Mobile NMR for Analysis of Polyethylene Pipes
B. Blümicha, F. Casanovaa, A. Budaa, K. Kremera and T. Wegener b
aInstitute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52056 Aachen, Germany
bInstitut für Rohrleitungsbau, FH Oldenburg, Industriestr. 11, 26121 Oldenburg, Germany
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Received: 24 04 2005;
NMR relaxometry is a suitable tool to determine the morphology of semi-crystalline polymers by its ability to discriminate between rigid, mostly crystalline and soft, usually amorphous material. The NMR-MOUSE® (nuclear magnetic resonance mobile universal surface explorer) was explored in this work to supply morphological data of poly(ethylene) pipes nondestructively. PE-100 pipes were investigated in the new state, after squeezing them flat, and after annealing well below the glass temperature. Furthermore, the change in morphology induced by a pressure load from the inside and a point load from the outside was investigated as a function of depth, and the morphology change across a welding line was imaged. A shear-band was detected by destructive high-field NMR imaging in an area of severe deformation of a pipe, where an anomalous depths profile was observed by the NMR-MOUSE. These results demonstrate that the NMR-MOUSE is a suitable tool for non-destructive state assessment of polymer pipes on the basis of laboratory reference data.
DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.108.13
PACS numbers:81.05.Lg, 82.35.Lr, 76.60.-k