Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik IPK

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Laser and hybrid laser-arc welding of cryogenic 9%Ni steel for construction of LNG storage tanks

2015 , Gook, Sergej , Forquer, Matthew , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael , El-Batahgy, Abdel-Monem

Heat treated 9%Ni steel is considered the most suitable and economic material for construction of large-size Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage tanks which operate at cryogenic temperatures (-196°C). Strength above 700 MPa as well as a minimum impact value of 60 J are required to ensure reliable operation of the LNG tanks at operating temperature. Conventional arc welding processes including shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and submerged arc welding (SAW) are currently used in construction of LNG tanks. Ni based filler wire is the preferred filler metal of choice in LNG tank construction. The main problem with this choice is the lower mechanical properties, particularly tensile strength of the weld metal. To compensate, the wall thickness needs to be excessively thick to ensure the strength of the welded structures. Ni based filler material is expensive and a large quantity is needed to fill the multi-pass weld grooves. These factors significantly add to the cost in the fabrication of LNG storage tanks. For these reasons, exploration of new welding technologies are a priority. A big potential can be seen in laser based welding techniques. Laser beam welding results in much smaller weld zone with chemical composition and mechanical properties similar to that of the base material. Laser welding is a much faster process and allows for a joint geometry which requires less filler material and fewer welding passes. The advantages of laser welding can help to overcome the problems pointed out above. Trials of autogenous laser welding, laser cold-wire welding and hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) conducted on the 9%Ni steel are presented in this paper. Chemical composition of the weld metal as well as effects of welding parameters on the weld formation, microstructure and tensile strength is discussed. Filler wire penetration depth as well as character of its distribution in the narrow laser welds was examined using Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA).

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Laser-GMA-hybrid welding of longitudinally welded large-diameter pipes of grades API-X80/X100 to increase the toughness and the production efficiency

2015 , Rethmeier, Michael , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Gook, Sergej

The aim of the present work is to investigate the possibilities of the hybrid laser arc welding regarding the reliable and cost effective production of longitudinal welds on the high strength pipeline steels X80 and X120 and to evaluate the achievable mechanical properties of the laser hybrid welds. The study focused on the investigations of the weld seam toughness in the low temperature range (-60 °C and -40 °C). Suitable filler materials have been identified in the context of this task. It could be shown that the metal powder filler wires, micro alloyed with Ni and partly with Cr and Mo, guaranteed sufficient Charpy impact toughness at low temperature for the both investigated materials (average value 190J for X80 at -60 °C and 53 J for X120 at -40 °C). The modern arc technologies such as modified pulsed spray arc have been used to promote the deeper penetration of the filler material in the narrow laser weld. The edge preparation with a root face of 14 mm has been proposed as optimum, because no penetration of the filler material could be detected over this depth limit and therefor any metallurgical influences on the properties of the weld metal through the welding wire are not possible.

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Laserstrahl-MSG-Hybridschweißen von Rohren aus Hochfestem Stahl API-X80/ -X100

2015 , Gook, Sergej , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

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