Improvement of butt-welding characteristics of double wall polyethylene pipes.

In this study, a new heat plate with a groove for butt-welding was developed to investigate the misalignment effects on the joining strengths of polyethylene double walled pipes. Thermal analyses of the material determined the temperature profile of the welding. After the welding, the joining characteristics of the pipes were compared with those welded by the conventional heat plate. The results of the stiffness and flattening tests showed that there were no big differences between the joints made from these two plates. In the leakage test, however, the pipes welded with the conventional heat plate leaked below the required test conditions, while the pipes welded with the grooved heat plate did not show any leakage, even in a range higher than the required conditions. The tensile and bending strength were also improved. The results demonstrated that the grooved heat plate accomplished more complete fusion at the pipe joints and induced high quality joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]