Bending Fatigue Testing of Pipe and Piping Components Fabricated From High Density Polyethylene Materials

Author(s):  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Siegrid Hall ◽  
Jeffrey W. Andrasik

Degradation of service water systems is a major issue facing nuclear power plant owners, and many plants will require repair or replacement of existing carbon steel piping components. High Density Polyethylene piping has been used in non-safety service water systems for over nine years and found to perform well, and is now permitted in the ASME Section III Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Division 1 for use in nuclear safety-related systems. To assist in this implementation of High Density Polyethylene piping in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1 for Safety Class 3 applications, Electric Power Research Institute initiated a testing program that includes tensile and fatigue testing of High Density Polyethylene piping and components and the development of data to evaluate slow crack growth that can emanate from surface scratches. Straight cantilever bending fatigue tests on PE 4710 pipe with a minimum cell classification of 445474C were previously conducted and the results presented at the 2008 PVP Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The tests were designed to comply with the requirements for fatigue testing given in Mandatory Appendix II of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1. Based on the straight pipe tests, Stress Intensification Factors can be calculated for other piping components. This paper reports on follow-on testing of PE 4710 cell classification 445574C piping components. The fatigue testing results showed one of the unique characteristics of High Density Polyethylene piping: a significant decrease in material stiffness from the first few test cycles to a lower value that remains almost constant until failure. Thus, Stress at Failure vs cycles at failure curves and Stress Intensification Factors were determined twice: first based on the initial cycle results and again at the midlife of the fatigue tests. This paper provides a description and overview of the test program, testing methods and materials tested. In addition, an overview and summary of the test program results are provided.

Author(s):  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Rudolph J. Scavuzzo ◽  
Siegrid Hall ◽  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Jeffrey W. Andrasik ◽  
...  

Degradation of service water systems is a major issue facing nuclear power plant owners, and many plants will require repair or replacement of existing carbon steel piping components. High Density Polyethylene pipe has been used in non-safety service water systems for over nine years and found to perform well, but it is not currently permitted in the ASME Section III Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Division 1 for use in nuclear safety-related systems. To assist in the implementation of High Density Polyethylene pipe in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1 for Safety Class 3 applications, EPRI initiated a testing program that includes tensile and fatigue testing of HDPE piping and components and the development of slow crack growth data. Straight cantilever bending fatigue tests on PE 4710 pipe with a minimum cell classification of 445474C were conducted. The tests were designed to comply with the requirements for fatigue testing given in Appendix II of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1. They were also designed to achieve failure at the fusion butt welds near the cantilever support. S-N curves developed from both sets of data were found to fit well to power formulas of the type S = C/Nb required by mandatory Appendix II. The tests were conducted at various temperatures from 50° F to 160° F and in addition the effects of cyclic rate and aging were evaluated. Based on the straight pipe tests, stress intensification factors were calculated for 5-segment miter bends in both the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. The test elbows were fabricated from PE 4710 material with cell classification 445474C. Two sizes of 5-segment miter bends were tested, 4” and 12” diameter. The fatigue testing results showed one of the unique characteristics of High Density Polyethylene pipe: a significant decrease in material stiffness from the first few test cycles to a lower value that remains almost constant until failure. Thus, S-N curves and SIFs were determined twice: first based on the initial cycle results and again at the midlife of the fatigue tests. This paper provides a description and overview of the test program, testing methods and materials tested. In addition, an overview and summary of the test program results are provided.


Author(s):  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Siegrid Hall ◽  
Rudolph J. Scavuzzo ◽  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Jeffrey W. Andrasik ◽  
...  

Degradation of service water systems is a major issue facing nuclear power plant owners, and many plants will require repair or replacement of existing carbon steel piping components. High Density Polyethylene pipe has been used in non-safety service water systems for over nine years and found to perform well, but it is not currently permitted in the ASME Section III Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Division 1 for use in nuclear safety-related systems. To assist in the implementation of High Density Polyethylene pipe in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1 for Safety Class 3 applications, EPRI initiated a High Density Polyethylene pipe and pipe material testing program. This test program includes tensile testing and fatigue testing of High Density Polyethylene piping and piping components and the development of slow crack growth data. To determine the material and engineering properties needed, extensive tensile testing of specimens cut from High Density Polyethylene pipe was conducted. The initial tensile test program was conducted on PE 3408 with cell classification 345464C and a second, not yet finalized, phase was added to test PE 4710 with cell classification 445474C. The data developed during the testing were used to establish ultimate strain, elastic moduli, yield stress and yield strain values for both new and aged materials. Because extruded HDPE properties vary in the hoop and axial directions and the properties are highly affected by temperature, specimens were cut in both the hoop and axial directions and were tested at temperatures ranging from 50° F to 180° F. This paper provides a description and overview of the PE 3408 cell class 345464C test program. In addition, an overview and summary of the test results for the PE 3408 cell class 345464C are provided.


Author(s):  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Shawn Nickholds ◽  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Jeffery Andrasik

For corroded piping in low temperature systems, such as service water systems in nuclear power plants, replacement of carbon steel piping with high density polyethylene (HDPE) is a cost-effective solution. Polyethylene pipe can be installed at much lower labor costs that carbon steel pipe and HDPE pipe has a much greater resistance to corrosion. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1 currently permits the use of non-metallic piping in buried safety Class 3 piping systems. Additionally, HDPE pipe has been successfully used in non-safety-related systems in nuclear power facilities and is commonly used in other industries such as water mains and natural gas pipelines. This report presents the results of updated fatigue testing of PE 4710 cell classification 445574C pipe compliant with the specific Code requirements. This information was developed to support and provide a strong technical basis for material properties of HDPE pipe for use in ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III New Construction and Section XI repair or replacement activities. The data may also be useful for applications of HDPE pipe in commercial electric power generation facilities and chemical, process and waste water plants via its possible use in the B31 series piping codes. The report provides fatigue data in the form of Code S-N curves for fusion butt joints in PE 4710 cell classification 445574C HDPE pipe.


