| HS Code | 337768 |
| Product Name | Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS |
| Material Type | High-density polyethylene (HDPE) |
| Grade | PE100 |
| Color | Black |
| Density | 959 kg/m³ |
| Melt Flow Rate 190 C 5 Kg | 0.25 g/10 min |
| Melt Flow Rate 190 C 2 16 Kg | 0.05 g/10 min |
| Tensile Modulus | 1100 MPa |
| Tensile Stress At Yield | 25 MPa |
| Tensile Strain At Yield | 8% |
| Tensile Strain At Break | >600% |
| Charpy Notched Impact Strength 23 C | 15 kJ/m² |
| Charpy Notched Impact Strength 20 C | 8 kJ/m² |
| Vicat Softening Temperature | 125°C |
| Carbon Black Content | 2.2% |
| Oxidation Induction Time 200 C | >20 min |
| Moisture Content | <0.02% |
As an accredited Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS is supplied in 25 kg polyethylene bags, typically palletized at 1,250 kg and stretch-wrapped for safe transport. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL loaded with non-hazardous Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS in 25 kg bags, palletized, shrink-wrapped, and secured per packing list. |
| Shipping | Shipping description: Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS is not classified as dangerous goods. It is supplied as non-hazardous HDPE pellets in 25 kg polyethylene bags, palletized and shrink-wrapped. Transport by truck, container, or rail in dry, clean conditions. Avoid heat, sunlight, moisture, and contamination. Keep packages closed and store under cover. |
| Storage | Store Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS in a dry, clean, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight, heat, and ignition sources. Keep original bags or octabins sealed and palletized off the floor. Avoid moisture, oils, chemicals, and other contaminants. Maintain moderate ambient temperatures and minimize prolonged UV exposure. Use stock first-in, first-out and follow supplier safety data sheet recommendations. |
| Shelf Life | Store in dry, cool conditions below 50°C, protected from direct sunlight; shelf life typically 24 months in original unopened packaging. |
In buried municipal drinking-water trunk lines specified to EN 12201-2 and ISO 4427-2, Borealis HE3494-LS functions as a black PE100 compound with a hydrostatic design basis corresponding to an MRS of 10 MPa and a design coefficient of 1.25. The material, supplied as a fully compounded black grade, has a density of 0.959 g/cm³ and a melt flow rate of 0.23 g/10 min at 190°C/5 kg under ISO 1133-1. Municipal pipe extrusion is typically run on grooved-feed single-screw lines with L/D 30–36 and screw speeds of 60–110 min⁻¹; barrel set points progress from 180°C at the feed zone to 220°C in the metering zone, while adapter and spiral-mandrel die zones are controlled at 200–210°C. Vacuum sizing and multi-stage spray cooling are applied to maintain wall-thickness tolerance within ±0.1 mm on small diameters and within grade-specific limits for OD 630 mm and above. The feed stream in potable-water production is controlled at 100 wt% virgin HE3494-LS; clean in-house rework from pipe trimming and failed start-up sections may be metered back up to 10 wt% only after the rework stream has passed visual inspection, moisture analysis below 200 ppm, and periodic slow crack growth verification under ISO 13479. Finished pipes are produced in SDR 11, SDR 13.6, SDR 17 and SDR 26 dimensions per ISO 4065, with pressure classes from PN 6 through PN 25 depending on wall thickness and operating temperature derating. Long-term hydrostatic strength is anchored to ISO 9080; rapid crack propagation resistance is tested by ISO 13477, and slow crack growth resistance is validated by ISO 13479 on notched pipe specimens. Potable-water suitability requires compliance with national positive-list requirements in the jurisdiction of installation; the carbon black loading of 2.0–2.5 wt% provides UV protection during storage, but surface oxidation after prolonged open-yard storage exceeding 12 months should be removed by light skimming before butt fusion.
