Development of X80M Line Pipe Steel for Spiral Welded Pipes With Low Temperature Toughness and Excellent Weldability

Author(s):  
Nuria Sanchez ◽  
Özlem E. Güngör ◽  
Martin Liebeherr ◽  
Nenad Ilić

The unique combination of high strength and low temperature toughness on heavy wall thickness coils allows higher operating pressures in large diameter spiral welded pipes and could represent a 10% reduction in life cycle cost on long distance gas pipe lines. One of the current processing routes for these high thickness grades is the thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP) route, which critically depends on the austenite conditioning during hot forming at specific temperature in relation to the aimed metallurgical mechanisms (recrystallization, strain accumulation, phase transformation). Detailed mechanical and microstructural characterization on selected coils and pipes corresponding to the X80M grade in 24 mm thickness reveals that effective grain size and distribution together with the through thickness gradient are key parameters to control in order to ensure the adequate toughness of the material. Studies on the softening behavior revealed that the grain coarsening in the mid-thickness is related to a decrease of strain accumulation during hot rolling. It was also observed a toughness detrimental effect with the increment of the volume fraction of M/A (martensite/retained austenite) in the middle thickness of the coils, related to the cooling practice. Finally, submerged arc weldability for spiral welded pipe manufacturing was evaluated on coil skelp in 24 mm thickness. The investigations revealed the suitability of the material for spiral welded pipe production, preserving the tensile properties and maintaining acceptable toughness values in the heat-affected zone. The present study revealed that the adequate chemical alloying selection and processing control provide enhanced low temperature toughness on pipes with excellent weldability formed from hot rolled coils X80 grade in 24 mm thickness produced at ArcelorMittal Bremen.

Author(s):  
L. E. Collins ◽  
K. Dunnett ◽  
T. Hylton ◽  
A. Ray

A decade ago, the pipeline industry was actively exploring the use of high strength steels (X80 and greater) for long distance, large diameter pipelines operating at high pressures. However in recent years the industry has adopted a more conservative approach preferring to utilize well established X70 grade pipe in heavier wall thicknesses to accommodate the demand for increased operating pressures. In order to meet this demand, EVRAZ has undertaken a substantial upgrade of both its steelmaking and helical pipemaking facilities. The EVRAZ process is relatively unique employing electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking to melt scrap, coupled with Steckel mill rolling for the production of coil which is fed into helical DSAW pipe mills for the production of large diameter line pipe in lengths up to 80 feet. Prior to the upgrade production had been limited to a maximum finished wall thickness of ∼17 mm. The upgrades have included installation of vacuum de-gassing to reduce hydrogen and nitrogen levels, upgrading the caster to improve cast steel quality and allow production of thicker (250 mm) slabs, upgrades to the power trains on the mill stands to achieve greater rolling reductions, replacement of the laminar flow cooling system after rolling and installation of a downcoiler capable of coiling 25.4 mm X70 material. As well a new helical DSAW mill has been installed which is capable of producing large diameter pipe in thicknesses up to 25.4 mm. The installation of the equipment has provided both opportunities and challenges. Specific initiatives have sought to produce X70 line pipe in thicknesses up to 25.4 mm, improve low temperature toughness and expand the range of sour service grades available. This paper will focus on alloy design and rolling strategies to achieve high strength coupled with low temperature toughness. The role of improved centerline segregation control will be examined. The use of scrap as a feedstock to the EAF process results in relatively high nitrogen contents compared to blast furnace (BOF) operations. While nitrogen can be reduced to some extent by vacuum de-gassing, rolling practices must be designed to accommodate nitrogen levels of 60 ppm. Greater slab thickness allows greater total reduction, but heat removal considerations must be addressed in optimization of rolling schedules to achieve suitable microstructures to achieve both strength and toughness. This optimization requires definition of the reductions to be accomplished during roughing (recrystallization rolling to achieve a fine uniform austenite grain size) and finishing (pancaking to produce heavily deformed austenite) and specification of cooling rates and coiling temperatures subsequent to rolling to obtain suitable transformation microstructures. The successful process development will be discussed.


Author(s):  
Wenhua Ding ◽  
Zhonghang Jiang ◽  
Jiading Li ◽  
Shaopo Li ◽  
Chunhe Zha ◽  
...  

In recent years the trend in oil and gas transmission pipelines has been toward higher operating pressures. This trend, while the desire to keep steel costs low, has resulted in an increased demand for large diameter heavy wall X80 with good low temperature toughness. It is well known that improving the low temperature toughness with increasing wall thickness of the pipeline is very difficult. To overcome the difficulty of producing consistent low temperature toughness in heavy wall pipe Shougang Steel Research in cooperation with the Shougang Steel Qinhuangdao China (Shouqin) 4.3 m heavy wide plate mill research was conducted. This paper describes the background, composition design and process strategy to produce good low temperature toughness in heavy wall API plate. The importance of the slab reheating schedule and recrystallized rolling process/schedule that occurs during the roughing process will be discussed. The effect of per pass reductions and work roll speed rotation on the strain introduced was analyzed by means of the numerical simulation technology. Furthermore, the center thickness microstructure and low temperature toughness of plate under the different rolling schedules were researched. The results showed a low reheating temperature and slow rough rolling speed should be implemented. The per pass reductions during recrystallized rough rolling should be increased in a steady fashion, with special emphasis on the reduction of the final roughing pass prior to the intermediate hold (transfer thickness for finishing). When the final roughing pass had a per pass reduction of more than 15%, the main microstructure of plate consists of uniform (surface to center) fine ferrite/acicular ferrite with a small volume fraction of M-A constituent. This fine uniform microstructure results in good low temperature fracture toughness in heavier plate thicknesses. Results of this research and development work will be discussed.


