What is reinforced polypropylene? Reinforced polypropylene pipes: advantages and disadvantages

Water supply, heating in a house or apartment (autonomous or centralized) is not without the use of pipes. Many remember how unattractive metal pipes look, they need to be constantly painted, serviced and still at any time they can let the owner of the house, because over time they react to the temperature and pressure drops all the worse.

Metal is quickly covered from the inside with scum, which significantly slows the movement of hot water and, as a result, reduces heat transfer. Probably, all the disadvantages of metal pipes pushed scientists, engineers and technologists to develop and implement new models of pipes, manufactured from advanced materials on advanced technologies.

Today, no one is surprised by polypropylene pipes. They have firmly entered our life, and it is unlikely that there will be a homeowner who wants to change old metal pipes to the same new ones.

Advantages of new material

Reinforced polypropylene is a modern high-tech material that is successfully used in the manufacture of pipelines. It is much lighter than metal, it has elasticity and high level of chemical and corrosion resistance. In addition, the material is environmentally safe.

Pipes of reinforced polypropylene are of fairly low cost and their installation is not too difficult even for non-professionals. It should be noted that the pipelines of this material are attractive on the outside and very rarely give a leak. This trouble can only happen due to errors made during installation.

In addition to in-house heating systems and water pipes, reinforced polypropylene is used in sewerage, ventilation, outdoor water supply, agriculture and industry. There are two varieties of this material. We'll look at the merits and demerits of each of them in this article.

Kinds

Polypropylene is a plastic with a high coefficient of thermal expansion. The melting point is +175 ° C. However, it is softened already at lower temperatures (+140 ° C). A pipe made of such a material will be guaranteed to work at a temperature of no higher than +95 ° C.

As a result of the action of high pressure and hot water, it can deform. To increase the strength, as well as to reduce the level of linear expansion of pipes from this material, they are reinforced with glass fiber or aluminum. Reinforcement is simply a kind of rigid frame, which prevents the pipe from increasing in length or width. For comparison, let's imagine the coefficients of linear thermal expansion of pipes before and after the reinforcement:

• Polypropylene unreinforced - 0.15 mm / mK, about 10 mm per 1 meter at a temperature of 70 ° C;
• Reinforced with aluminum - 0,03 mm / mK, up to 3 mm per one meter;
• Glass fiber reinforcement - 0.035 mm / mK.

Polypropylene, reinforced with fiberglass

The material is a three-layer composite. In it, the middle layer of fiberglass is welded with polypropylene of adjacent layers. As a result, a very strong construction is obtained, which has a much smaller coefficient of thermal expansion in comparison with the initial material. Thanks to the monolithic propylene, reinforced with fiberglass, does not separate.

Pipes made of this material have great elasticity. This provides the products with flexibility, which greatly facilitates installation. The time for installing the structure is also shortened, since it is not necessary to pre-clean the aluminum layer before welding such pipes.

Polypropylene reinforced with aluminum

In this case, the reinforcement is made from a perforated or integral aluminum foil with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 mm. Foil is placed inside and outside between the layers of plastic. Connect the layers with a special glue. When the foil is outside, under a thin decorative plastic layer, it is peeled from the aluminum layer before welding with a fitting to prevent metal from contacting with water and to ensure good welding quality to avoid leaks.

A single layer of foil prevents oxygen from entering the coolant. Its excess quantity often leads to corrosion of heating devices. However, a foil with a perfectly smooth surface can not always provide a sufficiently strong connection with the plastic. For this, special glue is used and strict adherence to the technological process is required, otherwise the water molecules penetrate through the walls, accumulate under the layer of aluminum and bubbles can form on the surface.

This is why polypropylene reinforced with aluminum has been produced in recent years using perforated foil. It has holes evenly distributed. The layers of plastic in this case are secured together reliably. The permeability of oxygen in such a design increases slightly, but it remains within the norm.

In recent years, pipes have appeared in which an aluminum layer is located between two layers of plastic. This method of manufacture provides a low degree of oxygen permeability and a lower expansion coefficient. Some manufacturers assure that such pipes do not need preliminary cleaning. However, installation specialists believe that in order to ensure a good quality of welding, they should be cut. Otherwise, the aluminum layer will come into contact with water, and over time it will cause corrosion of the metal and delamination of the structure. The polypropylene tube, reinforced with aluminum, is pierced using special attachments to the perforator.

Heating

Reinforced polypropylene for heating (more precisely, pipes from this material) is a truly ingenious invention, which is very popular among homeowners. They can be mounted both in an apartment building and in the private sector.

Which pipes to choose for heating?

Today, two types of heating pipes are used, which consist of three or five layers. In the pipe, the three-layer reinforced is the middle layer. It can be made of aluminum or fiberglass. Several differently arranged five-layer pipes for heating. Polypropylene reinforced is used in two layers - external and internal. In addition, there is a layer of fiberglass (or foil) and two layers of heat-resistant glue.

