Burst Pressure Performance of Multilayer Co‐Extruded Polystyrene/Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Pipes

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study investigates advancements in multilayer co‐extrusion of annular structures, focusing on the mechanical properties of a 129‐layer polystyrene (PS)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) pipe with 50% PS as a skin layer for proof‐of‐concept validation. We explore the impact of angular rotation on burst pressure, layer structure, and failure mechanisms, emphasizing the potential of this technique for enhanced mechanical performance through biaxial orientation and the elimination of weld lines. Utilizing high aspect ratio (HAR) multipliers and angular rotation, our findings demonstrate improved layer structure and burst pressure performance at higher velocity ratios, which is the ratio of the linear component of angular velocity to the extrusion throughput velocity. At a velocity of 1.15, the 129‐layer PS/PMMA tube exhibits a hoop stress of 10.9 MPa and a burst pressure of 3.9 MPa, achieving about 76% and 90% of the performance metrics of pure PMMA tubes with only 25% PMMA content, respectively. Microscopic examination reveals increased residual stress and biaxial orientation within the layers, contributing to the observed performance enhancements. These insights highlight the effectiveness of angular rotation in achieving high‐performance polymeric tubes, presenting a promising approach for optimizing multilayer co‐extruded annular structures in fluid transport applications.