KRUPP UHDE STANDARD March 2002

Erection
WELDING AND LAMINATION UN
OF PLASTIC PIPELINES 9253-07
Part 1
Montage; Schweißen und Laminieren von Kunststoff-Rohrleitungen Supersedes 81-04

Contents
Page
1 Scope .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Technical documents .......................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Personnel ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
3.1 Qualification ........................................................................................................................................................... 1
3.2 Identification symbols............................................................................................................................................. 2
3.3 Supervision ............................................................................................................................................................ 2
4 Work restrictions ................................................................................................................................................. 2
5 Welding................................................................................................................................................................. 2
5.1 Welding procedure................................................................................................................................................. 2
5.2 Weld preparation.................................................................................................................................................... 2
5.3 Heated tool butt welding ........................................................................................................................................ 2
5.4 Hot-gas welding ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
5.5 Quality of the welds................................................................................................................................................ 4
5.6 Examination of welds ............................................................................................................................................. 4
5.6.1 Visual examination................................................................................................................................................. 4
5.6.2 Non-destructive testing .......................................................................................................................................... 4
5.6.3 Destructive testing ................................................................................................................................................. 4
5.6.4 Other tests ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
5.6.5 Increasing the scope of tests ................................................................................................................................. 5
6 Lamination............................................................................................................................................................ 5
6.1 Preparation ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
6.2 Laminated joints..................................................................................................................................................... 6
6.3 Welded / laminated joints....................................................................................................................................... 7
6.4 Quality of joints ...................................................................................................................................................... 8
Reference standards ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

1 Scope
This Standard applies to the joining of piping components of plastics by welding and lamination. It contains general
requirements which will be extended by specific instructions, if necessary. The instructions of the pipe manu-
facturers shall take precedence.

Deviations from this Standard shall be agreed between the Orderer and the Contractor in writing.

2 Technical documents
The applicable standards, the essential welding data as well as the detailed instructions for lamination are
compiled in a job related specification.

For the application and treatment of the welding and lamination materials, the pipe manufacturer’s instructions
shall be observed.

3 Personnel
3.1 Qualification
The Contractor may only entrust personnel who is familiar with the processing of plastics and who has passed
a training for plastics processing.

Prior to the assignment of the personnel a qualification test shall be performed in accordance with the speci-
fied standard. Test specimens shall be subjected to a destructive examination. For that purpose, simplified
tensile and bending tests shall be performed. The evaluation of the specimens shall be recorded in writing.
The personnel shall not be entrusted with any work until the test specimen has been fully evaluated and ap-
proved. Should the test fail, one re-test after adequate training may be performed.
Continued on pages 2 to 8
Date Prepared Date Checked Date Approved

04.03.2002 Kuhnke 04.03.2002 Rapior 06.03.2002 Krämer

© 2002 Krupp Uhde GmbH Technical discipline: Erection
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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

3.2 Identification symbols

After qualification, welders shall receive an identification card and an identification symbol. Unless otherwise
agreed, the identification symbol shall be used for identifying all welds welded by the particular welder. A color
pen with weather-proof color (e.g. felt pen) shall be used for identification. The paint must not attack the base
material.

How to identify laminates shall be stipulated by the site management.

3.3 Supervision
For quality assurance and quality control, weld preparations and joining will be supervised by the site man-
agement. The site management may permit deviations from this Standard on site.

The Contractor shall be responsible for continuous supervision of his work. For this task a piping specialist
having evidenced experience in processing of plastics shall be assigned by the Contractor.

4 Work restrictions
Work on plastic pipelines shall only be performed under such conditions that the requirements will be met. The
work shall be subjected to closer supervision at low temperatures and under unfavorable weather conditions.

During periods of stormy or rainy weather, or during snowfall, work shall be performed under tents. At tem-
peratures of less than 0°C work shall only be performed under special protective measures. These measures
shall be stipulated together with the pipe manufacturers. Any measure taken shall not restrict the personnel’s
mobility.

