Engineering Procedure

SAEP-394 11 March 2019

Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services
Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee

Contents
1 Scope ................................................................ 2
2 Conflicts and Deviations ................................... 2
3 Applicable Documents ...................................... 2
4 Modifications of ISO 21307 “Plastics Pipes
and Fittings - Butt Fusion Jointing Procedures
for Polyethylene (PE) Piping Systems” ............. 3
5 Qualifications of Operators................................ 7
Revision Summary................................................... 8
Appendix A - Form 1 – Butt Heat Fusion
Joint Record ....................................... 9

Previous Issue: 8 November 2018 Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021

Revised paragraphs are indicated in the right margin Page 1 of 9
Contact: Asiri, Abdulaziz Yahya (asiray0a) on phone +966-13-8809549

©Saudi Aramco 2019. All rights reserved.

Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

1 Scope

This Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure describes butt fusion welding method for High
Density Polyethylene (HDPE) piping systems, to be used for gaseous fuels and all water
services including transportation of potable water and firewater systems. This procedure
establishes the minimum requirements during installation and quality assessment for
reliable and safe operation. This procedure is an addendum to all parts of ISO 21307:2017
which covers butt fusion jointing procedures for polyethylene piping systems.

2 Conflicts and Deviations

2.1 Any conflicts between this document and other applicable Mandatory Saudi
Aramco Engineering Requirements (MSAERs) shall be addressed to the
EK&RD Coordinator.

2.2 Any deviation from the requirements herein shall follow internal company
procedure SAEP-302.

3 Applicable Documents

The selection of material and equipment, and the design, construction, maintenance, and
repair of equipment and facilities covered by this specification shall comply with the
latest edition of the references listed below, unless otherwise noted.

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures

SAEP-302 Waiver of a Mandatory Saudi Aramco Engineering
Requirement
SAEP-407 Qualification of Non-metallic Pipe Installers,
Supervisors, and Inspectors

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard

SAES-A-004 General Requirements for Pressure Testing

Saudi Aramco Non-material Requirements Form

NMR-7930 Non-material Requirements

Saudi Aramco Materials System Specification

01-SAMSS-051 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipe and Fittings

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

American Society for Testing and Materials

ASTM F2620 Standard Practice for Heat Fusion Joining of
Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings
ASTM D1599 Standard Test Method for Resistance to Short-time
Hydraulic Pressure of Plastic Pipe, Tubing, and
Fittings

British Standard European Norm

BS EN 12007 Gas Infrastructure. Pipelines for Maximum
Operating Pressure up to and including 16 Bar,
General Functional Requirements
BS EN 13067 Plastics Welding Personnel. Qualification Testing of
Welders Thermoplastics Welded Assemblies

International Organization for Standardization

ISO 4427 Polyethylene Pipes for Water Supply - Specifications
ISO 13953 Polyethylene Pipes and Fittings - Determination of
Tensile Strength of Test Piece from Butt Fused
Joint
ISO 21307 Plastic Pipes and Fittings - Butt Fusion Jointing

4 Modifications of ISO 21307 “Plastics Pipes and Fittings - Butt Fusion

Jointing Procedures for Polyethylene (PE) Piping Systems”

4.1 Summary of Modifications of ISO 21307

Section Title Remarks Page No.

Chapter 1 Scope No change -
Chapter 2 Normative References No change -
Chapter 3 Terms and Definitions No change -
Chapter 4 Butt Fusion Jointing Process No change -
Section 4.1 General Addition 5
Section 4.2 Principle No change -
Cleaning the Pipe or Fitting Ends,
Section 4.3 No change -
Planning Unit and Heater Surfaces

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

Section Title Remarks Page No.

