Is it okay to proceed with welding repairs for leaks in medium-pressure steam pipes without delay?
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During operation, it was found that there were cracks at the welds between the medium-pressure steam pipeline and the flanges, with steam clearly escaping from those areas. However, the owner, desiring to keep things moving quickly, refused to stop for repairs. The current pressure is 10 kgf/cm2; it is expected that the pressure will increase to over 20 kgf/cm2 when normal operations resume. The material used is 15CrMo – it’s not clear what the consequences of this will be
Of course there will be problems; steam is very dangerous.
Deal with it once the leakage becomes severe; in the meantime, ensure proper monitoring to prevent accidents.
It’s better to weld it in place; after all, it’s high-pressure steam – you can’t control accidents
Please bring pressure-sealing equipment to stop the leak. Once it’s sealed, it can be used normally. It’s fine to have a leak for a day or two, but over time the leak will only get worse, and at that point one will have to stop the vehicle and take action.
This post was last edited by flute6 on 2009-10-24 at 10:54. You are the construction party; if an accident occurs, the owner has no concrete evidence. It’s all your responsibility. 1. Prepare a document outlining the responsibilities for the accident and have the owner sign it. (Guaranteed no one will dare to sign: lol; just let your construction team handle the welding.) 2. Finish the welding as soon as possible, with 100% flaw detection at night. (100% expression is not quite appropriate, as there is only one weld seam that must be handled carefully.) A leak in the steam weld seam can cause injuries in mild cases, and pipe explosions in severe cases. :)
Could the poster solve this by using a hammer or a rivet to close the crack if the leakage isn’t severe, and then welding it shut?； Alternatively, use a cover to seal the leaky area, weld it firmly around the perimeter, and tighten it with the matching bolt. I’m not sure if this is appropriate; please advise.
Plugging leaks under pressure with 1.0-2.0MPa steam is no problem
1~2MPa. 15CrMo material is used. The temperature must be very high! It’s better to be careful. It would be even more troublesome if an accident happened!
Based on your material and pressure rating, it should be low-pressure supersaturated gas; long-term leakage would be very costly. If you don’t want to stop, use a pressure-sealing method – it’s very easy to do!
It’s frustrating; it should be welded properly before use to eliminate potential risks. But if accountability is indeed required, all you need to do is complete the signature procedures for those forms prior to putting the pipeline into use.