5 Welding
5.1 Welding procedure
Regardless of the welding procedure, only the same base materials may be welded together. Heated tool butt
welding or hot-gas welding shall be employed as welding procedures.

Piping components of PVC and PVDF are to be joined by hot-gas welding.

Piping components of PP and PE are to be joined by heated tool butt welding. The required mobile welding
machines must allow welding at any place within the plant. Normally, hot-gas welding is not permitted for
welding of PP and PE. In exceptional cases, employment of this procedure requires permission of the site
management. Hot-gas welded welds require special documentary evidence.

The welding data of both procedures depend on the material and the welding equipment. Because of stress
optimized plastics, the individual welding data can vary considerably.

5.2 Weld preparation

The contact surfaces of the components to be welded shall be machined (e.g. by cutting, planing, scraping,
milling). The staggering of the components must not exceed 10% of the wall thickness.

For heated tool butt welding, the contact surfaces shall be planed to parallel faces. For hot-gas welding, the
weld bevel angle shall be 30°.

Machining and cleaning of the contact surfaces shall be performed immediately before welding. Impurities
shall be removed mechanically (e.g. by means of spoke shavers, scrapers, abrasive paper).

5.3 Heated tool butt welding

Heated tool butt welding equipment, wedge-shaped or adapted to the shape of the weld shall be used for
welding. The device must guarantee that the components to be welded will be joined parallel-sided under
specified welding pressure. The set temperature shall remain constant. Before a weld is welded, the tem-
perature shall be checked (e.g. with an electronic temperature indicator). Deviations in the local temperature
distribution shall not exceed 10°C. Particular attention shall be paid to this requirement when welding in the
open air.

A welding data recorder shall be used to maintain the specified welding data, such as welding speed, welding
time and contact pressure.
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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

The piping components to be welded shall be heated up to the welding temperature with the aid of heated tool
by contact and slight pressure (contact pressure). During the heating period, the contact pressure shall be
reduced in order to prevent too much plasticized material from being squeezed out. When the welding tem-
perature is reached, the heating elements shall be removed and the components shall be welded by pressing
together.

If no other values are specified in the welding data sheets, the welding pressure shall be increased to the
figures given in table 1. The welding pressure shall be such as to fully displace the overheated or oxidized
material out of the welding zone. The welding pressure shall be maintained during the cooling down period.
Cooling down shall happen slowly.

Table 1. Standard values for heated tool butt welding

Temperature of the 2)
1) Heating period Contact pressure Welding pressure
Base material heated tool
2 2
°C s N/mm N/mm
PE-HD 200 30 to 60 0.15
0.050
PE-LLD 180 20 to 60 0.10
PP 210 30 to 120 0.15
0.075
PVC-HI 225 20 to 60 0.20
1) depending on the wall thickness
2) at the beginning of the heating period

The welding surfaces of the heated tool shall be cleaned after every welding operation. Acetone may be used
as cleaning agent.

The welds of pipelines without glass fiber reinforcement shall generally not be dressed. Welds which are to be
reinforced by a glass fiber laminate shall be ground smooth. In this case care shall be taken to avoid notches
in the weld and the base material as well as reduction of the wall thickness.

5.4 Hot-gas welding

Electrically-heated or gas-heated welding equipment shall be used for welding. The pressurized welding gas
(approx. 0.5 bar) shall be free from oil and water. The welding gas temperature shall be measured by means
of a thermocouple to be inserted about 5 mm into the nozzle of the welding equipment.

Table 2. Standard values for hot-gas welding

Min. temperature of the
Welding gas temperature
Base material base material
°C °C
PVC-U Polyvinyl, rigid
160 300 to 350
PVC-HI Polyvinyl, impact resistant
PVC-C Polyvinyl, chlorinated 200 350 to 380
PP Polypropylene 175 240 to 280
PE-HD Polyethylene, high density 150 220 to 260
PE-LD Polyethylene, low density 120 190 to 240
PVDF Polyvinylidenfluoride 250 350 to 360

The temperature of the welding gas shall be adapted to the welding speed and the material to be welded. For
hot-gas welding welding rods of 3 to 5 mm in diameter or sectional rods with a shape adapted to the weld
shall be used. The material of the welding rods shall be of the same quality as the base material. The welding
pressure depends on the diameter of the welding rod.

