Plastic pipe systems

Piping systems for gas and water distribution, sewer, and drainage systems, cable protection, communication, and industrial installations constitute the lifelines of various industries as well as communities. This chapter is designed to discuss the behavior and the various aspects of plastic pipes. The behavior of plastic pipes is influenced by the plastic materials and polymeric components used in production of the pipes. Plastics piping systems have proved quite reliable for gas, water, and drainage systems as well as several other applications. Plastic pipes are light, easy to connect, resistant against corrosion, flexible, and easy to handle. The plastic materials have their own salient features, which should be taken into consideration in all issues dealing with the safety, service life, failure event, and the retrofitting strategies. Plastic pipes may be classified on the basis of geometrical parameters and resistance to internal pressure, and on the basis of ring stiffness. All world systems may experience occasions of malfunction and failure. In recent years, plastic pipe systems have proved to be statistically quite safe with relatively low-record failure incidents.