Fabrication Sequence –

Horizontal Type
Fabrication Sequence –
Vertical Type
Major Activities
€ 1. Head Plate Forming
1
€ 2. Shell Plate and Nozzle Marking &
Cutting & Beveling
€ 3. Pre-bending & Rolling
€ 4.
4 Fit-up
Fit
€ 5. Welding
1 Head Plate Forming
1.
€ Nowadays,y , the
majority of all
vendors rely on the
head sub
sub-vendors
vendors to
carry out the forming
work such as Oasis
in UAE.
2. Shell Plate and Nozzle
Marking & C Cutting & Beveling
€ There are two
methods for shell
plate marking:

o CNC program
CNC Program
g is fast and
accurate
Most vendors rely on this
method these days
o Manual
Shell Plate Marking
€ Both methods is recommended to applied
pp to
standard line
○ It is crucial to indicate that the standard line is 100mm long

€ This measurement is used for:

○ Setting
S tti ththe cutting
tti machine
hi
○ Checking dimensions after cutting
○ Fit-up stage for measurement reference
Calculation of the Shell Length
€ Shell length
g L = ((shell inside diameter + shell
thickness)*π

€ Shell width W = specific to shop drawing

€ Shell thickness t = specific to the shop drawing

€ For instance:
○ Inside diameter = 3000mm; thickness = 16mm
○ Shell required length = (3000+16)*π = 9475mm
Calculation of Pressure Vessel
W i ht
Weight
€ Shell weight
S g A = W*7860*(ID
860 ( + t)*π
)

€ Head weight B = π*[ID*1.26/2]²*t*7860}*N

€ Nozzle & Pipe Weight C = (please refer ANSI

B31.1) + Support Weight (same as A)

€ T t l Weight
Total W i ht D = A + B + C
○ Note that the calculation of pressure vessel weight is
roughly estimated

Note: ID = Shell Inside Diameter; N = Number of head

Shell Plate Cutting &
Beveling
€ CNC program
○ Major for carbon steel
and stainless steel
Shell Plate Cutting &
Beveling
€ PLASMA –
○ Major for stainless
steel
Shell Plate Cutting &
Beveling
€ Semi-auto
Semi auto frame
○ Gas cutting machine
operated manually
Shell Plate Cutting & Beveling
€ Semi auto beveling
Semi-auto
machine
Shell Plate Cutting &
Beveling
€ Shearing machine
○ For thin materials
○ Especially for stainless
steel due to slight
distortion after Plasma
cutting
Shell Plate Beveling
€ Common bevel types
yp
○ Single
○ Double

€ For plate thickness less

than 16mm, single
bevel is applied

€ For plate thickness

equal to and greater
than 16mm, double
bevel is applied
pp
Shell Plate Cutting & Beveling
€ After cutting both bevel
and the base metal,
approximately 10mm area
of bevel should be grinded
to remove mill scale
○ These areas produce
Fe2(OH3) or Fe2(OH4)

€ This will help to produce

H2 easily during the
welding process which will
in result affecting the
quality
Nozzle Cutting
€ Semi
Semi-auto
auto frame
€ Manual
Gas torch with compass
3. Pre-bending & Rolling

There are two kind method for pre-bending

pre bending

y Pre-bending by Press machine

y The
Th extra
t llength
th off plate
l t is
i nott required
i d

y Pre-bending by Rolling Machine

y 300mm to 500mm extra length of plate is required
Pre-bending – by Press
Machine
€ Press machine
○ This is the best way to
perform the pre-bending
○ However, for heavy wall
thick cases, most vendors
do not have enough
capacity for press
machines; hence pre-
bending by roller is very
common
Pre-bending Process – by
Press Machine
Pre-bending – by Rolling
Machine
€ Rolling machine
○ This pre-bending
process will create an
extra length
g which will
be cut after the
completion of pre-
bending
○ The extra length will
be cut manually or by
semi-auto machine
Rolling
€ Byy Rolling
g machine

€ Over the past years, the

rolling machine
business has been
developing so well

€ The availability of
thickness for rolling over
100mm has become the
norm
Rolling
€ In order to avoid
d
damages on the
h shell
h ll
plate during rolling
process, ensure that all
foreigner materials have
been removed entirely

€ It’s crucial that during

the rolling process, the
radius gauge is
monitored
it d and d checked
h k d
carefully at all times
○ The radius gauge size
should be ID/4
Note: ID = Shell Inside Diameter
4 Long Seam Fit-up
4. Fit up
€ Temporary tack weld is
necessary after rolling
the shell plate
○ This is to secure the
alignment
li t and
d ffor llater
t
welding purposes

