| HS Code | 996531 |
| Material Type | High-density polyethylene (HDPE) |
| Molecular Structure | Bimodal |
| Density | 959 kg/m³ |
| Melt Flow Rate 190 C 5 Kg | 0.25 g/10 min |
| Melt Flow Rate 190 C 21 6 Kg | 6.5 g/10 min |
| Carbon Black Content | 2.25% |
| Tensile Modulus | 1000 MPa |
| Yield Stress | 25 MPa |
| Elongation At Break | >600% |
| Flexural Modulus | 1000 MPa |
| Hardness Shore D | 60 |
| Vicat Softening Temperature | 123°C |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.43 W/m·K |
| Coefficient Of Linear Thermal Expansion | 1.5E-4 /K |
| Water Absorption | <0.01% |
| Oxidation Induction Time Oit | >20 min |
| Slow Crack Growth Resistance Fnct | >5000 h |
| Hydrostatic Strength Classification | PE100 |
| Color | Black |
| Uv Stabilization | Yes |
As an accredited Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS is supplied in 25 kg polyethylene bags, stacked on pallets, typically 55 bags per pallet. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | Container Loading (20′ FCL) for Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS: 25 kg bags, palletized, shrink-wrapped, approx. 18–20 MT net, securely stowed. |
| Shipping | Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS is shipped as non-hazardous black polyethylene pellets in 25 kg PE bags, palletized and shrink-wrapped, or in bulk trucks/railcars. Transport as general cargo. Keep dry, cool, clean, and protected from UV; avoid moisture, heat, and contamination. No dangerous-goods requirements apply. |
| Storage | Store Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS in original, closed packaging in a cool, dry, well-ventilated warehouse, away from direct sunlight, heat, ignition sources, and strong oxidizers. Protect from moisture, dust, contamination, and UV degradation. Avoid prolonged outdoor exposure and mechanical damage. Stack securely to prevent deformation. Follow local regulations and supplier safety and storage guidance. Keep away from food, drink, and animal feed. |
| Shelf Life | Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS shelf life is typically 12 months when stored dry in original, unopened packaging, away from direct sunlight and heat. |
Pipe certification under EN 12201-2:2011+A1:2013 and ISO 4427-2:2019 governs the extrusion of HE3490-LS into municipal potable water mains, where the compound is processed as a ready-to-use PE 100 material rather than as a masterbatch base requiring let-down. The incoming resin lot is verified for melt mass-flow rate at 190°C/5.0 kg under ISO 1133-1:2022, with a typical value of 0.23 g/10 min, and for carbon black content in the 2.0–2.5 wt% range; no additional carbon black masterbatch or UV package is added at the extrusion feed. Clean in-house regrind from butt-fusion bead trim and start-up pipe is restricted to ≤10 wt% because repeated thermal cycles broaden the molecular weight distribution and can shift the long-term hydrostatic strength curve generated under ISO 9080:2022; higher regrind fractions require revalidation of the pipe lot by extended hydrostatic testing at 20°C/10.0 MPa and 80°C/4.0 MPa ring tests. The downstream conversion line is a grooved-barrel single-screw extruder with L/D 30:1–37:1 and a barrier screw, feeding a spiral-mandrel die. Barrel temperature settings range from 175°C in the feed zone to 205°C in the metering zone, with adapter and die zones held at 200–215°C and melt temperature at die entry controlled between 210°C and 230°C. Above 240°C, oxidative degradation accelerates and the oxidative induction time at 200°C can fall below the 20 min criterion applied in EN 12201-1 for PE 100 pressure pipes; below 200°C, die swell increases and the spider-leg weld line may not heal under line speed. Vacuum calibration and spray cooling are configured to balance frozen-in stress; excessive cooling rates on thick walls above 25 mm raise pipe shrinkage and lower resistance to slow crack growth. The terminal product range comprises black PE 100 water mains from 20 mm to 1200 mm outside diameter in SDR11, SDR13.6, SDR17, and SDR21, rated from PN10 to PN25 for buried potable water distribution and transmission networks.
