Plastics in Pipeline Design.

Plastics have conquered a considerable share of the pipe market, replacing conventional materials in such fields as communal and industrial supply pipelines, in domestic sewage disposal, drainage etc. , as well as domestic plumbing. This trend continues. The material properties, economical and energy saving manufacturing conditions, convenient methods of joining and a wide range of fittings and ancillary equipment, savings in weight and thus transport costs, but above all the simpler laying techniques have all contributed to the growing popularity of plastics pipes. Because of their flexibility and the greater lengths in which these pipes are available it has been possible to develop new techniques of laying pipes, e. g. the so-called re-lining method. This paper is concerned with describing progress made, with special reference to supply lines, non-destructive test methods as well as the introduction of new plastics raw materials and methods of fabrication suitable for making plastics pipelines.