€ Prior
P i tto welding,
ldi th
the
inside shell will need a
“moon plate” in order to
avoid distortion
Long Seam Fit-up, Welding, RT
(NDE)
€ It is important that both
edges
d off th
the llong seam
require a “tab plate”
○ Not only necessary for
production test but also
t assure the
to th quality
lit off
the welding
○ Production test implies
tension, bending, impact
test etc.
test, etc

€ Depending on the
requirement,
q , RT tends
to be the best way to
exam the quality of
welding
Re-rolling (after long seam
welding completed))
€ Use rolling
U g machine

€ It’s not recommended to

apply re-rolling,
especially if HAZ (Heat
Affect Zone) hardness
value reaches over 230
○ Bead crack can often
occurred
d easily
il
4. Fit-up Circum Seam, Skirt, Nozzle,
H d Plate
Head Pl t andd Saddle
S ddl supportt
€ Before and after each
shell block fit-up
together, both ends of
the shell might need
extra reinforcement as a
support
pp to keep p the
roundness

€ Usually, the spider type

support is mostly
recommended
Fit-up Circum Seam, Skirt, Nozzle,
H d Pl
Head Plate
t and
dSSaddle
ddl supportt
€ To determine whether reinforcement is
necessary, the figures below are for references
○ Where D is shell diameter & t is shell thickness (mm)
○ D/t over 150 to 160 for tower
○ D/t over 160 to 170 for drum
○ D/t over 150 to 160 for heat exchanger
Spider Support for Duct &
Stack

Rabigh
g PJ Rabigh
g PJ
4,980 id / 9 t = 553 > 160 5,307 id / 22 t = 241 > 160
Spider Support for P/V

Tanajib
j PJ NCP PJ
3,500 id / 21 t = 167 > 160 10,000 id / 26 t = 385 > 160
Support for Refractory Piping

Rabigh
g PJ Rabigh
g PJ
2,000 id / 13 t = 153 < 160 2,790 id / 19 = 147 < 160
Support for Refractory Piping

Rabigh
g PJ Rabigh
g PJ
1,674 id / 12 t = 140 < 160 1,217 id / 10 = 122 < 160
Fabrication Area
€ Fabrication area needs to be at least 3 to 3
3.5
5
times of its production area for smooth
fabrication

€ Up to 5 times is the best to produce an effective

and accurate work
5 General Welding
5.
€ The welding
g is categorized
g as below
○ Category A = Long seam including boot and neck of nozzle
○ Category B = Circumferential seam
○ Category C = Flange joint
○ Category D = Nozzle with shell
Welding Consumable
€ For the p
pressure vessel,, the average
g amount
of weld deposit metal is 1.7% to 2.0% of the
product’s weight

€ To fabricate products more economical, the

amount of weld deposit
p metal shall be
decreased with improvement bevel angle and
the product shall be welded with high
productive welding condition
condition, such as diameter
of electrode, welding current and welding
voltage.
Welding Process / Filler Metal
(C S)
(C.S)
€ SMAW - S
S Shielded Metal Arc Welding
g

€ SAW - Submerged Arc Welding

€ SAW with Strip Electrodes

€ FCAW - Flux Core Arc Welding

€ GTAW - Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
€ Performed manually

€ Low h
L hydrogen
d type electrodes
l d
(AWS No. E-7016, E-7018,
and E-7028) are applied to
welding pressure parts

€ High productivity type

electrode (E-6020/7020,
6024/7024,, and 6027/7027))
may be applied to only fillet
welding of non-pressure parts

€ On average:
○ 5 kg/day/welder (for 4.0mm
or 5.0mm)
○ 3 kg/day/welder (for 3.2mm)
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)
€ Performed by auto/semi-auto
machine

€ AWS No. F7P6-EM12K

€ It s recommended to use
It’s
fused type flux instead of
bonded type because it
controls the moisture content
and slug can be removed
easily
il

€ The recommendation for

standard welding condition is
over 500A;
500A which
hi h will
ill b
be
applied to Shell long seam
and circum seam

€ A
Average 25 kkg/day/welder
/d / ld
SAW with Strip Electrodes
€ Applied overlay
welding
ldi particularly
ti l l ffor
large area such as
inside of nozzle and
reactor.
SAW with 60mm Strip Electrodes
LSDP PJ
Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW)
€ Performed manually or semi-
auto

€ AWS No. E71T-1 - Non

pressure parts or nozzle

€ Many years ago, th

M the major
j oilil
companies (Exxon Mobile, BP,
Shell, Chevron, and Conoco
Phillips) did not allow
weldingg process
p of FCAW to
b applied
be li d to pressure parts

€ However, in the recent years,

the electrodes have been
developing so well that some
companies now accept
nozzle welding applied by
FCAW

€ Average 20 kg/day/welder
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
€ Performed manually

€ AWS No. ER70S-2 will be

applied
pp to the top
p of the
skirt, bottom head, and
piping joint
How reactor vessels (Low Alloy) Are
F bi t d
Fabricated