At wall thicknesses above 60 mm and pipe diameters beyond 800 mm, the low-sag behaviour of HE3490-LS becomes the controlling processing variable, because gravitational melt displacement at the inner mandrel surface cannot be corrected by vacuum calibration alone in standard PE 100 grades. Large-diameter industrial cooling water lines and marine intake/outfall pipes produced from this grade are specified under ISO 4427-2:2019 for pressure pipe dimensions and typically require notched pipe slow crack growth testing to ISO 13479:2009 at 80°C and 4.0 MPa hoop stress before project acceptance. The extrusion formula is maintained at 100 wt% virgin HE3490-LS, or with ≤5 wt% clean internal regrind, because thick-wall sag resistance is sensitive to the molecular weight distribution shifts that repeated extrusion heat history introduces; published data for the exact sag limit at regrind fractions above 5 wt% in 60–120 mm wall pipes is limited, so production qualification typically imposes the lower regrind cap as an operational boundary. Conversion is performed on a low-compression barrier screw extruder with L/D 36:1, gravimetric dosing holding feed variation within ±0.2 wt%, internal air cooling of the mandrel, and a spiral-mandrel die sized for od 630–1600 mm. Die head zones are held at 200–215°C and the target melt temperature is 215–225°C, balancing the need for melt homogeneity against the increase in sag that occurs above 230°C. The terminal product is solid-wall thick-wall HDPE pipe in diameters from 630 mm to 1600 mm, SDR17 and SDR26, used as industrial process water headers, power plant cooling water lines, and marine outfall conduits.
Mining slurry and tailings pressure mains produce a long-term failure mode that is not internal pressure burst but slow crack growth at stress concentrations created by entrained solids, backfill load, and pressure surge cycles. Pipe produced from HE3490-LS is validated under ISO 9080:2022 for 50-year hydrostatic strength at 20°C, and notched pipe slow crack growth resistance is assessed to ISO 13479:2009 at 80°C and 4.0 MPa hoop stress; the PE 100 classification is assigned under ISO 12162 with a minimum required strength of 10 MPa and a design coefficient of 1.25, giving an allowable design stress of 8.0 MPa. The formulation is used as supplied at 100 wt%, without calcium carbonate or other filler dilution, because inorganic fillers would reduce the slow crack growth performance that governs mining slurry pipe life; carbon black content remains in the 2.0–2.5 wt% range to provide weathering resistance for above-ground sections. Extrusion uses a grooved-barrel single-screw machine with L/D 33:1 and screen pack configuration 100/200/100 mesh to remove agglomerates without raising melt temperature excessively. Barrel zones are set from 180°C to 205°C, and melt temperature at the die is kept at 210–230°C to prevent viscosity drop and sag on diameters up to 630 mm. Vacuum calibration is followed by staged water cooling; because slurry pipe outer wall cooling rate determines residual stress, the cooling tank temperature is arranged so that the outside surface is not quenched below 40°C before the core has solidified. The terminal products are black PN16 and PN20 solid-wall PE 100 pipes in diameters 110–630 mm, SDR11 and SDR13.6, for slurry headers, tailings disposal, and process water return lines.
For agricultural irrigation mainlines carrying pressurized water over long runs, HE3490-LS is extruded into SDR17 and SDR21 pipe conforming to ISO 4427-2:2019, fed at 100 wt% as supplied with ≤10 wt% clean internal regrind, processed by standard grooved-barrel single-screw extrusion at a die-entry melt temperature of 210–230°C with vacuum sizing, and delivered as black UV-stabilized PE 100 pipes in diameters 75–400 mm for buried or surface-laid irrigation mainlines.
Trenchless rehabilitation by slip-lining or pipe bursting imposes tensile pull-in force, external point loads, and longitudinal scratches, so the selection of HE3490-LS in this application is tied to slow crack growth resistance rather than short-term modulus. The renovation system is governed by ISO 11296-1:2018 for plastics piping systems for renovation of underground water supply networks, while the pressure pipe itself is dimensioned to ISO 4427-2:2019 and tested for hydrostatic strength under ISO 1167-1:2006 at 20°C and 80°C. The formulation remains 100% HE3490-LS; no stiffness-modifying filler or recyclate is introduced because dilution of the base resin reduces ISO 13479:2009 notched pipe failure time. Extrusion is carried out on a single-screw line with L/D 30:1, barrel zones 180–205°C, adapter and die zones 210–220°C, and a melt temperature not exceeding 230°C. The pipe is pulled through vacuum calibration at controlled temperatures to avoid residual stresses that would amplify notch sensitivity during pull-in. Finished product is long-length black PE 100 pipe in diameters 110–630 mm, SDR11 to SDR26, employed as slip-lining and close-fit lining in potable water and industrial host pipes.
