You are on page 1of 12

PO359

TFP and TFT back in town


(Tight Fit CRA lined Pipe and Tubing)
Authors:
A.C. de Koning, Kuroki T&P Co,
Abstract
The Netherlands At the end of the 1970s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd (KHI) developed CRA
H. Nakasugi, Kuroki T&P Co, lined pipe for the Oil & Gas Industry, manufactured through a thermo-hydraulic
Tokyo Office shrink-fit process. These products were marketed as TFP (Tight Fit Pipe) for flow
Li Ping, Kuroki T&P Co, Hikari line use and TFT (Tight Fit Tubing) for down hole application.
Manufacturing plant In the mid 1980s KHI decided to transfer this shrink-fit pipe technology to Nippon
Steel Corporation (NSC) who subsequently marketed it under their own trade
Keywords: name C-II pipe. Due to low demand in the 1990s NSC decided to stop
CRA lined pipe, CRA lined tubing, manufacturing in 1995. Market conditions, however, have improved in later years
bi-metallic pipe,TFP, TFT, C-II pipe, due to strong focus in the Oil & Gas Industry on reduction of maintenance cost
thermo-hydraulic manufacturing and a more serious interest into a life cycle approach for material selection.
process, mechanical bonding, fit-in impulses especially for more environmentally friendly buildings. For this reason
stress, liner implosion, burst plans were developed to re-start manufacturing of TFP and TFT in Japan and
pressure, cold bending, reeling, Kuroki T&P Co, Ltd. have obtained an exclusive license from KHI for this
flow line, down hole tubing, NS- manufacturing in 1999. It is Kuroki T&P Co’s firm intention – besides the supply of
CT/CC premium connection TFP for flow line use – also to serve the OCTG market with CRA lined down hole
production tubing (TFT). This tubing is available with the industry known NS-
CC/CT premium connection. This paper presents an overview of existing know-
how and expertise related to these thermo-hydraulic shrink-fitted CRA lined
1. Introduction products including information on current testing exercises and R&D activities by
Kuroki T&P Co.
At the end of the 1970s Kawasaki Recent marketing studies have The liner pipe is then hydraulically
Heavy Industries, Ltd (KHI) initiated shown that demand for CRA lined expanded till it fits tightly to the inner
R&D – in close cooperation with products is growing because of surface of the carbon steel outer
NAM in The Netherlands – on CRA strong focus nowadays on reducing pipe. The “composite” pipe is then
lined flow line and down hole maintenance cost and a more further expanded but always within
production tubing. Their pioneering serious interest in life cycle approach the elastic range of the carbon steel
work resulted in products with the for material selection. outer pipe. Thereafter the composed
trade names TFP (Tight Fit Pipe) pipe is cooled in air during which
and TFT (Tight Fit Tubing) for which For this reason plans were process the CRA liner pipe is
KHI received Special Meritorious developed in Japan to re-start continuously cooled with water
Awards for engineering innovation at manufacturing of TFP/TFT and as a through its interior.
OTC Conferences in 1980 and 1981 result Kuroki Tube & Pipe Co, Ltd. in
(1,2). Hikari City in Japan has obtained an The effects of thermal and elastic
exclusive manufacturing license from shrinkage of the outer pipe as well
These products contain a corrosion KHI for these products in 1999 and as plastic expansion of the liner pipe
resistant liner of high alloy material the new plant became ISO 9002 ensure that the liner pipe is uniformly
(any type of high alloy possible), certified in 2002. and well fitted against the outer pipe.
which is mechanically fitted inside a The ultimate result is that the liner
carbon steel pipe through a thermo-
hydraulic shrink-fit manufacturing 2. Principle of the pipe is under compression (highly
attractive for its resistance to stress
process. Thermo-Hydraulic corrosion cracking phenomena) and
As KHI lacked a pipe and OCTG the outer pipe has a small residual
marketing and sales network, their Shrink-fit tensile stress.
management decided in 1985 to
license the TF technology to Nippon
Manufacturing The fit-in stress can be arbitrarily
controlled by its parameters i.e. the
Steel Corporation (NSC). Process and Field of heating temperature of the outer