| Standard code | Test method or scope | Application boundary |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9080 | Long-term hydrostatic strength; MRS classification | MRS 10 MPa; service life basis 50 years at 20°C |
| ISO 12162 | PE100 classification | Hydrostatic design stress 8.0 MPa |
| ISO 13477 | Rapid crack propagation resistance, full-scale test | Critical pressure above operating pressure class |
| ISO 13479 | Notched pipe test for slow crack growth | Failure time threshold per applicable product standard |
| ISO 1133-1 | Melt flow rate at 190°C/5 kg | 0.23 g/10 min |
| ISO 1183-1 | Density | 0.959 g/cm³ |
Sewage force mains operate under intermittent pumping regimes that superimpose peak surge pressures on a base head of 4–8 bar; each start-stop cycle contributes to low-cycle fatigue at butt-fusion joints and at scratches introduced during handling. In this application HE3494-LS is specified because its bimodal molecular weight distribution shifts the slow crack growth resistance above the PE100 threshold, measured by ISO 13479 notched pipe testing under 80°C water with 0.5 MPa hoop stress. The compound is extruded into SDR 17 and SDR 11 pipe with nominal outside diameters commonly between 110 mm and 630 mm; wall-thickness control is critical because sewage force mains are frequently installed by open-cut methods with imported sand embedding. Melt temperature is maintained at 200–215°C to avoid thermal degradation that would lower oxidation induction time. The feed stream for force-main production is usually 100 wt% virgin HE3494-LS; if clean rework is used, it is limited to 5 wt% because cyclic fatigue performance is more sensitive to gel content and micro-oxidation than static hydrostatic strength. Jointing in the field is performed by butt fusion under ISO 21307 with heater plate surface temperature of 200–230°C, bead-up pressure of 0.15–0.25 MPa, and cooling under pressure until the melt temperature falls below 80°C. Finished force mains are pressure-tested hydrostatically at 1.5 × the rated pressure class for a minimum of 4 h according to owner specifications; leakage is assessed by pressure decay, not visual inspection. The terminal product is a buried sewage force main with a design life of 50 years under 20°C operating temperature, provided that chlorine-based disinfection residuals in the wastewater do not exceed levels that generate oxidative embrittlement. High concentrations of chlorine dioxide in sewer cleaning operations are considered outside the validated envelope for this grade.
Industrial process water networks transport cooling water, demineralised water, treated effluent, and saline streams at temperatures below 40°C and pressures rarely exceeding 10 bar. HE3494-LS is selected in these lines when the fluid is classified as non-hazardous under REACH and when chemical resistance screening under ISO/TR 10358 indicates a mass change below 5% and a tensile retention above 80% after 28 d immersion. The extrusion process replicates potable-water pipe production but with more frequent melt filtration; screen packs of 60/80/100 mesh are used to remove carbon agglomerates that could act as crack-initiation sites in aggressive aqueous streams. The feed stream is virgin-only when the line is destined for hazardous effluent under EU Directive 2010/75/EU; where non-critical cooling water is produced, up to 10 wt% clean rework is permitted if the rework lot is traceable by batch number and has passed a 24 h 80°C water immersion test for surface blistering. Butt-fusion jointing is performed to ISO 21307; electrofusion couplings are avoided below 5°C unless the pipe surface is preheated to 10°C and condensation is removed with anhydrous ethanol. Terminal products include above-ground rack piping, buried process water mains, and wastewater tie-ins, all with flange adapters or stub ends at equipment connections. Limitations are explicit: HE3494-LS is not recommended for strong oxidising acids, aromatic hydrocarbons, or fluids with free chlorine residuals above 2 mg/L at 20°C; published data for this specific grade under mixed-solvent exposure is limited.
Where horizontal directional drilling imposes tensile pull loads on polyethylene pipe and the borehole provides no external collapse support during installation, the low-sag characteristic of HE3494-LS becomes the governing material attribute. Thick-wall pipe for trenchless installation is extruded in SDR 11 or SDR 13.6 with outside diameters up to 630 mm, giving wall thicknesses of 57.3 mm and 46.3 mm respectively in the 630 mm class. Low melt sag permits the parison to be held in the vacuum calibration trough for longer without wall thinning at the upper circumference; production lines therefore run at lower haul-off speeds of 0.2–0.5 m/min with melt temperature at the lower end of 200–210°C. The feed stream is 100 wt% virgin HE3494-LS; no rework is allowed in HDD-class pipe because the tensile pull resistance must not be compromised by micro-oxidative inhomogeneities. After butt fusion under ISO 21307, the completed string is pulled through the borehole using a swivel and pulling head; maximum allowable pulling force is determined under ASTM F1962 using a safe pull stress no greater than 0.5 × the material yield stress, and the allowable radius of curvature is checked against the critical buckling strain. The terminal product is a trenchless-installed water or force main beneath roads, rivers, or rail corridors, with the pipe remaining capable of PN 16 service after installation. Published data for HE3494-LS in HDD-specific validation is limited; qualification testing usually includes post-installation hydrostatic pressure test at 1.5 × the operating pressure for 2 h after 24 h relaxation.
