MPWT19-14326

Design Consideration for Internal Welding Attachments in Clad

Pressure Vessels

Olivier Sarrat
NobelClad
Espace Entreprise Mediterranée
66 600 Riveslates
France

ABSTRACT
Process equipment which employs a corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) layer cladded to steel is
common in refineries, petrochemical plants and other plants processing highly corrosive
media. There are two regularly employed methods for welding attachments and internals to
clad process vessels. One is to remove the CRA cladding for welding the attachment to the
steel base metal assuming dissimilar welds and restoring CRA by weld overlay. The other
eliminates the step of removing the cladding, simplifying the attachment process by direct
welding of the internals onto the clad layer. With the lack of data to prove the integrity of direct
welding attachment onto the clad layer, designers frequently demand the cladding be removed
or allow only a conservatively low stress limit for what can be attached directly to the clad
surface. It is well understood that eliminating the step of removing clad increases the simplicity,
improves the lead-time, and reduces the cost of making these attachments for trays or other
internals, but there are concerns about clad disbonding risks. With the aim to provide data
around the integrity of direct welding attachments for better risk assessments, a technical
study was undertaken. In this study, it will be shown that the bond between clad material and
the base steel is robust enough to withstand the heaviest attachments and harshest
conditions. The theory behind the technical study will be presented along with the results of
this study

Key words: Cladding, Corrosion Resistant Alloy, Explosion Welding, Bond Interface, Bond
Strength, Direct Attachment

INTRODUCTION

Historically, steel has been the primary material for construction of upstream oil and gas
equipment. Steel is tough, easily fabricated, relatively inexpensive. Corrosion concerns with
steel have always been a challenge. However, today’s oil and gas production industry is
increasingly turning to processes containing highly corrosive media containing primarily
sulfur, CO2 and chlorides. When these conditions are present the process environments
reach levels where the corrosion performance of steels is not adequate.

In these environments, a corrosion resistant alloy (CRA’s) layer can become necessary
to assure long term process media and equipment performance. Depending upon the
severity of the environment, the CRA’s can range from Stainless Steel, such as 316L, 321 to
Nickel alloys, such as Alloy 825 and Alloy 625 to Titanium.

1
 Clad corrosion resistant alloy on a substrate is one of the most common practices to
address that double requirements; resistance to corrosion and pressure. Cladding offers
significant cost savings over solid, particularly when thick wall material is requested. Clad
metal is broadly used in oil and gas and chemical industries for the last 70 years in
equipment such as pressure vessels, heat exchangers and pipes.

In refining and petrochemical equipment, different internals, such as trays, are added
inside the vessel and welded onto the inner side for support during operation. It is not
uncommon for pressure vessel designers and engineers to require removal of the alloy layer
before attaching internals. The reason for removing the clad can vary. Sometimes, internals
are made from carbon steel (or the same metal as the base metal of the clad) and are
intended to be overlayed after installation. Other times, the internals bear a very heavy load
and the durability of the bond between the clad and the base cannot be substantiated.
1 – Cladder shall be stripped back from backer in the
area where the internals shall be welded.
Complementary inspections shall be conducted to
ensure all cladder has been properly removed.
2 – Internal is then welded on the base metal using a
first layer of dissimilar metal weld to protect for
diffusion/dilution. An inspection step is therefore
requested to control that the layer fulfils the chemical
and corrosion properties.
3 – One or two additional layers are then added to
complete CRA. A final inspection step is mandatory.
See Figure 1.

Welding directly attachments on the CRA when specifications allow it

will significantly reduce the operational steps. From 3 steps required
for clad removing, it remains only one. The welding operation on the
same parent metal is to directly weld internals on the CRA. See
Figure 2.

Explosion Cladding process (EXW)

2
 Explosion cladding was commercially developed in the sixties. The first pressure
vessels built with CRA explosion clad are still in service today. Explosion cladding is a “cold
process”. This means there is no significant increase of temperature in the bulk of the
metals.

Due to shock wave and gas expansion created

by the detonation of the explosive, the cladding
metal is accelerated against the base metal with
an angle calculated with the shot parameters.
Due to to shock wave and gas expansion
created by the detonation of the explosive, the
cladding metal is accelerated against the base
metal with an angle calculated with the shot.

