WorldWideScience

Sample records for operated welding systems

  1. Versatile Friction Stir Welding/Friction Plug Welding System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Robert

    2006-01-01

    A proposed system of tooling, machinery, and control equipment would be capable of performing any of several friction stir welding (FSW) and friction plug welding (FPW) operations. These operations would include the following: Basic FSW; FSW with automated manipulation of the length of the pin tool in real time [the so-called auto-adjustable pin-tool (APT) capability]; Self-reacting FSW (SRFSW); SR-FSW with APT capability and/or real-time adjustment of the distance between the front and back shoulders; and Friction plug welding (FPW) [more specifically, friction push plug welding] or friction pull plug welding (FPPW) to close out the keyhole of, or to repair, an FSW or SR-FSW weld. Prior FSW and FPW systems have been capable of performing one or two of these operations, but none has thus far been capable of performing all of them. The proposed system would include a common tool that would have APT capability for both basic FSW and SR-FSW. Such a tool was described in Tool for Two Types of Friction Stir Welding (MFS- 31647-1), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 30, No. 10 (October 2006), page 70. Going beyond what was reported in the cited previous article, the common tool could be used in conjunction with a plug welding head to perform FPW or FPPW. Alternatively, the plug welding head could be integrated, along with the common tool, into a FSW head that would be capable of all of the aforementioned FSW and FPW operations. Any FSW or FPW operation could be performed under any combination of position and/or force control.

  2. Welding technology transfer task/laser based weld joint tracking system for compressor girth welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Looney, Alan

    1991-01-01

    Sensors to control and monitor welding operations are currently being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center. The laser based weld bead profiler/torch rotation sensor was modified to provide a weld joint tracking system for compressor girth welds. The tracking system features a precision laser based vision sensor, automated two-axis machine motion, and an industrial PC controller. The system benefits are elimination of weld repairs caused by joint tracking errors which reduces manufacturing costs and increases production output, simplification of tooling, and free costly manufacturing floor space.

  3. Weld analysis and control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Larry Z. (Inventor); Rodgers, Michael H. (Inventor); Powell, Bradley W. (Inventor); Burroughs, Ivan A. (Inventor); Goode, K. Wayne (Inventor)

    1994-01-01

    The invention is a Weld Analysis and Control System developed for active weld system control through real time weld data acquisition. Closed-loop control is based on analysis of weld system parameters and weld geometry. The system is adapted for use with automated welding apparatus having a weld controller which is capable of active electronic control of all aspects of a welding operation. Enhanced graphics and data displays are provided for post-weld analysis. The system provides parameter acquisition, including seam location which is acquired for active torch cross-seam positioning. Torch stand-off is also monitored for control. Weld bead and parent surface geometrical parameters are acquired as an indication of weld quality. These parameters include mismatch, peaking, undercut, underfill, crown height, weld width, puddle diameter, and other measurable information about the weld puddle regions, such as puddle symmetry, etc. These parameters provide a basis for active control as well as post-weld quality analysis and verification. Weld system parameters, such as voltage, current and wire feed rate, are also monitored and archived for correlation with quality parameters.

  4. Fundamentals and advances in the development of remote welding fabrication systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agapakis, J. E.; Masubuchi, K.; Von Alt, C.

    1986-01-01

    Operational and man-machine issues for welding underwater, in outer space, and at other remote sites are investigated, and recent process developments are described. Probable remote welding missions are classified, and the essential characteristics of fundamental remote welding tasks are analyzed. Various possible operational modes for remote welding fabrication are identified, and appropriate roles for humans and machines are suggested. Human operator performance in remote welding fabrication tasks is discussed, and recent advances in the development of remote welding systems are described, including packaged welding systems, stud welding systems, remotely operated welding systems, and vision-aided remote robotic welding and autonomous welding systems.

  5. 30 CFR 77.408 - Welding operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Welding operations. 77.408 Section 77.408 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH... for Mechanical Equipment § 77.408 Welding operations. Welding operations shall be shielded and the...

  6. Analysis And Control System For Automated Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Bradley W.; Burroughs, Ivan A.; Kennedy, Larry Z.; Rodgers, Michael H.; Goode, K. Wayne

    1994-01-01

    Automated variable-polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding apparatus operates under electronic supervision by welding analysis and control system. System performs all major monitoring and controlling functions. It acquires, analyzes, and displays weld-quality data in real time and adjusts process parameters accordingly. Also records pertinent data for use in post-weld analysis and documentation of quality. System includes optoelectronic sensors and data processors that provide feedback control of welding process.

  7. Programmable Automated Welding System (PAWS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kline, Martin D.

    1994-01-01

    An ambitious project to develop an advanced, automated welding system is being funded as part of the Navy Joining Center with Babcock & Wilcox as the prime integrator. This program, the Programmable Automated Welding System (PAWS), involves the integration of both planning and real-time control activities. Planning functions include the development of a graphical decision support system within a standard, portable environment. Real-time control functions include the development of a modular, intelligent, real-time control system and the integration of a number of welding process sensors. This paper presents each of these components of the PAWS and discusses how they can be utilized to automate the welding operation.

  8. 30 CFR 75.1729 - Welding operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Welding operations. 75.1729 Section 75.1729 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Miscellaneous § 75.1729 Welding operations. Welding...

  9. Contribution to the study of an on line inspection system for pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charton, Stephane

    1999-01-01

    This thesis deals with the study of a on line inspection system for pulsed Nd 3+ :YAG laser welding operations. During a welding operation, laser-material interaction results in the emission of signals (optical, acoustical, electrical, thermal), characteristic of its behavior. On line inspection is based on the hypothesis that the signals evolutions, measured by sensors such as photodiodes, microphones.., may be correlated with the welding defects. Laser weld quality inspection can be done by the machine qualification (before and during welding), and by on line monitoring of the welding operation. The similarity of the signals produced by pulsed lasers (machine or interaction) has led us to develop a specific data acquisition and processing software. Signal processing tools utilization (Fourier and wavelets transforms) in conjunction with classification techniques (stress polytopes), introduces an innovating on line inspection approach. Discriminant parameters determination (signals/defect correlation) becomes thus automatic and non subjective. The developed prototype is not dedicated to the detection of a particular defect because the classification operator is a supervised one and needs a learning phase. lt has been validated on welding defects which are easy to deal with, and then applied to a precise production control at the Nuclear Fabrications and Technology Division of the Valduc Center of the French Atomic Energy Agency. (author) [fr

  10. Automated Fuel Element Closure Welding System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahlquist, D.R.

    1993-01-01

    The Automated Fuel Element Closure Welding System is a robotic device that will load and weld top end plugs onto nuclear fuel elements in a highly radioactive and inert gas environment. The system was developed at Argonne National Laboratory-West as part of the Fuel Cycle Demonstration. The welding system performs four main functions, it (1) injects a small amount of a xenon/krypton gas mixture into specific fuel elements, and (2) loads tiny end plugs into the tops of fuel element jackets, and (3) welds the end plugs to the element jackets, and (4) performs a dimensional inspection of the pre- and post-welded fuel elements. The system components are modular to facilitate remote replacement of failed parts. The entire system can be operated remotely in manual, semi-automatic, or fully automatic modes using a computer control system. The welding system is currently undergoing software testing and functional checkout

  11. Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    An ultrasonic stir welding system includes a welding head assembly having a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. During a welding operation, ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod as it rotates about its longitudinal axis. The ultrasonic pulses are applied in such a way that they propagate parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod.

  12. A welding system for spent fuel canister lid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suikki, M.; Wendelin, T.

    2008-06-01

    The report presents a proposed welding system for spent fuel canister lids. The system is used for welding the copper lid to the copper overpack. The apparatus will be installed in the encapsulation plant. The report presents basic requirements for and implementation of the welding system, operation, service and maintenance of the equipment, as well as a cost estimate. Some aspects of the apparatus design are quite specified, but the actual detailed planning and final selection of components is not included. The report also describes actions for possible malfunction and fault conditions. Closing of the copper cylinder's lid is carried out by electron beam welding, which must be performed in vacuum. The welding system for spent fuel canister lid consists of two welding chambers, a canister docking system, an EB-welding machine with its accessories, a vacuum apparatus, as well as necessary auxiliary equipment. The system's equipment is housed in a welding room, an auxiliary system room, an operation control room, as well as mounted on the ceiling of a transfer corridor. One of the welding chambers is intended for carrying out test welding procedures and for calibration of welding parameters. The actual spent fuel canister lid welding chamber has a weldingready canister docked thereto in an airtight manner. The chamber is pumped for a vacuum, followed by closing the canister's copper lid and carrying out the lid welding process. The lid is brought into the chamber prior to docking the canister by means of a canister transfer trolley lifting gear. Lifting of the canister and rotating it during a welding process are also handled by means of the transfer trolley. The lid welding chamber houses equipment for the alignment and installation of the lid, as well as heating means for the top side of a copper overpack for ensuring a sufficient installation clearance between the lid and the overpack. The equipment not needed in the immediate vicinity of welding chambers, is

  13. Real-time ultrasonic weld evaluation system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katragadda, Gopichand; Nair, Satish; Liu, Harry; Brown, Lawrence M.

    1996-11-01

    Ultrasonic testing techniques are currently used as an alternative to radiography for detecting, classifying,and sizing weld defects, and for evaluating weld quality. Typically, ultrasonic weld inspections are performed manually, which require significant operator expertise and time. Thus, in recent years, the emphasis is to develop automated methods to aid or replace operators in critical weld inspections where inspection time, reliability, and operator safety are major issues. During this period, significant advances wee made in the areas of weld defect classification and sizing. Very few of these methods, however have found their way into the market, largely due to the lack of an integrated approach enabling real-time implementation. Also, not much research effort was directed in improving weld acceptance criteria. This paper presents an integrated system utilizing state-of-the-art techniques for a complete automation of the weld inspection procedure. The modules discussed include transducer tracking, classification, sizing, and weld acceptance criteria. Transducer tracking was studied by experimentally evaluating sonic and optical position tracking techniques. Details for this evaluation are presented. Classification is obtained using a multi-layer perceptron. Results from different feature extraction schemes, including a new method based on a combination of time and frequency-domain signal representations are given. Algorithms developed to automate defect registration and sizing are discussed. A fuzzy-logic acceptance criteria for weld acceptance is presented describing how this scheme provides improved robustness compared to the traditional flow-diagram standards.

  14. Small Bore Piping Socket Weld Evaluation System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Dong Min; Cho, Hong Seok; Choi, Sang Hoon; Cho, Ki Hyun; Lee, Jang Wook

    2009-01-01

    Kori unit 3 had stopped operation due to leakage at Steam Generator drain line socket weld on June 6, 2008. The Cause of socket weld damage was known as a fatigue crack. According to this case, all socket welds located in RCS pressure boundary are carrying out Radiographic Testing. But to inspect socket welds by RT has some problems. The result of EPRI study showed that RT has limitation to find flaws at socket welds.The orientation of flaws has big influence on RT inspection capability and there is not enough space at socket welds for RT, dose problems as well. Although the gap between coupling and pipe at socket welds must follow up code, surface inspection can't inspect the gap. If there is absence of the gap, socket welds are damaged during operation. The gap should be identified by RT but the distance of gap can't be measured. As this paper, the ultrasonic inspection system was introduced to figure out indication and gap in the socket welds

  15. A knowledge-based diagnosis system for welding machine problem solving

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonnieres, P. de; Boutes, J.L.; Calas, M.A.; Para, S.

    1986-06-01

    This paper presents a knowledge-based diagnosis system which can be a valuable aid in resolving malfunctions and failures encountered using the automatic hot-wire TIG weld cladding process. This knowledge-based system is currently under evaluation by welding operators at the Framatome heavy fabricating facility. Extension to other welding processes is being considered

  16. 30 CFR 250.111 - Who oversees operations under my welding plan?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Who oversees operations under my welding plan... § 250.111 Who oversees operations under my welding plan? A welding supervisor or a designated person in charge must be thoroughly familiar with your welding plan. This person must ensure that each welder is...

  17. Measuring and recording system for electron beam welding parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lobanova, N.G.; Lifshits, M.L.; Efimov, I.I.

    1987-01-01

    The observation possibility during electron beam welding of circular articles with guaranteed clearance of welding bath leading front in joint gap and flare cloud over the bath by means of television monitor is considered. The composition and operation mode of television measuring system for metric characteristics of flare cloud and altitude of welding bath leading front in the clearance are described

  18. Design of cylindrical pipe automatic welding control system based on STM32

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shuaishuai; Shen, Weicong

    2018-04-01

    The development of modern economy makes the demand for pipeline construction and construction rapidly increasing, and the pipeline welding has become an important link in pipeline construction. At present, there are still a large number of using of manual welding methods at home and abroad, and field pipe welding especially lacks miniature and portable automatic welding equipment. An automated welding system consists of a control system, which consisting of a lower computer control panel and a host computer operating interface, as well as automatic welding machine mechanisms and welding power systems in coordination with the control system. In this paper, a new control system of automatic pipe welding based on the control panel of the lower computer and the interface of the host computer is proposed, which has many advantages over the traditional automatic welding machine.

  19. A control system for uniform bead in fillet arc welding on tack welds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Woong; Lee, Jun Young

    2008-01-01

    Positioning a workpiece accurately and preventing weld distortion, tack welding is often adopted before main welding in the construction of welded structures. However, this tack weld deteriorates the final weld bead profile, so that the grinding process is usually performed for a uniform weld bead profile. In this study, a control system for uniform weld bead is proposed for the fillet arc welding on tack welds. The system consists of GMA welding machine, torch manipulator, laser vision sensor for measuring the tack weld size and the database for optimal welding conditions. Experiments have been performed for constructing the database and for evaluating the control capability of the system. It has been shown that the system has the capability to smooth the bead at the high level of quality

  20. Welding Penetration Control of Fixed Pipe in TIG Welding Using Fuzzy Inference System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

    This paper presents a study on welding penetration control of fixed pipe in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding using fuzzy inference system. The welding penetration control is essential to the production quality welds with a specified geometry. For pipe welding using constant arc current and welding speed, the bead width becomes wider as the circumferential welding of small diameter pipes progresses. Having welded pipe in fixed position, obviously, the excessive arc current yields burn through of metals; in contrary, insufficient arc current produces imperfect welding. In order to avoid these errors and to obtain the uniform weld bead over the entire circumference of the pipe, the welding conditions should be controlled as the welding proceeds. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position using the AC welding machine. The monitoring system used a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Simulation of welding control using fuzzy inference system was constructed to simulate the welding control process. The simulation result shows that fuzzy controller was suitable for controlling the welding speed and appropriate to be implemented into the welding system. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of the fuzzy controller. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the control system that is confirmed by sound welds.

  1. Discussion on Integration of Welding Coordinator in Welding Quality System of KEPIC(Korea Electric Power Industry code)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joo, Hyun-Jae; Sohn, Myoung-Sung; Cho, Kyoung-Youn; Kim, Jong-Hae [Korea Electric Association, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    The welding quality system of KEPIC-MQW 'Welding Qualification' referencing ASME BPVC Sec.IX, Part QW requires welding procedures and performance qualification of welder or welding operator excluding welding coordinator. It means that there is potential possibility of any problem in process of welding on nuclear power plants or shop in absence of an welding coordinator who can resolve welding troubles. Therefore, the integration of welding coordinators in the welding quality system of KEPIC can improve welding quality and enhance safety of construction and management of power plants. The introduction of welding coordinator requirement would put economic problems on manufactures for new employment and subsequent management works (eg. training) and field problems making authorized nuclear inspectors to be confused on inspection work scopes. Those predictable problems are expected to be minimized or eliminated through public hearings and/or seminars with regulatory body, the owner, and manufacturers and, most significantly, cooperation with related KEPIC committees. The revision draft was reviewed and discussed with personnel in nuclear industry by holding three workshop and public hearings from 2011 to 2012 and by having a presentation in 2014 KEPIC-Week. Industrial consensus on need for integration of welding coordinators in welding quality system of KEPIC was performed by reasons that it would improve welding quality, guarantee welding reliability, advance expertise, and help export to abroad. However, economic problems on manufacturers for new employment and subsequent management works, for example training, are predicted. Therefore, introduction in stages for minimizing industrial impact regarding manufacturer's scale and permission of utilizing external welding coordinator for small scale manufacturers are required. A new draft version of KEPIC-MQW (if possible, appendices of MQW) including requirements and directives for solving these economic

  2. Development of automatic laser welding system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohwaki, Katsura

    2002-01-01

    Laser are a new production tool for high speed and low distortion welding and applications to automatic welding lines are increasing. IHI has long experience of laser processing for the preservation of nuclear power plants, welding of airplane engines and so on. Moreover, YAG laser oscillators and various kinds of hardware have been developed for laser welding and automation. Combining these welding technologies and laser hardware technologies produce the automatic laser welding system. In this paper, the component technologies are described, including combined optics intended to improve welding stability, laser oscillators, monitoring system, seam tracking system and so on. (author)

  3. Welded repair joints of boiler steels following operation in creep conditions exceeding the design time of operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dobrzanski, J.; Paszkowska, H.; Zielinski, A. [Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy, Gliwice (Poland)

    2010-07-01

    The assessment of suitability for further operation for materials and welded repair joints of thick-walled main steam pipeline components, made of steel 14MoV63, as well as steam superheater outlet headers made of steel X20CrMoV121 following operation in creep conditions in time periods considerably longer than the specified calculated time of operation. Strength properties, impact strength and transition temperature into brittle condition, as well as structure condition have been evaluated. On the basis of shortened creep tests, the residual life and disposable residual life of materials and welded joints have been determined. Material properties following operation and those of fabricated circumferential welded repair joints have been compared. The condition of examined components and suitability of the fabricated welded repair joints for further operation have been assessed. (orig.)

  4. Resistance welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay, Niels; Zhang, Wenqi; Rasmussen, Mogens H.

    2003-01-01

    Resistance welding comprises not only the well known spot welding process but also more complex projection welding operations, where excessive plastic deformation of the weld point may occur. This enables the production of complex geometries and material combinations, which are often not possible...... to weld by traditional spot welding operations. Such joining processes are, however, not simple to develop due to the large number of parameters involved. Development has traditionally been carried out by large experimental investigations, but the development of a numerical programme system has changed...... this enabling prediction of the welding performance in details. The paper describes the programme in short and gives examples on industrial applications. Finally investigations of causes for failure in a complex industrial joint of two dissimilar metals are carried out combining numerical modelling...

  5. Implementation of an Outer Can Welding System for Savannah River Site FB-Line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, S.R.

    2003-01-01

    This paper details three phases of testing to confirm use of a Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) system for closure welding the 3013 outer container used for stabilization/storage of plutonium metals and oxides. The outer container/lid closure joint was originally designed for laser welding, but for this application, the gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process has been adapted. The testing progressed in three phases: (1) system checkout to evaluate system components for operational readiness, (2) troubleshooting to evaluate high weld failure rates and develop corrective techniques, and (3) pre-installation acceptance testing

  6. Fully Automatic Spot Welding System for Application in Automotive Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Puschner

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract A Virtual Machine has led to a fully automatic spot welding system. All necessary parameters are created by measuring systems and algorithms running in the Virtual Machine. A hybrid operating circuit allows the Virtual Machine to read the exact process voltage between the tips of the electrodes every 50 µs. Actual welding voltage and current allow for the first time reading process impedance, electric power and total energy being transferred to the spot weld. Necessary energy input is calculated by a calorimetric model after measuring the total thickness of the materials to be welded as soon as the welding gun is positioned at the workpiece. A precision potentiometer implemented in the gun delivers the total material thickness within the 0.1 mm range during the pre-pressure phases. The internal databank of the Virtual Machine controls all essential parameters to guide the total welding process. Special generator characteristics of the welding power unit are created by the Virtual Machine just during the upslope and the welding phases. So the process will be initialized in differentiating the kind of material, mild steel or high strengthen steel. This will affect the kind of energy input and current decrease during the upslope and downslope phases.

