Advanced engineering solutions are required to handle conditions found on offshore drilling and processing platforms. The saltwater environment is highly corrosive, the flare presents extremes of temperature and the force of winds and currents is constant. The most durable and reliable materials need to be employed, which is why stainless steel plays and important part.

An impressive project making use of stainless' strength and corrosion-resistance is the Bayu Undan Gas Project in the Timor Sea, 5OOkm north of Darwin (pictured). Here, stainless steel is used to line the 18" pipelines between the processing platform and the wellhead platform 8km distant

At a time when so many industrial processes are computer-driven, there is still a place for human knowledge and experience in the highly specialised area of hydro-turbine manufacturing.

Steel Castings Pty Ltd, situated in Port Melbourne, has a reputation for precision moulding which has secured the firm contracts to produce two 'Pelton Runners' – the heart of the turbine – for a Victorian Hydro Power Station, working with the Norwegian designers, GE Australia and Acron Engineering.

Steel Castings have been making Peltons since the mid-90s. Measuring 2m in diameter and weighing in at 3.5 tonnes, these units are the largest

Savings for Stainless

Posted 30 November 2003

Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Welded Structures (CRC-WS) have developed a welding process for stainless steels and other corrosion-resistant metals that is significantly faster, cheaper and easier than current practices.

The patented process is an elaboration of standard gas-tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and uses a specially designed torch that establishes and maintains a ‘keyhole’ at the joint.

The weld then proceeds, zipper-like, with the melted sides of the keyhole fusing at the back as the torch melts new material in front of

Brisbane's tallest residential tower, The Aurora will stand 69 levels and will set an important precedent in the use of stainless steel pressure piping in high rise buildings when the Bovis Lend Lease project is completed in January 2006

Situated on the corner of Queen, Eagle and Wharf Streets in the Brisbane CBD, The Aurora utilises stainless steel pressure piping instead of conventional copper piping to ensure adequate water pressure for each of the 478 two and three bedroom apartments in the $250 million development.

ASSDA member, Blucher Australia, supplied approximately 250m x 108mm OD x 2mm Mapress tube

Where flammable or combustible materials are stored or handled, there can be a severe risk of an explosion or fire if handling equipment such as forklift trucks are not flameproofed.

Flameproofing of material handling equipment is the science of reducing the risk of an explosion or fire by means of specialised principles and technologies.

Three components are needed in order to generate an explosion or fire.

1. A flammable or combustible material eg. liquid, gas or dust.
2. Oxygen eg. air.
3. Ignition source eg. electrical sparks,  mechanical sparks, hot surface and static discharges.

Sources of ignition include flames and sparks from exhaust

When coatings manufacturer, PPG Industries’ original bulk solvent storage facility had come to the end of its economic life, the company elected to install a new $8m facility that is both efficient and fully compliant with numerous safety, environmental and good design principles on its Clayton, Victoria site

Established in the 1950s, the bulk solvent storage facility receives a diverse range of bulk solvents and monomers, sourced from petrochemical producers in particular and delivered to the site by bulk road tanker.

PPG Industries Project Manager, Tom Van Loon, said he went in search of a stainless steel fabrication contractor

OMG Cawse Pty Ltd is the owner and operator of a nickel and cobalt mining operation and processing plant that is located 55 kilometres north east of Kalgoorlie.

Extracting nickel involves acid leaching using sulfuric acid in a high temperature and pressure autoclave to dissolve the nickel and cobalt from the oxide ore.

The wastes from this process are very acidic and require a highly corrosion resistant material for the lining of the sump tank.

When various concrete coatings for the sump tank were trialed and failed, OMG Cawse opted to install Alloy C-276 to engineer out the continuous maintenance

Built on Reputation

Alistair Patterson has a flair for the food and beverage industry that borders on obsession. As the sole proprietor for ASSDA Accredited Fabricator, Australian Stainless Products, Patterson's reputation within the industry means when projects are on, he is onto it!

Australian Stainless Products are custom manufacturers of quality stainless steel food, beverage and pharmaceutical process products and equipment.

Established more than 20 years ago, Australian Stainless Products started out building basic dairy machinery, primarily small repairs and maintenance of equipment for a few of the local food processing equipment plants.

