Girth welding system for vortex type refrigeration compressor of air conditioner

According to the requirements of welding process for vortex type compressor of air conditioner manufactured in product line, a special girth welding machine with PLC as control core was developed, which had both upright and 45 ° incline service positions. And some key technologies were researched, such as structural design of machine body, reliable conduction of rotary weldments and quality control of welding process and so on. The experimental results showed that this machine could satisfy the requirements of welding quality and girth welding technology, results also proved the machine was a high-effwiency and low-cost automatic welding device.

Girth welding procedure and weldability evaluation of coal seam gas transmission UOE pipeline

According to the requirements of Queensland Gas Company Ltd. （QGC）, the operator of the Queensland Curtis LNG （QCLNG） pipeline project in Australia, girth welding experiments and weldability evaluations have been carded out for three X70 UOE pipes from Baosteel based on API 1104 standards. Shielded metal arc welding （SMAW） and gas- shielded flux-cored wire arc welding （FCAW-G） have been applied, and the girth weld joint quality and mechanical performance were evaluated. It was found that the field girth weldability of Baosteel＇ s XT0 UOE pipes was excellent under the conditions used here and satisfied the requirements of the QCLNG project for field girth welding construction. Furthermore,Baosteel has offered a solution to the QCLNG project for pipeline girth welding in which the girth welding joint design, selection of welding processes and consumables, welding procedures, techniques and joint inspections are included. Such research provides important guidance for the difficult tie-in welding applications for the construction of the QCLNG pipelines in the field.

Frequency Domain Fatigue Evaluation on SCR Girth-Weld Based on Structural Stress

The Steel Catenary Riser(SCR)is a vital component for transporting oil and gas from the seabed to the floating platform.The harsh environmental conditions and complex platform motion make the SCR’s girth-weld prone to fatigue failure.The structural stress fatigue theory and Master S-N curve method provide accurate predictions for the fatigue damage on the welded joints,which demonstrate significant potential and compatibility in multi-axial and random fatigue evaluation.Here,we propose a new frequency fatigue model subjected to welded joints of SCR under multiaxial stress,which fully integrates the mesh-insensitive structural stress and frequency domain random process and transforms the conventional welding fatigue technique of SCR into a spectrum analysis technique utilizing structural stress.Besides,a full-scale FE model of SCR with welds is established to obtain the modal structural stress of the girth weld and the frequency response function(FRF)of modal coordinate,and a biaxial fatigue evaluation about the girth weld of the SCR can be achieved by taking the effects of multi-load correlation and pipe-soil interaction into account.The research results indicate that the frequency-domain fatigue results are aligned with the time-domain results,meeting the fatigue evaluation requirements of the SCR.

Girth weldability and welding process of Baosteel X80 UOE linepipes

An analysis of the girth weldability of Baosteel X80 UOE （U-ing-O-ing-Expanding） linepipes was conducted using manual shielded metal arc welding （SMAW） and semiautomatic self-shielded flux cored wire arc welding （FCAW）. A technical specification for the optimum quality of a girth welding joint was obtained through a large amount of testing. According to the requirements of America Petroleum Institute（API） standard 1104 and the standards of the 2nd West-East natural gas transmission pipeline project,the mechanical properties of a girth welding joint were estimated. In addition,the effect of the girth welding procedure specifications and the consumable＇ s suitability on the impact toughness of the girth welding joint was discussed.

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.

Fatigue life evaluation of girth butt weld within welded cast steel joints based on the extrapolation notch stress method