  7. Upgraded HFIR Fuel Element Welding System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sease, John D.

    2010-01-01

    The welding of aluminum-clad fuel plates into aluminum alloy 6061 side plate tubing is a unique design feature of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel assemblies as 101 full-penetration circumferential gas metal arc welds (GMAW) are required in the fabrication of each assembly. In a HFIR fuel assembly, 540 aluminum-clad fuel plates are assembled into two nested annular fuel elements 610 mm (24-inches) long. The welding process for the HFIR fuel elements was developed in the early 1960 s and about 450 HFIR fuel assemblies have been successfully welded using the GMAW process qualified in the 1960 s. In recent years because of the degradation of the electronic and mechanical components in the old HFIR welding system, reportable defects in plate attachment or adapter welds have been present in almost all completed fuel assemblies. In October 2008, a contract was awarded to AMET, Inc., of Rexburg, Idaho, to replace the old welding equipment with standard commercially available welding components to the maximum extent possible while maintaining the qualified HFIR welding process. The upgraded HFIR welding system represents a major improvement in the welding system used in welding HFIR fuel elements for the previous 40 years. In this upgrade, the new inner GMAW torch is a significant advancement over the original inner GMAW torch previously used. The innovative breakthrough in the new inner welding torch design is the way the direction of the cast in the 0.762 mm (0.030-inch) diameter aluminum weld wire is changed so that the weld wire emerging from the contact tip is straight in the plane perpendicular to the welding direction without creating any significant drag resistance in the feeding of the weld wire.

  8. Residual and operating stresses in welded Alloy 600 penetrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunt, E.S.; Gross, D.J.; Pathania, R.

    1995-01-01

    An elastic-plastic finite element model has been developed for calculating residual and operating stresses in Alloy 600 penetrations which are installed in pressure vessel shells by J-groove welds. The welding process is simulated by multiple passes of heat input with heat transfer into the adjacent parts during welding and cooling. Analysis results are presented for CRDM nozzles, pressurizer instrument nozzles and pressurizer heater sleeves. The effect of several key variables such as nozzle material yield strength, angle of the nozzle relative to the vessel shell, weld size, presence of counterbores, etc. are explored. Results of the modelling are correlated with field and laboratory data. Application of the stress analysis results to PWSCC predictive modeling is discussed. (author). 6 refs, 12 figs, 2 tabs

  9. A System for Complex Robotic Welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Ole; Sørensen, Carsten Bro; Olsen, Birger

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents the architecture of a system for robotic welding of complex tasks. The system integrates off-line programming, control of redundant robots, collision-free motion planning and sensor-based control. An implementation for pipe structure welding made at Odense Steel Shipyard Ltd......., Denmark, demonstrates the system can be used for automatic welding of complex products in one-of-a-kind production....

  10. Feasibility study of the cut and weld operations by RH on the cooling pipes of ITER NB components

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pineiro, Oscar; Fernandez, Carlos [TECNATOM Avda. Montes de Oca 28700 S Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid (Spain); Medrano, Mercedes [EURATOM-CIEMAT Association for Fusion. Avda. Complutense, 22. 28040 Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: mercedes.medrano@ciemat.es; Liniers, Macarena; Botija, Jose; Alonso, Javier; Sarasola, Xabier [EURATOM-CIEMAT Association for Fusion. Avda. Complutense, 22. 28040 Madrid (Spain); Damiani, Carlo [EFDA-Josep Pla 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain)

    2009-06-15

    The maintenance operations of ITER NB components inside the vessel - Beam Line Components (BLC's) involve the removal of the faulty component, its transport to the hot cell as well as the reverse operations of transport of the repaired/new component and its reinstallation inside the vessel. Prior to the removal of the BLC's the cooling pipes must be detached from the component following a procedure that applies to the cutting of the pipes and subsequent welding when the component is re-installed. The purpose of this study, conducted in the framework of EFDA, is to demonstrate the feasibility of the cut and weld operations on the water pipes of the BLC's using fully remote handling techniques. Viable technologies for the cut and weld operations have been identified within the study; in particular the following aspects will be presented in the paper: - Different strategies can be pursued in the detachment of the components depending on the number of cut and weld operations to be performed on the pipes. The selected strategy will impact on the procedure to be followed likewise on important aspects as the requirements of the flexible joints assembled on the pipes. - The existing cutting techniques have been examined in the light of the remotely performed pipe cutting at the NB cell. Modifications of commercial tools have been proposed in order to adapt them to the BLC's pipes requirements. The debris produced during the cutting process must be controlled and collected, therefore a cleaning system has been integrated in the adapted cutting tool referred above. - The existing welding techniques have been also examined and compared based on different criteria such as complexity, reliability, alignment tolerances, etc. TIG welding is the preferred technique as it stands out for its superior performance. The commercial tools identified need to be adapted to the NB environment. - The alignment of the pipes is a critical issue concerning the remote welding

  11. Feasibility study of the cut and weld operations by RH on the cooling pipes of ITER NB components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pineiro, Oscar; Fernandez, Carlos; Medrano, Mercedes; Liniers, Macarena; Botija, Jose; Alonso, Javier; Sarasola, Xabier; Damiani, Carlo

    2009-01-01

    The maintenance operations of ITER NB components inside the vessel - Beam Line Components (BLC's) involve the removal of the faulty component, its transport to the hot cell as well as the reverse operations of transport of the repaired/new component and its reinstallation inside the vessel. Prior to the removal of the BLC's the cooling pipes must be detached from the component following a procedure that applies to the cutting of the pipes and subsequent welding when the component is re-installed. The purpose of this study, conducted in the framework of EFDA, is to demonstrate the feasibility of the cut and weld operations on the water pipes of the BLC's using fully remote handling techniques. Viable technologies for the cut and weld operations have been identified within the study; in particular the following aspects will be presented in the paper: - Different strategies can be pursued in the detachment of the components depending on the number of cut and weld operations to be performed on the pipes. The selected strategy will impact on the procedure to be followed likewise on important aspects as the requirements of the flexible joints assembled on the pipes. - The existing cutting techniques have been examined in the light of the remotely performed pipe cutting at the NB cell. Modifications of commercial tools have been proposed in order to adapt them to the BLC's pipes requirements. The debris produced during the cutting process must be controlled and collected, therefore a cleaning system has been integrated in the adapted cutting tool referred above. - The existing welding techniques have been also examined and compared based on different criteria such as complexity, reliability, alignment tolerances, etc. TIG welding is the preferred technique as it stands out for its superior performance. The commercial tools identified need to be adapted to the NB environment. - The alignment of the pipes is a critical issue concerning the remote welding. A proper alignment

  12. Real time computer controlled weld skate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, W. A., Jr.

    1977-01-01

    A real time, adaptive control, automatic welding system was developed. This system utilizes the general case geometrical relationships between a weldment and a weld skate to precisely maintain constant weld speed and torch angle along a contoured workplace. The system is compatible with the gas tungsten arc weld process or can be adapted to other weld processes. Heli-arc cutting and machine tool routing operations are possible applications.

  13. Laser welding engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhieh, N. M.; El Eesawi, M. E.; Hashkel, A. E.

    2007-01-01

    Laser welding was in its early life used mainly for unusual applications where no other welding process would be suitable that was twenty five years ago. Today, laser welding is a fully developed part of the metal working industry, routinely producing welds for common items such as cigarette lighters, which springs, motor/transformer lamination, hermetic seals, battery and pacemaker cans and hybrid circuit packages. Yet very few manufacturing engineering have seriously considers employing lasers in their own operations. Why? There are many reasons, but a main one must be not acquainted with the operation and capabilities of a laser system. Other reasons, such as a relatively high initial cost and a concern about using lasers in the manufacturing environment, also are frequently cited, and the complexity of the component and flexibility of the light delivery system. Laser welding could be used in place of many different standard processes, such as resistance (spot or seam), submerged arc, RF induction, high-frequency resistance, ultrasonic and electronic and electron-beam. while each of these techniques has established an independent function in the manufacturing world, the flexible laser welding approach will operate efficiently and economically in many different applications. Its flexibility will even permit the welding system to be used for other machining function, such as drilling, scribing, sealing and serializing. In this article, we will look at how laser welding works and what benefits it can offer to manufacturing engineers. Some industry observers state that there are already 2,000 laser machine tools being used for cutting, welding and drilling and that the number could reach 30,000 over the next 15 years as manufacturing engineers become more aware of the capabilities of lasers [1). While most laser applications are dedicated to one product or process that involves high-volume, long-run manufacturing, the flexibility of a laser to supply energy to hard

  14. Sensor controlled robotic welding for nuclear power plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chin, B.A.

    1989-01-01

    The objective of the proposed research is to apply real time monitoring, artificial intelligence and on-line correction to dynamically control the depth of weld penetration and weld integrity during the welding process. Welding is a major technique used in the fabrication, construction and maintenance of power generating and energy conversion systems. In the welding process, fluctuations in process variables lead to weld defects such as lack of penetration, cracks, porosity and undesirable metallurgical structures. This research will apply advanced infrared sensing techniques which have been successfully used in seam tracking to the equally complex problem of weld defect and weld puddle penetration control. Thermal temperature distributions of plates being welded will be dynamically measured during welding using infrared techniques. These temperature distributions will be used to interpret changes in the size and shape of the molten metal pool and the presence of conditions that may lead to defects in the solidified weld. The ultimate result of this research will be the development of machines which are capable of sensing and altering process variables to eliminate defective welds and increase the productivity of the welding process. Successful completion of this proposed research will lead to potential major improvements in the fabrication, construction and maintenance of advanced nuclear reactors and promote increased safety and reliability while decreasing construction costs. 47 refs., 50 figs

  15. Development of automatic pre-tracking system for fillet weld based on laser trigonometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Xiaoqin; Yu, Fusheng

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, an automatic fillet weld pre-tracking system for welding the work piece of lorry back boards with several bend in haul automobile is developed basing on laser trigonometry. The optical measuring head based on laser-PSD trigonometry is used as position sensor. It is placed in front of the traveling direction of welding wire to get the distances from welding wire to the two side boards of the welding lines, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld respectively. A chip of AT89S52 is used as the micro controller in this system. The AC servomotors, ball-screws and straight guide rails constitute the sliding table to take welding wire move. The laser-PSD sensors pass through the vertical board, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld when welding wire moves and then get the distance. The laser-PSD sensors output the analog signals. After A/D conversion, the digital signal is input into AT89S52 and calculated. Then the information of the position and lateral deviation of the welding wire when welding a certain position are gotten to control welding wires. So the weld pre-tracking for welding the work piece with long distance and large bend in haul automobile is realized. The position information is input into EEPROM to be saved for short time after handled by AT89S52. The information is as the welding position information as well as the speed adjusting data of the welding wire when it welds the several bend of the work piece. The practice indicates that this system has high pre-tracking precision, good anti-disturb ability, excellent reliability, easy operating ability and good adaptability to the field of production.

  16. New welding information system on the internet (Prediction of the properties of weld heat-affected zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Fujita

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available To promote continuous transfer and development of welding technology, a new system for predicting the microstructures and mechanical properties of welded joins has been built on the Internet. It combines a database system containing continuous cooling transformation diagrams (CCT diagrams for welding and an expert system for computing weld thermal histories. In addition, this system employs a technique which was invented during the development of another distributed database system called "Data-Free-Way" , which was designed to contain information advanced nuclear materials and materials obtained from other programs of welding research at NIMS in the past. This paper describes the current state of our new system for computing weld thermal histories to predict the properties of welded joints using the CCT diagrams database, which is now available on the Internet. Some problems encountered with the database used in such a system are also referred to.

  17. Advances in automatic welding control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, D.; Woodacre, A.; Taylor, A.F.

    1972-01-01

    The development at the Reactor Fuel Element Laboratories, UKAEA Springfields, of a computer-based welding process control system, was aimed initially at the TIG welding of the end seals of nuclear fuel elements. The system provides for mixed multi-station operation with on-line real-time capability and can be used either as a research tool or for production requirements at competitive costs. The operation of the control system, the form of power source, and the servo motor control units are described. Typically, continuous or pulse-arc welding sequences can be digitally programmed on 0.1 sec increments, with current in 0.5 A increments up to a maximum of 256 A; up to three servo motors can be operated with speeds selected in 0.1 percent increments of their maximum. Up to six welding parameters can be monitored digitally at speeds from once every 10 msec. Some applications are described and it is shown that the equipment has wider uses outside the nuclear fuel element field. High quality industrial welding requirements can also be met and the system is not limited to the TIG process

  18. Advances in automatic welding control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, D.; Woodacre, A.; Taylor, A.F.

    1972-01-01

    The development at the Reactor Fuel Element Laboratories, UKAEA Springfields, of a computer-based welding process control system, was aimed initially at the TIG welding of the end seals of nuclear fuel elements. The system provides for mixed multi-station operation with on-line real-time capability and can be used either as a research tool or for production requirements at competitive costs. The operation of the control system, the form of power source and servo motor control units are described. Typically, continuous or pulse-arc welding sequences can be digitally programmed on 0.1 sec increments, with current in 0.5 A increments up to a maximum of 256 A; up to three servo motors can be operated with speeds selected in 0.1% increments of their maximum. Up to six welding parameters can be monitored digitally at speeds from once every 10 msec. Some applications are described and it is shown that the equipment has wider uses outside the nuclear fuel element field. High quality industrial welding requirements can also be met and the system is not limited to the TIG process. (author)

  19. Development of remote laser welding technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Soo-Sung; Kim, Woong-Ki; Lee, Jung-Won; Yang, Myung-Seung; Park, Hyun-Soo

    1999-01-01

    Various welding processes are now available for end cap closure of nuclear fuel element such as TIG(Tungsten Inert Gas) welding, magnetic resistance welding and laser welding. Even though the resistance and TIG welding process are widely used for manufacturing of the commercial fuel elements, it can not be recommended for the remote seal welding of fuel element at PIE facility due to its complexity of the electrode alignment, difficulty in the replacement of parts in the remote manner and its large heat input for thin sheath. Therefore, Nd:YAG laser system using the optical fiber transmission was selected for Zircaloy-4 end cap welding. Remote laser welding apparatus is developed using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser of 500 watt average power with optical fiber transmission. The laser weldability is satisfactory in respect of the microstructures and mechanical properties comparing with the TIG and resistance welding. The optimum operation processes of laser welding and the optical fiber transmission system for hot cell operation in remote manner have been developed. (author)

  20. Control system of power supply for resistance welding machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Світлана Костянтинівна Поднебенна

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the existing methods of heat energy stabilizing, which are realized in thyristor power supplies for resistance welding machines. The advantages and features of thyristor power supplies have been described. A control system of power supply for resistance welding machine with stabilization of heat energy in a welding spot has been developed. Measurements are performed in primary winding of a welding transformer. Weld spot heating energy is calculated as the difference between the energy, consumed from the mains, and the energy losses in the primary and secondary circuits of the welding transformer as well as the energy losses in the transformer core. Algorithms of digital signal processing of the developed control system are described in the article. All measurements and calculations are preformed automatically in real-time. Input signals to the control system are: transformer primary voltage and current, temperature of the welding circuit. The designed control system ensures control of the welding heat energy and is not influenced by the supply voltage and impedance changes caused by insertion of the ferromagnetic mass in the welding circuit, the temperature change during the welding process. The developed control system for resistance welding machine makes it possible to improve the quality of welded joints, increase the efficiency of the resistance welding machine

  1. Torque Measurement of Welding of Endplug-Endplate using Multi-pin Remote Welding System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koo, Dae-Seo; Kim, Soo-Sung; Park, Geun-Il; Lee, Jung-Won; Song, Kee-Chan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-07-01

    As fuel bundles in PHWR irradiates, inner pressure in claddings of fuel rods increases owing to outer pressure and fission products of nuclear fissions. Because of leak possibility of welding between cladding and end plug, this welding part connects with safety of nuclear fuel rods. Because of importance of this welding part, weldability of end plug-cladding of nuclear fuel rods is continually researched. Welding method for research and commercialization is classified as melting, solid type welding or resistance welding. End plug cladding welding of nuclear fuel rods in PHWR takes advantage of resistance upset butt welding using multicycle mode. This method makes weld flash and shapes re-entrant corner owing to welding heat due to resistivity, contact resistance of cladding-end plug, and inelasticity deformation due to pressure. Welding part between cladding and end plug receives stresses and makes small cracks. In this study, remote welding system for multi-pin assembly was designed, fabricated and welding specimens of end plug-endplate were made using electrical resistance method. The torques of welding between end plug and endplate were measured. These results on welding current, pressure of main electrode and pressure of branch electrode were analyzed. Weldability between end plug and endplate was confirmed through metallographic examinations. In the future, optimal welding examinations due to welding current, welding pressure and welding time will be performed to improve weldability of end plug-endplate.

  2. Automatic welding and cladding in heavy fabrication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altamer, A. de

    1980-01-01

    A description is given of the automatic welding processes used by an Italian fabricator of pressure vessels for petrochemical and nuclear plant. The automatic submerged arc welding, submerged arc strip cladding, pulsed TIG, hot wire TIG and MIG welding processes have proved satisfactory in terms of process reliability, metal deposition rate, and cost effectiveness for low alloy and carbon steels. An example shows sequences required during automatic butt welding, including heat treatments. Factors which govern satisfactory automatic welding include automatic anti-drift rotator device, electrode guidance and bead programming system, the capability of single and dual head operation, flux recovery and slag removal systems, operator environment and controls, maintaining continuity of welding and automatic reverse side grinding. Automatic welding is used for: joining vessel sections; joining tubes to tubeplate; cladding of vessel rings and tubes, dished ends and extruded nozzles; nozzle to shell and butt welds, including narrow gap welding. (author)

  3. Welding stainless steels for structures operating at liquid helium temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witherell, C.E.

    1980-01-01

    Superconducting magnets for fusion energy reactors require massive monolithic stainless steel weldments which must operate at extremely low temperatures under stresses approaching 100 ksi (700 MPa). A three-year study was conducted to determine the feasibility of producing heavy-section welds having usable levels of strength and toughness at 4.2 0 K for fabrication of these structures in Type 304LN plate. Seven welding processes were evaluated. Test weldments in full-thickness plate were made under severe restraint to simulate that of actual structures. Type 316L filler metal was used for most welds. Welds deposited under some conditions and which solidify as primary austenite have exhibited intergranular embrittlement at 4.2 0 K. This is believed to be associated with grain boundary metal carbides or carbonitrides precipitated during reheating of already deposited beads by subsequent passes. Weld deposits which solidify as primary delta ferrite appear immune. Through use of fully austenitic filler metals of low nitrogen content under controlled shielded metal arc welding conditions, and through use of filler metals solidifying as primary delta ferrite where only minimum residuals remain to room temperature, welds of Type 316L composition have been made with 4.2K yield strength matching that of Type 304LN plate and acceptable levels of soundness, ductility and toughness

  4. Development of laser weld monitoring system for PWR space grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, Chin Man; Kim, Cheol Jung; Kim, Min Suk

    1998-06-01

    The laser welding monitoring system was developed to inspect PWR space grid welding for KNFC. The demands for this optical monitoring system were applied to Q.C. and process control in space grid welding. The thermal radiation signal from weld pool can be get the variation of weld pool size. The weld pool size and depth are verified by analyzed wavelength signals from weld pool. Applied this monitoring system in space grid weld, improved the weld productivity. (author). 4 refs., 5 tabs., 31 figs

  5. Automatic weld torch guidance control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smaith, H. E.; Wall, W. A.; Burns, M. R., Jr.

    1982-01-01

    A highly reliable, fully digital, closed circuit television optical, type automatic weld seam tracking control system was developed. This automatic tracking equipment is used to reduce weld tooling costs and increase overall automatic welding reliability. The system utilizes a charge injection device digital camera which as 60,512 inidividual pixels as the light sensing elements. Through conventional scanning means, each pixel in the focal plane is sequentially scanned, the light level signal digitized, and an 8-bit word transmitted to scratch pad memory. From memory, the microprocessor performs an analysis of the digital signal and computes the tracking error. Lastly, the corrective signal is transmitted to a cross seam actuator digital drive motor controller to complete the closed loop, feedback, tracking system. This weld seam tracking control system is capable of a tracking accuracy of + or - 0.2 mm, or better. As configured, the system is applicable to square butt, V-groove, and lap joint weldments.

