Steel Division

Linepipe

Made for toughest requirements

voestalpine Grobblech GmbH is one of the world’s leading producers of linepipe plates. More than two million tons of sour-gas resistant linepipe plates and very tough linepipe plates for thick-walled deep-sea lines testify to the success of our high-quality products. As a partner to renowned pipe makers we provide outstanding product quality, reliable service and flexibility.

Eddy current testing system successfully implemented in commercial projects

We at voestalpine demonstrate the absence of local hard zones (LHZ) by eddy current method and hold the biggest track record of LSAW material in operation. Supported by industry’s supreme accuracy and highly automated testing equipment we provide our partners the basis for a cost efficient project execution in severe sour environments (high H2S).

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Sour service in deep ocean

Extreme pressures in the deep ocean or sour service - Our linepipe plates can stand even the most difficult conditions. Our products are found in depths of up to 3,000 meters meters below the sea surface and also in the form of sour-gas-resistant linepipes. 

Our linepipe plates provide excellent toughness at low temperatures, best weldability and high uniform elongation for strain-based design. Available up to 18.7 m in length and with a weight up to 20 tons per plate.

voestalpine Sour service in der Tiefsee
voestalpine Extreme sour service und Korrosionsbeständigkeit

Extreme sour service and corrosion resistance

Roll-bonded clad plates are used for the manufacturing of clad linepipes. In many cases the mixture of oil, gas and a wide range of chemical elements in riserpipes or linepipes used for the transport of oil and gas formes a highly corrosive environment. Only the highest-quality materials are capable of withstanding this aggressive medium. Our roll-bonded clad linepipe plates with corrosion-resistant cladding meet these highest corrosion requirements. 

Extremely low arctic temperatures and harsh environmental conditions

We are there with land lines up to 48 inches (1,220 mm) in diameter.

We provide excellent toughness at low temperatures and our service is tailored to the individual customer from the time the order is received until the material is loaded for on-time shipment and delivery.

voestalpine arktische Temperaturen

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Heavy plates

Heavy plates for hydrogen application

Heavy plates for hydrogen application

Helping to achieve the global climate goals, voestalpine Grobblech is providing a variety of high quality steel grades for the entire hydrogen value chain.

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Heavy plates for hydrogen application

Being part of the green future

Globally increasing energy demand in combination with the governmental efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases are generating a growing demand for an alternative energy source. Green hydrogen, sustainably produced by means of electrolysis and powered by the sun, the wind or the force of the water, builds the basis for the energy revolution.

Being part of this sustainable future and helping to achieve the global climate goals, voestalpine Grobblech is providing a variety of high quality steel grades for the entire hydrogen value chain.

Fit for hydrogen

Depending on your actual requirements, voestalpine Grobblech GmbH offers a tailor-made solution to fit perfectly for your application. 

In accordance with your individual specification, you are able to choose the adequate material concept, whether for the save and reliable hydrogen distribution via a pipeline, the storage of H2 in a large-scale tank, for process piping in hydrogen atmosphere or for reactor columns in most severe and corrosive environment. 

voestalpine Grobblech´s new H2fit heavy plate product family is the right choice.

H2fit basic

H2fit basic heavy plates are characterized by a very low content of phosphorus or sulfur. Thanks to our state of the art steel-work-route and utilizing an intense vacuum degassing practice these unfavourable residual elements can be reduced to a minimum. Furthermore our slabs are produced with the latest strand-cast technology. The dynamic soft reduction as part of our slab casting process enable to minimize center segregations of the so produced high-quality slabs. 

H2fit basic heavy plates typically find their application at low pressure and low temperature in pure H2 environment such as for transition or distribution pipelines or large-scale H2 storage tanks.

H2fit classic

Our classical steel grades for sour service H2fit classic show an outstanding resistance against hydrogen induced cracking (HIC). In addition to very low residual elements and the soft reduction, these particular steel grades undergo a special treatment in our steel plant. By treating the liquid steel with a calcium-silicon wire, the inclusion shape can be controlled. 

The classic application for this type of plates are e.g. H2 buffer tanks, columns and piping at medium pressure and temperature as well as in sour atmosphere.

