December 15, 2023
PE pipes can be used in range of temperatures -40 oC to 60 oC considering the change of operating pressure. Typically the standard specification identify class of a HDPE pipe is by the nominal pressure class - PN - up to PN 20 or 20 bar. HDPE pipe can also be classified by the material used - PE 100, PE 80, PE63, PE 40 or PE 32.
Pressure Nominal - PN
PE pipes are produced in different pressure grades (PN grades), which indicates the pressure in bars the pipe can support with water at 20 oC.
The pressure grades available according to European standards are
PN 2.5 - max pressure 2.5 bar
PN 4 - max pressure 4 bar
PN 6 - max pressure 6 bar
PN 10 - max pressure 10 bar
PN 16 - max pressure 16 bar
1 bar = 105 Pa (N/m2) = 0.1 N/mm2 = 10,197 kp/m2 = 10.20 m H2O = 0.9869 atm = 14.50 psi (lbf/in2) = 106 dyn/cm2 = 750 mmHg
Classed by Materials
Polyethylene pipes are also classified by the type of material used:
PE 32 - low pressure piping systems
PE 40 - low pressure piping systems
PE 63 - medium pressure piping systems - irrigation system - drinking water connections
PE 80 - gas pipe for natural gas distribution network with pressure rate up to 4 bars - drinking water pipe with pressure rate up to 16 bar - sewers, outfall pipes, industrial pipes
PE 100 - high demands piping applications
The Minimum Required Strength - MRS - according ISO 4427 for the different materials are:
Of course, there is also PE100-RC. If you want to know more about PE100-RC, please refer to our article What is PE100-RC?
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