Argweld® QuickPurge® III Inflatable Purge Systems

Argweld Quick Purge system components and depiction of gas flow and operation.

Argweld® QuickPurge Systems are used for high quality, reliable welding of reactive metal pipe joints. The system consists of high heat resistant material that covers the inflatable dams. The inflatable dams are connected by a large diameter sleeve or collar that reduces the volume of gas required to purge. This results in faster purge times, reduced requirement of purge gas and higher operator productivity. Argweld QuickPurge System pays for itself in just a few welds!

The new design has a simple but very effective weld purge gas release system called IntaCal. This technology prevents overinflation of bladders and prevents them from bursting. IntaCal is a device that allows inflation of the dams and purging of the system at the optimum flow rate to ensure minimum usage of expensive inert gas.

The new positioning device RootGlo uses a luminescent glow band in the center of the device to help the welder position QuickPurge® Systems within the dark cavity of the pipe.  Argweld® QuickPurge are ‘plug and play‘ systems, ready to use with no set up time. Perfect central alignment with the weld root is possible with the RootGlo centering band. The positioning strip will continue to glow in the dark for 12 hours and can easily be seen through the weld root, which allows fast and accurate alignment. The system has no metal parts that can scratch internally polished stainless steel tubes or pipes or cause cross contamination, which helps in cases where post weld NDT inspections are carried out.

Key applications are for welding in refineries, mining operations, power stations, LNG gas terminals, compressor stations LNG carriers, pipelines and all process industry pipework.

Typical weld purge times for the Argweld QuickPurge System would be less than 8 minutes for a 36″ pipe down to 0.1% oxygen and correspondingly faster for smaller diameters. Many leading international pipework fabricators rely on Argweld® QuickPurge Systems for the dramatic savings in time and volumes of weld purge gas and have thereby reduced their operating costs significantly. Working with Argweld® QuickPurge Systems gives infinite flow control with no risk of burst dams and enables quick purging of pipe joints that have to be welded.

These purge systems also avoid the need of filling the pipes with inert gas and consequently dumping a line full of argon at the end of a weld, an important health and safety objective.

Argweld® QuickPurge Systems have become internationally established and have been used on cryogenic pipelines and pipework in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, South East Asia, Eastern Europe as well as on non-cryogenic pipework in practically every country in the World for standard stainless steel pipe purging applications. One key application is the weld purging of LNG pipelines and pipe work joints when constructing gas terminals, LNG re-gasification terminals, gas compressor stations, LNG carriers, plus many more. As a very robust product, Argweld® QuickPurge Systems can be used over and over again further reducing manufacturing costs. Operators can complete their tie in or ‘Golden Welds’ with assurance, knowing that they are using the best weld purge system available to prevent the risk of NDT failure.

The systems are manufactured from a heat protective material so that the high temperatures at close proximity to the weld do not damage the devices. The purge bladders have a quick fit coupling for purge / inflation hose complete with ‘O’ ring for gas tight sealing and a stainless steel collet to hold the tube mechanically tight. The new design comes fitted with “Anti-Release” circlip to prevent parts accidentally separating inside the pipe. Special attention has been paid to the selection of low vapour pressure materials to minimise outgassing in the purge space during welding giving greater assurance of obtaining a clean oxide free weld root.  In combination with the multiple sintered outlets and IntaCal® gas release mechanism, the weld purge gas is dispersed evenly without turbulence.

Heat Protective Bands are also available for use with keyhole Tig or Plasma Techniques and to protect against accidental drop
through of weld metal. A double layer of very high temperature resisting material is manufactured in a wide band that can be simply wrapped around the centre of the QuickPurge®II system and fixed via the sewn on velcro tabs.

The system has four pull straps on each dam multiple stitched with tough kevlar thread, each with a breaking strain of over 1000 lbs. This enables easy manipulation around bends and fittings as well as in straight pipes. Friction free coatings allow easy movement through pipes from one joint to another.

For Pre-heated pipe work please refer to the Argweld HotPurge™ Weld Purge Systems.

Argweld Purge systems are manufactured by Huntingdon Fusion in UK.

Available with short lead times as compared to OptiPurge and Rapid Purge systems.