Welders H.V. and Oremet-Wah Chang Team to Meet Customer's
Emergency Challenge
Belgium-based
fabricator Welders N.V. has just completed, in a very tight time frame, the
shipment of two with titanium large U-bundles fitted seamless
tubes and unusually thick titanium tubesheet destined for the plant shutdown
operation of a major gas operator in the Middle East.
Besides stringent technical specifications, a remarkable
feature of the project was the extremely tight schedule: less than six months
for the complete project implementation, from the award date until the
effective delivery to the client's warehouse• An exceptionally fast-track
approach was adopted by Welders N.V. right from day one, including air lifting
of the main components from the USA and air freighting of the finished bundles,
not to mention overtime and shift work --a real achievement, considering the
weight of each bundle, 7.600 kg, the lead time for material and sophisticated
fabrication techniques.
Welders selected Oremet-Wah Chang as the source for the
titanium parts for quality and delivery reasons. Oremet-Wah Chang obliged by
making special logistic arrangements (some tubes were 14 meters long) and by
sticking to a hectic delivery schedule --this in spite of the end-of-year
period and severe winter conditions.
Each titanium tube bundle is comprised of the following
parts:
-One tubesheet in solid titanium Gr. 3 (to ASTM 381-97) of
nearly 1500mm diameter with a thickness of 245mm.
-600 U-bent tubes in titanium ASTM 338 Gr. 2, 5800mm
straight length, diameter 19.05mm, minimum wall thickness: 2.11mm/2.40mm
representing a total of around 7400 meters
Front view of the tubesheet under dye
penetrant check
The tube-to-tubesheet joint procedure consisted of seal
welding carried out in a dust-free room by automatic orbital machines, followed
by expansion, with intermediary NDE. Each bundle was subjected to hydrotesting
both on shell and tube sides (at a pressure of over 90 Bar on shell side).
Partial cross section of the 245mm
thick tubesheet in titanium Gr. 3
The complete fabrication, in accordance with a stringent
test and inspection program, was carefully monitored and controlled by a third
party agency. The final assembly, testing, packing and shipment of the bundle
proper was carried out in less than a week, without a single hitch, reflecting
Welders' extensive know-how and well-proven experience in heat transfer
equipment built in exotic materials.
Welders N.V. is one of Europe's leading
fabricators of high-integrity process equipment, specializing in high alloys
and reactive and refractory metals destined to the hydrocarbon, chemical and
petrochemical industries. Welders designs and constructs heat exchangers,
reactors, tanks, columns, towers, burners, pipework and components in
Superaustenitic and Ferritic Asustenitic stainless steels, nickel-base alloys,
titanium, and zirconium. For more information on the company and its
capabilities, call +32.53.77.76.77, fax +32.53.77.37.97, or email welders@unicall.be.
Welding Seminar to be Held in Conjunction with Reactive
Metals in Corrosive Applications Conference
Oremet-Wah Chang's 17th
Annual Welding Seminar will take place September 16-17 in conjunction with the
Reactive Metals in Corrosive Applications Conference. Classroom sessions will
be held in Sunriver, Oregon on Thursday afternoon, September 16. Hands-on
welding classes will be held in Albany, Oregon on Friday, September 17 (size is
limited to 15 students in the hands-on session).
Sessions will include instruction in welding a variety of
reactive and refractory metals and alloys. Classes familiarize attendees with
welding and repair techniques for equipment used in the Chemical Processing and
other industries. This year's seminar will focus on zirconium and titanium
alloys.
The welding seminar is free to RMCA Conference participants
and $199 for those who aren't registered for the meeting. To register for the
conference and/or welding seminar, contact Sheryl Renzoni at 541-926-4211, ext.
6280.
Note: Hands-on welding seminar participants must be
experienced in stainless steel or titanium welding. Space for this interactive
session will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
RMCA Conference Abstract: Niobium
for Hot Concentrated Nitric Acid -- Material Selection and Field Behavior
The following abstract was submitted by Michael H. W.
Renner, Bayer Corp., Baytown, TX and Evan Hinshaw, H. C. Starck Inc., Newton,
MA for a presentation they will deliver at the First International Conference
on Reactive Metals in Corrosive Applications September 12-16, 1999 in Sunriver,
Oregon.
