Abstract: Novel thermoplastics and pipes made therefrom which can withstand extreme surface and/or internally generated pressures that make them excellent candidates for uses such as within underground liquid and gas transport systems are provided. Such pipes are improvements over standard metal (i.e., steel, copper, lead, and the like), concrete, ceramic, and the like, pipes due to toxicity issues (such as with lead pipes), raw material costs (such as with copper), construction costs, shipping costs, implementation costs (particularly underground), flexibility (and thus modulus strength allowances) to compensate for underground movements (i.e., earthquakes and tremors), non-rusting characteristics, reduced crack propagation possibilities, and ease in manufacture.

Abstract: Novel thermoplastics and pipes made therefrom which can withstand extreme surface and/or internally generated pressures that make them excellent candidates for uses such as within underground liquid and gas transport systems are provided. Such pipes are improvements over standard metal (i.e., steel, copper, lead, and the like), concrete, ceramic, and the like, pipes due to toxicity issues (such as with lead pipes), raw material costs (such as with copper), construction costs, shipping costs, implementation costs (particularly underground), flexibility (and thus modulus strength allowances) to compensate for underground movements (i.e., earthquakes and tremors), non-rusting characteristics, reduced crack propagation possibilities, and ease in manufacture.

Abstract: Unique transparent plastic (preferably though not necessarily polypropylene) articles that can be tailored to become opaque when exposed to a sufficiently high temperature and which returns to substantially the same transparency level upon cooling are provided. Such formulations include polymeric constituents that exhibit melting temperatures well below that for the majority clarified polypropylene, and thus which appear to become amorphous upon exposure to temperatures above such a lower melting temperature, thereby affecting the crystalline formation of the clarified polypropylene to the extent that opacity dominates the appearance thereof. Such lower melting temperature polymeric constituents include species such as low melt flow (up to 10) metallocene polyethylene and/or low density polyethylene, both of which exhibit melting temperatures of from about 60 to about 100° C., well below the typical polypropylene melting temperatures of roughly about 150° C.

Abstract: Unique transparent plastic (preferably though not necessarily polypropylene) articles that can be tailored to become opaque when exposed to a sufficiently high temperature and which returns to substantially the same transparency level upon cooling are provided. Such formulations include polymeric constituents that exhibit melting temperatures well below that for the majority clarified polypropylene, and thus which appear to become amorphous upon exposure to temperatures above such a lower melting temperature, thereby affecting the crystalline formation of the clarified polypropylene to the extent that opacity dominates the appearance thereof. Such lower melting temperature polymeric constituents include species such as low melt flow (up to 10) metallocene polyethylene and/or low density polyethylene, both of which exhibit melting temperatures of from about 60 to about 100° C., well below the typical polypropylene melting temperatures of roughly about 150° C.

Abstract: Unique transparent polypropylene articles that can be tailored to become opaque when exposed to a sufficiently high temperature and which returns to substantially the same transparency level upon cooling. Such formulations include non-polypropylene polymeric constituents that exhibit refractive index measurements similar to the base clarified polypropylene at lower temperatures, as well as melting temperatures well below that for the base clarified polypropylene. Upon exposure to temperatures in close proximity to the melting temperature of the non-polypropylene polymeric constituents, the refractive index for such constituents will then become modified to the extent that the overall article appears at least partially opaque. In particular, the non-polypropylene polymeric constituents should exhibit melting temperatures well below that for the base clarified polypropylene, from about 60 to about 100° C. (well below the typical polypropylene melting temperatures of roughly about 160-190° C.