Project Title:

RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS

PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS PROJECT

CONTRACT No. 10100-25345/25380

Post Weld Heat Treatment Procedure

ISSUED BY: SINOPEC ENGINEERING GROUP SAUDI CO.LTD.

APPROVED FOR
TECNICAS REUNIDAS SAUDIA SAUDI ARAMCO

□APPROVED □APPROVED

□APPROVED WITH COMMENTS □APPROVED WITH COMMENTS

NAME NAME
SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

DATE DATE
ISSUE STATUS
Rev Date Prepared by Sign Approved By Sign

00 2019-12-19 QCM Project Manager

 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1 PURPOSE

2 SCOPE

3 APPLICABLE CODES AND STANDARD

4 DEFINITIONS

5 HEAT TREATMENT EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL

6 REQUIREMENTS

7 SETUP PROCEDURE

8 POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT

9 SAFETY

10 DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDS

11 ATTACHMENTS
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

1 PURPOSE
This procedure establishes the minimum requirements to assure that Heat Treatment is
performed in accordance with the applicable codes and contract requirements.

2 SCOPE
The scope shall state that the procedure is for the "local PWHT of piping joints" in RAS
TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS PROJECT

3 APPLICABLE CODES AND STANDARD

3.1 SAUDI ARAMCO Engineering Code and Standard

SAES-W-011 Welding Requirement of On-Plot Piping

SAES-L-350 Construction of Plant Piping Systems
SAIC-W-2003 Review Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) Specification, Procedure &
Table
for On-Plot Piping
SAEP-1160 Database, process control tracking(by weld)

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

ASME B 31.3 Process Piping

4 DEFINITIONS
Stress Relieving:
The uniform heating of pipe weld joint to a specified temperature below the critical
temperature of the material for a period of time to relieve major portion of residual
Stresses, and then cool at a uniform regulated rate.

5 HEAT TREATMENT EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

5.1 Equipment
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
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RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

 The equipment shall be calibrated, approved and should bear appropriate electrical
power input/output notices.
 Power distribution (supply) shall be of 380V- 3 phase, with either single phase
secondary output or step down transformer secondary output (heat treatment unit)
supplying low voltage circuits. The temperature control equipment shall be operated
manually or through regulators or it shall be (made) operated automatically with the
help of modular controls. The chart type temperature recorder shall be used for
recording temp.
 Temperature recorders shall be calibrated every three months and a current calibration
sticker shall be maintained on the recorder. The calibration frequency may be extended
to 12 months with the approval of Company Inspection if the documented calibration
checks for that particular recorder demonstrate acceptable accuracy for a suitable
period.
 If the furnace is not using, the insulation should be properly applied

5.2 Materials
5.2.1Ceramic Heaters Mats.
 Heating Elements used for PWHT shell be flexible ceramic mat heaters of
standards sizes are 300 x 300 mm,300 x
400mm, 300 x 560mm,300 x 718mm & 300 x 888mm,240 x 1040 and flexible
ceramic Coil of various length.
 Ceramic heaters are designed to use up to 1050 0 C. End of the heaters are
provided with cam lock plug & socket connections. Heaters should be thoroughly
checked before wrapping on the job & connecting to the circuit.
5.2.2 Arrangements of Elements.
 The circumferential band width which has to be heated shall be minimum three (3)
times the thickness of the shell material being welded from each edge of the weld,
but not less than 25 mm, whichever is greater.
 For weld on pipe diameter 250 mm, the elements shall be divided in to two or
more control zones, being top & bottom with pads applied symmetrically.
 If the elements arrangements is not being capable of desired configuration then,
The center line circumferential gap between two bands shall not exceed 30 mm or
“t” whichever is lesser.
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 The longitudinal gaps between elements shall not be more than the wall thickness
or 50mm, whichever is less. We should be careful to ensure that there are no gaps
in “6” o clock position.
 If the welds are of two separate wall thickness, then the elements should be so
arranged to give side to side control in addition to top & bottom control.
In the case of inclined or vertical welds the pads shall be arranged about the weld
to give independent control above & below weld centerline.
5.2.3 Thermal Insulation
 Thermal insulation should be achieved by following means, In some cases,
minimum requirements shall be 50mm thick. Densities (90 Kg/m3 ) if mineral wool
shall be used.
If Super wool LT, Carbowool or equivalent blanket, 25mm thick, having a minimum
density of 96 kg/m3 shall be used as an alternative.
 The insulation distance shall be up to a minimum distance of 300 mm beyond the
edges of the heating bands or up to a distance determined by the product of bore
radius times the maximum wall thickness whichever is less.
 The number of layers & extent of insulated area shall be dependent on
 Wall thickness.
 Pipe or fitting diameter.
 Gradient requirements.
 Site conditions.
 Insulation shall be fixed using black annealed iron wire taking care, not damaging
or cutting in to the insulation.
 By following proper PWHT cycle, the items are the particular joint shall be
completed & the cooling rate should be controlled under insulation.
5.3 Surface Conditions
 The welds to be heat treated shall be prepared free of grease, lubricants, dust and
coatings to avoid damage and short circuiting of accessory equipment. Any wood
or plastic end cover protections shall be removed.
 During heat treatment it shall be necessary to protect from oxidation flange faces
or threaded holes, threads by the application of coating such as de oxaluminite or
any other suitable coating material.

