TPT July 2007

Technology Update

Pipeline system integrator opts for digital welding technology

Process piping specialist finds increased productivity Bryan Mechanical, USA, is a mechanical contractor specialising in process piping for applications such as HVAC, condensers, refrigeration and plumbing. The company has worked on applications ranging from chemical plants to Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers stadium. To cut carbon steel and stainless steel pipe, the company uses a model 12A machine from Continental Pipe & Tube Cut-off Machines, USA, which cuts 3½" to 12¾" diameter tube and pipe. Bryan Mechanical performs an average of 50 cuts per day, although this has increased at times to 100 cuts, of varying lengths. The company has found that using a Continental machine takes 1 / 10 th of the time of its previous flame-cut method of cutting larger diameter pipe, with the added benefit that the pipe is bevelled on both sides in one cut, with no wasted material. Mr Mick Fonas, shop foreman at Bryan Mechanical, commented on the ease of use of the Continental machine: “ I train first year apprentices on it, and after about a week they stop asking me questions. As long as they can measure properly, they can be cutting nearly immediately. In seven years of using the machine, only once have we had a problem – a shaft broke. We got technical input from Continental on how to fix it, and they sent a part so that it arrived the next day.” Continental Pipe & Tube Cut-off Machines – USA Fax : +1 630 543 5953 Email : info@continentalcutoff.com Website : www.continentalcutoff.com

As part of the construction of a 700km pipeline for transporting natural gas from Indonesia to Thailand, system integrator CRC Evans, USA, opted for the latest technology from Austrian welding systems manufacturer, Fronius. The company will, for the first time for an offshore project, equip six workstations with digital welding technology. For this project, CRC ordered Fronius digital welding technology for two workstations on each of three ships. The outer diameter of the X70 high-strength steel 24m pipe sections is 42" (106 cm), and their walls are 23.85mm thick. Using four TransPuls Synergic 3200 Pipe systems, the first station welds the root and the hot pass in the first cycle, followed by the first two cover layers. For the first weld layer, a copper weld pool ensures perfect root formation. At the same time, the eight systems in the second workstation weld the third to sixth filler layers in two cycles. The four torches at the first workstation are arranged in two pairs, one behind the other (dual single). Starting from the apex of the pipe, they each weld 180° arches, ie from position PA left and right down to position PE. fi Eight TransPuls Synergic 3200 pipe welding systems simultaneously produce two cover layers on one pipe joint

› Digital welding technology from Fronius

In the second station the torches of the eight welding systems are also configured ‘dual single’, although here they weld a quarter- circle instead of a semi-circle. Fronius has perfected its welding programs as a result of its experience in the narrow-gap welding of pipelines. This also applies to the synchronisation of the two arcs working in each weld pool. Quality plays a key role in pipeline con- struction as rework is expensive and time- consuming. Production costs in offshore pipeline construction are approximately US$300,000 per day. The 36 TransPuls Synergic 3200 pipe welding systems – with stable, practically spatter-free arcs – contribute to the high productivity required in the PTT 3 rd Transmission offshore project. They produce high quality seams with a failure rate of just 1.5 per cent. Fronius International GmbH – Austria Fax : +43 7242 241 2670 Website : www.fronius.com CRC-Evans Pipeline International, Inc – USA Fax : +1 281 999 8724

Email : pipeline@crc-evans.com Website : www.crc-evans.com

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