Markings and symbols

All pipes are marked, alphabetic and numeric designations are applied to the body, which allow to determine what kind of material the reinforcement was made. A polypropylene pipe, reinforced with aluminum, is marked with the abbreviations PPR-AL-PPR. Such products are divided into several groups:

• Perforated aluminum is in the center and round this small layer there are round small holes;
• Solid aluminum reinforcement (without holes);
• Five-layer pipes.

Aluminum (reinforced) layer can have different colors. As a rule, it does not carry information about the characteristics and quality of the product, so do not pay much attention to it when buying.

It happens that the marking can be replaced with the designation PPR on PEX. This indicates several different layer structures. The initial letters in this combination denote the outer layer, then follows the aluminum and completes the designation of the inner layer.

Disadvantages of aluminum reinforcement

Pipes with external reinforcement are more popular due to their affordable price. But they also have disadvantages. When installing, it is necessary to clean the aluminum layer by the length of the connection with the fitting. In addition, with the installation or inaccurate operation of such a pipe, it is possible to damage the outer reinforcing layer, which will subsequently affect the technical condition of the structure.

The polypropylene pipe, reinforced with aluminum inside, is more solid. It does not need complicated preparation for installation. But it is necessary to take into account another feature of the joints - for reliable and dense adhesion, the edges of the parts should be made qualitatively, in other words, the pipe cut must be as flat and strictly vertical, otherwise the connection will give an unpleasant surprise during operation. After the heating system has been filled, the pressure will squeeze out water even through the smallest gaps.

Pipes with fiberglass reinforcement

These products are labeled - PPR-FB-PPR. This means that they are made by a multilayer method, in which the reinforced layer (fiberglass) is in the center. Often, such pipes are called fiberglass pipes. Like the foil layer, the interlayer of fiberglass can be of different colors. On the cut of the pipe it is perfectly visible. But in this case, color is not a sign of quality or other technical characteristics of the product and does not affect operation.

Many experts believe that polypropylene, reinforced with fiberglass, for heating - this is the ideal solution. The main advantage of such pipes is a simpler and quicker installation, they do not require calibration and cleaning. This way you can save a lot of time. The polypropylene pipe, reinforced with fiberglass, is not stratified, since it has a monolithic structure: the glass fiber is simply soldered into polypropylene.

Despite the fact that the manufacturers claim that such pipes have practically no disadvantages, they are a little cunning. To the weak spots of such pipes can be attributed a somewhat larger expansion when heated, if we compare them with pipes reinforced with aluminum. However, according to installers, this is an insignificant disadvantage of these products, and they remain more popular than pipes with aluminum layer.

Pipe diameters

So, to create a water pipe or a heating system, you chose reinforced polypropylene. What pipe diameters do you need in this case? Manufacturers produce reinforced pipes in a huge range: from 16 to 1200 mm in diameter. However, for domestic water supply and heating systems pipes from 16 to 32 mm are used, for sewerage (internal) - 40, 50 or 110 mm in diameter. The largest polypropylene pipes are used for the installation of sewer external pipelines of multi-storey buildings and even entire microdistricts.

For cold water supply in residential premises, the choice of pipe diameter depends on the number of water supply points and the length of the pipeline. As a rule, the supply pipe has a diameter of 32 mm, for wiring in the apartment the outside diameter varies from 16 to 20 mm.

Component parts

When mounting reinforced polypropylene pipes, various figured components for connection are used. All of them are determined in advance according to the drawing of the heating wiring or water pipe. To such necessary details are: fittings and tees, bends and couplings, stop valves and so on. They are selected depending on the diameter of the pipes and their characteristics. For example, you can not purchase components for cold water supply for installation in heating circuits.

To connect with other parts of the system, made of other materials, use special products with pressed metal threaded inserts or with nakidnymi nuts.

Manufacturers of polypropylene reinforced pipes

It's no secret that when buying pipes, the choice of a well-proven manufacturer in the Russian and international markets is of no small importance. Today we will introduce some popular brands specializing in such products.

FV Plast (Czech Republic)

The company specializes in the production of pipes from polypropylene for heating, hot and cold water supply, heating. The company's products are produced only in gray color with aluminum and fiberglass layer.

Metak (Russia)

The enterprise produces various products from polypropylene, including glass fiber reinforced pipes under the trademark Metak Fiber. The company's products are ideal for heavily loaded heating systems.

Banninger (Germany)

The German company produces excellent products, characterized by the highest quality and reliability in operation. The buyer will easily find it on store windows for emerald green color.

In conclusion, I would like to recommend our readers not to buy reinforced polypropylene of unknown companies that do not even indicate the name of their brand on the marking. Having saved a small amount when buying, you can lose considerably more money (nerves, time) when substandard products will let you down. And it happens, as a rule, at the most inopportune moment.