UHMWPE Pipe: Revolutionizing Industries with Unmatched Performance

UHMWPE Pipes

UHMWPE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) pipe is a type of plastic pipe known for its exceptional durability, high strength-to-weight ratio, and resistance to abrasion, corrosion, and chemicals.

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UHMWPE is produced by co-extruding the average molecular weight material of 3.5-9.2 million viscosity under high temperature and high pressure through an extruder.

UHMWPE Pipe has the following impressive statistics: wear resistance is 15 times that of steel, 8 times lighter than steel, friction coefficient is 5 times lower than steel, and pressure loss is as low as 1/10 of steel pipe. UHMWPE pipelines are very suitable for the transportation of powder and coal ash in thermal power systems, the return water pipeline, the transportation of tailings and mud in the mining industry, and the high-pressure transportation of pulverized coal and coal water slurry in coal preparation plants. The transportation of mud and slag corrosive media in the coal industry and other industries.

Is UHMWPE stronger than HDPE?

UHMW polyethylene is significantly more durable and abrasion-resistant than HDPE. Its long polymer chains are tightly packed, making it harder to grind or wear down. UHMW can outlast HDPE up to 10 times in high-wear situations like conveyor systems. However, HDPE is easy to machine or weld.

What is the disadvantage of UHMWPE?

Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) has many beneficial properties, such as high impact strength, low friction, and chemical resistance. However, there are a few disadvantages associated with this material:

  1. Low Melting Point: UHMWPE has a relatively low melting point compared to other engineering plastics. This limits its use in high-temperature applications where elevated temperatures could cause deformation or melting.

  2. Limited UV Resistance: UHMWPE can be susceptible to degradation when exposed to prolonged ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. This can lead to reduced mechanical properties and color changes.

  3. Difficult to Bond: UHMWPE has a low surface energy, making it challenging to bond using traditional adhesives or bonding techniques. Special surface treatments or adhesives are often required for effective bonding.

  4. Limited Wear Resistance in Abrasive Environments: While UHMWPE has good wear resistance, it may not perform as well as some other materials, like ceramics or certain metals, in highly abrasive environments. It can experience accelerated wear when exposed to abrasive particles.

  5. Not Suitable for High Load Bearings: UHMWPE has a relatively low modulus of elasticity, which can limit its use in high-load-bearing applications. Under heavy loads, it may experience deformation or creep.

  6. Difficult to Machine: UHMWPE's high molecular weight and low thermal conductivity can make it difficult to machine using conventional methods. Special tools and machining techniques are often required.

  7. Sensitive to Oxidation: UHMWPE is sensitive to oxidative degradation, particularly at elevated temperatures. This can lead to a decrease in mechanical properties and a reduction in its service life.

  8. Water Absorption: UHMWPE can absorb small amounts of moisture over time, which may affect its mechanical properties and dimensional stability in certain applications.

Despite these disadvantages, UHMWPE remains a valuable material for various applications where its unique combination of properties is beneficial. Proper consideration of its limitations and compatibility with specific operating conditions is necessary when choosing UHMWPE for a given application.

Which is better HDPE or UHMW?

The choice between HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) and UHMW (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) depends on the specific application and requirements. Both materials have unique properties that make them suitable for different situations.

But UHMW tends to be better suited for industrial or manufacturing applications where friction or wear may be a concern. However, HDPE is often performed for items that need to be shaped using techniques like welding or 3D printing, especially in tanks or vessels that need to hold chemicals or other fluids.

What is UHMWPE

What is UHMWPE?

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe has superior performance over conventional HDPE pipe such as very high wear resistance, impact resistance, excellent resistance to internal pressure strength, resistance to environmental stress cracking, intrinsically self-lubricating, anti-adhesion, low temperature resistance and excellent chemical resistance.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW full name is ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe) is a thermoplastic engineering plastics with an average molecular weight greater than 1.5 million, which is polymerized by ethylene and butadiene monomer under the action of a catalyst.

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethyene (UHMWPE,UHMW is a subset of the thermoplastic polyethylene. Also known as high-modulus polyethylene, (HMPE) it hasextremely ong chains, with a mo ecular mas usually between 3.5 and 7.5 mllon amu. The loner chain serves to traster oad more eflectively to the polymer backboneby strenothening intermolecular interactions. This results in a very tough matera, with the highest impact strength of any thermoplastic presently made.UHMWPE is odories, tasteless, and nontoxic.t embodles al the characteristics of hioh-density polyethylene (HDPE with the added traits of being resistant toconcentrated acids and aka ls,as wel as numerous oroanic so vents. t is hichy resstant to corosve chemicas except oxidizina acids: nas extremey ow moisturebosorption and a very ow coeticent of friction: is self-ubricating see boundary ubrication; and is hiny resistant to abraso, in some torms being 15 times moreesstant to abrason han caron stee. s ce cent of rcton s son tcanty ower than that o nwon and arela and s comnarahe to that at nowtetratuornetnuene(PTFE, Teflon), but UHMWPE has better abrasion resistance than PTFE.

Ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been the material of choice for the polymeric component in total joint replacements primarily because of its excellent combination of wear resistance, structural strength and biocompatibility and remains the gold standard thus far. Nevertheless, wear of UHMWPE prostheses produces billions of submicron particles annually,1 which may cause a foreign-body response, leading to extensive bone resorption and gross loosening of the implants.2–5 UHMWPE wear is of particular concern for young or active patients who may face one or more revisions with accumulative bone loss in their lifetime. Thus, improving the wear resistance of UHMWPE and, thereby, reducing the volume of wear particles released to the periarticular tissues should reduce the adverse biological responses and substantially extend the clinical lifespan of total joint replacements.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is a polymer compound, which is difficult to process, and has excellent wear resistance, self-lubricating properties, high strength, stable chemical properties, and strong anti-aging properties. When it comes to ethylene, be sure to pay attention to these characteristics. The specific methods are as follows:

  1. Weighing rule: The product made of pure ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene has a specific gravity of 0.93-0.95, and the density is small, and it can float on the water surface. If it is not a pure polyethylene material, it will sink to the bottom.
  2. Temperature measurement: Pure ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene products will not melt at 200 ° C, will not deform, but will become soft. If it is not pure ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material, it will be deformed at 200 degrees Celsius.
  3. Visual method: The true ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene surface is flat, uniform, smooth and the density of the cut surface is very uniform. If it is not pure polyethylene material, the color is dim and the density is uneven.
  4. Edge test method: The pure UHMWPE flanging end face is round, uniform and smooth. If it is not a pure polyethylene material, there will be cracks on the flanged end face, and the slag phenomenon will occur when the flanging is heated.

Due to its many excellent properties, UHMWPE has shown great advantages in the high performance fiber market, from mooring ropes in offshore oil fields to high performance lightweight composites, in modern warfare and aviation, Aerospace, marine defense equipment and other fields play a pivotal role.

  1. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene can be used as a lining for trailers, silos, and chutes for loading coal, lime, cement, mineral powder, salt, grain, etc., because it has excellent self-lubricating properties and non-stickiness. The above-mentioned powder file can prevent the adhesion scene from being stored and transported, and the guarantee is guaranteed.
  2. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is used for liquid-supporting pipelines such as sand flow. Compared with other pipelines, the outstanding performance is as follows: the life expectancy is increased by 18 times compared with the bamboo tube, and the interest rate is reduced to 1/25, compared with the nylon tube. The number is increased by 3 times and the interest is reduced to 1/8. At the time of sponsorship, the inner barrier is 25% smaller than the non-metallic tube, which greatly increases the frequency of sponsorship.
  3. In the range of linings of chutes, buckets and ore compartments, when using traditional non-metallic documents, in cold and humid weather, the items will be thawed on non-metal, and the adoption of high-molecular polyethylene sheets will never , which greatly reduces the cost of unloading. After lining a layer of high-molecular-weight polyethylene sheet on the self-unloading leaker of the bulk carrier, the uniform unloading time was reduced from the original 16~20h to 8h.
  4. In the defense military equipment, due to its good impact resistance and greater energy absorption, it can be made into protective clothing, helmets and bulletproof materials in the military, such as helicopters, tanks and ships. Protective cover, missile cover, body armor, stab-resistant clothing, shield, parachute, etc.
  5. In aerospace engineering, due to its light weight, high strength and good impact resistance, it is suitable for wingtip structures, spacecraft structures and buoy aircraft of various aircraft. At the same time, it can also be used as a speed-reducing parachute for space shuttle landings and as a rope for hanging heavy objects on the aircraft, replacing traditional steel cables and synthetic fiber ropes, and its development speed is extremely rapid.
  6. In the civil field, ropes, cables, sails and fishing gears are suitable for marine engineering. The length of the break under self-weight is 8 times that of steel rope and twice that of aramid. The rope is used for fixed anchor ropes of supertankers, marine operating platforms, lighthouses, etc., which solves the corrosion and the corrosion and hydrolyzed degradation of the nylon and polyester cables caused by the corrosion of the steel cables used in the past. , the problem of frequent replacement.
  7. In industrial applications, it can be used as pressure-resistant containers, conveyor belts, filter materials, automobile buffer boards, etc.; construction can be used as wall, partition structure, etc., it can be used to strengthen cement composite materials to improve the toughness of cement. Improve its impact resistance. Due to its excellent wear resistance and impact resistance, it is widely used in the mechanical manufacturing industry to produce a variety of gears, cams, impellers, rollers, pulleys, bearings, bushings, bushings, shafts, gaskets, Mechanical parts such as gaskets, elastic couplings, and screws.
  8. In sports goods, helmets, snowboards, sail boards, fishing rods, rackets and bicycles, glides, ultra-lightweight aircraft parts, etc. have been made, which are superior to traditional materials.
  9. In medicine, it is used in the fields of tray materials, medical implants and plastic sutures. It has good biocompatibility and durability, high stability, no allergies, and has been used clinically.

