Pipe Bending for Petrochemical Plants
Cracker and reactor piping in alloys that will not forgive a careless heat cycle.
What petrochemical work brings to a bending shop
Ethylene cracker transfer line piping, reactor and regenerator runs, quench and fractionation piping, and the alloy sections that carry hot hydrocarbon where carbon steel will not survive.
Petrochemical work is where the material matters more than the geometry. Chrome-moly, stainless, and nickel-bearing alloys each have a temperature window, and an induction bend takes the pipe through that window on purpose. Controlled cooling after the coil is what keeps the metallurgy where the specification wants it, and it is chosen for the material rather than set once.
Codes and standards: ASME B31.3, with B16.49 on induction bends. Material specifications are usually tighter than the code, because the alloy is doing the real work. Send your project specification with the enquiry and we will confirm in writing what we certify against before anything is cut.
Send the grade, not the family
316 and 316L do not behave the same. 2205 and 2507 do not behave the same. The full material designation decides the temperature window, the window decides the cooling rate, and the cooling rate decides whether the finished bend passes a corrosion test.
Send the post-bend requirements with it: required heat treatment, ferrite limits on duplex, and whether positive material identification is required on the finished part. PMI and elemental analysis are both available here.
What to send with a petrochemical enquiry
Five numbers describe a bend: outside diameter, wall thickness, centerline radius, bend angle and the tangent length on each end. Add the material and the quantity and the job can be priced. A drawing, a sketch or a photograph of a marked-up print all work, and the quote form takes an attachment up to 25 MB.
For petrochemical work, the material designation matters more than anything else on the drawing. Send the full grade, not the family, along with the post-bend requirements: the heat treatment your specification calls for, any ferrite number limits on duplex, and whether positive material identification is required on the finished part.
Put the documentation requirements in the enquiry rather than in a later email. Material test reports, non-destructive testing and heat treatment all cost money and time. Retrofitting a documentation package onto a bend that has already been made is slow, and sometimes it is impossible.
Materials we bend
If the grade you need is not listed, ask. This is what comes through most often, not a limit.
What we can bend for you
How we would make it
Wall thickness, radius, material and schedule decide the process. Send the drawing and we will tell you which one fits.
Heat Induction Bending
Cojafex induction bending up through 42″ O.D. and 4″ wall, in any radius, angle or plane.
Coiling
Helical, spiral wound and serpentine coils, cold, up through 10″ pipe.
Cold Bending
Rotary draw bending on fourteen machines, with mandrels and wiper shoes where the radius needs them.
Mandrel Bending
Ball mandrels and wiper shoes for tight radii and thin walls that would otherwise collapse.
Large Diameter Pipe Bending
The work most shops turn away: up to 42 inch outside diameter and 4 inch wall.
Stainless and Alloy Bending
Stainless, duplex, Hastelloy, titanium and nickel alloys, bent without wrecking the metallurgy.
Questions we get from petrochemical buyers
Can you bend chrome-moly and stainless for petrochemical service?
Yes. The shop bends stainless, chrome, Hastelloy, Alloy 6XN, 2205 duplex and nickel-bearing alloys, cold where the size allows and by induction where it does not. Send the full material designation with the enquiry rather than the family.
Will induction bending damage the alloy?
It applies heat, so it can if it is done without control. That is what the controlled cooling step exists for: air or water spray chosen for the material holds the cooling rate inside the window. Forces and temperatures are monitored and recorded through the pass.
Can you provide PMI on the finished bend?
Yes. Positive material identification and elemental analysis are both on the list of tests available here, along with x-ray, ultrasonic, magnetic particle and liquid penetrant.
Have a drawing? Send it over.
Send a drawing or a sketch and our team will get back to you with a quote.