AWS G1.10M: 2016

An American National Standard

Guide for the Evaluation of Thermoplastic Welds

AWS G1.10M: 2016

An American National Standard

Approved by American National Standards Institute

April 21, 2016

Guide for the Evaluation of Thermoplastic Welds

2nd Edition

Supersedes AWS G1.10M:2016

Prepared by the American Welding Society (AWS) G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites

Under the Direction of the AWS Technical Activities Committee

Approved by AWS Board of Directors

Abstract

This standard lists and describes flaws and defects in hot gas, hot gas extrusion, heated tool butt fusion, socket fusion, electrofusion, and flow fusion welded joints in thermoplastics. Its intent is to make possible a generally valid evaluation giving consideration to graded quality requirements. This standard encompasses the classification, requirements, testing, evaluation, and acceptance of the welds. Details in recording engineering data are described. Tables illustrating cracks, voids, solid inclusions, lack of fusion, flaws and defects of shape, and other flaws and defects in thermoplastic welds are included. Flaw and defect features with descriptions and illustrations are compiled into tables to aid in the evaluation of welds.

ISBN: 978-0-87171-884-6

©2016 by American Welding Society

All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

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Statement on the Use of American Welding Society Standards

All standards (codes, specifications, recommended practices, methods, classifications, and guides) of the American Welding Society (AWS) are voluntary consensus standards that have been developed in accordance with the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). When AWS American National Standards are either incorporated in, or made part of, documents that are included in federal or state laws and regulations, or the regulations of other governmental bodies, their provisions carry the full legal authority of the statute. In such cases, any changes in those AWS standards must be approved by the governmental body having statutory jurisdiction before they can become a part of those laws and regulations. In all cases, these standards carry the full legal authority of the contract or other document that invokes the AWS standards. Where this contractual relationship exists, changes in or deviations from requirements of an AWS standard must be by agreement between the contracting parties.

AWS American National Standards are developed through a consensus standards development process that brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve consensus. While AWS administers the process and establishes rules to promote fairness in the development of consensus, it does not independently test, evaluate, or verify the accuracy of any information or the soundness of any judgments contained in its standards.

AWS disclaims liability for any injury to persons or to property, or other damages of any nature whatsoever, whether special, indirect, consequential, or compensatory, directly or indirectly resulting from the publication, use of, or reliance on this standard. AWS also makes no guarantee or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

In issuing and making this standard available, AWS is neither undertaking to render professional or other services for or on behalf of any person or entity, nor is AWS undertaking to perform any duty owed by any person or entity to someone else. Anyone using these documents should rely on his or her own independent judgment or, as appropriate, seek the advice of a competent professional in determining the exercise of reasonable care in any given circumstances. It is assumed that the use of this standard and its provisions is entrusted to appropriately qualified and competent personnel.

This standard may be superseded by new editions. This standard may also be corrected through publication of amendments or errata, or supplemented by publication of addenda. Information on the latest editions of AWS standards including amendments, errata, and addenda is posted on the AWS web page (www.aws.org). Users should ensure that they have the latest edition, amendments, errata, and addenda.

Publication of this standard does not authorize infringement of any patent or trade name. Users of this standard accept any and all liabilities for infringement of any patent or trade name items. AWS disclaims liability for the infringement of any patent or product trade name resulting from the use of this standard.

AWS does not monitor, police, or enforce compliance with this standard, nor does it have the power to do so. Official interpretations of any of the technical requirements of this standard may only be obtained by sending a request, in writing, to the appropriate technical committee. Such requests should be addressed to the American Welding Society, Attention: Managing Director, Technical Services Division, 8669 NW 36 St, # 130, Miami, FL 33166 (see Annex M). With regard to technical inquiries made concerning AWS standards, oral opinions on AWS standards may be rendered. These opinions are offered solely as a convenience to users of this standard, and they do not constitute professional advice. Such opinions represent only the personal opinions of the particular individuals giving them. These individuals do not speak on behalf of AWS, nor do these oral opinions constitute official or unofficial opinions or interpretations of AWS. In addition, oral opinions are informal and should not be used as a substitute for an official interpretation.

This standard is subject to revision at any time by the AWS G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites. It must be reviewed every five years, and if not revised, it must be either reaffirmed or withdrawn. Comments (recommendations, additions, or deletions) and any pertinent data that may be of use in improving this standard are required and should be addressed to AWS Headquarters. Such comments will receive careful consideration by the AWS G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites and the author of the comments will be informed of the Committee’s response to the comments. Guests are invited to attend all meetings of the AWS G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites to express their comments verbally. Procedures for appeal of an adverse decision concerning all such comments are provided in the Rules of Operation of the Technical Activities Committee. A copy of these Rules can be obtained from the American Welding Society, 8669 NW 36 St, # 130, Miami, FL 33166.

