Permanent Metal-to-Metal Connection
The HydroTech Flexiforge^® cold-forged connector is a reliable, cost-effective means for attaching a flange to the bare end of a subsea pipeline. A patented process creates a metal-to-metal, pressure-containing seal at a fraction of the cost oh hyperbaric welding. The forging operation takes less than an hour and has been performed thousands of times.

The Flexiforge^® Connector is a one-piece, high-strength, carbon-steel connector with no moving parts and no elastomeric seals. It has a standard API or ANSI flange face for mating to standard flanges or to a HydroTech Ball Flange^® Connector.

Flexiforge^® Connector technology has been in continuous use since 1977 for repairs, re-routes, abandonments and subsea valve installation and is still the only metal-seal end connector for subsea pipelines.

Installation
Only minimal pipe preparation is required. The diver removes weight coating and mastic from about 2 diameters of pipe length and inspects the pipe. The diver installs a positioning clamp, then guides a Flexiforge^® Tool Assembly into place, stabbing the forging tool into the pipe. The Flexiforge^® Connector and counter-torque clamp stab over the outside of the pipe end at the same time. The forging tool is hydraulically powered and controlled from the surface. As it turns, an expansion mandrel moves under the steel rollers, forcing them outward to plastically deform the pipe wall against the machined seal ridges on the ID of the connector. The counter-torque clamp prevents the Flexiforge^® Connector from turning during the swaging process. The Flexiforge^® Connector expands elastically during the forging process and then contracts onto the pipe when the process is complete. The result is a permanent, high-strength connection with multiple metal-to-metal seals. Each Flexiforge^® Connector has an annulus test port for verifying pressure integrity of the metal-to-metal seals. Oil States HydroTech stocks Flexiforge^® Connectors in 6-inch through 24-inch OD.

Flexiforge^® Connector 


Flexiforge^® Connector Completed Installation


Flexiforge^® Connector Close Up

Design Specifications
Flexiforge^® Connectors meet the requirements of API 6H and are designed in accordance with ASME Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 2, unless otherwise specified, and applicable sections of the flange specification to which it will mate.

Ordering Information
Please provide the following information on any purchase order or request for quotation:

   • Nominal pipe size

   • Pipe wall thickness or bore

   • Pipe grade

   • Design rating

   • Gasket type