NSC subsequently built a plant to


Application for CRA pipe and the expansion pressure of
the CRA liner pipe.
manufacture these CRA lined Lined Pipe
products and marketed their CRA This thermal-hydraulic shrink-fit
lined flow line as C-II pipe.This pipe In order to ensure a high and reliable process is schematically shown in
has proven to be a reliable product fit-in (gripping) stress between inner Figure 1.
and has been applied successfully and outer pipe, KHI opted in 1979 for Figure 3 shows the various parts of
by Shell Oil (Mobil Bay-USA) and a combination of hydraulic the equipment.
other Oil Cie’s for severe corrosive expansion and thermal shrinking for
service. their double wall pipe manufacturing. It is pointed out here that the
This method comprises heating of a resulting residual stresses in both
However, with low demand for this carbon steel outer pipe to about 300- pipes depend on the material flow
type of pipe in the1990s, NSC 400 degr. C in a so-called moving stress characteristics of liner and
decided to discontinue furnace after which this heated pipe outer pipe materials. High-alloyed
manufacturing of C-II pipe in 1995. is shifted over a high alloy water nickel materials have usually a lower
filled liner pipe. flow stress pattern than carbon steel,

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 1


PO359

which results in a good fit-in stress method, which can be used on each the possibilities for reeling of TFP,
between liner and outer pipe, see produced pipe (3). In this system, an see section 6.2.
Figure 1. However, the situation is elastic wave emitted from one end of
different if the flow stress of the liner the assembled pipe by piezo-electric
pipe material is close to (or higher) pulser is received at the other end of 3. Fit-in Stress
than that of the carbon steel outer the CRA lined pipe, see Figure 4.
pipe, see Figure 2, where this
Between Inner and
situation is schematically indicated. Thereafter the detected waves are Outer Pipe
processed and evaluated in terms of
In the case of a higher flow stress signal duration with a linear With fit-in (gripping) stress, the
pattern of the liner pipe material, see relationship found between this circumferential residual stress at the
line b in Figure 2, a gap “g” between signal duration and the fit-in stress, internal surface of the inner pipe is
outer and liner pipe will result after see Figure 5. It should be noted that meant in this paper.
assembly and it is only due to the such a correlation has to be A high and well-controlled fit-in
thermal shrinking effect of the outer established for each pipe size. stress can be seen as the core
pipe during cooling that a technology of Kuroki’s thermo-
compressive stress will develop in At Kuroki T&P Co. both methods i.e. hydraulic lined pipe manufacturing
the liner pipe, although being lower strain gage (at random) and process.
in this case.The lower stress is then production control with the sound The parameters involved are the
compensated by heating the reflecting method are applied during hydraulic pressure needed for liner
carbonsteel outer pipe to a higher manufacturing of TFP and TFT. and outer pipe expansion and the
temperature prior to assembly (not heating temperature of the outer
drawn in Figure 2 in order to keep CRA lined pipe is typically suitable pipe.
clearness in the picture). This for long(er) length pipelines and not
situation occurs for example in a for plant piping where fittings, valves If only hydraulic expansion would be
combination of duplex stainless steel etc. have to be connected (welded) applied, very high pressures would
material for the liner pipe and API- and which usually contain sharp be required to obtain a good fit-in
5L-Grade X60/65 for the outer pipe bends. stress. On the other hand, if the fit-in
(usually selected for carbon steel Very suitable applications are flow stress would only be obtained
