Welding on High Yield Pipe

Today there are numerous ways to weld high yield pipe in the field. It is necessary to understand
these various processes to insure that the process selected with meet the quality and
productivity requirements of a pipeline project. Several processes are discussed, with emphasis
on shielded metal arc welding with cellulosic electrodes and self-shielded flux cored arc welding.

Introduction

In today’s world cross country transmission pipelines have to address many issues including
higher service pressures, sour products, new high strength steels, more severe operating
environments, tighter governing codes, and a host of environmental concerns. These conditions
must be balanced by the needs of the pipeline contractor to control costs and complete the
project in a timely manner while still meeting more stringent quality requirements. Knowledge
of welding processes can help the contractor meet his needs and deliver the required quality.
This same knowledge can help the specifying engineer understand that there are numerous ways
to meet his quality and design needs without imposing unnecessary costs on the contractor.

Several processes and combinations of processes currently are used for the field welding of
cross country line pipe. These include shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), self-shielded flux
cored arc welding (FCAW-S), and gas metal arc welding (GMAW). With GMAW transfer mode
must also be consider, short arc, controlled short arc as in Surface Tension Transfer, spray, and
globular. Attention will be placed on those processes which lend themselves to high quality and
high productivity field welding with conservative capital investment.

Review of Pipeline Steels

Today’s pipe steels are higher strength than those used previously and are today designed with
weldability in mind. The most common steels used for oil and gas cross country pipelines
conform to API 5LX or similar such standards.

Table 1. Summary API 5L Strength Requirements

X42 X46 X52 X56 X60 X65 X70 X80
Tensile (ksi) 60 63 66 71 75 77 82 90-120
Yield (ksi) 42 46 52 56 60 65 70 80

Strength levels can be achieved by several methods including gross chemistry, micro-alloying,
and cold expansion of the pipe when produced at the pipe mill. In higher strength grades the
trend is to use cold expansion and micro-alloying so that carbon and manganese can be kept at
relatively low levels, thus reducing heat affected zone hardness and helping reduce, though not
eliminate concerns about weld metal hydrogen. For example, it is typical to see carbon contents
of less than 0.05% in modern X70 and X80 steels with some X80 steels having Pcm values of
less than 0.20.
Welding Processes

Obviously the first step in the welding of pipe is to run the root pass. This is perhaps the most
critical pass on a pipe weld for several reasons. First, this is the most difficult pass to make on a
pipe weld, requiring good operator skill for manually applied processes, with good process
control combined with good alignment. Automatically applied processes require operators with
high degrees of technical skill combined with good alignment and backing systems. The
automated process of choice today is gas metal arc welding and is generally used with either an
internal copper backup ring, or, if the diameter is large enough, an internal welding system. Both
of these approaches add complexity to field welding and impose certain restrictions the use of
traditional GMAW transfer modes.

With backup rings there is the possibility of unacceptable copper pick up in the root pass. With
internal welding systems there is a minimum pipe diameter below which the systems are not
practical. The ideal welding process would allow welding of a root bead without backup rings
and internal systems and would have a root bead with sound weld metal and just enough
buildup to insure a full thickness weld. This weld would also have no internal undercut, no lack
of fusion, no porosity, and good mechanical properties.

Welding speed must also be considered when looking at the welding of the root pass. The pace
of pipe laying is determined by how quickly the root pass can be done. While some time can be
gained by putting more operators on this pass, there is a practical limit to this approach.
Therefore, high travel speeds are essential. Speed is needed to maintain schedules and control
equipment leasing costs.

Much of the pipeline welding done today is in the emerging economies of the world, often in
remote inhospitable climates and must draw on local labor pools for welders. This means that
the process used must cope with adverse conditions of weather including wind, temperature
extremes, and moisture. The necessary skills need either to exist in the local labor pool, or be
easily learned. The required welding equipment must also be rugged, reliable, and durable.

When all of the above factors are considered, two welding processes emerge as the leading
processes, shielded metal arc welding and self-shielded flux cored arc welding. In the case of
shielded metal arc welding, Figure 1, there are advantages to using cellulosic electrodes run in
the vertical down direction instead of using low hydrogen electrodes, even on higher strength
steels. Because cellulosic electrodes generate a significant amount of shielding gases in use and
have a focused forceful arc, these electrodes tend to have better root pass properties and better
root pass control. The high arc force helps to maintain puddle and slag control in vertical down
progression, while also having high travel speeds. Low hydrogen electrodes primarily use slag to
protect the weld pool and this can lead to contamination of the weld pool from the back side of
the bead, reducing weld properties and increasing the chances for porosity. The relatively low
penetration of low hydrogen electrodes when compared to cellulosic electrodes also means that
wider root gaps must be used which increase welding time and slow down the welding
operation. Cellulosic electrodes can put in root passes at speeds that exceed 14 inches per
minute (356 mm per minute) and with consistent inside buildups of under 1/16 inch (1.6 mm).
Cracking concerns with cellulosic electrodes are addressed with proper preheat and interpass
temperature control, and by using procedures which insure adequate ligament in the root pass.
Preheat and interpass temperatures are dictated by steel chemistries which today are more
forgiving than previously. Use of the correct electrode size run in the middle to lower portion
the range for that electrode helps insure a proper ligament. Root bead cracking can also be
minimized by not moving the lineup clamp until the second pass has been completed.