Author(s):  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Shawn Nickholds ◽  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Jeffery Andrasik

For corroded piping in low temperature systems, such as service water systems in nuclear power plants, replacement of carbon steel piping with high density polyethylene (HDPE) is a cost-effective solution. Polyethylene pipe can be installed at much lower labor costs than carbon steel pipe and HDPE pipe has a much greater resistance to corrosion. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 1 currently permits the use of non-metallic piping in buried safety Class 3 piping systems. Additionally, HDPE pipe has been successfully used in non-safety-related systems in nuclear power facilities and is commonly used in other industries such as water mains and natural gas pipelines. This paper presents the results of creep testing of PE 4710 cell classification 445574C pipe compliant with ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code material requirements. This information was developed to support and provide a strong technical basis for material properties of HDPE pipe for use in ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III New Construction and Section XI repair or replacement activities. The data may also be useful for applications of HDPE pipe in commercial electric power generation facilities and chemical, process and waste water plants via its possible use in the B31 series piping codes. The report provides long term creep and modulus data, as well as an analysis of the stress dependency of both.


Author(s):  
Timothy Krantz ◽  
Brian Tufts

The power density of a gearbox is an important consideration for many applications and is especially important for gearboxes used on aircraft. One approach to improving power density of gearing is to improve the steel properties by design of the alloy. The alloy tested in this work was designed to be case-carburized with surface hardness of Rockwell C66 after hardening. Test gear performance was evaluated using surface fatigue tests and single-tooth bending fatigue tests. The performance of gears made from the new alloy was compared to the performance of gears made from two alloys currently used for aviation gearing. The new alloy exhibited significantly better performance in surface fatigue testing, demonstrating the value of the improved properties in the case layer. However, the alloy exhibited lesser performance in single-tooth bending fatigue testing. The fracture toughness of the tested gears was insufficient for use in aircraft applications as judged by the behavior exhibited during the single tooth bending tests. This study quantified the performance of the new alloy and has provided guidance for the design and development of next generation gear steels.


Author(s):  
Douglas Munson ◽  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Shawn Nickholds

For corroded piping in low temperature systems, such as service water systems in nuclear power plants, replacement of carbon steel pipe with high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe is a cost-effective solution. HDPE pipe can be installed at much lower labor costs than carbon steel pipe, and HDPE pipe has a much greater resistance to corrosion. This paper presents the results of the seismic testing of selected vent and drain configurations. This testing was conducted to provide proof of the conceptual design of HDPE vent and drain valve configurations. A total of eight representative models of HDPE vent and drain assemblies were designed. The models were subjected to seismic SQURTS spectral acceleration up to maximum shake table limits. The test configurations were then checked for leakage and operability of the valves. The results for these tests, along with the test configurations, are presented. Also presented are the acceleration data observed at various points on the test specimens.


2019 ◽  
Vol 300 ◽  
pp. 05001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Amjadi ◽  
Ali Fatemi

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is used in many industries with many applications from automotive industry to biomedical implants. It can be manufactured using different processing techniques including compression molding, injection molding, and blow molding. Multiaxial loading and non-proportionality between different loading sources are inevitable in many applications. It is shown that the common multiaxial fatigue criteria such as von Mises equivalent stress are not able to correlate the multiaxial fatigue data. In this study, multiaxial fatigue behavior of neat HDPE is investigated using hollow tubular specimens through experimental fatigue tests. Axial, torsion, and combined in phase and out-of-phase axial-torsion fatigue tests were conducted. Stress concentration effect on multiaxial fatigue behavior was also studied. Experimental results and analytical models used to account for the aforementioned effects are presented and discussed in this paper.


Author(s):  
George G. Thomas ◽  
Jack R. Spanner ◽  
Timothy M. Adams ◽  
Siegrid Hall

The commercial Light Water Reactors operating within the United States have been in service from about 20 to 35 years. These plants include buried Service Water piping systems primarily made from low carbon steel. This piping has been subject to aging over the years, resulting in degradation and corrosion that will require replacement of the piping. Due to the advantageous cost and durability of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) piping (as demonstrated in other commercial industries), the industry has expressed interest in replacing steel buried Service Water Piping in Nuclear Power Stations with HDPE piping. To assist in this effort EPRI has funded and supported the work summarized in this paper to develop design criteria for HPDE Pipe. This paper provides an example problem demonstrating the application of recently developed design criteria for HDPE piping. The technical bases of these criteria are presented in separate papers and are not repeated in this discussion.


Author(s):  
Adel N. Haddad

Originally introduced in the 1990s, bimodal HDPE, pipe resins are still finding new niches today, including even nuclear power plants. HDPE pipe grades are used to make strong, corrosion resistant and durable pipes. High density polyethylene, PE 4710, is the material of choice of the nuclear industry for the Safety Related Service Water System. This grade of polymer is characterized by a Hydrostatic Design Basis (HDB) of 1600 psi at 73 °F and 1000 psi at 140 °F. Additionally bimodal high density PE 4710 grades display >2000 hours slow crack growth resistance, or PENT. HD PE 4710 grades are easy to extrude into large diameter pipes; fabricate into fitting and mitered elbows and install in industrial settings. The scope of this paper is to describe the bimodal technology which produces HDPE pipe grade polymer; the USA practices of post reactor melt blending of natural resin compound with black masterbatch; and the attributes of such compound and its conformance to the nuclear industry’s Safety Related Service Water System.


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