ABSTRACT
The proper melting layer thickness ensures adequate material mixing, interface pressure, defect prevention, and strong mechanical properties. The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical mathematical model for predicting melting layer thickness at different heat soaking times using the Neumann moving boundary conditions. To verify the reliability of the analytical results, a 2D numerical model in width was also built in ANSYS Fluent 2020R1. It’s found that the developed analytical mathematical model provides a reliable approach for predicting the melting layer thickness in HDPE pipes during the thermal butt-fusion welding. The basic alignment of the predictions with those obtained from the numerical model, with an error within 18%, validating its effectiveness.
