Plastic Tube Transport Services

Plastic tube wall sections are sized to provide specific pressure ratings under the service conditions the tube was specified for. Wall crush from binder straps placed directly on plastic tube bundles without load distribution, from heavy materials stacked over plastic tube, or from improper support that allows the tube to bear laterally on its wall creates a local wall thickness reduction that lowers the pressure rating at the crush location. For pressure-rated tube in fluid system applications, a wall crush that reduces wall thickness below the minimum required for the pressure rating creates a failure risk in service that is not visible externally after the crush has recovered.

Plastic tube ends for fluid system applications must arrive with the dimensional accuracy and surface condition required for proper fitting engagement. Compression fittings require tube end roundness within tight tolerances for the compression ring to seat and seal correctly. Solvent cement socket connections require tube end surface condition that allows full solvent penetration and bonding. End damage from impact during loading, ovality from improper support, and debris entry into tube bores all create fitting engagement problems that show up during system assembly.

Certain plastic tube materials including PVC, polyethylene, and some specialty polymers are susceptible to UV degradation that reduces impact resistance, surface gloss, and long-term pressure performance when exposed to direct sunlight during open transport. PVC tube that loses UV stabilizer from surface layer exposure during a long open haul has reduced impact resistance that affects its performance in both indoor and outdoor service applications. That UV degradation is not visible externally but shows up in impact test performance that is measurably lower than the manufacturer's specification.

PTFE, FEP, PFA, and other fluoropolymer tube for analytical and pharmaceutical applications are specified for their chemical inertness and low extractable content. Those properties can be compromised by contact with lubricants from handling equipment, reactive compounds from incompatible blocking materials, and contamination from adjacent freight during transport. For tube where extractable content is a regulatory compliance parameter, chemical purity from supply through delivery is a supply chain quality requirement that transport handling directly affects.

Long sections of large-diameter plastic tube are flexible enough to deflect under their own weight during transport if not adequately supported along their length. That deflection causes the tube to take a slight oval cross-section at the deflection points that may not fully recover after delivery, creating a fitting engagement problem at the out-of-round location. For tube with dimensional specifications that require roundness within tight tolerances for fitting or coupling connections, out-of-round from transport deflection creates assembly problems that were not present when the tube left the manufacturer.

Flexible plastic tube for fluid system applications often ships in coiled form for compact packaging and transport efficiency. Coiled tube must be wound and stored to a minimum bend radius that prevents permanent set in the tube wall at the coil. A coil wound too tightly for the tube's wall stiffness, or a coil that is compressed during storage or transport, develops a permanent bend set that causes the tube to re-coil after installation rather than running straight between connection points.