42

Standani Piping

r 11 ~ ~ 13 ~
T
12
--L

Fig. 10

Table (7) Dimensions for Nizzles with Saddles or reinforcements

MIN. RECOMMENDED DIMENSIONS

Nominal pipe size of ...--.
nozzle Centre of nozzle to Out side dia. of run Out side diameter to
end of run d1 to end of nozzle d2 OD of nozzle d3 *
-
8 51/2 8
4 and smaller 91/2 6 91/2
5 11 11
61/2
. 6
14 8 14
\f '1
12
17
20
91/2
11
17
20
14 22 12 22
16 25 13 25
18
20 28 14 28
24 31 15 31
36 16 36
Pipe Welding 43

0_'_,_,-.-,-,-, _. -'-.1-

Fig.11
* MINIMUM DIMENSION d3 & 13SHOULD BE TAKEN AS THAT WHICH IS TABULATED
FOR THE LARGER OF THE TWO ADJACENT NOZZLES.

4.2.6 Layout, Assembly, and Fit-up:

Proper layout, assembly, and fit up are essential for pipe welding of a quality which will
assure acceptance under any specifications.
Joint Preparaton: The end preparation of parts to be welded should conform to the joint
design set up in the applicable welding-prodecure specification. Cutting should be done with some
form of machine tool. Where standard "V" bevel preparations are applicable in wall thickness

below ~ in., Oxyacetylene beveling is limited to metals are which can be so cut and not adversely
affected by the temperature involved.

All welding taces and adjoining surfaces for a distance of at least ~ in from the edge of the
welding groove or from the toe of the fillet in the case of socket-welded or fillet-welded joints
should be thoroughly cleaned of rust, scales or grease. Chemical treatment may be necessary to
clean the parts thoroughly and to avoid contamination during the welding. This is generally desirable
on aluminum and titanium piping materials.
Layout and Assembly : Layout and assembly involve the fitting together of the various
component parts comprising a subassembly or a complete piping system in preparation for welding.
Dimensional allowances may have to be made for shrinkage during we"Iding,particularly on
materials as austenitic stainless which have high coefficients of expansion. The parts to be joined
should be carefully spaced, aligned, and tack-welded together so that the final welded assembly
will conform to the required dimensions with in reasonable tolerances. Normally, in ship fabrication
44 Standard Piping

and to end tolerance of :t l in.is considered the maximum that is acceptable. However, more
rigid tolerances may sometimes apply to specific piping components or system.
In making up sub~emblies, the usually procedure is to set up the largest component, either
on adjustable support "horses" or on a level-top "Layout" table, with its longitudinal axis in a
horizontal plane. The longitudinal axis and one end of the member are then used as base lines, to
which the locating dimensions and setting of the smaller parts can be referred, using a rule, steel
tape, hand leve~ squares, straightedge, or bevel protractor as required.
In the layout and assembly of complete piping systems in place, the same general procedure
applies. The largest horizontal components are erected, and then these members are used as
reference points for fitting and as assembling the smaller components. In such systems, the
components, such as pipe, valves, fittings, or prefabricated assemblies, must be carefully aligned
with respect to other structures, other equipment, and eachother. Where thermal expansion
contraction, or other movement is not involved the aligning operations are relatively simple. Where
such movements of a consideration, care must be exercised in both the placement and alignment
to make sure that the piping systems after is welded and subjected to service conditions, is located
consistent with the design and erection drawings.
In assembling butt type joints, the use of accurately fitting backing rings facilitates spacing
and alignment. Where backing rings are not used, the ends of the components to be welded should
be carefully aligned and spaced preparatory to tack welding which, in open joints, may be facilitated
with a spacing gage. Poor fit-up is a major cause of weld defects service failures.
Intersecting joints should be carefully layout with templates, standard layout curves, or jigs.
After the parts of the joint have been accurately cut and before they are beveled, it is advisable
to make a trial fitting of the joint. This will permit a visual gaging of the corrections that may have
to be made for root spacing and alignment and will reveal any irregularities in the cutting of the
parts that may require attention.
If the parts to be welded can be handled manually, the alignment, spacing and is many cases,
assembly can be done without the use of external holding devices. In setting up heavy sections,
the use of external clamps of other means of holding the parts in correct relationship to each other
is essential for maintaining alignment and facilitating handling.
In production welding, where a number of identical assemblies are involved, as when welding
flanges to pipe, the use of special set-up or alignment fixtures is a considerable advantage. The
design of such fixtures will vary, but the essential requirement is to provide a means for ql;lickly
setting component parts in proper relation to each other, ready for tack welding, without requiring
individual clamps for each joints.
The dimensional allowance in the layout and assembly of piping systems to compensate for
shrinkage during welding is established principally by experience. Many variable affect shrinkage,
and it cannot be determined by calculation alone. Size of electrode, type and size of bevel opening,
Pipe Welding 45

welding procesS and procedure, int((rpass temperature, and between pass grinding effect shrinkage.
Repair welding in local area may intensify shrinkage and distortion.
In the usual types of butt-welded joirits in carbon-steel or low-alloy steel piping of schedule
40 & 80 thicknesses, experience indicates that the longitudinal slu:inkage in each joint will equal
about one-half the root spacing after tack welding. Diametral shrinkage in carbon steel is negligible
and may be disregarded. Austenitic stainless steels experience about twice the shrinkage and may
also suffer from substantial diamentral shrinkage. In socket-welded or fillet-welded joints, both
transverse and longitudinal shrinkage are negligible and generally are not considered in the layout
and assembly operations.
In the training of welders, it is quite important to emphasize the factors affecting shrinkage.
As they become experienced in applying various welding procedures they will recognize these
factors and approximate their effects in terms of dimensional allowances during layout and assembly
operations.
4.2.7 Tack Welding :

