Welding of X80 base material

Harm Meelker
Lincoln Smitweld B.V.

Nordic Welding Conference, Oct. 2012 Welding of X80.NF.12.1

Overview
Introduction Material properties Challenges
Yield overmatching, hydrogen

Welding processes Conclusions

Welding of X80.NF.12.2

Saving of material as function of Yield strength

Welding of X80.NF.12.3

Motivation & drivers for X80

Ensure performance demanded by modern pipeline design is delivered reliably & economically with large scale high strength steel field implementation
Modern pipeline design drives higher performance expectations Reliability means hitting smaller targets Higher strength & performance targets; means fewer options
Welding of X80.NF.12.4

Development history linepipe steels

Welding of X80.NF.12.5

Requirements acc. API 5L code X80

Chemical
%C API 0.24 %Mn 1.40 %P 0.025 %S 0.015 %Ti 0.060 CEV 0.43

Mechanical
Yield (Mpa) 552 - 690 Tensile (Mpa) 621 - 827 Elongation (%) Impact (J) 0 C 41

Welding of X80.NF.12.6

Requirements acc. EN 10208-2 (L550MB) Chemical

% EN C 0.16 Mn 1.80 P .025 S .020 Si .45 Cr .30 Ni .30 Mo .10 Cu .25 V .10 Ti .06 N .012 Al .06 Nb .06

V+Nb+Ti max.0.15 Al min. 0.015 CEV by agreement

Mechanical
Yield (Mpa) 555 Tensile (Mpa) 625 Elongation (%) 18.0 Impact (J) 0 C -

Welding of X80.NF.12.7

Influence of Boron on Yield Strength

Welding of X80.NF.12.8

Max. permitted Ceq. acc. EN 10208-2 and DNV

Welding of X80.NF.12.9

Challenges
Weldability Yield requirements per country
(overmatching)

Impact requirements (overmatching) Hydrogen Preheat NACE? Heat Input (true energy)
Welding of X80.NF.12.10

Welding challenge for High Strength Pipe

X80
Minimum specified pipe Yield 552 MPa acc. API 5L Design requires weld metal even or over match actual pipe properties
Even match pipe in Yield or Tensile Strength Over match 10% pipe

Design demands higher toughness & ductility with strength

Weld capacity to deliver diminishes with strength

Implications
Tighter limits on upper bound pipe properties Balanced considerations for weld properties Limit the welding options consumables & processes
Welding of X80.NF.12.11

Overmatching
Over-matching approach in the weld metal selection is a general practice

Aspects to define:
What is the min. WM YS needed to have an actual overmatching? What is the impact property required to the weld metal (WM)?
Welding of X80.NF.12.12

Overmatching
Actual or theoretical overmatching ?
Codes require a min. YS value for the base material The actual YS of the base material should be very close to the min. or much more than the min. The weld metal YS, depending on the actual base material YS, could satisfy the over or the mis-matching requirement As practical approach is usually required:
min WM YS = min BM YS + 10% = max. BM YS
Welding of X80.NF.12.13

Overmatching
If owner can accept this narrow range of YS (YS min + 10%) the YS WM and the YS BM could be of the same order of magnitude But if we want an actual OM and the owner does not accept YS min+10% we have to consider an higher WM YS min (+15,+20,+30%) The highest YS for X80 acc. API 5L (552 690 MPa) can make it very difficult or almost impossible to meet all the mechanical req.
Welding of X80.NF.12.14

Weld metal Overmatching

Welding consumables are an industrial product, this means an acceptable range for the chemical elements is required The Standards (EN/ISO AWS) require an acceptable range of mechanical properties To compare the Code requirements we can consider the following example based on API 5L min./max. Yield for X80: BM YS 552 BM YS 690
Welding of X80.NF.12.15

552+10%= 607 MPa - min WM 690+10%= 759 MPa - min WM

Overmatching
Chemical composition welded joint
Dilution with base material
Dilution will effect the final weld joint chemistry This results in other mechanical properties than for all weld metal Other aspects are of course the used welding technique
Process Preheating and Interpass temperature Heat Input, bead sequence, etc.

