During the fusion process, the most significant amount of time for each fusion joint is allocated to cooling procedures. Cooling the joint under pressure, after all, is critical to the integrity of the joint. ASTM F2620, the most-used fusion standard in North America, dictates a minimum cooling time of 11 minutes per inch of wall thickness.

But what if those cooling times could be reduced, increasing fusion productivity without compromising the integrity of the joint itself?

This question was answered almost a decade ago, in a partnership with the University of Tulsa to re-examine and test the standards for calculating cooling times. Tests focused on fusion of pipe from 6 to 24-inch outer diameter (OD), with dimensional ratios (DR) ranging from 7 to 32.5. An algorithm was developed that reliably predicts the optimal amount of time required to cool the core of HDPE pipe before moving on to the next fusion. This procedure is ASTM F2620 compliant.