ISO 11173 Plastic pipe falling weight impact test

Information on the most widely used ASTM standards within the materials testing industry

Descriptions of the most prominent lSO standards within the materials testing industry

Standards including EN, DIN, JlS, and more

Mechanical testing of polymer materials in the automotive industry is directly related to the safety of components and the reliability of the entire vehicle. UnitedTest can cover mechanical performance testing for automotive interior and exterior parts, as well as functional components, adapting to automaker standards and providing comprehensive testing solutions including tensile, impact, and fatigue tests.

Mechanical testing in the battery industry determines the tensile and puncture resistance of core components such as separators and electrodes, directly affecting battery safety and cycle life. UnitedTest can cover full-dimensional mechanical testing of battery materials, compatible with national and international standards, and provide customized testing solutions.

Mechanical testing in the consumer goods industry determines product durability and safety, such as impact resistance for toys and fatigue resistance for home appliances, making it core to compliance and quality. UnitedTest can cover mechanical tests for all categories of consumer goods, including tensile, impact, and hardness tests, compatible with national and international standards, and offers customized testing solutions.

In the field of medical and biomedical sciences, mechanical testing determines the safety and compatibility of implanted devices and biomaterials, making it a core part of regulatory approval. UnitedTest can cover a full range of tests including tensile, fatigue, and wear tests, compatible with national and international standards, and provides customized biomechanical testing solutions.

Material strength is a course that most engineering fields are required to study in university education. This interesting course is very practical and makes use of testing equipment in the materials laboratory.

Mechanical testing of industrial products and components is essential to ensure their load-bearing, fatigue resistance, and impact resistance, directly preventing production accidents and ensuring stable operation of equipment. UnitedTest can cover a full range of tests including tensile, hardness, and fatigue, complying with national and international standards, and provides customized industrial mechanical testing solutions.

Mechanical testing in the plastic pipe industry determines ring stiffness, impact resistance, and tensile performance, directly preventing pipe bursts and deformation risks. UnitedTest can cover full-dimensional mechanical testing of pipes, complies with ISO,ASTM,EN et.c, international standards, and provides customized testing solutions.

In the construction engineering and building materials industry, mechanical testing determines the compressive and tensile properties of materials such as concrete and steel, which is core to ensuring the safety and durability of buildings. UnitedTest can cover the full range of building material mechanical tests, complies with ISO, ASTM international standards, and provides customized testing solutions for compressive, tensile, and other properties.

Mechanical testing in the food and beverage industry involves the compressive and tensile performance of packaging and the safety of food texture, directly ensuring storage, transportation safety, and the eating experience. UnitedTest can cover all-dimensional mechanical testing for packaging and food texture, comply with national and international standards, and provide customized testing solutions.

Mechanical testing in the packaging industry determines the packaging's resistance to compression, impact, and tension, directly ensuring the safety of contents during storage and transportation. UnitedTest can cover comprehensive mechanical testing for packaging, complying with ISO, ASTM Standards, and provides customized testing solutions for compression, drop, tear, and more.

Mechanical testing in the transportation industry concerns the load-bearing and fatigue resistance performance of core components such as vehicles, tracks, and containers, directly ensuring transport safety and equipment durability. UnitedTest can cover mechanical testing for all types of transportation materials, complying with national and international standards, and provides customized testing solutions including tensile, fatigue, and impact tests.

Metallurgical testing examines the properties of metallic materials to determine if a particular metal is appropriate for its intended use.

Testing of polymer materials covers mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties, verifying strength, heat resistance, composition, and ensuring product quality and compliance.

UnitedTest offer world-class testing solution in testing for polymeric materials, including elastomers, thermoplastics, composites, coatings, and structural adhesives in a variety of industries.

Testing of rubber and elastomers is used to assess the various properties and performance of materials under different conditions. This is crucial for ensuring the safety, functionality, and quality of rubber and elastomer products used in industries such as automotive, construction, consumer goods, and aerospace.

Conduct adhesive testing using various testing methods to determine their performance and characteristics in applications across multiple industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, packaging, industrial, medical, and energy, thereby supporting application development and quality assurance.

UnitedTest supply machine and testing solution for tension, compression, fracture toughness, direct shear, triaxial and ultrasonic velocity are common concrete and rock testing applications.

UnitedTest has helped a number of companies involved in the wood, paper, cardboard, and corrugated industry with their testing needs. Our materials testing systems are capable of testing raw materials, components, and finished products.

UnitedTest testing system is trusted by leading medical device manufacturers, universities, and medical research laboratories worldwide. Whether testing tissues or bioresorbable materials, stents, or sutures, UnitedTest offers a variety of single-actuator and dual-actuator systems to meet your biomedical testing needs.