Self-shielded flux cored arc welding, Figure 2, has the advantages of shielded metal arc welding
with cellulosic electrodes including high arc force, high penetration and excellent puddle control
when welding with a vertical down progression. In addition, this process has the advantages of
automated processes including high deposition rates, high travel speeds, high arc on times, and
controlled hydrogen levels. Frequently self-shielded is used over root passes made with shielded
metal arc welding. This is one approach to the welding of X80, where hydrogen cracking in the
parent steel is not a concern for the root pass, but weld metal hydrogen cracking could be a
concern on subsequent passes.

In shielded metal arc welding shielding is generated by the decomposition of the flux at the arc.
In self-shielded flux cored arc welding a continuous tubular electrode contains are stabilizers
and core materials which will generate shielding when they reach the arc. Both processes work
outside under severe weather conditions including temperature extremes and high winds.
Likewise, both shielded metal arc welding with cellulosic electrodes and self-shielded flux cored
arc welding are easily learned by welding operators already skilled in other forms of shielded
metal arc welding. For example, one instructor was recently able to train and qualify to API
1104 over ninety welding operators unfamiliar with self-shielded flux cored arc welding.

Table 2. Vertical Down Pipe Welding Electrodes

AWS Class API 5L Strength Levels
X42 X46 X52 X56 X60 X65 X70 X80
Root Pass
E6010 X X X
E7010G X X X X
E8010G X X X X X
E71T-13H8 X X X X X X X X
Fill and Cap Passes
E6010 X X X
E7010G X X X X
E7010G X X X X X
E71T8-K6 X X X X X X X
E91T8-G X
Notice in the above table that only the self-shielded arc welding process is recommended for
the welding of X80 once the root and hot passes are completed.

Both processes are capable of delivering properties which meet or exceed the minimum
properties specified for the parent steels, which is all that most governing codes require. Here
are a few test results for two pipe grades run with the typical pipe joint detail shown in Figure 3.

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

Pipe Properties Tensile (ksi) Yield (ksi)
Specified 82 70
Actual 113 90
Weld (E8010-G)
Actual 83 77
CVN-37 ft-lb @ -50° F (50 joules @ -46° C)

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

Pipe Properties Tensile (ksi) Yield (ksi)
Specified 90-120 80
Actual
Weld (E91T-8-G)
Reduced Section Tensile 96
CVN 76 ft-lb @ -40° F (103 joules @ -40° C)

Welding Economics

The one issue not yet discussed is that of economics. Many things affect the cost of welding
including material costs, equipment cost, labor rates and a host of others outside the scope of
this paper. For purposes of comparison time to complete a welded joint will be used for a
relative indicator of cost. The basic assumption is that if equipment costs and labor rates are
similar, the time to complete a weld joint will be indicative of cost, less time translating into
lower costs and higher productivity. All comparisons will be done using the typical joint detail
used above to simplify the results. In reality compound preparations may reduce the total time
on heavier wall pipe. Welding comparisons will use .750 in (19 mm) wall, 48 in (1219 mm)
diameter pipe.

Table 5. Typical Procedures All Progression is downhill, 5G Position

Electrode Type Current (Amp) Travel (in/min)
Root Pass
5/32 EXX10 135DC+ 11
.068E71T-13H8 190DC- 7.5
Hot Pass
5/32 EXX10 170DC+ 15
5/64 E71T-8-K6 245DC- 15
Fill and Cap
3/16 EXX10 200-240DC+ As Needed
5/64 E71T-8-K6 300DC- As Needed

Table 6. Welding Times

Process Root Pass Time (min) Total Time (min)
All EXX10 13.7 241
EXX10 ROOT, FCAW-S
Fill and Cap 13.7 184
All FCAW-S 20.2 164

These times represent man-minutes of welding. The joint done with all self-shielded flux cored
arc welding has the lowest total time, but the combination of shielded metal arc welding with
self-shielded flux cored arc welding will result in the greatest amount of pipe laid on a given day
because of the time savings in the root pass. This combination will result in the best overall
compromise of reduced total time and maximum pipe laid in a given period of time.

Conclusions

Shielded metal arc welding and self-shielded flux cored arc welding are cost effective ways to
produce quality welds under field conditions. Also, the best solution to field welding of cross
country pipeline is often is to use a combination of welding processes.