Today, more and more buyers of pressure pipe systems are looking for pipelines with a service life of 150 years. However, this demand is not in harmony with the commonly used standard EN 12201, which tests the product for a service life of 50 years at a temperature of 20 °C. EN 12201 and EN 1555 have been developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and are the most widely used standards for polyethylene pressure pipe products in Europe. These European standards also specify external factors affecting the pipe system and its service life – such as root penetration, frost limit, corrosion, load and media temperature – which must be taken into account when laying new pipelines.

The joints are often the weak point
Even if the material is certified according to EN 12201 and EN 1555, it is important to remember that the joints are usually the weak point in a piping system. These must therefore have at least the same high quality and long service life as the rest of the pipe system to ensure that the pipeline will last and deliver over time according to the specifications. In terms of joint quality, the roundness of the pipes plays a key role. Thanks to our manufacturing process, Extena has been able to set higher requirements and significantly tighter tolerance levels for ovality than the standard allows.

Class B with tighter tolerance levels than EN 12201
According to ISO 11922, the tolerances for the pipe’s mean outside diameter are divided into three classes: A, B and C. It is important to know that arc welding parts are manufactured to ISO 11922 class B. Compared to EN 12201, i.e. the standard that applies to pipes, tolerances in many dimensions are tighter (class B) compared to EN 12201. This is particularly true in dimensions over 630 mm. We have therefore chosen to manufacture our pipes with the tighter tolerances specified for class B. In this way, our pipes are better placed to fit well with arc welding parts, which results in safer joints.

We are following Germany’s lead
The modern PE100 RC material is widely used in Europe and especially in Germany, which is at the forefront of the development of new pipelaying methods for pressurized pipe systems. Today, the majority of the pipes for the German market are manufactured from PE100 RC material. It is important to point out that neither EN 12201/EN 1555 nor the Nordic Poly Mark certification institute (INSTA-CERT) have yet to meet higher requirements for RC pipes in their respective certification documents, despite the fact that PE100 RC offers significantly higher resistance to slow crack growth compared to PE100. However, a change in the EN standard has been announced, which will probably replace PAS 1075. Germany is also way ahead when it comes to welding PE pipes. The German organization DVS (Die Verbindungs Spezialisten/German Welding Society) produces a comprehensive manual for welding PE pipes that is valued by welders throughout Europe, including Sweden. All Extena’s sheathed pipes meet the requirements of PAS 1075 Type 3 (pipes with a higher strength sheath).

Quality marks and standards
In addition to EN 12201 and EN 1555 (gas), several quality marks and standards are currently used in the market for pressurized pipe systems. Some common examples, which we use at Extena and egeplast are Nordic Poly Mark, PAS 1075, DK-Vand, FI, Kiwa and TÜV.

Third party certifications and tests
We regularly conduct quality tests on our pipes and fittings to ensure that they meet the pipe requirements in the Nordic region and Europe, but above all that they fulfil our own even higher expectations. The tests are carried out by ourselves and a third party such as RISE.