Table 3. Standard welding pressure for PVC-U

Diameter of welding rod Welding pressure
mm N
2 5 to 8
3 8 to 15
4 15 to 20
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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

Neither the base material nor the filler material shall be allowed to be in the field of full plastic flow by over-
heating because then the welding pressure will be reduced to zero and no welding will take place. The correct
plasticity of the filler material can be recognized by the fact that the welding rod springs back when re-applied
and produces a bright "bow wave" which shall be bubble-free.

When multi-run welding is applied, care shall be taken to avoid a notch effect between the welding runs /
passes. Before applying a new pass, welding bulges and oxidized material shall be removed with a scraper.
Rolling or stretching the filler material must be avoided as this causes additional strain. When using soft filler
material (welding cord), back-up rollers shall be used.

The welds of pipelines without glass fiber reinforcement shall generally not be dressed. Welds which are to be
reinforced with a glass fiber laminate shall be ground smooth. In this case care shall be taken to avoid notches
in the weld and the base material as well as reduction of the wall thickness.

5.5 Quality of the welds

If no standards are specified for the assessment of the quality, the following minimum requirements must be
observed:
• the weld or the bulge shall be smooth,
• the weld must not be foamy (because of overheating),
• in the case of heated tool butt welding, both bulges shall be of the same size,
• the welding bulge should be round on both sides.

If welds become black-tinted when being hot-gas welded, this indicates an overheated and brittle material.

A poor bond or an excessive rough weld surface is indicative of insufficient heat input or inadequate cleaning
before welding.

5.6 Examination of welds

5.6.1 Visual examination
The exterior of all welds and if possible, the interior of welds shall be subjected to a visual examination before
any other test. Visual examinations shall be performed during weld preparation and welding.

The welds shall be evaluated in accordance with the specified quality requirements as stipulated in section 5.5.

5.6.2 Non-destructive testing

Welds which shall receive a glass fiber laminate, shall be tested for leaks prior to lamination. In case of wall
thicknesses of ≥ 2 mm leakage testing is normally performed with high voltage testing devices (Holiday de-
tector). The testing voltage shall be adapted to the wall thickness to be tested. 5 kV/mm wall thickness may be
applied as standard value.

Welds which cannot be tested with a Holiday detector shall be leakage tested prior to lamination according to
UN 9253-21 Part 1 „Pressure and leakage testing of piping“. The test pressure should be 0.1 bar. The welds
shall be wetted with soapy water.

5.6.3 Destructive testing

At the beginning of and during welding, some welds of the individual welders shall be subjected to a destruc-
tive test. The scope of testing shall be determined by the site management.

The welding efficiency factor of a weld is defined as the quotient of the tensile strengths of the weld and of the
base material. The factor shall be determined by a short-time tensile test. For the tensile test, at least 5
welded and 5 non-welded (reference) specimens are to be fabricated according to figure 1 and table 4 and
tested with a tensile testing machine. The specified feed rate shall be maintained.

Type 1 Type 2

Figure 1. Short-time tensile test specimens

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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

The welding efficiency factor determined by the short-time tensile test shall be in line with the values in table 5.

With the approval of the site management only, a simplified tensile test may be performed in the workshop
using a vice with an additional attachment. The course of the fracture of the specimen shows whether favor-
able welding conditions (temperature, speed, pressure) were chosen. During this test, the specimen should
become constricted and strain outside the seam without pulling apart at the seam. Such tensile tests do not
give any indication of the welding efficiency factor of a weld. They shall only be used for checking the welding
data.