During the manufacture
of highly concentrated nitric acid in the so-called UHDE process, materials of
construction are faced in certain process areas with hot N2O4
rich concentrated nitric acid. This means an extreme load due to the strongly
oxidizing character of this mixture for most materials in consideration (only a
few can be used for this application).
Usage of pure and high purity grades of aluminum as well as
high silicon alloyed stainless steels could possibly result in major
maintenance demands as well as short term periodical maintenance and
replacement costs.
In order to find the best material for this service and an
alternative to the poorly performing high purity aluminum material, long term
field corrosion tests were performed with a great variety of materials,
including several reactive metals.
Niobium was selected to build two heat
exchangers, which have been in service now for several years.
This paper will describe the test results and experiences
during manufacture and field behavior in an industrial production plant for
highly concentrated nitric acid.
Look for more RMCA Conference news in coming issues of
Outlook. For further information on the event, contact Conference Secretary,
Sheryl Renzoni at 541-926-4211, ext. 6280.
NACExpo '99
Allegheny Teledyne sister companies Oremet-Wah Chang,
Allegheny Ludlum, and Allvac recently combined efforts, exhibiting as the Total
Corrosion Solutions team at NACExpo '99 in San Antonio, Texas. The three
companies premiered a new exhibit (pictured below), with Allegheny Ludlum's
1960 stainless steel Thunderbird as its centerpiece.
Allegheny
Ludlum's Rick Moran tries to carve up the bird, narrowly missing several
guests, at the group's Rio Rio (restaurant) reception. An understandably
anxious crowd is ready to scramble for the pinata's contents.
Allegheny Teledyne's team unveiled its
new Total Corrosion Solutions theme, complete with a 302 stainless steel
Thunderbird as its centerpiece. Speaking of which, Bill Bloomfield of
POSE-MARRE EDELSTAHLWERK GMBH won a titanium driver for coming closest to
guessing the car's weight: 4100 pounds, fuzzy dice and all!
Total Corrosion Solutions encompasses the companies'
stainless steels, specialty steels, high tech alloys, nickel alloys, titanium,
niobium, and zirconium product lines as well as customer support and other
services. For those of you who weren't able to join us in the "Lone
Star" state and are interested in more information, we have CDs available
on request (while supplies last). Contact OWC's Sheryl Renzoni at 541-926-4211,
ext. 6280. If you need information and you need it now, we've also launched a
Total Corrosion Solutions portal on the web at www.corrosionsolutions.com that
includes press releases, a Frequently Asked Questions section, links, as well
as other useful information.
For those of you who were able to join us deep in the heart
of Texas, check out the pictures. Thanks again to all of our friends who helped
make the evening reception and NACExpo memorable events. We look forward to
seeing you in Orlando, Florida next year!
OWC Marketing Adds Team Members
Oremet-Wah Chang is pleased to announce two additions to its
Marketing Team. Mr. Steve Strecker was recently named Manager of New Market
Development, while Ms. Heidi Lopez joins the group as Marketing Coordinator.
Mr. Strecker's experience includes 27 years in multiple
heavy industry positions of increasing responsibility, including management of
a 600-person operating/maintenance/engineering organization responsible for
$1.5 billion in assets. His background also includes stints as Project Manager
for a $45 million plant and VP Engineering/Maintenance at Oremet-Wah Chang.
In his new position, Mr. Strecker, who has in-depth
experience working with pulp and paper companies, is searching for solutions to
that industry's corrosion problems and other processing challenges. He is also
currently managing market development for OWC's new hydrogen membrane project,
a system that purifies and recycles the gas. To contact Mr. Strecker, call
541-812-7314.
Ms. Lopez joins the Marketing team after three years with
OWC in the Customer Service and Sales Departments. Her knowledge of OWC's
products and customers will help in her new marketing communications role. She
has a degree in technical writing and five years experience as COO of a
computer business.
In her new position, Ms. Lopez will provide information to
OWC's customers on its many products through literature, trade shows, the
company's web site, and other communications. It's also worth noting that she
is editor of Outlook's sister publication, Nuclear Horizons. To
contact Ms. Lopez, call 541-926-4211, ext. 6530.
