Connection System
Soluforce® pipe to pipe connection concept
To connect two Soluforce® pipes the Soluforce® in-line coupler is used.
The inline connection technique is a 2 step process consisting of:
a) butt-weld of the liner pipe for a 100% leak free connection;
b) electrofusion of the centrally placed in-line coupler for strengthening the connection.
After welding the pipe-ends form a fully integrated plastic connection.
The Soluforce® electrofusion in-line coupler basically consists of a GRE-reinforced plastic sleeve, with an integrated copper heating-coil.
The inline connection technique is a 2 step process consisting of:
a) butt-weld of the liner pipe for a 100% leak free connection;
b) electrofusion of the centrally placed in-line coupler for strengthening the connection.
After welding the pipe-ends form a fully integrated plastic connection.
The Soluforce® electrofusion in-line coupler basically consists of a GRE-reinforced plastic sleeve, with an integrated copper heating-coil.
Soluforce® pipe to pipe connection in 8 steps
The complete process is computer controlled with no possible human error. The computer controls all aspects of non destructive testing NDT.
1- Reading the coupler data
Running the “bar code reader” over the barcode of the in-line coupler will identify the coupling and initiate the welding procedure. After the in-line coupler condition is tested by the CNC-unit the preparations can start.
2- Scraping the pipe surface
The pipe-end cover layers are scraped to get a fresh PE-surface to weld the in-line coupler electrofusion sleeve.
3- Loading pipe into the welding frame
The in-line electrofusion sleeve is cleaned and slid over one pipe-end. The pipe-end with the in-line coupler and the second pipe-end are loaded into the welding frame.
4- Trimming the pipe ends
By means of one of the trimming tools both pipe-end faces are trimmed resulting in a small length of free liner pipe necessary for butt-welding.
5- Butt-welding the liners
After removing the burrs a heating-plate is inserted for around 60 seconds to heat both pipe-ends.
6- Butt-weld cooling
The heating-plate is automatically removed and the pipe-ends pressed together. The butt-weld procedure is fully controlled by the CNC-unit.
7- Welding of the electrofusion sleeve
After a cooling time of approx. 8 minutes the in-line coupler electrofusion sleeve is slid back centrally on the butt-weld and fused to the pipe connection by energizing the copper heating-coil for about 4 minutes. When the electrofusion is finished the coupler must be cooled for about 30 minutes.
8- Cooling of the connection
After expiry of the cooling time, the welding parameters are checked by the CNC-unit. If the welding parameters are within the specifications, the connection is approved (“Parameters OK” is displayed).Now the pipe to pipe connection can be removed from the welding frame and the pipe put in place.
