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Numerical analysis of the heat transfer and fluid flow in the butt-fusion welding process

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Abstract

Butt-fusion welding is an effective process for welding polymeric pipes. The process can be simplified into two stages. In heat soak stage, the pipe is heated using a hot plate contacted with one end of the pipe. In jointing stage, a pair of heated pipes is compressed against one another so that the melt regions become welded. In previous works, the jointing stage that is highly related to the welding quality was neglected. However, in this study, a finite element simulation is conducted including the jointing stage. The heat and momentum transfer are considered altogether. A new numerical scheme to describe the melt flow and pipe deformation for the butt-fusion welding process is introduced. High density polyethylene (HDPE) is used for the material. Flow via thermal expansion of the heat soak stage, and squeezing and fountain flow of the jointing stage are well reproduced. It is also observed that curling beads are formed and encounter the pipe body. The unique contribution of this study is its capability of directly observing the flow behaviors that occur during the jointing stage and relating them to welding quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Process, School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Jae Hyun Yoo & Kyung Hyun Ahn

  2. Department of Advanced Materials, Hannam University, Daejeon, 34430, Republic of Korea

    Sunwoong Choi & Ju Seok Oh

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Jaewook Nam

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  1. Jae Hyun Yoo
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  2. Sunwoong Choi
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  4. Kyung Hyun Ahn
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  5. Ju Seok Oh
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Correspondence to Ju Seok Oh.

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Yoo, J.H., Choi, S., Nam, J. et al. Numerical analysis of the heat transfer and fluid flow in the butt-fusion welding process. Korea-Aust. Rheol. J. 29, 37–49 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-017-0005-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-017-0005-3

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