MISMATCH DEFECT IN ERW STEEL TUBES

Abhishek Bharti
Engineer
Engineering
Caparo Engineering India Limited

Sitaram Bainsla
Intern
Engineering
Caparo Engineering India Ltd.

Abstract In modern times, in supply chain, what we are witnessing is a demand of zero defect
supplies. In the automotive tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers, everyone is endeavoring towards producing
defect free material. This, in case of welded mild steel tubes, has proved to be a chimera. Despite every
effort directed towards best manufacturing systems and best technology available, we see that the tubes
somehow fail at customers end, particularly in cases where there is a kind of manipulation being done
on the tubes, like inward flanging for reserve tubes (Shock absorber), or drifting (In case of fuel filler
tubes). A lot of analysis has been done to address this issue of weld failure in Electric Resistance
Welded (ERW) tubes, and an assortment of issues/ root causes has been listed. We, in our capacity,
have tried to study the same. We are focusing on MISMATCH DEFECT in our present study, which
we believe is the prime cause behind such failures. We are discussing the defect, where it is emanating
from, and how is it going to affect the weld quality or integrity in the ERW tubes.
Keywords:
ERW Electric Resistance Welded Tubes
Slit The skelp (Cut portion from the wide coil)
Tube Mill Where the ERW tubes are rolled and welded and subsequently sized
Floop A part of tube mill, where a portion of skelp is stored, like a buffer stock
Thin gage/ Thick gage Tubes with smaller thickness and tubes with larger thickness
OD Outer Diameter of ERW tubes
Breakdown pass Roll set no. one in the tube mill arrangement, which gives the initial shape to
skelp.
o Weld roll The squeeze roll set in tube mill, where welding and subsequently squeezing is
being done
o Cold weld Paste weld where the weld strength is weak.
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1. Introduction
ERW tubes are manufactured by joining the two edges of skelp. That the two edges remain parallel to
each other while welding is very crucial. The uneven joining of the edges amounts to MISMACTH
DEFECT. Most tube mills employ scarfing tools to remove the extra material squeezed out from the
outer portion as well as from the inner portion. If mismatch defect is present in the tubes, this will
subsequently lead to significant thinning of the tubes in the weld area, particularly, where the wall
thickness of the tube is smaller, say 0.90 mm.
The thinning is not just because of the material removal by scarfing tools, but it may be present because
of other processing steps like corrugation or bending. This may pose serious implications if Mismatch
defect is also present.
When this defect is present in the tube, itll show a tendency towards cracking or splitting open when
subjected to external pressure like inward flanging or spinning (Shock absorbers), because of the
Mismatch defect.

This defect is quite elusive i.e. it is very difficult to detect in daily operation, as say at x = 0 mm, you
may find a sound weld, but at x = 5 mm, Mismatch defect might be there to seriously and adversely
affect the integrity of weld. This attribute of the tubes make it susceptible to failures at the customers
end.

2. Possible Reasons of mismatch- We are trying to enlist the various reasons which might be attributed
to the mismatch defect.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Slit handling/ Improper slitting

Work done by the break down passes
Improper design for extremely light or heavy gauges.
Mill alignment
Position of guide rolls
Storage in the accumulator
Applied forces by the squeeze rolls

2.1 Slit handling/ Improper slitting Improper slit handling or cutting leads to edge damages in the
skelp. The damaged edge while welding can not remain parallel to the other edge in the tube mill at
welding stage. This subsequently leads to mismatch defect in the tubes.

Edge damage due to handling

2.2 Over Storage in the Floop (accumulator) - Over storage in the accumulator is also a cause of slit
edge wavy-ness or camber. In the accumulator the slit is bended in the U shape so if the storage in
the accumulator is more than desired than there will be instances of bending or edge wavy-ness. This
camber present in the skelp again leads to the mismatch defect.

U bending in the Floop

2.3 Work done by the break down passes- The breakdown passes by far, are the most important rolls
in the tube mill. They are responsible to impart the initial profile to the skelp. Now, we know that for
the same diameter (OD) of ERW tubes, more width of the skelp is required in thin gauge tubes than
in thick gauge tubes. Hence, if the same breakdown passes are used for both kinds of tubes, there
will be instances of untouched and un-worked portions in the skelp, which might further behave
erratically. The problem will be compounded, if other defects such as skelp wavy-ness or unaligned
movements are there.

2.4 Pressure applied by the rolls The pressure applied by the rolls sets on the edges of the slit must be
equal. If the pressure applied is not equal than there is going to be a length and gauge variation in the
slit edges, a possible reason for the mismatch defect.

2.5 Position of guide rolls Arrangement of the guided rolls is required to be proper. If the position of
the guided rolls is improper than un-centered slit can enter in the mill. An other potential reason for the
mismatch.

Strip guide rolls

2.6 Weld rolls configuration The configuration of the weld / squeeze rolls must be
appropriate. The applied pressure by the squeeze out roll must be one and the same .If
the applied load is not equal than it can be a reason for the mismatch.

We can use self centering three jaw chuck type mechanism