For marine outfall pipelines that are butt-fused onshore into floating strings of 500–1000 m and then towed into position, HE3494-LS offers the carbon black stabilisation and slow crack growth resistance required for submerged service at depths up to 50 m. The pipe is extruded in SDR 17 and SDR 26 diameters from 315 mm to 1000 mm, with wall-thickness tolerance controlled to reduce weld mismatch during string assembly. The feed stream is virgin-only; marine outfall specifications typically exclude all rework because the installed lifetime is expected to exceed 50 years and the cost of subaqueous repair exceeds the marginal savings from rework addition. Ballast design uses precast concrete collars with an interface gasket of non-woven geotextile to prevent point abrasion; collar spacing is calculated to provide negative buoyancy of 10–20% under submerged conditions. Joints are butt-fused under ISO 21307 with bead inspection on both external and internal surfaces; internal beads are removed when the outfall is designed for pumped effluent with high total suspended solids to prevent fibrous debris accumulation. The terminal product is a submerged effluent discharge line with a diffuser section of riser ports, anchored by concrete ballast blocks or screw anchors. Ultraviolet resistance during onshore storage is provided by the 2.0–2.5 wt% carbon black content; pipe exposed to tropical sunlight for more than 10 years before immersion should be tested for surface oxidation by ISO 4892-2 accelerated weathering or by melt-flow comparison against the original lot.
HE3494-LS is occasionally proposed for mine water, tailings transport, and dilute slurry lines where particle size is below 0.5 mm, flow velocity is below 2 m/s, and slurry temperature is below 40°C. The application is classified as a boundary condition because published data for this specific grade under abrasive slurry service is limited; PE100 pipe generally shows acceptable abrasion resistance relative to steel in low-velocity, fine-particle slurries, but the low-sag melt characteristic of HE3494-LS does not itself confer additional abrasion resistance. The extrusion route for slurry pipe differs from potable-water pipe only in the specification of thicker walls to provide sacrificial wear allowance; SDR 11 and SDR 9 are sometimes specified for above-ground mining installations. The feed stream is virgin-only where the slurry contains mine process reagents; if clean rework is used for raw water lines, it is capped at 5 wt% and subjected to ISO 13479 lot verification. Jointing is performed by butt fusion under ISO 21307; mechanical couplings are preferred at pump stations and valve manifolds to permit section replacement after abrasive wear. Terminal products include tailings thickening underflow lines, process water return lines, and dust suppression mains, all supported on saddles with no rigid point contact. Limitations are explicit: HE3494-LS is not appropriate for coarse slurries with particle sizes above 5 mm, velocities above 3 m/s, or sharp angular solids, and operators should validate wear life by rotary abrasion testing or pilot spool sections rather than extrapolating from clean-water hydrostatic data.
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Borealis HDPE HE3494-LS is a black bimodal high-density polyethylene compound designed for extrusion of pressure pipes. The grade is classified as PE100 under ISO 12162, with a minimum required strength of 10 MPa derived from long-term hydrostatic testing according to ISO 9080. Published typical values include a compound density of 0.959 g/cm³ and a melt flow rate of 0.85 g/10 min at 190 °C under a 5 kg load when measured according to ISO 1133-1. The material is positioned for potable water, industrial water, and wastewater pressure systems where long-term hydrostatic integrity, slow crack growth resistance, and low-sag process stability are specified. Compared with conventional PE100 pipe grades, HE3494-LS is differentiated by a documented higher slow crack growth threshold and by melt rheology intended for large-diameter and thick-wall pipe without elevated wall-thickness eccentricity.
PE100 classification is not a direct service-life statement; it is a long-term hydrostatic strength class determined from multi-temperature pressure testing. The resin must show a lower prediction limit of 10 MPa for internal pressure failure at 20 °C after 50 years using ISO 9080 regression analysis. For water pipe design, application standards such as EN 12201-2 apply a service coefficient of 1.25, yielding a nominal design stress of 8.0 MPa at 20 °C. This value decreases with temperature and aggressive media. The PE100 class permits a thinner wall for a given pressure rating than PE80, but it does not eliminate the need for hydrostatic design checks or buckling calculations.
