North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) NO-DIG 2005

Orlando, Florida April 24-27, 2005

QA TECHNOLOGY FOR POLYETHYLENE BUTT FUSION JOINTS

Jim Craig, P.E. 1 McElroy Manufacturing, Inc., Tulsa, OK

ABSTRACT: Polyethylene (PE) pipe has been used worldwide in the natural gas industry for nearly 40 years. It has proven to be the most reliable, leak-free piping system ever utilized. Because of PEs success in various markets worldwide, it is gaining acceptance in the potable water and sewer markets in the US. Butt fusion is the most widely used and most economical method of joining polyethylene pipe and when joined correctly, the joint is as strong, or stronger, than the pipe. This equates to a leak free system. Three major factors that affect butt fusion joining are, 1) Having properly trained equipment operators, 2), Making sure the equipment is in good working order, and 3) Making sure that the proper joining procedure is followed. Data logging technology is available to monitor and record the key parameters of each butt fusion joint to insure the proper procedure has been followed. Of all the piping materials used in the water and wastewater industries today, polyethylene is the only material that offers a means to assure joint quality prior to installation. This gives the utility and engineers a QA record of the butt fusion joints made on a project. It also helps the contractors by allowing them to look at the record of each joint and verify quality before it is buried in the ground.

1.

INTRODUCTION

This paper discusses the use of technology to ensure that butt fusion joints are made to industry standards, thus ensuring a piping system that will last as long as the life expectancy of the PE pipe materials. Improvements in polyethylene piping and its installation have been numerous since its acceptance Improvements include the introduction of improved pipe resins, continuously improving fusion equipment and standardized fusion procedures. These technical improvements have resulted in higher quality PE piping systems, which have a variety of uses. 2. IMPROVEMENTS IN PIPE

Over the past 40 years, many improvements have been made in polyethylene pipe resins and ASTM committees have been constantly upgrading the standards for the piping materials to ensure the very best quality product for the different market needs. We now have different color pipe for different applications and we have many new resins for different pressure and temperature applications.

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3.

IMPROVEMENTS IN EQUIPMENT

As market demands have required larger pipe diameters, equipment manufacturers have responded with larger capability butt fusion equipment. Today, field butt fusion equipment in the USA is available for fusing PE pipe up to 65 O.D. This equipment will butt fuse a range of pipe sizes with the use of inserts in the clamps. Some of this equipment is electric, some of it is self-contained and the most current design is self- contained and self-propelled. They have accessories to help make the butt fusion process simple and reliable such as pipe support stands on each side of the fusion unit, pyrometers to measure the heater temperature, extension hoses to allow the butt fusion carriage to do in-ditch applications, etc.

Figure 1. 1960s Vintage Hand Pump machine

Figure 2. Self-Contained Hydraulic Fusion Machine on wheels - 2004

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Figure 3. Self-Contained, Self-Propelled Hydraulic Fusion Machine on tracks - 2004

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) has been used successfully in the Gas Distribution Market for the last 40 years. These distribution systems were mainly in. Copper Tube Size (CTS) up to 8 Iron Pipe Size (IPS) pipe. The ease of installation, the no leak advantage of the butt fused joint and the material properties advantages of PE have won over this market and have caught the attention of other markets with larger diameter piping needs. PE pipe has been used in numerous Industrial, Sewer, and Wastewater applications and was approved by AWWA for use in potable water systems in 1978. 4. TRAINING

Training for contractor and municipal operators is conducted by equipment manufacturers and PE pipe distributors. They accomplish this by holding schools on the various elements of pipe installation and the butt fusion process. They also train the crews on maintenance procedures to keep the equipment in proper working order.

5.

FUSION PROCEDURES

In the past, each pipe manufacturer adopted its own butt fusion procedure based on its specific material properties of its pipe. However, harmonization of the pipe resins through the different manufacturers has resulted in pipe materials with similar properties allowing one joining procedure to be used for most all pipes. The majority of the polyethylene pipe manufacturers have adopted a Generic Butt Fusion procedure and the Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has published the procedure in Technical Report TR-33. The slight variations in procedures that previously existed are eliminated when TR-33 is used.

