Petrochemical
In order to meet standards of safety today, oil wells have
to be outfitted with downhole control lines to allow
for an immediate shut down of production. These control
lines are attached to the production tubing at one end and
safety valves at the other end. The control lines are remote
controlled from either the production platform or the surface
wellhead. Their operation is vital to the safety of the site
and therefore the material should be made of a corrosive resistant
alloy in case of exposure to well fluids or seawater.
A standard
stainless steel grade for this application is ASTM 316L.
As a complement to the control line technology, coiled
tubing is commonly used for the operation of downhole tools
during workovers. Carbon steel coils are commonly used
as opposed to stainless steel because of its consumable
nature. The coils are used for nitrogen circulations, acid
injections, and other fluid circulations. However, the
lifetime of these coils is limited due to lower corrosion
resistance and fatigue strength. Stainless steels can offer both
higher corrosion resistance and fatigue strength which in turn
increases the number of possible well entries that can
be attained before replacement.
Camdel Metals tubing is available in single coils with lengths
up to 3650m (12000 ft.) without the need for orbital welds.
The benefits of these long lengths are reduced weak area
locations and minimal potential for leaks. In addition
there will be reduced installation costs, because of a
reduction in fittings and therefore installation time. A variety
of alloys are available for this application, including 316L
and other high nickel alloys with outer diameters of 1/8" to
1".
Flow Lines & Subsea Safety Valves
(SSSV)
Subsea technology has recently seen new field developments
which have begun to overcome previous environmental hindrances
in a cost effective manner. These new developments require
prospecting hundreds of miles from shore and in thousands
of feet of water. Subsea tiebacks utilize flow lines to tie production
from subsea wells back to existing surface production facilities,
tiebacks can be in excess of 50 miles. This means that the
future of oil and gas development will be geared towards exploiting
these new technologies to increase oil supply and profit. This
also means there will be high demand for subsea safety valves capable
of managing hydraulic performing under these harsh conditions.
Ideal material will have high mechanical
strength, high corrosion resistance, good weldability, and
overall reliability. In the tube’s
finished state it should represent resistance to collapse
and buckling, no methanol permeation, short hydraulic response
time, and long lifetime expectancy.
Carbon steel represents
a cheap material applicable in these applications, but
additional requirements exist to maintain the carbon steel
in a subsea environment. For instance, the production of
a hydrocarbon process stream may contain contaminants such
as CO2, chlorides, and formation water. If this is true, then
a corrosion control system is required to maintain the composition
of the carbon steel to minimize corrosive affects. Corrosion
of carbon steel is further increased if H2S is present
in the system, as well as the addition of high flow rate, temperature,
and pressure. This would make it necessary to add costly
inhibitors at the wellhead and throughout the flowline near remote
treatment stations. Otherwise, the conditions would become too
severe for the carbon steel flowlines and piping system.
Stainless steel
represents a better solution to the problem. A system
made of stainless steel would be specifically designed
to resist corrosion without the use of inhibitors and treatment
stations can be centrally located to serve more than one
well at a time. This would serve to substantially reduce the
cost of treatment throughout the facility and would more than
compensate for the higher initial cost of an all stainless steel
flowline. Using stainless steels in subsea applications has more
advantages than just high corrosion resistance. The total weight
of a stainless steel piping system would be much reduced from
a carbon steel system because the corrosion rate is negligible
and would require no corrosion allowance. Also stainless steels
are less sensitive to erosion, allow for higher flow rates, and
are more environmentally friendly.
Subsea Umbilicals
Increased usage of subsea wells during the last few years
has driven the need for better technology for subsea wellhead
control systems. These wellhead control systems are connected
to conventional processing platforms via hydraulic and
electrical systems. The physical connection between the two stations
is called an umbilical and represents a very sensitive link and
requires a highly reliable system.
Originally, thermoplastic
hoses were used as a conduit for hydraulic fluids and
methanol, designed to dissolve hydrates impeding the flow
of hydrocarbons within the flowlines. Steel tube umbilical cords
were eventually discovered to have favorable characteristics
such as higher yield strengths even with reduced wall thicknesses
while operating under high pressure. Also, stainless steels
represented the added bonus of high resistance to localized corrosion,
giving the system a longer lifetime of reliability. Subsea offshore
excursions now reach water depths of over 2500 meters,
which makes it all that much more important that the tubing be
able to meet the high demands. High hydrostatic water pressure
makes the strength properties found in stainless steel even more
important today.
Heat Tracing
Heat tracing, or surface heating, is the method of heating
and/or maintaining temperatures in pipelines, tanks, and
vessels. Heat tracing tube is typically pre-insulated tubing
specifically designed to solve heat tracing problems associated
with process analyzers and other instrumentation. This
tubing is widely used in refining, petrochemical processing,
and power generation. Applications usually require the heat tracing
tube to maintain sample temperatures as well as insulation and
encapsulation.
Before
this tube is ready for use in the field, it starts off
at Camdel Metals as seamless stainless steel coil tubing.
Typically OEM's
purchase this seamless coil tubing and insulate the tube
while keeping it in coil form so that it can be "cut
to length" in the field and directly applied as a component
to a complete system.
Aerospace
In this day and age with highly advanced military and aerospace
technology pushing the limits of science, it is very important
that the parts can keep up with the machines. For this
reason, AMS and Military specifications on parts are very
stringent and require multiple mechanical property tests to ensure
practicality in application. For instance, an aircraft flying
at 10,000 ft. would require a fully functional fuel line without
worrying about leaks, potential weak spots, or mechanical failure
in the tubing that could be catastrophic for the pilot and multimillion
dollar airplane.
