What kind of materials are petroleum casing made of?

There are many different materials of oil casing, basic carbon steel, J55, L80, P110 and other special materials such as 3 cr, 9 cr, 13 cr, 22 cr, etc., mainly carbon dioxide resistant and known as hydrogen sulfide resistant materials such as 90 SS, 95 ss, etc. In addition, higher grade and nichrome alloy pipes are used depending on the manufacturer. Depending on the manufacturer, different numbers and special needs are also used, for example, material extrusion resistance, some manufacturers will increase TT to indicate extrusion resistance.

Oil casing is a steel pipe used to support the wall of an oil and gas well to ensure proper operation of the entire well after completion.
Depending on the drilling depth and geological conditions, several layers of casing should be used in each well. Cementing is used to cement the well after casing is placed. It is different from tubing and drill pipe and cannot be reused. It is a one-time consumption material.
Therefore, the consumption of casing accounts for more than 70% of all oil well pipelines.
According to the usage, oil casing can be divided into:conduit casing, surface casing, technical casing and reservoir casing.

API oil casing

The use of steel pipe to manufacture ring-shaped parts can improve the material utilization rate, simplify the manufacturing process, save materials and processing hours, such as rolling bearing collars, jackets, etc., and has been widely used to manufacture steel pipe.

(1) The main importing countries of API oil casing are: Germany, Japan, Romania, Czech Republic, Italy, UK, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Argentina, Singapore are also imported.
(2) There are three kinds of lengths stipulated by API: namely, R-1 for 4.88 to 7.62m, R-2 for 7.62 to 10.36m, and R-3 for 10.36m to longer. (3) Some of the imported goods are marked with the word LTC, i.e. long silk buckle casing.
(4) Imported casing from Japan, in addition to the use of API standards, there are a small number of implementation of Japanese factory standards.
(5) In the claim cases, there have been black buckle, fillet buckle damage, tube body folding, broken buckle and thread tightness distance exceeds the poor, joint J value exceeds the poor and other appearance defects and casing brittle crack, yield strength low and other inherent quality problems.

ASTM steel pipe can be divided into different steel grades according to the strength of the steel itself, i.e. J55, K55, N80, L80, C90, T95, P110, Q125, V150, etc. Well conditions and depths are different, and the steel grade used is also different. In corrosive environments, the casing itself is required to have anti-corrosive properties, and API seamless steel pipe is required to have anti-crushing properties in places with complex geological conditions. Pumping pipe is mainly used to transport oil and gas from the bottom of oil wells to the surface.

API oil casing is mainly used for drilling of oil and gas wells and transmission of oil and gas. It includes oil drilling pipe, oil casing and pumping pipe.
Oil drill pipe is mainly used to connect drill collar and drill bit and transmit drilling power. Oil casing is mainly used to support the well wall during the drilling process and after completion to ensure the drilling process and the normal operation of the whole well after completion.

Oil casing is the lifeline to keep the well running. Due to different geological conditions, the downhole stress state is complex, and the combined effects of tensile, compressive, bending and torsional stresses on the tubing body place high demands on the quality of the casing itself. Once the casing itself is damaged for some reason, it may lead to production reduction or even scrapping of the whole well.

Oil casing pipe uses in oil and gas wells

Oil casing is a steel pipe used to support the well wall of oil and gas wells to ensure that the drilling process is carried out and that the entire well operates properly after completion. Several layers of casing are used in each well depending on the drilling depth and geological conditions. The casing is cemented after the well is drilled, and unlike tubing and drill pipe, it is not reusable and is a one-time consumable material. Therefore, the consumption of casing accounts for more than 70% of all oil well tubing.

Oil special pipe is mainly used for drilling of oil and gas wells and transmission of oil and gas. It includes oil drilling pipe, oil casing and oil pumping pipe. Oil drill pipe is mainly used to connect drill collar and drill bit and transmit drilling power. Oil casing is mainly used to support the well wall during the drilling process and after completion to ensure the drilling process and the normal operation of the whole well after completion. The pumping tubing is mainly used to transport oil and gas from the bottom of the well to the surface.
Oil casing is the lifeline that keeps the well running. Due to the different geological conditions, the downhole stress state is complex, with tensile, compressive, bending and torsional stresses acting on the tubing body in an integrated manner, which places high demands on the quality of the casing itself. Once the casing itself is damaged for some reason, it may lead to production reduction of the whole well or even scrapping.
According to the strength of the steel itself, the casing can be divided into different steel grades, i.e. J55, K55, N80, L80, C90, T95, P110, Q125, V150, etc. Different well conditions and depths require different steel grades. In corrosive environments, the casing itself is required to have corrosion resistance. In places with complex geological conditions, the casing is also required to have anti-crushing properties.

27MnCrV is a new steel grade for the production of TP110T steel grade casing. 29CrMo44 and 26CrMo4 are the conventional steel grades for the production of TP110T steel grade casing. 27MnCrV contains less Mo elements than the latter two, which can greatly reduce the production cost. However, the normal austenitizing quenching process is used to produce 27MnCrV with significant high-temperature temper brittleness, resulting in low and unstable impact toughness.
To solve such problems are usually used in two ways: one is the use of tempering after rapid cooling method to avoid high-temperature brittleness, to obtain toughness. The second is the sub-temperature quenching method through the incomplete austenitization of steel to effectively improve the harmful elements and impurities, improve toughness. The first method, relatively strict requirements for heat treatment equipment, requires the addition of additional costs.
AC1=736°C and AC3=810°C for 27MnCrV steel, the heating temperature during sub-temperature quenching is selected between 740-810°C. Sub-temperature quenching selected heating temperature 780 ℃, quenching heating holding time of 15min; quenching and tempering selected temperature 630 ℃, tempering heating holding time of 50min. due to sub-temperature quenching in the α + γ two-phase zone heating, quenching in the retention of part of the undissolved ferrite state, while maintaining a higher strength, toughness is improved.
At the same time, low-temperature quenching is lower than the conventional temperature, reducing the stress of quenching, thus reducing the deformation of quenching, which ensures the smooth operation of the production of heat treatment, and provides a good raw material for the subsequent wire turning process.
The process has been applied in the processing plant, quality assurance data show that the yield strength Rt0.6 in 820-860MPa, tensile strength Rm in 910-940MPa, impact toughness Akv in 65-85J between the steel pipe after heat treatment, 100% of the destruction resistance qualified. The data show that 27MnCrV steel pipe has been quite high quality high steel grade petroleum casing, on the other hand, also shows that the sub-temperature quenching process is a way to avoid high temperature brittleness in the production of steel products.

  1. Petroleum casing is a large diameter tubing that serves to hold the wall or well bore of oil and gas wells in place. The casing is inserted into the borehole and secured with cement to help isolate the borehole from rock formations and prevent collapse of the borehole, as well as to ensure the circulation of drilling mud for drilling and extraction.
  2. Steel grade of oil casing: H40, J55, K55, N80, L80, C90, T95, P110, Q125, V150, etc. Casing end processing forms: short round thread, long round thread, partial trapezoidal thread, special buckle, etc. It is mainly used for oil well drilling to support the well wall during the drilling process and after the completion of the well to ensure the normal operation of the entire well after the completion of the well.
  3. The important position of oil pipe
  4. The petroleum industry is an industry that uses a large amount of petroleum tubing, and petroleum tubing occupies a very important position in the petroleum industry.
  5. 1, oil tubing usage, spending a lot of money, saving money, cost reduction potential is huge. The consumption of oil well pipe can be projected by the annual drilling footage. According to the specific situation in China, roughly 62kg of oil tubing is needed for every 1m of drilling, including 48kg of casing, 10kg of tubing. 3kg of drill pipe and 0.5kg of drill collar.
  6. the mechanical and environmental behavior of oil tubing has an important impact on the adoption of advanced technology and increased production and efficiency in the oil industry.
  7. The failure loss of oil pipe is huge, and its safety, reliability and service life are of great importance to the oil industry.

How are the steel insolation joints welded?

Insulation joints are mainly used in the sealing protection of oil and gas pipelines and to prevent electrochemical corrosion. They are mainly composed of short joints, steel flanges, fixing rings, seals, insulation plates, insulation sleeves and filling insulation materials. Seals can be O-ring seal, U-ring seal and “O-shaped + U-shaped” composite seal, although the sealing structure is different, but they have the same sealing principle. Its sealing principle is: the sealing ring under the action of the external preload to produce elastic deformation and the sealing force required to ensure that the medium in the pipeline is not leakage. The following is an example of X80 DN1200 PN120 insulated joint to illustrate its welding process.

The material of the insulating joint in this experiment is API 5L X80, and the size is 1 219mm×27.5mm. The main body pressure forging steel (flange, fixed ring) material is F65, Ⅳ class; The sealing part is fluorine rubber U-shaped sealing ring, which has the characteristics of reliable sealing, low water absorption, high compressive strength, good elasticity and electrical insulation. Insulation plate material has strong electrical insulation performance, resistance to fluid penetration and low water absorption. Forged flange in accordance with ASTM A694 for F65 C, Mn, P, S content and carbon equivalent, crack resistance index, hardness and impact energy requirements. After testing, the metallographic structure is pearlite + ferrite, uniform structure, no segregation, the average grain size is 8 grade. The finer grain size ensures the high strength and toughness of the forgings.

Welding procedure qualification

For the welding of this product, after stress removal treatment, tensile, bending, impact, hardness, metallography and spectral analysis tests, the results meet the specifications.

1. Welding groove

  • According to the material properties and wall thickness of pipe fittings and flanges, choose the appropriate groove form and size, namely double V groove
  • When designing the size and type of welding groove, the influence of welding heat input on the performance of sealing elements is considered, and the lower heat input is adopted for welding to ensure that the rubber sealing ring close to the weld will not be burned out in the welding process. narrow gap groove is determined according to our years of experience in welding all-welded ball valve.

2. Welding method

The “argon arc welding backing + submerged arc welding filling and covering” of welding method. According to the selection principle of welding materials for high alloy steels with different steel grades stipulated in the pressure vessel welding code and standard, the welding materials matching with the grade of F65 steel were selected, which could not only ensure the strength requirements of F65 and X80 material, but also have good toughness.

Flange-nipple welding

Flanges and pipe joints are welded by argon arc welding and automatic submerged arc welding. Argon arc welding for backing welding, and then automatic submerged arc welding for filling and covering welding.

1. Welding equipment.

Subsubmerged arc automatic welding machine: speed 0.04 ~ 2r/min, workpiece clamping range Φ330 ~ Φ2 700mm, the maximum length of the weldable workpiece 4 500mm, the maximum welding seam depth 110mm, can bear the weight of 30t.

Submerged arc welding has the advantages of reliable weld quality, beautiful weld bead forming, high deposition rate, and can be widely used in large diameter insulation joints, all-welded buried ball valves, etc.

(2) Welding method.

GTAW+SAW welding method. Firstly we use argon arc welding root backing and filling each time to ensure the root melt through, and then use submerged arc automatic multi-layer multi-pass welding method to complete filling and covering.

Post weld heat treatment

In order to reduce the residual stress of the weld and prevent the weld from cracking or stress deformation, it is necessary to de-stress and tempering after welding. SCD type rope electric heater (18.5m long) and LWK-3×220-A type temperature control box are used for heat treatment. K-type armored thermocouple is selected as temperature measuring equipment. The heat treatment temperature was 550℃, and the heat preservation time was 2hour.

The material of the insulating joint in this experiment is API 5L X80, and the size is 1 219mm×27.5mm. The main body pressure forging steel (flange, fixed ring) material is F65, Ⅳ class; The sealing part is fluorine rubber U-shaped sealing ring, which has the characteristics of reliable sealing, low water absorption, high compressive strength, good elasticity and electrical insulation. Insulation plate material has strong electrical insulation performance, resistance to fluid penetration and low water absorption. Forged flange in accordance with ASTM A694 for F65 C, Mn, P, S content and carbon equivalent, crack resistance index, hardness and impact energy requirements. After testing, the metallographic structure is pearlite + ferrite, uniform structure, no segregation, the average grain size is 8 grade. The finer grain size ensures the high strength and toughness of the forgings.

Welding procedure qualification

For the welding of this product, after stress removal treatment, tensile, bending, impact, hardness, metallography and spectral analysis tests, the results meet the specifications.

1. Welding groove

  • According to the material properties and wall thickness of pipe fittings and flanges, choose the appropriate groove form and size, namely double V groove
  • When designing the size and type of welding groove, the influence of welding heat input on the performance of sealing elements is considered, and the lower heat input is adopted for welding to ensure that the rubber sealing ring close to the weld will not be burned out in the welding process. narrow gap groove is determined according to our years of experience in welding all-welded ball valve.

2. Welding method

The “argon arc welding backing + submerged arc welding filling and covering” of welding method. According to the selection principle of welding materials for high alloy steels with different steel grades stipulated in the pressure vessel welding code and standard, the welding materials matching with the grade of F65 steel were selected, which could not only ensure the strength requirements of F65 and X80 material, but also have good toughness.

Flange-nipple welding

Flanges and pipe joints are welded by argon arc welding and automatic submerged arc welding. Argon arc welding for backing welding, and then automatic submerged arc welding for filling and covering welding.

1. Welding equipment.

Subsubmerged arc automatic welding machine: speed 0.04 ~ 2r/min, workpiece clamping range Φ330 ~ Φ2 700mm, the maximum length of the weldable workpiece 4 500mm, the maximum welding seam depth 110mm, can bear the weight of 30t.

Submerged arc welding has the advantages of reliable weld quality, beautiful weld bead forming, high deposition rate, and can be widely used in large diameter insulation joints, all-welded buried ball valves, etc.

(2) Welding method.

GTAW+SAW welding method. Firstly we use argon arc welding root backing and filling each time to ensure the root melt through, and then use submerged arc automatic multi-layer multi-pass welding method to complete filling and covering.

Post weld heat treatment

In order to reduce the residual stress of the weld and prevent the weld from cracking or stress deformation, it is necessary to de-stress and tempering after welding. SCD type rope electric heater (18.5m long) and LWK-3×220-A type temperature control box are used for heat treatment. K-type armored thermocouple is selected as temperature measuring equipment. The heat treatment temperature was 550℃, and the heat preservation time was 2h.

Anticorrosion coating treatment of structural steel plate

Generally speaking, the surface treatment of structural steel plates is needed to increase their anti-corrosion and durability. The quality of surface treatment directly affects the adhesion of the coating to the substrate of the coated workpiece and the corrosion resistance of the material. Oil, grease, dust and other contaminants will cause the paint film to fall off or produce a variety of appearance defects, anticorrosive coating can improve the anticorrosive protection of the paint layer on the steel plate and the smooth surface of the base steel. Common anticorrosive coatings require a substrate surface cleanliness of SA2.5 or above, and steel plate surface coatings provide excellent corrosion protection for the water treatment industry, pulp and paper mills, Bridges and offshore facilities.

According to the design and drawings, the anti-corrosion coating on the exposed part of the bridge support and the shock-absorbing steel plate is treated to prolong its service life. The main construction method is epoxy zinc-rich primer construction, according to the requirements of the design position of the steel plate to achieve protection purposes. The process includes base surface cleaning → primer coating (epoxy zinc-rich primer 50μm, 2 times) → finish coating (modified polyurethane topcoat 50μm, 2 times) → inspection and acceptance. The supporting plan of coating is as follows:

ItemsCoat paintingColorPaint film thicknessTheoretical paint (g/m2)Coating interval(20℃)
Surface treatmentThe surface should be strictly derusting with a quality standard Sa2.5
First layer (2times)Epoxy zinc rich primer-conventional 50% zincGrey80-100μm40-50μm/time1~7days
Second layer (2times)Anticorrosive topcoat-modified polyurethane topcoatGreen80-100μm40-50μm/time1~7days  

The base surface cleaning

Before the paint is brushed, the coating and rust of the exposed part of the steel plate of the support and the shock absorber plate are polished off with an Angle grinder. The quality standard for rust removal is SA2.5.

Primer coating (epoxy zinc-rich primer 50μm, 2 coats)

1) Epoxy zinc-rich primer, according to the ratio of 9∶1 and control the viscosity of the paint, the system should be fully stirred, so that the paint color and viscosity is uniform, curing 25 ~ 30 minutes, the paint needs to be used up within 4 ~ 6 hours.

2) Brush the first layer of primer brushing direction should be consistent, neat. Apply multiple times to prevent the brush from running too much paint.

3) Maintaining a certain time after the first brush, to prevent paint not dry paint flow drop. Brush the second time after the first drying. The direction should be perpendicular to the first time and the film thickness should be uniform.

Finish coating(modified polyurethane finish 50μm, 2 times)

1) Top paint is green. The finish coat should be made of a modified polyurethane finish of the same color, in accordance with the appropriate proportion. Full mixing before use and uniform color to ensure that the coating does not fall, do not show grain.

2) The method and direction should be the same as the above process.

3) The coating interval between top coat and primer should be more than 2 days.

Introduction of API 5L X42 Steel Line Pipe

API 5L X42 Steel Line Pipe is generally used for the conveyance of oil and gas in transmission lines,distribution main lines,and offshore pipeline systems.Zhonghai supplies welded and seamless API 5L grades through X 70 for high pressure applications,All of the API 5L X42 Steel Line Pipe products we are supplying can reach the international standard API 5L,.Our company’s production is carried out in accordance with API 5L,CE,UKAS,PED and ISO9001 Integrated Management(quality) Systems.

API 5L X42 Steel Line Pipe


Place of Origin: China
Application: Be widely used for conveyance of oil and gas in transmission lines,distribution main lines,and offshore pipeline systems
Steel Line Pipe Standard: API 5L X42
Outside Diameter: 21.3mm-914mm
Wall Thickness: 2mm-50mm
Length: Random 6m-12m or fixed 6m,12m
Bevel pipe ends and black anti-rusting paint is available if you need.
Also can process as per clients’ order.
Steel Line Pipe Packing: In bundles or bulk.
One 20’or 40′ container can load maximum 26 tons.

API 5L Steel Line Pipe Physical Properties

API 5L GradeYield Strength
min.
(ksi)
Tensile Strength
min.
(ksi)
Yield to Tensile Ratio
(max.)
Elongation
min.
%
A30480.9328
B35600.9323
X4242600.9323
X4646630.9322
X5252660.9321
X5656710.9319
X6060750.9319
X6565770.9318
X7070820.9317
X8080900.9316

Wldsteel produces welded steel line pipe

Wldsteel produces welded steel line pipe, both spiralweld and rolled and welded, in lengths from 30’ to 60’ and wall thicknesses from .250 inches to 2.0 inches. These line pipes, often used to transfer liquid and air, meet the following standards: AWWA C200, ASTM 139, ASTM 134, and ASTM 135.

Steel pipe has many advantages to offer, including strength and weight, ease of installation, and cost.

Wldsteel is SPFA certified and produces 18” OD to 90” OD hydrotested line pipe using a double submerged arc weld process for a variety of applications, including but not limited to, water transmission pipelines, slurry pipelines, gravity sewer mains, sewer force mains, intake and outfall lines, and raw water lines. Recently, Wldsteel’s line pipe has been used for water pipelines in both New York City and Texas.

Wldsteel has the ability to machine bevel steel pipe ends, which produces a much cleaner edge on the finished product. Line pipe can also be coated and lined and undergoes UT testing, in addition to the hydrotesting.

With steel line pipe manufacturing and stocking locations across North America, Wldsteel has the ability to quickly and efficiently deliver line pipe by truck, rail, or barge to partners across the country.

Ecologically responsible, fiscally sound resource management is only possible with the right infrastructure. Unfortunately, you don’t have to look far to find examples that fall short of the ideal — many of which center around the use of substandard pipe.

Wldsteel is transforming how private entities and municipal stakeholders manage the critical resources that advance our shared quality of life. Our welded steel line pipe raises the standard, no matter whether you use it for sewer, water, slurry, or other applications.

Diverse Steel Pipe Products
Every job demands specialized hardware, and failing to use the right products yields disastrous results. We’ve developed an extensive tooling line that produces highly performant pipe.

Regardless of what your target use entails, we have a solution made to match. Our spiral-welded products permit the easy creation of line pipes in numerous diameters accepted for use in seismically active zones, and our rolled and welded products are ideal for applications that require incredibly thick walls. What’s more, we can

Produce a range of lengths from 30 feet (9.14 m) to 60 feet (18.29 m)

Create custom-cut ends for simplified on-site joining

Deliver pipe with 18-inch to 90-inch outer diameters

Fabricate spotless bevel ends that make installation and fitting more manageable

Offer precise-tolerance wall thicknesses from 0.250 inches (6.35 mm) to 2.0 inches (5.08 cm).

Quality Oversight Fit for Global Applications
With Wldsteel line pipe, builders can readily meet stringent code, environmental, and safety requirements. Simply let us know which industry standard your line pipe needs to meet, and we’ll comply with AWWA C200, ASTM 139, ASTM 134, or ASTM 135 products that fit the bill.

Need a coating or lining? Our in-house specialists can apply surface treatments and perform ultrasonic testing that ensures perfect results.

As an SPFA-certified enterprise, we’re qualified to serve the water market with pipe that government stakeholders and end-users can depend on. Our engineering is here to help you with your design needs. We take pride in knowing our products are keeping the water flowing to some of North America’s most demanding populations.

We take great pains to ensure the quality of our work. From maintaining stringent fabrication controls during the double-submerged arc weld process to hydro-testing every pipe that rolls off our production line, we’re committed to producing infrastructure components that won’t quit under harsh conditions.

When the Pressure Rises, Professionals Trust Wldsteel
Line pipe isn’t just for standard water transmission. It also has to beat the odds in gravity sewer mains, sewer force mains, intake and outfall lines, potentially hazardous raw water lines, and a host of other applications.

No project timeline is too sudden, and no requirement is too demanding. With steel line pipe manufacturing and stocking locations across North America, Wldsteel quickly and efficiently delivers to any job site. Whether it reaches you by truck, rail, or barge, you’re only a click away from the world’s leading line pipe, so reach out now.

The commonly used material for condenser tubes

The condenser is important auxiliary equipment in the thermal generator set. The condenser is generally composed of neck, casing, water chamber, tube bundle, tube plate, support rod, steam baffle, air cooling area, hot well and other parts, which is the key equipment to determine and affect the load and thermal efficiency of a steam turbine. The heat exchange tube, as the main heat transfer component of the condenser, is the key component of the condenser. With the increase of suspended solids, chloride ions and sulfur ions in the cooling circulating water, there is a higher requirement for a condenser cooling pipe.

Condenser heat exchanger pipe should have excellent heat transfer performance, good corrosion resistance, erosion resistance and wear resistance, but also should have good strength and stiffness, as well as economic and good processing performance. The materials of condenser heat exchange pipe are mainly copper alloy pipe, Austenitic stainless steel pipe, Ferrite stainless steel pipe, Duplex stainless steel pipe, titanium and titanium alloy pipe. The copper alloy pipe mainly includes military brass pipe (C26800), tin-brass pipe, aluminum-brass pipe, nickel-copper pipe, etc. Stainless steel grades mainly include Austenitic stainless steel tube TP304, TP316L, TP317L and Ferrite stainless steel grades TP439, TP439L, and duplex stainless steel tube 2205, 2507, titanium and titanium alloy tube mainly includes GR1, GR2, GR5, etc..

Pipe materialsProsCons
Copper tubingGood processing performance, moderate pricePoor tolerance to complex water quality, poor strength, stiffness, welding workability. 
Austenitic Stainless steelExcellent erosion resistance, good strength, plasticity, machinability and weldabilityCr-Ni Austenitic stainless steel has poor resistance to chloride ion corrosion
Ferrite Stainless steelLarge thermal conductivity, small expansion coefficient, good oxidation resistance and stress corrosion resistance, insensitive to chloride ionsPoor plasticity and toughness, especially after deep drawing and other large deformation of cold processing, welding and other high temperature plasticity and corrosion resistance significantly reduced
Dupex stainless steelExcellent corrosion resistance, comprehensive mechanical properties, welding properties, high thermal conductivity.Processing is difficult and the high cost
Titanium tubingExcellent corrosion resistance, low density, light weight, good comprehensive performance.Expensive 
Pros and cons of difference materials for condenser tubing

Different materials of the heat exchange pipe because of its own characteristics and cost factors, its application scope and working conditions are not the same. The corrosion in the Condenser is always an important problem in boiler accidents in power plants. The condensers of power plants in offshore areas generally use Cu-Zn tubes and Cu-Ni alloy tubes. The corrosion resistance of the latter is better than that of the former, because the thermodynamic stability of Ni is close to that of Cu, and the nanoscale compact and stable surface film will be generated on the surface in water or air. Therefore, the Cu-Ni tube in high saltwater (or seawater) and dilute acid, alkali medium is not easy to corrosion. But once there is an attachment on the surface of the copper tube, pitting will occur. Pitting corrosion is autocatalytic and latent, which will bring great damage. The condenser tube blockage and leakage frequently occur in the offshore area due to seawater backfilling, corrosion, dirt and other reasons. Yongxiang operates the generator set. Why is the brass condenser tube so easy to corrode? It depends on the type of corrosion. The corrosion of copper alloy condenser tube is affected by many factors, and the corrosion types are various, mainly including the following items:

Selective corrosion

Because the condenser copper tube is mostly composed of copper zinc alloy, zinc potential is lower than copper, so zinc is easy to become the anode of corroding battery, so that zinc selectively dissolved to corrode the copper tube. The theory and practice show that the corrosion process of copper tube is closely related to the performance of the protective film on the surface of copper tube. If the initial dense protective film is not formed, the corrosion of copper tube is more likely to occur. If there is no initial coating treatment of FeSO4 on the condenser copper tube, it is also easy to lead to local dezincification corrosion.

Electrocouple corrosion

Coupling corrosion may occur when two different metal materials come into direct contact in a corrosive medium. In the condenser, the copper alloy condenser tube material is different from the carbon steel tube sheet material in the cooling water potential, there is the possibility of galvanic corrosion between them. The potential of the condenser copper tube is higher than that of the tube plate, which will accelerate the corrosion of the tube plate. But because the thickness of the carbon steel tube plate is larger, generally 25~40mm, the galvanic corrosion won’t affect the safe use in clean freshwater, but in the environment with a high salt concentration of water galvanic corrosion is more likely to occur.

Pitting corrosion

This corrosion is prone to occur on the surface of the copper tube protective film rupture. Because the cooling water contains Cl and Cu oxidation generated by Cu+ to generate unstable CuCl, can be hydrolyzed into stable Cu2O, and make the solution local acidification thermal equipment corrosion. If the condenser copper tube is not cleaned on schedule, the uneven surface deposits promote corrosion and eventually lead to punctate corrosion perforation. In the operation of the condenser copper pipe in frequent start-stop, load change is bigger, the impact of the high-speed turbine exhaust steam, the role of copper tube by alternating stress, easy to make the brass surface membrane rupture, produce local corrosion, pitting corrosion pit formation, reduce material fatigue limit, and because the stress concentration at the corrosion, pitting bottom is easy to crack, Under the erosion of NH3, O2 and CO2 in water, the fracture is gradually expanded.

Erosion corrosion

This type of corrosion can occur on both the waterside and the steam side, mainly in the waterside. Suspended solids, sand and other solid granular hard objects in circulating cooling water impact and friction on the copper tube at the inlet end of the condenser. After a long time of operation, the inner wall of the front section of the copper tube at the inlet end is rough. Although there is no obvious corrosion pit, the surface is rough, the brass matrix is exposed and the copper tube wall becomes thin. The anodic process of erosion and corrosion can be said to be the dissolution of copper, and the cathodic process is the reduction of O2. The high flow rate will hinder the formation of stable protective film, is also the cause of erosion-corrosion, the general flow rate is not more than 2m/s.

NH3 corrosion

Excess NH3 enters the condenser with steam and concentrates locally in the condenser. If O2 is present at the same time, NH3 erosion will occur on the steam side of the copper tube in this area. Its characteristic is uniform thinning of the tube wall, and NH3 erosion is easy to occur when ammonia content in water reaches 300mg/L. The condensate at the baffle hole is too cold and the dissolved ammonia concentration is increased, which will also cause the annular strip ammonia erosion in the copper tube.

Stress corrosion cracking

When the condenser copper tube is not installed properly, vibration and alternating stress will occur in the operation of the copper tube surface to destroy the protective film and corrosion, finally, produce transverse crack to break the copper tube. This is mainly due to the relative displacement of grains inside the copper tube under the action of alternating stress, and the formation of anodic dissolution in the corrosive medium, mostly occurring in the middle of the copper tube.

