Welding Welding

Methods
Heat Element Butt Welding (Butt Fusion)
Butt fusion of PP, HDPE, PVDF, and E-CTFE is accomplished with butt-fusion welding equipment. Chemline Plastics Ltd. provides
welding equipment to handle all diameter sizes offered, and has an extensive line of equipment available to buy or rent for every
application.
For butt fusion the areas to be joined are heated to the required welding temperature with heating elements and after the
removal of the heating element they are joined together under pressure. The heating element temperatures are listed in the
following table. Generally the aim is to use higher temperatures for smaller wall thicknesses and the lower temperatures for
larger wall thicknesses.
Heating Element Temperature oC
PE: 200 up to 220oC
PP: 200 up to 220oC
PVDF: 232 up to 248oC
ECTFE:275 up to 285oC
Butt fusion is recognized as the industry standard, providing high integrity and reliability. It does not require couplings or added
material. The procedure conforms to ASTM D-2857 for Joining Practices of Polyolefin Materials, and the recommended practices
of the ASME B 31.3 Code (Chemical Plant and Petroleum Refinery Piping).

Schematic of Butt Fusion Welding Process

Heating Element
Pipe Pipe

Weld Preparation

Pre-Heating

Finished Joint

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Welding Welding
Methods
Welding Process
It is important to use the proper welding parameters (temperature, time and pressure) as well as the proper procedure (shown
below) and the proper welding machines to ensure weld integrity. Deviating from this can result in bad welds that can sometimes
be difficult to see. The welding process can be seen graphically in Figure below.

1. Fit the pipes or fittings securely in the proper welding equipment. Aligned and plane the faces with the facing tool (planer),
and make sure the heating element is at the proper temperature.
2. Follow the welding parameters (temperature, time, and pressure) provided with Chemline Plastics Ltd butt-fusion equipment
(general parameters are shown below).
3. Alignment Time - Insert heating element between pipes or fittings, making sure full contact is made around surfaces. Apply
full welding pressure, until a ridge of melted material is present around the outside circumference of the pieces being welded
together. This indicates proper melt flow has been accomplished and further guarantees two parallel surfaces.
4. Pre-heating time - Reduce the pressure to the recommended pre-heating pressure and begin timing.
5. Adjustment time - At the end of the pre-heating time separate the pieces from the heating element, move the heating
element away without damage to the surfaces and join the pieces together gently after quickly bring the pieces close
together. The adjustment time should be kept as short as possible to ensure the plasticized areas will not cool down otherwise
the welding quality will be compromised.
6. Joining pressure build-up time - Gradually increase the pressure to the joining pressure making sure that this is performed
within the allowable build-up time. Build-up time is the maximum period of time the pieces can be separated from the
heating element yet still retain sufficient heat for fusion.
7. Cooling time - Allow components to cool as per the cooling time after which the pieces may be removed from the welding
equipment. Do not put components under stress or conduct a pressure test for at least an hour after the completed cooling
time.

Butt Fusion Welding Process Sequence

Temperature Pressure
Welding
Temperature

Alignment resp.
Joining pressure

Pre-heating
pressure
build-up time

Alignment Pre-heating time Cooling time

Adjusting

time
pressure-
time

Joining

t Ag t Aw tU tF t Ak

Overall joining time

Welding time

t Ag = alignment time
t Aw = pre-heating time
t U = adjusting time
t F = joining pressure buiding-up time
t Ak = cooling time

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Welding Welding
Methods
Welding Parameters
References values for butt fusion of PP, PE, PVDF and ECTFE pipes and fittings at ambient temperatures (20oC ) are shown
below.