  6. Characterisation of fume from hyperbaric welding operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ross, John A S; Semple, Sean [Environmental and Occupational Medicine, University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom); Duffin, Rodger [ELEGI Colt Laboratory, University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Kelly, Frank [Lung Biology Group, Kings College, University of London (United Kingdom); Seldmann, Joerg; Raab, Andrea, E-mail: j.a.ross@abdn.ac.u [Trace Element Speciation Laboratory, University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom)

    2009-02-01

    We report preliminary work characterising dust from hyperbaric welding trials carried out at increased pressure in a helium and oxygen atmosphere. Particle size and concentration were measured during welding. Samples for quartz and metal analysis and toxicity assessment were taken from a filter in the local fume extraction system. The residue of dust after metal extraction by nitric acid in hydrogen peroxide predominantly a non-metallic white powder assumed to be dust from welding rod coatings and thermal insulation material. Metallic analysis showed predominantly calcium, from the welding rod coating, and period 4 transition metals such as iron, manganese, magnesium and titanium (inductively coupled mass spectrometry, Agilent 7500c). The presence of zirconium indicated a contribution from grinding. The fume was nanoparticulate in nature with a mean particle diameter of 20-30 nm (MSI Inc WPS 1000XP). It showed an intermediate level of oxidative potential regarding the low-molecular weight respiratory tract lining fluid antioxidants ascorbate and glutathione and caused release of the inflammatory marker IL-8 in a human lung A 549 epithelial cell culture with no indication of cytotoxicity. The study findings have strong implications for the measurement techniques needed to assess fume exposure in hyperbaric welding and the provision of respiratory protection.

  7. Operator Bias in the Estimation of Arc Efficiency in Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Sikström

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper the operator bias in the measurement process of arc efficiency in stationary direct current electrode negative gas tungsten arc welding is discussed. An experimental study involving 15 operators (enough to reach statistical significance has been carried out with the purpose to estimate the arc efficiency from a specific procedure for calorimetric experiments. The measurement procedure consists of three manual operations which introduces operator bias in the measurement process. An additional relevant experiment highlights the consequences of estimating the arc voltage by measuring the potential between the terminals of the welding power source instead of measuring the potential between the electrode contact tube and the workpiece. The result of the study is a statistical evaluation of the operator bias influence on the estimate, showing that operator bias is negligible in the estimate considered here. On the contrary the consequences of neglecting welding leads voltage drop results in a significant under estimation of the arc efficiency.

  8. Welding stainless steels for structures operating at liquid helium temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witherell, C.E.

    1980-04-18

    Superconducting magnets for fusion energy reactors require massive monolithic stainless steel weldments which must operate at extremely low temperatures under stresses approaching 100 ksi (700 MPa). A three-year study was conducted to determine the feasibility of producing heavy-section welds having usable levels of strength and toughness at 4.2/sup 0/K for fabrication of these structures in Type 304LN plate. Seven welding processes were evaluated. Test weldments in full-thickness plate were made under severe restraint to simulate that of actual structures. Type 316L filler metal was used for most welds. Welds deposited under some conditions and which solidify as primary austenite have exhibited intergranular embrittlement at 4.2/sup 0/K. This is believed to be associated with grain boundary metal carbides or carbonitrides precipitated during reheating of already deposited beads by subsequent passes. Weld deposits which solidify as primary delta ferrite appear immune. Through use of fully austenitic filler metals of low nitrogen content under controlled shielded metal arc welding conditions, and through use of filler metals solidifying as primary delta ferrite where only minimum residuals remain to room temperature, welds of Type 316L composition have been made with 4.2K yield strength matching that of Type 304LN plate and acceptable levels of soundness, ductility and toughness.

  9. Optimization and studies of the welding processes, automation of the sealing welding system and fracture mechanics in the vessels surveillance in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gama R, G.

    2011-01-01

    Inside this work the optimization of two welding systems is described, as well as the conclusion of a system for the qualification of containers sealing in the National Institute of Nuclear Research that have application in the surveillance programs of nuclear reactors vessels and the correspondent extension of the operation license. The test tubes Charpy are assay to evaluate the embrittlement grade, when obtaining the increment in the reference temperature and the decrease of the absorbed maximum energy, in the transition curve fragile-ductile of the material. After the test two test tube halves are obtained that should take advantage to follow the surveillance of the vessel and their possible operation extension, this is achieved by means of rebuilding (being obtained of a tested test tube two reconstituted test tubes). The welding system for the rebuilding of test tubes Charpy, was optimized when diminishing the union force at solder, achieving the elimination of the rejection for penetration lack for spill. For this work temperature measurements were carried out at different distances of the welding interface from 1 up to 12 mm, obtaining temperature profiles. With the maximum temperatures were obtained a graph and equation that represents the maximum temperature regarding the distance of the interface, giving as a result practical the elimination of other temperature measurements. The reconstituted test tubes were introduced inside pressurized containers with helium of ultra high purity to 1 pressure atmosphere. This process was carried out in the welding system for containers sealing, where an automatic process was implemented by means of an application developed in the program LabVIEW, reducing operation times and allowing the remote control of the process, the acquisition parameters as well as the generation of welding reports, avoiding with this the human error. (Author)

  10. High quality joining techniques: in-process assurance (IPA) welding system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaihara, Shoichiro [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1996-08-01

    On July 1, 1995, the Product Liability Law was enforced, and in industrial world, further reliability has been demanded. Recently, accompanying the progress of electronics, the proportion taken by automatic welders and robots increased in welding. By memorizing proper welding conditions, the welding from initial to final passes can be done fully automatically. Also feedback mechanism was equipped to mechanized welders, and the in-process control has become to be feasible. The way of thinking on confirming in process welding quality in arc welding is explained. IPA welding system utilizes the multi-media collecting images and sound, samples the change of welding conditions and the state of arc on a same screen, and monitors the deviation from the range of proper welding conditions. At the time of abnormality, inspector or a computer carries out image diagnosis and welding control, and the system indicates the soundness of welded parts. The basic concept and the flow chart of this system are shown. The experiment of applying the system to arc welding is reported. The correlation of welding phenomena and welding conditions is examined. (K.I.)

  11. High quality joining techniques: in-process assurance (IPA) welding system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaihara, Shoichiro

    1996-01-01

    On July 1, 1995, the Product Liability Law was enforced, and in industrial world, further reliability has been demanded. Recently, accompanying the progress of electronics, the proportion taken by automatic welders and robots increased in welding. By memorizing proper welding conditions, the welding from initial to final passes can be done fully automatically. Also feedback mechanism was equipped to mechanized welders, and the in-process control has become to be feasible. The way of thinking on confirming in process welding quality in arc welding is explained. IPA welding system utilizes the multi-media collecting images and sound, samples the change of welding conditions and the state of arc on a same screen, and monitors the deviation from the range of proper welding conditions. At the time of abnormality, inspector or a computer carries out image diagnosis and welding control, and the system indicates the soundness of welded parts. The basic concept and the flow chart of this system are shown. The experiment of applying the system to arc welding is reported. The correlation of welding phenomena and welding conditions is examined. (K.I.)

  12. Introduction of experience of television information-control systems in welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lifshits, M.L.; Lobanova, N.G.

    1988-01-01

    Consideration is given to peculiarities of using television measuring system for operative control of electron-beam welding of articles with minimum joint gap. It is shown that improvement of control accuracy requires mounting and tuning of television sensors and providing for process procedure

  13. Welding characteristics of 27, 40 and 67 kHz ultrasonic plastic welding systems using fundamental- and higher-resonance frequencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsujino, Jiromaru; Hongoh, Misugi; Yoshikuni, Masafumi; Hashii, Hidekazu; Ueoka, Tetsugi

    2004-04-01

    The welding characteristics of 27, 40 and 67 kHz ultrasonic plastic welding systems that are driven at only the fundamental-resonance frequency vibration were compared, and also those of the welding systems that were driven at the fundamental and several higher resonance frequencies simultaneously were studied. At high frequency, welding characteristics can be improved due to the larger vibration loss of plastic materials. For welding of rather thin or small specimens, as the fundamental frequency of these welding systems is higher and the numbers of driven higher frequencies are driven simultaneously, larger welded area and weld strength were obtained.

  14. Automatic welding machine for piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Kazuhiro; Koyama, Takaichi; Iizuka, Tomio; Ito, Yoshitoshi; Takami, Katsumi.

    1978-01-01

    A remotely controlled automatic special welding machine for piping was developed. This machine is utilized for long distance pipe lines, chemical plants, thermal power generating plants and nuclear power plants effectively from the viewpoint of good quality control, reduction of labor and good controllability. The function of this welding machine is to inspect the shape and dimensions of edge preparation before welding work by the sense of touch, to detect the temperature of melt pool, inspect the bead form by the sense of touch, and check the welding state by ITV during welding work, and to grind the bead surface and inspect the weld metal by ultrasonic test automatically after welding work. The construction of this welding system, the main specification of the apparatus, the welding procedure in detail, the electrical source of this welding machine, the cooling system, the structure and handling of guide ring, the central control system and the operating characteristics are explained. The working procedure and the effect by using this welding machine, and the application to nuclear power plants and the other industrial field are outlined. The HIDIC 08 is used as the controlling computer. This welding machine is useful for welding SUS piping as well as carbon steel piping. (Nakai, Y.)

  15. Development of an auto-welding system for CRD nozzle repair welds using a 3D laser vision sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, K.; Kim, Y.; Byeon, J.; Sung, K.; Yeom, C.; Rhee, S.

    2007-01-01

    A control rod device (CRD) nozzle attaches to the hemispherical surface of a reactor head with J-groove welding. Primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) causes degradation in these welds, which requires that these defect areas be repaired. To perform this repair welding automatically on a complicated weld groove shape, an auto-welding system was developed incorporating a laser vision sensor that measures the 3-dimensional (3D) shape of the groove and a weld-path creation program that calculates the weld-path parameters. Welding trials with a J-groove workpiece were performed to establish a basis for developing this auto-welding system. Because the reactor head is placed on a lay down support, the outer-most region of the CRD nozzle has restricted access. Due to this tight space, several parameters of the design, such as size, weight and movement of the auto-welding system, had to be carefully considered. The cross section of the J-groove weld is basically an oval shape where the included angle of the J-groove ranges from 0 to 57 degrees. To measure the complex shape, we used double lasers coupled to a single charge coupled device (CCD) camera. We then developed a program to generate the weld-path parameters using the measured 3D shape as a basis. The program has the ability to determine the first and final welding positions and to calculate all weld-path parameters. An optimized image-processing algorithm was applied to resolve noise interference and diffused reflection of the joint surfaces. The auto-welding system is composed of a 4-axis manipulator, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) power supply, an optimized designed and manufactured GTAW torch and a 3D laser vision sensor. Through welding trials with 0 and 38-degree included-angle workpieces with both J-groove and U-groove weld, the performance of this auto-welding system was qualified for field application

  16. Quality assurance and control for robotic GMA welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Max X.

    1992-01-01

    A quality assurance (QA) model has been developed. This model systematically considers the relevant activities before, during and after the welding operations with respect to quality. Efficient quality assurance requires that the functionality of the present robotic welding systems needs to be increased and that the knowledge of the personnel involved in the design and production needs to be improved. The collaboration between different departments and personnel needs also to be improved. The procedure specification aspects have been studied and a method for the determination of optimal welding parameters is presented with regards to process stability, quality requirements and productivity. A main productivity problem of robotic welding systems for small series production is due to the time spent on the specification of welding procedures. In order to improve the efficiency, expert systems technology has been studied and applied to automatically generate optimal welding procedures. An objective method for the assessment of process stability has been developed, based upon the analysis of the electrical signals of welding arcs. Furthermore, a method has been developed to monitor the process stability. It is found that it is possible to identify the causes of the disturbance of process stability and to predict the weld quality characteristics based on the analysis of the electrical signals. Though quality is formed during the welding operation, the diagnosis of the causes of quality disturbances is important for the prevention of quality problems of subsequent welds and has been discussed. To assist the operators, expert systems technology is also applied. Further work should be directed to the integration of various QA functions in the robotic arc welding system so that both quality and productivity aspects of the system ban be further improved. (au)

  17. Intelligent Control of Welding Gun Pose for Pipeline Welding Robot Based on Improved Radial Basis Function Network and Expert System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingwen Tian

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Since the control system of the welding gun pose in whole-position welding is complicated and nonlinear, an intelligent control system of welding gun pose for a pipeline welding robot based on an improved radial basis function neural network (IRBFNN and expert system (ES is presented in this paper. The structure of the IRBFNN is constructed and the improved genetic algorithm is adopted to optimize the network structure. This control system makes full use of the characteristics of the IRBFNN and the ES. The ADXRS300 micro-mechanical gyro is used as the welding gun position sensor in this system. When the welding gun position is obtained, an appropriate pitch angle can be obtained through expert knowledge and the numeric reasoning capacity of the IRBFNN. ARM is used as the controller to drive the welding gun pitch angle step motor in order to adjust the pitch angle of the welding gun in real-time. The experiment results show that the intelligent control system of the welding gun pose using the IRBFNN and expert system is feasible and it enhances the welding quality. This system has wide prospects for application.

  18. Grain refinement control in TIG arc welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iceland, W. F.; Whiffen, E. L. (Inventor)

    1975-01-01

    A method for controlling grain size and weld puddle agitation in a tungsten electrode inert gas welding system to produce fine, even grain size and distribution is disclosed. In the method the frequency of dc welding voltage pulses supplied to the welding electrode is varied over a preselected frequency range and the arc gas voltage is monitored. At some frequency in the preselected range the arc gas voltage will pass through a maximum. By maintaining the operating frequency of the system at this value, maximum weld puddle agitation and fine grain structure are produced.

  19. Development of TIG Welding System for a Nuclear Fuel Test Rig

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joung, Changyoung; Ahn, Sungho; Hong, Jintae; Kim, Kahye [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    The welding process is one of the most important among the instrumentation processes of the nuclear fuel test rig and rods. To manufacture the nuclear fuel test rig, a precision welding system needs to be fabricated to develop various welding technologies of the fuel test rig and rods jointing the various sensors and end caps on a fuel cladding tube, which is charged with fuel pellets and component parts. Thus, we designed and fabricated the precision welding system consisting of an orbital TIG welder, a low-pressure chamber, and a high-pressure chamber. Using this system, the performance tests were performed with the round and seal spot welds for each welding condition. This paper describes not only the contents for the fabrication of precision TIG welding system but also some results from weld tests using the low-pressure and high-pressure chambers to verify the performance of this system. The TIG welding system was developed to manufacture the nuclear fuel test rig and rods. It has been configured to be able to weld the nuclear fuel test rigs and rods by applying the TIG welder using a low-pressure chamber and a high-pressure chamber. The performance tests using this system were performed with the round and seal spot welds for the welding conditions. The soundness of the orbital TIG welding system was confirmed through performance tests in the low-pressure and high-pressure chambers.

  20. Development of TIG Welding System for a Nuclear Fuel Test Rig

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joung, Changyoung; Ahn, Sungho; Hong, Jintae; Kim, Kahye

    2013-01-01

    The welding process is one of the most important among the instrumentation processes of the nuclear fuel test rig and rods. To manufacture the nuclear fuel test rig, a precision welding system needs to be fabricated to develop various welding technologies of the fuel test rig and rods jointing the various sensors and end caps on a fuel cladding tube, which is charged with fuel pellets and component parts. Thus, we designed and fabricated the precision welding system consisting of an orbital TIG welder, a low-pressure chamber, and a high-pressure chamber. Using this system, the performance tests were performed with the round and seal spot welds for each welding condition. This paper describes not only the contents for the fabrication of precision TIG welding system but also some results from weld tests using the low-pressure and high-pressure chambers to verify the performance of this system. The TIG welding system was developed to manufacture the nuclear fuel test rig and rods. It has been configured to be able to weld the nuclear fuel test rigs and rods by applying the TIG welder using a low-pressure chamber and a high-pressure chamber. The performance tests using this system were performed with the round and seal spot welds for the welding conditions. The soundness of the orbital TIG welding system was confirmed through performance tests in the low-pressure and high-pressure chambers

  1. Grinding assembly, grinding apparatus, weld joint defect repair system, and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Eric D.; Watkins, Arthur D.; Bitsoi, Rodney J.; Pace, David P.

    2005-09-27

    A grinding assembly for grinding a weld joint of a workpiece includes a grinder apparatus, a grinder apparatus includes a grinding wheel configured to grind the weld joint, a member configured to receive the grinding wheel, the member being configured to be removably attached to the grinder apparatus, and a sensor assembly configured to detect a contact between the grinding wheel and the workpiece. The grinding assembly also includes a processing circuitry in communication with the grinder apparatus and configured to control operations of the grinder apparatus, the processing circuitry configured to receive weld defect information of the weld joint from an inspection assembly to create a contour grinding profile to grind the weld joint in a predetermined shape based on the received weld defect information, and a manipulator having an end configured to carry the grinder apparatus, the manipulator further configured to operate in multiple dimensions.

  2. Assessment of exposure to manganese in welding operations during the assembly of heavy excavation machinery accessories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smargiassi, A; Baldwin, M; Savard, S; Kennedy, G; Mergler, D; Zayed, J

    2000-10-01

    Welder exposure to metals in various industrial sectors is poorly characterized. We had the opportunity to carry out an exploratory study to characterize manganese exposure in welding operations in a recently established Quebec factory that assembled accessories for heavy excavation machinery. Ten workers were sampled for total manganese for at least two consecutive days out of three followed by two consecutive days for respirable manganese (with a size selective sampler with a median cut-off of 4 microns), during a typical week in the summer of 1998. Parts being welded were characterized as large or small. Small parts were those being welded on tables during subassembly. Workers were divided into two groups according to the parts they were welding. Seventy-eight percent of the total manganese exposure levels of welding operations during the assembly of large accessories of heavy excavation machinery exceeded the manganese American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) of 0.20 mg/m3 (GM 0.24 mg/m3, n = 14) while none exceeded the TLV during the assembly of small pieces (GM 0.06 mg/m3, n = 8). Welding operations during the assembly of large heavy excavation machinery accessories may pose a significant health hazard. Considering the importance of task-related variables affecting exposure among workers, further studies are needed to better characterize exposure determinants of welding operations during the assembly of heavy excavation machinery accessories.

  3. Welding metallurgy of austenitic stainless steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrahim, A.N.

    1983-01-01

    Austenitic stainless steels welds are commonly found in nuclear reactor systems. The macrostructure and the transformation of delta -phase into γ - phase which occur during rapid solidification of such welds are discussed. Finally, several types of defects which are derived from the welding operation, particularly defects of crack type, are also discussed in brief. (author)

  4. Vibration welding system with thin film sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Wayne W; Abell, Jeffrey A; Li, Xiaochun; Choi, Hongseok; Zhao, Jingzhou

    2014-03-18

    A vibration welding system includes an anvil, a welding horn, a thin film sensor, and a process controller. The anvil and horn include working surfaces that contact a work piece during the welding process. The sensor measures a control value at the working surface. The measured control value is transmitted to the controller, which controls the system in part using the measured control value. The thin film sensor may include a plurality of thermopiles and thermocouples which collectively measure temperature and heat flux at the working surface. A method includes providing a welder device with a slot adjacent to a working surface of the welder device, inserting the thin film sensor into the slot, and using the sensor to measure a control value at the working surface. A process controller then controls the vibration welding system in part using the measured control value.

  5. Databases in welding engineering - definition and starting phase of the integrated welding engineering information system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barthelmess, H.; Queren, W.; Stracke, M.

    1989-01-01

    The structure and function of the Information AAssociation for Welding Engineering, newly established by the Deutscher Verband fuer Schweisstechnik, are presented. Examined are: special literature for welding techniques - value and prospects; databases accessible to the public for information on welding techniques; concept for the Information Association for Welding Engineering; the four phases to establish databasis for facts and expert systems of the Information Association for Welding Engineering; the pilot project 'MVT-Data base' (hot crack data base for data of modified varestraint-transvarestraint tests). (orig./MM) [de

  6. Method for enhanced control of welding processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheaffer, Donald A.; Renzi, Ronald F.; Tung, David M.; Schroder, Kevin

    2000-01-01

    Method and system for producing high quality welds in welding processes, in general, and gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding, in particular by controlling weld penetration. Light emitted from a weld pool is collected from the backside of a workpiece by optical means during welding and transmitted to a digital video camera for further processing, after the emitted light is first passed through a short wavelength pass filter to remove infrared radiation. By filtering out the infrared component of the light emitted from the backside weld pool image, the present invention provides for the accurate determination of the weld pool boundary. Data from the digital camera is fed to an imaging board which focuses on a 100.times.100 pixel portion of the image. The board performs a thresholding operation and provides this information to a digital signal processor to compute the backside weld pool dimensions and area. This information is used by a control system, in a dynamic feedback mode, to automatically adjust appropriate parameters of a welding system, such as the welding current, to control weld penetration and thus, create a uniform weld bead and high quality weld.

