Alleima, a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys, has announced the debut of SAF 3007, a super-duplex stainless steel grade developed for subsea umbilicals.

According to the company, the new tube offers a safe, lighter, stronger and more efficient alternative to SAF 2507, the current standard. With its superior strength, fatigue properties and excellent corrosion resistance, SAF 3007 delivers superior performance in harsh deepwater environments, the company added.

Source: Alleima

The new tube product represents the next generation of super-duplex seamless tubing developed specifically for the offshore oil and gas industry. It builds on the success of SAF 2507 (UNS S32750), which has become the industry standard.

“As the market leader in umbilical steel tubing, we often get requests for a material matching SAF 2507 in reliability, but with reduced costs, improved fatigue life and enhanced pressure handling. SAF 3007 (UNS S83072) accomplishes all this with a ‘less is more’ approach. Thinner tube walls, thanks to its superior strength and fatigue properties, results in lower cost per meter. It offers the excellent corrosion resistance of SAF 2507, and a similar microstructure, as well as simplified welding due to thinner walls,” explained the company.

“To enhance the performance of SAF 2507, we fine-tuned the chemical composition. As a result, SAF 3007 features additional chromium at 30%, reduced molybdenum at 1% and, for the first time, Alleima introduces tungsten at 3.4% to the duplex family of tube alloys. The inclusion of tungsten in preference to molybdenum maintains the corrosion resistance after welding, which is crucial for the umbilical application. Taken together, these properties are ideal for ‘dynamic umbilicals’ that are floating and twisting below the ocean surface with high stress in chloride-rich environments,” added Alleima researchers.