Slow crack growth is the dominant failure mode for pressure pipes under sustained stress and surface defects. Conventional PE100 is qualified by notched pipe testing under ISO 13479 and by full-notch creep testing under ISO 16770. HE3494-LS is placed in the elevated slow crack growth segment, often referred to as PE100-RC, and is specified where pipeline installation involves reduced sand bedding, pipe bursting, relining, or directional drilling. Under these conditions, point loads, rock impingement, and surface scratches can initiate cracks that would propagate more rapidly in a standard PE100 compound. The product's bimodal molecular weight distribution provides a high-molecular-weight fraction that raises tie-molecule density and slows crack advance while retaining shear thinning for extrusion. Pipe-certification schemes such as PAS 1075 define additional notched-pipe and FNCT acceptance windows for such grades; project specifications should state the required test condition and minimum failure time rather than relying on the resin designation alone.
Low-sag behaviour becomes process-critical when outside diameter exceeds 315 mm or when the standard dimension ratio falls below 17. The molten tube between the die exit and the first vacuum calibration sleeve is unsupported and subject to gravitational sag; the result is radial wall-thickness variation and loss of pressure rating. HE3494-LS is formulated to increase melt retention and reduce axial drawdown without excessive die pressure. On a grooved-barrel single-screw extruder with 30:1 to 36:1 L/D, the compound is processed with a die-head melt temperature of 200–220 °C. The low-sag formulation permits a stable calibration of thick-wall pipe at higher line speeds than a standard PE100 with the same nominal melt flow rate, but throughput is still bounded by the cooling capacity of the vacuum calibration tanks and by the melt pressure developed across the spiral mandrel die.
Pipe extrusion of HE3494-LS is performed on grooved-barrel single-screw extruders rather than smooth-bore general-purpose machines. The grooved feed section increases solids conveying and forces the high-molecular-weight compound forward without excessive screw speed. Barrel profiles are usually set from 180 °C in the feed zone to 220 °C at the metering zone, with the die head controlled at 200–220 °C. Melt temperature measured by an immersion probe immediately upstream of the die should remain at 200–220 °C. Operation above 240 °C risks oxidative degradation and carbon black speck formation; operation below the recommended range can leave unmelted high-molecular-weight particles in the melt stream, producing surface roughness and reduced impact resistance. The melt pressure at the screen pack and breaker plate should be monitored because a sudden rise indicates screen blinding or insufficient heating, while a fall can indicate feed interruption or screw wear.
Incoming resin inspection for HE3494-LS should include melt flow rate, density, oxidative induction time, carbon black content, and carbon black dispersion. Oxidative induction time measured by ISO 11357-6 at 210 °C is an antioxidant-depletion indicator rather than a direct mechanical property. A value below the producer specification after storage suggests premature antioxidant consumption, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy may be used to measure the carbonyl index for confirmation. Carbon black dispersion is assessed according to ISO 18553; poor dispersion creates agglomerates that reduce elongation at break and slow crack growth resistance. In pipe extrusion, unmixed carbon black appears as dark specks or surface roughness in the melt. An incoming inspection shift in melt flow rate above producer control limits can indicate thermomechanical or oxidative damage during transfer or drying.
| Property | Test method | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| Density at 23 °C | ISO 1183-1 | 0.959 g/cm³ |
| Melt flow rate at 190 °C / 5 kg | ISO 1133-1 | 0.85 g/10 min |
| Tensile stress at yield, 50 mm/min | ISO 527-2 | 25 MPa |
| Tensile strain at break | ISO 527-2 | >350 % |
| Flexural modulus | ISO 178 | 1000 MPa |
| Charpy notched impact strength at 23 °C | ISO 179-1/1eA | 20 kJ/m² |
| Oxidative induction time at 210 °C | ISO 11357-6 | >20 min |
| Carbon black content | ISO 6964 | 2.0–2.5 wt% |
| Carbon black dispersion | ISO 18553 | ≤3 |
Published values are representative of producer technical literature. Certificates of analysis should be consulted for the specific batch, because pipe-grade polyethylene properties can shift with reactor campaign and additive package. The shorter-term tests in the table are not substitutes for long-term pipe performance testing under the relevant product standard. At extrusion shear rates, PE100 compounds exhibit pseudoplastic flow; the melt flow rate under 21.6 kg load is therefore a more direct indicator of output than the 5 kg value. The 5 kg value remains the conventional conformity control because it discriminates small shifts in the high-molecular-weight tail with less operator risk.
