UHMW Plastic Tubing:

What is UHMWPE?

U.H.M.W.P.E. symbolizes Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene which means the average molecular weight is greater than 3,100,000 as defined by ASTM D4020 standards for UHMWPE. UHMWPE is a linear polyolefin which is made up of extremely long chains of polyethylene that all align in the same direction. Polymers are large molecules built from monomers and UHMWPE's monomer is ethylene. Resin with a molecular weight greater than 3,100,000 is well above the molecular weight of most typical polymers, which are between 10,000 and 1,000,000, hence earning the term UHMWPE. Commercially offered resins are available from 3-6 million molecular weight. Resins in the 3.1-4.5 range have the best combination of impact strength and abrasion resistance. The molecular weight of UHMWPE must be approximated using the solution viscosity procedure found in ASTM D4020.

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

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) 100,000 - 400,000

HMWHDPE (High Molecular Weight High Density Polyethylene) 500,000 - 1,999,999

VHMWHDPE (Very High Molecular Weight High Density Polyethylene) 2,000,000 - 3,099,999

UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) 3,100,000 +

Properties of UHMWPE:

1. Excellent abrasion resistance

2. Excellent impact strength (the highest of any plastic)

3. Superior chemical resistance even to the most aggressive chemicals

4. Greater chemical resistance than HDPE, polyurethane, steel, polyacetal and nylon.

5. Water repellent highly resistant to hydrolysis

6. Biologically inert

7.Excellent dielectric & insulting properties

8. Stress crack resistant

UHMWPE is frequently used in the material handling industry, including food contact surfaces, as it is acceptable under FDA and USDA guidelines. It is used in lead-acid battery separators, medical implants, filters and a wide variety of other applications.

The UHMWPE pipes are continually extruded by special extruders and moulds. Here is the brief introduction of 

UHMWPE pipe production:

1. The UHMWPE powder will be melted together with a small amount of paraffin, carbon black in high temperature

2. Different pipes with different diameter and wall thickness will need to make different moulds.

3. the length of the UHMWPE pipes could be cut according to customers requirements

4. The color of UHMWPE pipes is the original color of the raw material, and it is specially processed during production.

• Mining Industry -UHMWPE pipes are used as transportation pipelines for mine slurry, tailings, sediments and ore concentrates.
• Coal power plants – UHMWPE pipes are used as pipelines for the transport of coal slurry, fly ash and the fly ash water slurry.
• Dredging Industry – UHMWPE pipes are used to transport mud and sand during dredging of rivers, habours, dams and lagoons.
• Construction Industry -UHMWPE pipes are used transporting the slurry of the mixed concretes and shotcretes from pump trucks as well as drilling sand/rocks from underground tunneling
• Ultra PE abrasion-resistant piping systems are manufactured to meet specific applications for operations moving highly abrasive materials, :Mining – mineral, phosphate and coal mining; feed, waste and debris lines; in-plant piping; tailing lines, backfill; waste disposal; slurry transport; raw ore streams; in-process streams; paste; shotcrete
• Product Conveyance – dilute and dense phase pneumatic movement operations for powder and bulk materials such as cement; coal combustion byproducts; slurry transport; biomass feedback; glass, frit and plastics; food products.
• Fossil Fuel Power Plants – FGD reagents (wet or dry); pulverized fuel; fly ash; bottom ash; economizer ash; coal combustion byproducts
• Mills and Foundries – in-plant piping; blow lines; storage; waste disposal; slag; sand lines.

I.  UHMWPE VS. HDPE Material

II. Performance Comparisions between UHMWPE pipes&HDPE pipes

 1. Good Wear Resistance enables the UHMWPE pipes to have longer service life

Based on the sand and slurry testing,UHMWPE has an abrasion resistance 4.4 times higher than HDPE.

2.  Less Maintenance Time and Costs, Less Downtime,Less Loss of  Production

The far superior wear resistance of UHMWPE pipes will significantly increase the time between pipe replacements and rolling

which can significantly:

1) Reduce maintenance costs and time

2) reduce downtime for maintenance and less loss of plant production line

3. Reduced Pumping Costs

With a surface roughness of 0.00022mm while HDPE is 0.01mm, UHMWPE pipe is extremely smooth, which means less friction, less pressure loss and 20%  energy inputs will be reduced to deliver the same result:

Shandong Buoy&Pipe Industry Co.,Ltd, is an industry leader of UHMWPE products, including UHMWPE plastic pipes, buoys, light towers and plates, used for different marine projects;

Our company is involved in the IALA guideline revisement for plastic buoys, which will include UHMWPE buoys in the near future;

Our company have 25 production lines, with annual prodcution capacity of 30,000 tons, the diameter of the pipes ranging from 70mm to 1200mm;

We have professional engineers and R&D team, have independent research and production capability.

The Advantages of Shandong Buoy&Pipe Industry Co.,Ltd(SDBEP)

Contact with US:

Clare Zhang

Mob: 0086 189 6356 5106

WhatsApp/Wechat: 0086 150 5458 0766