Specifications of UHMWPE pipe

The specifications of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) pipes can vary based on the manufacturer, application, and specific requirements. However, here are some common specifications that are often associated with UHMWPE pipes:

DN
mm
Wall thickness (mm)
0.6Mpa 0.8Mpa 1.0Mpa 1.25Mpa 1.6Mpa 2.0Mpa
65         8 9
96         9 10
110         8 10
130       8 10 12
159       10 12 15
168     8 10 13 16
205   8 10 12 15 18
219   9 11 13 16 20
236   10 12 14 18 22
250   10 12 15 19 23
273 9 11 13 16 21 25
280 9 11 14 17 21 26
300 10 12 15 18 23 27
315 10 12 15 19 24 29
325 10 13 16 19 24 30
350 11 14 17 21 26 32
377 12 15 18 22 28 35
400 12 16 19 24 30 36
415 13 16 20 25 31  
426 13 17 20 25 32  
536 16 21 26 23    
560 16 22 27 33    
630 19 25 30 37    
652 20 26 32 38    
710 21 27 34      
800 23 31 38      

Custom sizes available, where moulds already exist from 20-1400mm OD, up to 65 WT. Product can be manufactured in any colour, and to all conformance requirements.


Role of Molecular Weight

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is superior in comprehensive performance, abrasion resistance, low temperature, corrosion resistance, self lubrication, impact resistance in all plastic for the highest value, wear-resistant properties than PTFE, nylon, carbon steel and other materials, can be long-term in-169 to +80℃ conditions, known as "amazing" engineering plastics, Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene Engineering Plastics (UHMW---PE) pipeline technology is becoming more and more mature in China, more and more projects adopt this kind of pipeline, become a kind of new thermoplastic engineering plastics with good price, it almost concentrates the advantages of various plastics, wear-resisting impact, self-lubricating, corrosion resistance, low temperature, hygienic non-toxic, Non-adhesion, water and other comprehensive properties, is an ideal pipe, can be widely used in mining (ore powder, pulp, tailings discharge pipelines) metallurgy, electricity, petroleum, textile, papermaking, food, chemical, mechanical, electrical and other industries.

What is UHMWPE

Role of Molecular Weight

UHMWPE denotes Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene which is a polyethylene polymer with an average molecular weight is greater than 3,100,000 as defined by ASTM D4020 – Standard specification for UHMWPE polymers. This molecular weight is well above the molecular weight of most typical polymers which are between 1,000,000 and 400,000 thus earning the title Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. Polyethylenes with molecular weight in the 3.1 -4.5 Million range have been found to exhibit the best combination of impact strength and abrasion resistance.

For Polyethylene molecular weight classification the following guidelines can be used:

UHMWPE Pipe

Attributes of UHMWPE Pipe

UHMWPE by virtue of its extremely high molecular weight yields several unique properties, including the highest abrasion resistance and highest impact strength of any plastic.

UHMWPE Piping

Excellent characteristics of piping

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe (UHMWPE) wear-resistant plastic crown, is carbon steel, stainless steel 3-7 times.

Low friction coefficient, self-lubricating, anti-adhesion, no scaling, reduce the energy transmission of materials. Top of the plastic in the impact strength column. The impact energy absorption value is highest in all plastics and has a silencing nature. Good chemical stability. Excellent low-temperature resistance. Sanitation is non-toxic to food and drugs.

