November - December 2002
By joining Group Sponsored R&D Projects, TWI Industrial Members gain access to substantial programmes at low cost, with the opportunity to steer work undertaken into areas of specific interest. The following GSPs have been, or are about to be, launched.
For a full list of proposed, active and closed projects see here
Spiral welded pipe for oil & gas: State-of-the-art
Launched September 2002
Cost per sponsor £8 000
Project leader: S Bond
Spiral welded pipe offers cost benefits over UOE pipe and is used in utility duties successfully but acceptance of this product form for oil and gas applications is markedly varied. Industry requires better information on the technical issues related to specification and production of spiral welded pipe for oil and gas applications, so that cost savings can be realised, without compromising safety. It is proposed that a global review of the state-of-the-art spiral welded pipe for oil and gas applications be undertaken, (similar to a successful TWI review of ERW/HFI line pipe).
Materials selection for dissimilar joints in subsea hubs
Launched July 2002
Cost per sponsor £25 000 pa, 2 payments
Project leader: A J Leonard
Steel to weld-deposited nickel alloy interfaces exist in a wide variety of components, either where nickel alloy claddings are used or where there are dissimilar joints between steels and a range of corrosion resistant alloys. The project will address the concerns raised by recent failures in subsea hubs, using AISI 8630 and ERNi CrMo-3/ERNiCrMo-15 combinations, by exploring the variables influencing the failure. Once the controlling factors have been identified, guidelines for the safe manufacture and use of steel to nickel alloy joints in subsea applications will be formulated.
Friction stir welding of thick section aluminium materials
Launched July 2002
Cost per sponsor £20 000 pa, 3 payments
Project leader: K A Beamish
FSW is now commercially used to join aluminium sheet and extrusions in thickness up to about 15mm. However, limited progress has been made in exploiting the process in thick section materials (>25mm), although potential increases in productivity of 25-35% could be expected by using a single or two-pass process when compared with the most sophisticated MIG techniques. The project will concentrate on developing state-of-the-art tool technology and associated procedures for FSW aluminium alloys of 25->50mm.
Thermally sprayed aluminium coatings for prevention of corrosion of duplex stainless steels at elevated temperature
Launched August 2002
Cost per sponsor £20 000 pa, 2 payments
Project leader: S Shrestha
There are increasing concerns regarding external chloride stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of duplex stainless steels on topsides, and crevice/pitting corrosion of umbilicals and immersed facilities, at elevated temperatures up to 150°C. Furthermore, there are doubts regarding the reliability of organic coatings at this temperature, and it is known that under certain conditions cathodic protection has led to hydrogen embrittlement induced component failure. To address these issues, this project will evaluate the suitability of thermally sprayed aluminium coatings on duplex stainless steel for prevention of SCC and crevice/pitting corrosion.
