Know More about Backing Rings on Piping Systems

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backing rings

Backing rings are employed in some piping systems, particularly where pipe joints are welded primarily by the shielded metal-arc welding process with covered electrodes. For example, a significant number of pipe welds for steam power plants and several other applications are made with the use of backing rings. On the other hand, in many applications backing rings are not used, since they may restrict flow, provide crevices for the entrapment of corrosive substances, enhance susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking, or introduce still other objectionable features. Thus, there is little, if any, use made of backing rings in most refinery piping, radioactive service piping, or chemical process piping. The use of backing rings is primarily confined to carbon and low-alloy steel and aluminum piping. Carbon-steel backing rings are generally made of a mild carbon steel with a maximum carbon content of 0.20 percent and a maximum sulfur content of 0.05 percent. The latter requirement is especially important since high sulfur in deposited weld metal (which could be created by an excessive sulfur content in such rings) may cause weld cracks. Split backing rings are satisfactory for service piping systems. For the more critical service applications involving carbon- and low-alloy steel piping, solid flat or taper-machined backing rings are preferred in accordance with the recommendations shown in Pipe Fabrication Institute Standard ES1 and illustrated in Fig. A2.24 and Table A2.21.

When a machined backing ring is desired, it is a general recommendation that welding ends be machined on the inside diameter in accordance with the Pipe Fabrication Institute standard for the most critical services and then only when pierced seamless pipe that complies with the applicable specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials is used. Such critical services include high pressure steam lines between boiler and turbines and high-pressure boiler feed discharge lines, as encountered in modern steam power plants. It is also recommended that the material of the backing ring be compatible with the chemical composition of the pipe, valve, fitting, or flange with which it is to be used. Where materials of dissimilar composition are being joined, the composition of the backing ring may be that of the lower alloy.
On turned-and-bored and fusion-welded pipe, the design of the backing ring and internal machining, if any, should be a matter of agreement between the customer and the fabricator. Regardless of the type of backing rings used, it is recommended that the general contour of the welding bevel shown in Fig. A2.24 be maintained.
When machining piping for backing rings, the resulting wall thickness should be not less than that required for the service pressure. Wherever internal machining for machined backing rings is required on pipe and welding fittings in smaller sizes and lower schedule numbers than those listed in Table A2.21, weld metal may have to be deposited on the inside of the pipe in the area to be machined. This is to provide satisfactory contact between the machined surface on the pipe inside and the machined backing ring. For such cases, the machining dimension should be a matter of agreement between the fabricator and the purchaser.

Whenever pipe and welding fittings in the sizes and schedule numbers listed in Table A2.21 have plus tolerance on the outside diameter, it also may be necessary to deposit weld metal on the inside of the pipe or welding fitting in the area to be machined. In such cases, sufficient weld metal should be deposited to result in an ID not greater than the nominal ID given in Table A2.21 for the particular pipe size and wall thickness involved.

Experience indicates that machining to dimension C for the pipe size and schedule number listed in Table A2.21 generally will result in a satisfactory seat contact of 7/32 in (5.5 mm) minimum (approximately 75 percent minimum length of contact) between pipe and the 10_ backing ring. Occasionally, however, it will be necessary to deposit weld metal on the inside diameter of the pipe or welding fitting in order to provide sufficient material for machining a satisfactory seat. In welding butt joints with backing rings, care should be exercised to ensure good fusion of the first weld pass into the backing ring in order to avoid lack of weld penetration or other types of stress-raising notches.

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