Titanium Welded Tube ASTM B337

Titanium welded tubes are tubular products manufactured by rolling titanium and titanium alloy sheets or strips into a tube shape and welding them along the longitudinal axis. Compared to seamless titanium tubes, titanium welded tubes offer significant advantages in terms of production efficiency, cost control, and the availability of large-diameter sizes, making them an important segment of titanium applications.

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what is Titanium welded tube ASTM B337?

Titanium welded tubes are tubular products manufactured by rolling and welding titanium or titanium alloy strips or sheets. They differ from seamless titanium tubes, which are produced through piercing and rolling. Their key advantages include high dimensional consistency, low cost, and the ability to produce long lengths, making them particularly suitable for thin-walled, large-diameter, and high-volume production scenarios.

Due to their three key advantages-outstanding corrosion resistance, lightweight construction, and cost-effectiveness-welded titanium tubes have become the material of choice in the chemical, marine, and energy sectors. With advances in welding technology and materials science, welded titanium tubes are gradually replacing seamless titanium tubes and stainless steel tubes, playing an increasingly important role in high-end equipment manufacturing.

Specifications of Titanium welded tube ASTM B337

Outer diameter: Φ10 mm – Φ3000 mm (commonly Φ19–Φ219 mm)
Wall thickness: 0.5 mm – 12 mm (commonly 0.5–1.5 mm for heat exchangers)
Length: Straight tubes ≤ 18 m; coiled tubes up to several hundred meters (for serpentine heat exchangers)
Dimensional tolerances (using ASTM B338 as an example):
Outer diameter: ±0.1 mm (Φ < 25 mm) or ±0.5% (Φ ≥ 25 mm)
Wall thickness: ±10% (but not less than 87.5% of the nominal wall thickness)

Manufacturing Process of Titanium welded tube ASTM B337

Cold-forming + TIG/GTAW Welding (Most Common)

Strip Preparation: Use cold-rolled titanium strip; the surface must be pickled (using a mixture of HF and HNO₃) to remove the oxide layer.

Forming Process: Gradually rolled into a circle using a multi-roll cold-forming machine. Forming accuracy requirement: Roundness ≤ 0.5% of the outer diameter.

Welding Processes:

TIG Welding (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding): The most widely used method, offering high weld quality and suitable for thin-walled tubes (0.5–3 mm)

Plasma Arc Welding (PAW): High energy density and fast welding speed, suitable for medium-to-thick-walled tubes (3–8 mm)

Laser Welding: Extremely small heat-affected zone; suitable for high-precision, thin-walled, high-end products

Post-welding Treatment: In-line annealing (550–700°C) to relieve welding stresses and prevent intergranular corrosion susceptibility

Key Quality Control Points:

Shielding Gas Purity: Ar purity ≥99.999%, dew point ≤-50°C; this is critical for preventing weld oxidation

Welding Speed Control: Excessively high speeds may cause lack of fusion; excessively low speeds may expand the heat-affected zone and cause grain coarsening

Weld Bead Profile Ratio: Maintain a width-to-depth ratio of 1.3–2.0 to ensure no undercut or porosity

Key Advantages of Titanium welded tube ASTM B337

Exceptional corrosion resistance: A dense TiO₂ oxide film forms on the surface, providing virtually no corrosion in harsh environments such as seawater, chlorides, organic acids, and moist chlorine gas. With a service life of 15–20 years, it lasts 3–5 times longer than traditional piping materials
Lightweight and High Strength: With an extremely high strength-to-weight ratio, it can reduce system weight by 30–50%, lowering installation and transportation costs while improving energy efficiency.
Significant Cost Efficiency: Although the initial investment is approximately 30% higher than that of stainless steel, the lifecycle cost is more than 50% lower, reducing maintenance and replacement frequency.
Manufacturing Flexibility: Pipes can be produced with outer diameters ranging from 6 mm to 1,300 mm and wall thicknesses from 0.5 mm to 7.5 mm, with lengths exceeding 12 meters, meeting the demands of specialized engineering projects.
Environmental Sustainability and Safety: Non-magnetic and highly biocompatible, making it suitable for medical, food, and drinking water applications, and 100% recyclable.

Main Applications of Titanium Welded Tubes

1. Chemical and Petrochemical Industries

Heat exchanger / condenser tube bundles: Account for over 60% of titanium welded tube consumption; suitable for corrosive media such as acetic acid, chlor-alkali, PTA, and MDI

Transport Piping: Conveys highly corrosive fluids such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and caustic soda, particularly in applications involving dilute sulfuric acid (≤25%) and wet chlorine gas

Seawater Cooling Systems: Circulating water pipelines for coastal power plants and petrochemical facilities, addressing chloride ion corrosion issues

2. Offshore Engineering and Desalination

Desalination Plants: RO membrane systems and evaporator tubing; resistant to high-salinity seawater corrosion with a service life exceeding 20 years

Offshore Platforms: Fire suppression piping, ballast water systems, and seawater cooling piping; reduces platform weight and lowers maintenance costs

Shipbuilding Industry: Piping systems for nuclear submarines, LNG carriers, and chemical tankers; meets requirements for lightweight construction and corrosion resistance

3. Power Generation and New Energy

Nuclear Power Condensers: The preferred pipe material for 1-million-kilowatt-class nuclear power units; already in mass application in projects such as the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant

Hydrogen Storage and Transportation: High-pressure hydrogen pipelines; titanium's low susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement makes it suitable for 70 MPa high-pressure systems

Photovoltaics / Semiconductors: Pipelines for transporting high-purity media, meeting ultra-high cleanliness requirements

4. Medical and Food

Medical Devices: Artificial joints, dental implants, and medical gas delivery lines, offering excellent biocompatibility

Food Processing: Production lines for fruit juices, dairy products, and condiments, providing corrosion resistance and ensuring no heavy metal leaching

5. Aerospace and Automotive

Aircraft Hydraulic Systems: Lightweight tubing that improves fuel efficiency

Automotive Exhaust Pipes: Welded titanium alloy pipes that reduce weight and enhance heat resistance, suitable for high-end sports cars and new energy vehicles