3/9/2016

WeldingonHighYieldPipe
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Abstract
Todaytherearenumerouswaystoweldhighyieldpipeinthefield.Itisnecessarytounderstandthesevariousprocessestoinsurethattheprocessselectedwith
meetthequalityandproductivityrequirementsofapipelineproject.Severalprcocessesarediscussed,withemphasisonshieldedmetalarcweldingwith
cellulosicelectrodesandselfshieldedfluxcoredarcwelding.
Introduction
Intodaysworldcrosscountrytransmissionpipelineshavetoaddressmanyissuesincludinghigherservicepressures,sourproducts,newhighstrengthsteels,
moresevereoperatingenvironments,tightergoverningcodes,andahostofenvironmentalconcerns.Theseconditionsmustbebalancedbytheneedsofthe
pipelinecontractortocontrolcostsandcompletetheprojectinatimelymannerwhilestillmeetingmorestringentqualityrequirements.Aknowledgeofwelding
processescanhelpthecontractormeethisneedsanddelivertherequiredquality.Thissameknowledgecanhelpthespecifyingengineerunderstandthatthere
arenumerouswaystomeethisqualityanddesignneedswithoutimposingunnecessarycostsonthecontractor.
Severalprocessesandcombinationsofprocessescurrentlyusedforthefieldweldingofcrosscountrylinepipe.Theseincludeshieldedmetalarcwelding
(SMAW),selfshieldedfluxcoredarcwelding(FCAWS),andgasmetalarcwelding(GMAW).WithGMAWtransfermodemustalsobeconsider,shortarc,
controlledshortarcasinSurfaceTensionTransfer,spray,andglobular.Attentionwillbeplacedonthoseprocesseswhichlendthemselvestohighqualityand
highproductivityfieldweldingwithconservativecapitalinvestment.
ReviewofPipelineSteels
Todayspipesteelsarehigherstrengththanthoseusedpreviouslyandaretodaydesignedwithweldabilityinmind.Themostcommonsteelsusedforoilandgas
crosscountrypipelinesconformtoAPI5LXorsimilarsuchstandards.
Table 1. Summary API 5L Strength Requirements

X42

X46

X52

X56

X60

X65

X70

X80

Tensile(ksi)

60

63

66

71

75

77

82

90120

Yield(ksi)

