AfghanistanAnewPEwaterpipelinewasrequiredtolinkthecityofPuli-khumrihighintheHinduKushMountainsofNorthernAfghanistanwitha reservoir.Thepopulationofthecityhadgrownrapidlytoover60,000andanadditionalsourceofwaterwasessentialinthisareawhichispronetoseveredroughts.

Astheareawasextremelyremotethepipelinehadtobelaidintherockyground without imported backfill and the German consulting engineersneededreassurancethatthelifetimeofthispipelinepipelinewouldnotbeprejudiced.Thesolutionwastoproducethe180and250mmSDR11pipesfromhighstresscrackresistantBorSafeHE3490-LS-H.

Welding the PE pipes before installation

The PE pipe being pulled through the old pipeline

High Stress Crack Materials in Action

Installing the PE100 pipeline across the construction site

The swaged lining pipe entering host iron pipe

Some useful web sites and references Borouge www.borouge.com

Borealis www.borealisgroup.com/pipe

PE100+Association www.pe100plus.net

TheGulfPlasticsPipeAcademy www.yourppa.org

InternationalSocietyforTrenchlessTechnologies www.istt.com

PlasticsPipesforWaterSupplyandSewageDisposal Lars-EricJanson,2003

“Multilayerpipeswithintegratedleakagemonitoring Spath,T. fortrenchlesstechnologies” PlasticsPipesXIII,Washington,2006

“DevelopmentofaNewHighPerformancePEpressurepipe Kania,G. system,fromdesignphasetoreality” NoDig.Rome,2007

“SpecialhighqualityPE100pipematerialsensurelongservice McGoldrick,Jetal. lifeandsolvepracticalend-userproblems” WiesbadenerKunststoffrohrtage,2007

“PE100-RC-EinPE100miterweitertemAnwendungspotential“ Hessel,J. 3R-International,volume47,2008

“TheUseofHighStressCrackResistantPEPipesforDemanding Walton,D.&Murali,M. InstallationConditions” SAPPMAConference,2008

“AtoughinitiationforPE100inKuwait’sOilIndustry” P.R.Hayes PlasticPipesXV,Washington,2010

“TheDevelopmentofmultilayerpipeconstructions” ChristianGoetzloff PlasticsPipesXIV,Budapest,2008

Borouge High Stress Crack Resistant PE100 Grades

Commercial Reference Material Type Colour Application

BorSafe HE3490-LS-H PE100 Black Extrusion or co-extrusion of pipes for High SCR demanding conditions

BorSafe HE3492-LS-H PE100 Yellow-orange Extrusion or co-extrusion of gas pipes for High SCR demanding conditions

BorSafe HE3494-LS-H PE100 Dark Blue Extrusion or co-extrusion of water pipes for High SCR demanding conditions

Overall benefits using BorSafe HE3490-LS-H, HE3492-LS-H and HE3494-LS-H

Themainbenefitsofusinghighstresscrackmaterialsareasfollows:-• TheperformanceofaPE100materialmeetingalltherequirementsofEN1555/ISO4437andEN12201/ISO4427• AdditionalsecurityagainstcrackgrowthmeetingalltherequirementsofPAS1075• Exceptionalresistancetoslowcrackgrowthtogivealonglifetime• Retainsgoodlowsagpropertiesnecessaryforlargediameterpipeproduction• Idealforcustomdesignmultilayerpipetomeetthedemandsoftheinstallationtechnique• MaintainsthehighsecurityandhighdurabilityexpectedofPEsystems• Provides“Peace of Mind”fortheprojectengineer/systemowner

About Borouge

Borouge is a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions. A joint venture between

the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies, and

Austria based Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, Borouge is a

groundbreaking international partnership at the forefront of the next generation of plastics innovation.

Borouge has its headquarters in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, employs approximately

1,600 people representing more than 40 nationalities and serves customers in more than 50

countries across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Indian sub-continent and Africa. Building on Borealis’

unique Borstar® technology and experience in polyolefins for more than 50 years, Borouge provides

innovative, value creating plastics solutions for the infrastructure (pipe systems, and power and

communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging markets.

In 2010 Borouge tripled its annual production capacity in Abu Dhabi to 2 million tonnes and an

additional 2.5 million tonnes per year will be introduced by mid-2014 to create the world’s largest

integrated polyolefins plant. Borouge is also investing in plants and logistics hubs in Asia and an

Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi. Today Borouge and Borealis have a manufacturing capacity of over

5.4 million tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene annually. Focused on Value Creation through

Innovation they ensure that their customers throughout the value chain, around the world, can always

rely on superior products and security of supply.

Borouge is committed to the principles of Responsible Care® and together with Borealis proactively

contributes towards addressing the world’s water and sanitation challenges through their Water for

the World™ initiative.

Visit www.borouge.com and see how we are Shaping the Future with Plastics.

DisclaimerThe information contained herein is to our knowledge accurate and reliable as of the date of publication. Borouge extends no warranties and makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein, and assumes no responsibility regarding the consequences of its use or for any printing errors. Our products are intended for sale to industrial and commercial customers. It is the customer’s responsibility to inspect and test our products in order to satisfy himself as to the suitability of the products for the customer’s particular purpose. The customer is also responsible for the appropriate, safe and legal use, processing and handling of our products. Nothing herein shall constitute any warranty (express or implied, of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, compliance with performance indicators, conformity to samples or models, non-infringement or otherwise), nor is protection from any law or patent to be inferred. No statement

herein shall be construed as an endorsement of any product or process. No one is authorised to make representations or give warranties or assume any other liabilities on behalf of Borouge except if in writing and signed by a duly authorised Borouge employee. Insofar as products supplied by Borouge are used in conjunction with third party materials, it is the responsibility of the customer to obtain all necessary information relating to the third party materials and ensure that Borouge products when used together with these materials are suitable for the customer’s particular purpose. No liability can be accepted in respect of the use of Borouge products in conjunction with other materials. The information contained herein relates exclusively to our products when not used in conjunction with any third party materials.

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For more information contact: info@borouge.comorvisitwww.borouge.com

BorSafeisatrademarkofBorealisgroup.BorstarisaregisteredtrademarkofBorealisgroup.

Borouge Pte Ltd 1GeorgeStreet#18-01Singapore049145Tel:+6562754100Fax:+6563771233Email:info@borouge.com