Titanium alloys have been widely used in various fields such as aviation, aerospace, shipbuilding, chemistry and chemical engineering, medical treatment, marine engineering, petroleum and petrochemical, etc. due to their excellent properties, which has caused global researchers to expand the research and development of titanium alloy application fields.
On September 24, 2021, China’s leading titanium alloy seamless pipe manufacturer: HBHX Petroleum Equipment Technology Corporation and Beike Gongyan Titanium Alloy Materials and Equipment Manufacturing Research Institute established a joint research and development center.
Develop the application of high-end seamless titanium alloy pipes in the petroleum industry
“China is rich in titanium resources, with ilmenite reserves reaching 200 million tons, accounting for 28% of the global reserves, ranking first in the world. Titanium alloys have been gradually used in high-sulfur environments due to their excellent corrosion resistance in recent years.” Song Shengyin, a researcher, a first-level expert of the Group’s Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Technology Research Institute, and a special government expert professor of the State Council, said that with the development of exploration and development to a deeper and more harsh corrosive environment, the application market of titanium materials in the petroleum industry will be broader in the future.
Song Shengyin said that the petroleum industry is an industry that consumes a lot of steel pipes. According to statistics, oil well pipes alone consumed 3.5 million tons in the largest year. There are many deep wells, ultra-deep wells, and corroded wells in the petroleum industry. The service conditions of oil well pipes are very complicated and harsh. In particular, there are more and more deep wells and ultra-deep wells, and the strength margin of traditional oil well pipes is too small. Once a complicated situation is encountered, it is difficult to solve it satisfactorily. The density of titanium alloy is only about 4.5 g/cm3. It has the characteristics of high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and long fatigue life. It can not only solve the problems of deep well load and short life, but also consume less energy. In addition, titanium alloy pipes are also used in the gathering and transportation network of some sour oil and gas fields. Therefore, titanium alloy tubes have become one of the key development directions in the future.
In addition to being used in the petroleum industry, titanium alloys also have very good applications in natural gas exploration and development. Titanium alloy has the characteristics of low density, high specific strength, excellent corrosion resistance and impact resistance, and higher economy. Compared with other metal materials, it has obvious advantages.
In spite of the limitations of corrosion resistance and high corrosion potential when applied in the field of oil and gas exploration and development, titanium alloy drill pipes, tubing and casing pipes, and pipelines have been actively developed and tested. With the continuous reduction of the cost of titanium alloy and the development of processing and manufacturing technology, its application in natural gas exploration and development will become more and more extensive.
“Titanium alloy drill pipes are also used in ultra-deep wells and extended reach wells. Due to the low density of titanium alloys, it can reduce hook load by 30% and torque by 30%-40%, significantly increase the pull margin and safety factor of the drilling tool, and improve Complicated ability to deal with accidents.” Song Shengyin said.
Song Shengyin said that most of China’s natural gas resources are sulfur-containing gas fields. The development of highly corrosive oil and gas fields has become a major problem facing the oil and gas industry. Therefore, the selection of high-quality corrosion-resistant materials for pipes has become the dominant trend.
Due to its excellent corrosion resistance, titanium alloys have gradually been used in high sulfur environments in recent years. Especially when the working conditions are relatively bad, the Cl- and H2S content is high, and the general stainless steel and even the nickel-based alloy will corrode. Through years of research and development, a titanium alloy material for tubing and casing corresponding to ordinary steel has been formed.
The mechanical properties of titanium alloy tubing are equivalent to those of nickel-based alloy tubing, and the joint strength meets the requirements of the standard ISO10400 for P110 steel grade.
“Because the titanium alloy pipe is easy to bend and has extremely high resistance to the impact of waves and dynamic stress corrosion fatigue strength caused by platform movement, the stress corrosion fatigue strength of the titanium alloy pipe is more than 10 times higher than that of the existing carbon steel. Titanium alloy pipe adapts to the bending and deformation working conditions in the laying process.
Titanium alloy transmission pipeline has good welding performance, single-sided welding and double-sided forming technology ensures uniform and reliable welds, and the titanium alloy transmission pipeline has excellent mechanical properties. It has passed the pipe tensile mechanical performance test, oscillometric impact test, pipe flattening test, KIC test for fracture toughness.
The drilling platform uses titanium alloy as the riser, which can reduce the lifting force, eliminate the huge flexible joints, and reduce the system cost. The expected service life can be up to 25 years. In addition, the heat exchanger in the cooling system on the offshore drilling platform uses a titanium tubular cooling device; various types of pumps (such as deep well pumps and centrifugal pumps) use cast titanium pump bodies and titanium alloy impellers; each Various valves and other pipe fittings are also made of titanium products, reducing maintenance workload.
The establishment of the titanium alloy seamless pipe joint research and development center will accelerate the advancement of HBHX in the research and preparation of titanium alloy materials, relying on the advantages of Beijing University of Science and Technology Engineering Technology Research Institute in high-efficiency rolling, process equipment, complete control system, intelligent manufacturing and other fields , Make full use of the talents of Beijing University of Science and Technology and Hebei Hengxiang’s production line and equipment resources to form an innovative mechanism of cooperation and win-win cooperation between industry, university, research and finance.
Institute of Engineering Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing (abbreviation: Beike Institute of Technology), China Titanium Materials Branch, Petroleum Pipe Engineering Technology Research Institute of PetroChina, Tenaris Global Services Co., Ltd. China, CNPC Bohai Drilling Engineering Pipe and Well Control Technology Relevant leaders of service companies, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Aerospace Technology Research Institute, Carlyle Fund China, Shenzhen Huayang Investment Holding Group and other units attended the listing ceremony.
“Titanium alloy seamless pipe development work, the product has entered the final stage of research and development, and mass production can be achieved. The pipe yield rate is Max92%, the yield strength is 880Mpa, the tensile strength is 975MPa, the elongation rate is 16-17%, and the 20℃ impact energy The average value of Kv2 is 43.4-43.9, and adaptability improvements will be made according to market demand to meet the needs of users with different materials to the greatest extent, and return customers and society with low-cost and high-efficiency processing techniques. Set up industry standards.” Yu Wei said.
Titanium alloy seamless pipe is the best material choice for high pressure, high temperature and high CO2/H2S partial pressure oil and gas, as well as combustible ice mining; the short process method of steel and titanium combined is a new method for low-cost production of high-strength titanium alloy pipes. Can greatly increase the yield; hot-rolled direct forming is an effective method for controlling the structure of dual-phase titanium alloys, but the stability of the rolling process parameters is essential; develop high-strength, corrosion-resistant new titanium alloys for oil well drill pipes and casings , Seamless pipe, to meet different oil and gas well applications.