42

46

52

56

60

65

70

80

Strengthlevelscanbeachievedbyseveralmethodsincludinggrosschemistry,microalloying,andcoldexpansionofthepipewhenproducedatthepipemill.In
higherstrengthgradesthetrendistousecoldexpansionandmicroalloyingsothatcarbonandmanganesecanbekeptatrelativelylowlevels,thusreducing
heataffectedzonehardnessandhelpingreduce,thoughnoteliminateconcernsaboutweldmetalhydrogen.Forexample,itistypicaltoseecarboncontentsof
lessthan0.05%inmodernX70andX80steelswithsomeX80steelshavingPcmvaluesoflessthan0.20.
WeldingProcesses
Obviouslythefirststepintheweldingofpipeistoruntherootpass.Thisisperhapsthemostcriticalpassonapipeweldforseveralreasons.First,thisisthe
mostdifficultpasstomakeonapipeweld,requiringgoodoperatorskillformanuallyappliedprocesses,withgoodprocesscontrolcombinedwithgoodalignment.
Automaticallyappliedprocessesrequireoperatorswithhighdegreesoftechnicalskillcombinedwithgoodalignmentandbackingsystems.Theautomated
processofchoicetodayisgasmetalarcweldingandisgenerallyusedwitheitheraninternalcopperbackupring,or,ifthediameterislargeenough,aninternal
weldingsystem.BothoftheseapproachesaddcomplexitytofieldweldingandimposecertainrestrictionstheuseoftraditionalGMAWtransfermodes.
Withbackupringsthereisthepossibilityofunacceptablecopperpickupintherootpass.Withinternalweldingsystemsthereisaminimumpipediameterbelow
whichthesystemsarenotpractical.Theidealweldingprocesswouldallowweldingofarootbeadwithoutbackupringsandinternalsystemsandwouldhavea
rootbeadwithsoundweldmetalandjustenoughbuilduptoinsureafullthicknessweld.Thisweldwouldalsohavenointernalundercut,nolackoffusion,no
porosity,andgoodmechanicalproperties.
Weldingspeedmustalsobeconsideredwhenlookingattheweldingoftherootpass.Thepaceofpipelayingisdeterminedbyhowquicklytherootpasscanbe
done.Whilesometimecanbegainedbyputtingmoreoperatorsonthispass,thereisapracticallimittothisapproach.Therefore,hightravelspeedsare
essential.Speedisneededtomaintainschedulesandcontrolequipmentleasingcosts.
Muchofthepipelineweldingdonetodayisintheemergingeconomiesoftheworld,ofteninremoteinhospitableclimatesandmustdrawonlocallaborpoolsfor
welders.Tthismeansthattheprocessusedmustcopewithadverseconditionsofweatherincludingwind,temperatureextremes,andmoisture.Thenecessary
skillsneedeithertoexistinthelocallaborpool,orbeeasilylearned.Therequiredweldingequipmentmustalsoberugged,reliable,anddurable.
Whenalloftheabovefactorsareconsidered,twoweldingprocessesemergeastheleadingprocesses,shieldedmetalarcweldingandselfshieldedfluxcored
arcwelding.Inthecaseofshieldedmetalarcwelding,Figure1,thereareadvantagestousingcellulosicelectrodesrunintheverticaldowndirectioninsteadof
usinglowhydrogenelectrodes,evenonhigherstrengthsteels.Becausecellulosicelectrodesgenerateasignificantamountofshieldinggasesinuseandhavea
focusedforcefularc,theseelectrodestendtohavebetterrootpasspropertiesandbetterrootpasscontrol.Thehigharcforcehelpstomaintainpuddleandslag
controlinverticaldownprogression,whilealsohavinghightravelspeeds.Lowhydrogenelectrodesprimarilyuseslagtoprotecttheweldpoolandthiscanleadto
contaminationoftheweldpoolfromthebacksideofthebead,reducingweldpropertiesandincreasingthechancesforporosity.Therelativelylowpenetrationof
lowhydrogenelectrodeswhencomparedtocellulosicelectrodesalsomeansthatwiderrootgapsmustbeusedwhichincreaseweldingtimeandslowdownthe
weldingoperation.Cellulosicelectrodescanputinrootpassesatspeedsthatexceed14inchesperminute(356mmperminute)andwithconsistentinside
buildupsofunder1/16inch(1.6mm).
Crackingconcernswithcellulosicelectrodesareaddressedwithproperpreheatandinterpasstemperaturecontrol,andbyusingprocedureswhichinsure
adequateligamentintherootpass.Preheatandinterpasstemperaturesaredictatedbysteelchemistrieswhichtodayaremoreforgivingthanpreviously.Useof
thecorrectelectrodesizeruninthemiddletolowerportiontherangeforthatelectrodehelpsinsureaproperligament.Rootbeadcrackingcanalsobeminimized
bynotmovingthelineupclampuntilthesecondpasshasbeencompleted.
Selfshieldedfluxcoredarcwelding,Figure2,hastheadvantagesofshieldedmetalarcweldingwithcellulosicelectrodesincludinghigharcforce,highpenetration
andexcellentpuddlecontrolwhenweldingwithaverticaldownprogression.Inaddition,thisprocesshastheadvantagesofautomatedprocessesincludinghigh
depositionrates,hightravelspeeds,higharcontimes,andcontrolledhydrogenlevels.Frequentlyselfshieldedisusedoverrootpassesmadewithshielded
metalarcwelding.ThisisoneapproachtotheweldingofX80,wherehydrogencrackingintheparentsteelisnotaconcernfortherootpass,butweldmetal
hydrogencrackingcouldbeaconcernonsubsequentpasses.