6 REQUIREMENTS
6.1 Special Requirement
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
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Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

WPS utilized in performing the affected welds shall be qualified for PWHT when
required by applicable code.
All temporary attachment within the heat affected zone shall be removed.

6.2. General Requirement

PWHT shall be in accordance with the ASME B 31.3 or project NDE/PWHT specifications.
Prior to the start of work, a detail table listing of joints or components requiring heat
treatment shall be prepared and submitted to Saudi Aramco Inspection for review. The
table shall include the information for each joint or component, location, drawing no,
diameter, wall thickness, material, heating rate, cooling rate, soaking temperature and
time, number and location of the thermocouple.
For carbon and low alloy steels, the following process conditions require PWHT:
 All caustic soda (NaOH) solutions, including conditions where caustic carryover may
occur (e.g. downstream of caustic injection points).
 All mono ethanolamine (MEA), MDEA and DEA solutions, at all temperatures.
 All diglycol amine (DGA) solutions above 138℃ design temperature.
 All rich amino diisopropanol (ADIP) solutions above 90℃ design temperature.
 All lean ADIP solutions above 60℃ design temperature.
 Boiler deaerator service (i.e., ambient temperature vacuum deaerators are
exempt).
 Hydrogen service for P-No. 3, 4, and 5A/B/C base materials.
 The applicable industry specs must be followed for PWHT requirement for any
service not listed above. Other process conditions may also require PWHT, as
determined during the project design. Code exemptions for PWHT are not
permitted if PWHT is specified for process conditions.
 These requirements apply to external welds to attach non-pressure containing
component to the piping (e.g., reinforcement pad or sleeve attached to the pipe)
and to seal welds since residual stresses are often extended through the entire wall
thickness. Seal welds on threaded valves may be exempt from the PWHT
requirements if the PWHT will damage the valve internals, if they cannot be
removed.
 In sour service environment, PWHT is mandatory for the following cases:
 Double sided welding, i.e., flange girth welds
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

 Internal weld repair

 Internal weld build up for dissimilar thickness joints to overcome misalignment

7 SETUP PROCEDURE:
7.1 General
 Visit site with client representative to evaluate work, select safe work area for
equipment and personnel for heat treatment work to be performed.
 Clean-up the surface area of pipe to a minimum of 1 feet each side of the element band
to be used. Make sure that the surface is free of oil, grease, tar, bitumen or other
contaminations and is dry/free of moisture/condensation before insulation of
thermocouples and elements.
 Ensure that pipe ends are closed off and sealed with insulation to prevent air drafts and
heat loss on inner surface through a chimney effect.
 Protect machined surfaces such as flanges, threaded sockets, etc. From oxidation by
applying a coat of Deoxaluminite or other high temperature grease approved as per
ARAMCO specification.
 Preparations for protection of work being heat treated against possible rain and/or
extreme weather conditions utilizing scaffolding and weather proof sheeting to cover as
needed.
 All heating elements are to be checked for defects before installation. Elements with
broken beads, exposed wire or damaged twist locks shall not be used. This will ensure
the electrical and insulation integrity of elements.
 All equipment and materials are to be in good working order prior to the start of work.
 Before proceeding with heating cycle check all cables/connections for electrical integrity
and maintain good housekeeping in work area.
 Prior to the start of PWHT, components shall be checked to ensure that all restraints are
removed, the component is free to expand and contract, and suitable and sufficient
supports are used. In addition the PWHT chart shall be marked, prior to PWHT, with
identification number of the weld(s).
7.2 Thermocouple Attachment and Positioning
 Thermocouples shall be Type 'K' twin insulated wire (chromelalumel) and 2 meters long
connected to thermocouple plug.
 Positioning of thermocouples on circumferential welds shall be as follows, position
designated by the time clock i.e., 12,3,6 and 9 0' clock.
 As per SAES-W-011 Up to 12" 1 TIC
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
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Location: Document Number: Revision
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 Above 12" and include 24" 2 TIC

