The selection of pipe ...

The selection of pipe material is a careful decision to be made after considering design criteria, soil parameters, effect of corrosion, hydrodynamic effects such as water hammer, type of jointing, water quality to be conveyed, capacity intended to be conveyed, environmental statutes, project life cycle cost inclusive of its operation & maintenance, being some of them. Having said this the availability of materials and the skill levels of pipe laying technicians paramount vital importance. Generally for sizes till 450 mm PE is a good choice and for larger diameters PE although will be good would be more expensive. DI can be used for larger sizes subject to terrain and other soil parameters. It has to be noted that metallic pipes are subject to corrosion, non metallic pipes such as concrete, asbestos cement, are prone to joint dislocation due to soil migration. GRP pipes if selected has to be carefully designed to account for strain corrosion and delamination by selection of proper resin/glass mix ratio and good manufacturing practice which does not allow delamination and cracking due to soil loads. PE pipes are temperature sensitive and care needs to be exercised while laying them in oil contaminated soils. You may go through the published edition of Malaysian Water Association recommendations which considers almost all practical considerations for an optimized choice.