Section 4.4 Clamping the Components Addition 6
Section 4.5 Planning the Pipe or Fitting Ends Addition 6
Section 4.6 Aligning the pipe or fittings Addition 7
Section 4.7 Calculation of the Gauge Pressure No change -
Section 4.8 Determination of the Drag Pressure No change -
Section 4.9 Heating the Pipe or Fitting Ends Addition 7
Section 4.10 Jointing the Pipe or Fitting Ends No change -
Section 4.11 Cooling the Pipe or Fitting Ends No change -
Chapter 5 Butt Fusion Jointing Procedures -
Section 5.1 General No change -
Single Low-pressure Fusion Jointing
Section 5.2 No change -
Procedure
Dual Low-pressure Fusion Jointing
Section 5.3 No change -
Procedure
Single High-pressure Fusion Jointing
Section 5.4 No change -
Procedure
Chapter 6 Quality Control No change -
Section 6.1 General No change -
Section 6.2 Destructive Joint Integrity Testing Addition 7
Section 6.3 Non-destructive Joint Integrity Testing Addition 7
Examples of values of parameters
Annex A for single low-pressure fusion No change -
jointing procedure
Examples of values of parameters
Annex B for dual low-pressure fusion jointing No change -
procedure
Examples of values of parameters
Annex C for single high-pressure fusion No change -
jointing procedure
Bibliography No change -

4.2 Detailed Modifications of ISO 21307

The following paragraph numbers refer to ISO 21307, which is part of this
specification. The text in each paragraph below is an addition, exception,
modification, or deletion to ISO 21307 as noted. Paragraph numbers not
appearing in ISO 21307 are new paragraphs to be inserted in numerical order.

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

4.1 [Addition] General

When joining coiled pipe, it will be necessary to allow pipe to equalize to

the temperature of its surroundings. Allow pulled-in pipes to relax for
several hours to recover from tensile stresses.

Pipe length allowance shall be made to consider for the trimming and
melting sequences and ensure correct lengths after welding.

The provision of a suitable shelter is required to protect the pipe and fusion
heater plate from environmental conditions including sand, dust, wind, and
high humidity which might affect the quality of the weld.

The heating tool shall be shielded in an insulated container to prevent

excessive heat loss.

Welding operator shall use all the necessary Personal Safety Equipment
including a hard, protective boots, gloves to protect hands from heater burns
and sharp blades and protective eye glasses.

For every joint, the welding information and parameters shall be logged by
any data recording method. An example form is provided in Appendix A.

4.4 [Addition] Clamping the Components

The pipe markings shall be aligned and placed at the top. Pipes jointed with
the markings at the top help identification when the pipes are in a trench.

4.5 [Addition] Planning the Pipe or Fitting Ends

Remove excessive necking down at pipe ends or toe-in that could result in
weld mis-alignment.

4.6 [Addition] Aligning the Pipes or Fittings

Once the pipe ends have been faced and aligned, bring the pipes together to
prevent dust and other contamination to deposit onto the fusion surfaces.
Maintain the pipe ends together until the heater is ready to perform the butt
fusion process.

The maximum permitted outside diameter mis-alignment gap is 10% of the

pipe wall thickness.

The maximum gap between the planed pipe ends under alignment pressure is
given in Table 1.

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

Table 1 – Maximum Gap Width between the Planed Pipe Ends

Pipe Outside Diameter d mm Gap Width mm
≥355 0.5
400 - 630 1.0
630 – 800 1.3
800 – 1,000 1.5
>1,000 2.0

4.9 [Addition] Heating the Pipe or Fitting Ends

The temperature at the surface of the heating plate shall be continuously

monitored using a pyrometer, infrared thermometer, or another measuring
device to ensure proper temperature and heat distribution on the heating plate.

6.2 [Addition] Destructive Joint Integrity Testing

After every 100 completed field joints, the following destructive tests shall
be performed at premises of the pipe and/or fittings manufacturer in the
presence of Saudi Aramco project inspector.

6.2.1 Tensile and Bend Back-tests

Sample coupons taken from a field fabricated joint shall be subjected to tensile
tests in accordance with ISO 13953 and bend back test as per ASTM F2620.
The failure shall be ductile rather than brittle and meet a minimum tensile
strength of 20 MPa. At least three coupons shall be used for each test.

