The paper describes the development of a system to create high quality, automatic sealing of field joints of polyethylene coated pipelines. The system uses a combination of electrically heated shrink sleeves and a low pressure chamber. The self-heating shrink sleeves include electric wires and heat themselves when connected to electricity. A method was developed to eliminate air trapped between the sleeve and steel pipe by shrinking the sleeves under low pressure. The low pressure condition was automatically and easily attained by using a vacuum chamber. We verified that the system produces high quality sealing of field joints.

Subject
Air pressure, Coated pipes, Steel structures, Steel surfaces, Materials, Adhesives, Wiring, Joints, Stripping, Steel pipes, Corrosion protection, Polyethylene, Voids
Keywords:
shrink sleeve, polyethylene costed pip elines, field joint, auto-sealing, air void
© 1997 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1997
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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