Mechanical testing in the textile fabric industry determines core properties such as fabric tensile strength, tear resistance, and wear resistance, directly affecting product durability and safety. UnitedTest can cover comprehensive mechanical tests for textiles, complying with national standards / ISO standards, and provides customized testing solutions including tensile, tear, and puncture tests.

The mechanical testing of industrial components directly determines the load-bearing, fatigue resistance, and wear resistance of the parts, helping to avoid equipment failure risks. UnitedTest can cover a full range of tests including tensile, hardness, and fatigue, is compatible with ISO/ASTM/GB standards, and provides customized mechanical testing solutions for industrial components.

Mechanical testing in the glass-ceramics industry determines core properties such as flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness, directly helping to avoid brittleness and failure risks. UnitedTest can cover comprehensive testing for flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness, compatible with national and ISO/ASTM standards, and provides customized testing solutions.

Tensile test evaluates material resistance to stretching, measuring strength/elongation critical for quality control. UnitedTest offers universal tensile testers (10-600KN) compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, providing tailored solutions for metals, polymers, medical & industrial materials.

Compression test assesses material resistance to compressive loads, measuring strength/deformation critical for quality validation. UnitedTest offers compression testing machines compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, providing tailored solutions for concrete, plastics, metals and industrial components.

Flexural & Bend tests evaluate material resistance to bending forces, measuring strength, stiffness and ductility for quality assurance. UnitedTest provides flexural testing machines (3-point/4-point bend) compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, offering tailored solutions for composites, plastics, metals and construction materials.

Torsion Test evaluates material resistance to rotational forces, measuring torsional strength/ductility critical for fasteners, insulators, shafts. UnitedTest offers torsion testers compliant with ASTM A938/ISO 16047, providing tailored solutions for automotive, aerospace, fastener industries.

Fatigue Test assesses material durability under cyclic loading, critical for predicting service life of industrial components. UnitedTest offers fatigue testing systems (axial/bending/torsion) compliant with ASTM E466/ISO 12106, providing tailored solutions for automotive, aerospace and manufacturing sectors.

Peel Test measures material adhesion strength by evaluating resistance to peeling forces, critical for adhesives, films, packaging. UnitedTest offers peel testers compliant with ASTM D903/ISO 8510, covering 90°/180° peel tests, and tailored solutions for packaging, automotive, textile industries.

Impact Test evaluates material resistance to sudden shock loads, critical for assessing toughness and fracture risk. UnitedTest offers impact testers (Charpy/Izod/fall weight) compliant with ASTM E23/ISO 148, providing tailored solutions for metals, plastics, glass and industrial components.

Tear & Shear Test evaluates material resistance to tearing and shearing forces, measuring critical strength parameters for quality control. Tear tests (Elmendorf/trouser/trapezoidal) assess resistance to crack propagation in films/fabrics, while shear tests measure resistance to parallel forces in joints/bolts. UnitedTest provides universal testing machines (10KN-600KN) with specialized fixtures for both tests, compliant with ASTM D624/D3164 and ISO standards, serving automotive, packaging and construction industries.

Hardness test measures material's resistance to permanent indentation, critical for quality control. UnitedTest offers universal hardness testers (Rockwell/Brinell/Vickers) compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, plus tailored hardness testing solutions for diverse industrial needs.

Biaxial/triaxial tests evaluate material performance under multi-axis loads, critical for biomaterials, metals and composites. UnitedTest provides compliant testing machines (ASTM/ISO) for planar biaxial, static/fatigue triaxial tests, with tailored solutions for industrial & biomedical needs.

Friction and wear tests assess material resistance to friction, abrasion and wear, critical for industrial material performance validation. UnitedTest offers tribometers compliant with ASTM G99/ISO standards, covering pin-on-disk, four-ball tests, and tailored friction & wear testing solutions for diverse industries.

Pressure test evaluates material/component resistance to static/dynamic pressure, critical for sealing, strength and safety validation. UnitedTest offers pressure testing machines compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, covering burst, hold-pressure tests, and tailored solutions for industrial, automotive & medical sectors.

Fire test assesses material flammability, heat resistance and fire-retardant performance, critical for safety compliance across industries. UnitedTest offers fire testing equipment compliant with ASTM/ISO/UL standards, providing tailored fire test solutions for building materials, plastics and industrial components.

Non-destructive Test (NDT) evaluates material/component integrity without damage, critical for safety & quality across industries. UnitedTest offers ultrasonic/X-ray/magnetic particle NDT equipment compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, plus tailored NDT solutions for aerospace, automotive & manufacturing sectors.

ISO 11173 Thermoplastics pipes — Determination of resistance to external blows — Staircase method.

