THE USE OF STEEL ARC WELDING PIPES ON TANK FARMS OR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY OBJECTS
Recently, the use of high-strength steels has significantly reduced the cost of pipeline materials. However, alignment, welding, inspection, and coating costs typically account for about 20 % of the total cost of the pipeline. Due to invention of new arc welding technologies, potential to reduce costs in the construction of pipelines is being created. The need to build large-diameter pipelines over long distances has led to an increase in the need to improve the performance of ring welding of the pipeline. Electric semi-automatic gas-metal welding remains the dominant technology of annular pipe welding. The article describes the processes of arc welding, control of the microstructure of the weld, welding material for pipelines in aggressive environments, the current state of welding of main pipelines in the Russian Federation, innovative welding technologies leading to a further significant increase in the performance of arc welding. The most promising method of welding in the construction and repair of pipelines is arc welding with coated electrodes. As a rule, in semi-automatic welding of joints of sections of trunk pipelines, solid wire and protective gas are used as the electrode. Improving the productivity of welding and installation works can be achieved by introduction of new energy-efficient welding methods, partial or complete replacement of existing welding equipment, the use of innovative welding materials.