Author(s):  
Takuya Hara ◽  
Yoshio Terada ◽  
Yasuhiro Shinohara ◽  
Hitoshi Asahi ◽  
Naoki Doi

The demand for natural gas using pipelines and LNG to supply the world gas markets is increasing substituting for oil and coal. The use of high strength line pipe steels provides the reduction of cost of gas transmission pipelines by enabling high-pressure transmission of large volumes of gas. In particular, high strength line pipe materials with a yield strength of X80 or higher have been developed over the last few decades around the world. Long distance gas transmission pipelines from remote areas sometimes pass through discontinuous permafrost, and are subject to ground movements by repeated thaw subsidence and frost heave. In this case, strain-based design has been applied as well as stress-based design. Therefore, high deformable line pipe is required for strain-based design in order to prevent the pipeline from fracturing. Nippon steel has also developed high deformable high strength line pipe material suitable for strain-based design. In recent years, demand for high strength line pipe steels has emerged in which the molybdenum content is reduced because of the high cost of molybdenum. Conventionally, high strength line pipe steel with Mo addition has been developed in order to control the microstructure and to obtain pipe properties such as strength and low temperature toughness. This paper describes the metallurgical design and development of high deformable high strength X100 line pipe with lower Mo content suitable for strain-based design. High deformable X100 line pipe with 16 mm wall thickness as well as good low temperature toughness and seam weld toughness has been developed.


Author(s):  
Josef Avagianos ◽  
Kostas Papamantellos

The world production capacity on large-diameter welded pipe amounts to more than 12 million tons per year 20–25% are produced as spiral sub-arc welded (SAW) pipes, with the balance of 75–80% being longitudinal SAW pipes (from plates). For most spiral-weld producers, a sizeable portion of line pipe is for water transportation, rather than hydrocarbon. In the past, the relative structural weakness of spiral-welded pipe, due to larger welded area, limited the growth of its use in the oil industry. With the development of more advanced production technology, the acceptance of spiral-welded pipes in the oil and gas industry has increased significantly. In this paper, the principals of the spiral manufacturing technology from coil by the two-step-method are introduced and the innovations of Corinth Pipework’s production facility are outlined in detail, including the sophisticated NDT techniques and the Quality Management System.


Author(s):  
Hans-Georg Hillenbrand ◽  
Andreas Liessem ◽  
Karin Biermann ◽  
Carl Justus Heckmann ◽  
Volker Schwinn

The increasing demand for natural gas will further influence the type of its transportation in the future, both from the strategic and economic point of view. Long-distance pipelines are a safe and economic means to transport the gas from production sites to end users. High-strength steels in grade X80 are nowadays state of the art. Grade X100 was recently developed but not yet utilised. The present-day technical limitations on the production of X120 line pipe namely the steel composition, the pipe forming and the welding are addressed in this paper. Production test results on X120 pipes are presented to describe the materials properties. A low carbon and low PCM steel with VNbTiB microalloying concept is used. In the plate rolling the main attention is turned to the heavy accelerated cooling. The large spring back that occurs during the U-forming step of the UOE process is one of the most complex aspects in forming X120. To handle this aspect FEM calculations were used to modify the forming parameters and to optimise the shape of the U-press tool. For optimising the existing welding procedure with respect to an avoidance of HAZ softening, a low heat input welding technology and new welding consumables were developed.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  

Abstract IN-787 is an age-hardenable, high-strength structural steel. It is characterized by low-temperature toughness, good atmospheric corrosion resistance and excellent weldability, even under adverse field conditions such as line-pipe welding. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: SA-286. Producer or source: International Nickel Company Inc..


Author(s):  
Takuya Hara ◽  
Taishi Fujishiro ◽  
Yasuhiro Shinohara ◽  
Eiji Tsuru ◽  
Naoki Doi ◽  
...  

The application of high-strength line pipes has enabled pipelines to operate at high pressure, generating cost savings for both gas transportation and construction. In general, high-strength line pipes require crack initiation resistance and crack arrestability at low temperatures, as well as field weldability. High strength and deformability for strain-based design and excellent sour resistance are also required. Moreover, composite properties are often required for high-strength line pipes. This paper describes our progress in this field with regard to metallurgical design and development. Metallurgical design aimed at achieving a good balance between strength, low temperature toughness and deformability for strain-based design is also described from the perspectives of grain refinement, microstructure and chemical composition. Metallurgical design focused on a good balance between strength and sour resistance in limited low chemical composition is described from the perspectives of microstructure and control to chemical composition and center segregation. These efforts have led to the development of high-strength heavy wall line pipes of API X60 to X100 grades offering excellent low temperature toughness and high deformability for stain-based design, while API grades X65 to X70 with good sour resistance have also been developed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 152-153 ◽  
pp. 1492-1498
Author(s):  
Jin Qiao Xu ◽  
Bin Guo ◽  
Lin Zheng ◽  
Yin Hua Li ◽  
Le Yu

This paper provides a detailed description of deep-sea pipeline steel developed at Wuhan Iron and Steel Company(Group), WISCO for short. The thickness of the trial produced plates is 28mm. The chemical composition of low C-high Mn-Nb-Ti with proper content of other alloys and thermo-mechanical controlled process were applied. The results show that the deep-sea pipeline steel developed at Wuhan Iron and Steel Company has a good match of high strength, low temperature toughness and excellent deformability with fine uniform microstructure. The LSAW line pipe manufactured by JCOE method has high strength, good low temperature toughness and low yield ratio which comprehensively meet the requirements of the South China Sea Liwan pipeline project.


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