Replacing PE80 with a PE100 grade such as HE3494-LS permits either higher operating pressure at equal wall thickness or a thinner wall at equal pressure. The wall thickness difference corresponds roughly to one SDR class for typical water mains; for example, a PE100 pipe may be selected at SDR 17 for a pressure rating that would require SDR 11 in PE80. The resulting material-mass reduction is typically 12–15 % per metre, but the thinner wall reduces ring stiffness and increases the risk of buckling under external groundwater load, negative pressure, or heavy surface loading. A substitution therefore requires recalculating the pipe static design according to EN 12201-2 or ISO 4427-2, including the modulus of the surrounding soil, water table, and installation depth. HE3494-LS does not increase the MRS above 10 MPa; the benefit is in processing and slow crack growth resistance, not in a higher hydrostatic design basis.
On construction sites, butt fusion and electrofusion of HE3494-LS follow the same jointing parameters as PE100 pipe grades. The heater plate is set at 210–220 °C, and the fusion pressure is selected from the pipe wall thickness and the hydraulic cylinder diameter. A uniform melt bead around the circumference is the primary visual indicator of adequate heat soak; asymmetric bead formation indicates misalignment or uneven facing. Cooling in the fusion machine under pressure continues until the bead surface temperature falls below 80 °C. Cold fusion from insufficient heat soak and oxidative degradation from heater plate temperatures above 240 °C are the main field failure causes at the joint. Moisture on granulate or pipe ends should be removed before extrusion or welding because steam entrapment can create microvoids in the weld plane.
For potable water contact, the pipe must satisfy organoleptic and migration requirements referenced by EN 12201-2 or national approvals. The resin alone does not confer final product compliance; extracted-pipe testing for odour, taste, colour, turbidity, and total organic carbon is conducted on the finished pipe, not on the compound. In Europe, factory production control is audited according to the relevant system standard for thermoplastic pipe manufacturing. HE3494-LS contains carbon black as a UV stabiliser; therefore the compound is not naturally translucent, and visual inspection of wall thickness at the cut edge remains a dimensional exercise rather than a clarity check.
HE3494-LS is not designed for sheet extrusion, film, blow moulding, or injection moulding. The high molecular weight and melt strength that support low-sag pipe extrusion restrict flow into thin-wall mould cavities and reduce output in sheet dies. Attempting to process it on a general-purpose HDPE injection machine with a standard screw typically produces short shots or requires melt temperatures above the degradation threshold. Fittings for pressure pipe systems are usually produced from higher-melt-flow PE100 compounds formulated for injection moulding, not from pipe extrusion grades. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; the product should be used only on pipe extrusion lines with grooved-feed extruders.
| Parameter | PE80 | Conventional PE100 | HE3494-LS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classification under ISO 12162 | PE80 | PE100 | PE100 |
| Minimum required strength | 8 MPa | 10 MPa | 10 MPa |
| Long-term hydrostatic strength at 20 °C after 50 years | 8 MPa | 10 MPa | 10 MPa |
| Slow crack growth position | baseline | baseline | elevated SCG class under PAS 1075 where specified |
| Low-sag melt behaviour | not specified | limited | formulated for low-sag extrusion |
| Typical installation bedding | compacted sand bedding | compacted sand bedding | reduced/no-sand bedding, trenchless methods where project specification allows |
Design engineers should not extend the operating envelope of HE3494-LS beyond the tested pipe system standard. Process-specific qualification remains necessary for chlorinated water above the standard service temperature, for hydrocarbons or gas mixtures, and for soil conditions with sharp rock or angular backfill unless a protective sand layer or rock shield is installed. Because long-term pipe performance is a system property dependent on welding, bedding, and surge pressure, qualification should include the complete pipe assembly under the relevant ISO or EN method rather than the resin alone.
