TY - CONF A1 - Hennersdorf, Felix A1 - Weltschev, Margit A1 - Hertwig, Andreas T1 - ATR Investigations into the effect of ageing on HD-PE heating oil storage tanks after a service life of more than 30 years N2 - Heating oil storage tanks made of polyethylene grades have been on the market in Germany since the early 1970s. To ensure safety, their replacement is recommended by tank manufacturers after a period of 30 years. Polyethylene is subject to ageing by alteration of the properties during its life cycle. The degree of degradation and the nature of the process mainly depend on the chemical alteration of the polyethylene, the wall thickness of the tank and the environmental conditions. There are no data available on the long-term behaviour of the polyethylene grades, especially after a service life of more than 30 years. The aim of this investigation was to find a suitable test method to determine the factual degree of damage in comparison to the uncontaminated polyethylene grades. Material data of the used polyethylene grades are available because the BAM was the competent authority for the tests and expert reports for the approval of these tanks until the middle of the 1990s. Therefore, tank sections from the bottom, the shell and the roof of 22 individual storage tanks produced of polyethylene grades A and B have been examined by Melt Flow Rate (MFR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR). Their service life was in the range between 20 and 41 years. The MFR measurements of the tank sections showed differences in the values depending on the weight which was used (5 kg or 21.6 kg). An increase of the MFR was determined for the samples of polyethylene grade A, whereas a reduction of the MFR values was measured for most samples of polyethylene grade B. This grade is mainly subject to the internal ageing by cross-linkages, increased degree of branched molecules and loss of the plasticizer. ATR analysis exhibits an absorption band at 909 cm‒1 predominantly in samples of polyethylene grade A indicating chain scission and concomitantly formed terminal vinyl groups. This absorption band can be used for the characterization of the ageing of the polyethylene grades. T2 - EUROCORR 2019 CY - Sevilla, Spain DA - 09.09.2019 KW - Heating oil tanks KW - Polyethylene KW - Ageing KW - Service life PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49000 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weltschev, Margit A1 - Hoffmann, Gabi A1 - Haufe, Manuela A1 - Kohl, Anka T1 - Investigations on the degree of damage of polyethylene grades of heating oil storage tanks after a service life in excess of 25 years N2 - Plastic storage tanks for heating oil have been on the market since the early 1970s in Germany, mainly made from polyethylene grades. Tank manufacturers and experts examining the tanks recommend the replacement of the tanks to ensure the safety after a period of 30 years. The tank manufacturer is legally obliged to specify the service life of the tanks. Polyethylene is subject to ageing by alteration of the properties during its life cycle. A distinction is made between internal and external ageing processes. The internal ageing, such as the breakdown of internal stresses, post-crystallization, phase sepa-ration of multicomponent systems and plasticizer migration is attributed to thermodynamically instable conditions of the plastic material. The external ageing in form of stress cracking, fatigue cracking, thermooxidative degradation or swelling is based on physical or chemical effects of the environment of the polyethylene grade. The degree of ageing and the nature of the degradation process mainly depend on the chemical degradation of the polyethylene, the wall thickness of the tank and the environmental conditions. There are no results available on the long-term behaviour of the polyethylene grades used as materials for heating oil storage tanks, especially after a service life of more than 25 years. The aim of this investigation was the determination of the factual degree of damage in comparison to the uncontaminated polyethylene grades. Data on the melt flow rate (MFR) and density of the used polyethylene grades are available because the BAM was the competent authority for the approval of the plastic heating oil storage tanks until the end of the 1980s. The technical service of specialist companies for fuel tank disposal supplied tank sections from the bottom, the shell and the roof of 8 segregated heating oil storage tanks. Some of the tanks had been in service for more than 30 years. Two polyethylene grades mainly were used as materials for these tanks over this time. The determination of the MFR according to EN ISO 1133 and the FTIR spectroscopy followed standard test methods. The highest average percentage increase in the MFR was determined as 31- 43 % for the bottom section of the tanks, for both the inner shell and the outer shell. The lowest increase in MFR was measured for the top of the tank, with 6 - 12 % for the inner shell and 0 - 8 % for the outer shell. The tank shell sections had an average percentage increase in MFR of 10 - 33 % for the inner shell and of 14 - 40 % for the outer shell. The oxidative damage of the polyethylene grades was highest in the bottom area due to the permanent contact with the heating oil and degradation products. The microtome cuttings were analyzed with image-guided infrared microscopy in the transmission mode and confirmed the results obtained with the MFR measurements. In summary it can be concluded that the oxidative damage of the polyethylene grades after long-term contact with heating oil is relative low. T2 - EUROCORR 2017 CY - Prag, Czech Republic DA - 03.09.2017 KW - Polyethylene KW - Heating oil tanks KW - Service life KW - Degree of degradation PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-41907 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -