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The demand for the use of plastic pipes and PIs is constantly increasing all over the world. Among extrusion products, the volume of world pipe production is second only to polymer film and amounts to millions of tons. The high efficiency of their application is confirmed by the experience of many countries, first of all, highly developed economically.
To date, a large amount of foreign and domestic information has been accumulated on the main problems of the construction and operation of plastic pipelines. This is quite understandable, since the consumer is primarily interested in the operational properties of specific products, and not in the process of their production. There is much less technical information on technological issues of the production of polymer pipes of various types and purposes. This information is intended primarily for manufacturers and professionals. It is mainly found in numerous scientific and technical periodicals, books on general issues of polymer processing, company brochures, etc. the quality of the products depends a lot and the consumer's attitude to the use of plastic pipes is formed.
The determining factors for the widespread use of plastic pipes are:
the possibility of obtaining products with a wide range of physical, mechanical and chemical properties;
significantly lower volumes of capital costs and the time required to organize their production in comparison with the corresponding production of metal pipes;
assembly and operational properties.
Pipes made of polymeric materials have a set of valuable properties that distinguish them favorably from pipes made of traditional materials and provide additional benefits to operators:
polymer pipes are about 10 times lighter than metal ones, which provides significant savings in material costs during their transportation and installation;
the technology of continuous production of pipes by screw extrusion allows to obtain pipes of the required length (in sections or in coils). This reduces the number of their connections during laying, greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of installation and significantly increases the reliability of pipeline operation;
plastic pipes are not subject to electrochemical corrosion, which creates significant complications in the operation of metal pipelines;
low electrical conductivity eliminates the possibility of stray currents in PM pipes and associated corrosion damage to the pipeline;
friction head loss in plastic pipelines is about 30% less than in steel and cast iron;
there are practically no deposits on the inner surface of the pipes, even if there is a significant amount of mineral substances in the transported medium. This reduces the cost of pumping fluids and repairing pipelines;
the probability of destruction of a plastic pipeline when water freezes in it is quite small. The deformation of the pipe caused by freezing of water within 3% is perceived partially reversible, and the mechanical properties of the material practically do not change. In winter, pipelines made of polyethylene pipes laid outside the heated buildings are allowed not to be emptied of water;
hydraulic shocks in plastic pipelines are much weaker due to the lower modulus of elasticity of the pipe material;
Low thermal conductivity of thermoplastics minimizes the formation of condensation on the outer walls of pipes and improves the hygienic conditions of their use inside buildings.
Plastic pipes are especially promising when laying outdoor networks in aggressive soils, in seismic regions and in permafrost zones, in mountainous and swampy areas, when laying pipelines through long water barriers, where the use of pipes made of traditional materials is associated with additional costs and does not guarantee trouble-free operation pipeline.
