The effects of talc and calcite supplements on HDPE properties and examination of applicability for corrugated pipes

In infrastructure pipelines, traditional materials are replaced by polymer and polymer based composite materials due to their mechanical and chemical properties. The most common polymer used as infrastructure pipe material is polyethylene, especially in pressurized drinking water, natural gas lines. Polyethylene mechanics are widely used in all infrastructure pipes due to their chemical properties as well as their cost and availability but, in systems that do not require internal hydrostatic pressure and where dynamic loads such as traffic load are effective, corrugated pipes with a special design are used. The main purpose of this design is to save raw materials and labor while increasing the strength of the pipes. In this study, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% of talc, calcite and talc + calcite mixture were added to high density polyethylene. By applying chemical tests to the obtained polymer composite materials, the effects of the additions on the material properties were investigated. As a result of chemical tests, it has been observed that filling additives will decrease the labor and raw material costs of polyethylene as the density and melt mass flow rate of the materials increase. With the mechanical tests applied to the prepared samples, the yield strength, elasticity modulus,% elongation, stiffness, impact strength, bending strength of the materials were determined and the effects of the additions were examined. As a result of these examinations, the mixtures showing optimum mechanical properties were determined. Double layer corrugated pipes were produced from mixtures with optimum properties. Ring stiffness, ring flexibility, impact and thermal stability tests were applied to the corrugated pipes produced and the applicability of filler additions to corrugated pipe production was examined. Keywords: Polymer, Polyethylene, Talc, Calcite, Corrugated Pipe, HDPE, Filler Addition