Kiwa Technology on Tour
Kiwa Technology will be on tour in September sharing our thoughts and knowledge on PVC pipes and testing of hydrogen resistance of thermoplastic piping systems.
PVC4Pipes Conference
On September 17th our senior program manager René Hermkens will present on the quality assessment of PVC gas grids in the Netherlands at the PVC4Pipes conference.
Already over a decade Kiwa Technology has been investigating and assessing the quality of existing PVC pipes. Most of the PVC-U pipes used for the distribution of natural gas in the Netherlands reached or will reach their initially specified lifespan of 50 years in the near future.
To prevent an enormous surge in the replacement costs of the Dutch PVC gas distribution grid a so-called Exit Assessment program was started in 2004 and executed at Kiwa. This program determines the actual quality of old excavated PVC-U and PVC-Hi pipes. Field failure studies have shown that the lack of ductile behavior during excavation damage is the most important reason for incidents involving PVC gas pipes in the Netherlands. To measure the vulnerability of PVC pipes to brittle failure a special test method based on a tensile-impact test was developed. This method determines the brittle-ductile-transition-temperature. This method enables pipe replacement prioritizing for use in asset management methodologies.
For more information visit the website:
https://events.vinylplus.eu/pvc-pipes-in-europe-delivering-sustainable-performance-for-more-than-80-years
AMI Polymer Testing and Analysis Conference
Later that week Kiwa Technology will be presented by our consultant Sjoerd Jansma in Dusseldorf at the AMI Polymer Testing and Analysis conference with a presentation about the testing of the hydrogen resistance of thermoplastic piping systems.
The increasing interest for hydrogen gas results in new opportunities among which the transport and distribution of the gas. This requires reconsidering and determining the material properties with respect to hydrogen, such as the permeation and chemical resistance of the piping materials.
Determining these properties becomes even more difficult when reinforced thermoplastic pipes (RTP) for high pressure hydrogen applications are considered. During this presentation the tests to determine the chemical resistance and permeation rate of (reinforced) thermoplastic pipes, including inline couplers and end fittings are discussed, combining both the theoretical and experimental approach.
For more information visit the website: https://www.ami.international/Events/Resources/Programme/Polymer%20Testing%20Analysis%20EU%2019.pdf