Our sub-supplier are making a 52" pipe for us of ASTM A516 material. Do anybody know if there are any restrictions on the number of longitudinal welds to make such a pipe?
Rolled plate and welded pipes are normally fabricated in 10-12 ft long sections (sometimes longer) and then welded together to make 36-48-60 foot long pipes. so a pipe may be built in several plates.
I hope your fabricator is planning on forming each section in 360 degree portion and not two (2) 180 degree portions.
Does your fabricator have a source of plate long enough for a full circle or are you talking about adding a short piece to a 12' plate to roll the 52" dia?
For making large bore pipe, pipe mills will either make it with two long seam welds 180 degrees apart (for very large diameter pipe, three seams 120 degrees apart may be required) or with single long seam about 10 to 12 ft long as stated by vesselfab. The short sections can then be made into longer pipe lengths by the mill by circumferential butt welding sections together (refer to 11.3 of A-671 & A-672).