“Back then the business was basically building

When ASSDA Accredited Fabricator Nepean Engineering was awarded the tender for the manufacture of the stirring mechanisms for 10 thickeners for the Goro Nickel Mine in New Caledonia, they had no idea of the enormity of the venture. But having now completed the two-year undertaking they reflect on what has been their biggest stainless steel project to date.

Although the nickel mine was a massive development, Nepean Group Owner and Managing Director David Fuller admits the initial stages of commencement were a little “stop-start”.

“We won the tender 2 years before from GLV Australia Pty Ltd (Dorr-Oliver Elmco)

Never has there been a time in Australia when water preservation was so critical.  As populations rise and dam levels fall, the importance of treating and reusing water has become not a question of “if” but a question of “when”.

The construction of Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant (BAWTP) west of Brisbane is aimed at alleviating pressure on South East Queensland’s existing dams and waterways by providing an alternate water supply for end users in the region, initially Swanbank power station.  

The project has had great flow on benefits for the Australian stainless steel industry as infrastructure requirements point

After three years of development, the first stage of a Standard covering the grade and dimensions of stainless steel pipes and tubes suitable for water supply and drainage systems has been completed. This interim Standard will be converted to a full Australian Standard in 2009.

The Standards Committee included ASSDA representative Neil McPherson of OneSteel, supported by the Technical Committee.

To avoid possible confusion and protect against corrosion problems in aggressive water supply areas, grades 316 and 316L are specified for the plumbing installation Code of Practice. All materials that satisfy the requirement for water supply and drainage systems must

Seven pressure vessels and five columns were fabricated by ASSDA Accredited D&R Stainless from 30 tonnes of grade 304 stainless
steel supplied by ASSDA member Sandvik.

The column sizes range from an acid reduction column 750mm in diameter and 14.2 metres long to a beer column 1900mm in diameter and 24 metres long. 

The columns were fabricated to tight tolerances set by process design engineers Detla T Technology, in the United States.

Chief Executive Officer of Dalby Bio-Refinery Limited,

McColl's Transport carts a variety of chemicals such as caustic soda and formaldehyde. The tanker barrel has been wrapped and not rolled, with full length stainless steel sheets used to eliminated circumferential welds. There’s a new breed of tanker being put through its paces along Australia’s east coast carrying aggressive chemicals and class three petroleum products for McColl’s Transport.

Dandenong based tanker manufacturer, Marshall Lethlean, has constructed FACT, a Frameless Aggressive Chemical Tanker with some unique operating attributes.

Marshall Lethlean constructed the 25,800 litre, 11.5m long stainless steel tanker with a chassis that’s up to 300 kilos lighter than

A versatile, high strength martensitic stainless steel

Martensitic stainless steels are a less well-known branch of the stainless family. Their special features – high strength and hardness – point to their main application area as shafts and fasteners for motors, pumps and valves in the food and process industries.

The name “martensitic” means that these steels can be thermally hardened. They have a ferritic microstructure if cooled very slowly, but a quenching heat treatment converts the structure to very hard martensite, the same as it would for a low alloy steel such as 4140. Neither the familiar austenitic grades (304,

stainless integral to design

A dam upgrade project in South Australia has achieved a world-first zero carbon footprint for water infrastructure and has used stainless steel as part of the unique design. The Little Para Dam upgrade incorporates a Hydroplus Fusegate System, with stainless steel fabrication carried out by ASSDA Accredited Fabricator LWA Engineering.

The Fusegates are similar to those built at Jindabyne for the Snowy Hydro in 2007, featuring a cast in-situ concrete design with stainless steel inlet wells and seal fixings in order to provide a 100 year design life and virtually no maintenance.

Guidelines to Ensure Long Service Life

Design engineers frequently specify stainless steel in industrial piping systems and tanks for its excellent corrosion resistance. While stainless steel’s unique characteristics make it a standout leader in the durability stakes of alloys, it is not completely immune to corrosion.

Premature failures of the stainless steel can occur due to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC). This corrosion phenomenon usually occurs when raw water used for hydrostatic pressure tests is not fully removed from the pipework and there is an extended period before commissioning of the equipment. The result is localised pitting corrosion attack from microbacterial