Under intermittent cyclic pressure operation in desalination plants and coastal industrial facilities, HE3490-LS is converted into seawater intake and reject brine outfall lines where corrosion resistance and fatigue endurance under cyclic internal pressure determine design life. The pipe system follows ISO 4427-2:2019 for pressure PE pipe and is commonly supplemented by AWWA C906-15 where the end user requires North American waterworks practice; hydrostatic pressure testing of finished spools is performed at 1.5× rated pressure for 24 h under the project standard. The extrusion formula uses 100 wt% HE3490-LS; clean closed-loop regrind is limited to ≤5 wt% in submerged marine sections because butt-fusion joint integrity and slow crack growth resistance to ISO 13479:2009 are treated as non-negotiable acceptance criteria. Processing is performed on a grooved-barrel single-screw extruder with L/D 33:1–37:1, spiral die, and vacuum calibration; melt temperature at die entry is controlled at 210–230°C. The produced pipes are solid-wall PE 100 pipes in diameters 250–1600 mm, SDR17 and SDR26, terminated as marine intake, outfall, and brine discharge lines.
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Borealis HDPE HE3490-LS is a black bimodal high-density polyethylene pressure pipe compound classified as PE100 under ISO 12162, with a minimum required strength of 10 MPa established by long-term hydrostatic testing to ISO 9080. The LS suffix denotes low-sag behavior intended for large-diameter, thick-wall pipe extrusion. The product is supplied as a ready-to-extrude compound containing carbon black at 2.0–2.5 wt% per ISO 6964, a compounded density of 0.959 g/cm³ per ISO 1183-1, and a melt mass-flow rate of 0.30 g/10 min at 190 °C/5 kg per ISO 1133-1. Principal uses include pressure pipes for potable water, raw water, industrial liquids, and pressure sewer service under EN 12201 and ISO 4427. Compared with a conventional unimodal PE100 of similar density and melt flow rate, HE3490-LS shifts the processing balance toward melt strength and sag resistance while retaining the long-term hydrostatic design basis of 10 MPa. The following sections define the property envelope, processing constraints, and standards framework for the material.
The molecular architecture combines a low-molar-mass fraction that contributes crystallinity, stiffness, and melt processing ease with a high-molar-mass fraction that raises tie-molecule density between lamellae. This arrangement delays slow crack growth by increasing the energy required for fibril rupture in the craze zone ahead of a notch or stress concentration. Certification under ISO 13479 notched pipe testing at 80 °C and 4.6 MPa hoop stress requires survival beyond 500 h for PE100 materials. Compound dossiers for this grade class typically document values above that threshold, though lot-specific certificates remain the authoritative data set. Published independent data for this specific configuration outside the manufacturer’s test reports is limited.
Slow crack growth resistance is also assessed by strain-hardening modulus under ISO 18489. Bimodal pipe compounds yield higher strain-hardening values than unimodal resins of similar density because the long-chain fraction forms oriented tie molecules during post-yield deformation. The practical result is a broader processing and installation window where point loads, rock impingement, or bending strain act on the pipe wall. In comparison with standard unimodal PE100 grades, the high-molar-mass fraction in HE3490-LS provides this crack resistance without requiring a reduction in melt flow rate that would otherwise penalize extrusion output.
On grooved-barrel single-screw extruders with L/D 30:1 to 37:1 and screw diameters of 60–120 mm, the compound is processed with barrel set points between 190 °C and 220 °C. Adapter and spiral-mandrel die zones are typically held at 200–210 °C to limit thermal degradation. The oxidation induction time at 210 °C is above 20 min per ISO 11357-6, so normal residence times at these temperatures are acceptable. Pre-drying is generally unnecessary when pellets remain sealed at relative humidity below 60%.
Extrusion of large-diameter pipe imposes gravity-driven wall-thinning at the upper quadrant after the die. The low-sag melt strength of HE3490-LS resists this flow by maintaining a higher zero-shear viscosity and extensional strain hardening during passage through the cooling and calibration zone. Lower thickness eccentricity is observed when melt temperature at the die is kept below 220 °C and when the vacuum calibration tank is aligned with the die exit and cooling water flow is balanced across the circumference. On heavy-wall SDR 11 pipe, die land length and mandrel temperature interact with the compound’s shear-thinning profile. Short die lands can produce surface flow marks, while excessive mandrel heating can reduce the low-sag benefit by lowering local viscosity at the inner wall. Capillary rheometry of this material class shows pronounced shear thinning, which allows the low melt mass-flow rate to remain commercially extrudable at the shear rates encountered in pipe dies.
