Lincoln Electric FCAW-G User Manual
SUCCESS
WELDING CONSUMABLES
Flux-Cored (FCAW-G) Welding
Welding on Pipe
Contractor U.S. Pipeline
turned to new Lincoln Electric
Pipeliner®G80M gas-shielded
flux-cored wire to weld the
pipe tie-ins for the 380-mile
Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline
project, which used X-80
grade pipe.
-CHALLENGE-
The Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline
project was the first major pipeline in
the U.S. to use high strength X-80
grade pipe. The contractor, U.S.
Pipeline, was looking for ways to
increase productivity while still creating
high quality welds that could pass
radiographic inspection.
-SOLUTION-
Lincoln Electric Pipeliner
gas-shielded flux-cored wire for
use on the pipe tie-ins at connection
points and railroad crossings near
populated areas.
®
G80M
Cheyenne Plains Pipeline
uring the summer and fall of
2004, the plains of the west
D
bustle of cranes, trucks, heavy equipment and supplies to lay pipe for the
Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Project.
The 380-mile, 36-inch natural gas
pipeline runs from the Cheyenne hub
in Colorado to existing pipelines near
Greensburg, Kan. Once operational in
early 2005, the pipeline will export
560 million cubic feet of natural gas
per day from Wyoming to growing
markets in the mid-continental U.S.
and further east.
The $425 million pipeline, owned by
El Paso Corporation, was being constructed in three spreads which were
connected in the final phase of the
project. Spread one was contracted to
Associated Pipelines while spreads
two and three were handled by U.S.
Pipeline, Inc.
The Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline
Project was the first major pipeline in
the U.S.
were busy with the hustle and
to use X-80 grade pipe. Already a
standard in other parts of the world,
the X-80 pipe provides higher strength
with a thinner wall.
As on any pipeline project, welding
plays a critical role in the construction
process. But what made this project
unique was the extensive use of wire
welding to provide high productivity. A
new consumable from the Lincoln
Electric Company, the Pipeliner
gas-shielded flux-cored wire, was
selected by the evaluation team at
U.S. Pipeline, Inc. for use on the pipe
tie-ins at connection points and road
crossings near populated areas. These
welds, completed manually by independent pipeline contractors, connect
the mainline pipe to the thicker walled
pipe of the tie-ins.
For the mainline pipe, a CRC-Evans
automated welding system was used
in combination with Lincoln’s premium
SuperArc
metal arc wire.
®
L-56 copper coated gas
®
G80M
®
-RESULTS-
Using a wire process yielded results
that were three to five times faster
than the stick welding typically used
for pipeline welding. The Pipeliner
G80M provided high quality and
flawless operation with its smooth
arc and low spatter levels.
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MC05-114 7/05
WELDING CONSUMABLES
SUCCESS
Flux-Cored (FCAW-G) Welding
Welding on Pipe
“We chose the Lincoln Pipeliner
G80M wire for this project for a
number of reasons. First, it met
the mechanical requirements of
the job and also offered a
crisper arc,” said Bratcher.
“In addition, we felt that the
Lincoln product flowed better
and was more suitable for
outdoor use.”
An Overview of the Pipe
Installation Process
More than 140,000 tons of pipe and
25,000 individual sections were used to
complete this project. Each section of
pipe is 78-feet long and per industry
standards, was buried at least 30 inches
below the ground through a trenching
process.
Cheyenne Plains Pipeline
and then lowered it into the trench.
Finally, the construction crews at the
rear were responsible for conducting
hydrostatic pressure testing, backfilling
the trench and restoring the land as
close as possible to its original condition.
Welding Connection Points and
Road Crossings
After a lengthy process of evaluating
solid and flux-cored electrodes for the
job, U.S. Pipeline, Inc. selected a .045inch diameter Pipeliner G80M wire as
the consumable of choice for the
vertical up welding of the pipe tie-in fill
and cap passes. The Cheyenne Plains
Pipeline Project marked the first time
this new consumable was used in the
field and for many of the pipeline con-
tractors, it was also the first time they
had made the switch from a traditional
Stick process to complete the tie-ins for
the job.
“We chose the Lincoln Pipeliner G80M
wire for this project for a number of
reasons. First, it met the mechanical
requirements of the job and also offered
a crisper arc,” said Dana Bratcher,
Welding Foreman, U.S. Pipeline, Inc. “In
addition, we felt that the Lincoln product
flowed better and was more durable for
outdoor use. We also were attracted to
the fact that the pipe supplied from the
manufacturer was welded using a
Lincoln consumable.”
This electrode, specifically designed
for pipeline welding, is easier for the
operator to use and provides a
smooth arc, lower spatter levels
and less frequent
clogging of gun nozzles when
compared to other flux-cored wire
electrodes.
2/4
and cap. Each welder also had an
assistant who performed tasks such as
preheating the joints, setting the clamp
to align the two lengths of pipe, setting
up the welding equipment and completing the finish wire brushing on the joint.
Every tie-in weld was inspected with a
radiographic process and throughout
the job the weld quality had been excellent. “We had a low repair rate with the
Lincoln wire. It was consistent and
worked wonderfully,” noted Bratcher.
“Our welding operators liked the fact
that they were able to see how the
puddle flowed.”
The use of Pipeliner G80M wire to weld
the spiral seam pipe’s fill and cap passes provided significantly increased
productivity and high quality welds.
“The wire is about three to five times
faster than stick welding,” said Ray
Edwards, an independent pipeline
welder from the Pipeliners Union 798
and one of the welders on Spread Two
of the project. “The same length of weld
bead that would take up to five minutes
with stick welding is now taking me
about one minute.”
In addition, Lincoln’s Shield-Arc 70+
stick electrode was used to complete
the tack welds and vertical down root
pass on these tie-ins. This rod was chosen for its ability to accomplish the outof-position welding required for this job.
Much like an assembly line where each
worker is responsible for a certain portion of the job, construction crews in
each spread followed after each other
along the length of the pipe to complete
specialized tasks. Crews at the front
staked the area and prepared the rightof-way. Those following behind aligned
the pipe, welded and inspected the pipe
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All tie-in welds were performed
manually because of the specialized skills needed to handle fit-up
issues between the thinner mainline pipe and thicker tie-ins. Each
manual welding team consists of
two welders, one on each side of
the pipe performing one-half of
the welding pass – root, hot, fill
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