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Inshieldedmetalarcweldingshieldingisgeneratedbythedecompositionofthefluxatthearc.Inselfshieldedfluxcoredarcweldingacontinuoustubular
electrodecontainsarestabilizersandcorematerialswhichwillgenerateshieldingwhentheyreachthearc.Bothprocessesworkoutsideundersevereweather
conditionsincludingtemperatureextremesandhighwinds.Likewise,bothshieldedmetalarcweldingwithcellulosicelectrodesandselfshieldedfluxcoredarc
weldingareeasilylearnedbyweldingoperatorsalreadyskilledinotherformsofshieldedmetalarcwelding.Forexample,oneinstructorwasrecentlyabletotrain
andqualifytoAPI1104overninetyweldingoperatorsunfamiliarwithselfshieldedfluxcoredarcwelding.
Table 2. Vertical Down Pipe Welding Electrodes
AWSCLASS

API5LStrengthLevels
X42

X46

X52

X56

X60

X65

X70

X80

ROOT

PASS

E6010

E7010G

E8010G

E71T13H8

HOT

FILL

CAP

PASSES

E6010

E7010G

E7010G

E71T8K6

E91T8G

AND

NoticeintheabovetablethatonlytheselfshieldedarcweldingprocessisrecommendedfortheweldingofX80oncetherootandhotpassesarecompleted.

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Bothprocessesarecapableofdeliveringpropertieswhichmeetorexceedtheminimumpropertiesspecifiedfortheparentsteels,whichisallthatmostgoverning
codesrequire.HereareafewtestresultsfortwopipegradesrunwiththetypicalpipejointdetailshowninFigure3.

Table 3. 0.720 inch (18 mm) Grade 5LX70 Results

PipeProperties

Tensile(ksi)

Yield(ksi)

Specified

82

70

Actual

113

90

Weld(E8010G)

Actual

83

77

CVN37ftlb@50F
(50joules@46C)

Table 4. 0.70 inch (18 mm) Grade 5LX80 Results

PipeProperties

Tensile(ksi)

Yield(ksi)

Specified

90120

80

Actual

Weld(E91T8G)

ReducedSectionTensile

96

CVN76ftlb@40F
(103joules@40C)

WeldingEconomics
Theoneissuenotyetdiscussedisthatofeconomics.Manythingsaffectthecostofweldingincludingmaterialcosts,equipmentcost,laborratesandahostof
othersoutsidethescopeofthispaper.Forpurposesofcomparisontimetocompleteaweldedjointwillbeusedforarelativeindicatorofcost.Thebasic
assumptionisthatifequipmentcostsandlaborratesaresimilar,thetimetocompleteaweldjointwillbeindicativeofcost,lesstimetranslatingintolowercosts
andhigherproductivity.Allcomparisonswillbedoneusingthetypicaljointdetailusedabovetosimplifytheresults.Inrealitycompoundpreparationsmayreduce
thetotaltimeonheavierwallpipe.Weldingcomparisonswilluse.750in(19mm)wall,48in(1219mm)diameterpipe.

Table 5. Typical Procedures All Progression is

down hill, 5G Position
ElectrodeType

Current(Amp)

Travel(in/min)

ROOTPASS

5/32EXX10

135DC+

11

.068E71T13H8

190DC

7.5

HOTPASS

5/32EXX10

170DC+

15

5/64E71T8K6

245DC

15

FILLANDCAP

3/16EXX10

200240DC+

ASNEEDED

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WeldingonHighYieldPipe
5/64E71T8K6

300DC

ASNEEDED

Table 6. Welding Times

ProcessRoot

PassTime(min)

TotalTime(min)

AllEXX10

13.7

241

EXX10ROOT,FCAWS
FILLANDCAP

13.7

184

ALLFCAWS

20.2

164

Thesetimesrepresentmanminutesofwelding.Thejointdonewithallselfshieldedfluxcoredarcweldinghasthelowesttotaltime,butthecombinationofshielded
metalarcweldingwithselfshieldedfluxcoredarcweldingwillresultinthegreatestamountofpipelaidonagivendaybecauseofthetimesavingsintheroot
pass.Tthiscombinationwillresultinthebestoverallcompromiseofreducedtotaltimeandmaximumpipelaidinagivenperiodoftime.
Conclusions
Ascanbeseen,shieldedmetalarcweldingandselfshieldedfluxcoredarcweldingpresentcosteffectivewaystoproducequalityweldsunderfieldconditions.
Also,thebestsolutiontofieldweldingofcrosscountrypipelinesisoftenistouseacombinationofweldingprocesses.

References
WeldingHandbook,8thEdition,(1991)AmericanWeldingSociety,Miami
TheProcedureHandbookofArcWelding,13thEdition,(1994),LincolnElectricCompany,Cleveland

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