PE Pipe HDD Stress Analysis (HDPE)

Polyethylene pipe behaves very differently from steel during an HDD pull: it is viscoelastic, so its safe pull strength depends on load duration and temperature, and thin-wall PE can collapse under external borehole pressure. This calculator checks the three limits that govern a PE installation — tensile pull-back load, bending strain, and external-pressure (buckling) collapse.

It follows ASTM F1962 and PPI TR-46, the standard references for placing PE pipe by HDD.