  7. DESIGN OF A WELDING AND INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR WASTE STORAGE CLOSURE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    H.B. Smartt; A.D. Watkins; D.P. Pace; R.J. Bitsoi; E.D. Larsen T.R. McJunkin; C.R. Tolle

    2005-01-01

    This work reported here was done to provide a conceptual design for a robotic welding and inspection system for the Yucca Mountain Repository waste package closure system. The welding and inspection system is intended to make the various closure welds that seal and/or structurally join the lids to the waste package vessels. The welding and inspection system will also perform surface and volumetric inspections of the various closure welds and has the means to repair closure welds, if required. The system is designed to perform these various activities remotely, without the necessity of having personnel in the closure cell

  8. Microcontroller based automation system for end plug welding of test fuel pins in solgel facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prabhakar Rao, J.; Srinivas, K.C.; Prabhu, T.V.; Ravi, N.

    2010-01-01

    A microcontroller based stepper motor control and driver Unit for 'XY' positioning system is designed and developed to perform the 'pick-place' of fuel tube to pre-determined coordinates. This Unit provides a fine movement of the fuel tube to get perfect position for welding. The Graphical User Interface software running on PC displays the absolute position of the XY system and provides all the required control buttons to achieve the accurate positioning. The welding of clad tube with end plug is carried out in a high precision welding fixture by operating it remotely. This paper discusses about the Hardware and Software features and implementation of the instrumentation. (author)

  9. TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES IN MECHANISED FEED WIG/TIG WELDING SURFACING OF WELDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BURCA Mircea

    2016-09-01

    manual welding tests in the light of using the process for welding surfacing being known that in such applications mechanised operations are recommended whenever possible given the latter strengths i.e. increased productivity and quality deposits. The research also aims at achieving a comparative a study between wire mechanised feed based WIG manual welding and the manual rod entry based manual welding in terms of geometry deposits, deposits aesthetics, operating technique, productivity, etc . In this regard deposits were made by means of two welding procedures, and subsequently welding surfacing was made with the optimum values of the welding parameters in this case.

  10. Computerised weld strength testing machine for PHWR fuel elements with a versatile control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, U.C.; Sastry, V.S.; Rasheed, Jawad; Bibawe, S.R.

    1994-01-01

    Spacer pads and bearing pads are resistance spot welded on PHWR fuel elements to ensure inter-element gap for coolant flow. These welds are subjected to destructive tests as per SQC specifications while qualifying a machine and during production. The testing machine used earlier over the years was tedious involving manual operations of clamping, tool actuation, increasing and decreasing the pressure, referring to charts and statistical calculations. To carry out the destructive testing of the welds conveniently and reliably, an automatic machine is developed in-house in which are incorporated a quartz force transducer and a computerized data-acquisition and processing system together with a very versatile electronic control system based on a single-chip microcomputer. This paper describes the salient features of the machine and the control system. (author). 4 figs

  11. Use of fusion-welding techniques in fabrication of a superconducting-magnet thermal-shield system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalder, E.N.C.; Berkey, J.H.; Chang, Y.; Johnson, G.L.; Lathrop, G.H.; Podesta, D.L.; Van Sant, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    Success of the thermal shield system was demonstrated by the results of acceptance tests performed with the magnet and all its ancillary equipment. During these tests the thermal shield system was: (1) thermally cycled several times from 300 0 K to 77 0 K; (2) pressure cycled several times from 0 to 5 atmospheres; (3) operated for more than 500 hours at 77 0 K and in a vacuum environment of less than 10 - 5 torr; (4) operated in a magnetic field up to 6.0 Telsa; (5) exposed to a rapidly collapsing magnetic field of more than 250 gauss per second; (6) drained of all LN 2 in a few minutes, without any weld failures. The successful (and relatively problem free) operation of the magnet system validates the choice of the welding processes used, as well as their execution in both shop and field environments

  12. Metal Working and Welding Operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

    This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the skills needed by metal workers and welders. Addressed in the six individual units of the course are the following topics: weldable metals and their alloys, arc welding, gas welding,…

  13. Weld Nugget Temperature Control in Thermal Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A control system for a thermal stir welding system is provided. The control system includes a sensor and a controller. The sensor is coupled to the welding system's containment plate assembly and generates signals indicative of temperature of a region adjacent and parallel to the welding system's stir rod. The controller is coupled to the sensor and generates at least one control signal using the sensor signals indicative of temperature. The controller is also coupled to the welding system such that at least one of rotational speed of the stir rod, heat supplied by the welding system's induction heater, and feed speed of the welding system's weld material feeder are controlled based on the control signal(s).

  14. Automatic system of welding for nuclear fuel rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romero G, M; Romero C, J.

    1998-01-01

    The welding process of nuclear fuel must be realized in an inert gas environment (He) and constant flow of this. In order to reach these conditions it is necessary to do vacuum at the chamber and after it is pressurized with the noble gas (purge) twice in the welding chamber. The purge eliminates impurities that can provoke oxidation in the weld. Once the conditions for initiating the welding are gotten, it is necessary to draw a graph of the flow parameters, pressure, voltage and arc current and to analyse those conditions in which have been carried out the weld. The rod weld must be free of possible pores or cracks which could provoke rod leaks, so reducing the probability of these failures should intervene mechanical and metallurgical factors. Automatizing the process it allows to do reliable welding assuring that conditions have been performed, reaching a high quality welding. Visually it can be observed the welding process by means of a mimic which represents the welding system. There are the parameters acquired such as voltage, current, pressure and flow during the welding arc to be analysed later. (Author)

  15. Welding repair during maintenance operations on EDF's PWR plants. Some considerations on French code RSEM and feedback from operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnus, M.; Bonan, C.; Ould, P.

    2015-01-01

    When utilities have to repair components or equipment using weld process it is often not possible to comply with requirements which have been used for original design and manufacturing. French code RSEM (In service inspection rules for mechanical components of PWR nuclear islands) for maintenance operations includes specific requirements for such situations. A quick overview of some of these requirements is given in this paper. Several cases are discussed. First, requirements have been included in RSEM code for partial or full repair of austenitic stainless steel cladding on low alloy steel Pressure Vessel components. These include recommendations for weld repair and operation. Such repairs may be encountered on steam generator channel head cladding, or internals core junction cladding. An example of such a repair is given in this paper. Secondly, the state of the art is to eliminate HAZ (Heat Affected Zone) of previous weld before maintenance operation to avoid multiple affectation of HAZ at same location. This is not always possible. Weld tests have been carried out on Carbon Steel plates in order to evaluate effect of multiple affectations on HAZ at same location. Test results show that carbon steel weld properties remain acceptable under test conditions. Thirdly, before operations, RSEM code requires testing to prove that weldability of materials whose properties have been drastically degraded after a long service period is acceptable. The weldability of austenitic ferritic casting under simulated aging conditions, has been evaluated on different mockups by AREVA NP, results show that the weldability remains acceptable

  16. Physical and chemical characterization of airborne particles from welding operations in automotive plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasch, Jean; D'Arcy, James

    2008-07-01

    Airborne particles were characterized from six welding operations in three automotive plants, including resistance spot welding, metal inert gas (MIG) welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding of aluminum and resistance spot welding, MIG welding and weld-through sealer of galvanized steel. Particle levels were measured throughout the process area to select a sampling location, followed by intensive particle sampling over one working shift. Temporal trends were measured, and particles were collected on filters to characterize their size and chemistry. In all cases, the particles fell into a bimodal size distribution with very large particles >20 mum in diameter, possibly emitted as spatter or metal expulsions, and very small particles about 1 mum in diameter, possibly formed from condensation of vaporized metal. The mass median aerodynamic diameter was about 1 mum, with only about 7% of the particle mass present as ultrafine particles welding particles could be accounted for by chemical analysis, with the remainder possibly present as oxygen. Predominant species were organic carbon, elemental carbon, iron, and aluminum. More than 80% of the particle mass could be accounted for from steel welding, primarily present as iron, organic carbon, zinc, and copper. Particle concentrations and elemental concentrations were compared with allowable concentrations as recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. In all cases, workplace levels were at least 11 times lower than recommended levels.

  17. Development of Managing Program for Small Bore Piping Socket Weld on the Secondary System of NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Dong Min; Ryu, Jong Myeong; Cho, Hong Seok; Cho, Ki Hyun; Choi, Sang Hoon; Kim, Man Hee

    2011-01-01

    Kori unit 3 had stopped operation due to leakage at steam generator drain line socket weld on June 6th, 2008. The cause of socket weld damage was known as welding defect and fatigue by vibration under normal operation. With above reason, the government has been required developing management program for small bore piping socket weld. Therefore, we have developed the socket weld management program to secure reliability and soundness of socket welds which are located at all domestic NPPs

  18. Systemic inflammatory responses following welding inhalation challenge test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Kauppi

    2015-01-01

    Conclusions: Exposure to MS and SS welding fume resulted in a mild systemic inflammatory response. The particle concentration from the breathing zones correlated with the measurements inside the welding face shields.

  19. Equipment to weld fuel rods of mixed oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aparicio, G.; Orlando, O.S.; Olano, V.R.; Toubes, B.; Munoz, C.A.

    1987-01-01

    Two welding outfits system T1G were designed and constructed to weld fuel rods with mixed oxides pellets (uranium and plutonium). One of them is connected to a glove box where the loading of sheaths takes place. The sheaths are driven to the welder through a removable plug pusher in the welding chamber. This equipment was designed to perform welding tests changing the parameters (gas composition and pressure, welding current, electrode position, etc.). The components of the welder, such as plug holder, chamber closure and peripheral accessories, were designed and constructed taking into account the working pressures in the machine, which is placed in a controlled area and connected to a glove box, where special safety conditions are necessary. The equipment to weld fuel bars is complemented by another machine, located in cold area, of the type presently used in the fuel elements factory. This equipment has been designed to perform some welding operations in sheaths and mixed oxide rods of the type Atucha I and II. Both machines have a programmed power supply of wide range and a vacuum, and pressurizing system that allows the change of parameters. Both systems have special features of handling and operation. (Author)

  20. Development of a system to support welding design of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kataoka, S.; Okamoto, A.

    1991-01-01

    This paper describes about an expert system that supports engineers to make welding design for nuclear power plants. In the welding design, engineers must consider a lot of things; the weldability of the material, the weld deformation, the residual stress predicted, the strength of the weld joint, the configuration of the structure and so on. For easy consultation, the computer system that can provide advice and information about the welding technology is desirable to the engineers. The system was developed on a personal computer of Macintosh utilizing a card type data base, HyperCard. It supports an engineer in the following tasks. a. Advice using the instance of troubles caused by the welding design. b. Tutorial instruction for the knowledge of welding. c. Recommendation for the welding design. d. Data display of the base metal and the weld. (author)

  1. Development of sensor augmented robotic weld systems for aerospace propulsion system fabrication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, C. S.; Gangl, K. J.

    1986-01-01

    In order to meet stringent performance goals for power and reuseability, the Space Shuttle Main Engine was designed with many complex, difficult welded joints that provide maximum strength and minimum weight. To this end, the SSME requires 370 meters of welded joints. Automation of some welds has improved welding productivity significantly over manual welding. Application has previously been limited by accessibility constraints, requirements for complex process control, low production volumes, high part variability, and stringent quality requirements. Development of robots for welding in this application requires that a unique set of constraints be addressed. This paper shows how robotic welding can enhance production of aerospace components by addressing their specific requirements. A development program at the Marshall Space Flight Center combining industrial robots with state-of-the-art sensor systems and computer simulation is providing technology for the automation of welds in Space Shuttle Main Engine production.

  2. Recommendations for optimised repair welding operations in steam systems exposed to creep; Rekommendationer foer optimering av svetsreparationer i kryppaakaenda aangsystem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Storesund, Jan; Samuelson, Aake; Klasen, Bjoern; Jensen, Carsten

    2002-03-01

    Recommendations for optimised repair welding in creep exposed steam systems have been produced on basis of different parts of the project which involve a literature survey, case studies, metallographical investigations and finite element simulations. The separate parts are compiled in the present report where the results also are coupled to each other. Two of the project parts are reported in appendices in the present report and the other ones in three separate work reports. The studies have shown evidence of the complexity associated with repair welding and many alternatives may be offered for a given situation. The importance of the factors which may influence the life time of the repair have been investigated and are described in order to facilitate the decision-making process for the given situation. From the obtained results there are also more general recommendations to be given: Make sure that system stresses not are acting at the repair. Avoid welding methods that could result in strongly creep soft HAZs. Select a weld metal for the repair which is slightly creep hard compared to the remaining aged material. Selection of a wide and 'medium' deep excavation geometry as well as a repair around the whole circumference is to be preferred. Repairs of welds that not include excavation of the whole width of the original weld should be avoided. Replica testing is recommended in addition to the common practice in the quality and condition-monitoring control of the repair.

  3. Nuclear fuel rod end plug weld inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, M. A.; Patrick, S. S.; Rice, G. F.

    1985-01-01

    Apparatus and method for testing TIG (tungsten inert gas) welds of end plugs on a sealed nuclear reactor fuel rod. An X-ray fluorescent spectrograph testing unit detects tungsten inclusion weld defects in the top end plug's seal weld. Separate ultrasonic weld inspection system testing units test the top end plug's seal and girth welds and test the bottom end plug's girth weld for penetration, porosity and wall thinning defects. The nuclear fuel rod is automatically moved into and out from each testing unit and is automatically transported between the testing units by rod handling devices. A controller supervises the operation of the testing units and the rod handling devices

  4. STUDY OF ARC IMPULSE FREQUENCY EFFECT ON THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF WELDED CONNECTION ELEMENTS IN ALUMINIUM PIPELINE SYSTEMS, MADE WITH MASTERTIG 3500

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mr. Pavel V. Bakhmatov

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Summary . The article focuses on the arc impulse frequency effect on the structure and properties of welded connections in aluminum pipeline systems hand-operated with argon-arc welding nonconsumable rod on MasterTig3500. It was revealed that the frequency of the welding current impulses plays an important role in the forming of the welded connection. The authors determined the optimal value of the welding current frequency significantly accelerating the welding process to ensure consistent quality of the weld. The authors detailed some features of cleaning assembly parts with a wire brush prior to welding process.

  5. Applying of dilatometric effect for resistance welding automation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bondarenko O. F.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The important issue of resistance spot welding control to obtain high quality welded joints, especially in living tissue welding, is considered. The actual state of the issue is described and analyzed. In order to improve the quality of welded joints, the applying of dilatometric effect to control the resistance spot welding process, namely of shifting the welding electrodes, is suggested. To register the shifting, the use of modern inertial microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS is proposed. The experimental measuring system, which processes the MEMS-sensor signal and makes it suitable for use as a feedback signal, is developed. The structure and operational algorithm of the system are described. The abilities of measuring with MEMS-sensors the values of electrode shifting caused by dilatometric effect under resistance welding are assessed. These method and equipment are recommended for welding the metals, as well as for welding the living tissues. The results of preliminary studies prove the advisability and relevance of the suggested solutions.

  6. Automatic orbital GTAW welding: Highest quality welds for tomorrow's high-performance systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henon, B. K.

    1985-01-01

    Automatic orbital gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIG welding is certain to play an increasingly prominent role in tomorrow's technology. The welds are of the highest quality and the repeatability of automatic weldings is vastly superior to that of manual welding. Since less heat is applied to the weld during automatic welding than manual welding, there is less change in the metallurgical properties of the parent material. The possibility of accurate control and the cleanliness of the automatic GTAW welding process make it highly suitable to the welding of the more exotic and expensive materials which are now widely used in the aerospace and hydrospace industries. Titanium, stainless steel, Inconel, and Incoloy, as well as, aluminum can all be welded to the highest quality specifications automatically. Automatic orbital GTAW equipment is available for the fusion butt welding of tube-to-tube, as well as, tube to autobuttweld fittings. The same equipment can also be used for the fusion butt welding of up to 6 inch pipe with a wall thickness of up to 0.154 inches.

  7. Fatigue evaluation for the socket weld in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Hwan; Choi, Sun Yeong; Huh, Nam Soo

    2004-01-01

    The operating experience showed that the fatigue is one of the major piping failure mechanisms in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The pressure and/or temperature loading transients, the vibration, and the mechanical cyclic loading during the plant operation may induce the fatigue failure in the nuclear piping. Recently, many fatigue piping failure occurred at the socket weld area have been widely reported. Many failure cases showed that the gap requirement between the pipe and fitting in the socket weld was not satisfied though the ASME Code Sec. Requires 1/16 inch gap in the socket weld. The ASME Code OM also limits the vibration level of the piping system, but some failure cases showed the limitation was not satisfied during the plant operation. In this paper, the fatigue behavior of the socket weld in the nuclear piping was estimated by using the three dimensional finite element method. The results are as follows. The socket weld is susceptible to the vibration if the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME Code OM. The effect of the pressure or temperature transient load on the socket weld in NPPs is not significant because of the very low frequency of the transient during the plant lifetime operation. 'No gap' is very risky to the socket weld integrity for the specific systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement in the ASME OM Code and/or the transient loading condition. The reduction of the weld leg size from 1.09 * t 1 to 0.75 * t 1 can affect severely on the socket weld integrity

  8. MFDC - technological improvement in resistance welding controls

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Somani, A.K.; Naga Bhaskar, V.; Chandramouli, J.; Rameshwara Rao, A. [Nuclear Fuel Complex, Dept. of Atomic Energy, Hyderabad (India)

    2008-07-01

    Among the various Resistance Welding operations carried out in the production line of a fuel bundle end plug welding is the most critical operation. Welding controllers play a very vital role in obtaining consistent weld quality by regulating and controlling the weld current. Conventional mains synchronized welding controllers are at best capable of controlling the weld current at a maximum speed of the mains frequency. In view of the very short welding durations involved in the various stages of a fuel bundle fabrication, a need was felt for superior welding controllers. Medium Frequency Welding Controllers offer a solution to these limitations in addition to offering other advantages. Medium Frequency power sources offer precise welding current control as they regulate and correct the welding current faster, typically twenty times faster when operated at 1000Hz. An MFDC was employed on one of the welding machines and its performance was studied. This paper discusses about the various advantages of MFDCs with other controllers employed at NFC to end plug welding operation. (author)

  9. Design of automatic tracking system for electron beam welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Chengdan; Chinese Academy of Space Technology, Lanzhou; Li Heqi; Li Chunxu; Ying Lei; Luo Yan

    2004-01-01

    The design and experimental process of an automatic tracking system applied to local vacuum electron beam welding are dealt with in this paper. When the annular parts of an exactitude apparatus were welded, the centre of rotation of the electron gun and the centre of the annular weld are usually not superposed because of the machining error, workpiece's setting error and so on. In this teaching process, a little bundle of electron beam is used to scan the weld groove, the amount of the secondary electrons reflected from the workpiece is different when the electron beam scans the both sides and the centre of the weld groove. The difference can indicate the position of the weld and then a computer will record the deviation between the electron beam spot and the centre of the weld groove. The computer will analyze the data and put the data into the storage software. During the welding process, the computer will modify the position of the electron gun based on the deviation to make the electron beam spot centered on the annular weld groove. (authors)

  10. Possibility of designing television control system for welded joint formation on electron beam welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lifshits, M.L.; Lobanova, N.G.

    1987-01-01

    Regression equations (models), connecting seam characteristics: width and depth with the welding bath leading front in joint gap and seam width respectively - are obtained at electron beam welding of circular articles with guaranteed clearance with application of television control system. Dispersion analysis showed the models adequancy to the process in the range, where they were identified

  11. Experience and Applications Up-date: Automation of Arc-Welding Operations Using Robot-Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teubel, G.