flowline). lines for corrosive oil and gas through shrinking of the heated outer
transport, for example from the well pipe, a very tight gap between inner
It is important to ensure that the to manifolds or treating stations and and outer pipe would be required in
surfaces of liner pipe (outside) and for down hole production tubing in order to achieve a positive fit-in
carbon steel outer pipe (inside) are the case of production from stress. Both conditions are
clean, dry and defect free. The corrosive oil and gas fields schematically shown in Figure 6a (2)
absence of oxides prior to assembly (CO2/H2S/chlorides etc.). where, as an example, the relation
should get due attention because ship between both parameters is
oxides often contain chemically A typical advantage of CRA lined plotted for various fit-in stresses in
bonded water which could lead to pipe is that liner and outer pipe can case of 7 mm thick 2 7/8 inch, API –
implosion of the CRA liner e.g. be optimally heat treated (strength 5CT, Grade L-80 outer pipe and 2
during external coating at elevated for carbon steel outer pipe and mm thick Inconel 625 as liner pipe
temperature or in service. corrosion resistance for CRA liner), material.
prior to assembly.
A defect free surface of both pipes at Figure 6a shows that if no heating of
their interface is particularly CRA lined pipe products can the outer pipe is applied and a fit-in
important in case the pipe will be compete with full body (solid) high stress of
cold bent e.g. reeled because alloy pipe materials if the required 10 kg/mm2 (or higher) is aimed,
defects have the tendency to act as wall thickness is not too small, say 2000 bar or more water pressure
initiators for imperfect behaviour. over 6 to 8 mm, and becomes more would be necessary whereby the
attractive with increasing wall outer pipe would be plastically
Furthermore, it is important to thickness of the load carrying outer deformed.
maintain a good control over the pipe. In case the outer pipe is heated to
level and uniformity of the fit-in Economics are also influenced - 350 degr. C without applying
stress between outer and liner pipe apart from the liner thickness - by hydraulic pressuring, a maximum
after assembly. The residual the type of high alloy required, clearance of only 0.26 mm would be
compressive stress (fit-in stress) in particularly its nickel and permissible between liner and outer
the liner pipe can be measured with molybdenum content, and savings pipe.This would be impractical for
biaxial strain gages mounted on the will be larger if the required alloy shifting the outer pipe over the liner
inside surface of a lined pipe. From a contain more of these expensive pipe.
pipe section containing the strain alloy elements.
gauges the CRA liner is then taken Application of CRA lined flow line The advantage of the thermo-
out by saw cutting the outer pipe. could be much extended for offshore hydraulic system is that much lower
The change in hoop strains and axial pipelines if it can be reeled. hydraulic pressures can be applied
strains before and after take-out are Installation cost for offshore lines and that the outer pipe need only be
measured from which data the fit-in usually exceed material cost and loaded elastically during expansion,
stress can be derived. without reeling it is difficult to see point 1 in Figure 6a.
compete with full body high alloy The practical problem of shifting the
It is complicated and costly to apply pipe if this can be reeled. outer pipe over the liner pipe is
this destructive method and For this reason a research project solved by applying a positive
therefore NSC have developed a has recently been initiated in order to clearance of a few millimetres
non-destructive sound reflecting investigate, demonstrate and confirm between liner and outer pipe and by