The fatigue life evaluation of the girth butt weld within the welded cast steel joint was studied based on the extrapolation notch stress method.Firstly,the mesh sensitivity of the finite element model of the welded cast steel joint was analyzed to determine the optimal mesh size.Based on the stress field analysis of the finite element model of the welded cast steel joint at the weld toe and weld root,the sharp model of the extrapolation notch stress method was applied to derive the effective notch stress of the rounded model belonging to the effective notch stress method,in which the key problem is to calculate the extrapolation point C,and the extrapolation point C has an exponential function relationship with the geometric parameters of the welded cast steel joint.By setting different values of geometric parameters,the corresponding value of parameter C is calculated,and then the functional relationship between the extrapolation point C and the geometric parameters can be obtained by the multiple linear regression analysis.Meanwhile,the fatigue life evaluation of the girth butt weld within welded cast steel joints based on the effective notch stress was performed according to the guideline recommended by the IIW(International Institute of Welding).The results indicate that the extrapolation notch stress method can effectively simplify the process of calculating the effective notch stress and accurately evaluate the fatigue life of the girth butt weld within welded cast steel joints.

Dynamic characteristics of the pipeline inspection gauge under girth weld excitation in submarine pipeline

Pipeline inner inspection technology based on Pipeline Inspection Gauge(PIG),is the primary means for ensuring the safety of submarine pipelines.The dynamic characteristics of a PIG can change abruptly with the excitation of obstacles such as girth welds inside the pipeline,which would result in failure or inaccuracy of the inspection results.This study establishes a dynamic model of the PIG sealing disc based on Kelvin spring damping in the circumferentially confined space.The axial vibration differential equations of the PIG is examined in detail.MSC/ADAMS is used to conduct the dynamic simulation of the PIG at different motion velocities and center of mass positions while passing through the girth weld process.Results indicate that the axial vibration caused by the girth weld intensifies substantially as the speed of the PIG increases,while the pitch and vertical vibrations exhibit a significant decline with an increase in the motion velocity.The change in the PIG’s center of mass positions has little effect on its axial vibration,while the pitch and vertical vibration conditions are significantly different in the same circumstances.

An experimental study of the fracture propertiesof oil pipeline girth welds

The application of fracture mechanics to the “Fitness For Purpose” assessment of the fracture properties of pipeline girth welds is generally essential for the safe operation of oil pipeline systems. Based on the analysis of the fracture toughness requirements of the oil pipeline girth weld, a systematic study has been conducted on the fracture behavior of the API 5L X65 steel pipeline girth weld made by two welding materials. The critical COD values of the pipeline girth weld under the different temperatures are tested. In the paper other influential factors on fracture behavior are also discussed, such as the welding materials, the welding positions (flat welding, vertical welding, overhead welding), the welded joint area (weld, heat affected zone, fusion line and base metal) and the experiment temperature. The result shows that the welding material, the welded joint area and the experiment temperature have considerable influence on the fracture behavior of pipeline girth welds. It is also concluded that the effect of the welding position is related to the welding process. The study provides a scientific basis for the welding of oil pipelines.

Evaluation of automatic girth weldability of pipeline in special conditions

To meet the requirements of pipeline consumers abroad,in this study,an automatic gas metal arc welding type of girth welding was performed with a heat input of no more than 0.25 kJ/mm and high-strength solid-wire matching for an X70M large-diameter UOE pipeline.An integral evaluation of the X70M pipeline girth weldability was performed with respect to the girth-weld cold-cracking sensitivity during the welding process and the strengthening,hardening,and embrittlement of the girth weld joint after girth welding in especially rigorous welding conditions with accelerated failure characteristics.The performance of the above girth weld joint with joints welded using the main construction-field girth welding procedure was compared to ensure the good girth weldability of the X70M pipeline.The results of this study have important supervisory significance for field-construction girth welding.Finally,the girth weldability of the X70M pipeline was found to satisfy the field construction requirements even when the welding conditions are especially rigorous.

Inspection of pipeline girth welds with ultrasonic phased array technique

A novel automatic ultrasonic system used for the inspection of pipeline girth welds is developed, in which a linear phased array transducer using electronic scan is adopted. Optimal array parameters are determined based on a mathematical model of acoustic field for linear phased army derived from Huygens＇ principle. The testing method and the system structure are introduced. The experimental results show that the phased array transducer system has the same detectability as that of conventional ultrasonic transducer system, but the system architecture can be simplified greatly, and the testing flexibility and the testing speed can be improved greatly.