【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】1951–2024: Successful development of Gemstone Steel Pipes – China’s pipes with the thickest walls for spiral conveyors

Thread Content

Safety first. Prevention first – let’s give praise and support to the achievements in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** On August 7, 2024, spiral steel pipe products with a diameter of 1820 millimeters and a wall thickness of 28 millimeters were produced by Baoji Petroleum Pipe Transportation Company, marking the successful development of spiral pipes with the thickest walls in China and filling a gap in domestic production. This is a new type of spiral conveyor pipe developed by Gemstone Steel Pipe Company specifically for local water supply projects. It is primarily used in jacking construction methods on-site, and its required wall thickness is as high as 28 millimeters; currently, the maximum wall thickness of similar products available in China does not exceed 26 millimeters, making production quite challenging. To meet customer needs, Gemstone Steel Pipe Transportation Pipe Company has worked together with raw material suppliers to customize the necessary materials. It has successfully overcome various technical challenges related to the rolling and shaping process, sheet shape control, and dimensional properties in the production of ultra-thick hot-rolled steel coils, thereby meeting the requirements for raw materials needed to produce transportation pipes with a wall thickness of 28 millimeters. On the other hand, technical challenges are addressed during the production process to solve problems such as the extreme stress encountered during the forming of steel strips with very thick walls, and the tendency for cracks to appear in the welds. The company’s technical team conducted in-depth analysis and evaluation of the pipe welding machine equipment in advance, carried out adaptive modifications and optimizations, precisely controlled the milling of bevels, and performed numerous tests to optimize welding parameters – thereby successfully overcoming the significant challenges and technical difficulties posed by ultra-thick wall sizes in terms of controlling the appearance quality of the pipes as well as the internal properties of their welds. In just 15 days, the company completed all the preparatory work prior to production and, after 16 consecutive hours of testing, successfully manufactured the spiral conveyor pipe with a length of 1820 millimeters and a wall thickness of 28 millimeters. Upon inspection and testing, the geometric dimensions of the steel pipes as well as the performance of their welds meet both the standard requirements and the customer’s specifications.