How to Identify HDPE pipe quality?

How to Identify HDPE Pipe Quality?

The performance of HDPE pipes heavily depends on raw materials, processing equipment, and technology. Many manufacturers may incorporate recycled materials into the pipes to reduce costs and increase profits, which significantly reduces the quality and performance of the pipes. So, how can you identify the quality of HDPE pipes? Here are seven essential methods:

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1. Appearance

Good quality pipes have a smooth inside and outside surface, free from defects like bubbles, dents, and impurities. Poor quality pipes, on the other hand, have an uneven surface that is rough and lacks brightness, often with visible pitting.

2. Milling Strips

The strips milled by a welding machine for qualified pipes are bright and not easily broken when repeatedly folded. Strips that are off-color or weak when folded indicate the use of recycled materials or uneven material mixing.

Good Quality pipes: The strips are bright in color, neat, and do not break under repeated folding.

Poor Quality pipes: The strips appear darker and break easily when folded repeatedly.

3. Butt Welding Joint

A qualified butt welding joint has smooth and symmetrical turnups around the pipe circles, with turnup depth not lower than the pipe surface. The alignment tolerance at two sides in the excircle of welding seams should not exceed 10% of the pipe thickness. The turnups should be solid, smooth, and slightly wider at the bottom, free from impurities, small holes, deformation, and damage.

Good quality pipes: Smooth and neat turnups that extend slightly longer after pressure from butt fusion welding seams.

Poor quality pipes: The welding surface has many blow holes, and the turnups are shorter after butt fusion welding pressure.

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4. Smelling

The smell can also be an indicator of quality. Good quality HDPE pipes have a slight odor, while poor quality pipes often have a strong plastic smell due to the presence of recycled materials.

5. Burning Flame

Testing the burning flame can reveal the pipe's composition. Good quality pipes burn with a blue flame and produce minimal smoke, while poor quality pipes burn with a yellow flame and emit more smoke.

6. Break Elongation

Break elongation measures the ratio between the length at break and the original length. The larger the break elongation, the better the pipe's flexibility and performance.

Good Quality pipes: 3.5 times the original length without breaking.

Poor Quality pipes: Poor flexibility, breaking easily.

7. Oxidative Induction Time (OIT)

OIT measures the time for a pipe to undergo automatic catalytic oxidation under high temperature and oxygen. This indicates the thermal degradation capability of HDPE pipes during processing, storage, welding, and working. The longer the OIT, the better the pipe's anti-aging capability.

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