Melt pressure before the screen pack should be monitored continuously rather than treated as a fixed set point. A rising pressure differential across the breaker plate and screen pack indicates either inadequate melt temperature homogenization or progressive screen blockage. On heavy-wall lines, melt temperature measured by an insertion thermocouple should not exceed 230 °C for extended runs. Local overheating above this level accelerates antioxidant consumption and reduces the oxidative induction time margin.
Rapid crack propagation is a decompression-driven failure mode that becomes critical at lower service temperatures and higher pipe wall stress. Full-scale critical temperature and critical pressure tests under ISO 13478 and ISO 13477 are used to verify resistance. The bimodal high-molar-mass fraction of HE3490-LS increases the plane-strain fracture energy required to sustain a moving crack, and the compound is formulated to provide crack arrest in water-filled pipe at temperatures below 0 °C when pipe dimensions and operating pressure follow the manufacturer’s SDR rating tables. Published S4 test results for this specific grade are typically included in the product’s certification documentation rather than in general public datasheets.
Charpy notched impact values at 23 °C and −30 °C are 25 kJ/m² and 10 kJ/m² by ISO 179-1/1eA, respectively. These values support low-temperature handling but do not replace full-scale rapid crack propagation evaluation. Designers should use the pipe manufacturer’s derating factors where service temperatures fall below 10 °C and where pressure surge analysis indicates wave speeds above 1.0 m/s. The material selection is only one element of rapid crack propagation control; pipe wall thickness, backfill restraint, and operating pressure remain equally significant.
The compound’s material designation is PE100, and its long-term hydrostatic strength is expressed as an MRS of 10 MPa at 20 °C for 50 years using ISO 9080 regression analysis. Pipe made from this compound falls under the scope of EN 12201-2 for water supply and ISO 4427-2 for water and general industrial service. The table below summarizes the standards framework and the typical property values used in material certification.
| Requirement or property | Standard | Relevant value or clause |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrostatic strength classification | ISO 9080 | MRS 10 MPa, PE100 |
| Material classification | ISO 12162 | PE100 |
| Melt mass-flow rate | ISO 1133-1 | 0.30 g/10 min at 190 °C/5 kg |
| Density | ISO 1183-1 | 0.959 g/cm³ |
| Tensile stress at yield | ISO 527-2 | 25 MPa |
| Tensile modulus | ISO 527-2 | 1100 MPa |
| Charpy notched impact | ISO 179-1/1eA | 25 kJ/m² at 23 °C |
| Carbon black content | ISO 6964 | 2.0–2.5 wt% |
| Oxidative induction time | ISO 11357-6 | >20 min at 210 °C |
Material documentation for potable water service should also include organoleptic assessment and migration testing under the applicable national implementing rule for EN 12201-1. For industrial service, the end user is responsible for verifying chemical compatibility against the specific fluid composition, temperature, and continuous or intermittent exposure regime.
Relative to a conventional unimodal PE100 of similar melt flow rate and density, HE3490-LS shifts the balance from melt fluidity toward melt strength. The unimodal reference typically exhibits lower zero-shear viscosity and greater tendency to sag in heavy-wall pipe, requiring reduced output or tighter melt temperature control. The bimodal design of HE3490-LS allows thicker walls to be extruded at commercial line speeds without increasing the melt mass-flow rate, so tensile stiffness and long-term hydrostatic strength are not sacrificed for processability. In addition, the ready-to-use black compound eliminates the need for separate carbon black masterbatch dosing, reducing dispersion variability and simplifying quality control against the 2.0–2.5 wt% carbon black specification.
The product is not intended for continuous immersion in strong oxidizers or aromatic hydrocarbon service without a chemical resistance assessment to ISO 175. For chlorine-bearing potable water, the design life should use chlorine resistance factors from the appropriate national standards or the relevant annex of ISO 9080. At operating temperatures above 40 °C, pressure and lifetime derating factors apply. Avoid mixing with reprocessed material of unknown oxidative stability; the use of external lubricants or processing aids not approved for potable water contact can compromise migration compliance under EN 12201. For butt fusion joining, pipe ends should be planed and joined at 200–220 °C with interlayer pressure according to ISO 21307:2017. Electrofusion couplings should follow ISO 12176-2 and the fitting manufacturer’s cooling-time instructions. Mechanical connections should not impose point loading beyond the pipe’s long-term flexural strain limit.
