Ductile Iron vs Steel Pipes
The advantages of Ductile Iron pipes are many and have been proven over many decades and can be summarised as:
- Excellent corrosion resistance
- The physical properties of Ductile Iron do not change with age
- Strength of Ductile Iron is not compromised by time
- Polyethylene encasement provides effective corrosion control for Ductile Iron pipe in most corrosive environments
- Flexible jointing
- Ease of jointing
- Bedding materials not as critical and more flexible than steel pipes
- No site welding
- Reduced installation time
- Impact resistance better than any other pipe material
- High tensile and shear strength
- Low expansion coefficient
- Cement lining provides good roughness coefficients, however greater than GRP
- Radial deflection is less than steel especially at larger diameters
- Axial bending strength is greater than steel (600 Mpa vs 410 Mpa )
- Yield strength is similar to steel pipe
- Impact strength is the same as steel
The above advantages lead to a Whole of Life (WOL) cost that is far superior to steel. Furthermore depending on supply, also a lower Whole of Life cost than a Glass Reinforced Pipe.
The installation and maintenance costs of cathodic protection on a steel pipe system is an obvious example of the lower WOL when comparing a Steel to a Ductile Iron pipe system.
Ductile Iron vs Steel Pipes fact sheet - click here
