• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.609-615
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• 2001

This study proposes analysis and evaluation method of time series ultrasonic signal using attractor analysis for fusion joint part of polyethylene piping. Quantitatively characteristics of fusion joint part is analysed features extracted from time series. Trajectory changes in the attractor indicated a substantial difference in fractal characteristics. These differences in characteristics of fusion joint part enables the evaluation of unique characteristics of fusion joint part. In quantitative fractal feature extraction, feature values of 4.291 in the case of debonding and 3.694 in the case of bonding were proposed on the basis of fractal dimensions. In quantitative quadrant feature extraction, 1,306 point in the case of bonding(one quadrant) and 1,209 point(one quadrant) in the case of debonding were proposed on the basis of fractal dimensions. Proposed attractor feature extraction can be used for integrity evaluation of polyethylene piping material which is in case of bonding or debonding.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.40-44
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• 2015

The fatigue behavior of thermal butt fusion in safety class III high-density polyethylene (HDPE) buried piping for nuclear power plants was investigated using load-controlled bending fatigue on four-point bend test specimens. Based on the results, the presence of thermal butt fusion beads was confirmed to reduce the fatigue lifetime in the low- and medium-cycle fatigue regions while having a negligible effect in the high-cycle fatigue regions.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.44-49
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• 2013

As the polyethylene of high strength and ductility stabilized chemically has been mass-produced, it is spreading widely as material of industrial piping and water service piping. Recently, High density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe has been used even in water supply system of plant as buried pipe instead of cast iron pipe in domestic, but HDPE pipe has a probability of occurrence of damage if plant design and operating conditions are not considered. As a result of reviewing with respect of system design engineering based on operating conditions and verification test results, the specific design criteria for the use of HDPE piping in fire water supply system need to be established because of the possibility of crack damage due to water hammer.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.22-25
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• 2012

Welding and/or fusion in polyethylene(PE) system made on site is focused on the control of the welding or fusion process to follow proper procedure. The process control is important, but it is not sufficient for the long term reliability of a pipe system. To achieve the rate of failure close to zero, Non Destructive Testing(NDT) is necessary in addition to joining process control. For electrofusion joints several non-destructive testing methods are available. The ultrasonic phased array technique is possible to detect various defects including wire deviations and regions with lack of fusion. In this studies, testing was carried to detect the defect after electrofusion joining of polyethylene piping is utilized by the ultrasonic phased array technique. From testing data, ultrasonic phased array technique is recommended as a reliable non-destructive testing method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.10 no.2 s.31
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• pp.61-67
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• 2006

We developed the ultrasonic phased array technique for obtaining ultrasonic images of electrofusion joints of polyethylene piping. And we inspected 4 cases at fields with this technique. First case is for the 300 mm diameter polyethylene electrofusion joint by using 3.5 MHz phased array sensor, second is for the 350 mm diameter saddle electrofusion joint, third is for the 400 mm diameter electrofusion joints and the last one is for the 400 mm diameter piping joints which will be used at 300 kPa suppling pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.564-569
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• 2011

The current establishment of city gas piping polyethylene (PE) tube used as bonding state or part of the health or safety of fusion is very important. A part of these fusion methods to determine the soundness of the short-term trials and long-term tests can be largely classified. Typical tests include short-term strength, tensile strength, impact strength, compressive strength, resiliency and compression. Polyethylene (PE) pipes installed in the domestic terms of overall penetration rate of 45% has been used. However, polyethylene (PE) pipes have reliability problems, and these occurs mostly in part by defective welding. Therefore, the test is necessary for safety. Non-destructive methods (ultrasonic testing) are difficult to be used. Therefore, Polypropylene copolymer (PP-C), polypropylene homopolymer (PP-H), and polyethylene (PE) pipe are used. Fusion of these materials is necessary in these field however, its technical, and basic research has not been studied well. In this research, short-term strength of welding parts, its tensile strength, hardness, fatigue, and microstructure have been analyzed to find the optimum process conditions to improve mechanical properties.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

In nuclear power plants, lined carbon steel pipes or PCCPs (pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes) have been widely used for sea water transport systems. However, de-bonding of linings and oxidation of PCCP could make problems in aged NPPs (nuclear power plants). Recently at several NPPs in the United States, the PCCPs or lined carbon steel pipes of the sea water or raw water system have been replaced with HDPE (high density polyethylene) pipes, which have outstanding resistance to oxidation and seismic loading. ASME B&PV Code committee developed Code Case N-755, which describes rules for the construction of buried Safety Class 3 polyethylene pressure piping systems. Although US NRC permitted HDPE materials for Class 3 buried piping, their permission was limited to only 10-year operation because of several concerns including the quality of fusion zone of HDPE. In this study, various requirements for fusion qualification test of HDPE and some regulatory issues raised during HDPE application review in foreign NPPs are introduced.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2015

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping, which has recently been applied to safety class III piping in nuclear power plants, can be butt-joined through the thermal fusion process, which heats two fused surfaces and then subject to axial pressure. The thermal fusion process generates bead shapes on the butt fusion. The stress concentrations caused by the bead shapes may reduce the fatigue lifetime. Thus, investigating the effect of the thermal butt fusion beads on fatigue behavior is necessary. This study examined the fatigue behavior of thermal butt fusion via a tensile fatigue test under stress-controlled conditions using finite element elastic stress analysis. Based on the results, the presence of thermal butt fusion beads was confirmed to reduce the fatigue lifetime in the low-cycle fatigue region while having a negligible effect in the medium- and high-cycle fatigue regions.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.55-61
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• 2016

In this study, to determine whether it is possible to apply Polyethylene (PE) compound pipe, which was developed to solve the problem caused by the corrosion of the fire protection piping currently in usein water based fire extinguishing systems, we performed an actual mockup fire test. Since no test standard was available related to the developed compound pipe, we compared and analyzed domestic and international technical materials and test standards and selected suitable fire test standards to evaluate the performance of the PE compound pipe. we applied two fire test standards to the PE compound pipe, viz. those for CPVC and metallic pipes, and conducted a total of 6 experiments to evaluate its performance. According to the results of the first and second fire tests based on the test standard for the CPVC pipe, neither the fitting nor the piping was damaged or deformed and no leakage was observed in the pressure test, which was performed for 5 minutes. For the fire test based on the metallic pipe test standard, a total of 4 experiments were conducted. The first two experiments were conducted to simulate the wet piping system. In the results of this fire test, neither leakage nor rupture was observed from the PE compound pipe and no damage was caused, such as the secession of the PE material. However, in the next two experiments, which simulated the dry system, the PE compound pipe suffered damage and rupture, including deformation before the fire fighting water was discharged. Therefore, we found that the piping performance of the PE compound pipe did not undergo any deterioration, including fusion, deformation, or damage, in the wet piping system simulated fire test.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2015

In many cases, the field fracture mechanism of the thermoplastic pipe is considered as either brittle or environmental fractures. Thus the estimation of the lifetime by modeling slow crack growth considering such fracture mechanisms is required. In comparison of the some conventional and empirical equations to explain the slow crack growth rate such as the Paris' law, the crack layer theory can be used to simulate the crack and process zone growth behaviors precisely, so the lifetime of thermoplastic pipe can also be accurately estimated. In this study, the modified crack layer theory for the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of high density polyethylene is introduced with detailed algorithm. The oxidation induction time of the HDPE is also considered for the reduction of specific fracture energy during exposed to chemical environments. Furthermore, the parametric study for an important SCC parameter is conducted to understand the slow crack growth behavior of SCC.