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 2


PO359

subsequently removing this concern for implosion of the liner as hydraulically fitted double wall pipe
clearance by plastic deformation of long as there is an adequate the minimum curvature (R) should
the liner pipe through hydraulic mechanical bond between liner and be 3.8 meter and 6.4 meters
expansion. outer pipe. respectively to avoid
buckling/wrinkling when subjected to
Yoshida et al (1,2) and Mizumura et 3.2 Burst Pressure bend loading.
al (4) have done extensive
investigations on thermo- Regarding burst pressure it was Craig and Eckroth (9) have carried
hydraulically fitted double wall pipe. found that this is higher for a double out cold bend tests with C-II pipe (6
They studied, amongst others, the wall pipe (tests on C-II pipe of NSC) 5/8 inch O.D. API-5L- Grade X65
influence of the interfacial gap and compared to a single wall pipe but outer pipe, wallth. 7.1 mm and 3 mm
fit-in stress on the risk of implosion that its actual value depends on the thick Alloy 825 liner pipe).
of the CRA liner, its burst pressure, strength characteristics of the CRA They have investigated the tendency
and the behaviour under cold liner material, see Figure 7 (4). for wrinkling and buckling after 1, 2,
bending load. 5.8 and 10 degrees bend angles
Two types of fracture modes were
Matsui (6) also investigated the corresponding to R/D of 63, 31,11
identified i.e. fracturing of the outer
influence of heating TFP/TFT on the and 6 respectively.
pipe only and fracture of both liner
fit-in stress after manufacturing. They observed that some wrinkling
and outer pipe. Which fracture mode
started to appear at a 5.8 degree
will occur depends on the rupture
3.1 Risk for Liner bend angle and that several buckles
elongation of liner and outer pipe.
were visible at a 10 degree angle.
Collapse (Implosion) For example, the first mentioned
No wrinkling or buckling was
fracture mode usually occurs in case
Concerns are sometimes expressed observed after 1 and 2 degree bend
of an Inconel 625 liner pipe (has
about a possible risk of liner collapse angles (R/D of 63 and 31
large rupture elongation) and the
(implosion) due to the generation of respectively).
second one in case of duplex as
hydrogen either from a corrosion liner material (4).
action on the liner pipe surface or - 3.4 Heating of TFP/TFT
more likely - due to cathodic after Manufacturing
overprotection of a pipe line.The
3.3 Cold Bending
hydrogen developed will diffuse as Four point bending tests have been Tests have been carried out by
H+ ions through the walls of liner carried out on C-II pipe with 5.5 inch Matsui (6) to investigate the change
pipe and outer pipe respectively and and 6 5/8 inch O.D. carbon steel of fit-in stress when TFP/TFT is
will recombine as (non diffusable) H2 outer pipe (API-5L, Grade X60 and heated after manufacturing. This
molecules at the interface of liner X70) and Incoloy 825 liner pipe could happen when the pipe is
pipe and outer pipe and can result in containing a girth weld at midlength coated on the outside and will
a high hydrogen pressure at this (4). usually be the case under service
location. conditions, particularly for down hole
Such pressure build-up is also Specimens were bent to a radius of application (TFT).
possible if cracks are present in the curvature of 11 times the outside Ring samples have been heated in
liner or due to the presence of - in diameter. No buckling of the liner or an electric furnace to temperatures
this respect - harmful weld defects. crack in the weld occurred. However, in the range of R.T to 750 degr. C.
Risk for implosion then occurs during on sectioning of the pipes after
rapid decompression of the line. bending a regular pattern of wrinkles The fit-in stress was measured by
became visible at the compression fixing strain gauges on the liner pipe
A close fit of the liner reduces the side of the liner pipe. surface and the stress change was
possibility of this dynamic buckling These wrinkles were about 35 mm in measured by removing (saw cutting)
phenomenon although there is no pitch and about 1 mm in height. the outer pipe material.
common consensus on the specific Subsequent implosion testing These measurements were done on
influence of the height of the fit-in showed that these wrinkles did not 50mm wide ring samples of API-5L-
stress. reduce the implosion behaviour. On Grade X52,
the contrary, implosion pressures O.D. 273 mm, wallth. 9.3 mm outer
Mizumura et al (4) did not observe appeared to be somewhat higher, pipe and AISI316L, wallth. 3 mm
such an influence contrary to most probably due to a slight liner pipe), which were warmed up in
Yoshida et al (1) who observed a thickness increase of the liner and an electric furnace to temperatures
clear advantage of a higher fit-in strainhardening of the liner material in the range of R.T to 750 degr. C.
stress on the onset of implosion, see prior to wrinkling (4). The results are shown in Figure 8a.
Figure 6b.
Further tests by NSC on C-II pipe (5) It can be seen in this figure that the
Laboratory experiments at Battelle have shown that wrinkling did not initial compressive stress i.e. fit-in
Columbus (USA) by Colwell et al (7) occur in C-II pipe if the bending stress in the liner pipe (9 kg/mm2 at
have shown that liner collapse of curvature was more 25 times the R.T.) is maintained till about 200-250
TFT does not occur under severe outside diameter commensurate with degr. C.
hydrogen charging. 2% plastic deformation (axial) of the This temperature is indicated as Ts.
pipe according to the somewhat Thereafter the fit-in stress decreases
Miyasaka et al (8) have simplified formula: gradually and becomes zero when
demonstrated in a theoretical study heated to
that it would take more than hundred R(adius)= 0.5xO.D(=outside 450 degr. C, which is called the
years for hydrogen pressure to reach diameter of the pipe)/e(=strain). vanishing temperature (Tv).
the liner collapse pressure.
All these investigations support a This would mean that for a 6 inch Further tests have shown, see
conclusion that there is no reason for O.D. and a 10 inch O.D. thermo- Figure 8b, that Ts and Tv will