H2fit severe

When it comes to severe operating conditions like high temperature and pressure in combination with a sour and corrosive environment, H2fit severe is the right choice. The combination of our HIC resistant steel grades and a stainless steel clad layer even allows for applications like reactors or piping in the H2 processing industry.

Application matrix for hydrogen

Application matrix for hydrogen

Typical steel grades

H2fit basic:

BM-X80M

P235-690

(S)A 516 / 537 C. 1 / Cl. 2

H2fit classic:

(S)A 516 Gr. 60 / 65 / 70 acc. to ASTM / ASME

(S)A 537 Cl. 1

P 235-460

H2fit severe Clad:

P 235-690 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

(S)A 516 / 537 Cl. 1 / Cl. 2 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

(S)A 387 Gr. 11 / Gr. 22 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

H2fit severe Clad + HIC:

(S)A 516 Gr. 60 / Gr. 65 / Gr. 70 acc. to ASTM / ASME + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

(S)A 537 Cl. 1 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

P 235-460 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

(S)A 387 Gr. 11 + 304 / 316 / 317 *)

*) Typical austenitic stainless steel grades; Ni-basis alloys on demand and to be discussed.

The above shown table shall be understood a first guideline and represents only a selection of typical materials for the use in hydrogen atmosphere. The actual definition of the appropriate steel grade in respect to individual project requirements shall be done after technical discussion.

Applications

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Plattierter Behälter

Clad plates

Roll-bonded plates are the economical alternative to expensive high-alloy solid plates. They offer an optimum combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

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Clad plates

Our roll-bonded plates and heads are used in chemical apparatus engineering and refineries, in the oil and gas industry, in oil sand processing (coke drums) and in the food industry. Clad plates are used in seawater desalination and flue gas desulfurization systems.

Materials

A roll-clad sheet or plate consists of a base and a coating layer material.

The base materials for our clad plates come 100% from our own steel production in Linz. Cladding materials are purchased in the form of slabs and plates from renowned manufacturers.

The base materials used are primarily structural steels, boiler and pressure vessel steels and fine-grained structural steels that are characterized by good weldability and workability.

As cladding materials, we supply ferritic and austenitic stainless steels, nickel and nickel-based alloys, copper and copper-nickel alloys that are characterized by their respective corrosion properties.

Further details can be found in the brochure linked below.

The surfaces of the base materials are usually supplied in as-rolled condition or are sandblasted.

The surface of the cladding material is usually ground. We supply ground with grain 80 as a standard. Further grindings can be supplied upon request.

Here you will find more detailed information about delivery conditions and certifications for clad plates.

Available dimensions

Coating material 

Ferrites, austenites

Copper and nickel alloys

Total thickness:

6-150 mm

6-65 mm

Clad plate thickness:

1.5-10 mm

1.5-10 mm

Widths:

3,800 mm max.

3,800 mm max.

Length:

15,000 max. (12,400 mm Q+T max.)

15,000 max. (max.

12,400 mm Q + T)

Unit weight

2–18 tons

2–9 tons

Surface area:

At least 6 m²

At least 6 m²

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Plattiertes Rohr

Clad linepipe plates

voestalpine is the world market leader in the field of roll-bonded linepipe plates. The highest sourgas requirements are met by roll-bonded linepipe plates with corrosion-resistant cladding.

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Clad linepipe plates

Sourgas resistant plates for tubes

Sourgas occurs in oil and gas production and is considered highly corrosive. Only the best materials can withstand this aggressive medium. As one of the leading suppliers of sourgas-resistant linepipe plates worldwide, we supply roll-bonded linepipe plates with corrosion-resistant cladding for this specific application.

Protective cladding

The base material is decisive in linepipe production. Our roll-clad plates exhibit high strength, good toughness and best corrosion protection as a result of the cladding material. The combination of the X65 product with nickel-based alloy 625 achieves these optimized properties in the material. Our partners process the material into metallurgically bonded linepipe.

Quality defies the elements

The metallurgical bond of the clad linepipe withstands the highest mechanical stress and dynamic loads. These pipes are ideally suited for use in deep-sea pipelines under corrosive conditions.