Steve Strecker
Heidi Lopez
OWC Offers Engineered Products and Services
Looking for value-added engineered
products and services? Tired of working with multiple vendors to procure
ready-to-use titanium and zirconium parts?
Oremet-Wah Chang has the answer: cast
and machined parts for aerospace, chemical processing, military, and other
applications--direct from the mill. Contact us at 541-812-7094 or by fax at
541-812-7098 to find out more about our capabilities, and ask for a copy of our
new data sheet (pictured below).
Q&A:
This issue's Question and Answer was
submitted by Mr. Rob Henson (left) and Mr. Bob Marsh (right), Business
Development Managers for the Corrosion Services Group at Oremet-Wah Chang. Both
of the authors have extensive experience working with reactive metals. Mr.
Henson's background includes corrosion and materials' research as part of the
company's R&D laboratory, while Mr. Marsh has in-depth knowledge built form
many years in niobium, titanium, and zirconium production. They are often asked
questions about alternative materials for various applications and thought it
would be helpful to discuss titanium Grades 7 and 16.
Ti Grades 7 and 16
Question:
When
should I consider Grade 16 titanium as a low cost alternative to Grade 7?
Answer:
The
corrosion resistance of titanium in reducing environments can be greatly
enhanced by the addition of relatively low levels of
palladium. For titanium Grade 7, these levels are controlled between.25%wt
and.12%wt, which are seemingly very low levels. Unfortunately, due to the
current price level of palladium, this alloy addition more than doubles the
cost of hot rolled plate when compared to the commercially pure Grades 2 and 3.
Investigations into the corrosion resistance of alloys
containing even lower levels of palladium have revealed that reducing the
alloying level to as little as.05%wt will still provide useful improvement in
corrosion resistance. This work has led to the creation of titanium Grade 16,
which is finding many applications in chloride-containing environments.
Seawater and chloride salt solutions are the primary areas
for using lean grades of Ti-Pd alloys, however, one should not overlook the
alloy when Ti Grade 7 is being considered. Those who have had a bad experience
with Cp Ti due to temperature or chloride content can benefit from the more
than 20% cost reduction offered by titanium Grade 16 in seamless tubing.
Examples are hot seawater tube-shell exchangers and condensers.
Test work and field experience have clearly demonstrated the
utility of titanium Grade 16 in industries such as mineral and chemical
processing, pollution control and oil refining. With palladium pricing currently
in excess of $350.00/oz.*, Grade 16 is a cost effective solution to corrosion
issues in mildly reducing environments. Moreover, at these price levels,
zirconium 702 is cost competitive with titanium Grade 7 and offers a much wider
range of corrosion resistance. I
* Market price at the time this article
was written.
News in Review
by Heidi Lopez
The Murrin Murrin Nickel Cobalt Project has received
environmental approval for the Stage II Expansion. It is owned by Anaconda
Nickel and designed by Monsanto Enviro-Chem System to be the largest
single train sulfuric acid facility worldwide. It will produce 4400 t/d of
sulfuric acid and 45,000 t/y of nickel. Sulphur 3/31/99
BP Amoco along with Sinopec
opened a 150,000 t/y acetic acid plant in China. BP Amoco has plans for
another plant in Malaysia with a 150,000 t/y capacity. Both plants will use the
Cativa process BP Amoco developed based on an iridium
catalyst. European
Chemical News 5/99
Sinopec was formed to prioritize the
production of petrochemicals with assets of US$45.8 billion allotted to it in
late 1998. Asia
Pulse via COMTEX 6/7/99
Air Products and Chemicals and Sasol are
planning a new US$3.2 million high-purity hydrogen plant. Sasol, in South
Africa, will run the plant and distribute locally via pipeline and to AP's
customers. Chemical
Week 5/26/99
Foster Wheeler has obtained
exclusive license to sell Starchem's new methanol process, claiming production
cost reductions of $50/t. General Electric is supplying high air
extraction gas turbines, which feed oxygen enrichment membranes. Capital costs
are lowered by as much as 25-40% in large-scale production. European Chemical News
6/7/99
