Microstructure and toughness of thick-gauge pipeline steel joint via double-sided friction stir welding combined with preheating

Fusion welding easily causes microstructural coarsening in the heat-affected zone(HAZ) of a thick-gauge pipeline steel joint. This is most significant in the inter-critically coarse-grained HAZ(ICCGHAZ), which considerably deteriorates the toughness of the joint. In the present work, 11-mm thick pipeline steel was joined by preheating and double-sided friction stir welding(FSW). A comparative study on the microstructure and toughness in the ICCGHAZs for FSW and gas metal arc welding(GMAW) was performed. The toughness in the ICCGHAZ for FSW was improved significantly than that in the ICCGHAZ for GMAW. Generally, the nugget zone(NZ) has a coarse microstructure in the FSW steel joint formed at the highest peak temperature. However, in the current study, the microstructure in the one-pass NZ was remarkably refined owing to the static recrystallization of ferrite. An excellent toughness was achieved in the NZ of the pipeline steel joint that employed FSW.

Effects of welding wire composition and welding process on the weld metal toughness of submerged arc welded pipeline steel

The effects of alloying elements in welding wires and submerged arc welding process on the microstructures and low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals have been investigated. The results indicate that the optimal contents of alloying elements in welding wires can improve the low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals because the proeutectoid ferrite and bainite formations can be suppressed, and the fraction of acicular ferrite increases. However, the contents of alloying elements need to vary along with the welding heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the contents of alloying elements in welding wires need to be increased accordingly. The microstructures mainly consisting of acicular ferrite can be obtained in weld metals after four-wire submerged arc welding using the wires with a low carbon content and appropriate contents of Mn, Mo, Ti-B, Cu, Ni, and RE, resulting in the high low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals.

Research on laser-arc hybrid welding technology for long-distance pipeline construction

In recent years, the research on pipeline laser-arc hybrid welding technology has been the important and difficult in the field of welding all over the world. China Petroleum Pipeline Research Institute Co. Ltd. has firstly developed pipeline laser-arc hybrid welding system in China, and executed the welding tests based on X70/X80 steel. Preliminary experiment results showed that hybrid welding could meet the requirements of related standards such as API1104,ASME,etc., the mechanical properties of girth seam are qualified in the case that there were no internal defects. With the development of high-power fiber laser and the continuous improvement of welding equipment, laser-arc hybrid welding technology for pipeline field welding will be available soon.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LONGITUDINAL SUBMERGED ARC WELDED STEEL PIPES USED FOR GAS PIPELINE OF OFFSHORE OIL

Since the development of offshore oil and gas, increased submarine oil and gas pipelines were installed. All the early steel pipes of submarine pipelines depended on importing because of the strict requirements of comprehensive properties, such as, anti-corrosion, resistance to pressure and so on. To research and develop domes- tic steel pipes used for the submarine pipeline, the Longitudinal-seam Submerged Arc Welded （LSAW） pipes were made of steel plates cut from leveled hot rolled coils by both the JCOE and UOE （the forming process in which the plate like the letter “J”, “C”, “0” or “U” shape, then expansion） forming processes. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the pipe base metal and weld metal were tested, and the results were in accordance with the corresponding pipe specification API SPEC 5L or DNV- OS-FI01, which showed that domestic LSAW pipes could be used for submarine oil and gas pipelines.

Effects of laser heat treatment on the fracture morphologies of X80 pipeline steel welded joints by stress corrosion

The surfaces of X80 pipeline steel welded joints were processed with a CO2 laser, and the effects of laser heat treatment （LHT） on H2S stress corrosion in the National Association of Corrosion Engineers （NACE） solution were analyzed by a slow strain rate test. The fracture morphologies and chemical components of corrosive products before and after LHT were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy, respectively, and the mechanism of LHT on stress corrosion cracking was discussed. Results showed that the fracture for welded joints was brittle in its original state, while it was transformed to a ductile fracture after LHT. The tendencies of hydrogen-induced corrosion were reduced, and the stress corrosion sensitivity index decreased from 35.2% to 25.3%, indicating that the stress corrosion resistance of X80 pipeline steel welded joints has been improved by LHT.

