Abrasion & Crack Resistance

Potash crystals transport


Pexgol in mosaic plant USA

Transporting solid materials in the form of slurry is common in industry, mining and many piping systems. In most cases, the flow is kept turbulent to avoid sedimentation. The rate of abrasion for various slurries is determined by many factors such as the density of the particles, size distribution of the particles, hardness of fragments, liquid temperature and viscosity. Resistance to abrasion is an important PEXGOL characteristic.

Resilient and tough, PEXGOL™ pipes provide better resistance to abrasion than ordinary metal and PE pipes as a result of the unique structure of cross-linked polyethylene. The ability of the Pex pipe material to absorb the kinetic energy of the hard particles inside the slurry, and its resistance to deformation, make PEXGOL pipes extraordinarily abrasion-resistant conduits.

Unavoidable scratches to pipes are a known problem. Scratches in PEXGOL pipes cause no damage: Results of tests performed on PEX pipes after being subjected to scratches as deep as 20% of the pipe wall thickness show that no damage is caused to pipe function during intensive pressure tests.

The cross-linked molecular structure is the main reason for the PEXGOL pipes’ resistance to scratches. The pipes are also resistant to slow crack growth, due to the restraining action of the adjacent molecular chains which form the cross-linked network-absorbing the energy of tearing forces.