TMK Research Center, Chelyabinsk, Russia

B. V. Barichko, Cand. Eng., Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Drawing and Pressing, e-mail: barichko@rosniti.ru
N. V. Fokin, Deputy Head of the Laboratory of Drawing and Pressing

RusNITI, Chelyabinsk, Russia

Ya. I. Kosmatsky, Dr. Eng., Deputy General Director for Research

A. V. Zinchenko and T. N. Zharkaya, employees of TAGMET, took part in the study.

The upsetting process is an important operation in the production cycle of OCTG, designed to increase the wall thickness of their ends, which is necessary for subsequent welding of tool-joints or threading. The quality of upsetting is characterized by compliance with the geometry of the upset ends (the outer and inner diameters of the upset, the length of the cylindrical and transition zones), which is determined by dimensions of the tool and correct determination of the volume of metal involved in hot deformation. It is shown that in order to increase the stability of the geometry of upset ends, it is necessary to adjust the upset process parameters for each specific pipe depending on the actual size of the wall thickness. The results of a study of the influence of the wall thickness of the pipe to be upset on the geometry of the upset end through the parameters of the length of the heated end and the pressure in the press hydraulic cylinder are presented. The experiment was carried out using a previously tested and implemented in an exclusive software product method for determination of pipe upsetting parameters on a press with a force of 6,000 kN. For conditions of upsetting drill pipes of various sizes, the dependencies of the heating length and pressure in the press hydraulic cylinder on the actual thickness of the pipe wall were obtained. These dependencies can be used to adjust the specified parameters for the upsetting of each pipe continuously in the technological cycle. It is proposed to further improve upsetting presses in the direction of creating automatic systems for monitoring the thickness of the pipe wall and regulating the length of the heated end and pressure in the hydraulic cylinder of the press during pipe upsetting.

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