Induction Bends for Pipelines
Large-diameter field bends for onshore and offshore transmission, to ASME B31.4 and B16.49.
What pipeline work brings to a bending shop
Overbends, sag bends and side bends on transmission line pipe, river and road crossings, station piping and the tie-in bends that connect a line to a facility.
Pipeline bends are large, they are made in quantity, and every one of them has to hold wall thickness because the line is going in the ground and will not be inspected again for years. Induction bending is specified for exactly this: it produces a controlled bend on heavy line pipe without the thinning that cold forming at that diameter would cause. American Pipe Bending produces induction bends for onshore and offshore oil and gas pipeline systems.
Codes and standards: ASME B31.4 for liquid transportation, B31.8 for gas, and B16.49 for factory-made induction bends. API 5L governs the line pipe itself. Send your project specification with the enquiry and we will confirm in writing what we certify against before anything is cut.
Getting the pipe here and the bends back out
On pipeline work the logistics are often the harder half. Line pipe arrives in quantity and finished bends have to reach a right of way that may be nowhere near a highway. The Dawson Road plant is 15 miles from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, so barge is a real option rather than a theoretical one, and more than 11 acres of yard means a batch can be staged rather than trickled through.
Tell us the destination early. A bend that fits the drawing does not always fit a road, and load-out planned at quote stage costs nothing.
What to send with a pipeline 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 pipeline work, send the line pipe specification and the grade, the bend radius as a multiple of the diameter, and the wall thinning and ovality acceptance limits. Say how many bends and to what schedule: a batch is staged and loaded differently from a single piece, and more than eleven acres of yard exists for exactly that.
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 pipeline buyers
Do you make pipeline induction bends?
Yes. American Pipe Bending produces induction bends for onshore and offshore oil and gas pipeline systems, up to 42 inch outside diameter with 4 inch wall thickness.
What code do pipeline bends work to?
ASME B31.4 for liquid transportation and B31.8 for gas, with B16.49 governing factory-made induction bends. Send your project specification with the enquiry and we will confirm what we certify against.
Can you handle a batch of bends rather than one?
Yes. More than 11 acres of yard means a batch can be staged and loaded out properly instead of trickled through the bay. Tell us the schedule with the enquiry.
Have a drawing? Send it over.
Send a drawing or a sketch and our team will get back to you with a quote.