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 3


PO359

increase if the fit-in stress is higher. It is mentioned here that the quality 4.3 Specific Inspection
It was also found that the higher the of carbon steel ERW pipe has much
0.2 % proof strength of the liner increased over the years.There is Items
material, the higher Ts and Tv will ERW pipe on the market nowadays
be. With a fit-in stress of about 20 (HF-ERW type) with a quality 4.3.1 During Manufacturing
kg/mm2, the Ts and Tv for most comparable to that of seamless pipe and Construction /
CRA liner materials are about 350 or even better. This can equally be
degr. C and 600 degr. C used for the manufacturing of TFP Installation
respectively, and both temperatures and TFT. The maximum wall Apart from the normally applied
are somewhat higher for duplex thickness of HF-ERW pipe is destructive and non-destructive
material types because of a higher currently restricted to 19 mm. quality control measures during
0.2 % proof strength. manufacturing of outer and liner
The longitudinal weld in ERW pipe is pipe, it is important to inspect the full
These investigations confirm the often regarded as the weak link from internal surface of the liner pipe
importance of the fit-in stress on the a corrosion point of view; however, visually and by eddy-current testing
behaviour of the mechanical bond this argument is not relevant for after its expansion (plastically)
and should therefore be taken into TFP/TFT because of the presence of during manufacturing. It is also
consideration in the design stage the CRA liner pipe. important to check at random the
and in technical specifications. compressive residual stress (fit-in
HF-ERW pipe has advantages for stress) on rings cut from the
4. Application as Flow TFP/TFT manufacturing because of
tighter tolerances and a better
manufactured pipe. Furthermore, to
check the fit-in stress non-
Line (TFP) surface quality than seamless pipe destructively on every produced
(important for the quality of the pipe. Both methods are standard
mechanical bond in TFP/TFT). It is procedure at Kuroki T&P Co. The
4.1 Material Selection therefore the intention of Kuroki T&P sound reflecting method described in
The double pipe concept enables the Co to investigate the use of HF-ERW section 2. is applied as the non-
selection of outer and liner pipe pipe for the outer pipe of TFP/TFT. destructive test method.
materials, which can each, be
separately heat treated in the most 4.2 Welding Aspects Specific attention (dye penetrant
optimum manner and thus can be inspection) is also required for the
freely selected for their respective In order to make high quality pipe ends after preparation for
roles. circumferential welds it is necessary circumferential welding (overlay
to seal the ends of the pipe first to welding/machining).
In the case of TFP the maximum prevent the possibility of
strength that can be selected for the contamination due to moisture, Inspection of circumferential welds
outer pipe of flow lines (load carrier) grease or dust accumulating during construction/installation
will in almost all cases be between the liner and the outer pipe needs special attention. X-ray is no
determined/restricted by the strength during the period between problem, but the X-ray inspector
properties of the welding manufacturing and eventual should be aware that a double wall
consumables to be used for joining installation. Such contaminants pipe is involved with a mechanical
(circumferential welding) the pipes in could lead to cracking as has been bond and he should be informed
the field. This welding can normally experienced in the past, see 4.4.1. about the pipe end weld preparation
only be done from the outside. (e.g. method 1 or 2 mentioned in
This seal welding can be achieved in 4.2).
Welding consumables will often be various ways.The two methods
high Ni alloys or (super) duplex in which have been applied for TFP If ultrasonic inspection is specified
case of a duplex stainless steel type and C-II pipe in the past are shown by the client special procedures
liner pipe. in Figure 9 and prevent dilution of should be developed due to the
Real high strength properties in high the root pass with carbon steel from presence of two, three or four
nickel alloys can only be achieved if the outer pipe.The seal weld filler different materials in the welded joint
these can be age-hardened. metal is chosen such that the i.e. carbon steel outer pipe, high
However, such a heat-treatment is corrosion resistance of the seal weld alloy CRA liner, high alloy weld
not permitted for thermo – preferably exceeds that of the liner overlay at pipe ends and high alloy
hydraulically fitted double wall pipe material. material of the circumferential weld
because this would deteriorate the Method 1 has the advantage that no (the high alloy materials are not
mechanical bond and the fit-in stress re-sealing is necessary in case of a necessarily the same). Furthermore,
would be lost (even a positive cut-out of the weld (cumbersome in the mechanical bond, although not
clearance could appear). the field or on a lay barge). ending at the weld bevel, could
The U-groove is favoured as weld cause deflection/scattering of
Kuroki T&P Co can manufacture preparation because the root pass is ultrasonic waves during inspection of
TFP (and TFT) with an outside normally TIG welded (GTAW). For the circumferential weld. In this
diameter of 3.5 to 12 inch and with a the hot and subsequent passes regard Method 1 as pipe end
wall thickness (carbon steel outer GTAW or pulsed GMAW welding is preparation is to be preferred, see
pipe) up to 32 mm. The min. CRA usually applied. Figure 9.
liner thickness is 1.5 mm for small
diameter pipe and 2.0 - 3.0 mm for 6
-12 inch diameter pipe. 4.3.2 During Service
TFP (and TFT) is manufactured in The possibilities for in service
standard length of 11.4 meters. inspection are not as straight forward
as for carbon steel pipe which can

