Polypropylene pipes are available in many apartments. And you, dear reader, for sure, the water supply system is assembled from this material. Have you ever wondered if a plastic pipe can burst sharply and flood, say, an apartment. As a plumber, I was always interested in what margin of safety this plastic product has. Therefore, in order to satisfy my and your curiosity, I will pump pressure up to 120 bar into the pipes (this is a lot), using the Karcher AVD. Through a special device that I did earlier:
The purpose of the experiment?
Determine which pipe is the best to resist ultra-high pressure.
Test materials?
In the role of subjects, I used a pipe with a diameter of 20 mm. One tube is fiberglass-reinforced, the other is fully polypropylene. You can see the characteristics of the pipes in the photos. Scroll through the gallery.
From the photos it is clear that the maximum pressure that pipes can withstand is up to 1.0 MPa (10 bar)
Which pipe do you think will pass the test? Reinforced? Take your time, read the article to the end, you will be surprised...
How is the test done?
For this test I soldered a small stand:
An ultra-high pressure of 120 bar will enter through the combination coupling. Further, through the tee, it will be distributed to the reinforced and polypropylene pipe. Drain valves are installed at the end of the pipes.
It remains only to screw the adapter with a pressure gauge to the pipes under test.
Connect it to the high-pressure gun and proceed with the test.
Testing of polypropylene pipes
This test is carried out to satisfy your curiosity and does not pretend to be true. So treat it like entertainment content.
Turning on the device in the network, I begin to build up high pressure. With a minisink, he pumped in pressure gradually, therefore, at a pressure of 60-70 atmospheres, the automatic system worked and the device was turned off. I had to relieve pressure with taps at the end of the pipes. With the subsequent sharp injection, it was possible to push up to 120 bar. The pipes did not burst right away! A crunch was heard... I decided to wear glasses... Away from sin. But time does its job, the pipe burst. I suggest watching the video:
It blew well, adrenaline grabbed.
Summing up
Broken glass fiber reinforced pipe. In a completely unexpected place. Just a polypropylene pipe, withstood. Why this happened is not entirely clear. I expected that the reinforcement would strengthen the pipe, and not vice versa, weaken it.
How do you like the experiment. Continue? I can break the hoses, metal-plastic and anything else, suggest.
Warning: Do not under any circumstances repeat these steps described in the article, the equipment of the mini-wash, in particular the "pistol", may fail. And also, if improperly assembled, there is a possibility of an uncontrolled release of ultra-high pressure. Which will lead to sad consequences.