This all influences the final mechanical properties of the welded joint
Welding of X80.NF.12.16

Welding processes
Manual or (semi-) automatic
SMAW (cellulosic or basic) GMAW FCAW (gas shielded or gasless) (SAW) Advanced!
2002 2004 2007

Welding of X80.NF.12.17

Welding Process Parameters

Define Essential Welding Variables:
Process type, Transfer Mode Position and Direction Wire Feed Speed (WFS), Travel Speed (TS) Voltage, Amperage, and Heat Input

Influence on Thermal Cycles

Deposition Volume (WFS/TS) Heat Input (Joules/mm) t8-5

Welding of X80.NF.12.18

Key welding process variables

Combined welding & material variables
Preheat/interpass temperatures (RT-180 C) Consumable composition (Pcm) Pipe composition (Pcm / CEIIW or CEN) (True) Heat Input

True Heat Input adopted by ASME

Welding of X80.NF.12.19

Does pre-heating make sense?

Lowering cooling rate of weld- and base material, softens the metal and gives a micro structures with less hardness A lower cooling rate, allows hydrogen diffusion from the welding joint It reduces shrinkage stresses in weld- and base material (important for high restraint) Depending on type of steel, reducing risk for brittle fracture Preheating may improve mechanical properties
Welding of X80.NF.12.20

Considerations for preheating

Type of steel chemical composition Material thickness Internal stresses (restraint) Ambient temperature during welding Welding process Hydrogen content welding consumable Fabricators practice and experience with cracking phenomena Code or standard requirements
Welding of X80.NF.12.21

Graphical representation of Ceq.

Welding of X80.NF.12.22

Welding fundamentals
Functional understanding of welding process control
New approach transcends power source & wave form design Methodology for using welding process as tool in delivering performance Practical means of achieving the necessary weld process control

Basis for new codes and standards

Welding of X80.NF.12.23

Calculation of average Heat Input

Assumptions with average Heat Input calculation:
Voltage and Amperage are constant Constant DC Process Travel speed is constant Deposition volume is constant (WFS/TS)

V *I * 60 HI = TS

Cooling Rate can be correlated to average Heat Input Accurate calculation for Constant DC processes that produces repeatable results Must be carefully considered with other welding process variables and changing conditions
Welding of X80.NF.12.24

Waveform Controlled Welding Processes

Welding Power Supplies of today:
Output can be simple DC with natural responses Output can be complex for additional and better transfer modes
Waveform Controlled Welding (i.e. Pulse Welding)

(exponential) control

What is Waveform Controlled Welding?

A Waveform is the output response of an arc welding machine to the actions of the electric arc itself Every arc welding machine has a waveform characteristic
In traditional machines, the waveform characteristic is based on the design of the transformer and choke More complex machines combine hardware design with electronics to give optimized control of the waveform
Welding of X80.NF.12.25

Waveform Controlled Welding Processes

Assumptions with average Heat Input calculation:
Voltage and Amperage are constant Constant DC Process Travel speed is constant Deposition Volume is constant (WFS/TS) Waveform controlled welding waveforms are not constant. Therefor, ave. Heat Input calculation is not accurate
Welding of X80.NF.12.26

Comparisons of calculation methods

True Heat Input
DC #1 #2

V DC Avg True 22.17 19.18 28.43

A 371.5 113.8 119.1

Power (kW) TS (ipm) 10.56 10.56 2.52 3.02 2.28 2.67 22 10 10

HI (kJ/in) 28.8 28.8 15.1 18.8 13.7 16.0

Error none -16.6% -14.6%

Pulse Avg #1 True Pulse Avg #2 True

Welding of X80.NF.12.27

Summary True Energy

THERMAL HISTORY Controlled by Welding Processes & Practices MATERIAL PROPERTIES Controlled by Chemistry & Microstructure

Traditional approach
Limit variation of individual variables Heat input using average or rms
Adequate for soundness Poor estimate of energy & thermal cycle TODAY

Traditional approach
Pipe based on performance standards beyond minimum specification Weld consumables
conformance with set PQR

New approach
True Energy based on measurement at 10kHz

New approach
Characterize materials during development / qualification Balance tradeoffs between material and process selection

As a result of this ASME code changed the requirements for Heat Input calculation in section IX QW-409.1(c)(1) in energy in Joules per weld bead length Welding of X80.NF.12.28

Consumables for X80 pipe

For root welding:
SMAW: E8010-P1, E9018-G H4 till E12018-G H4 GMAW: ER80S-G till ER120S-G

For fill and cap layers:

SMAW: E8010-P1, E9018-G H4 till E12018-G H4 GMAW: ER80S-G till ER120S-G FCAW-G: E91T1-GM H4 till E111T1-GM H4
Welding of X80.NF.12.29

Summary
X80 Line pipe is good weldable, however, be aware of special requirements and take care of all thermal influences Today codes are and will be updated

Welding of X80.NF.12.30

Questions, Comments, Discussion

Welding of X80.NF.12.31