  1. very high wear resistance, UHMW products unique molecular structure, so that it has a very high ability to resist sliding. Wear resistance is higher than the general alloy steel 6.6 times times, stainless steel 27.3 times times. is phenolic resin 17.9 times times, nylon six 6 times times, polyethylene 4 times times the annual wear rate of 0. 58㎜, the service life of pipeline is greatly improved.
  2. extremely high impact resistance, in the existing engineering plastics, the impact toughness of this product is the highest, many materials in severe or repeated explosions of the impact of cracks, breakage, crushing or surface stress fatigue. This product according to the GB1843 standard, carries on the cantilever beam impact experiment to achieve no breakage.
  3. excellent chemical stability, this product can withstand strong chemical erosion, in addition to certain acids at elevated temperatures there is a slight corrosion, in other lye, acid solution is not corrosion. Can be used in concentrated hydrochloric acid with a concentration of less than 80%, the performance is fairly stable in nitric acid with a concentration of less than 75% and a concentration of less than 20%.
  4. good self-lubricating, because this product contains wax-like material, and its own lubrication is good. The coefficient of friction (196n,2 hours) is only 0.219mn/m (GB3960). Self-sliding performance is superior to oil-lubricated steel or brass. Especially in the environment, dust, sand and many places, the product of its own dry lubrication performance more fully displayed. Not only can exercise freely, and protect the related workpiece does not wear or pull injury.
  5. non-toxic to the biological, ultrahigh molecular weight Polyethylene Engineering Plastics (UHMW----PE) pipeline to adapt to water quality fluids, solid particles, powders, slurry, etc., the traditional metal pipe difficult to meet the requirements of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW----PE) pipeline can be replaced by extremely high corrosion resistance, high wear resistance, Self-lubricating absorption shock and other comprehensive properties, in various industries have a wide range of applications in solid particles, powder, slurry, gas transport, has a unique advantage.
  6. the unique low-temperature resistance, this product is excellent low-temperature resistance, its impact resistance, wear resistance in Minus 269 degrees Celsius basic unchanged. It is the only kind of engineering plastics which can work at a temperature close to absolute 0 degrees at present. At the same time, the temperature of the product is wide, can be long-term in the 269 ℃ to 80 ℃ of work.
  7. the surface is not adhered to, this product because of the small friction coefficient and the infinite, it has a good surface adhesion. The existing materials generally in the ph value of more than 9 of the medium are scaling, this product is not scaling, the characteristics of fire power plant for the discharge of fly ash system has great significance. In crude oil, mud and other transportation pipelines are also very suitable.
  8. the best resistance to environmental stress cracking, resistance to environmental stress cracking >4000h, elastic modulus is 1.5 times times more than PE100, anti-fatigue strength of 500,000 times.
  9. other characteristics, the product also has absorption, noise absorption, anti-static, the neutron has shielding capacity, do not absorb water, light weight. Easy machining, coloring and other outstanding characteristics.

Benefits of Ultra High MW

Exceptionally High Wear

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) shows unusually high wear resistance compared to most materials. This is due to a combination of very high molecular weight and the resulting entanglements and relative surface softness with a slippery waxy surface.

What is UHMWPE used for?

UHMWPE has high wear-resistance, toughness, durability, and biocompatibility. Compare with existing plastic pipes, Wear resistant UNMWPE pipe has the most excellent wear resistance which is 4 to 7 times that of Q235 steel pipe and 2.7 times that of wear-resistant steel 16Mn. Therefore it increases pipe flow rate and improves the transmission efficiency of more than 20%. The working life of UHMWPE pipes is more than 3 times that of wear-resistant steel pipe.

UHMWPE Pipe for Dredging Applications

UHMWPE pipes are widely used in the industries of dredging, mining, metallurgy, electric power, oil, textile, paper, food, chemical, mechanics, gas, tunneling ect.

UHMWPE mining pipe

Mining tailings pipe is the tailings slurry discharged from non-ferrous metal ore beneficiation and ferrous metal ore beneficiation, which needs to be transported to the tailings inventory.

  • Silt, Mud, Slag,slurry discharging pipe
  • Sand pumping pipe
  • Dredger pipeline
  • Dredging and reclamation projects
  • Deepening and cleaning up job for river, lake

UHMWPE Slurry Pipe

UHMWPE has the following impressive statistics: up to 15 times the abrasion resistance of steel while being 8 times lighter than steel and having 5 times lower coefficient of friction than steel and offering as low as 1/10 the pressure loss of steel pipes.

  • UHMWPE PIPE for mine tailings and slurry in the mining industry
  • UHMWPE PIPE for dredging mud and sand
  • UHMWPE PIPE for thermal power system coal ash transport
  • UHMWPE PIPE corrosive particles and liquids
  • UHMWPE PIPE transport pulverized coal and coal-water slurry
  • UHMWPE PIPE for food transport

Uses of UHMWPE pipe

Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) pipes have a wide range of applications due to their exceptional properties. Some common uses of UHMWPE pipes include:

The unique combination of properties offered by UHMWPE pipes makes them suitable for various industries and applications where durability, corrosion resistance, and efficient material transport are essential.