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 4


PO359

be inspected by intelligent pigs, both transport of high pressure, hot, sour possible in the past to
ultrasonic and by flux leakage gas from wellhead platforms to a manufacture defect free
testing. Of these techniques only central facility platform. metallurgical bonded
ultrasonic testing can be applied for seamless clad pipe with
crack detection in the CRA liner of A typical example of the gas diameters beyond 6 inch in
double wall pipe with a mechanical composition was: 2.1 % H2S, 6.0 % sufficient length.
bond. CO2 and 4.9 % water with a Disbonding problems led to
Another possibility would be to temperature of 110 degr. C at the production yields too low for
provide an intelligent pig with an well head before entering the flow commercial production.
eddy-current device to check on the line which was designed for a 2. Clad and CRA lined tubing
presence of cracks in the CRA liner. pressure of 757 bar. All these ask for a threaded
For both techniques, special applications have been successful. connection, for which
practices/procedures have to be special manufacturing
developed for application on CRA 4.4.3. Madden Field - methods are necessary,
lined pipe. particularly overlay welding
Burlington Resources, of pin-end and coupling.
4.4 Examples of Field Wyoming, USA
Eventually only NSC had the firm
Application Corrosive conditions in the Madden
intention to go into the OCTG market
field are amongst the most severe in
in the early 1990s, however, not with
the world of oil & gas production and
metallurgical bonded but with CRA
4.4.1. NAM -The a typical example is:
lined production tubing (C-II pipe).
Netherlands Wellhead temperature 149-163 degr.
They carried out much development
The first application of TFP was at work in this respect including
C Wellhead pressure: 345 bars
NAM in The Netherlands in 1981 (at laboratory and field tests with their
12 % H2S and 20 % CO2
that time TFP was manufactured by NS-CT/CC premium connection until
15bbl water per MMSCF with 500
Kawasaki Heavy Industries). It 1995 when - as mentioned in the
ppm chloride elemental sulphur in
concerned 10 inch O.D. API 5LX- introduction - it was decided to stop
gas phase (progressively
Grade X52 outer pipe, wall thickness with the manufacturing of C-II pipe
condensing as the gas cools).
9.3 mm and with a 3 mm thick altogether.
AISI316L seam welded liner pipe. C-II pipe has been used for the
Kuroki T&P Co. can manufacture
transport of this gas and in all cases
Problems have occurred in the field similar CRA lined production tubing
API 5L-Grade X65 was used as
because initially no seal welding at in the diameter range 3.5 -12 inch
outer pipe and a 3 mm thick Incoloy
the pipe ends had been applied. with the NS-CT/CC premium
825 seam welded pipe as liner pipe.
During external coating of the pipe in connection which has been adopted
Details of these applications, which
The Netherlands (PE powder coating as their standard connection for TFT
have been very successful, are well
applied at around 380 degr. C) a (see also 4.1)
described in communications of
very small - undetected - gap had Craig et al (9,11).
been formed between liner and outer Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI)
pipe at the pipe ends. During have manufactured in the past
subsequent storage in the field (1984) some down hole production
(pipes were delivered in August
5. Application as tubing (TFT) for NAM in The
Netherlands and BEB in Germany
1980 and field installation took place Down Holeproduction (1987), details of which are as
in June 1981) moisture and dirt
entered the gap. This eventually Tubing (TFT) follows:
caused cracks to initiate at the
location of this gap (triple point of As yet there is not much experience 5.1 NAM - The
three materials) during with the use of CRA lined down hole
production tubing. Netherlands
circumferential welding. These
cracks propagated thereafter into the Smith and Celant (12) have The application was one full string of
fusion line of the circumferential indicated six possible reasons why 3.5 inch tubing with API 5CT, Grade
welds clad tubing has not seen wider L-80 outer pipe (wallth. 4.94 mm)
After the pipe ends were cut off, re- application but feel that “despite of and a 1.5 mm thick seamless duplex
machined and seal welded no further these reservations, it seems that liner (2205 type). A VAM type
problems were experienced. These clad tubing is an under-utilized (Vallourec) threaded connection was
pipes had been in operation for product”. Colwell et al (7) concluded applied. Field conditions (oil with
several years without any problems. in 1989 from an extensive study on large amount of water) were:
Thereafter wells in that area were bi-metallic tubing (with TFT also
shut-in and the lines taken out of tested) that this type of tubing is well head pressure: 90 bars
service. feasible as production tubing well head temperature: 43 degr. C
although they stated that more H2S: 30 ppm
efforts would be required, especially CO2: 1.2 %
4.4.2. Mobil Bay - USA in the area of connections. NaCl: 83 gr/l
Other applications, which are worth
mentioning, are some executed Other possible reasons for this This string has been in operation for
projects of Shell (10), Louisiana scarce application are: about two years. Unfortunately the
Land and Exploration and Mobil in well was shut-in after that period due
Mobil Bay-USA, where C-II pipe has 1. Despite many efforts by to the decline of the oil field. No
been applied (installed in 1991- leading pipe manufacturers corrosion issues have been reported
1996). The project involved the in the world, it has not been during the exposure time.