The oblique impact is generated under extreme pressure (GPa). A plasma jet eliminates
from the collision point removing all oxides and impurities of both surfaces. This
phenomenon creates clean metal surfaces immediately prior to contact. This cleaning action,
followed immediately by the very high pressures of impact, provide the conditions necessary
for metal-to-metal bonding

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The idea that the bond between the clad and base metal isn’t strong enough to support
the loads generated by internals is an appropriate concern when clad is purchased to only
the most basic level of specification. But there is a high price to pay for allowing clad to be
specified at the lowest level of production requirements. Stripping back the clad, and making
attachment welds to the base metal, compared to directly welding to the clad surface is well
understood to be costly, time consuming and introduces additional risk with dissimilar metal
welding and inspection steps being required. If the bond between the cladding metal and the
base metal can be qualified, engineers can plan for the additional flexibility of designing
internals to be welded directly to the clad without concern. It is not only engineers who can
take advantage of this technology, fabricators will see the use of qualified clad and directly
attaching internals to remain competitive and even increase profitability. The question then
remains of how to qualify clad for directly attaching internals.
NobelClad has conducted technical studies that define a clear path to qualification for
most stainless steel and nickel alloys cladded to carbon steel, alloy steel or stainless steel. A
combination of stringent non-destructive testing techniques coupled with very high shear
strength and tensile testing of the bond zone to ductile failure when a simulated welded
attachment is done is the best qualification procedure to allow confidently attaching internals
to the clad surface of pressure equipment.

Characterization of the interface to support attachment

Explosion cladded plates

The first step consists on cladding several plates with most used metals by oil and
gas equipment. The substrate (base metal) being mainly SA 387–22–2 (table 1) or SA 516
Gr 70 (table 2), the cladder is ferritic stainless steel like 410S or 317 L and Nickel alloy 825.

Table 1: Mechanical properties of SA 387 – 22 – 2. ASME BPVC.II. A

3
Table 2: Mechanical properties of SA 516 Gr 70. ASME BPVC.II. A

Cr Mo base material is produced by a reputed mill, vacuum degassed and fine grain
practice, quenched and tempered following a stress relieve heat treatment. Mechanical test
results at delivery conditions are fulfilling ASME SA 387 requirement : Tensile 88 ksi, Yield
72 ksi and elongation 25% (2 inch)
516 Gr 70 is at normalizing condition, Tensile 76 ksi, Yield 42 ksi and elongation 26%
(2 inch).

After cladding, the samples are ultrasonic inspected following the most stringent
ASME requirements (SA 264 and 265 class 1 – 100% coverage).

In order to cover all the vessel fabrication options,

destructive tests have been conducted as clad condition,
after short Post Weld Heat treatment or long post weld
heat treatment, following the UCS 56. table heating and
cooling rates. In addition to the shear strength tests
defined in the SA 264 and 265 figure 3, two specific tests
have been developed specifically for that study.

Through bondzone tensile

4
 A bondzone tensile specimen has been specifically designed to qualify the interface
under a perpendicular stress. Welded attachments on cladder and base (if needed), are
machined in order to comply with the SA 370 related to test methods. Welding are done
according to ASME rules. See Figure 5.

Figure 5 – Source DMC 100 rev 3 – S 12

Several tests have been conducted by changing some parameters as base material
and cladder material type, condition on the sample (as cladded, PWHT…), test
temperature….

Table 3 SA 240 – 317L on SA 516 Gr 70 (tensile and yield in ksi)

5
 On Table 3, results show for that combination, whatever the test temperature and
the condition, the failure occurs on the base zone. It is also interesting to notice that, at room
temperature, the tensile results comply with the ASME requirement on table 2. Neither the
welding of the attachments nor the condition of the samples affects the mechanical
properties of the steel.

Table 4 SA 240 – 347 on SA 387–22-2 (Tensile and Yield in ksi)

On table 4, on a different combination, we get the same results. All the failures occur
on the steel part on the sample. Tensile results at room temperature fulfill the ASME
requirement on table 1.

In some few cases, internals can be welded on a disbonded areas which are acceptable as
regards the ASME code. Class 1 Ultrasonic criteria means that an unbonded area cannot
exceed 25 mm (1inch) in its longest dimension. In the minds of some engineers, those
areas are considered as weak and shall be avoided for welding internals. It has been
designed a specific through tensile test to simulate the behavior of a nonbond area under a
tensile stress.