Table 4. Test specimen dimensions

Thickness Type 1 Type 2
Feed rate
mm mm mm
mm/min
H a b c a b c d
≤ 10 15 ≥ 170 15 ≥ 170 20
120 115
> 10 to 20 30 ≥ 300 20 ≥ 300 40 10
> 20 1.5 × h 200 ≥ 400 1.5 × h 200 ≥ 400 80

Table 5. Welding efficiency factors

Welding efficiency factors

Welding procedure
PE-HD PP PVC-C PVC-HI PVC-U PVDF
Butt welding 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9
Hot-gas welding 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

Bending tests are to be performed according to the specified Standards. With the approval of the site manage-
ment simplified bending tests may be performed. For the purpose of a simplified bending test, 5 specimens of 20 to
30 mm in width of the weld to be tested shall be prepared. The free ends of the specimens shall be bent over a
6 mm thick plank until they rest on the plank. This test gives an indication of the fusion strength achieved, the pres-
ence of notches and the ductility of the weld. Notches caused by welding which are near the surface become
visible when the seam cracks.

5.6.4 Other tests

Further tests may be performed depending on the requirements of the pipe manufacturer. The Contractor will
be informed about type and scope of these tests in due time.

5.6.5 Increasing the scope of tests

In the event of obvious defects, the weld concerned shall not be repaired before the matter has been dis-
cussed with the site management. If the repaired weld is also defective, another specified number of welds
made by the same welder shall be examined.

Depending on the defects found and on the process media concerned, the site management may give in-
structions to increase the scope of examination up to 100 %.

The costs arising from the increase of the examination scope due to defective welds and the re-testing of re-
paired welds shall be borne by the Contractor.

6 Lamination
Only manual lamination shall be performed for piping joints on site.

6.1 Preparation
Preference shall be given to diamond or hard metal tools for machining glass-fiber reinforced plastics (FRP).
Conventional tools as used for machining of steel are also suitable.

During grinding and sawing of FRP, suitable dust exhaust devices shall be used. The personnel being busy
with the work shall wear dust masks and adequate protective clothing.

Because of the solvents in the resin, the place of work must be well ventilated when producing laminates. In
the event of inclement weather conditions (e.g. low temperature, rain), special precautions shall be taken (e.g.
protective tents, heater fans).

Suitable protective clothing (gloves, goggles) shall be worn when working with hardeners, accelerators, and
resins. Organic peroxides (hardeners, catalysts, accelerators) must not be mixed together as there is a risk of
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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

an uncontrolled reaction. Each component may only be mixed individually with the resin or the resin putty.
Because the individual components are easily inflammable, smoking and open fires (welding and flame cut-
ting) are strictly forbidden within an radius of at least 15 m while the resin is being mixed and processed.

Resins and additives shall be stored in a cool (about 15 to 20°C) but frost-free place. Resins must be pro-
tected from direct solar radiation to ensure a maximum shelf life. Accelerators and catalysts shall be stored
separately from each other, preferably in different rooms (danger of explosion!). Fiber-glass mats shall be
stored in a dry place. Moist mats must not be used, not even after drying.

Resins, hardeners and accelerators have only a limited storage life. Data about the storage life is found in the
processing instructions of the manufacturers. Especially the date on which the storage life is based on shall be
observed.

Tools should be cleaned immediately after use. Methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone or acetone are suit-
able as cleaning agents for the tools.

6.2 Laminated joints

The area of the laminate must be dry, and free of dust and grease. Foreign matter and greasy residues can be
removed with the aid of solvents, such as methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone or acetone.

The pipes or fittings shall be cut such that the gap between the items to be joined is as small as possible. The
pipe / fitting ends covered by the laminate shall be roughened with abrasive paper to obtain optimum adhesion
between the base material and the laminate. The cutting edges shall be sealed with resin. The gap between
the items shall be filled with a resin putty. The resin putty shall be ground smooth after drying and likewise
sealed. The materials used must be compatible with the protective (inside) coating of the components with
regard to their temperature and chemical resistance.

to be roughened by grinding

B
8 to 10°
s

Resin putty filling

DN

Figure 2. Laminated joint

The resin shall be prepared immediately before application. The pot life of the resin should be approx. 1 hour.
As the pot life depends extremely on the outside temperature, the optimum proportions of the components
shall be determined by tests in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions before application.

