HFI Pipe

HIGH-FREQUENCY WELDING is a welding process in which the heat source used to melt the joining surfaces is obtained from high-frequency (HF) alternating current (ac) resistance heating.

The high-frequency induction (HFI) resistance pressure welding technique for longitudinal welding. The endless strip passes through rolling stands where it is shaped to an open pipe, which runs through a high-frequency inductor consisting of a metal coil with single or multiple windings. As a result, high-frequency ring current is induced into the pipe that closes preferably at the strip edges which converge in the welding point. The temperature required for welding is generated by resistance heating of a narrow zone along the strip edges.

The heated strip edges are squeezed together by pressure rollers, resulting in a homogeneous longitudinal weld without any filler metals. The flash generated on the inside and outside surfaces during welding is scraped off to the level of the pipe surface with special tools.

Immediately afterwards, the HFI weld is subjected to a multi-step inductive annealing treatment to ensure that the properties in the weld area match those of the base material. Then the continuous pipe string is straightened, size rolled and finally cut to length by a flying saw.

Coil edges are milled using carbide cutters in order to assure a high quality weld. Coils are then formed by cold forming method using a set of cage rolls and fin passes, and then joined using high frequency currents using induction or alternatively conduction methods.

The process begins with the cutting of the strip of the required size on slitting line and then fed through the Tube Mill for formation of line pipe. Once the formation of pipe is done, it is passed through the high frequency welder where the edges are welded together.

During the process of welding, because of immense generation of heat, there is formation of beads on both the edges, inside and outside the pipes. These beads are then cut in order to have unrestricted flow of fluid/gas inside the pipe.

Thereafter, pipes are cut into the required length and are transferred to finishing sections for further processing and testing of the line pipes like straightening, End Chamfering/Facing, Hydro-testing, Non-destructive Testing, Threading, Galvanizing etc., depending on the requirement of the customer.

Expertise

Using its specialist expertise in high frequency welding, TWI has supported industry with a range of project and consultancy work which has included:

• mechanical properties of welded pipe
• metallurgical studies on welds
• defect examination
• optimisation studies on HF butt welding of tailored blanks

Resource

• testing facilities for fracture mechanics studies
• corrosion & metallurgical test equipment
• non-destructive testing
• process advice & troubleshooting
• tailored training courses

Application Areas

HFW welded steel pipes are widely preferred in Oil, Natural Gas, Water and other liquids transportation and distribution lines, heating, cooling, ventilation piping and steel structures for construction and other general purposes by means of precise production tolerances and high capacity manufacturing method.

Welded pipes specification and size

API SPEC 5CT

API SPEC 5L

ASTM / ASME

DIN

BS

Coating

Pipeline coating is the most consistent and successful solution for protecting ERW pipes from corrosion, from moisture, other harmful chemicals.

Anti-corrosion steel pipe is processed through the preservation process, which can effectively prevent or slow down the process in the transport and use of chemical or electrochemical corrosion reaction of steel pipe.

Therefore pipe anti-corrosion layer is an important barrier to prevent soil erosion. A well-known foreign scholar put forward” 3PE france protective layer”, so far, anti-corrosion methods is widely used.

Coated pipes offer high resistance to corrosion on pipes and provide many benefits such as:

1. Increased Flow Capacity – A coating on pipes helps provide a smoother surface thus improving gas and liquid flow within pipes.
2. Reduced Cost – The pipeline coating increases the pipes durability so they can be deployed with minimum maintenance cost even in the harshest environments.
3. Lower energy usage – Various studies have shown that pipelines that are internally coated use less energy for pumping and compression of products through pipes. This helps in increased saving over time.
4. Clean delivery of products – The inhibitors used for the protection products can also be minimized by the use of coated pipes for delivery of products.
5. Thus, coating of pipelines can help you in reducing your maintenance cost and at the same time providing a corrosion free reliable protection.

Basic functions of erw pipe coating

1. making the surface of ERW steel pipes free from electrochemical corrosion of the soil medium, the basic physics of bacterial corrosion protection.
2. resisting the move of the soil medium creep stress, static stress and abrasion force method and structure of the basic machinery protection.

The basic principles of urban gas pipeline coating selection:

• good insulating and mechanical properties;
• good resistance to cathodic disbondment performance;
• good resistance to water, gas permeability;
• good chemical resistance soaking performance and anti-aging properties;
• resistance to low temperature and high temperature performance;
• easy mending and mending;
• at reasonable prices.

Types of coating

Delivery

Measurement size

Packing

FAQs

Advantage of ERW pipe

The alloy content of the coil is often lower than similar grades of steel plate, improving the weldability of the spiral welded pipe. Due to the rolling direction of spiral welded pipe coil is not perpendicular to the pipe axis direction, the crack resistance of the spiral welded pipe materials.

What is welded steel pipe?

Welded steel pipe refers to a steel pipe with seams on the surface that is welded by bending and deforming a steel strip or steel plate into a circular, square or other shape. The blanks used for welded steel pipes are steel sheets or strips.

Since the 1930s, with the rapid development of continuous rolling production of high-quality strip steel and the advancement of welding and inspection technology, the quality of welds has been continuously improved, and the varieties and specifications of welded steel pipes have been increasing.