    1996-01-01

    In a short introduction, the important criteria for the correct choice of a robot cell, taking into account the given application, are highlighted. Furthermore, important hints are listed in terms of management decisions. The second chapter shows the main features of a welding robot cell in line with the present state of the art and describes some new developments with the aim of extending the arc-welding system to new applications such as flame cutting and beveling. The third chapter as centre piece gives an overall view of a brand new network control with many outstanding features for the users of arc-welding robots. the fourth and last chapter shows a recent realisation of a highly sophisticated F.M.S. system for welding, in random sequence, different large and heavy components. (Author) 1 ref

  12. Report Summarizing the Effort Required to Initiate Welding of Irradiated Materials within the Welding Cubicle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frederick, Greg [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Sutton, Benjamin J. [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Tatman, Jonathan K. [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Vance, Mark Christopher [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Smith, Allen W. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Clark, Scarlett R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Feng, Zhili [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Miller, Roger G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Chen, Jian [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Tang, Wei [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hu, Xunxiang [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gibson, Brian T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2017-06-01

    The advanced welding facility within a hot cell at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which has been jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program and the Electric Power Research Institute, Long Term Operations Program and the Welding and Repair Technology Center, is in the final phase of development. Research and development activities in this facility will involve direct testing of advanced welding technologies on irradiated materials in order to address the primary technical challenge of helium induced cracking that can arise when conventional fusion welding techniques are utilized on neutron irradiated stainless steels and nickel-base alloys. This report details the effort that has been required since the beginning of fiscal year 2017 to initiate welding research and development activities on irradiated materials within the hot cell cubicle, which houses welding sub-systems that include laser beam welding (LBW) and friction stir welding (FSW) and provides material containment within the hot cell.

  13. Study of weld quality real-time monitoring system for auto-body assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jun; Li, Yong-Bing; Chen, Guan-Long

    2005-12-01

    Resistance spot welding (RSW) is widely used for the auto-body assembly in automotive industry. But RSW suffers from a major problem of inconsistent quality from weld to weld. The major problem is the complexity of the basic process that may involve material coatings, electrode force, electrode wear, fit up, etc. Therefore weld quality assurance is still a big challenge and goal. Electrode displacement has proved to be a particularly useful signal which correlates well with weld quality. This paper introduces a novel auto-body spot weld quality monitoring system which uses electrode displacement as the quality parameter. This system chooses the latest laser displacement sensor with high resolution to measure the real-time electrode displacement. It solves the interference problem of sensor mounting by designing special fixture, and can be successfully applied on the portable welding machine. It is capable of evaluating weld quality and making diagnosis of process variations such as surface asperities, shunting, worn electrode and weld expansion with real-time electrode displacement. As proved by application in the workshop, the monitoring system has good stability and reliability, and is qualified for monitoring weld quality in process.

  14. Process and installation for welding nuclear fuel assembly grids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vere, B.; Mathevon, P.

    1985-01-01

    The invention proposes a process to weld two sets of perpendicular plates of which the end parts are made integral with a belt piece; the grid is held in a support frame with access openings to the points to be welded on the two faces and on the grid sides; the frame is moved on a mobile table by means of an orientation system along the perpendicular direction of an electron beam welding equipment; each joint to be welded is presented, rotating the frame through 90 deg about an axis and repeating the operation, and rotating the frame about a perpendicular axis and repeating the operation until all the joints on each side of the grid have been welded [fr

  15. System for evaluating weld quality using eddy currents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todorov, Evgueni I.; Hay, Jacob

    2017-12-12

    Electromagnetic and eddy current techniques for fast automated real-time and near real-time inspection and monitoring systems for high production rate joining processes. An eddy current system, array and method for the fast examination of welds to detect anomalies such as missed seam (MS) and lack of penetration (LOP) the system, array and methods capable of detecting and sizing surface and slightly subsurface flaws at various orientations in connection with at least the first and second weld pass.

  16. Nickel-base alloy overlay weld with improved ultrasonic flaw detection by magnetic stirring welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takashi, Hirano; Kenji, Hirano; Masayuki, Watando; Takahiro, Arakawa; Minoru, Maeda

    2001-01-01

    Ultrasonic flaw detection is more difficult in Nickel-base alloy welds containing dendrites owing to the decrease ultrasonic transmissibility they cause. The present paper discusses application of magnetic stirring welding as a means for reducing dendrite growth with consequent improvement in ultrasonic transmissibility. Single pass and multi-pass welding tests were conducted to determine optimal welding conditions. By PT and macro observation subsequent to welding was carried out, optimal operation conditions were clarified. Overlay welding tests and UT clearly indicated ultrasonic beam transmissibility in overlay welds to be improved and detection capacity to be greater through application of magnetic stirring welding. Optimal operation conditions were determined based on examination of temper bead effects in the heat affected zone of low alloy steel by application of magnetic stirring welding to the butt welded joints between low alloy and stainless steel. Hardness in this zone of low alloy steel after the fourth layer was less than 350 HV. (author)

  17. Latest MIG, TIG arc-YAG laser hybrid welding systems for various welding products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishide, Takashi; Tsubota, Shuho; Watanabe, Masao

    2003-03-01

    Laser welding is capable of high-efficiency low-strain welding, and so its applications are started to various products. We have also put the high-power YAG laser of up to 10 kW to practical welding use for various products. On the other hand the weakest point of this laser welding is considered to be strict in the welding gap aiming allowance. In order to solve this problem, we have developed hybrid welding of TIG, MIG arc and YAG laser, taking the most advantages of both the laser and arc welding. Since the electrode is coaxial to the optical axis of the YAG laser in this process, it can be applied to welding of various objects. In the coaxial MIG, TIG-YAG welding, in order to make irradiation positions of the YAG laser beams having been guided in a wire or an electrode focused to the same position, the beam transmitted in fibers is separated to form a space between the separated beams, in which the laser is guided. With this method the beam-irradiating area can be brought near or to the arc-generating point. This enables welding of all directions even for the member of a three-dimensional shape. This time we carried out welding for various materials and have made their welding of up to 1 mm or more in welding groove gap possible. We have realized high-speed 1-pass butt welding of 4m/min in welding speed with the laser power of 3 kW for an aluminum alloy plate of approximately 4 mm thick. For a mild steel plate also we have realized butt welding of 1m/min with 5 kW for 6 mm thick. Further, in welding of stainless steel we have shown its welding possibility, by stabilizing the arc with the YAG laser in the welding atmosphere of pure argon, and shown that this welding is effective in high-efficiency welding of various materials. Here we will report the fundamental welding performances and applications to various objects for the coaxial MIG, TIG-YAG welding we have developed.

  18. Weld controller for automated nuclear service welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barfield, K.L.; Strubhar, P.M.; Green, D.I.

    1995-01-01

    B and W Nuclear Technologies (BWNT) uses many different types of weld heads for automated welding in the commercial nuclear service industry. Some weld heads are purchased as standard items, while others are custom designed and fabricated by BWNT requiring synchronized multiaxis motion control. BWNT recently completed a development program to build a common weld controller that interfaces to all types of weld heads used by BWNT. Their goal was to construct a system that had the flexibility to add different modules to increase the capability of the controller as different application needs become necessary. The benefits from having a common controller are listed. This presentation explains the weld controller system and the types of applications to which it has been applied

  19. Development of remote welding equipment and techniques for the TFTR vacuum vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masson, L.S.; Watts, K.D.; Larson, R.A.; Aldrich, W.C.

    1980-01-01

    In the event that the TFTR vacuum vessel is damaged or one of the toroidal field coils fails after the system has become substantially activated, it is necessary to remotely remove and replace the damaged section of the vessel using remote handling procedures. This paper describes a welding system developed through the final design stage to perform the remote welding necessary during the replacement operation. Information is presented describing the vessel configuration, the replacement sequence, the welding system requirements, welder configuration, supporting systems, the weld development program and future development requirements

  20. Use of servo controlled weld head for end closure welding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pathak, S.K.; Setty, D.S.; Rameswara Rao, A.; Hemantha Rao, G.V.S.; Jayaraj, R.N. [Nuclear Fuel Complex, Dept. of Atomic Energy, Hyderabad (India)

    2010-07-01

    In the PHWR fuel fabrication line resistance welding processes are used for joining various zirconium based alloy components to fuel tube of similar material. The quality requirement of these welding processes is very stringent and has to meet all the product requirements. At present these welding processes are being carried out by using standard resistance welding machines. In the resistance welding process in addition to current and time, force is one of the critical and important parameter, which influences the weld quality. At present advanced feed back type fast response medium frequency weld controllers are being used. This has upslope/down slope, constant and repetitive weld pattern selection features makes this critical welding process more reliable. Compared to weld controllers, squeeze force application devices are limited and normally standard high response pneumatic cylinders are used in the welding process. With this type of devices the force is constant during welding process and cannot be varied during welding process as per the material deformation characteristics. Similarly due to non-availability of feed back systems in the squeeze force application systems restricts the accuracy and quality of the welding process. In the present paper the influence of squeeze force pattern on the weld quality using advanced feed back type servo based force control system was studied. Different squeeze forces were used during pre and post weld heat periods along with constant force and compared with the weld quality. (author)

  1. Electron beam welding fundamentals and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mara, G.L.; Armstrong, R.E.

    1975-01-01

    The electron beam welding process is described and the unique mode of operation and penetration explained by a description of the forces operating within the weld pool. This penetration model is demonstrated by high speed cinematography of the weld pool on several materials. The conditions under which weld defects are formed are discussed and examples are presented. (auth)

  2. Effects of welding fumes on nuclear air cleaning system carbon adsorber banks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roberson, P.W. [Duke Power Company, Huntersville, NC (United States)

    1997-08-01

    Standard Technical Specifications for nuclear air cleaning systems include requirements for surveillance tests following fire, painting, or chemical release in areas communicating with the affected system. To conservatively implement this requirement, many plants categorize welding as a chemical release process, and institute controls to ensure that welding fumes do not interact with carbon adsorbers in a filter system. After reviewing research data that indicated welding had a minimal impact on adsorber iodine removal efficiency, further testing was performed with the goal of establishing a welding threshold. It was anticipated that some quantity of weld electrodes could be determined that had a corresponding detrimental impact on iodine removal efficiency for the exposed adsorber. This value could be used to determine a conservative sampling schedule that would allow the station to perform laboratory testing to ensure system degradation did not occur without a full battery of surveillance tests. A series of tests was designed to demonstrate carbon efficiency versus cumulative welding fume exposure. Three series of tests were performed, one for each of three different types of commonly used weld electrodes. Carbon sampling was performed at baseline conditions, and every five pounds of electrode thereafter. Two different laboratory tests were performed for each sample; one in accordance with ASTM 3803/1989 at 95% relative humidity and 30 degrees C, and another using the less rigorous conditions of 70% relative humidity and 80 degrees C. Review of the test data for all three types of electrodes failed to show a significant correlation between carbon efficiency degradation and welding fume exposure. Accordingly, welding is no longer categorized as a `chemical release process` at McGuire Nuclear Station, and limits on welding fume interaction with ventilation systems have been eliminated. 4 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

  3. Laser vision seam tracking system based on image processing and continuous convolution operator tracker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yanbiao; Chen, Tao

    2018-06-01

    To address the problem of low welding precision caused by the poor real-time tracking performance of common welding robots, a novel seam tracking system with excellent real-time tracking performance and high accuracy is designed based on the morphological image processing method and continuous convolution operator tracker (CCOT) object tracking algorithm. The system consists of a six-axis welding robot, a line laser sensor, and an industrial computer. This work also studies the measurement principle involved in the designed system. Through the CCOT algorithm, the weld feature points are determined in real time from the noise image during the welding process, and the 3D coordinate values of these points are obtained according to the measurement principle to control the movement of the robot and the torch in real time. Experimental results show that the sensor has a frequency of 50 Hz. The welding torch runs smoothly with a strong arc light and splash interference. Tracking error can reach ±0.2 mm, and the minimal distance between the laser stripe and the welding molten pool can reach 15 mm, which can significantly fulfill actual welding requirements.

  4. Potential oxidative stress in the bodies of electric arc welding operators: effect of photochemical smog.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, You-Gen; Zhou, Jun-Fu; Shan, Wei-Ying; Zhou, Pei-Su; Tong, Gui-Zhong

    2004-12-01

    To investigate whether photochemical smog emitted during the process of electric arc welding might cause oxidative stress and potential oxidative damage in the bodies of welding operators. Seventy electric arc welding operators (WOs) and 70 healthy volunteers (HVs) were enrolled in a randomized controlled study design, in which the levels of vitamin C (VC) and vitamin E (VE) in plasma as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and the level of lipoperoxide (LPO) in erythrocytes were determined by spectrophotometry. Compared with the average values of the above experimental parameters in the HVs group, the average values of VC and VE in plasma as well as those of SOD, CAT and GPX in erythrocytes in the WOs group were significantly decreased (P smog the values of VC, VE, SOD, and GPX, except for CAT, in the WOs were decreased gradually (P smog in the bodies of WOs, thereby causing potential oxidative and lipoperoxidative damages in their bodies.

  5. Qualification of flat welding of nuclear fuel bars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romero C, J.; Rivera M, H.

    2001-01-01

    The qualification of flat welding consists in the process (procedures (11), instructions (5), specifications (4) and programs (3)) and equipment (systems (4), equipment (6)) with the Personal Qualification (operators and supervisors) that was done in simultaneous form and supported with test and training programs with its respective technical reports, liberated by the Quality Assurance Office of ININ. Moreover, specific procedures of process and personal qualification are realized with the respective supervision by Quality Assurance Office. For the process, 20 welding were realized as follow: 5 welding with maximum contributing of heat, 10 welding with nominal contributing of heat, 5 welding with minimum contributing of heat. The heat contributing for the qualification was done maximum, of increasing the welding current, diminishing the helium flux and the revolutions per minute of the bar, at the moment of welding, with respect to nominal values. In the minimum contributing of heat it is diminished the welding current, increasing the helium flux and the revolutions per minute of the bar with respect to nominal values. With the qualification it has been finished the development of flat welding with results which define an own method of ININ. It was implemented a pneumatic system, for the elimination of micron cracks. It was required a control of turn velocity of the bar of hundredth of revolution. Moreover the main welding parameters each 40 μs are acquired. Also it was automated completely the process to avoid possible human mistakes. The standard deviations of the values of the realized inspections in the quality, are lower. Process, equipment and personnel with their respective Quality reports and registries are qualified, as well as the Quality certificates of two operators and one supervisor. (Author)

  6. Socket weld integrity in nuclear piping under fatigue loading condition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Hwan; Choi, Sun Yeong

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the integrity of socket weld in nuclear piping under the fatigue loading. The integrity of socket weld is regarded as a safety concern in nuclear power plants because many failures have been world-widely reported in the socket weld. Recently, socket weld failures in the chemical and volume control system (CVCS) and the primary sampling system (PSS) were reported in Korean nuclear power plants. The root causes of the socket weld failures were known as the fatigue due to the pressure and/or temperature loading transients and the vibration during the plant operation. The ASME boiler and pressure vessel (B and PV) Code Sec. III requires 1/16 in. gap between the pipe and fitting in the socket weld with the weld leg size of 1.09 x t 1 , where t 1 is the pipe wall thickness. Many failure cases, however, showed that the gap requirement was not satisfied. In addition, industry has demanded the reduction of weld leg size from 1.09 x t 1 to 0.75 x t 1 . In this paper, the socket weld integrity under the fatigue loading was evaluated using three-dimensional finite element analysis considering the requirements in the ASME Code. Three types of loading conditions such as the deflection due to vibration, the pressure transient ranging from P = 0 to 15.51 MPa, and the thermal transient ranging from T = 25 to 288 deg. C were considered. The results are as follows; (1) the socket weld is susceptible to the vibration where the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME operation and maintenance (OM) code. (2) The effect of pressure or temperature transient load on socket weld in CVCS and PSS is not significant owing to the low frequency of transient during plant operation. (3) 'No gap' is very risky to the socket weld integrity for the systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement specified in the ASME OM Code and/or the transient loading condition from P = 0 and T = 25 deg. C to P = 15.51 MPa and T = 288 deg. C. (4

  7. METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LASER WELDING

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2008-01-01

    The invention relates to laser welding of at least two adjacent, abutting or overlapping work pieces in a welding direction using multiple laser beams guided to a welding region, wherein at least two of the multiple laser beams are coupled into the welding region so as to form a melt and at least...

  8. PDC IC WELD FAILURE EVALUATION AND RESOLUTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korinko, P.; Howard, S.; Maxwell, D.; Fiscus, J.

    2012-04-16

    improvements for the actual can welding process, however, did not result in an improved weld geometry. Several possibilities for the lack of positive response exist, some of which are that (1) an insufficient number of test articles were welded under prototypic conditions, (2) the process was not optimized so that significant improvements were observable over the 'noise', and (3) the in-situ arc anneal closed the gap down too much so the can was unable to exhaust pressure ahead of the weld. Several operational and mechanical improvements were identified. The weld clamps were changed to a design consistent with those used in the legacy operations. A helium puff operation was eliminated; it is believed that this operation was the cause of the original weld defect. Also, timing of plug mast movement was found to correspond with weld irregularities. The timing of the movement was changed to occur during weld head travel between tacks. In the end a three sequential tack weld process followed by a pulse weld at the same current and travel speed as was used for the legacy processes was suggested for use during the IC qualification effort. Relative to legacy welds, the PDC IC weld demonstrates greater fluctuation in the region of the weld located between tack welds. However, canister weld response (canister to canister) is consistent and with the aid of the optical mapping system (for targeting the cut position) is considered adequate. DR measurements and METs show the PDC IC welds to have sufficient ligament length to ensure adequate canister pressure/impact capacity and to ensure adequate stub function. The PDC welding process has not been optimized as a result of this effort. Differences remain between the legacy BTC welds and the PDC IC weld, but these differences are not sufficient to prevent resumption of the current PDC IC qualification effort. During the PDC IC qualification effort, a total of 17 cans will be welded and a variety of tests/inspections will be

  9. Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    A method of performing ultrasonic stir welding uses a welding head assembly to include a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. In the method, the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis during a welding operation. During the welding operation, a series of on-off ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod such that they propagate parallel to the rod's longitudinal axis. At least a pulse rate associated with the on-off ultrasonic pulses is controlled.

  10. Robotic system for orbital welding of pipes; Sistema robotizado para soldagem orbital de dutos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bracarense, Alexandre Queiroz; Lima, II, Eduardo Jose; Torres, Guilherme Fortunato; Ramalho, Frederico [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Felizardo, Ivanilza; Zanon, Gislaine Pires [ROTECH Tecnologia Robotica Ltda., Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    This work presents the robotic system projected for orbital welding of pipelines of oil and gas. The system consists of a controller (microcomputer), that allows the execution of all the referring tasks to the welding in an autonomous way, and two manipulates, to what are coupled the welding torches that are connected to a welding power source with double wire feeders. With this system, GMA W process is used to execute the root pass, while FCA W process, besides the GMA W, is used for the filling and finishing passes. The system has four degrees of freedom, allowing the control of stick out, travel speed, torch angle and positioning. Besides these, the arc voltage and and welding current are also controlled during the process. Knowing that for each welding position (plane, vertical up and down and over head) a great group of parameters must be used, several tests were accomplished. With these values a controlled variation could be accomplished in an uninterrupted way when welding position changes, getting the increase of the productivity and also the quality of the weld performed by a robotic system. (author)

  11. Mars Atmosphere Effects on Arc Welds: Phase 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtright, Z. S.

    2016-01-01

    NASA has been unprecedented in achieving its goals related to space exploration and furthering the understanding of our solar system. In keeping with this trend, NASA's current mission is to land a team of astronauts on Mars and return them safely to Earth. In addition to comprising much of the structure and life support systems that will be brought to Mars for the habitat and vehicle, titanium and aluminum can be found and mined on Mars and may be used when building structures.Where metals are present, there will be a need for welding capabilities. For welds that need to be made quickly and are located far from heavy resistance or solid state welding machinery, there will be a need for basic arc welding. Arc welding has been a major cornerstone of manufacturing throughout the 20th century, and the portability and capability of gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) will be necessary for repair, manufacturing, and survival on Mars. The two primary concerns for welding on Mars are that the Martian atmosphere contains high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), and the atmospheric pressure is much lower than it is on Earth. The high levels of CO2 in the Martian atmosphere may dissociate and produce oxygen in the arc and therefore increase the risk of oxidation. For simplification, atmospheric pressure will not be taken into account for this experiment. For survival on Mars during this mission, the life support and water filtration systems must be kept operational at all times. In order to ensure that water filtration systems can be repaired in the event of an emergency, it is very important to have the capability to weld. The Orion capsule and Mars lander must also remain operational throughout the duration of the mission to ensure the safe return of the astronauts on the mission to Mars. A better understanding of welding in a Mars environment is important to ensure that repair welds are possible if the Orion capsule/Mars lander or water filtration system is damaged at any point

  12. Grinding Parts For Automatic Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burley, Richard K.; Hoult, William S.