Wall Thickness Bead Height Preheating Adusting Joining Pressure Cooling

(mm) (mm) Time tAW (sec) Time tU (sec) Build Up Time tF (sec) Time tAK (min)
P=0.10 N/mm2 P=0.01 N/mm2 P=0.10 N/mm2
less than 4.5 0.5 135 5 6 6
PP-H, PP-R, PP-H-s,
PP-R-el, PP-R-s-el

4.5 to 7.0 0.5 135 to 175 5 to 6 6 to 7 6 to 12

7.0 to 12.0 1.0 175 to 245 6 to 7 7 to 11 12 to 20
12.0 to 19.0 1.0 245 to 330 7 to 9 11 to 17 20 to 30
19.0 to 26.0 1.5 330 to 400 9 to 11 17 to 22 30 to 40
26.0 to 37.0 2.0 400 to 485 11 to 14 22 to 32 40 to 55
37.0 to 50.0 2.0 485 to 560 14 to 17 32 to 43 55 to 70
P=0.15 N/mm2 P<=0.02 N/mm2 P=0.15 N/mm2
less than 4.5 0.5 45 5 5 6
PE80, PE100, PE-el

4.5 to 7.0 1.0 45 to 70 5 to 6 5 to 6 6 to 10

7.0 to 12.0 1.5 70 to 120 6 to 8 6 to 8 10 to 16
12.0 to 19.0 2.0 120 to 190 8 to 10 8 to 11 16 to 24
19.0 to 26.0 2.5 190 to 260 10 to 12 11 to 14 24 to 32
26.0 to 37.0 3.0 260 to 370 12 to 16 14 to 19 32 to 45
37.0 to 50.0 3.5 370 to 500 16 to 20 19 to 25 45 to 60
50.0 to 70.0 4.0 500 to 700 20 to 25 25 to 35 60 to 80
2
P=0.10 N/mm2 P=0.01 N/mm2 P=0.10 N/mm
1.9 to 3.5 0.5 59 to 75 3 3 to 4 5.0 to 6.0
3.5 to 5.5 0.5 75 to 95 3 4 to 5 6.0 to 8.5
PVDF

5.5 to 10.0 0.5 to 1.0 95 to 140 4 5 to 7 8.5 to 14.0

10.0 to 15.0 1.0 to 1.3 140 to 190 4 7 to 9 14 to 19
15.0 to 20.0 1.3 to 1.7 190 to 240 5 9 to 11 19 to 25
20.0 to 25.0 1.7 to 2.0 240 to 290 5 11 to 13 25 to 32
P=0.085 N/mm2 P=0.01 N/mm2 P=0.085 N/mm2
ECTFE

1.9 to 3.0 0.5 12 to 25 4 5 3 to 5

3.0 to 5.3 0.5 25 to 40 4 5 5 to 7
5.3 to 7.7 1.0 40 to 50 4 5 7 to 10

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Welding Welding
Methods
Weld Inspection
To inspect butt-fusion joints, the inspector or operator should look for the following characteristics on each weld:
• Welds should have two symmetrical beads almost equally sized that are 360° around the pipe
• Beads should be of consistent height and width
• Beads should have a rounded shape and smooth surface
• Beads should be free of burrs or foreign material
• A bead on either side should not reduce greatly in width or disappear
• Components welded should be properly aligned and cannot be misaligned by more than 10% of the wall thickness
K

Typical Butt Fusion Weld Bead

Butt-fusion beads will vary in size and a little in shape with different
materials and will vary slightly due to outside temperatures and
conditions. In general, PP and HDPE will have larger bead formations
in comparison to PVDF and ECTFE. With PP and HDPE, there will be
a pronounced double-bead formation whereas PVDF and ECTFE it is
not as pronounced.
If bead formations do not meet the inspection criteria, they should
be rejected. Consult the operation manual for the welding machine
for information on how to correct the problem. If problems persist,
contact Chemline Plastics Ltd for assistance. Never continue welding
if proper fusion cannot be accomplished.

Butt Fusion Welding Machines

Miniplast (20mm OD to 110mm OD) 2500 (50mm OD to 315mm OD)

W4900 Field Machine (90mm OD to 315mm OD)

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