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 5


PO359

5.2 BEB - Germany prerequisite. materials incl.duplex types.


At BEB a 6 meter long 3.5 inch O.D.
TFT tubing with two connections has Some tests have already been 7.4
been installed in a corrosive gas well carried out in the past at Heriot Watt
University in Edinburgh on C-II pipe Own experiments (KHI and NSC)
in 1990. Outer pipe was C90-S with
of 7.28 inch, 10.75 inch (2x) pipes and investigations by Battelle
a wall thickness of 4.95 mm and the
(13). Two tests were successful and Columbus (USA) have demonstrated
liner pipe consisted of 1.5 mm thick
one of the tests on 10.75 inch dia that TFP/TFT is not susceptible to
Inconel 625. A TDS (Mannesmann)
pipe failed. Subsequent liner implosion under severe
threaded connection had been
investigations showed that the inner hydrogen charging.
applied.
surface of the carbon steel pipe
Field conditions were (12) : contained a significant spiral shaped 7.5
defect where wrinkling / buckling had
Tests have demonstrated that
well head pressure: 200 bars initiated.
TFP/TFT can be cold bent to a
well head temperature: 140 degr. C curvature of about 25-30 times the
H2S: 30 % In order to investigate and confirm
outside diameter without causing
160,000 ppm Cl- under which quality conditions TFP
wrinkling and/or buckling of the liner
elemental sulphur can indeed be reeled and to
establish the boundary conditions for pipe.

This test piece was inspected after reeling installation, a research


two years service and returned to project has been initiated in The 7.6
service at that time. The Netherlands (CPR project). When TFP/TFT will be heated, the
performance has been very Partners in this project are Heerema fit-in stress will be maintained to a
successful albeit that the tubing was Marine Contractors, Delft University temperature dependent on the initial
not subjected to the above of Technology (Faculty of Civil fit-in stress and the 0.2 % proof
mentioned worst anticipated Engineering and Geosciences), strength of the liner material after
corrosive conditions. DOSTO Engineering (materials & expansion in the carbon steel outer
corrosion consultancy) and Kuroki pipe.
T&P Co. in Japan.