    1989-01-01

    Rollers guide grinding tool along prospective welding path. Skatelike fixture holds rotary grinder or file for machining large-diameter rings or ring segments in preparation for welding. Operator grasps handles to push rolling fixture along part. Rollers maintain precise dimensional relationship so grinding wheel cuts precise depth. Fixture-mounted grinder machines surface to quality sufficient for automatic welding; manual welding with attendant variations and distortion not necessary. Developed to enable automatic welding of parts, manual welding of which resulted in weld bead permeated with microscopic fissures.

  13. USE OF A SYSTEM DESIGN ULTRAACUSTIC WELDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheorghe AMZA

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents elements of a computer modeling system and ultraacustic using analyzing finite element method used in its design. With the experimental results obtained for a system used for welding ultraacustic determine variation curve aplitudinii particle velocity along the system.

  14. Welding repair of a dissimilar weld and respective consequences for other German plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brummer, G.; Dauwel, W.; Wesseling, U.; Ilg, U.; Lauer, P.; Widera, M.; Wachter, O.

    2002-01-01

    During a regular refueling outage in a German nuclear power plant in year 2000, additional non-destructive examinations have been performed on request of the Authority, to fulfill some recommendations of the independent experts with regard to the retrospective application of the Basic Safety Concept for the ferritic main coolant piping of this plant. During these inspections, indications were found in a dissimilar weld between one of the fifteen MCL (main coolant lines) nozzles and the ECC (emergency core cooling) system piping. By means of on-site metallography and laboratory investigations on three boat samples taken from this weld, it could be shown that the indications were due to hot cracking in the surface layer of the weld. In the course of these investigations, at three locations at the circumference of the weld, dis-bonding defects were found between the ferritic base metal of the nozzle and the austenitic weld butter, which has been applied to join the nozzle to the austenitic safe-end. According to the results of the extensive investigations, the dis-bonding occurred during the manufacturing process after stress-relief heat-treatment of the buttering during the welding of the austenitic safe-end to the butter material. There was no evidence for any crack growth during operation of the plant. Due to the large size of the boat-samples, a weld repair was mandatory. This repair has been performed using the so-called temper-bead technique as specified in the ASME Code, without subsequent stress relief heat treatment, using an advanced automatic orbital TIG welding process. The welding has been successfully performed without the need of further repair work. For those dissimilar welds, all other plants, except one, had used Inconel welding material for buttering the ferritic nozzle instead of stainless steel welding metal. For metallurgical reasons, dis-bonding along the fusion line for Inconel buttered dissimilar welds is unlikely to occur. Nevertheless all

  15. Robotic and automatic welding development at the Marshall Space Flight Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, C. S.; Jackson, M. E.; Flanigan, L. A.

    1988-01-01

    Welding automation is the key to two major development programs to improve quality and reduce the cost of manufacturing space hardware currently undertaken by the Materials and Processes Laboratory of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Variable polarity plasma arc welding has demonstrated its effectiveness on class 1 aluminum welding in external tank production. More than three miles of welds were completed without an internal defect. Much of this success can be credited to automation developments which stabilize the process. Robotic manipulation technology is under development for automation of welds on the Space Shuttle's main engines utilizing pathfinder systems in development of tooling and sensors for the production applications. The overall approach to welding automation development undertaken is outlined. Advanced sensors and control systems methodologies are described that combine to make aerospace quality welds with a minimum of dependence on operator skill.

  16. Research on Kinematic Trajectory Simulation System of KUKA Arc Welding Robot System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Min

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, the simulation trajectory simulation of KUKA arc welding robot system is realized by means of VC platform. It is used to realize the teaching of professional training of welding robot in middle school. It provides teaching resources for the combination of work and study and integration teaching, which enriches the content of course teaching.

  17. Alloying system for cold-resisting high-tensile welds of maraging steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yushchenko, K.A.; Pustovit, A.I.; Taver, E.I.; Piskarev, M.N.

    1978-01-01

    Studied was the effect of molybdenum (2.2-5%) and chromium (11.3-13.5%) on the structure and properties of welds in steel of the Cr-Ni-Mo-Co-Ti system at heat strengthened condition (hardening, cold treatment, ageing). The welds were made by argon-arc welding process involving a nonconsumable electrode without additives. The welds were tested at temperatures of 20 and -196 deg C. It is pointed out that the welds with a pure martensite structure at -196 deg C have a low ductility and impact strength. To obtain welds having a satisfactory value of impact strength more than 120 kGf/mm 2 at 20 deg C, it is necessary that the metal contains 20...60 % of residual austenite

  18. Welding of Thin Steel Plates by Hybrid Welding Process Combined TIG Arc with YAG Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Taewon; Suga, Yasuo; Koike, Takashi

    TIG arc welding and laser welding are used widely in the world. However, these welding processes have some advantages and problems respectively. In order to improve problems and make use of advantages of the arc welding and the laser welding processes, hybrid welding process combined the TIG arc with the YAG laser was studied. Especially, the suitable welding conditions for thin steel plate welding were investigated to obtain sound weld with beautiful surface and back beads but without weld defects. As a result, it was confirmed that the shot position of the laser beam is very important to obtain sound welds in hybrid welding. Therefore, a new intelligent system to monitor the welding area using vision sensor is constructed. Furthermore, control system to shot the laser beam to a selected position in molten pool, which is formed by TIG arc, is constructed. As a result of welding experiments using these systems, it is confirmed that the hybrid welding process and the control system are effective on the stable welding of thin stainless steel plates.

  19. Automatic reel controls filler wire in welding machines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millett, A. V.

    1966-01-01

    Automatic reel on automatic welding equipment takes up slack in the reel-fed filler wire when welding operation is terminated. The reel maintains constant, adjustable tension on the wire during the welding operation and rewinds the wire from the wire feed unit when the welding is completed.

  20. The Light Plane Calibration Method of the Laser Welding Vision Monitoring System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, B. G.; Wu, M. H.; Jia, W. P.

    2018-03-01

    According to the aerospace and automobile industry, the sheet steels are the very important parts. In the recent years, laser welding technique had been used to weld the sheet steel part. The seam width between the two parts is usually less than 0.1mm. Because the error of the fixture fixed can’t be eliminated, the welding parts quality can be greatly affected. In order to improve the welding quality, the line structured light is employed in the vision monitoring system to plan the welding path before welding. In order to improve the weld precision, the vision system is located on Z axis of the computer numerical control (CNC) tool. The planar pattern is placed on the X-Y plane of the CNC tool, and the structured light is projected on the planar pattern. The vision system stay at three different positions along the Z axis of the CNC tool, and the camera shoot the image of the planar pattern at every position. Using the calculated the sub-pixel center line of the structure light, the world coordinate of the center light line can be calculated. Thus, the structured light plane can be calculated by fitting the structured light line. Experiment result shows the effective of the proposed method.

  1. Pitting Corrosion of the Resistance Welding Joints of Stainless Steel Ventilation Grille Operated in Swimming Pool Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirosław Szala

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This work focuses on the pitting corrosion of ventilation grilles operated in swimming pool environments. The ventilation grille was made by resistance welding of stainless steel rods. Based on the macroscopic and microscopic examinations, the mechanism of the pitting corrosion was confirmed. Chemical composition microanalysis of sediments as well as base metal using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS method was carried out. The weldments did not meet the operating conditions of the swimming pool environment. The wear due to the pitting corrosion was identified in heat affected zones of stainless steel weldment and was more severe than the corrosion of base metal. The low quality finish of the joints and influence of the welding process on the weld metal microstructure lead to accelerated deposition of corrosion effecting elements such as chlorine.

  2. A Non-Intrusive GMA Welding Process Quality Monitoring System Using Acoustic Sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cayo, Eber Huanca; Alfaro, Sadek Crisostomo Absi

    2009-01-01

    Most of the inspection methods used for detection and localization of welding disturbances are based on the evaluation of some direct measurements of welding parameters. This direct measurement requires an insertion of sensors during the welding process which could somehow alter the behavior of the metallic transference. An inspection method that evaluates the GMA welding process evolution using a non-intrusive process sensing would allow not only the identification of disturbances during welding runs and thus reduce inspection time, but would also reduce the interference on the process caused by the direct sensing. In this paper a nonintrusive method for weld disturbance detection and localization for weld quality evaluation is demonstrated. The system is based on the acoustic sensing of the welding electrical arc. During repetitive tests in welds without disturbances, the stability acoustic parameters were calculated and used as comparison references for the detection and location of disturbances during the weld runs.

  3. Prediction of Weld Residual Stress of Narrow Gap Welds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Jun Seog; Huh, Nam Su

    2010-01-01

    The conventional welding technique such as shield metal arc welding has been mostly applied to the piping system of the nuclear power plants. It is well known that this welding technique causes the overheating and welding defects due to the large groove angle of weld. On the other hand, the narrow gap welding(NGW) technique has many merits, for instance, the reduction of welding time, the shrinkage of weld and the small deformation of the weld due to the small groove angle and welding bead width comparing with the conventional welds. These characteristics of NGW affect the deformation behavior and the distribution of welding residual stress of NGW, thus it is believed that the residual stress results obtained from conventional welding procedure may not be applied to structural integrity evaluation of NGW. In this paper, the welding residual stress of NGW was predicted using the nonlinear finite element analysis to simulate the thermal and mechanical effects of the NGW. The present results can be used as the important information to perform the flaw evaluation and to improve the weld procedure of NGW

  4. Recent progress in the field of automated welding applied to maintenance activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cullafroz, M.

    2004-01-01

    Automated and robot welding has 5 advantages compared to manual welding: -) under some conditions the automated circular welding does not require requalification testing as manual welding does, -) welding heads in robots have a reduced size compared to manual gears so they can enter and treat complex piping, -) by using an adequate viewing system the operator can be more than 10 meters away from the welding site which means that the radiation doses he receives is cut by a factor 1.5 to 2, -) whatever the configuration is, the deposition rate in automated welding stays high, the quality standard is steady and the risk of repairing is low, -) a gain in productivity if adequate equipment is used. In general, automated welding requires a TIG welding process and is applied in maintenance activities to: -) the main primary system and other circuits in stainless austenitic steels, -) the main secondary system and other circuits in low-percentage carbon steels, and -) the closure of spent fuel canisters. An application to the repairing of BWR's pipes is shown. (A.C.)

  5. Pulsed tig-welding in production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haylett, R.

    1973-01-01

    The first main application of the pulsed-TIG welding process in production used a combination of the method with the melt-through method to fit and weld annular shaped AISI 321 stainless steel inserts as part of the fabrication of a double-skinned vacuum insulation panel of stainless steel for the thermal insulation system of a sodium-cooled reactor. Other applications are discussed. It is concluded that the process could be more fully exploited in industry and that this might be achieved by the use of inexpensive pulse operation attachments. (U.K.)

  6. An assessment of composite repair system in offshore platform for corroded circumferential welds in super duplex steel pipe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvio de Barros

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a composite repair system in severely corroded circumferential welds in super duplex stainless steel pipes as a preventive measure against the premature corrosion damage at the welds. Artificial defects were fabricated on the super duplex steel tube in order to reproduce the localized corrosion damage defects found in real welded joints. Three kinds of through thickness defects were considered: 25%, 50% and 96% of the perimeter of the pipe. The performance of the repaired pipe was assessed by hydrostatic tests as per ISO 24817 standard. The results showed that the composite repair system can sustain the designed failure pressure even for the pipe damaged with through-wall defect up to 96% of the perimeter of the pipe. Hence, the composite repair system can be used as a preliminary tool to protect the unexpected or premature failure at the welds and maintain an adequate level of mechanical strength for a given operating pressure. This composite repair system can assure that the pipe will not leak until a planned maintenance of the line. Nevertheless, further work is still desirable to improve the confidence in the long-term performance of bonded composite

  7. Study on the application of thickened welds without post weld heat treatment for containment vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeuchi, T.; Fukaya, T.; Sato, M.; Takano, G.

    1978-01-01

    As material for containment vessels, SGV49 steel plates are mainly used. However, those used for this purpose are limited in thickness to smaller than 38 mm. This is because the present standard requires welds thicker than 38 mm to be subjected to post weld heat treatment but operation on the site is practically difficult. In the case of 3-loop containment vessels of pressurized water type reactors, use of 38 mm SGV49 brings an increase in their height and this is disadvantageous from a seismic viewpoint. Therefore, use of 45 mm-thick steel material has become necessary in order to increase design internal pressure and reduce the height of the vessels. To investigate the propriety of the use of 45 mm-thick SGV49 for this purpose without post weld heat treatment we investigated the basic performances of base metal and welded joints. We also conducted large-scale embrittlement fracture tests (CT test, deep notch test, wide plate tensile test and ESSO test) in order to examine whether welds not subjected to post weld heat treatment are safe against embrittlement fracture under the operating conditions of the vessels. The results proved that the welds of SGV49 steel plates are safe enough under the operating conditions. (author)

  8. Automatic Welding System of Aluminum Pipe by Monitoring Backside Image of Molten Pool Using Vision Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

    An automatic welding system using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with vision sensor for welding of aluminum pipe was constructed. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position and moving welding torch with the AC welding machine. The monitoring system consists of a vision sensor using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Neural network model for welding speed control were constructed to perform the process automatically. From the experimental results it shows the effectiveness of the control system confirmed by good detection of molten pool and sound weld of experimental result.

  9. 30 CFR 57.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 57.14213... welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to persons. (b) All welding operations shall be well-ventilated. ...

  10. Feasibility study of inside automatic welding system of cooling pipe of divertors for FER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshizawa, S.; Adachi, J.; Morishita, H.; Kakudate, S.; Taguchi, H.; Tada, E.

    1995-01-01

    In order to replace divertors for FER, cooling pipes of divertors should be cut and welded since they are too long to be replaced with divertors via horizontal maintenance ports. An inside cutting and welding system is also required because of an accessibility to pipes. A combination of an inside disc-cutting machine and an inside TIG-welding machine has been proposed as a candidate of the systems. We have made tests to confirm possibility to weld pipes which were cut with the disc-cutting machine. Possibility of welding has been proven. The tests result is described in the paper. (orig.)

  11. Expert system to produce a welding procedure specification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukuda, S.; Morita, H.; Yamauchi, Y.; Tsuji, S.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the outline of the expert system for producing a welding procedure specification for a pressure vessel which has been developed in the 5 year project of Nagasaki Prefecture financially supported by MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry). The aim of this project is to reduce the burden of welding engineers because requirements are betting more and more severe and products are getting more and more complicated and diversified. In order to reduce the burden of a welding engineer, the Project has shown that the following facts must be taken into account in addition to the usual procedures of developing an expert system. The inference must be processed in accordance with the lines of reasoning of a welding engineer. It must be remembered that these lines differ from engineer to engineer. Thus, a very flexible inference mechanism is called for. The constraints are propagated in any direction. The mechanism to deal with this kind of constraint propagation is called for. The user wishes not only to follow the lines of reasoning but also to get the whole perspective during the reasoning process. The search space must be made visible to the user. Thus, the range must be clearly shown in the spreadsheet and in the graphics. And their correspondence must be established. Hierarchical inference mechanism is preferred

  12. Spot Welding Characterizations With Time Variable

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdul Hafid; Pinitoyo, A.; History; Paidjo, Andryansyah; Sagino, Sudarmin; Tamzil, M.

    2001-01-01

    For obtain spot welding used effective data, this research is made, so that time operational of machine increasing. Welding parameters are material classification, electrical current, and weld time. All of the factors are determined welding quality. If the plate more thick, the time must be longer when the current constant. Another factor as determined welding quality are surface condition of electrode, surface condition of weld material, and material classifications. In this research, the weld machine type IP32A2 VI (110 V), Rivoira trademark is characterized

  13. Welding overlay analysis of dissimilar metal weld cracking of feedwater nozzle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsai, Y.L.; Wang, Li. H.; Fan, T.W.; Ranganath, Sam; Wang, C.K.; Chou, C.P.

    2010-01-01

    Inspection of the weld between the feedwater nozzle and the safe end at one Taiwan BWR showed axial indications in the Alloy 182 weld. The indication was sufficiently deep that continued operation could not be justified considering the crack growth for one cycle. A weld overlay was decided to implement for restoring the structural margin. This study reviews the cracking cases of feedwater nozzle welds in other nuclear plants, and reports the lesson learned in the engineering project of this weld overlay repair. The overlay design, the FCG calculation and the stress analysis by FEM are presented to confirm that the Code Case structural margins are met. The evaluations of the effect of weld shrinkage on the attached feedwater piping are also included. A number of challenges encountered in the engineering and analysis period are proposed for future study.

  14. Industry standards catch up with in-service welding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruce, W.A.

    1999-11-01

    Welding onto a pipeline after it has been put into service, a practice commonly referred to as hot tap welding, is frequently required for several reasons. Repair sleeves are installed to reinforce areas of corrosion or mechanical damage, and branch connections are made for system modifications. There are often significant economic incentives to perform this welding without removing the system from service. Operations are maintained during welding and the pipe's contents are not vented into the atmosphere. Due to technological advances in in-service welding, industry needed an update to standards and recommended practices. This year, the American Petroleum Institute (API) hopes to meet that need. The 19th edition of API Standard 1104--Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities, includes a new appendix that pertains to in-service welding. Appendix B, In-Service Welding, is intended to eventually replace API Recommended Practice 1107--Pipeline Maintenance Welding Practices. API 1107, which was introduced in 1966 and updated in 1987 and 1991, is intended to provide recommended practices for pipeline maintenance welding. The current third edition approached its mandatory five-year review in 1996 by the API-AGA Joint Committee on Oil and Gas Pipeline Field Welding Practices, which also maintains API 1104. The committee saw 11078 needed to reflect the updates that had been made to 1104 as well as the technological advances for in-service welding. To alleviate redundancy between the two documents, and to alleviate lag time between updates, the committee approved a proposal to update and incorporate requirements of API 1107 into an appendix of API 1104. In the meantime, the third edition of API 1107 was reapproved for another five-year review cycle.

  15. Laser Welding Test Results with Gas Atmospheres in Welding Chamber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joung, Chang-Young; Hong, Jin-Tae; Ahn, Sung-Ho; Heo, Sung-Ho; Jang, Seo-Yun; Yang, Tae-Ho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    The weld beads of specimens welded under identical conditions in the helium and argon gas were cleaner, more regular, and steadier than those in a vacuum. The penetration depth of the FZ in the vacuum was much deeper than those in the helium and argon gas. To measure the irradiation properties of nuclear fuel in a test reactor, a nuclear fuel test rod instrumented with various sensors must be fabricated with assembly processes. A laser welding system to assemble the nuclear fuel test rod was designed and fabricated to develop various welding technologies of the fuel test rods to joint between a cladding tube and end-caps. It is an air-cooling optical fiber type and its emission modes are a continuous (CW) mode of which the laser generates continuous emission, and pulse (QCW) mode in which the laser internally generates sequences of pulses. We considered the system welding a sample in a chamber that can weld a specimen in a vacuum and inert gas atmosphere, and the chamber was installed on the working plate of the laser welding system. In the chamber, the laser welding process should be conducted to have no defects on the sealing area between a cladding tube and an end-cap.

  16. Recent developments in pipeline welding practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-01-01

    Fourteen chapters are included: overview of pipeline welding systems and quality assurance, CRC automatic welding system, H.C. Price Co. automatic welding system, semi-automatic MIG-welding process, partial penetration welding of steel pipes for gas distribution, construction procedures and quality control in offshore pipeline construction, welding in repair and maintenance of gas transmission pipelines, British Gas studies of welding on pressurized gas transmission pipelines, hot tapping pipelines, underwater welding for offshore pipelines and associated equipment, radial friction welding, material composition vs weld properties, review of NDT of pipeline welds, and safety assurance in pipeline construction. A bibliography of approximately 150 references is included, arranged according to subject and year.

  17. Defense Waste Processing Facility Canister Closure Weld Current Validation Testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korinko, P. S. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Maxwell, D. N. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

    2018-01-29

    Two closure welds on filled Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) canisters failed to be within the acceptance criteria in the DWPF operating procedure SW4-15.80-2.3 (1). In one case, the weld heat setting was inadvertently provided to the canister at the value used for test welds (i.e., 72%) and this oversight produced a weld at a current of nominally 210 kA compared to the operating procedure range (i.e., 82%) of 240 kA to 263 kA. The second weld appeared to experience an instrumentation and data acquisition upset. The current for this weld was reported as 191 kA. Review of the data from the Data Acquisition System (DAS) indicated that three of the four current legs were reading the expected values, approximately 62 kA each, and the fourth leg read zero current. Since there is no feasible way by further examination of the process data to ascertain if this weld was actually welded at either the target current or the lower current, a test plan was executed to provide assurance that these Nonconforming Welds (NCWs) meet the requirements for strength and leak tightness. Acceptance of the welds is based on evaluation of Test Nozzle Welds (TNW) made specifically for comparison. The TNW were nondestructively and destructively evaluated for plug height, heat tint, ultrasonic testing (UT) for bond length and ultrasonic volumetric examination for weld defects, burst pressure, fractography, and metallography. The testing was conducted in agreement with a Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP) (2) and applicable procedures.