 Above 24": 4 TIC
 These are the minimum requirements.
 Each heating zone consisting of up to 3 elements (maximum), shall have one
thermocouple as the control which is situated in the center of the zone and
under the center of the element. The number of zone is controlled by the
number of elements required to circumvent pipe i.e. 18 elements divide by 3
equals 6 zones therefore 6 thermocouples are required.
 To attach thermocouples clean a small area on weld with a file; the
thermocouple wire is attached by capacitance discharge welding in place using
the thermocouple welding unit with the wires spread 6mm apart (maximum).
 After thermocouple wire is welded in place apply Hi-Temp thermocouple putty
over exposed wire/weld this ensures that thermocouples will not be in direct
contact with heating element. The minimum thickness of insulation pad to
cover thermocouple shall be 3.2mm.
 The Type "K" thermocouple lead to copper-compensating cable connection
shall be minimum 0.5 meter outside the insulated area. For connection to
remote recorder, the copper lead shall be connected to the Chromel (non-
magnetic) wire and the constantan lead shall be connected to the Alumel
(magnetic) wire.
 The acceptable temperature range of the junction between the compensating
cable and the thermocouple is from 0 to +80℃.
 Insulation coloring of each core wire & overall sheath for compensating cable
and thermocouple.
 Compensating cable: 2X 13/0.2mm Cu/Cu-Ni compensating cables type K,
model KCR with color code as per GB/T4989-94 (+ve: Red) and (-ve: Blue) &
sheath black cover.
 Thermocouple K type: The general K type Thermocouple wire (reference code:
BSEN 60584-2) having dimension 1/0.7 Imm of Ni-Cr/Ni-AI the (+ve: Red) and (-
ve: Yellow) charges should be marked properly.
 The thermocouple shall be attached to the component by capacitive discharge
welding only. The thermocouples shall not be in direct contact with electrical
heating elements.
 All charts shall be marked with the date and sufficient information to uniquely
identify the joint/ component being heat treated. Multipoint chart recorders
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

shall clearly differentiate/ identify each channel/ point by use of different

colored inks or automatic number stamping.

7.3 Heating Elements

 The specified PWHT shall be applied over an area extending at least 3 times the
thickness of the material being welded from each of the weld but not less than 25mm
from each edge of the weld, whichever is greater.
 For finding the required element, calculate the pipe circumference and divide this by
element width i.e. (For 12" pipe, circum. =40" divide 10=4, which means require 4CM 10
elements). See Table: 1
 The required number of heating elements are joined together by tie wire and placed
centrally over weld seam, taking precautions not to damage the thermocouple welded
to pipe (elements to be placed centrally over wire).
 Hold element band in position by using rubber straps over the elements circumference
around pipe. Then using stainless steel banding, 2 band to secure the elements tightly
around pipe by use of banding machine. Element tails to be supported axially against
pipe by tie wire.

7.4 Insulation
 Ceramic fibre insulation mats have standard dimension of 25mm thick by 600mm wide,
lengths to fit pipe circumference and density of 128kg/cum and encased in stainless
steel mesh.
 For PWHTs that are not perform in a furnace, insulation shall be applied a minimum of
300mm on either side of the weld that is to be PWHTed. The insulation shall not be
removed before the temperature has cooled to below 150℃. The ends of open lines
shall be closed off in order to eliminate drafts or air circulation that could lower the
temperature on the inside surface of the joint unless the internal surface is also
insulated.
 Insulation must not cover the element cold tails junction to avoid burn out of tail
junction.
 The insulation to be secured in place by using iron tie wire or for larger diameters mild
steel banding.

8 POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT(PWHT)

8.1 General
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
PROJECT
Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