Effect of Mn and MnS on corrosion properties of domestic pipeline steels and welds

Base metals of domestic pipeline steels were used to study the effect of Mn on corrosion properties of SSCC(Sulfide Stress Corrosion Cracking), and welds were carried out to study the effect of MnS on corrosion properties of HIC (Hydrogen Induced Cracking) both in solutions with wet hydrogen sulfide(H_2S). They were respectively conducted by referring to the standards of SSCC and HIC. Testing results revealed that with the increase of content Mn, the resistance of SSCC will be decreased, from the point of metallurgic view, and it is Mn element not C element to lead to the testing results of SSCC. Meanwhile, even under the condition without inclusions MnS, HIC in welds still occurred. That is to say, MnS is not necessary for HIC, the presence of local banded structures in which Mn and P are inclined to aggregate cause to the phenomena of HIC.

Investigation on welding procedures for in-service pipelines

Some research results are given in this paper about burnthrough and hydrogen cracking with a flowing chamber and a loop. Many factors including plate thickness, running rate, heat input and so forth have been studied. By experiments it can be found that occurrence of hydrogen cracking can be effectively reduced by properly increasing heat input and using the tempering bead technique.

Investigation of the impact toughness of self- shielded flux- cored wire girth welds for X80 pipelines

Self-shielded flux-cored wire is a convenient and efficient consumable for pipeline field girth welding because of its self-protection characteristic and high deposition rate, especially for remote construction sites in rugged terrain. From the perspective of pipeline safety, the impact toughness of the girth welds is an important factor in pipeline integrity ,which determines the crack arrest behavior in the girth welds. Therefore, improving the girth weld impact toughness is of primary importance in the field of pipeline girth welding. Three self-shielded flux-cored wires comprising different chemical composition systems have been applied to large diameter X80 UOE （U-ing-O- ing-Expanding） pipeline semi-automatic girth welding,and the impact toughness of the welds has been evaluated by girth weld chemical composition analysis and microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS） to investigate pipeline girth weld impact toughness and find ways to improve it. This helps in determining the main factors that influence girth weld impact toughness. Pipeline girth weld impact toughness is mainly determined by the final microstructure produced in the solid-state phase transition. In the as-weld state,acicular ferrite （AF） and fine bainite （FB） are a benefit to the impact toughness. For multilayer semiautomatic self-shielded flux-cored wire welding, the normalizing and tempering function of the latter beads to the initial beads plays an important role in the transition of girth weld microstructure, which affects the impact toughness. The original AF and FB and the corresponding heat treatment microstructure of the fine and uniform block ferrite and pearlite result in very good impact toughness. The following two mechanisms are found to promote the production of AF and FB in the girth weld. First, elements promoting the broadening of the austenitic region, such as Ni, C, Cu, and Mn, induce low temperature phase transitions and restrain the opposing function of Al, which is a benefit to the production of AF and FB. Second, dispersed high-melting-point inclusions, especially Al2O3 ,induce the nucleated production of AF. The advantageous function of inclusions is determined by their shape, distribution, and dimension. Dispersed spherical inclusions of small dimension are a benefit to the production of AF, and result in good impact toughness.

Study on the microstructure and hardness of in-service welded joint of X70 pipeline steel

Hydrogen induced cracking （HIC） is one of the main problems of in-service welding onto active pipeline. Microstructure and hardness of welded joint have a vital effect on hydrogen induced cracking. The microstructure and hardness of welded joint of XTO pipeline steel were studied using simulation in-service welding device. The results show that the main microstructures of in-service welded seam are grain boundary ferrite , intracrystalline acicular ferrite , as well as small amount of widmanztatten structure. The main microstructures of coarse grain heat-affected zone （CGHAZ） are coarse granular bainite, lath ferrite and martensite. Metastable phases such as martensite and lath ferrite are found in CGHAZ because of the too quick cooling velocity a＇nd the hardness of the CGHAZ is high.

