Análisis comparativo del comportamiento de la soldadura por termofusión frente a las soldaduras por adhesión y fricción en tuberías de polietileno (PE) para conducción de gas licuado de petróleo (GLP)

Abstract

In the present project the comparison was made between three types of welds applied in the PE 80 polyethylene pipe of ¾ inch in diameter, which are: adhesion, friction and thermofusion to determinate the optimal bonding process in natural gas conduction. The specimens were prepared by the three types of welding mentioned, whose variables such as: minimum temperature, application time, tensile strength, pressure resistance of the distributed gas and welding procedure, were applied by ASME Code Section IX. Later, the visual inspection was carried out as a non – destructive tests in all specimens, which met the required standards. The destructive tests applied to the specimens were: bending test, tensile tests and hydrostatic test, of which in the bending test the thermofusion and friction specimens passed the test, in the tensile test it was evidenced that the most resistant specimens they were those of friction, and when testing the welded arrangements for the hydrostatic test the system welded by the thermofusion process was the most resistant supporting a pressure of 500 psi. Finally, analyzing the results obtained, it is concluded that the thermofusion welding procedure is the optimum for the case study.