New Considerations and Experimental Data on Plastic Pipes

The choice of pipeline material is a complicated problem. Pipes should be installed safely and economically, using old materials that have been recently improved and new materials now on the market. One such new material is plastic, but surprisingly little data are available regarding design criteria and engineering characteristics. This paper looks at plastic pipe from an European viewpoint. The engineering characteristics of high-pressure hard PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe and high pressure hard PE (polyethylene) pipe are presented. The ability of PVC, PE, cast-iron, steel, and asbestos pipe to withstand waterhammer is also described and appropriate conclusions presented.