TPT July 2013

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Industry News
32 July 2013
Weld-overlay elbows and tees
for Brazil project
THYSSENKRUPP Mannex and Erne
Fittings were recently able to secure a
major order of seamless pipes, fittings
and flanges for a project in Brazil.
Pipes, fittings and flanges are
processed to spools in Suape/Recife
and afterwards integrated into the
refinery “Abreu e Lima RNEST”.
The plant, which is located in Ipojuca
in north-eastern Brazil, is a pilot
project of Petrobras, Brazil’s largest
oil company.
In future, oil products with a high
sulphur content will be processed into
diesel with a very low sulphur content
here, using high temperatures and
hydrogen (“hydrotreating”).
The over 200 cladded elbows and
tees with a dimensional range of 457
x (29.4 + 3)mm are made from the
heat-resistant base material WP22
and an inside weld overlay of 317L.
Compliance with tightest manufacturing
tolerances during forming process and
weld-overlay, as well as flexible weld-
end preparation in accordance with the
connection dimensions of the straight
clad pipes, ensure problem-free
welding of the composite materials.
Ernecladfittingscombinehighstrength
with excellent corrosion properties. The
inner surface of a high-strength C-steel
base material is coated with corrosion-
resistant materials (eg austenite, Ni-
based alloys). During use, the high-
alloy weld-overlay layer prevents direct
contact with the corrosive media and
the ferritic base material ensures the
required mechanical properties with
regard to pressure and temperature,
such as strength and impact toughness.
In contrast to solid CRA (corrosion
resistant alloys), Erne clad fittings
enable threefold cost savings: due to
the lower price of C-steel compared to
high-alloy steels; due to the reduction
in material used (the higher strength
of the C-steel allows for thinner walls);
and as thinner walls mean a significant
reduction in the welding and inspection
expenses when processing the fittings.
This saving potential is especially
high when either large wall thicknesses
are required due to high pressures and/
or temperatures, or very complex and
therefore expensive alloy concepts are
needed due to the corrosive load.
Erne clad fittings are manufactured
in cooperation between Erne Fittings
and Uhlig Rohrbogen. Erne Fittings
has produced high quality elbows, tees
and reducers since the early 1920s,
as a result of which the company has
established itself as a premium supplier
in the approved field.
Erne Fittings GmbH – Austria
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