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
FillandCapPasses
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 
13.7 184
Fill and Cap
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.