  18. Design and development of Pc-based TOFD ultrasonic scanning system for welds inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suhairy Sani; Mohamad Pauzi Ismai; Muhammad Faiz Mohd Shukri; Amry Amin Abas

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the design and development of a portable PC-based ultrasonic scanning system for industrial applications. The system which is called TOFD Ultrasonic Scanning System (TOFUSS) is used to create a gray scale imaging techniques are applied to the RF (AC) signal phase and enables weld integrity to be observed in real time. TOFD consists of a separate ultrasonic transmitter and receiver. The Probes are aimed at the same point in the weld volume. The entire weld is flooded with ultrasound allowing inspection of the weld. With a time of flight path, the ultrasonic velocity and the spatial relationship of the two probes, location and height of the defects can be very accurately calculated. The algorithm and complete system were implemented in a computer software developed using Microsoft Visual BASIC 6.0. (author)

  19. Reduction of Biomechanical and Welding Fume Exposures in Stud Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fethke, Nathan B; Peters, Thomas M; Leonard, Stephanie; Metwali, Mahmoud; Mudunkotuwa, Imali A

    2016-04-01

    The welding of shear stud connectors to structural steel in construction requires a prolonged stooped posture that exposes ironworkers to biomechanical and welding fume hazards. In this study, biomechanical and welding fume exposures during stud welding using conventional methods were compared to exposures associated with use of a prototype system that allowed participants to weld from an upright position. The effect of base material (i.e. bare structural beam versus galvanized decking) on welding fume concentration (particle number and mass), particle size distribution, and particle composition was also explored. Thirty participants completed a series of stud welding simulations in a local apprenticeship training facility. Use of the upright system was associated with substantial reductions in trunk inclination and the activity levels of several muscle groups. Inhalable mass concentrations of welding fume (averaged over ~18 min) when using conventional methods were high (18.2 mg m(-3) for bare beam; 65.7 mg m(-3) for through deck), with estimated mass concentrations of iron (7.8 mg m(-3) for bare beam; 15.8 mg m(-3) for through deck), zinc (0.2 mg m(-3) for bare beam; 15.8 mg m(-3) for through deck), and manganese (0.9 mg m(-3) for bare beam; 1.5 mg m(-3) for through deck) often exceeding the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values (TLVs). Number and mass concentrations were substantially reduced when using the upright system, although the total inhalable mass concentration remained above the TLV when welding through decking. The average diameters of the welding fume particles for both bare beam (31±17 nm) through deck conditions (34±34 nm) and the chemical composition of the particles indicated the presence of metallic nanoparticles. Stud welding exposes ironworkers to potentially high levels of biomechanical loading (primarily to the low back) and welding fume. The upright system used in this study improved exposure

  20. Reduction of nanoparticle exposure to welding aerosols by modification of the ventilation system in a workplace

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Myong-Hwa; McClellan, William J.; Candela, Joe; Andrews, Dan; Biswas, Pratim

    2007-01-01

    Nanometer particle size distributions were measured in booths with two different ventilation patterns in an occupational environment with welding operations underway. The measurements were used to illustrate the impact of change of ventilation methods (existing - with ventilation ducts located at the top, modified - with ventilation ducts located below the weld bench) on the aerosol size distributions at different locations: close to the weld, in the vicinity of the welder's face, and in the exhaust duct. Particle number concentrations measured in the vicinity of the welder's face (mask) during a horizontal standard arc welding process in a booth with ventilation at the top was in the range of 7.78x10 5 particles cm -3 with a geometric mean size of 181 nm and geometric standard deviation of 1.8. This reduced to 1.48x10 4 particles cm -3 in the vicinity of the welder's face with the modified ventilation system. The clearance of the welding aerosol was also faster in the modified booth (6 min compared to 11 min in a conventional booth). Particles were collected in the booth for the various test conditions, and analyzed to determine their composition and morphology. The particles were composed of hazardous heavy metals such as manganese, chromium and nickel, and had varying morphologies

  1. PC-based arc ignition and arc length control system for gas tungsten arc welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Y.; Cook, G.E.; Barnett, R.J.; Springfield, J.F.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, a PC-based digital control system for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is presented. This system controls the arc ignition process, the arc length, and the process of welding termination. A DT2818 made by Data Translation is used for interface and A/D and D/A conversions. The digital I/O ports of the DT2818 are used for control of wirefeed, shield gas, cooling water, welding power supply, etc. The DT2818 is housed in a PC. The welding signals and status are displayed on the screen for in-process monitoring. A user can control the welding process by the keyboard

  2. Eddy current testing system for bottom mounted instrumentation welds - 15206

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, N.; Ueno, S.; Suganuma, N.; Oodake, T.; Maehara, T.; Kasuya, T.; Ichikawa, H.

    2015-01-01

    We have demonstrated the scanning of eddy current testing (ECT) probe on the welds area including the nozzle, the J-welds and the buildup welds of the Bottom Mounted Instrumentation (BMI) mock-up using the developed ECT system and procedure. It is difficult to scan the probe on the BMI welds area because the area has a complex curved surface shape and narrow spaces. We made the space coordinates and the normal vectors on the scanning points as the scanning trajectory of probe on the welds area based on the measured results of welds surface shape on the mock-up. The multi-axis robot was used to scan the probe on the welds surface. Each motion axis position of the robot corresponding to each scanning point was calculated by the inverse kinematic algorithm. The BMI mock-up test was performed using the cross coil probe in the differential mode. The artificial stress corrosion cracking and the electrical discharge machining slits given on the mock-up surface were detected. The results show that the ECT can detect a defect of approximately 2.3 mm in length, 0.5 mm in depth and 0.2 mm in width for the BMI welds. From the output voltage of single coil, we estimated that the average and the maximum probe tilt angles on the mock-up surface under scanning were 2.6 degrees and 8.5 degrees, respectively

  3. Welding process automation in power machine building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mel'bard, S.N.; Shakhnov, A.F.; Shergov, I.V.

    1977-01-01

    The level of welding automation operations in power engineering and ways of its enhancement are highlighted. Used as the examples of comlex automation are an apparatus for the horizontal welding of turbine rotors, remotely controlled automatic machine for welding ring joint of large-sized vessels, equipment for the electron-beam welding of steam turbine assemblies of alloyed steels. The prospects of industrial robots are noted. The importance of the complex automation of technological process, including stocking, assemblying, transportation and auxiliary operations, is emphasized

  4. B218 Weld Filler Wire Characterization for Al-Li Alloy 2195

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjorkman, Gerry; Russell, Carolyn

    2000-01-01

    NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Lockheed Martin Space Systems- Michoud Operations, and McCook Metals have developed an aluminum-copper weld filler wire for fusion welding aluminum lithium alloy 2195. The aluminum-copper based weld filler wire has been identified as B218, a McCook Metals designation. B218 is the result of six years of weld filler wire development funded by NASA, Lockheed Martin, and McCook Metals. The filler wire chemistry was developed to produce enhanced 2195 weld and repair weld mechanical properties over the 4043 aluminum-silicon weld filler wire, which is currently used to weld 2195 on the Super Lightweight External Tank for the NASA Space Shuttle Program. An initial characterization was performed consisting of a repair weld evaluation using B218 and 4043 weld filler wires. The testing involved room temperature and cryogenic repair weld tensile testing along with fracture toughness testing. From the testing, B218 weld filler wire produce enhanced repair weld tensile strength, ductility, and fracture properties over 4043. B218 weld filler wire has proved to be a superior weld filler wire for welding aluminum lithium alloy 2195 over 4043.

  5. The Design of Intelligent Repair Welding Mechanism and Relative Control System of Big Gear

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Yu LIU

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Effective repair of worn big gear has large influence on ensuring safety production and enhancing economic benefits. A kind of intelligent repair welding method was put forward mainly aimed at the big gear restriction conditions of high production cost, long production cycle and high- intensity artificial repair welding work. Big gear repair welding mechanism was designed in this paper. The work principle and part selection of big gear repair welding mechanism was introduced. The three dimensional mode of big gear repair welding mechanism was constructed by Pro/E three dimensional design software. Three dimensional motions can be realized by motor controlling ball screw. According to involute gear feature, the complicated curve motion on curved gear surface can be transformed to linear motion by orientation. By this way, the repair welding on worn gear area can be realized. In the design of big gear repair welding mechanism control system, Siemens S7-200 series hardware was chosen. Siemens STEP7 programming software was chosen as system design tool. The entire repair welding process was simulated by experiment simulation. It provides a kind of practical and feasible method for the intelligent repair welding of big worn gear.

  6. Welding. Performance Objectives. Basic Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Kenneth

    Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of eight terminal objectives for a basic welding course. The materials were developed for a 36-week (2 hours daily) course developed to teach the fundamentals of welding shop work, to become familiar with the operation of the welding shop…

  7. The installation welding of pressure water reactor coolant piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Feng

    2010-01-01

    Large pressure water reactor nuclear power plants are constructing in our country. There are three symmetry standard loops in reactor coolant system. Each loop possesses a steam generator and a primary poop, in which one of the loops is equipped with a pressurizer. These components are connected with reactor pressure vessel by installation welding of the coolant piping. The integrity of reactor coolant pressure boundary is the second barrier to protect the radioactive substance from release to outside, so the safe operation of nuclear power plant is closely related to the quality of coolant piping installation welding. The heavy tube with super low carbon content austenitic stainless steel is selected for coolant piping. This kind of material has good welding behavior, but the poor thermal conductivity, the big liner expansion coefficient and the big welding deformation will cause bigger welding stress. To reduce the welding deformation, to control the dimension precision, to reduce the residual stress and to ensure the welding quality the installation sequence should be properly designed and the welding technology should be properly controlled. (authors)

  8. Effects of post weld heat treatment and weld overlay on the residual stress and mechanical properties in dissimilar metal weld

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos, Wagner R.C.; Ribeiro, Vladimir S.; Vilela, Alisson H.F.; Almeida, Camila R.O.; Rabello, Emerson G.

    2017-01-01

    The object of this work is a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) pipe joint between carbon steel (A-106 Gr B) and stainless steel (A-312 TP316L) pipes and filler metals of Nickel alloy (82/182), which find wide application in the field of chemical, oil, petroleum industries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plant. A lot of the failures that have occurred in dissimilar metal welded are affected greatly by residual stresses. Residual stress is often a cause of premature failure of critical components under normal operation of welded components. Several methods have been tested and developed for removing the tensile residual stresses. The aim of the methods is to reduce the tensile stress state or to create compressive stresses at a predefined area, such as the inner surface of a welded pipe joint. Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) and weld overlay (WOL) are two of the residual stress mitigation methods which reduce the tensile residual stress, create compressive stresses and arrest crack initiation and crack growth. The technique used to substantially minimized or eliminated this failure development in the root weld is the post weld heat treatments (stress relief heat treatment) or the weld overlay. In this work was studied the effectiveness in reducing internal residual stress in dissimilar metal welded pipe joints subjected to post weld heat treatment and weld overlay, measurement by hole-drilling strain-gage method of stress relaxation. Also held was mechanical characterization of the welded pipe joint itself. (author)

  9. Effects of post weld heat treatment and weld overlay on the residual stress and mechanical properties in dissimilar metal weld

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campos, Wagner R.C.; Ribeiro, Vladimir S.; Vilela, Alisson H.F.; Almeida, Camila R.O.; Rabello, Emerson G., E-mail: wrcc@cdtn.br, E-mail: camilarezende.cr@gmail.com, E-mail: egr@cdtn.br, E-mail: vladimirsoler@hotmail.com, E-mail: ahfv02@outlook.com [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    The object of this work is a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) pipe joint between carbon steel (A-106 Gr B) and stainless steel (A-312 TP316L) pipes and filler metals of Nickel alloy (82/182), which find wide application in the field of chemical, oil, petroleum industries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plant. A lot of the failures that have occurred in dissimilar metal welded are affected greatly by residual stresses. Residual stress is often a cause of premature failure of critical components under normal operation of welded components. Several methods have been tested and developed for removing the tensile residual stresses. The aim of the methods is to reduce the tensile stress state or to create compressive stresses at a predefined area, such as the inner surface of a welded pipe joint. Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) and weld overlay (WOL) are two of the residual stress mitigation methods which reduce the tensile residual stress, create compressive stresses and arrest crack initiation and crack growth. The technique used to substantially minimized or eliminated this failure development in the root weld is the post weld heat treatments (stress relief heat treatment) or the weld overlay. In this work was studied the effectiveness in reducing internal residual stress in dissimilar metal welded pipe joints subjected to post weld heat treatment and weld overlay, measurement by hole-drilling strain-gage method of stress relaxation. Also held was mechanical characterization of the welded pipe joint itself. (author)

  10. Globalization of Japanese steel industry. Part 2. Welding materials; Tekkogyo no kokusaika. 2. Yozai

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aida, I. [Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobe (Japan)

    1995-01-01

    This paper mainly discusses the current status and problems of arc welding materials. The domestic production of welding materials has decreased. The recent trend of demand is characterized by the change of form make-up of welding materials. Various technologies for welding materials and their operation in Japan have developed with the progress of steel materials. The high quality and high-grade welding technologies, highly efficient production processes, laborsaving, and robotization have been promoted in various fields. In response to the rapid strong yen, quality and cost have to be further pursued, and amenity and cleanliness of welding have to be realized. The welding technologies have to be developed for large structures, such as ultra high-rise buildings, energy and chemical plants, ships, marine structures, etc. For the welding materials which are applied to robots and robot systems, obstruction factors for the operation have to be removed, which include the unsteady arc, re-arc badness, spattering, wear of chip, slag formation, etc. These measures promote the globalization of welding materials. 17 refs., 4 figs.

  11. Machine for welding solar cell connections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lorans, D.Y.

    1977-08-09

    A machine for welding a connection wire over a solar cell electrode is described which comprises a base, a welding mount for the solar cell which is supported on the base, means for holding the solar cell on the welding mount, welding electrodes, means to lower the welding electrodes over the solar cell and the connection wire superimposed thereon, means for applying electric current pulses to said welding electrodes. It is characterized by the fact that it further comprises means for imparting to said mount an alternating transverse movement in relation to said base before and during the welding operation.

  12. Development of maintenance technology with underwater TIG welding for spent fuel storage pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obana, Takeshi; Hamada, Yasumitsu; Ooeda, Kaoru; Katou, Masahide; Ootsuka, Toshihiro; Toyoda, Seiichi; Hosogane, Atsushi

    2007-01-01

    The core technology of underwater TIG welding process has been developed and welding equipment system has been manufactured, for application to the maintenance of the spent fuel storage pool of Rokkasho reprocessing plant. Basic experiments for understanding the conditions of dry area and the range of welding conditions was performed, and mock examination for simulation of real environment by using the developed welding equipment was also carried out to judge the applicability of the system. For the purpose that can be selected water removing method for different spatial conditions of the parts to be maintained in underwater, two kinds of welding equipment systems of Chamber type and Partition type were developed and manufactured. On the basis of fundamental experiments, the conditions of dry area formation and welding parameters range for high-reliability weld were discussed. Thus the proper condition in this process was able to be established. With the welding equipment systems of the Chamber type and Partition type, the practical use examination of underwater TIG welding process was executed by mock examination for simulating the real environment. As a result, it was confirmed that the underwater TIG welding could obtain the same reliability as a usual in-air TIG welding, and the operation and the control at remote distance were also possible. And the reliability of the patch-plate fillet weld could be evaluated by remote inspection with the expansion visual test. (author)

  13. Fluor Hanford Nuclear Material Stabilization Project Welding Manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BERKEY, J.R.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this section of the welding manual is to: (1) Provide a general description of the major responsibilities of the organizations involved with welding. (2) Provide general guidance concerning the application of codes related to welding. This manual contains requirements for welding for all Fluor Hanford (FH) welding operators working on the W460 Project, in the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) at the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford facilities. These procedures and any additional requirements for these joining processes can be used by all FH welding operators that are qualified. The Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) found in this document were established from Procedure Qualification Records (PQR) qualified by FH specifically for the W460 Project. PQRs are permanent records of the initial testing and qualification program and are used to backup, and support, the WPS. The identification numbers of the supporting PQR(s) are recorded on each WPS. All PQRs are permanently stored under the supervision of the Fluor Hanford Welding Engineer (FHWE). New PQRs and WPSs will continue to be developed as necessary. The qualification of welders, welding operators and welding procedures will be performed for FH under supervision and concurrent of the FHWE. All new welding procedures to be entered in this manual or welder personnel to be added to the welder qualification database, shall be approved by the FHWE

  14. Automatic welding technologies for long-distance pipelines by use of all-position self-shielded flux cored wires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeng Huilin

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In order to realize the automatic welding of pipes in a complex operation environment, an automatic welding system has been developed by use of all-position self-shielded flux cored wires due to their advantages, such as all-position weldability, good detachability, arc's stability, low incomplete fusion, no need for welding protective gas or protection against wind when the wind speed is < 8 m/s. This system consists of a welding carrier, a guide rail, an auto-control system, a welding source, a wire feeder, and so on. Welding experiments with this system were performed on the X-80 pipeline steel to determine proper welding parameters. The welding technique comprises root welding, filling welding and cover welding and their welding parameters were obtained from experimental analysis. On this basis, the mechanical properties tests were carried out on welded joints in this case. Results show that this system can help improve the continuity and stability of the whole welding process and the welded joints' inherent quality, appearance shape, and mechanical performance can all meet the welding criteria for X-80 pipeline steel; with no need for windbreak fences, the overall welding cost will be sharply reduced. Meanwhile, more positive proposals were presented herein for the further research and development of this self-shielded flux core wires.

  15. ITER lip seal welding and cutting developments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levesy, B.; Cordier, J.J.; Jokinen, T. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); Kujanpää, V.; Karhu, M. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland); Le Barbier, R. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); Määttä, T. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland); Martins, J.P.; Utin, Y. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Different TIG and Laser welding techniques are tested. • Twin spot laser welding techniques is the best. • Limited heat input gives a stable weld pool in all positions. • Penetrations is achieved. • Lip seal welding and cutting with a robotic arm is successfully performed on a representative mock-up. - Abstract: The welded lip seals form part of the torus primary vacuum boundary in between the port plugs and the vacuum vessel, and are classified as Protection Important Component. In order to refurbish the port plugs or the in-vessel components, port plugs have to be removed from the machine. The lip seal design must enable up to ten opening of the vacuum vessel during the life time operation of the ITER machine. Therefore proven, remote reliable cutting and re-welding are essential, as these operations need to be performed in the port cells in a nuclear environment, where human presence will be restricted. Moreover, the combination of size of the components to be welded (∼10 m long vacuum compatible thin welds) and the congested environment close to the core of the machine constraint the type and size of tools to be used. This paper describes the lip seal cutting and welding development programme performed at the VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland. Potential cutting and welding techniques are analyzed and compared. The development of the cutting, TIG and laser welding techniques on samples are presented. Effects of lip seal misalignments and optimization of the 2 welding processes are discussed. Finally, the manufacturing and test of the two 1.2 m × 1 m representative mock-ups are presented. The set-up and use of a robotic arm for the mock-up cutting and welding operations are also described.