Research on submerged arc welding wire for X100 pipeline steel

According to the study of the microstructure and properties of X100 pipeline steel, the welding consumable-wire based on Mn-Ni-Mo-B-Ti alloy system was successfully designed and developed. The yield strength of the deposited metal of the developed welding wire was 695 MPa, the tensile strength was 810 MPa, and Charpy impact energy was 92 J at negative 20 ℃ when matching with BSG-SJ101H1 sintered flux. The results of the weldability test for X100 pipeline steel which adopting this developed wire showed that the tensile strength of the weld was 827 MPa, 185 J of Charpy impact energy（ -10 ℃ ） , 97% of section of shear and the weld had good strength and toughness matching when the welding speed got to 1.7 m/min. The microstructure and fracture appearance of the weld were analyzed by using metallographic microscope, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and laser confocal microscope, the results indicated that the microstructure was mainly granular bainite in the weld metal, and the fracture was dimple with 200 - 300 μm depth presenting a typical ductile fracture characteristics. The test of welding wire with different content of Ni and Cr element indicated that Ni was better than Cr in improving the strength and toughness of weld metal.

Study of microstructures and properties for girth weldingof domestic X70 pipeline steels

With the development of domestic pipeline steels, it is necessary to develop suitable welding technology which can improve the properties of the welded pipeline. In this paper, the microstructures and mechanical properties of domestic XTO pipeline steels and welded joints are discussed. The welding consumables of BOHLER E6010 and HOBART 81N1 are matched for girth welding. The following characteristics in heat-affected zone（ HAZ） are indicated that microstructures of intercritical HAZ（ ICHAZ） is finer and more uniform, the grain sizes of fine-grain HAZ （ FGHAZ） and subcritical HAZ （ SCHAZ） are smaller than that of coarse-grain HAZ（ CGHAZ）. The hardness, tensile strength and toughness of welded joints come up to the standard. The micrographs of impact specimens in welded joints are cleavage, quasi-cleavage and dimple which shows there is typical ductile rupture.

Improved Fatigue Behavior of Pipeline Steel Welded Joint by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment(SMAT)

A pipeline steel X80 with welded joint was subjected to surface mechanical attrition treatment （SMAT）. After SMAT, a nanostructure surface layer with an average grain size of about 10 nm was formed in the treated sample, and the fatigue limit of the welded joint was elevated by about 13% relative to the untreated joints. In the low and the high amplitude stress regimes, both fatigue strength and fatigue life were enhanced. Formation of the nanostructured surface layer played more important role in the enhanced fatigue behavior than that of residual stress induced by the SMAT.

Influence of cooling conditions on X70 pipeline steel in-service welding HAZ

The chamber device was designed and set up to simulate the in-service welding. The results show ： the t8/5 , t8/3 and inner wall peak temperature Tp decrease with the cooling rate increases. The welding energy is carried off by flowing medium, the cooling rate increases, and many unbalanced microstructures such as granular bainite, martensite and M-A generate ; it worsens the properties of HAZ. Under air-cooling, the cooling rate is slow, the austenite grain grows obviously, the lath ferrite crosses the whole austenite, and it causes the hardness value is also big. The change of HAZ width is not obvious with the increase of cooling rate; and burn-through is not susceptible to the cooling rate. The quench microstructures increase and the hydrogen does not outflow from the HAZ easily when increase the cooling rate, so the susceptibility of hydrogen cracking increases.

Microstructures and Plane Energy Spectra of X80 Pipeline Steel Welded Joints by Submerged Arc Automatic Welding

X80 pipeline steel was welded with submerged arc automatic welding, the microstructures, cavity sizes, fusion depths and plane scanning of chemical elements in the welded zone, fusion zone, heat affected zone and base steel were observed with OM（optical microscope） and SEM（scanning electron microscope）, respectively. The experimental results show that there is main acicular ferrite in the base steel and welded zone, the microscopic structure of fusion zone is a blocked bainite, and the heat affected zone is composed of multilateral ferrite and pearlite. M-A unit of the welded zone is the main factor to strengthen the welded zone, composed of acicular ferrites. The percentage of cavities in the welded joint is less than that in the base steel, which is beneficial to increasing its mechanical performance and corrosion resistance. The fusion depth in the fusion zone and welded zone is 101.13 μm and 115.85 μm, respectively, and the distribution of chemical elements in the welded zone is uniform, no enrichment phenomena.