Reeling and riser pipes 

  • Roll clad plates for pipelines 
  • High corrosion resistance, even for the most demanding sourgas requirements 
  • Reeling of pipelines more efficient and cheaper than welding on board 
  • Roll-bonded plates for metallurgically bonded linepipe to vertical pipelines (risers) 
  • Excellent metallurgical properties of roll-bonded plates for highest compressive strength
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Reeling einer Tiefsee-Pipeline

Linepipe plates

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sourgas-resistant linepipe plates, voestalpine Grobblech GmbH specializes in modern rolling processes with accelerated cooling.

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Linepipe plates

Specializing in extreme conditions

Lowest arctic temperatures, highest pressure in the deep sea, acidic media: Even the most adverse conditions cannot harm our linepipe plates. Our plates can be found at depths of up to 3000 meters below sea level as sourgas-resistant linepipe plates or as land pipelines with a diameter of up to 48" (1220 mm). The highest sourgas requirements are met by our roll-bonded linepipe plates with corrosion-resistant cladding. As specialists in modern thermomechanical rolling processes with accelerated cooling, we are one of the world market leaders in linepipe plates. More than 2 million tons of sourgas-resistant linepipe plates and extremely tough linepipe plates for thick-walled deep-sea pipelines are ample proof of our product success.

Eddy current testing system successfully developed and approved

The oil and gas industry identified local hard zones (LHZ) as the root cause for Sulphide-Stress-Cracking (SSC) failures of carbon steel in severe sour service application representing zone 3 and beyond of the NACE diagram.

The characteristics of the local hard zones are that they reach hardness levels well above the typical base material hardness with a very low thickness (only several 0,1mm). The frequency of occurrence of such local hard zones is very low and random. 

Demonstrating the absence of these local hard zones becomes one of the focal points of the industry. Based on the long lasting in-house experience for eddy current at voestalpine a highly automated testing system was developed and accredited by different oil and gas majors.

The magnetic field of the eddy current of the material represents material properties (magnetic hard vs. magnetic soft). A change of the material property caused by e.g. a local hard zone is detectable and can be identified.

At voestalpine the motorized equipment follows the plate surface by meander with an automated tracking. The coverage of the plate surface is 100% with an overlap from one track to the next. Due to the automated tracking an automated examination report with exact and automated localization of indications is created and recorded.

The Probability of detection (POD) based on different mathematical models and therefore the sensitivity of the system was demonstrated to different oil and gas majors. Additionally the best repeatability of detecting local hard zones were highlighted.

Voestalpine has a track record of more than 2,4 Mio tons of delivered plates for sour service application. For more than 340.000 tons of plates for commercially use for sour service (representing almost 15% of the delivered quantity) this highly automated testing system has been utilized.

 

Steel grades

Compliant with API 5L:

BM(S), X42M(S), X46M(S), X52M(S), X56M(S), X60M(S), X65M(S), X70M(S), X80M(S), X90M, X100M, X120M

Pursuant to EN 10208-2:

L245MB, L360MB, L415MB, L450MB, L485MB, L555MB

Pursuant to DNV GL:

SAWL245(S), SAWL290(S), SAWL320(S), SAWL360(S), SAWL390(S), SAWL415(S), SAWL450(S), SAWL485(S), SAWL555(S)

Pursuant to GOST:

K56, K60, K65

pursuant to ISO 3138:

L245M(S), L290M(S), L320M(S), L360M(S), L390M(S), L415M(S), L450M(S), L458M(S), L555M, L625M, L690M, L830M

 

 

 

Dimensions

Plate thickness:

9.5-63 mm

Plate width

1400–3800 mm (48" pipe diameter max.), depending on steel grade and thickness, smaller widths upon request

Plate length

18,700 mm max.; dependent on thickness and steel grade

Unit weight

20.0 tons max. per unit

Our linepipe plates are thermo-mechanically rolled and accelerated-cooled. All grades are available upon request in sourgas-resistant design at pH3 or pH5 pursuant to NACE TM 0284 Solution A and B. All steel grades are available with notched bar impact testing and Battelle testing (BDWTT) at temperatures below 0 °C. HIC tests for sourgas applications upon request.

 

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toughcore

toughcore®

Heavy plates with a fine microstructure to the very core, created for extremely high toughness and the most adverse environments.

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