6.

BUTT FUSION JOINING PROCEDURE

The proper method of fusing HDPE pipe can be broken down into six steps:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Secure the pipe in the fusion machine Face the pipe ends Align the pipe ends Melt the pipe faces Join the two pipes Hold under pressure.

According to the PPI Technical Report TR-33, the proper heater surface temperature should be between 400 and 450 degrees F and the butt fusion interface pressure should be between 60 and 90 psi. The cool time to Hold under pressure in step 6 varies depending on the wall thickness of the pipe.

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CRITICAL PARAMETERS IN THE FUSION PROCESS.

After the pipe is properly aligned, clamped, and faced, there are critical parameters that need to be monitored to ensure that the proper procedure has been followed on each butt fusion joint. These are 1) the pressure used in the heating, fusion and cooling process, 2) the heater surface temperature, and 3) the time the pipe ends are against the heater, the time it takes to remove the heater and bring the pipe ends together, and the cooling time. 8. DATALOGGING TECHNOLOGY

While it is important to be properly trained on the butt fusion process, this does not ensure that the fusion joint will be made to the acceptable standards. Now, data logging technology is available whereby a unit attaches to a hydraulically operated fusion machine to record the critical parameters of the fusion process previously mentioned.

Figure 4. A data logging unit attached to a fusion machine that records heater surface temperature, pressures and times during the fusion process.

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Figure 5. An example of a data logging unit printout showing an improperly made fusion joint. (Incorrect Interfacial Pressure used 40 psi - should have been 75 psi)

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Figure 6. An example of a data logging unit printout showing an improperly made fusion joint (Incorrect Interfacial Pressure, Incorrect Heater Temperature and didnt drop pressure for the heat cycle)

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Figure 7. An example of a data logging unit printout showing a properly made fusion joint

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The information from the data logging unit can be stored and printed out after each joint or downloaded later to a PC. In addition, some data logging units can calculate the fusion pressure if you enter the pipe type, OD, wall thickness, and interface pressure. As an extra traceability step, the operator can stamp a reference number into the soft bead that correlates with the records maintained by the data logging unit. This will help ensure repeatable, quality butt fusion joints whether fused in the field, or in the shop.

Figure 8. 90-degree elbow fabricated with mitered fusion joints.

Figure 8 shows a fabricated 90 degree elbow. This fitting was constructed by performing mitered fusion on sections of HDPE pipe. The same fusion parameters that apply to butt fusion apply to mitered fusion as well. It is strongly recommended that fusion welds made during the fabrication of fittings be data logged. A stamp referencing each data log should be indented in each fusion bead. All PE markets should take advantage of existing technology to ensure the pipe that is put in the ground has met the industry standard for butt fused joints. This technology gives the customer proof that the pipes have been joined properly and gives the contractor a record of each joint before it goes in the ground. If a fusion joint was done incorrectly, it can be corrected quickly and inexpensively.

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Comparing a data logging units records with the PPI Generic Procedure will result in more consistent, reliable fusion systems installed all over the country. 9. Supervisors Check-List to Success

o o o o o o o

The butt fusion equipment is in good working order and conforms to the manufacturers specifications. The operator has been trained on the proper operation of the equipment and data logging unit. All of the proper information is available for input into the data logging unit. (employee #, job #, joint #, etc) The installation /joining procedures are available for the pipe size and type to be joined. The data logging unit is in good working order, charged and connected to the equipment. Observe the first fusion joint by the operator to ensure the proper operation and procedures are being followed. All joints should be visually inspected and the data logged record reviewed by the operator /supervisor and approved before burying any joints.

References ASTM D2657-03 Standard Practice for Heat Fusion Joining of Polyolefin Pipe and Fittings Plastics Pipe Institute Technical Report TR-33 Generic Butt Fusion Procedure for Field Joining PE (Polyethylene) Pipe.

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