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Tube Products International January 2011
for tube making
At the Plastic Pipes XV Conference,
held in Vancouver, Canada in September,
SABIC, a global plastics industry leader,
introduced the new SABIC
®
Vestolen
A RELY family of tough, sustainable
and cost-effective bimodal high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) materials for
pressure pipe applications. The SABIC
Vestolen A RELY portfolio offers converters
energy savings and enables environ-
mentally responsible pipe installation.
Further demonstrating its commitment
to sustainable technologies, the
company also presented its new Strain
Hardening method, a fast and accurate
method for evaluating the slow crack
growth resistance behaviour of HDPE.
This Strain Hardening method avoids
the use of detergents, which can pose
an environmental hazard, and avoids
the use of valuable drinking water.
Both announcements underscore
SABIC’s increasing focus on the
development of high-performance,
sustainabletechnologies,anditsongoing
investment in innovative materials and
validation techniques to help converters,
developers and builders leverage next-
generation pressure pipe solutions.
The term ‘RELY’ refers to the material’s
reliability, which is critical for transporting
potable water, gas and other valuable
liquids.
“Our new SABIC Vestolen A RELY
products in combination with the Strain
Hardening method – that measures their
performance – are key deliverables in
SABIC’s global strategy to supply the
pressure pipe industry with breakthrough
technologies,” saidJeanEngels, business
manager HDPE SABIC. “SABIC takes
great pride in proactively developing
materials and methodologies that meet
current and emerging industry needs,
particularly in the areas of sustainability
and cost effectiveness. We also welcome
new partners who can help us drive
development of new pipe solutions
utilising our high-performance HDPE
materials and extensive technological
resources and expertise.”
The first two grades within the SABIC
Vestolen A RELY portfolio – one designed
for low sagging and the other engineered
for high resistance to slow crack growth
– contribute to the eco-responsible
production and use of pressure pipe.
With these materials, converters
can reduce energy. Developers and
contractors can select trenchless pipe
installation such as guided boring and
horizontal directional drilling that reduce
impact on the environment.
Both new materials are classified
as PE100 grades, demonstrating
compliance with the highest industry
standards for HDPE pressure pipe.
SABIC Vestolen A RELY 5924R delivers
low sag performance for large diameter
pipes and pressure pipes with a
low standard dimension ratio (SDR).
This grade has an internal pressure
approval for PE 100 that complies with
the EN12201 and EN1555 standards,
underscoring its quality and performance
for transporting potable water, gas,
sewage and other liquids.
It offers resistance to slow crack
growth propagation in high-pressure
pipe applications and can therefore
be used with advanced trenchless
pipe installation technologies such
as re-lining, horizontal
directional
drilling
and guided boring. Its
resistance to slow crack
growth is demonstrated
by results of the FNCT
(>8760h) and pipe notch
test (>8760h, DIN and ISO
13479). This grade also
has an internal pressure
approval for PE 100,
meeting EN12201 and
EN1555 standards.
The RELY family is produced at
SABIC’s state-of-the-art HDPE plant
in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, which was
designed to put less stress on the
environment than traditional facilities.
For example, SABIC’s plant cuts
electricity usage by 8%, air emissions
by 85% and sewage by 50%. The
facility uses SABIC’s own proprietary
catalyst technology.
The primary slow crack growth resistance
testing methods for HDPE for pressure
pipes have had significant drawbacks,
including high cost, long durations of
a year or more and uncertain reliability.
SABIC’s new Strain Hardening method
correlates well to traditional methods that
assess the slow crack growth behaviour
of HDPE. This method is typically able
to determine the intrinsic slow crack
growth behaviour via a simple tensile test
at 80°C. Advantages of this test method
are very low measurement variation,
absence of surfactants and notches,
small amount of required testing material
(<50g), and testing times of only a few
hours.
The Strain Hardening method can
be easily implemented at accredited
laboratories. The company states that
this simple yet cutting-edge test fulfils
an urgent and previously unmet market
need. SABIC anticipates that the Strain
Hardening method will become the
standard for HDPE slow crack growth
testing.
SABIC Vestolen A RELY 5924R and
SABIC Vestolen A RELY 5922R are
available globally, with additional grades
within the product line due for release in
the near future.
The businesses of SABIC (Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation) are grouped
into chemicals, polymers, performance
chemicals, fertilisers, metals and
innovative plastics. The company has
six dedicated technology and innovation
centres in Saudi Arabia, Europe, the
USA and India, and operates in more
than 40 countries across the world.
SABIC Europe
– The Netherlands
Sustainability, performance and cost
effectiveness in HDPE pipe applications
