BUTT WELD FITTINGS
Special Piping Materials offers a range of precision finished buttweld fittings to our customers, which ensure a continuous flow in both seamless and welded pipes systems.
Long radius elbows, straight tees, equal tees as well as concentric and eccentric reducers are all available in a number of different sizes to match our clients’ requirements.
Pipe fittings such as buttweld fittings, threaded fittings and socket weld fitting are essential parts of pipelines as they allow for:
A change in direction for the liquid flowing through the pipes
Branching of the pipe to allow the liquid to flow in two separate directions
A reduction in pipe diameter
The attachment of auxiliary equipment
The end of the pipeline
All the buttweld fittings supplied by Special Piping Materials are designed in accordance to ASME standards. They can be sourced from specialised manufacturers in many different materials including Super Duplex, Nickel Alloy, Stainless Steel, Duplex or even 6% Moly.
Manufacturing of Buttweld Fittings:
A buttweld fitting is manufactured by the process of hot or cold forming, which means that it is bended and molded to the correct shape. They are also heat treated to remove residual stresses and to achieve specific mechanical properties.
The ends of buttweld fittings have to be bevelled and the exact shape of the bevel depends upon the wall thickness of the pipe it is being attached to. Material of a buttweld fitting can be any one of a number of exotic materials such as super duplex, nickel alloy or 6% Moly. The majority of the time, the material of the fitting is the same as the pipe system that it is welded to.
Buttweld fittings are defined in the ASME B16.9 standards, with light-weight corrosion resistant fittings made to MSS SP43 specifications.
These fittings are regularly used in piping systems and are available in many different shapes, that are dependent on the intended purpose of the fitting:
‘Elbows’ are used to alter the pathway of a pipeline
‘Reducers’ are needed to reduce or increase the size of the pipe bore size
‘Tees’ or ‘Crosses’ are used to split the flow in the pipe multiple ways
‘Caps’ are used if the pipeline needs to be closed off
Buttweld fittings can be finished in a variety of ways depending on the application is it required for. Similarly, for added corrosion protection, different coatings can be used such as galvanising, aluminising and claddings.
Once manufactured, buttweld fittings can be tested to ensure they confirm with specific standards, so they are able to perform as required in their intended application. Both destructive and non-destructive testing can be carried out to ensure the end-user is satisfied in the quality of the fitting.
Applications of Buttweld Fittings:
Buttweld fittings can be used in a wide variety of industries to alter, divide or end the flow of fluids. These operations include the following:
Waste treatment facilities
Chemical processing
Breweries
Petrochemical facilities
Cryogenic plants
Paper production
Gas processing
Nuclear power plants
The wide range of applications demonstrates the robustness of a buttweld fitting and how much this particular type of fitting is relied upon.
Advantages of Buttweld Fittings:
Buttweld fittings can withstand pressures and temperatures in very harsh environments. They are generally considered to be the most robust welding fixture, no matter what industry is using them. However, they do take a considerable time to fit and a highly skilled installer is needed who can weld them correctly on site.
Welded connection offers a more robust, a stronger and a more leak-proof piping connection.
The nature of the continuous metal structure provides added strength to the overall piping system.
The smooth inner surface and gradual directional changes provide a seamless flow, thus minimising pressure drops and turbulence inside the pipe.
Provide the option of various different turn radiuses due to the manufacture of Short Radius fittings, Long Radius fittings and 3R Elbows.
Cost effective compared to the counterpart fittings in the threaded or socket weld varieties.
They have a long service life and are cost effective to purchase and deploy.
Buttweld fittings can withstand corrosion and erosion more effectively than its socket weld and threaded equivalents.
A welded system uses comparatively less space that the other alternatives.
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