Camdel Metals produces a wide range of tubing
sizes, alloys and tempers made to aircraft industry specifications.
In many critical applications, seamless tubing is required
to eliminate the possibility of any weld related defect.
For this reason, our tubing is used by major aerospace
and aircraft companies for airframe, hydraulic, and fuel line
applications. Our seamless tube, cold drawn from seamless extruded
hollows, meets AMS, Military, or your specific requirements.
Ultra
High Purity (UHP) Tube
Demand for Ultra High Purity tube has once again risen as
demand within the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, medical
and food processing industries has increased. As of late,
more attention is being paid to the costly replacement rate
of low quality tubing due to interior corrosion. In an environment
such as a highly sensitive lab or production application
where quality and purity of chemical processes is very important,
low quality tubing can contaminate the process, lower production
yields, and cause high rejection rates. On the other hand, high
quality stainless steel material can ensure high purity delivery
of gasses, solvents, and chemicals with strict standards of interior
cleanliness and smoothness.
At
Camdel, our UHP tube is specially manufactured to produce
304L and 316L grade tubing with a very smooth bore as low
as 15Ra. Like all of our tubing it is cold drawn seamless stainless
steel, giving it mechanical properties superior to welded
or hot-finished tubing. The smooth bore tubing can also be thermocouple
cleaned or flushed with deionized water for high purity
applications within the food processing or pharmaceutical industries.
Some grades are suitable for electropolishing of the bore, which
gives the UHP tube a chromium enriched surface for improved corrosion
resistance.
General
Instrumentation
Instrumentation tubing is a fundamental part of the manufacturing
industry found everywhere throughout refineries, pharmaceutical
plants, power generation plants, and food & beverage industries.
This tubing can be used for anything from transmitting pneumatic
control signals to connecting pressure sensors to processes. Using
instrument tube it is possible to sample a pressure out of a vessel
without putting the sensor at risk. Another application is to use
instrument tube in parallel with fluid lines to take liquid samples
for measurement and analysis. Camdel's general instrumentation
tube is highly reliable and can be applied to satisfy needs across
a variety of industry market segments.
Geothermal Power
The concept behind Geothermal Power is not entirely new, having first been harnessed in Italy circa 1904. Geothermal power is generated by utilizing the earth's heat in areas where ground temperatures are very high at shallow depths. There are four types of power plant systems today which are used to harness geothermal energy; dry steam, salt, flash, and binary systems. The first type of plant was dry steam, where steam coming out of a well deep in the earth rises and is directly routed through turbines which in turn generate energy. The most common type of system used today is a flash system, where water under pressure reaches temperatures of 360 degree Fahrenheit and is then pumped to the power generation equipment at the surface.
Within this flash power system, to maximize the life of the well, it is necessary to introduce chemicals which prevent calcite deposits from forming and blocking flow through the well. This is where the Camdel Metals advantage of long length seamless tubing separates us from the competition. Without excess welds, our tubing can be used to run the length of the well to inject calcite inhibitor chemicals at the flash point were blockage is most likely to occur. This will ensure the long life of the well and the continued supply of a reliable energy source. As technology improves, Geothermal Power sources have the potential of becoming a truly renewable energy source.
Chromatography
Chromatography is the science of separating components within a mixture into their constituent elements. This mixture is dissolved into a "mobile phase" and is sent through a "stationary phase" designed to specially adsorb some element while allowing others to pass freely.
Modern Chromatography, both Gas (GC) and Liquid (HPLC), relies heavily on metal tubing as column material and plumbing for Chromatographic Systems. Handy & Harman Tube Co. has been involved in the manufacture of tubing for these applications since 1965. Our trademark Chromat ID has become the standard in the production of open columns for GC systems. The critical ID surface is carefully created and controlled through each operation to insure that is especially prepared for acceptance of a stationary phase of a thin layer adsorbent. This medium has an advantage over paper chromatography with faster runs, better separation and the choice between different adsorbents.
Typical tube sizes for Chromatography applications include outer diameter sizes which are 3/16" (4.76mm) and smaller. Standard grades in stainless currently offered are types 304, 316, 321 and 347. Nickel 200 is also available. Our tube is manufactured under strict quality control guidelines and ID cleanliness is maintained throughout the process and insured by vacuum annealing at finish.
Flow Measurement / Sensing
Important elements of process management include instruments to measure pressure, temperature and flow for the sake of maintaining a safe working system. Optimum performance is critical in various environments and applications for the Petrochemical, Process Construction, Pulp & Paper, and Power Generation industries. Sensors, transmitters, flow meters, and pressure seals must function consistently and accurately.
H&H Small Coil Products offers seamless construction, with the inside and outside diameter clean and free of oxides and defects. Our tight tolerance control, long coil length capability, stringent OD & ID cleanliness requirements, and competitive price have made us the standard for this industry. Vacuum annealing insures volatility of metallic oxides and removal of any residual degreasing solvents or drawing lubricants.
Handy & Harman Small Coil Products Division has specialized in the manufacture of seamless coil tubing .250" OD and smaller for more than 50 years. We manufacture our tube in 300 series stainless steels, as well as High Nickel Alloy tubing, such as Hastelloy C-276, C-22, Monel 400, Inconel 600 and Inconel 625, for optimum performance in various environments and applications.