For Capital Signal Collated by E.

Thomas
API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on

The following informa on was collated from various publica ons, Standards, Codes, specifica ons
including those specified by the Project Scope:

These includes but not limited to:

 ASME BPVC Sec IX

 ASME BPVC Sec VIII
 API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 5C6
 API 1104
 AWS D1.1

Table 1 API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on

ASME IX Grade Grade Grade Grade Remarks
Material Spec. No. X56 X60 X70 X80
API 5L
P.No. 1 1 1 1 ASME BPVC IX
Group No.2 2 2 3 4
Minimum Tensile 490 MPa 515 MPa 565 MPa 625 MPa ASME BPVC IX
Pipe Posi on 5G 5G 5G 5G
Weld Electrodes
Root E8010G E8010G E8010G E8010G SMAW Ver cal Down
Hot E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E91T8-G-H8 FCAW Self Shielded
Fill E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E91T8-G-H8 FCAW Self Shielded
Cap E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E71T-13H8 E91T8-G-H8 FCAW Self Shielded

*1
Pre heat Temp. 50°C Max 12mm 50°C Max 12mm 50°C Max 12mm 50°C Max 12mm
100°C Max 25mm 100°C Max 25mm 100°C Max 25mm 100°C Max 25mm
150°C Max 35mm 150°C Max 35mm 150°C Max 35mm 150°C Max 35mm
200°C Max 50mm 200°C Max 50mm 200°C Max 50mm 200°C Max 50mm

*1 & 2
Inter-pass Temp. 230°C max 230°C max 230°C max 230°C max
*1 & 3 *3 *3 *3
Post heat 595°C 595°C 595°C None
Treatment. Holding Max Max Max See ASME Table ASME VIII Table UCS-56-1
UCS-56-1
Temp. See addi onal Notes!
1 hr/in 1 hr/in 1 hr/in NA
(25mm) 15min (25mm) 15min (25mm) 15min See ASME Table
Holding Time UCS-56-1
Up to 2” (50mm) min min min
*4
Tack welds Length 50 mm 50 mm 50 mm 50 mm

*1. The points of temperature measurement shall be in accordance with EN ISO 13916 except that for all
thicknesses the distance for measurement shall be at least 75 mm from the weld center-line. Par cular
a en on should be paid to the need for prehea ng when making low heat input welds, e.g., tack

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API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on
*2 As a rule of thumb, heat input should be restricted to around 2.5kJ/mm maximum and the inter-pass
temperature maintained at 230°C maximum
*3. Reheated at 5 °C/min to the soaking temperature of 595 °C and with the holding me of 60 min for
every 25 mm thickness. See addi onal Notes PWHT and Table ASME VIII UCS-56-1 below

Addi onal Notes! As cited from API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 5C6

5.6 POSTWELD HEAT TREATMENT (PWHT)
5.6.1 If PWHT is specified by the WPS, all PQR tes ng shall be done with the test weldment in the post
weld heat treatment condi on. PWHT shall be performed in accordance with the fabricator’s WPS or the
wri en procedure. Both furnace and local resistance type PWHT methods shall be considered acceptable.
Hea ng by direct flame impingement shall not be permi ed.

5.6.2 The PWHT procedure or WPS shall specify the applicable PWHT temperature range and me at
temperature.

These steels must under no circumstances be normalized or tempered although post weld heat treatment
(PWHT) is o en a requirement when the component thickness is greater than some 35 to 40mm. Care
needs to be taken if PWHT is applied that the soak temperature does not exceed 600°C; a temperature
range of 550°C to 600°C is o en specified. The reason for this is that many of the TMCP steels are
accelerated cooled to a temperature of around 620°C; heat trea ng at or close to this temperature will
result in a substan al reduc on in tensile strength due to over-tempering. The same restric on applies to
any hot working ac vity - plate must not be hot rolled and the temperature of local hea ng for correc on
of distor on must not be allowed to exceed 600°C.

