Forensic characterization of HDPE pipes by DSC

The melting behavior of 28 high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe samples manufactured and supplied by 13 different manufacturers in India was examined by ‘differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)’ to find out if this parameter could be used in differentiating between these HDPE pipe samples which are chemically the same and being manufactured by different manufacturer. The results indicate that the melting temperature may serve as the useful criteria for differentiating HDPE (i) pipe samples from different sources and (ii) samples of different diameter from the same source.