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Personnel

G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites

L. T. Hutton, Chair ARKEMA Incorporated

1. Ziegler, 1st Vice Chair Wegener Welding LLC

   1. P. Hedrick, Secretary American Welding Society

      J. L. Frantz Branson Ultrasonics Corp.

      1. E. Gourley Sonics & Materials, Inc.

         1. Hopkins Plastek Werks

            W. E. Kenney Consultant

            W. McMaster BASF Corp.

         2. L. Mikeworth H. Mikeworth and Associates

            
            

            Advisors to the AWS G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites

            1. Benatar The Ohio State University

D. Grewell Iowa State Univeristy

F. He Eastman Kodak Company

V. A. Kagen SI-Smart Interface, LLC

H. Moore Eastman Kodak Company

T. O’Toole Dukane Corp.

J. Park Visteon Corp.

1. L. Pochardt 3M Company

   1. Savitski Baxter Healthcare

2. S. Stumpek Consultant

C. Y. Wu Varroc Lighting Systems

AWS G1A Subcommittee on Hot Gas Welding and Extrusion Welding

J. Leary, Chair Widos LLC

1. Basile, Vice Chair AB Plastics

2. P. Hedrick, Secretary American Welding Society

K. Argasinski Solvay Specialty Polymers

S. M Gardiner IPS Corporation

C. Goad Goad Company

G. Hopkins Plastek Werks

1. T. Hutton ARKEMA Incorporated

   1. Johnston McElroy Manufacturing Incorporated

      A. Rickert Quadrant

      G. Sample Georg Fischer

   2. C. Thomas Quadrant EPP

2. J. Troughton TWI

D. Ziegler Wegener Welding LLC

P. Zitkus Wegener Welding LLC

Advisors to the AWS G1A Subcommittee on Hot Gas Welding and Extrusion Welding

S. Chandler Engiplast Incoporated

J. J. Fluckiger Idaho National Laboratory

J. Hessel Hessel Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

P. F. Martin United Association

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Foreword

This foreword is not part of this standard but is included for informational purposes only.

The purpose of plastics welding inspection is to determine if a plastics weldment meets the acceptance criteria of a specific code, other standard, or other document. The plastics welding inspector must be thoroughly familiar with plastics welding processes, plastics welding procedures, plastics welder qualifications, materials, the limitation of plastics weld testing, be able to read drawings, prepare and keep records, prepare and make reports and make responsible judgments. For plastics welding inspectors to be effective, the activities performed should be consistent with the requirements, and technical and ethical principles.

The AWS G1 Committee on Joining Plastics and Composites was formed in 1989 by industry and academic experts interested in providing process information and test standards for rating the weldability of plastic and composite materials. The G1A Subcommittee on Hot Gas Welding and Extrusion Welding was formed in 1993 to create standards for the qualification of hot gas and heated tool plastic welding personnel. DVS 2202-1, Imperfections in thermoplastic welding joints; features, descriptions, evaluation, was used extensively in the creation of this standard.

This is the second edition of this specification. The title of the document was changed and editorial changes were made to the Scope (Clause 1). Weld flaws and defects for socket fusion, electrofusion, and flow fusion are new to this edition.

SUGGESTIONS

Comments and suggestions for the improvement of this standard are welcome. They should be sent to the Secretary, G1 Committee on Joining of Plastics and Composites, American Welding Society, 8669 NW 36 Street #130, Miami, FL 33166.

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Table of Contents

Page No.

Personnel v

Foreword vii

1. Scope, Purpose, and Range of Application 1

2. Referenced Documents 2

3. Definitions 2

4. Evaluation Groups 3

5. Requirements for Welded Joints 4

6. Details in Engineering Data 4

7. Testing and Evaluation 5

8. Acceptance 5

Annex A (Normative)—Cracks 7

Annex B (Normative)—Voids 9

Annex C (Normative)—Solid Inclusions 11

Annex D (Normative)—Lack of Fusion 13

Annex E (Normative)—Flaws of Shape 15

Annex F (Normative)—Other Flaws 17

Annex G (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Hot Gas Fan and Speed Welds 19

Annex H (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Hot Gas Extrusion Welds 27

Annex I (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Heated Tool Butt Fusion Welds 33

Annex J (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Heated Tool Socket Welds 37

Annex K (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Electrofusion Welds 41

Annex L (Normative)—Acceptance Criteria for Evaluation Groups for Flow Fusion Welds 47

Annex M (Informative)—Requesting an Official Interpretation on an AWS Standard 49

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Guide for the Evaluation of Thermoplastic Welds

1. Scope, Purpose, and Range of Application

   1. These guidelines list and describe defects and flaws in welded joints in thermoplastic materials. The objective is to make possible a generally valid evaluation giving consideration to graded quality requirements. This guide is meant to aid those responsible for the evaluation of thermoplastic welds. The final determination of what is an acceptable weld should be the responsibility of the engineer, owner or user.

   2. By classification into one of the evaluation groups in 4.1, specific flaws may be excluded or kept within limits when welded joints are produced.

   3. The application of these guidelines and the measures through which they can be met should be included in contractual specification or form part of the generally recognized specifications.

   4. Welding Processes. Defects and flaws produced by the following welding processes are addressed. This guide applies to the following processes:

      
      

      Hot Gas Welding	Abbreviation (HGW)	Annex
      Fan Welding	(HF)	G
      Speed Welding	(HS)	G
      Extrusion Welding	(EX)	H
      Heated Tool Butt Fusion Welding	(HT)	I
      Socket Fusion Welding	(SFW)	J
      Electrofusion Welding	(EFW)	K
      Flow Fusion Welding	(FFW)	L

   5. Materials. These guidelines apply to welded joints on components and systems made from the engineering thermoplastics listed below:

Table 1.1 Base Materials

Abbreviation Name

PVC Polyvinyl Chloride

CPVC Chlorinated Polyvinylchloride

PP Polypropylene

PE Polyethylene

PVDF Polyvinylidene Fluoride

ECTFE Ethylene Chlorotrifluoroethylene

ETFE Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene

FEP Perfluoro (ethylene propylene)

PFA Perfluoroalkoxy

ABS Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene