Butt weld and method of making using fusion and friction stir welding

• US 20100159265A1
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Inventors: Fairchild, Douglas Paul, Nissley, Nathan Eugene, Kumar, Amit, Macia, Mario L., Biery, Nicholas E., Ford, Steven Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 7,874,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/586
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 20/122 using a non-consumable tool, e.g. friction stir welding
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/06 Tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/04 Steel or steel alloys
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/05 Stainless steel
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 28/02 Combined welding or cutting procedures or apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 9/0282 for welding tube sections
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 15/011 all layers being formed of iron alloys or steels
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 38/00 Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys cast-iron alloys C22C37/00
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 38/02 containing silicon
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 38/04 containing manganese
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12 All metal or with adjacent metals
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12292 Workpiece with longitudinal passageway or stopweld material [e.g., for tubular stock, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12965 Both containing 0.01-1.7% carbon [i.e., steel]

Abstract

Provided are butt welds and methods of making such butt welds using a combination of fusion root welding and friction stir welding to yield welds with decreased propensity for dropout during friction stir welding without the need for a back-up support plate. In one form of the present disclosure, the butt weld includes: two or more abutting structural steel components beveled on faying surfaces on one side of the components to form a suitably shaped fusion root weld groove and unbeveled on faying surfaces on the opposite side of the components and interconnected with a first fusion root weld on the beveled side of the components and a second friction stir weld on the unbeveled side of the components, wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 30 mm, a penetration depth ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm, and an overfill ranging from 2 mm to 5 mm, and wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld. The butt welds and methods of making find application in joining linepipe for oil and gas production.

Claims

1. A butt weld comprising:

two or more abutting structural steel components beveled on faying surfaces on one side of the components to form a suitably shaped fusion root weld groove and unbeveled on faying surfaces on the opposite side of the components and interconnected with a first fusion root weld on the beveled side of the components and a second friction stir weld on the unbeveled side of the components,

wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 30 mm, a penetration depth ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm, and an overfill ranging from 2 mm to 5 mm, and

wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld.

2. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 20 mm.

3. The butt weld of claim 2, wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 15 mm.

4. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 4 mm to 15 mm.

5. The butt weld of claim 4, wherein the first fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 5 mm to 10 mm.

6. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld has an overfill ranging from 2.5 mm to 4 mm.

7. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the fusion root weld to a depth ranging from essentially zero mm to 5 mm.

8. The butt weld of claim 7, wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld to a depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 3 mm.

9. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove is chosen from u-shaped bevels, j-shaped bevels, v-shaped bevels, and combinations thereof.

10. The butt weld of claim 9, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove ranges from 2 mm to 15 mm in width and depth.

11. The butt weld of claim 10, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove ranges from 3 mm to 10 mm in width and depth.

12. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the two or more structural steel components are API (American Petroleum Institute) Pipe Specification 5L pipe grades chosen from X50, X52, X60, X65, X70, X80, X90, X100 and X120.

13. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the two or more structural steel components are plain carbon and alloy steels chosen from AISI grades 1010, 1020, 1040, 1080, 1095, A36, A516, A440, A633, A656, 4063, 4340, 6150, and ASTM grades A285, A387, A515, A516, A517.

14. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the two or more structural steel components are structural steel grades chosen from API grade 2H, API grade 2Y, and British Standards grade 4360.

15. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the two or more structural steel components are chosen from clad pipes, spiral pipes, UOE pipes, roll bend pipes, Ni-base alloy pipes, 13 Cr pipes, duplex stainless steel pipes, super duplex stainless steel pipes, 36% Ni alloy pipes and pipes made from other low coefficient of thermal expansion alloys.

16. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the two or more structural steel components include alloying elements chosen from W, Ta, Nb, Mo, V, Cr and combinations thereof.

17. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld is formed by controlling fusion welding process conditions including one or more of:

chemistry of the weld wire, arc voltage, arc current magnitude, arc current waveform, travel speed of the welding torch, weld wire feed rate, shielding gas composition, flux composition, and cooling rate of the first fusion root weld.

18. The butt weld of claim 17, wherein the chemistry of the weld wire includes a ferrous chemistry with alloying elements chosen from W, Ta, Nb, Mo, V, Cr and combinations thereof.

19. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the second friction stir weld is formed by controlling friction stir welding process conditions including one or more of:

geometry of the friction stir weld tool, welding travel speed of the friction stir weld tool, rotational speed of the friction stir weld tool, torsion loads applied to the friction stir weld tool, the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool, the cooling rate of the second friction stir weld, and the simultaneous cooling of the first fusion root weld as the friction stir process is being applied.

20. The butt weld of claim 19, wherein the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool is sufficiently low to prevent the dropout of the first fusion root weld during formation of the second friction stir weld and sufficiently high to prevent defects in the second friction stir weld.

21. The butt weld of claim 20, wherein the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool ranges from greater than or equal to 1000 lb_f to less than or equal to 30,000 lb_f.

22. The butt weld of claim 19, wherein the torsion load applied to the friction stir weld tool ranges from greater than or equal to 150 ft-lb to less than or equal to 1000 ft-lb.

23. The butt weld of claim 22, wherein the torsion load applied to the friction stir weld tool ranges from greater than or equal to 200 ft-lb to less than or equal to 750 ft-lb.

24. The butt weld of the claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld is of sufficient strength and toughness to prevent the dropout of the first fusion root weld during formation of the second friction stir weld.

25. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the first fusion root weld is formed by fusion welding processes chosen from shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, flux cored arc welding, metal core arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, plasma arc welding, submerged arc welding, laser welding, laser-hybrid welding, electron beam welding, flash butt welding, homopolar welding, and combinations thereof.

26. The butt weld of claim 1, wherein the second friction stir weld is formed while applying a mechanical backing support to the first fusion root weld side of the components.

27. The butt weld of claim 26, wherein the mechanical backing support is a secondary mandrel or anvil that conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area.

28. The butt weld of claim 27, wherein the secondary mandrel or anvil conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area via material compliance, mechanical compliance, or combinations thereof.

29. The butt weld of claim 28, wherein the material compliance includes segmented pieces supported by a flexible layer expandable by either hydraulic or mechanical means.

30. A method of making a butt weld comprising:

providing two or more abutting structural steel components beveled on the faying surfaces of one side of the components to form a suitably shaped fusion root weld groove and unbeveled on the faying surfaces of the opposite side of the components,

fusion welding the beveled faying surfaces of one side of the components under conditions sufficient to form a fusion root weld, wherein the fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 30 mm, a penetration depth ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm, and an overfill ranging from 2 mm to 5 mm, and

friction stir welding the unbeveled faying surfaces of the opposite side of the components under conditions sufficient to form a friction stir weld, wherein the stir zone of the friction stir weld penetrates the fusion root weld to a depth ranging from essentially zero mm to 5 mm.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 20 mm.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 15 mm.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 4 mm to 15 mm.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 5 mm to 10 mm.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion root weld has an overfill ranging from 2.5 mm to 4 mm.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein the stir zone of the friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld to a depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 3 mm.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove is chosen from u-shaped bevels, j-shaped bevels, v-shaped bevels, and combinations thereof.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove ranges from 2 mm to 15 mm in width and depth.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the suitably shaped fusion weld groove ranges from 3 mm to 10 mm in width and depth.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the two or more structural steel components are API (American Petroleum Institute) Pipe Specification 5L pipe grades chosen from X50, X52, X60, X65, X70, X80, X90, X100 and X120.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein the two or more structural steel components are plain carbon and alloy steels chosen from AISI grades 1010, 1020, 1040, 1080, 1095, A36, A516, A440, A633, A656, 4063, 4340, 6150;

ASTM grades A285, A387, A515, A516, A517;

API grades 2H, 2Y; and

British Standards grade 4360.

42. The method of claim 30, wherein the two or more structural steel components are chosen from clad pipes, spiral pipes, UOE pipes, roll bend pipes, Ni-base alloy pipes, 13 Cr pipes, duplex stainless steel pipes, super duplex stainless steel pipes, 36% Ni alloy pipes and pipes made from other low coefficient of thermal expansion alloys.

43. The method of claim 30, wherein the two or more structural steel components include alloying elements chosen from W, Ta, Nb, Mo, V, Cr and combinations thereof.

44. The method of claim 30, wherein the conditions sufficient to form the fusion root weld are chosen from at least one of the chemistry of the weld wire, the arc voltage, the arc current magnitude, the arc current waveform, the weld wire feed rate, the travel speed of the welding torch, the shielding gas composition, the flux composition, and the cooling rate of the fusion root weld.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the chemistry of the weld wire includes a ferrous chemistry with alloying elements chosen from W, Ta, Nb, Mo, V, Cr and combinations thereof.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the cooling rate of the fusion root weld ranges from 10 to 200°

C./sec.

