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Comparison Between Plastic Insulation Pipe And Steel Pipe
Aug 17, 2020
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This news is going to talk about the comparison between plastic insulation pipe and steel pipe.
Compared with the common heating steel pipe, the plastic heating pipe has the following characteristics:
(1) Plastic pipe belongs to thermal insulation material. The performance of thermal isulation is good. The thermal conductivity of PE-RT is only 0.42 W/(m•K), and the thermal conductivity of steel pipe is 30～150 W/(m•K), which reduces the heat loss of the whole pipeline system less than 5%. The heat loss is much lower than that of steel pipe. Long term operation can save a lot of energy and significantly reduce energy cost.
Compared with the common heating steel pipe, the plastic heating pipe has the following characteristics:
(1) Plastic pipe belongs to thermal insulation material. The performance of thermal isulation is good. The thermal conductivity of PE-RT is only 0.42 W/(m•K), and the thermal conductivity of steel pipe is 30～150 W/(m•K), which reduces the heat loss of the whole pipeline system less than 5%. The heat loss is much lower than that of steel pipe. Long term operation can save a lot of energy and significantly reduce energy cost.
(2) The plastic pipe is light in weight and convenient in construction. The density of plastic pipe is 0.96 g/cm3. The density of steel pipe is 7.75 g/cm3, and the density of steel pipe is eight times than that of plastic pipe. The plastic pipe is lighter, and it’s easy to handle. And the construction technology is simple and fast. It can be directly buried in the ground without pipe trench. Considering the labor cost, material cost and mechanical equipment cost, the construction cost of plastic pipe can save 30% compared with steel pipe.
(3) Plastic pipe has smooth inner surface and the Manning coefficient is 0.009. So, the delivery capacity is strong, which is 25% higher than that of traditional metal pipe.
(4) Because steel is a good conductor of heat and plastic is a bad conductor of heat, there is no need for thermal compensation and wall thickness increase of plastic insulation pipe. The use of plastic materials can fundamentally solve the heat loss in the transportation process, reduce the temperature and save energy by 10-20%. And it is can also be beneficial to thermal compensation during installation, improving the safety of the pipe network, reducing the leakage rate and improving the thermal efficiency.
(5) Easy to connect. The plastic pipe is connected by electric melting or hot melting, and the steel pipe is connected by electric welding. No open fire is required for the connection of plastic pipes. Hot melt connection or electric fusion pipe welding is very convenient, and the strength of the joint is higher than that of the body. The electrofusion pipe only needs a small operation space, which can easily solve the connection of some narrow areas.
(6) It has strong waterproof and corrosion resistance, reliable sealing, no seepage and leakage. No corrosion, no pollution of water quality, no shrinkage leading to insufficient heat during life-long operation. There is no rust in the joint, so it has great advantages in daily management and maintenance of thermal pipe network.
(7) Excellent low temperature brittleness resistance (low temperature embrittlement point up to -40 ℃), reliable performance, service life up to 50 years at 70 ℃. The service life of steel pipe is less than 15 years.
(8) Plastic pipe is a flexible material, which can absorb axial stress through its own deformation, so it is more suitable for underground, overhead and pipe gallery construction. It has good adaptability to uneven ground settlement.
(9) Economic feasibility: in the life cycle assessment, the comprehensive economic efficiency of plastic pipe is much higher than that of steel pipe, especially for the secondary pipe network DN355 and below, which are prone to problems.
However, at present, the use temperature of plastic insulation pipe is generally 80 ℃ and below, which can only be used in secondary heating pipe network. Steel pipe has a higher service temperature, generally below 300 ℃. That is to say, primary and secondary heating pipe network can be used. When the service pressure is below 1.0 MPa, the pressure level is closely related to the wall thickness. The steel pipe has a higher pressure level, which can meet all pressure requirements. This is also the direction of research and development of plastic insulation pipe, which is expected to develop into the field of steam transportation, crude oil transportation, and special fluid insulation transportation.
(3) Plastic pipe has smooth inner surface and the Manning coefficient is 0.009. So, the delivery capacity is strong, which is 25% higher than that of traditional metal pipe.
(4) Because steel is a good conductor of heat and plastic is a bad conductor of heat, there is no need for thermal compensation and wall thickness increase of plastic insulation pipe. The use of plastic materials can fundamentally solve the heat loss in the transportation process, reduce the temperature and save energy by 10-20%. And it is can also be beneficial to thermal compensation during installation, improving the safety of the pipe network, reducing the leakage rate and improving the thermal efficiency.
(5) Easy to connect. The plastic pipe is connected by electric melting or hot melting, and the steel pipe is connected by electric welding. No open fire is required for the connection of plastic pipes. Hot melt connection or electric fusion pipe welding is very convenient, and the strength of the joint is higher than that of the body. The electrofusion pipe only needs a small operation space, which can easily solve the connection of some narrow areas.
(6) It has strong waterproof and corrosion resistance, reliable sealing, no seepage and leakage. No corrosion, no pollution of water quality, no shrinkage leading to insufficient heat during life-long operation. There is no rust in the joint, so it has great advantages in daily management and maintenance of thermal pipe network.
(7) Excellent low temperature brittleness resistance (low temperature embrittlement point up to -40 ℃), reliable performance, service life up to 50 years at 70 ℃. The service life of steel pipe is less than 15 years.
(8) Plastic pipe is a flexible material, which can absorb axial stress through its own deformation, so it is more suitable for underground, overhead and pipe gallery construction. It has good adaptability to uneven ground settlement.
(9) Economic feasibility: in the life cycle assessment, the comprehensive economic efficiency of plastic pipe is much higher than that of steel pipe, especially for the secondary pipe network DN355 and below, which are prone to problems.
However, at present, the use temperature of plastic insulation pipe is generally 80 ℃ and below, which can only be used in secondary heating pipe network. Steel pipe has a higher service temperature, generally below 300 ℃. That is to say, primary and secondary heating pipe network can be used. When the service pressure is below 1.0 MPa, the pressure level is closely related to the wall thickness. The steel pipe has a higher pressure level, which can meet all pressure requirements. This is also the direction of research and development of plastic insulation pipe, which is expected to develop into the field of steam transportation, crude oil transportation, and special fluid insulation transportation.
