Level of damage assessment of polypropylene pipes (PPR) subjected to burst pressure tests using experimental damage

Polypropylene Random copolymer (PPR) is a thermoplastic material widely used to transport hot and cold water under pressure. In operation, PPR pipes are sometimes subjected to accidental damages that may cause a reduction in residual strength or even a complete fracture of the structure. Hence the need to characterize the behavior of virgin and defective PPR pipes under pressure to develop carefully a maintenance strategy to ensure a minimum cost with the maximum reliability. In this article, a set of real tests of bursting on virgin and notched pipes was conducted to mechanically assess the level of damage reaches and characterize the behavior in PPR pipes. The estimation of the damage degree by the model experimental damage led to identify stages of the evolution of damage.