Microbial corrosion

Microorganisms can change the medium environment in local areas of the condenser wall and cause local corrosion. The electrochemical corrosion process of metal in cooling water is promoted by the biological activity of microorganisms, which generally occurs on the carbon steel tube plate at the inlet side of the condenser. Cooling water often contains bacteria that thrive on Fe2+ and O2, called iron bacteria, which form brown slime. The anoxic conditions at the bottom of the slime provided a suitable environment for the survival of anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria. The combined action of iron bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria promotes metal corrosion. Operating temperature on the high side, the corrosion scale inhibitor and water quality and operating temperature are not appropriate, inadequate dosage or concentration fluctuations in the scale, will cause the condenser tube wall local Cl – easy through scale layer, caused the corrosion of the metal matrix, and the corrosion of metal ion hydrolysis, leading to higher medium H + concentration of algae and microbial activities also cause increased acidity of medium, The passivation film on the metal surface is destroyed and the metal matrix is further corroded.

How to prevent Caustic Cracking?

In the last article, we introduced what is caustic cracking, the type of caustic cracking and the harm of caustic cracking. Today here we will continue to describe how to prevent caustic cracking corrosion.

Choosing the carbon steel material

Carbon steel equipment can be used to hold caustic soda at room temperature, considering the terms of strength, plasticity and caustic cracking sensitivity. The 0.20%C killed carbon steel is most suitable for a caustic solution at a maximum temperature of 46℃. However, when the caustic soda temperature exceeds 46℃, post-weld heat treatment is necessary to avoid caustic cracking of high carbon steel weld. The addition of Ti and other alloying elements to carbon steel and heat treatment can also effectively inhibit caustic cracking. For example, the fracture time of carbon steel samples containing 0.73% Ti (mass fraction of C 0.105%) was extended from 150h to 1000h after being held at 650~750℃ and then cooled by the furnace. The upper limit of service temperature of carbon steel and low alloy steel in NaOH solution is shown in the table below.

NaOH, %235101520304050
Temperature limit,℃828282817671595347

Reducing Residual stress

Residual internal stresses, such as side misalignment, angular deformation and voids, should be minimized during fabrication and installation. The workpiece is often heated to a predetermined temperature and held long enough to reduce the residual stress to an acceptable level, that depending on time and temperature. Normally, cooling should be done at a slower rate to avoid new stresses. The stress relief annealing temperature of carbon steel and low alloy steel after welding shall not be lower than 620℃, and the holding time shall be calculated according to 1h / 25mm (thickness). Reasonable welds joints, reducing the number and length of welds as far as possible, weld short bead first and then long welds to reduce the residual stress. You can also choose reasonable assembly process and use reserved shrinkage margin or reverse deformation, rigid fixing method to prevent welding deformation.

You can take some measures to reduce the local unbalanced internal stress for the riveting structure, such as the uniform arrangement of riveting holes to avoid excessive riveting pressure, etc. The residual stress is the main factor that causes alkali brittleness. The welding process measures should be taken, such as low line energy, preheating before welding, proper welding sequence and direction, and inter-layer hammering, to reduce the residual stress of welded joints. The effective measures to prevent caustic cracking are heat treatment to eliminate stress after cold forming and welding structure manufacture.

Adding corrosion inhibitor

The commonly used corrosion inhibitors are Na3PO4, NaNO3, NaNO2, Na2SO4, etc., among which NaNO2 is very effective in preventing alkali embrittlement.

The dosage is determined according to the experimental results. For example, the ratio of NaNO3/NaOH to prevent alkali embrilling should be greater than 0.4, and that of Na2SO4/NaOH should be greater than 5.

Reduce service temperature

Keep the operating temperature below 46° C as low as possible, such as heating coils intermittently.

To prevent the concentrated

It is an effective measure to prevent caustic cracking to reduce or prevent local concentration increase or repeated evaporation and concentration of alkali during design.

Prepare in advance

Replace the material of main pipelines and equipment with 304 stainless steel to increase the temperature of caustic cracking and the temperature of fracture area. Reduce the steam tracing time as much as possible, and heat treatment of the main line and equipment before use to eliminate stress concentration and avoid caustic cracking.