6.2.2 Short Term Hydrostatic Pressure Test

One field fabricated joint shall be subjected to short time hydraulic pressure test
per ASTM D1599, Procedure B. The test shall be specifically conducted to
assess the integrity of each joint at a temperature of 23, ±2°C. To determine
that the joint complies with a minimum burst requirement, the minimum
allowable time to failure is 60 seconds; however, the time to failure may be
extended beyond 60 seconds yielding a more conservative result.

6.3 [Addition] Non-destructive Joint Integrity Testing

The following non-destructive inspection tests shall be performed in at least

10% of the field joints in the presence of Saudi Aramco project inspector.

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

6.3.1 Visual Inspection

Visual inspection of the weld shall be in line with BS EN 12007. Table 1

below shows typical defective joints due to poor workmanship.

The size differential between two single beads on pipe to pipe shall not
exceed 10% of the combined bead width and 20% for pipe to fitting and
fitting to fitting.

6.3.2 Bead Examination

The external bead of a randomly selected butt joint (or a number of joints)
shall be removed using appropriate tooling for visual examination and bead
bend back testing as per BS EN 12007.

Table 2 - Showing Some of the Typical Defects due to Poor Workmanship

# Condition of Butt Fusion Joint Cause of Failure
1- Large double bead Excessive heating and/or high jointing pressure
Different bead size around the welded Mis-alignment highly oval pipe and/ or defective
2-
pipes heating tool
3- Small beads size Short heating time and/or low jointing pressure
4- Orange peel bead surface Moisture or hydrocarbon contamination
5- Poorly rolled over bead Low heating and insufficient jointing pressure
6- Square bead Pressure application during heating
7- Flat top bead High jointing pressure and/or excessive heating
Presence of stresses at joint due to low jointing
8- Stress crack growth at the joint pressure or contamination which acts as a
stress concentrate
High joining pressure, insufficient heating and/or
9- V-groove between the beads is too deep
activation of pressure during heating

5 Qualifications of Operators

Installers, installation inspectors and installation supervisors shall meet the requirements
of SAEP-407.

Installers, installation inspectors and installation supervisors shall hold a valid

certificate per BS EN 13067 or equivalent, issued by a reputable certification agent.

Before commencing installation, at least three joints prepared by a certified installer

shall pass the requirements of the short term validation tests per ASTM D1599; Quick-
burst Hydro-testing. Any instantaneous or rapid loss of pressure attributed to the joint
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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

shall constitute failure. Further joints shall be prepared and tested until failure occurs
outside the welded zone or passes the minimum required time.

Saudi Aramco Field Project Inspector shall ensure that all butt fusion welding
candidates provide certifications and identifications document before commencing heat
fusion welding.

Revision Summary
8 October 2013 New Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure that describes the preparation, butt welding and
qualification of HDPE pipes and fittings to insure that the welded joint performs equal to or
greater than pipe.
8 November 2018 Major revision to overlay with ISO 21307.
11 March 2019 Editorial revision to Section 2 “Conflicts and Deviations” to be in line with the Technical
Deviation Approvals of SAEP-302.

Summary of Change (rev. 8 November 2018)

Paragraph Change Type

No. Technical Change
No. (New, Modification,..)
Included the destructive and non-destructive
1 6.2 and 6.3 Modification
testing frequency.
2 Modification Major revision to overlay with ISO 21307.

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Document Responsibility: Non-metallic Standards Committee SAEP-394
Issue Date: 11 March 2019 Field Butt Fusion Welding and Qualification of
Next Planned Update: 8 November 2021 Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings for Water and Gas Services

Appendix A -
Form 1 – Butt Heat Fusion Joint Record

Machine type :
Serial No. :
Time : Date :
Joint number :
Job No. :
Operator name and certification No. :
Pipe or pipe and fitting size and manufacturer´s Name:
PE resin(s) designation:
Joint cycle :
Target Actual
Butt Fusion Welding Parameters Units
Value Value
Bead pressure ( no drag ) Bar
Joint pressure ( no drag ) Bar
Drag Bar
Heater temperature °C
Bead-up pressure Bar
Initial bead size mm
Heat soak time sec.
Heat soak pressure Bar
Dwell time (change-over time) sec.
Fusion pressure Bar

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