A critical review on high-frequency electric-resistance welding of steel linepipe
Kopparthi Ravikiran, Peiquan Xu, Leijun Li
Abstract
High-frequency electric-resistance welding (HF-ERW) is widely used to manufacture longitudinal seam-welded linepipe for traditional energy and renewable energy transportation. HF-ERW has significant technological and economic advantages, including lower heat input, excellent dimensional accuracy, higher productivity, and shorter lead times. This review covers the process fundamentals, physical metallurgy, weld performance, and recent research for improving HF-ERW weld quality. The evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture during HF-ERW and post-weld heat-treatment (PWHT), and physical and numerical simulations of HF-ERW process are critically examined. New challenges associated with HF-ERW linepipe, particularly on how to achieve superior low-temperature impact toughness, are discussed. The following potential research gaps for HF-ERW linepipe are identified: (i) Microstructure in the bondline as a function thermal-metallurgical-mechanical interactions; (ii) Physical and numerical simulations for the fundamentals of the HF-ERW process, (iii) Role of second-phase precipitates in welding and PWHT, and (iv) Formation mechanism for {100} and {110} cleavage planes near the weld bondline.