7.3 PREHEATING
Prehea ng, when required, shall be performed in accordance with the WPS or other wri en procedures
or specifica ons

7.4 FIT-UP
The weld joint fit-up shall take into account squareness. The fabricator shall develop a procedure for fit-
up methods

8.1 CALIBRATION OF MEASURING AND TEST EQUIPMENT

Equipment used to inspect, test or examine material or other equipment shall be iden fied, controlled,
calibrated, and adjusted at specified intervals in accordance with documented manufacturer instruc ons,
and consistent with referenced industry standards,to maintain the accuracy required by this specifica on.

8.2 CONNECTOR SQUARENESS AND ALIGNMENT VERIFICATION

Squareness of each connector welded to pipe shall be inspected to verify conformance with the following
requirements.

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API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on
8.2.1 Squareness Verifica on
Squareness is a measurement of the connector with respect to the pipe axis and shall be inspected to
assure compliance with the requirements set forth in this recommended prac ce.

 The maximum allowable devia on from square shall be 1/16 inch per 12 inches.
 All squareness measurements u lizing the pipe O.D. as a reference surface shall be taken at a
distance of no less than 2 inches away from the weld.
 Squareness verifica on measurements shall be taken at 2 loca ons as a minimum at 90 degrees
apart.

8.2.2 Alignment Verifica on

When alignment verifica on is specified as a supplementary requirement (SR 34), the fabricator shall
perform alignment verifica on as specified below.

Connector to pipe alignment verifica on is a measurement of one connector face rela ve to the connector
face on the opposite end of the pipe. The measurement includes axial alignment and connector
parallelism.

8.2.3 Equipment
Typical alignment verifica on equipment consists of a set of two fixtures including a target and a telescope
(or other sigh ng or image projec on device). These fixtures are posi oned on opposite ends of the joint
being verified such that they are both parallel with the connector or pipe face and centered with the axial
centerline of the connector or pipe end. The target typically consists of a well-defined center area (bull’s
eye) with concentric target circles of a known diameter. The sigh ng device should be of sufficient
magnifica on to observe sight placement within the prescribed target circle for the length of joint being
fabricated (usually 40 feet).

8.2.4 Alignment method

With alignment fixtures made up to the connectors (or pipe end), the connectors should be manipulated
and tack welded to sa sfy the alignment acceptance criteria specified in SR 34.

8.3 NONDESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF WELDMENTS

Conduct visual examina on in accordance with API Standard 1104 with the following addi onal
requirements.

8.3.1 Weld Reinforcement

Visual inspec on shall be conducted to verify compliance with the following restric ons to both the
internal and external weld reinforcements. At no point shall the crown of the weld be below the surface
of the pipe nor shall it be raised above the parent metal by more than 1/16 inch. Those welds where the
raised height of the weld reinforcement exceeds the limits set forth may be brought to within tolerance
by grinding.

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API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on
Weld reinforcement may exceed 1/16 inch when welding reduced bore connectors, girth weld on end
opposite the elevator li end, and other special cases. The fabricator and purchaser may need to consider
dri and handling equipment requirements to ensure compa bility.

8.3.2 Radiographic Examina on

Radiographic examina ons shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in API Standard
1104, Sec ons 8.1.1 through 8.1.13. All discon nui es located by radiographic examina on shall be
subject to the acceptance standards presented in Sec on 6 of API Standard 1104.

8.3.3 Produc on Weld Test Frequency

Nondestruc ve tes ng consis ng of radiographic and visual inspec on shall be conducted on 100 percent
of all produc on welds

Tack welds
It is recommended that the minimum length of a tack weld should be 50 mm, but for material thicknesses
less than 12 mm the minimum length of a tack weld shall be four mes the thicker part. For materials of
thickness greater than 50 mm or of yield strength over 500 N/mm2 considera on should be given to
increasing the length and size of tack welds, which may involve the use of a two run technique.

Joint Detail

Weld Sequence

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 For Capital Signal Collated by E. Thomas
API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on

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 For Capital Signal Collated by E. Thomas
API 5L HSLA STEEL Weld Procedure Informa on

ASME BPVC VIII Prehea ng

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