For the laminate build-up, glass mats, fabrics and non-woven felts in the form of strips should be used. The
strips shall be applied overlapped and free of air bubbles. If fiber-glass materials are delivered as mats, the
Contractor has to cut to size the strips out of them. The glass content in the laminate shall be in the range of
30 to 40% by weight.

Build-up, minimum thickness and width of the laminate depend on the nominal size and nominal pressure of
the pipes. In the absence of data, the values of table 6 shall be observed.
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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

Table 6. Standard values for the laminate build-up (PN 10)

Wall Nos. of layers
Nominal Min. width of laminate
thickness Sequence of layers
diameter Mats Fabrics Felts mm
mm
DN s M G V B
25
32 to 40
50
4.8 4 4 × M, V
65
80 110
100
6.4 5 3 × M, G, M, M, V
125 1
150 125
1
200 7.9 165
6 4 × M, G, M, M, V
250 9.5 205
300 11.1 7 4 × M, G, M, G, 2 × M, V 250
350 12.7 9 2 6 × M, G, M, G, 2 × M, V 290
400 14.3 10 7 × M, G, M, G, 2 × M, V 330
500 17.5 13 9 × M, G, M, G, 3 × M, V 410
M = glass fiber mat (200 – 400 g/m2)
G = glass fabric (600 – 1100 g/m2)
V = non woven felt (ca. 30 g/m2)

As far as possible, pipes of ≥ DN 600 and fittings of ≥ DN 300 shall also be laminated from the inside. The
inside surfaces to be laminated shall be roughened with abrasive paper prior to lamination. The inside lami-
nate shall consist of at least one glass mat and one layer of non-woven felts made of glass fibers. The last
layer of an inside laminate shall consist of a layer of non-woven felts made of glass fibers with a layer of pure
resin (corrosion barrier) of approx. 0.2 mm thickness.

The last layer of an outside laminate shall always consist of a layer of non-woven felts made of glass fibers
with a layer of weatherproof and heat resistant resin of approx. 0.2 mm thickness.

When preparing laminates, particular care shall be taken to ensure adequate venting and curing. The laminate
must not be cured too quickly.

If necessary, the curing time may be shortened by heating up the laminated collar (e.g. with heating lamps,
hot air fans). The joint is regarded as cured when a "solid" noise is obtained when rapping. The curing time is
prolonged considerably at outside temperatures below 20°C. This can be remedied by adding more hardener
to the resin and preheating of the base material and the resin up to max. 40°C. The manufacturer's instruc-
tions shall be observed.

The pipelines must remain in a fixed position until the laminate has hardened completely. Resealing of the
outside surface of the laminate is absolutely necessary.

6.3 Welded / laminated joints

The lining ends to be welded must be free of resin, glass fibers and foreign matter over a length of 15 to
20 mm. The lining shall be joined by butt welding using heating elements according to section 5.3 or by hot-
gas welding with filler rod according to section 5.4, depending on the base material. Dressing of the welding
seams is only required on the exterior surface.

Hot-gas welded Butt welded

Figure 3. Welded / laminated joint

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UN 9253-07 Part 1 : 2002-03

The lining welds shall be tested for leaks before lamination. The test shall be performed according to section 5.6.2.

The laminate shall be fabricated according to section 6.2

6.4 Quality of joints

The welding seams shall be checked as specified in section 5.5. For assessing the quality of the laminates,
the following minimum requirements must be met:
• the outer surface must be provided with a complete layer of resin,
• the laminate must be free of cracks and nearly free of air bubbles,
• the laminate build-up shall be uniform over the entire width and circumference,
• saturation and moistening defects (structure of glass-fiber appears white) and concentrations of resin are
not permissible,
• surface cracks or delamination caused by knocks or impact are not permissible,
• when fully cured, the laminate must make a "solid" sound on being rapped.

Reference standards
Krupp Uhde standards:
UN 9253-21 Part 1 : 2002-04 Erection; Pressure and leakage testing of piping