ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTROFUSION JOINING PROCESS IN POLYETHYLENE GAS PIPING SYSTEMS

Electrofusion (EF) is a semi-automated technology for joining polyethy lene gas distribution pipes. To design reliable EF joints, a computati onal model for the EF joining process needs to be established. In the present work, a simulation method for the EF joining process, in which the thermomechanical coupling behavior is taken into account, has bee n developed employing ADINA and ADINA-T. The method can be used to sim ulate the closure process of the clearance between the joint and the p ipe. In addition, the histories of the interface pressure and the temp erature distributions, the parameters which have a critical importance on the quality of the joint, can be obtained. First, the computed res ults were compared with the experimental data from a small scale EF jo int and good agreement was obtained. Next, the method was applied to d esign a large scale EF joint and the design optimization was carried o ut, resulting in the successful development of a reliable joint. (C) 1 997 Elsevier Science Ltd.