Work Instruction No.

:
Asset Protection
Cathodic protection 6602

Approved by: Manager

Thermit Welding Pipeline Standards

1 PURPOSE • Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge

This Work Instruction describes the
permanent electrical connection of stranded The following materials will be required to
copper conductors to steel pipelines by complete a thermit weld:
Thermit welding. The Thermit welding • Thermit weld charge 15 grams
process shall comply with APT O&MS (maximum)
Health, Safety and Environmental
Management Systems and meet the • Charge Caps
requirements of all relevant statutory gas • Coating repair material compatible
supply legislation. with parent coating
• Cleaning agent
2 REFERENCES
6301 Coatings Procedure The following Safety Equipment will be
required, to complete a thermit weld:
6302 Testing Coatings on Steel
Pipelines to Detect Holidays • Cotton full length overalls
• Flash Goggles
3 GENERAL INFORMATION • Welding Gauntlets
Thermit welding involves a mixture of • Safety boots
powdered copper oxide and aluminium held • Fire Extinguisher
in a graphite cubicle and ignited by means of • Fire Blanket (if required)
a flint gun. The reduction of the copper oxide
• Safety Glasses
by the aluminium (an exothermic reaction)
produces molten copper as well as
aluminium oxide slag. The molten copper 3.2 Personnel
flows over the conductors in the graphite
Two persons are required, one completing
mould and fuses them to the surface.
the weld and the other maintaining a fire
Penetration of the heat generated by the watch.
molten alloy is minimised through use of a
Personnel responsible for completing the
specific power charge size of 15 grams. weld must be trained and assessed as
AS 2885 approves the use of Thermit competent, or working under the supervision
welding on licensed pressure pipelines. of competent personnel.

3.1 Tools, Materials and Equipment 4 PROCEDURE

The following tools will be required to 4.1 Work Area Safety
complete a thermit weld:
Due to the exothermic reaction of Thermit
• Graphite crucible (mould)
Welding, Hot Work permits as well as
• Medium Cut File continuous flammable gas monitoring shall
• Pliers be maintained throughout the welding
procedure.
• Electrical Knife
A fire extinguisher must be present at the
• Rat Tail File or Screwdriver
work site.
• Hammer
All flammable materials shall be removed
• Flint Gun from around the work area. Where this is
• LPG torch (as appropriate) impractical a suitable fire blanket is to be
used to cover any flammable materials.
• Wire Brush
• Securing Chain and Spring
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Thermit Welding
The work area shall be clear of obstructions
that could inhibit the safe application of the
Thermit weld or evacuation of the work site.
4.2 Distance from Other Welds
Thermit welds shall not be placed within
75mm of a longitudinal pipe weld or within
200mm of a circumferential pipe weld.
Thermit welds shall be a minimum of 75mm
apart.
4.3 Surface Preparation
Remove all coating on the structure for a
minimum area of 50mm x 50mm for each
Thermit weld to be applied. For pipelines, it
is best practice to remove the coating with
full circumferential cuts to reduce the risk of
future coating failures.
Remove any mastic or primer with an
approved cleaning agent (such as
environsol). Surface area must be washed
thoroughly with clean water. Dry immediately
with clean rags to remove possible chemical
residues.

