A novel computational supplement to an IR-thermography based non-destructive test of electrofusion polyethylene joints

摘要： Electrofusion Polyethylene (PE) joints are important elements of the gas distribution networks. Unfortunately they are prone to leakage if not tested thoroughly. Our team has recently proposed a novel noncontact and IR thermal non-destructive test for these PE joints. That is, to induce a controlled heat pulse within the joint via its internal wire, and compare its thermal response with other experimental reference cases. Two gaps exist in this method due to the lack of access to a mathematical model. Firstly the pulsing duration at different initial temperatures are only determined by trial and errors. Secondly, preparing experimental reference thermal images at different joint conditions is considerably costly. Therefore, here we rigorously simulate this pulsing process to tackle both abovementioned shortcomings. We experimentally validate our simulation and report the appropriate pulsing durations between 300 K and 320 K initial temperatures. Moreover, we successfully screen a contaminated joint nondestructively.