ISO 11173 specifies the staircase falling-weight impact method to evaluate the external impact resistance of circular thermoplastic pipes, mainly for batch qualification at 0 °C (–20 °C recommended for sub-zero testing)

Test Principle:

Cut pipe specimens are each struck once by a standardized falling striker at a random circumferential position.

If a specimen fails, the drop height for the next test is decreased by 0.1m.

If a specimen passes, the drop height is increased by 0.1m.

Using enough specimens, the H50 value (drop height causing 50 % failure of the batch) is calculated to quantify impact resistance.

Specific Test Method:

Method name: Staircase method (single blow per specimen, sequential height adjustment)

Loading mode: Free-falling concentrated weight impact

Evaluation index: H50 (drop height for 50 % failure of specimens)

Failure criterion: Shattering or any visible inner-wall crack/split caused by impact; surface indentation/crease is not failure.

Test Equipment required for ISO 11173:

Recommend UnitedTest Falling-weight testing machine comprising the following key components:

Component	Specifications
Falling-weight testing machine	Rigid main frame with vertical guide rails/tube (striker impact speed ≥ 95 % of theoretical free-fall speed). Graduated vertical scale for height adjustment. Release Mechanism: Adjustable drop height up to ≥ 2 m (accuracy ±10 mm), height values are multiples of 100mm.
Striker	Two hemispherical nose types: Type d25: for 0.5 kg / 0.8 kg strikers (R5=50 mm, d=25 mm) Type d90: for strikers ≥ 1 kg (R5=50 mm, d=90 mm) Steel nose (min. 5 mm wall thickness), smooth striking surface.
Striker masses	0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.25, 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, 4.0, 5.0, 6.3, 8.0, 10.0, 12.5, 16.0 kg (tolerance ±0.5 %)
Support device	A 120° V-block (at least 200 mm long) made of steel, positioned so the striker hits within 2.5 mm of the V-block's axis. For flat-bottomed pipes, a horizontal flat steel support is used. The support must be rigid enough not to absorb impact energy .
Temperature control device	Liquid bath or air chamber for temperature control (0 °C ±1 °C).
Measuring instruments	Calipers, height gauge, balance for dimensional and mass verification.

Test Specimen Information:

Material: Circular thermoplastic pipes (PVC-U, PE, PP, PP-H, CPVC, etc.,)

Dimensions: Length = 200 mm ±10 mm; cut ends square, clean, undamaged; spiral-rib pipe ends rounded to remove sharp edges

Sampling: Randomly selected from production batches/extruder runs

Quantity: Preliminary test: up to 10 specimens

Main test: min. 20 specimens (extend to 40 if <8 failures or <8 passes)

Conditioning: 0 °C ±1 °C; duration based on wall thickness (liquid bath preferred for disputes).

Wall thickness	Liquid bath	Air
≤8.6 mm	15 min	60 min
8.6–14.1 mm	30 min	120 min
>14.1 mm	60 min	240 min

Key Test Parameters

Parameter	Specification
Test temperature	0 °C ±1 °C (–20 °C recommended for lower temp)
Striker mass	0.5 kg – 16.0 kg (per product standard)
Drop height step	Preliminary: 0.2 m; Main test: 0.1 m
H50 target range	0.5 m – 2.0 m
Impact position	Mid-length of specimen; random circumference (corrugated/ribbed pipe: impact on crest/rib top)
Test timing	Impact within 10 s after removing from conditioning

Test stipulations:

Each specimen is struck only once; no repeated impacts on one specimen.

Impact must be applied at the specimen mid-length, within 10 s of removal from the conditioning environment.

For corrugated/ribbed pipe, impact shall land on the top of corrugations/ribs if pitch >0.25×striker nose diameter.

Drop height must be a multiple of 100 mm, adjustable to ≥2 m.

Only inner-wall cracks/shattering count as failure; surface indentation is not failure.

H50 is calculated as the average of drop heights in the main test.

Step by step details guide of ISO 11173 test procedures:

A, Preliminary Test

1, Set initial height: 50 % of specified H50 (if known) or 0.5 m.

2, Test one specimen; if failed, retest at same height—second failure means non-conforming.

3, If passed, increase height by 0.2 m and repeat until the first failure occurs; record this height for the main test.

B, Main Test

1, Set initial height 0.1 m lower than the first-failure height from the preliminary test.

2, Test one specimen:

Fail → decrease height by 0.1 m for next test

Pass → increase height by 0.1 m for next test

3, Continue until:

10 specimens tested (routine qualified products)

20 specimens tested (standard batch)

Extend to 40 specimens if <8 failures or <8 passes

4, Calculate H50 as the average of all main-test drop heights.