When the T-shaped welded steel pipe contains Ni, it has strong corrosion resistance in an acidic environment. In an environment containing sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, the higher the Ni content in the T-shaped welded steel pipe, the stronger the corrosion resistance. Under normal circumstances, only adding Cr to the T-shaped welded steel pipe can prevent the phenomenon of corrosion. The poor edge condition of the strip is another important cause of misalignment. The effects of changes in mass flow, heat flow density and structural parameters (ratio of helical curvature diameter to T-shaped welded steel pipe diameter Dc/D) on the heat transfer coefficient of saturated bubble boiling in vertical spiral pipes.

During the production of T-shaped welded steel pipes, misalignment occurs from time to time, and there are many influencing factors. In production practice, the steel pipe is often degraded by the wrong side and out of tolerance. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the reasons for the misalignment of the spiral steel pipe and its preventive measures.

Due to the poor shape and dimensional accuracy of the head and tail of the uncut steel strip, it is easy to cause the steel strip to bend hard and cause misalignment during butt joint. Simulation parameter range: vertical pipe: pipe diameter D=10mm, pipe length L=660mm; three types of vertical T-shaped welded steel pipe: pipe diameter D=10mm, the change of the ratio of the curvature diameter of the T-shaped welded steel pipe to the spiral pipe diameter is Dc /D=15, 20, 25, helical pitch Pt=20mm, tube lengths are L=503mm, L=660mm, L=817mm respectively. Mass flow G=200~400Kg/(m'2 s), heat flux density q=5~15KW/m'2, saturation pressure p, saturation=0.414880MPa, saturation temperature T, saturation=283.15K.

Technical requirements for welded pipes

The technical requirements and inspection of welded pipes are based on the provisions of the GB3092 "Welded Steel Pipes for Low-Pressure Fluid Transmission". It can be delivered according to fixed length or double length. The surface of the steel pipe should be smooth, and defects such as folds, cracks, delamination, and lap welding are not allowed. The surface of the steel pipe is allowed to have minor defects such as scratches, scratches, weld misalignment, burns and scars that do not exceed the negative deviation of the wall thickness. The thickening of the wall thickness and the presence of inner seam weld bars are allowed at the weld.

Welded steel pipes should be subjected to mechanical performance test, flattening test and flaring test, and must meet the requirements of the standard. When the steel pipe should be able to withstand the internal pressure, carry out a pressure test of 2.5Mpa, and keep it for one minute without leakage. The method of eddy current flaw detection is allowed to replace the hydrostatic test. The eddy current flaw detection is carried out according to the standard of GB7735 "Steel tube eddy current flaw detection inspection method". The eddy current flaw detection method is to fix the probe on the frame, keep a distance of 3~5mm between the flaw detection and the weld seam, and conduct a comprehensive scan of the weld seam by the rapid movement of the steel pipe. The flaw detection signal is automatically processed and sorted by the eddy current flaw detector. To achieve the purpose of flaw detection. The welded pipe after the flaw detection is cut off according to the specified length with a flying saw, and it is rolled off the assembly line through the turning frame. Both ends of the steel pipe should be chamfered with flat ends, printed with marks, and the finished pipes are packed in hexagonal bundles before leaving the factory.

Straight seam steel pipe processing method:

Straight seam steel pipe is a steel pipe whose weld seam is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the steel pipe. Generally, its strength is higher than that of straight seam welded pipe. Narrower billets can be used to produce welded pipes with larger diameters, and the same width of billets can be used to produce welded pipes with different pipe diameters. But compared with the straight seam pipe of the same length, the weld length is increased by 30~100%, and the production speed is lower. So what are its processing methods?

1. Forging steel: a pressure processing method that uses the reciprocating impact force of the forging hammer or the pressure of the press to change the blank into the shape and size we need.
2. Extrusion: It is a processing method in which steel puts metal in a closed extrusion box and applies pressure at one end to make the metal extrude from the specified die hole to obtain a finished product with the same shape and size. It is mostly used for the production of non-ferrous metals material steel.
3. Rolling: A pressure processing method in which the steel metal billet passes through the gap between a pair of rotating rolls (various shapes), and the cross-section of the material is reduced due to the compression of the rolls, and the length is increased.
4. Pulling steel: it is a processing method in which the rolled metal blank (type, pipe, product, etc.) is pulled through the die hole to reduce the cross section and increase the length. Most of them are used for cold processing.

Quenching Technology for Straight Seam Welded Pipe

The surface quenching and tempering heat treatment of straight seam welded pipe is usually carried out by induction heating or flame heating. The main technical parameters are surface hardness, local hardness and effective hardened layer depth. Vickers hardness tester can be used for hardness testing, and Rockwell or superficial Rockwell hardness tester can also be used. When the surface heat treatment hardened layer is thick, the Rockwell hardness tester can also be used. When the thickness of the heat-treated hardened layer is 0.4-0.8mm, the HRA scale can be used, and when the thickness of the hardened layer exceeds 0.8mm, the HRC scale can be used.

If the parts require high local hardness, local quenching heat treatment can be carried out by means of induction heating. Such longitudinal welded pipes usually need to mark the location of local quenching heat treatment and local hardness value on the drawing. Hardness testing of longitudinally welded pipes shall be carried out in the area. The hardness testing instrument can use a Rockwell hardness tester to test the HRC hardness value. If the heat-treated hardened layer is shallow, a surface Rockwell hardness tester can be used to test the HRN hardness value.

The three hardness values of Vickers, Rockwell and Superficial Rockwell can be easily converted to each other and converted into hardness values required by standards, drawings or users. The corresponding conversion tables are given in the international standard ISO, the American standard ASTM and the Chinese standard GB/T.