Improving fatigue performance of welded joints of X65 pipeline steel by UIT

Treating weld toes properly can improve the fatigue performance. Ultrasonic impact treatment （UIT） is a more effective and convenient method to enhance the fatigue strength of welded joints and suchlike structures. Fatigue tests were conducted on the specimens made of X65 pipeline steel. The test specimens were investigated on the fatigue strength and the fatigue life at the same stress range level by comparing the ones peened by UIT with the others without the treatment： the fatigue strength of the specimens as UIT, 90% of the fatigue strength of the base mental, is increased by 38% compared with that of as welded only; the fatigue life of the ones as UIT is prolonged by 11 multiples of the ones as welded only.

Research on key control technologies of all-position automatic welding machine

The pipeline all-position automatic welding machine system is a special welding system for automatically welding circumferential joint of pipeline on site, which has been widely used to the long-distance pipeline construction projects due to the advantages of automatic control for welding parameters at all-position, moving speed of bugs and operating. In this paper, the key control technologies of PAWM all-position automatic welding machine （ developed by Pipeline Research Institute of CNPC） such us the automatic control system, control software, personal digital assistant （PDA） software and complex programmable logic device （ CPLD ） program as well us the control method of welding parameter have been described detailedly. With the higher welding quality, higher welding effwiency and lower labor intensity, PA WM all-position automatic welding machine has been successfully applied in many famous pipeline construction projects.

Numerical simulation of applied electromagnetic field and electromagnetic force in all-position welding

All-position welding is an important technology in energy sources, chemical, shipbuilding and other industries. When welding current is larger than 200 A, the molten metal tends to flow down due to the force of gravity. In order to ＂push＂ the molten metal into the weld, a new kind of U-frame excitation model, which could produce electromagnetic force to balance the gravity of the molten pool, was designed. The related parameters of the excitation model were simulated by Maxwell 3D, and the relationships between the parameters and the magnetic induction intensity were analyzed. Finally, the electromagnetic force in the molten pool was calculated, and the appropriate parameters of the U-frame excitation model were determined. The results of the simulation verify the feasibility of the all-position welding excitation model.

Study on the all position automatic pipeline backing weld machine

As a result of the lower backing weld efficiency, the applying of automatic welding is seriously limited. So a kind of special automatic welder is designed and manufactured for backing weld. This paper introduces the character of the assembled pulse CO2 arc welding machine which has strong penetrability. It specifies the technology of controlling the parameters of all position automatic welding by computer and multi-axis controller. Moreover typical welding procedure parameters are provided. It is proved by examination that the economical and practical equipment and technology are suitable for the long-distance transmission pipeline, and it has a good foreground of spreading and applying.

Influence of pipe parameters and heat input on thermal cycle of in-service welding onto active gas pipeline

The software of SYSWELD was used to build model and simulate thermal cycle of in-service welding onto active gas pipeline. Influence of pipe diameter, wall thickness and heat input on thermal cycle was studied. The results show that t8/5 , t8/3 and peak temperature of inner surface decrease when wall thickness increases from 5 mm to 12 mm. But t8/1 will increases with the increase of wall thickness and will decrease after the wall thickness is larger than 7 mm. Pipe diameter has little influence on thermal cycle and that influence can be ignored when pipe diameter is greater than 273 mm. t8/5 , t8/3 , t8/1 and peak temperature of inner surface will increase with the increase of heat input.

Experimental study on fracture toughness of OS-F101 415F pipeline steel and its welded joint

The fracture toughness of OS-F101 415F pipeline steel and its welded joint had been systematically studied. The present results suggest that OS-F101 415F pipeline steel and its welded joint all have relatively high fracture toughness values at 0℃, which are higher than 0.30 mm. The main reason for such results is the over 80% acicular ferrite in their mwrostructure