What are the characteristics of UHMWPE Pipe?

Because UHMWPE Pipe has a high molecular weight, it has good comprehensive properties and has become a new type of thermoplastic engineering plastic with excellent performance. It has almost the advantages of various plastics and has unparalleled wear resistance and resistance to ordinary polyethylene and other engineering plastics. Impact, self-lubrication, corrosion resistance, low-temperature resistance, hygienic non-toxic, non-adhesion, non-water absorption and other comprehensive properties. It has unique advantages in the transportation of solid particles, powder, slurry and gas.

At present, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipes have achieved industrial continuous production in China. However, due to the characteristics of the UHMWPE raw materials, it is difficult to process UHMWPE pipes. Although the production of UHMWPE pipes has realized continuous extrusion production by a plastic extruder, its production speed is only ordinary plastics. The pipe production speed is 1%, so increasing the production rate of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipes and improving the wear resistance index has become the focus of industry research.

Because the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe has excellent characteristics such as friction resistance, corrosion resistance, impact resistance, self-lubrication, non-adhesion, non-absorption of water, etc., it is recognized by the market, so the application range of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe is expanding.

The unique properties of the UHMWPE pipe material determine the slow speed of the pipe production line. The main equipment is the extruder and the mold.

As a Polyethylene UHMWPE Sheet Manufacturer, share with you the characteristics of UHMW-PE pipe products.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe refers to the pipe that is formed by using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene as the main raw material. Its main characteristics are shown in the following points:

No leakage

China's water supply and drainage pipelines mainly use PCCP pipes, cast iron pipes, and glass steel pipes. They are connected by sockets, sealed by rubber rings, and have serious leakage in the pipe network. The average leakage rate is about 15-30%, which wastes resources and increases pipe maintenance costs. The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe successfully solved this problem with excellent performance and brought major changes to the water supply and drainage engineering.

Low energy consumption

The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe has a roughness of 0.0065, the steel pipe has a roughness of 0.012, and the cement pipe has a roughness of 0.013. The water flow rate of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipes of the same caliber is greater than that of PCCP pipes and cast-iron pipes. At the same flow rate, UHMWPE pipes can save energy by 25%.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene pipe has a series of characteristics such as corrosion resistance, low-temperature resistance, non-scaling, and no leakage. Therefore, the pipe does not need to be rust-proof, decontaminated and overhauled for decades after operation, which can save more than 95% of operating and maintenance costs.

Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide, mainly consisting of SiC, also known as carborundum, is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon.

Rare Earth Alloy Wear-Resistant Pipe

Rare earth alloy wear-resistant pipe has the characteristics of fast velocity and high flow rate.

Ceramic Sleeve Lined Pipe

The ceramic sleeves lined pipe as a whole part, and then assemble it into the steel pipe with our high-strength-temperature-resistant epoxy adhesive.

Ceramic Tile Lined Pipes

Ceramic tile lined pipe and Bend are cast with mold vanishing vacuum suction casting cladding process.

Cast basalt

Cast basalt is a kind of silicate crystalline material after producing and processing

Ceramic lined pipe

Ceramic lined pipe is made through self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) technique.

Bimetal Clad Pipe

Bimetal clad pipe is cast with mold vanishing vacuum suction casting cladding process.

Tubes Erosion Shields

Tubes Erosion Shields are used to protect boiler tubing from the highly erosive effects of high temperatures.

UHMWPE Pipes

UHMWPE is well suited for pipe applications that demand high abrasion resistance combined with low friction.

【H】 Ceramic lined pipe

Ceramic lined pipe is made through self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) technique.

【H】 Cast basalt lined steel pipe

Cast basalt lined steel pipe is composed by lined with cast basalt pipe, outside steel pipe and cement mortar filling between the two layers.

【H】 Ceramic Tile Lined Pipes

Ceramic tile lined pipes have very uniform coating of specially formulated ceramic material that is affixed to the inner of the pipe.

【H】 Rare earth alloy wear-resistant pipe

The material of the rare earth alloy wear-resistant pipe is ZG40CrMnMoNiSiRe, which is also the grade of rare earth alloy steel.

【H】 Tubes Erosion Shields

Tubes Erosion Shields are used to protect boiler tubing from the highly erosive effects of high temperatures and pressures thereby greatly extending tube life.

【H】 ASTM A213 T91 Alloy Tube

The ASTM A213 T91 seamless tubes are primarily used for boiler, superheater, and heat-exchanger.

Ni-Hard Wearback Pipes Ni-Hard Wearback Pipes
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