In many mining applications, steel piping systems are under constant attack by abrasion from a variety of materials often transported in slurry form over long distances. To combat abrasion and keep piping systems in service as long as possible, the standard solution has been to install abrasion resistant (AR) pipe that is much harder on the Brinnell scale than standard steel pipe. The harder the inner wall, studies have shown, the better it resists the gouging or plowing action of abrasive sliding particle flow.
Unfortunately, this type of abrasion is only one type of wear experienced within the piping system. Impact abrasion, where slurry meets the inner pipe wall at bends, elbows, laterals or tees in the system, has a decidedly unwelcome effect on the inner wall of the pipe. And, at sharper angles, abrasive material actively wears away at a more brittle inner wall, eroding the surface from the inside out. So predominant is the problem that frequent replacement, repair, and the associated maintenance expenses at the bends, elbows, laterals and tees in the system are accepted as the norm.
So, the solution would appear straightforward: for sliding abrasion, an extremely hard interior pipe wall for the straight lengths of pipe and a more ductile inner wall at the directional transitions? Not quite a perfect solution, though, as system size transitions and directional changes can experience both abrasive and impact wear.
According to Wollenberg, the variety of considerations that need to be addressed when it comes to abrasive wear illustrates the difference between simply ordering a piece of pipe and the broader field of piping system design.
According to Wollenberg, solutions include induction hardened pipe bends, installing wear tiles and inserts, lining the bend with various abrasion resistant materials and designing in longer radius bends when possible.
Strength and wear resistance can be improved by the addition of alloying elements to the steel during the pipe manufacturing process. This material is commonly referred to as AR200 piping.
Strength and wear resistance can also be increased with secondary processing of the steel, including heat treating by induction hardening. Induction hardened pipe can last three to eight times longer than mild steel, with only a moderate price increase.
Several years ago, Wollenberg’s company released its Ultra 600 series induction hardened pipe, a unique single wall pipe with a 250 BHN ductile outer surface that transitions to a 600 BHN inner wall surface.
The manufacturing process begins with a steel pipe manufactured to a proprietary chemistry developed by Ultra Tech, followed by induction heating, and finally water quenching of the inner surface to create the single wall pipe. At 600 BHN, the inner wall of the pipe can withstand the sliding abrasion of most common mining slurries, while its more ductile outer surface behaves like mild steel and can be cut and welded with proper procedure in the field, configured into a variety of fittings, and can accept standard end options of flanges, weld rings and couplings.
Using this proprietary process, Ultra Tech can create pipe in various diameters up to 40 in. (102 cm) in varying lengths and wall thickness. The same technology is used to create the bends, elbows, laterals and tees with the same hardness profile.
Based on the premise that when two objects meet, the harder object wins out, induction hardened pipe for both straight lengths and directional transitions is often sufficient for slurries of “softer” material such as coal and limestone. In some cases, mild steel pipe with induction hardened bends may work as well.
Another legitimate technique to mitigate the affects of impact abrasion is utilizing induction hardened pipe in long radius bends.
Because Ultra Tech is able to induction harden the pipe during the bending process, they can vary the arc radius of the pipe from 20 in. to 180 in. (51–457 cm) and handle multiple diameters or thicknesses of pipe.
A layer of tiles made from materials that are harder and more abrasion resistant than the base piping can also protect the inside wear surfaces of the pipes.
These tile materials can be cemented carbide, cast high chrome and ni-hard, aluminum oxide or basalt. Cemented carbide tiles are usually quite small in size (about 1-in. [25-mm] square and 1/4-in. thick). Aluminum oxide tiles can be almost any size and have thickness of more than 1-in. Basalt is a naturally occurring igneous rock that can be molted and cast into shapes, while retaining hardness between 8 and 9 on the Moh’s scale.
The bottom line is that the proper selection of component accessories, including the various configurations and alternate materials, can provide the ultimate total system wear life expectancy. However, by designing piping bends and elbows to withstand this high impact abrasive wear, a reduction in operating costs can be realized in the system.
“If you’ve got more of a critical system where you can’t afford any down time other than scheduled, then it’s worthwhile to spend the extra money for the appropriate abrasion resistant solutions,” said Wollenberg.
Information for this article was provided by Ultra Tech.