6. Current Testing This 3-year project, which is 7.7


and R&D financially supported by the
Netherlands Ministry of Economic
The authors are of the opinion that
TFP can be reeled. However, the
Affairs has commenced in October conditions under which this can be
2002. done have still to be established and
6.1 Current testing
is subject of a current research
Testing efforts at Kuroki T&P Co are project.
focused on qualification testing of
TFT with the NS-CT/CT premium 7. Conclusions
connection in accordance with ISO Acknowledgement
Specification 13679 (Casing and
7.1 The authors wish to thank
Tubing Connection Testing). At this
Mr.T.Kuroki, President of the Kuroki
moment (July 2003) such There is proven experience that Kogyo Group, for his permission to
qualification testing is being carried CRA lined pipe manufactured by the present this paper.
out at Oil States Industries (UK) Ltd thermo-hydraulic fitted Further, Dr.T.Yoshida, Dr S.Matsui
in Aberdeen on TFT i.e. 7 5/8 inch manufacturing process is a reliable and Dr.T. Atsuta who have
O.D, 33.7lb/ft, Grade L-80 outer pipe product. developed the thermo-hydraulic
and 2 mm thick Alloy 31 as CRA
manufacturing process in the past
liner and a NS-CC premium
connection.
7.2 during their employment with
There is good operational Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and
authors thank them for their
In addition to this ISO qualification experience with the use of this type
kindness in reviewing this paper.
testing, also corrosion testing - both of CRA lined pipe in corrosive
coupon and full scale testing - is/will environments in the Oil & Gas
be carried out in order to test the industry, as flow line (both on and References::
welded joint of Alloy 31 and the weld offshore) and as down hole
overlay material (725NDUR) in the production tubing (only onshore and [1] Yoshida, T., Matsui, S.,
pin-end area in a corrosive limited experience). Atsuta, T. and Itoga, K.
environment specified by one of our Corrosion problems of
potential customers. pipeline and a solution; 12th
7.3 Annual Offshore Technology
The full-scale corrosion test is mainly The thermo-hydraulic manufacturing Conference (OTC), Houston,
a test to confirm the tightness of the process has the advantage that CRA May 1980, paper 3891.
connection under simulated field lined pipe can be manufactured with: [2] Yoshida, T., Matsuda S,
conditions. Matsui, S., Atsuta, T., Toma,
1. A well controlled fit-in stress S. and Itoga, K. The
and a wide range of fit-in development of corrosion-
6.2 R&D stress levels. resistant tubing; 13th Annual
Kuroki T&P Co is of the opinion that 2. Wall thickness of the Offshore Technology
TFP is suitable for reeling installation carbon steel outer pipe up Conference (OTC), Houston,
for which - in the authors’ opinion - a to 32 mm. May 1981, paper 4153.
high fit in stress is most probably a 3. All kind of CRA liner pipe [3] Murakami, Y., Kashimura, H.,

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 6


PO359

Fukuda, S. and Hoshino, Y.


Quality assurance system for
mechanically bonded Figures
bimetallic pipe; Proceedings
of the Second International
Offshore and Polar
Engineering Conference, San
Francisco, June 1992, p.164-
168.
[4] Mizumura, M., Mimura, H.,
Naoi, H. and Higashiyama, H.
Behaviour of mechanical-
bonded double-wall pipe
under various loading
conditions. Proceedings of the
Second International Offshore
and Polar Engineering
Conference, San Francisco,
June 1992, p142-149.
[5] Internal report Nippon Steel
Corporation.
[6] Matsui, S. Influence of heating
on fit-in stress of TFP and
TFT (Internal report of
Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
Ltd., March 1981).
[7] Colwell, J.A., Martin, C.J. and
Mack, R.D. Evaluation of full-
scale sections of bimetallic
tubing in simulated production
environments. Corrosion-Vol.
45, No. 5, May 1989, p 429-
440.
[8] Miyasaka, A., Ogawa, H. and
Toshitaroh, M.
“Considerations for liner
collapse risk of offshore
bimetallic pipelines
manufactured by thermo-
hydraulic process. Conference
CORROSION 91, NACE,
Cincinnati, March 1991.
[9] Craig, B.D. and Eckroth, J.
Selection and installation of
CRA clad flow lines in The
Madden Deep Unit. SPE
Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, Dallas, USA,
October 1995; paper SPE
30676.
[10] Lanan, G.A. and, Barry, D.W.
Mobile Bay corrosive gas flow
lines use new material,
design. Oil & Gas Journal
October 26,1992, p.71-76.
[11] Craig, B.D, Castille, R. and
Petersen, M. Experience with
CRA lined flow lines in the
Madden Deep Unit. Eurocorr
2000, London.
[12] Smith, L.M and Celant, M.
Practical Handbook of
Cladding Technology. CASTI
Publishing Inc., Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, First Edition,
June1992.
[13] C-II Pipe Reelability Tests in
STENA Offshore.
Internal report of Nippon Steel
Corporation, May 1993.

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 7


PO359

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 8


PO359

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 9


PO359

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 10


PO359

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 11


PO359

Stainless Steel World 2003 © 2003 KCI Publishing BV 12

You might also like