 PWHT is used to improve the toughness and reduce the hardness of a weld, refine grain
structure and increase ductility and relieve residual stresses.
 Attach thermocouples as described, pipe diameter and number of heating zones
regulates the minimum number of thermocouples required.
 Place heating elements centrally over weld, and heating zones elements with care
centrally over thermocouples. For larger/thicker pipe or flanges it may be necessary to
use two heating bands each side of weld and each band controlled by its own individual
thermocouples.
 Connect secondary supply leads/splitters to element and heat treatment unit; connect
thermocouples and compensating cables to temperature recorder. Check all electrical
cables/connectors for electrical integrity before switching on power.
 Thermocouples and temperature recorder shall monitor and provide a record of
heating, soaking and cooling cycle. The technician shall check the recorder chart speed
at the start of each heat treatment cycle and indicate the chart speed on the strip chart.
 The PWHT heating and cooling rates above 316℃ shall not exceed 222℃/hr divided by
the weld thickness in inches, but in no case shall it be more than 222℃/hr.
 The specified PWHT shall be applied over an area extending at least 3 times the
thickness of the material being welded from each edge of the weld but not less than
25mm from each edge of the weld, whichever is greater.
 Soak temperature shall be considered to start when all thermocouples are just reached
the lower limit of the soaking temperature required for each material.
 The minimum PWHT soak time shall be one (1) hour and if hardness limits are specified
the soak time for production welds shall not be less than 80% of the PQR soak time
unless approved by CSD.
 For all Quenched and tempered materials the PWHT temperature shall be at least
250℃ below the tempering temperature.
 All temperatures within the heated zone for furnace or localized PWHT shall exceed the
specified minimum holding temperature. The actual temperature range for the soak
period, as recorded by thermocouples, shall not have a spread of more than 40℃.
 Welding or heating to joints that have been PWHTed requires rePWHT. Post Weld Heat
Treatment shall follow all welding and repairs but shall be performed prior to any hydro
test.
 At 300℃ power can be turned off and the weld cool unrestricted to ambient, and
insulation/elements removed.
 Project Title:
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Location: Document Number: Revision
RAS TANURA -SAUDI ARABIA 10100-25345/25380 00

 Remove thermocouples, areas where thermocouples were attached shall be filed

smooth to clean sound metal.
 During heat treatment cycle if a thermocouple/heating element dies and cannot be
repaired, the cycle is terminated and cooled down at the specified rate. The insulation
shall not be removed before the temperature has cooled to below 150℃ and
thermocouple/element is replaced, re-insulate and restart the heating cycle.
 Thermocouples and a calibrated temperature chart recorder shall be used to provide an
accurate and legible record of all PWHTs. All charts shall be marked with the date and
sufficient information to uniquely identify the joint/component being heat treated.
Multipoint chart recorders shall clearly differentiate/identify each channel/point by use
of different colored inks or automatic number stamping.
 All NDT examination shall be performed after completion of final heat treatment
regardless of the P-number of the materials.

8.2 DIS ASSEMBLY

 Power source shall be electrically isolated before dismantling the secondary power
cabling system. Ceramic fiber insulation shall be removed only after the temperature
has cooled below 150℃.
 After completion of PWHT, all thermocouples shall be removed and the attachment
areas ground smooth to clean sound metal. MT/PT should be applied to those areas
when requested by Aramco Inspection.

8.3 PWHT OF DISSIMILAR P-NUMBER WELDS

PWHT of welded joints between dissimilar P-number welds having different post heat
requirements shall be specified for the material requiring higher PWHT temperature.

9 SAFETY

 All heating elements shall be thoroughly examined before use in order to ensure that
the element wire is not exposed.
 Twist lock connection shall be examined to ensure that the insulation is sound and a
good electrical joint is made.
 All cable connection must be properly insulated.
 The component surface should be free of contaminations.
 Project Title:
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Location: Document Number: Revision
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 Technicians performing the PWHT shall be experienced in PWHT operation and

conversant with electrical characteristics in resistance or induction heating. Care should
be taken to protect themselves and others working area.

10 DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDS

 Every day morning, a list of joints heat-treated previous day along with all the relevant
details including Time-Temperature graphs (chart) shall be submitted to Q.C.
department for approval. All the identification of joints must be noted in chart and
signed, mentioned start time by the technician prior to start of PWHT.
 PWHT report form is SATR-W-2005 (see attachment)

11 ATTACHMENTS

 Table-1. Ceramic Mats description and Dimensions

 Attachment-2 Post Weld Heat Treatment Request Table SATR-W-2004
 Attachment-3 PWHT report form SATR-W-2005

Table-1
Ceramic Mats Description and Dimensions
If the required heating element is not available. Select the next size that meets these
requirements.
TYPE WIDTH(Inch) LENGTH(Inch)
CM3 3 26
CM4 4 19.5
CM6 6 13
CM8 8 9.75
CMIO 10 8
CM12 12 6.5
CM15 15 5.75
CM18 18 5
CM21 21 4
CM24 24 3.25
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Location: Document Number: Revision
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CM48 48 1.75

Thermocouple Location shall be as follows

A- 1 T C-Pipe Diameter equal and less than 12 inch (Top or Bottom)

B - 2 T C- Pipe Diameter from 14 inch -24 inch (Top and Bottom side or left and Right side)

C- 4 T C-Pipe Diameter above 24 inch 90◦ apart

D- 1 TC pipe Diameter equal and less than 1 inch (Elbow & Tee)
 Project Title:
RAS TANURA REFINERY CLEAN FUELS
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Location: Document Number: Revision
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