Aqueous Erosion of Polymeric Materials Used in Water Supply Systems

Elements of water supply systems such as pipes, elbows, tee connections, …etc., are made of polymeric materials. They are subjected to erosion by streams of water and contaminants. The objective of this work is to investigate the erosion resistance of the polymers that are locally used to produce such components. Three materials were examined, namely: High pressure PVC (HP-PVC), Low pressure PVC (LP-PVC), and Polypropylene (PP). Four types of water were used to erode the polymeric specimens: Distilled water (DiW), Desalinated water (DeW), Sea water (SW), and untreated deep ground (Well) water (WW). The effects of water stream velocity and eroding time on the erosion wear behaviour of the polymers were examined. The work was conducted under controlled environment of 23 °C temperature and 40% humidity. Results show that erosive wear of all materials increases with the increase in stream velocity and/or eroding time. It also indicates that at certain values of velocity and/or eroding time the increase in rate was more pronounced. In addition the presence of water contaminants has drastic effects on the erosion volume. Results also show that HP-PVC has the highest erosion resistance.