After the joint is properly lined up, short tack welds are made in the joint prior to the actual
welding. These welds should be sufficient in number and of suitable proportions to hold the part
in place during ordinary handling. They need not be any larger than one-half the thickness of the
pipe wall nor longer than twice the thickness. Usually, on piping up to and including 4-in. nominal

pipe size, two or three ~-to 1-in.long tack welds should be made at locations that are about equally
spaced around the pipe. On larger pipe sizes, tack welds should be made at 4-to 6-in. intervals.
They should be of a quality equal to that specified by the welding procedure and should be made
by a qualified pipe-welding operator.
For shielded metal-arc welding with covered electrodes, the tack welds should be fused
through the full thickness of the land. Where tack welding is done by the inert gas tungsten- arc
process, "skin" tacking is usually preferred without fusing through the land to the pipe inside. Tack
welds made by shielded metal-arc welding should be ground prior to welding to remove slag and
possible crater cracks. Grinding may not be necessary on tack welds made by inert gas tungsten
arc welding.
Where consumable insert rings are used, spot tack welding of the insert rings to the pipe
with the smallest inside diameter in two or more equidistant places is some times desirable before
assembly of the joint. One method is to be strike the arc on a small copper plate placed inside of
the pipe near the bevel and to the touch the arc to the edge formed between the sing and the
inside of the pipe. The two pipe ends are then brought together and tack- welded. The tack welds
should not be fused through the full thickness of the insert ring and land. Before breaking the are,
the tungsten electrode should be manipulated slowly toward and up the side of the bevel. This
will help to avoid weld craters and cracks.
46 Standard Piping

4.2.8 Backing Rings:

Backing rings are employed in some piping system, normally where pipe joints are welded
primarily by the shielded metal-arc welding process with covered electrodes. In many applications
backing rings are not used, as they may restrict flow, provide crevices for the entrapment of
corrosive substances, enhance susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking or introduce still other
objectionable features. Thus, there is little, if any, use made of backing rings in most refmery piping
systems or chemical process and similar plants.
The use of backing rings is primarily confmed to carbon-and low-alloy steel and aluminum
piping. Carbon-steel backing rings are generally made of a mild carbon steel with a maximum
carbon content of 0.20 per cent and a maximum sulfur content of 0.05 per cent. The latter
requirement is especially important since high sulfur in deposite~ weld metal (which could be
created by an excessive sulfur content in such rings) may cause weld cracks. Split backing are
satisfactory for non-critical piping systems.
When a machined backing ring is desired, it is a general recommendation that welding ends
be machined on the inside diameter of the pipe. The critical services include high-pressure steam
lines between boiler and turbines and high pressure boiler- feed discharge lines, as encountered
in modern steam power plants. It is also recommended that the material of the backing ring be
compatible with the chemical composition of the pipe, valve, fitting, or flange with which it is to
be used. Where materials of dissimilar composition are being joined the composition of the backing
ring may be that of the lower alloy.
When machining piping for backing rings, the resulting wall thickness should be not less than
that required for the st;rvice pressure. Where ever internal machining for machined backing rings
is required on pipe and welding fittings in small sizes and lower schedule numbers weld metal
may have to be deposited on the inside of the pipe in the area to be machined. This is to provide
satisfactory contact between the machined surface on the pipe inside and the machined backing
ring. For such cases, the machining dimension should be a matter of agreement between the
fabricator and the clients.

4.2.9 Consumable Insert Rings:

One of the technique to produce high-quality welds is to employ consumable insert rings of
proper composition and dimensions. Consumable insert rings which are available commercially.
The three primary functions of consumable insert rings are to:
. 1. provide the easiest welding conditions and there by minimize the effects of undesirable
welding variables caused by the "human" element
. 2. give the most favorable weld contour to resist cracking resulting from weld-metal
shrinkage and hot shortness, or brittleness, in hot metal, and
. 3. produce metallurgically the soundest possible weld-metal composition of desirable
strength, ductility and toughness properties.
Pipe Welding 47
The best welding conditions are obtained where the flat-land and extended "U"-bevel
preparations are used. Tbese joint preparations are particularly helpful where welding is done in
the hOrizontal fIXedpipe position (5G), since they insure a flat or slightly convex root contour and
provide by far the greatest resistance to weld cracking in those alloys particularly susceptible to
microfissuring.
The weld-root contour conditions to be expected from different bevel preparations, it is
considered obligatory to use consumable insert rings with the special flat-land or extended "U"
bevel preparation. In horizontal-rolled (lG) and vertical-position (2G) welding, the insert ring
should be placed concentrically into the beveled pipe.
In horizontal fIXed-position (5G) welding, the insert ring should be placed eccentric to the
centerline of the pipe. In this position, the insert ring compensates for the downward sag of the
molten weld metal and aids in obtaining smooth, uniform root contour along the inner diameter
of the joint.