Premium
Design of electrofusion joints and evaluation of fusion strength using fusion simulation technology
Author(s) -
Nishimura Hiroyuki,
Inoue Fumio,
Nakashiba Akio,
Ishikawa Testuo
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760342003
Subject(s) - electrofusion , materials science , fusion , joint (building) , finite element method , process (computing) , fusion power , thermal , composite material , nuclear engineering , mechanical engineering , structural engineering , computer science , engineering , plasma , philosophy , linguistics , physics , quantum mechanics , meteorology , operating system
Abstract Fusion simulation is one of the key techniques in designing and producing electrofusion (EF) joints for gas distribution and in evaluating fusion joint integrity. This paper describes the result of a numerical simulation of a thermal fusion process, using the finite element method. A nonlinear heat transfer computer program was used to obtain the temperature profile of a large electrofusion joint at fusion. The effects of applied voltage, heating time, wire pitch, and ambient temperature were examined for designing a 150‐mm EF joint. A method to shorten the cooling time was also investigated. The fusion condition range suitable for a 150‐mm EF joint was found to be slightly narrower than that suitable for a 50‐mm EF joint. Examination of the effect of wire pitch revealed that if the pitch is extremely large, thermal degradation starts in the resin close to the wire before the fusion‐interface strength reaches the maximum value. We have developed a program to simulate the process of closing the gap between the pipe and the joint due to resin expansion and melting after the power is supplied.