New Technology Yields Stronger PE Pipe

A Japanese company has developed a new process to make PE pipes by sandwiching highly oriented PE sheet between two pipe layers, according to a report carried by Plastemart.com. The three-layer composite pipe consists of two layers of PE pipe made of a “bi-modal” grade of HDPE. The inner layer of pipe is produced first and wound by a highly oriented sheet of HDPE. The core is then fed into a special die and coated by black-colored top layer of HDPE. The composite pipe has very high rigidity and is suitable for pipes with diameters larger than 200 mm. A Japanese construction company, Sekisui, has reportedly already used the pipe in at least one application.