Test Application (Industry Fields)

Building & construction: Non-pressure drain/waste/soil (DVS) pipes, vent pipes

Municipal engineering: Underground/aboveground non-pressure thermoplastic pipe networks

Plumbing & drainage: Residential/commercial plastic piping systems

Utility conduits: Cable protection ducts, non-pressure utility pipes

Manufacturing QC: Batch qualification for PE, PP, PVC-U, PP-H, CPVC pipe producers

Related test standard:

ISO 3127	Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of resistance to external blows - Round-the-clock method
GBT 14152	China standard, equivalent with ISO 3127
EN 1411	PLASTICS PIPING AND DUCTING SYSTEMS. THERMOPLASTICS PIPES. DETERMINATION OF RESISTANCE TO EXTERNAL BLOWS BY THE STAIRCASE METHOD.
EN 744	Plastics piping and ducting systems. Thermoplastics pipes. Test method for resistance to external blows by the round-the-clock method
NF T54-9106	Plastics piping and ducting systems. Thermoplastics pipes. Determination of resistance to external blows by the staircase method.
TCVN 6144	Thermoplastics pipes. Determination of resistance to external blows. Round-the-clock method
BS 2782-11: Method 1108C	UK implementation of EN 744
EN 1705	Plastics piping systems — Thermoplastics valves — Test method for the integrity of a valve after an external blow‌
ASTM D2444	Standard Practice for Determination of the Impact Resistance of Thermoplastic Pipe and Fittings by Means of a Tup (Falling Weight)
ASTM D5628	Standard Test Method for Impact Resistance of Flat, Rigid Plastic Specimens by Means of a Falling Dart (Tup or Falling Mass)
ASTM D5420	Standard Test Method for Impact Resistance of Flat, Rigid Plastic Specimen by Means of a Striker Impacted by a Falling Weight (Gardner Impact)

Pipe Falling Hammer Impact Testing Machine for assessing the impact resistance and toughness of plastic and metal pipes, offering controlled hammer energy, accurate impact measurement, and reliable quality evaluation for industrial and laboratory testing.

Q1: What is the core purpose of the ISO 11173 test?

A: To determine the external blow resistance of circular thermoplastic pipes using the staircase falling-weight impact method, and calculate the H50 value (drop height causing 50% of specimens to fail) to quantify batch toughness.

Q2: What does the H50 value mean in ISO 11173?

A: H50 is the fall height of a standardized striker that leads to failure in 50% of test specimens from a pipe batch; it is the key quantitative index for impact resistance.

Q3: What counts as a "failure" in this test?

A: Failure is defined as shattering or any visible inner-wall crack/split caused by impact. Surface indentation, creases, or superficial dents are not counted as failure.

Q4: Why must testing be done at 0 °C (or −20 °C)?

A: Thermoplastics become brittle at low temperatures. Testing at 0 °C (or −20 °C for colder environments) simulates real-world cold‑service performance and avoids overestimating pipe toughness.

Q5: Can a test specimen be used for multiple impacts?

A: No. Each specimen is struck only once; repeated impacts on one sample will make results invalid.

Q6: What is the difference between ISO 11173 and ISO 3127?

A: ISO 11173 uses the staircase method (adjust height per pass/fail, one blow per specimen) to measure H50. ISO 3127 uses the round-the-clock method (multiple circumferential impacts on one pipe) to measure the True Impact Rate (TIR).

Q7: Why is the ISO 11173 impact test so important for piping materials?

A: This test is crucial for ensuring the long-term safety and reliability of infrastructure .

Prevents Catastrophic Failure: Pipes, especially those buried underground (like water, gas, or sewage pipes), are constantly at risk of external mechanical shocks from soil movement, traffic loads, or accidental drops during installation . If a pipe is too brittle, these shocks can cause it to crack or shatter, leading to severe leaks or system collapses.

Material Quality Control: It helps manufacturers verify if their extrusion processes and material formulations (like the addition of impact modifiers) meet the required toughness standards before the pipes are deployed in the field .

Informs Product Selection: By providing a specific H₅₀ value, engineers can make data-driven decisions when selecting pipes for projects that require high impact resistance .

Q8: What is the difference between the preliminary test and the main test?

A:Preliminary Test: The main goal here is to find the approximate H₅₀ value and identify the first failure height. The drop height is gradually increased (e.g., in 0.2 m steps) until a pipe actually fails .

Main Test: Once the first failure height is found, the drop height is lowered by 0.1 m, and the "staircase" method begins. The height is adjusted up or down by 0.1 m based on whether the subsequent pipes pass or fail, continuing until at least 20 pipes have been tested to calculate the final H₅₀ value .

Q9: Can corrugated or ribbed pipes be tested?

A: Yes. Impact must strike the crest of corrugations/ribs if the rib pitch > 0.25 × the striker nose diameter.

We offer customization to meet your specific needs. Our expert team will collaborate with you to develop the perfect product for you