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Intrinsic lifetime of polyethylene pipelines
Author(s) -
Brown Norman
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.20696
Subject(s) - materials science , polyethylene , stress (linguistics) , intensity (physics) , composite material , pipeline transport , structural engineering , forensic engineering , mechanical engineering , engineering , physics , philosophy , linguistics , quantum mechanics
An equation was developed for calculating the time to failure by slow crack growth (SCG) failure in any polyethylene structure. The equation requires the following experimental inputs: (1) the resistance to SCG as measured by the PENT test (ASTM F1473), (2) the stress intensity of the defect from which failure originates, and (3) the temperature. A simple experiment for determining the stress intensity is presented. The equation was applied to SCG failures that are associated with the inherent random defects that occur in the wall of all pipes. The size of the inherent random defect that exists in commercial gas pipes was found to be 0.14 mm. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:477–480, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.