Expandable Steel Patches Quality Policy

Expandable Steel Patches Quality Policy

Expandable Steel Patches support high expansion ratio (up to 25%) under pressure in oil well environment. The Patch must expand with known expansion parameters (pressure/diameter) with no risk of being sheared during the expansion, especially at the longitudinal welds.

The mechanical and the sealing performances of the Patch must remain for years.

The standard stainless tubes available on the market are not designed to be expanded; they don't have sufficient mechanical and repetitive characteristics to fulfill the expansion needed specifications.

After numerous qualification tests, in order to guaranty the Patch performances in term of service pressure and reliability in the time, Saltel-Industries has found it necessary to control the manufacturing process from the mill sheet selection to the Patch completion ready to go in the well.

Mill sheet selection

• Selection of the sheet using the heat number data in order to fulfill the needed characteristics (Expansion and external service pressure of the patch)
• Control of the heat number data with tensile tests at room and under temperature

Tube manufacturing

• Geometrical control with smaller tolerances than the tolerances given by the standards (ASTM A778)
• 100% Ray X control of the longitudinal welded zones
• Heat treatment control
• Internal and external drift control

Patch manufacturing

• Control of the elastomer performances of the sealing layer
• Control of the geometry of the sealing layer
• 100% Welding control
• Internal and external drift control