1. THE MATERIALS JOINING EXPERTS Inspection of Fusion Joints in Plastic Pipe Delivery Reliability Program Project Kick-Off Meeting Morgantown, West Virginia December 16, 2003 National Energy Technology Laboratory

2. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

3. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

4. Plastic pipe has been used successfully for 30 yrs by natural gas industry Butt fusion is one of the two most common processes used for joining the pipe. –It utilizes a hot plate which is inserted between two pipes butted together and heated to temperature. The plate is removed and the pipes are forced together. Electro-fusion methods are typically employed for joining tees and branches. Executive Summary - Background

5. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

6. Executive Summary - Problem Statement Pipeline and environmental damage Risk of fire or explosion Risk of human personnel (user and service) Interrupted service Significant loss of revenue Although infrequent, polyethylene pipe butt fusion joint failure could result in:

7. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

8. Executive Summary - Technical Objective This project will develop, demonstrate and validate an in-situ non-destructive method for butt fusion joints inspection in plastic gas distribution pipelines

9. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

10. Executive Summary - Benefits Eliminate operator bias Improved reliability and safety Reduction in costly destructive QA testing Increased confidence in plastic pipe use

11. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

12. Executive Summary - Project Team NYSEARCH Angelo Fabiano EWI Connie Reichert Project Director Alex Savitski Project Management John Coffey Accounting/Contract Antoinette Kerins

13. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

14. Technical Overview Visual characteristic review Initial conclusions Initial characteristic correlation Cross-section and surface comparison Demonstration unit

15. Technical Overview Acceptable welds made under standard conditions

16. Technical Overview Insufficient interfacial pressure – unacceptable weld 50% nominal interfacial pressure (tolerant resin) – weld acceptable

17. Technical Overview Excessive interfacial pressure – good weld

18. Inspection of Fusion Joints in Plastic Pipe Excessive temperatureInsufficient heating

19. Initial Conclusions from Previous Work: Bond line appearance in the weld zone always correlated with the reduction of the joint’s mechanical properties The sensitivity of the Weld Zone Inspection Method (WZIM) was verified by industry-accepted destructive testing WZIM was successful in differentiating between welds made under standard and non-standard conditions WZIM was demonstrated to be a simple and accurate testing technique for assessing butt-fusion joint quality Technical Overview

20. Conclusions (continued) The method is easy to use. No expensive testing equipment is required. It is less costly than common destructive testing methods (labor). A database of cross-sectional images representing typical standard and non- standard joints and their interpretations for selected PE pipes was developed. Technical Overview

21. . Acceptable No visible bond line Proper double roll- back Sufficient melt Sufficient pressure Technical Overview

22. Unacceptable Visible bond line Incomplete double roll-back (too small) Insufficient melt Sufficient pressure Probable procedure violation – insufficient heating Technical Overview

23. Unacceptable Visible bond line Double roll-back (excessive) Excessive melt Disproportionately rounded outlines Probable procedure violation – excessive temperature

24. Development of nondestructive procedure for PE butt-fusion joints assessment Transforming a destructive inspection method into a nondestructive technique was proved experimentally The correlation between the cross-sectional and pipe surface images (after the bead removal) was studied and analyzed Several “blind” tests were conducted on the joints independently prepared by gas companies Joints were fused under standard and non-standard conditions, and 88% were correctly assessed Technical Overview

25. Driscopipe 8100 - Standard Welding Conditions Cross-sectional imagePipe surface image Technical Overview

26. Cross-sectional imagePipe surface image Driscopipe 8100 – Excessive Heating Temperature

27. Technical Overview Cross-sectional imagePipe surface image Driscopipe 8100 – Insufficient Interfacial Pressure

28. Demonstration unit for Weld Zone Inspection Method Technical Overview EWI proprietary image recognition system Laser-based Automatically generate and interpret images Assign pass/fail rating

29. Conclusions and Recommendations The WZIM has the potential to become a quality- assessment field method to nondestructively identify lesser quality non-standard fusion joints. Evaluated results can be recorded, stored and documented for QA auditing and process mapping Technical Overview

30. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

31. Area I and II Tasks Task 1: Research Management Plan Summary of technical objectives and technical approach Task 2: Technology Status Assessment Describe current state-of-the-art of plastic pipe inspection Task 3: Validation of Inspection Method and Testing Procedure Optimization Correlation between the WZIM joint image and mechanical joint strength by using short-term destructive mechanical tests Project Plan

32. Area I and II Tasks ( continued) Task 4: Method Verification using Long Term Destructive Testing Determine if a detrimental affect occurs on a quality weld by performing local reheating Task 5: Specification of User Requirements Define requirements for assigning pass/fail rating Task 6: Development of Image Recognition Inspection System Develop hardware Refine software Integrate and calibrate components Project Plan

33. Area III Tasks Task 7: Development of Field Test Program Test matrix of conditions, type, materials and sizes to be tested during field operations Task 8: Field Test Preparation Inspection parameters will be optimized based on Task 7 test matrix Operator training Task 9: Field Testing Cover a representative range of materials and sizes Project Plan

34. Area III Tasks (continued) Task 10: Data Analysis, Specification Optimization and Inspection Guidelines Next step towards technology commercialization Task 11: Reporting Final technical report Comprehensive operation and maintenance manual Project Plan

35. Overall Project Budget $373,005 (includes $93,000 cost match) Area I and II (Task 1 – 6) $243,330 DOE funding $170,330 Cost share $73,000 Area III (Task 7-11) $129,675 DOE funding $109,675 Cost share $20,000 Note: Decision point will not be reached based on DOE obligated funds of $132,000. Project Plan - Funding

36. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

37. Project Schedule

38. Executive Summary –Background –Problem Statement –Technical Objective –Benefits –Project Team Technical Overview Project Plan Schedule Milestones

39. MilestoneResponsibilityMilestone Description Approximate Submission Date M1EWIHazardous Substance Plan10/31/2003 M2EWIResearch Management Plan - Draft10/31/2003 M3NETL DOE Input Received for Research Management Plan11/20/2003 M4EWI Technology Status Assessment Report - Draft11/30/2003 M5NETL DOE Input Received for Technology Status Assessment Report12/19/2003 M6EWIUser Requirements Defined12/26/2003 M7EWI Laser Based Inspection Hardware Developed5/4/2004 M8EWI Laser Based Inspection Software Developed5/4/2004 M9EWIIntegrated Inspection System9/2/2004 M10NETL Written approval from DOE COR to proceed beyond Task 69/2/2004 Project Schedule – Phase I

40. MilestoneResponsibilityMilestone Description Approximate Submission Date M11EWIDeveloped Field Test Matrix9/30/2004 M12EWI One Day Training Course on the Fundamentals of WZIM Inspection System2/17/2005 M13NETLFinal Technical Report10/28/2005 M14EWI Comprehensive Operation and Maintenance Manual Developed10/28/2005 M15EWIHazardous Waste Report10/1/2005 M16EWI Report of Termination or Completion Inventory10/1/2005 M17EWISemi-Annual Report 14/30/2004 M18EWISemi-Annual Report 210/31/2004 M19EWISemi-Annual Report 34/30/2005 Project Schedule – Phase II