Abstract

Polyamide (PA) pipes are being increasingly employed in fluid distribution networks. Most of these pipes is used in underground networks, where overloads can cause large deflections. Excessive displacement can lead to product failure and can cause surface cracks and leakage of the fluid being transported. This condition can be maximized if the pipe is aged due to effects of the environment or of the fluid itself. In this work, the effect of aging PA pipe segments by their exposure to hot water is presented and discussed. The deformation characteristics of the material before and after aging are evaluated. The results indicate plasticization of the pipes due to exposure to hot water, and, thus, the loads required to cause a specific degree of compression, characterized by reduction of the pipe’s diameter, are greatly reduced. However, the geometric characteristics under large displacements of the aged pipes segments were similar to the behavior of unaged pipe segments, indicating that practical issues like clearances or connections between the pipes and several necessary fittings would not be affected by the aging process.

Keywords: Polyamide, Aging, Compression test, Pipes, Image analysis