47. The method of claim 30, wherein the friction stir weld is formed by controlling friction stir welding process conditions including one or more of:

geometry and size of the friction stir weld tool, welding travel speed of the friction stir weld tool, rotational speed of the friction stir weld tool, the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool, the cooling rate of the friction stir weld, and the simultaneous cooling rate of the fusion root weld.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the geometry of the friction stir weld tool includes shapes, ridges or patterns machined, molded, or manufactured into the tool pin to improve material flow, increase depth of penetration, increase weld travel speed, and/or decrease welding defects.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the welding travel speed of the friction stir weld tool ranges from 1 to 30 inches per minute.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein the rotational speed of the friction stir weld tool ranges from 100 to 700 rpms.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool is sufficiently low to prevent the dropout of the fusion root weld during formation of the friction stir weld and sufficiently high to prevent defects in the friction stir weld.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the down force load or the translational load on the friction stir weld tool is greater than or equal to 1000 lb_f and less than or equal to 30,000 lb_f.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein the cooling rate of the friction stir weld ranges from 10°

C. per second to 400°

C. per second.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the simultaneous cooling rate of the fusion root weld ranges from 10°

C. per second to 200°

C. per second.

55. The method of claim 30, wherein friction stir weld is formed by an orbital friction stir welding system.

56. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion root weld is of sufficient strength and toughness to prevent the dropout of the fusion root weld during friction stir welding.

57. The method of claims 44 and 47, wherein the method to cool the fusion root weld during the application of friction stir welding is through forced fluid cooling with a gaseous or liquid medium.

58. The method of claims 57, wherein the gaseous or liquid medium is chosen from water, glycol, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and combinations thereof.

59. The method of claim 30, wherein the fusion welding process is chosen from shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, flux cored arc welding, metal core arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, plasma arc welding, submerged arc welding, laser welding, laser-hybrid welding, electron beam welding, flash butt welding, homopolar welding, and combinations thereof.

60. The method of claim 30, further including applying a mechanical backing support to the first fusion root weld side of the components during friction stir welding.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the mechanical backing support is a secondary mandrel or anvil that conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the secondary mandrel or anvil conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area via material compliance, mechanical compliance, or combinations thereof.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the material compliance includes segmented pieces supported by a flexible layer expandable by either hydraulic or mechanical means.

64. A butt weld comprising:

two or more abutting structural steel components beveled on faying surfaces on one side of the components to form a suitably shaped fusion root weld groove and unbeveled on faying surfaces on the opposite side of the components and interconnected with a first fusion root weld on the beveled side of the components and a second friction stir weld on the unbeveled side of the components,

wherein the first fusion root weld is of sufficient size to support the down force applied in forming the second friction stir weld, and

wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld to a sufficient depth to provide a continuously joined surface.

65. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 20 mm.

66. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld has a width ranging from 7 mm to 15 mm.

67. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 4 mm to 15 mm.

68. The butt weld of claim 67, wherein the first fusion root weld has a penetration depth ranging from 5 mm to 10 mm.

69. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld has an overfill ranging from 2.5 mm to 4 mm.

70. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld to a depth ranging from essentially zero mm to 5 mm.

71. The butt weld of claim 70, wherein the stir zone of the second friction stir weld penetrates the first fusion root weld to a depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 3 mm.

72. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove is chosen from u-shaped bevels, j-shaped bevels, v-shaped bevels, and combinations thereof.

73. The butt weld of claim 72, wherein the suitably shaped fusion root weld groove ranges from 2 mm to 15 mm in width and depth.

74. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the two or more structural steel components are API (American Petroleum Institute) Pipe Specification 5L pipe grades chosen from X50, X52, X60, X65, X70, X80, X90, X100 and X120.

75. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the two or more structural steel components are plain carbon and alloy steels chosen from AISI grades 1010, 1020, 1040, 1080, 1095, A36, A516, A440, A633, A656, 4063, 4340, 6150;

ASTM grades A285, A387, A515, A516, A517;

API grades 2H, 2Y; and

British Standards grade 4360.

76. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the two or more structural steel components are chosen from clad pipes, spiral pipes, UOE pipes, roll bend pipes, Ni-base alloy pipes, 13 Cr pipes, duplex stainless steel pipes, super duplex stainless steel pipes, 36% Ni alloy pipes and pipes made from other low coefficient of thermal expansion alloys.

77. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the two or more structural steel components include alloying elements chosen from W, Ta, Nb, Mo, V, Cr and combinations thereof.

78. The butt weld of the claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld is of sufficient strength and toughness to prevent the dropout of the first fusion root weld during formation of the second friction stir weld.

79. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the first fusion root weld is formed by fusion welding processes chosen from shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, flux cored arc welding, metal core arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, plasma arc welding, submerged arc welding, laser welding, laser-hybrid welding, electron beam welding, flash butt welding, homopolar welding, and combinations thereof.

80. The butt weld of claim 64, wherein the second friction stir weld is formed while applying a mechanical backing support to the first fusion root weld side of the components.

81. The butt weld of claim 80, wherein the mechanical backing support is a secondary mandrel or anvil that conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area.

82. The butt weld of claim 81, wherein the secondary mandrel or anvil conforms to the geometry of the first fusion root weld area via material compliance, mechanical compliance, or combinations thereof.

83. The butt weld of claim 82, wherein the material compliance includes segmented pieces supported by a flexible layer expandable by either hydraulic or mechanical means.