IMPACT PERFORMANCE OF PE BUTT FUSION WELDED JOINTS

摘要

Through this work the rapid crack propagation of PE butt-fusion welded joints was evaluated with impact tests performed on sharp notched specimens at varying temperature and test velocity. The effect of test velocity was studied by means of the impact strength at 20℃ and 1, 2 and 3.7 m/s. The effect of test temperature was assessed at 1 m/s where dynamic effects are small and allow the application of Fracture Mechanics techniques. The Impact Toughness, Jc, was determined in a wide range of temperature (-60 to 20℃). Complementary, SEM was carried out on fracture surfaces to elucidate the deformation mechanisms acting. It was found that independent of the testing conditions, they were only slightly inhibited in the welded samples suggesting that fracture propagation was practically not affected by the welding procedure.