Note: Cleaning agents are
generally flammable products
and appropriate care must be
taken when using them.
Roughen the cleaned area with a medium cut
file so as to give a rough clean finish. After
filing, the finished metal areas must not be
cleaned using chemical cleaning agents as
chemical cleaning agent can leave a film that
inhibits the welding process.
To prevent oxidisation or contamination of
the prepared surface the welding procedure
should be conducted within four hours of
preparation. Should oxidisation or
contamination of the prepared surface occur
the surface is to be cleaned again using a
medium cut file.
4.4 Wall Thickness Check
The thickness of the substrate to be welded
shall be measured and recorded using an
ultrasonic thickness gauge. Generally
welding shall not be carried out on material
less than 6mm thick without qualification (in
accordance with AS 2885.1). However for
pipelines fabricated from API 5L X42 or a
lower grade steel, where the MAOP is less
Issue 2 October 2007
Work Instruction No.:
6602
than 2000kPa, and the hoop stress does not
exceed 30% of the SMYS, welding can be
carried out on material down to 4.8mm wall
thickness.
4.5 Cable Preparation
Strip approximately 125mm of insulation from
a single core multi stranded cable using an
electrical knife.
Split the cable strands into smaller numbers
and twist the ends of the cable together using
pliers, forming a group no greater than
10.5mm², this is the maximum allowable for a
15 gram charge mould.
The weld to be completed first shall be the
closest to the cable insulation. The weld is to
be no closer than 40mm to the insulation.
4.6 Mould and Cable Positioning
Position the mould over the cleaned metal
surface and secure with chain and spring.
Point the cable entry slot in the mould in the
desired direction, in the case of a pipeline
this shall be longitudinally along the pipe.
Once the mould is secure, slide the prepared
cable into the cable opening on the base of
the mould until it touches the rear of the
mould, then slide the cable back
approximately 3mm to allow the molten alloy
to flow completely around the cable. It is
important that the mould sits flat on the metal
surface to prevent molten alloy spillage. The
appropriate moulds must be used for
attaching cables in the vertical plane,
likewise when attaching cables to small
piping.
4.7 Mould Loading and Firing
Care should be taken to ensure the mould is
moisture free. In the event of moisture being
present, then an appropriate method of pre
heating may be used to remove any moisture
from the mould by the use of an LPG torch or
similar.
Place the supplied metal retaining cap into
the mould crucible. The caps conical side
shall face down, as shown in Figure 1.
Confirm that the cap is sitting flat on the
bottom of the crucible chamber.
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Thermit Welding
Placement of Metal Retainment Cap
Figure 1
Grip a 15gram charge container firmly from
the bottom with one hand. With the other
hand slowly twist the cap free from the base,
care should be taken not to spill any charge
materials.
Once open, carefully dump the material into
the open mould, as shown in Figure 2. Do
not tap the mould to settle the material.
Pouring a 15g Charge into an Open Mould
Figure 2
The ignition powder is contained in the base
of the charge cap. To dislodge this material,
hold the cap over the open mould and
squeeze firmly. Sprinkle the ignition powder
evenly over the charge material. A small
amount of powder shall be placed on the
edge of the mould near the opening to aid
ignition.
Once the charge has been loaded close the
mould lid.
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Work Instruction No.:
6602
Safety flash goggles, full cotton overalls and
welding gauntlets must be worn during firing
of charge.
Finally check that the area is clear. Stand at
arms length from the mould with the flint gun
pointing into the mould exhaust port opening.
Ignite the charge with the flint gun, as shown
in Figure 3.
Igniting The Charge
Figure 3

Caution: Hot molten alloy may
leak from the mould.
If a charge fails to ignite the whole charge is
to be discarded and a new charge loaded as
previously described.
Do not look directly at the flame while the
burn continues. Once the flame has
extinguished, allow 1 minute for the alloy to
cool and remove the mould.
4.8 Weld Inspection
Check the integrity of the weld by tapping it
with a hammer. This also will clean off weld
slag. Figure 4 shows completed thermit
welds.
Clean the mould of slag using a screwdriver
or file, this is best done whilst mould is still
warm.

Caution: The mould and slag
will be very hot following a weld
and safety gauntlets and safety
glasses must be worn during the
cleaning operation and integrity
check.
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 Work Instruction No.:
Thermit Welding
6602

Completed Thermit Welds

Figure 4

Do not use water to quench the completed

weld. Allow the weld to cool naturally to
ambient temperature.
If the weld fails, repeat the process, ensuring
that the cable is stripped back sufficiently to
expose new cable.
If a weld fails when tapped with the hammer,
the new weld shall be no closer than 75mm
from the failed weld.

4.9 Clean Up
Wire brush all finished welds and clear work
area of all debris and make area safe.

4.10 Coating Repair

Repair the pipeline coating in accordance
with Work Instruction 6303. Holiday test the
coating prior to burial in accordance with
Work Instruction 6302.

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