  16. ITER lip seal welding and cutting developments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levesy, B.; Cordier, J.J.; Jokinen, T.; Kujanpää, V.; Karhu, M.; Le Barbier, R.; Määttä, T.; Martins, J.P.; Utin, Y.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Different TIG and Laser welding techniques are tested. • Twin spot laser welding techniques is the best. • Limited heat input gives a stable weld pool in all positions. • Penetrations is achieved. • Lip seal welding and cutting with a robotic arm is successfully performed on a representative mock-up. - Abstract: The welded lip seals form part of the torus primary vacuum boundary in between the port plugs and the vacuum vessel, and are classified as Protection Important Component. In order to refurbish the port plugs or the in-vessel components, port plugs have to be removed from the machine. The lip seal design must enable up to ten opening of the vacuum vessel during the life time operation of the ITER machine. Therefore proven, remote reliable cutting and re-welding are essential, as these operations need to be performed in the port cells in a nuclear environment, where human presence will be restricted. Moreover, the combination of size of the components to be welded (∼10 m long vacuum compatible thin welds) and the congested environment close to the core of the machine constraint the type and size of tools to be used. This paper describes the lip seal cutting and welding development programme performed at the VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland. Potential cutting and welding techniques are analyzed and compared. The development of the cutting, TIG and laser welding techniques on samples are presented. Effects of lip seal misalignments and optimization of the 2 welding processes are discussed. Finally, the manufacturing and test of the two 1.2 m × 1 m representative mock-ups are presented. The set-up and use of a robotic arm for the mock-up cutting and welding operations are also described.

  17. Development of laser cutting/welding system for remote maintenance of ITER manifold

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamaoka, Hiroto; Tsuchiya, Kazuyuki; Awano, Toshihiko [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Oka, Kiyoshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan). Naka Fusion Research Establishment

    2002-09-01

    A remote pipe cutting/welding system using a YAG laser was designed and fabricated for the maintenance of the main structural parts of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), and a mock-up test carried out. The functions of this system are to cut 100A x Sch 40 pipes of SUS316L by internal access, to adjust the core gap between the as-cut pipe and new pipe, and to weld the pipes automatically. The core gap of the pipes could be decreased within the proper welding conditions by the mock-up test, and sound beads were obtained. (author)

  18. Welding of heterogeneous 12Kh2MFSR steels with the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smirnov, A.N.; Belogolov, E.I.

    1978-01-01

    The process of welding pipes of the 12Kh2MFSR pearlitic steels and austenitic steels of the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system was studied. The filler materials were selected, and the working capacity of welded joints was examined in ageing and cyclic heatings. The microhardness of steels was measured, and the ultimate strength of welded joints was determined. The following has been established: the composite joints of steels of the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system and 12Kh2MFSR steel are advisable to be welded on a coating layer welded by the EhA395/9 electrodes on the surface of a pipe of the 12Kh2MFSR pearlitic steel; this guarantees the sufficient working capacity of welded joints

  19. Integrated sensors for robotic laser welding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Iakovou, D.; Aarts, Ronald G.K.M.; Meijer, J.; Beyer, E.; Dausinger, F; Ostendorf, A; Otto, A.

    2005-01-01

    A welding head is under development with integrated sensory systems for robotic laser welding applications. Robotic laser welding requires sensory systems that are capable to accurately guide the welding head over a seam in three-dimensional space and provide information about the welding process as

  20. Laser-GMA Hybrid Pipe Welding System

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Reutzel, Edward W; Kern, Ludwig; Sullivan, Michael J; Tressler, Jay F; Avalos, Juan

    2007-01-01

    The combination of laser welding with conventional gas metal arc welding technology offers substantial increases in production rate of joining pipe through single-pass joining compared to multi-pass...

  1. Development of laser welding techniques for vanadium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strain, R.V.; Leong, K.H.; Smith, D.L.

    1996-01-01

    Laser welding is potentially advantageous because of its flexibility and the reduced amount of material affected by the weld. Bead-on-plate and butt welds were previously performed to depths of about 4 mm with a 6-kW CO 2 laser on V-4%Cr-4%Ti and V-5%Cr-5%Ti alloys. These welds were made at a speed of 0.042 m/s using argon purging at a flow rate of 2.8 m 3 /s. The purge was distributed with a diffuser nozzle aimed just behind the laser beam during the welding operation. The fusion zones of welds made under these conditions consisted of very fine, needle-shaped grains and were also harder than the bulk metal (230-270 dph, compared to ∼180 dph for the bulk metal). A limited number of impact tests showed that the as-welded ductile-brittle transition temperatures (DBTT) was above room temperature, but heat treatment at 1000 degrees C for 1 h in vacuum reduced the DBTT to <-25 degrees C. Activities during this reporting period focused on improvements in the purging system and determination of the effect of welding speed on welds. A 2-kW continuous YAG laser at Lumonics Corp. in Livonia, MI, was used to make 34 test welds for this study

  2. Low Speed Control for Automatic Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iceland, W. E.

    1982-01-01

    Amplifier module allows rotating positioner of automatic welding machine to operate at speeds below normal range. Low speeds are precisely regulated by a servomechanism as are normal-range speeds. Addition of module to standard welding machine makes it unnecessary to purchase new equipment for low-speed welding.

  3. Weld pool and keyhole dynamic analysis based on visual system and neural network during laser keyhole welding

    OpenAIRE

    Luo, Masiyang

    2014-01-01

    In keyhole fiber laser welding processes, the weld pool behavior and keyhole dynamics are essential to determining welding quality. To observe and control the welding process, the accurate extraction of the weld pool boundary as well as the width is required. In addition, because of the cause-and-effect relationship between the welding defects and stability of the keyhole, which is primarily determined by keyhole geometry during the welding process, the stability of keyhole needs to be consid...

  4. Properties of welded joints in laser welding of aeronautic aluminum-lithium alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malikov, A. G.; Orishich, A. M.

    2017-01-01

    The work presents the experimental investigation of the laser welding of the aluminum-lithium alloys (system Al-Mg-Li) and aluminum alloy (system Al-Cu-Li) doped with Sc. The influence of the nano-structuring of the surface layer welded joint by the cold plastic deformation method on the strength properties of the welded joint is determined. It is founded that, regarding the deformation degree over the thickness, the varying value of the welded joint strength is different for these aluminum alloys.

  5. Automatic welding of stainless steel tubing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clautice, W. E.

    1978-01-01

    The use of automatic welding for making girth welds in stainless steel tubing was investigated as well as the reduction in fabrication costs resulting from the elimination of radiographic inspection. Test methodology, materials, and techniques are discussed, and data sheets for individual tests are included. Process variables studied include welding amperes, revolutions per minute, and shielding gas flow. Strip chart recordings, as a definitive method of insuring weld quality, are studied. Test results, determined by both radiographic and visual inspection, are presented and indicate that once optimum welding procedures for specific sizes of tubing are established, and the welding machine operations are certified, then the automatic tube welding process produces good quality welds repeatedly, with a high degree of reliability. Revised specifications for welding tubing using the automatic process and weld visual inspection requirements at the Kennedy Space Center are enumerated.

  6. IT Systems in Aid of Welding Processes Quality Management in the Automotive Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Restecka M.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The most important issue for the producers nowadays is to meet the requirements of customers, satisfying their perceived but also the unperceived needs. In order to control the quality of welding processes correctly one must have knowledge of welding drawings, symbols, designs of welded joints, welding procedures, requirements set in codes and standards, also have knowledge of the techniques of inspection and testing connected with the automotive industry. The article shows ways to increase quality in the industry through the use of robotization and computerization. Presented examples and application of IT systems in aid of welding processes quality management in the automotive industry.

  7. Distributed Nd-YAG laser welding and process control in inert glove boxes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milewski, J.O.; Lewis, G.K.; Barbe, M.R.; Cremers, D.A.

    1993-01-01

    We have fabricated and assembled a fiber optic delivered ND-YAG laser welding work station that consists of three glove boxes served by a single 1kw laser. Processing considerations related to the welding of special nuclear materials, toxic materials and complex part geometry are addressed within each work cell. We are proceeding with a development effort to integrate the equipment capabilities with remote sensing, process monitoring and control systems. These systems will provide real time data acquisition during welding, monitoring and verification of weld parameters, and CAD/CAM to CNC generated positioning paths. Computerized information storage, retrieval and network methods are used for weld process documentation and data analysis. A virtual control panel is being configured to integrate the monitoring and control operation of individual subsystems, such as laser and motion control into a single graphical interface. Development work on sensors to monitor laser beam characteristics and weld depth in real time with potential for adaptive control is in progress. System capabilities and results of these development efforts are presented

  8. Advantages of new micro-jet welding technology on weld microstructure control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan PIWNIK

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available An innovative apparatus to welding process with micro-jet cooling of the weld made it possible to carry out technological tests, which have proved theoretical considerations about this problem. This project gives real opportunities for professional development in the field of welding with controlling the parameters of weld structure. These tests have proved that the new micro-jet technology has the potential for growth. It may be great achievement of welding technology in order to increase weld metal strength. The new technology with micro-jet cooling may have many practical applications in many fields, for example such as in the transport industry or to repair damaged metal elements. The advantages of the new device over the traditional system are the ability to control the structure of the weld, the weld mechanical performance increases and improve the quality of welded joints.

  9. Certification of a weld produced by friction stir welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obaditch, Chris; Grant, Glenn J

    2013-10-01

    Methods, devices, and systems for providing certification of friction stir welds are disclosed. A sensor is used to collect information related to a friction stir weld. Data from the sensor is compared to threshold values provided by an extrinsic standard setting organizations using a certification engine. The certification engine subsequently produces a report on the certification status of the weld.

  10. Weld pool boundary and weld bead shape reconstruction based on passive vision in P-GMAW

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yan Zhihong; Zhang Guangjun; Gao Hongming; Wu Lin

    2006-01-01

    A passive visual sensing system is established in this research, and clear weld pool images in pulsed gas metal arc welding ( P-GMA W) can be captured with this system. The three-dimensional weld pool geometry, especially the weld height,is not only a crucial factor in determining workpiece mechanical properties, but also an important parameter for reflecting the penetration. A new three-dimensional (3D) model is established to describe the weld pool geometry in P-GMAW. Then, a series of algorithms are developed to extract the model geometrical parameters from the weld pool images. Furthermore, the method to reconstruct the 3D shape of weld pool boundary and weld bead from the two-dimensional images is investigated.

  11. Heat Source - Materials Interactions during Fusion Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-04-30

    the capabilities of ultrasonic weld pool measurement, and to address questions of applications to active pool size control. -- mom- 44 TIG welding ...preparation. The fraction of absorbed power increases dramatically upon formation of a keyhole . As a result, welds made with sharply beveled edge...laser end electron beam welding processes characteristically produce a deel,, narrow weld bead. This bead is formed by a keyhole mode of operation in

  12. Study on Laser Welding Process Monitoring Method

    OpenAIRE

    Knag , Heeshin

    2017-01-01

    International audience; In this paper, a study of quality monitoring technology for the laser welding was conducted. The laser welding and the industrial robotic systems were used with robot-based laser welding systems. The laser system used in this study was 1.6 kW fiber laser, while the robot system was Industrial robot (pay-load : 130 kg). The robot-based laser welding system was equipped with a laser scanner system for remote laser welding. The welding joints of steel plate and steel plat...

  13. Study on Laser Welding Process Monitoring Method

    OpenAIRE

    Heeshin Knag

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, a study of quality monitoring technology for the laser welding was conducted. The laser welding and the industrial robotic systems were used with robot-based laser welding systems. The laser system used in this study was 1.6 kW fiber laser, while the robot system was Industrial robot (pay-load : 130 kg). The robot-based laser welding system was equipped with a laser scanner system for remote laser welding. The welding joints of steel plate and steel plate coated with zinc were ...

  14. Eddy current testing system for bottom mounted instrumentation welds

    OpenAIRE

    Kobayashi Noriyasu; Ueno Souichi; Suganuma Naotaka; Oodake Tatsuya; Maehara Takeshi; Kasuya Takashi; Ichikawa Hiroya

    2015-01-01

    The capability of eddy current testing (ECT) for the bottom mounted instrumentation (BMI) weld area of reactor vessel in a pressurized water reactor was demonstrated by the developed ECT system and procedure. It is difficult to position and move the probe on the BMI weld area because the area has complexly curved surfaces. The space coordinates and the normal vectors at the scanning points were calculated as the scanning trajectory of probe based on the measured results of surface shape on th...

  15. Advances of orbital gas tungsten arc welding for Brazilian space applications – experimental setup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A. Orlowski de Garcia

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The present work describes details of the several steps of the technology involved for the orbital Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW process of pure commercially titanium tubes. These pieces will be used to connect the several components of the propulsion system of the China-Brazilian Satellite CBERS, and is part of the Brazilian aerospace industry development. The implantation involved the steps of environment control; cut and facing of the base metal; cleaning procedures; piece alignment; choice of the type, geometry and installation of the tungsten electrode; system for the pressure of the purge gas; manual tack welding; choice of the welding parameters; and, finally, the qualification of welding procedures. Three distinct welding programs were studied, using pulsed current with increasing speed, continuous current and pulsed current with decreasing amperage levels. The results showed that the high quality criteria required to the aerospace segment is such that usual welding operations must be carefully designed and executed. The three welding developed programs generated welds free of defects and with adequate morphology, allowing to select the condition that better fits the Brazilian aerospace segment, and to be implanted in the welding of the CBERS Satellite Propulsion System.

  16. Friction Stir Welding of Tapered Thickness Welds Using an Adjustable Pin Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Glynn; Venable, Richard; Lawless, Kirby

    2003-01-01

    Friction stir welding (FSW) can be used for joining weld lands that vary in thickness along the length of the weld. An adjustable pin tool mechanism can be used to accomplish this in a single-pass, full-penetration weld by providing for precise changes in the pin length relative to the shoulder face during the weld process. The difficulty with this approach is in accurately adjusting the pin length to provide a consistent penetration ligament throughout the weld. The weld technique, control system, and instrumentation must account for mechanical and thermal compliances of the tooling system to conduct tapered welds successfully. In this study, a combination of static and in-situ measurements, as well as active control, is used to locate the pin accurately and maintain the desired penetration ligament. Frictional forces at the pin/shoulder interface were a source of error that affected accurate pin position. A traditional FSW pin tool design that requires a lead angle was used to join butt weld configurations that included both constant thickness and tapered sections. The pitch axis of the tooling was fixed throughout the weld; therefore, the effective lead angle in the tapered sections was restricted to within the tolerances allowed by the pin tool design. The sensitivity of the FSW process to factors such as thickness offset, joint gap, centerline offset, and taper transition offset were also studied. The joint gap and the thickness offset demonstrated the most adverse affects on the weld quality. Two separate tooling configurations were used to conduct tapered thickness welds successfully. The weld configurations included sections in which the thickness decreased along the weld, as well as sections in which the thickness increased along the weld. The data presented here include weld metallography, strength data, and process load data.

  17. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  18. MAGNETIC ARC WELDING STABILIZATION USING NON-CONSUMABLE ELECTRODE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Павло Юрійович Сидоренко

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Results of development torch to magnetically operated   welding arc are defined. Changing the design of the electrode unit is provided the ability to create within the area of the arc magnetic field and induction given configuration without additional equipment. The features of the arc in an axial magnetic field which make it possible to avoid the welding process of unsteady abnormalities resulted in the inappropriate formation of defects in welds. Significant increase in the depth of  weld penetration is connected with the more concentrated magnetically operated   welding arc transmission energy to the product. It is concluded about the feasibility of using a designed torch for the implementation of modern technological processes non-consumable electrode welding.

  19. Application of TRIZ Methodology in Diffusion Welding System Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravinder Reddy, N.; Satyanarayana, V. V.; Prashanthi, M.; Suguna, N.

    2017-12-01

    Welding is tremendously used in metal joining processes in the manufacturing process. In recent years, diffusion welding method has significantly increased the quality of a weld. Nevertheless, diffusion welding has some extent short research and application progress. Therefore, diffusion welding has a lack of relevant information, concerned with the joining of thick and thin materials with or without interlayers, on welding design such as fixture, parameters selection and integrated design. This article intends to combine innovative methods in the application of diffusion welding design. This will help to decrease trial and error or failure risks in the welding process being guided by the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) design method. This article hopes to provide welding design personnel with innovative design ideas under research and for practical application.

  20. Real Time Trajectory Correction System Of Optical Head In Laser Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cieszyński Wojciech

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Application of laser welding technology requires that the laser beam is guided through the whole length of the joint with sufficiently high accuracy. This paper describes result of research on development of optomechatronic system that allows for the precise positioning of the laser head’s TCP point on the edge of welded elements during laser processing. The developed system allows for compensation of workpiece’s fixture inaccuracies, precast distortions and workpiece deformations occurring during the process.

  1. Welding method by remote handling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashinokuchi, Minoru.

    1994-01-01

    Water is charged into a pit (or a water reservoir) and an article to be welded is placed on a support in the pit by remote handling. A steel plate is disposed so as to cover the article to be welded by remote handling. The welding device is positioned to the portion to be welded and fixed in a state where the article to be welded is shielded from radiation by water and the steel plate. Water in the pit is drained till the portion to be welded is exposed to the atmosphere. Then, welding is conducted. After completion of the welding, water is charged again to the pit and the welding device and fixing jigs are decomposed in a state where the article to be welded is shielded again from radiation by water and the steel plate. Subsequently, the steel plate is removed by remote handling. Then, the article to be welded is returned from the pit to a temporary placing pool by remote handling. This can reduce operator's exposure. Further, since the amount of the shielding materials can be minimized, the amount of radioactive wastes can be decreased. (I.N.)

  2. Corrosion Properties of Laser Welded Stainless Steel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weldingh, Jakob; Olsen, Flemmming Ove

    1997-01-01

    In this paper the corrosion properties of laser welded AISI 316L stainless steel are examined. A number of different welds has been performed to test the influence of the weld parameters of the resulting corrosion properties. It has been chosen to use the potential independent critical pitting...... temperature (CPT) test as corrosion test. The following welding parameters are varied: Welding speed, lsser power, focus point position and laser operation mode (CW or pulsed)....

  3. SmartWeld/SmartProcess - intelligent model based system for the design and validation of welding processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitchner, J.

    1996-04-01

    Diagrams are presented on an intelligent model based system for the design and validation of welding processes. Key capabilities identified include `right the first time` manufacturing, continuous improvement, and on-line quality assurance.

  4. Argon-arc welding of heat resisting aluminium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryazantsev, V.I.; Fedoseev, V.A.

    1997-01-01

    Welding of aluminium heat resisting alloys of the Al-Cu-Mg system is studied. The hot-shortness of heat-resistant alloys M40, 1150 and 1151 are at the level of aluminium alloys 1201 and by 2-3 times lower as compared to the aluminium alloy AMg6. The M40, 1150 and 1151 alloys have unquestionable advantages against other know aluminium alloys only at temperatures of welded structures operation, beginning with 150-2000 deg C and especially at 250 deg C

  5. The development of a quality prediction system for aluminum laser welding to measure plasma intensity using photodiodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Ji Young [Technical Research Center, Hyundai Steel Company, Dangjin (Korea, Republic of); Sohn, Yong Ho [Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando (United States); Park, Young Whan; Kwak, Jae Seob [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Lightweight metals have been used to manufacture the body panels of cars to reduce the weight of car bodies. Typically, aluminum sheets are welded together, with a focus on weld quality assurance. A weld quality prediction system for the laser welding of aluminum was developed in this research to maximize welding production. The behavior of the plasma was also analyzed, dependent on various welding conditions. The light intensity of the plasma was altered with heat input and wire feed rate conditions, and the strength of the weld and sensor signals correlated closely for this heat input condition. Using these characteristics, a new algorithm and program were developed to evaluate the weld quality. The design involves a combinatory algorithm using a neural network model for the prediction of tensile strength from measured signals and a fuzzy multi-feature pattern recognition algorithm for the weld quality classification to improve predictability of the system.

  6. The development of a quality prediction system for aluminum laser welding to measure plasma intensity using photodiodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Ji Young; Sohn, Yong Ho; Park, Young Whan; Kwak, Jae Seob

    2016-01-01

    Lightweight metals have been used to manufacture the body panels of cars to reduce the weight of car bodies. Typically, aluminum sheets are welded together, with a focus on weld quality assurance. A weld quality prediction system for the laser welding of aluminum was developed in this research to maximize welding production. The behavior of the plasma was also analyzed, dependent on various welding conditions. The light intensity of the plasma was altered with heat input and wire feed rate conditions, and the strength of the weld and sensor signals correlated closely for this heat input condition. Using these characteristics, a new algorithm and program were developed to evaluate the weld quality. The design involves a combinatory algorithm using a neural network model for the prediction of tensile strength from measured signals and a fuzzy multi-feature pattern recognition algorithm for the weld quality classification to improve predictability of the system

  7. Automated TIG welding system with visual sensor for repairing nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Katsunori; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Kondoh, Yoshihide.

    1986-01-01

    An automated TIG welding system has been developed. This system is to be used for repairing nuclear plants, whose work environment is highly radioactive, so should have the automatic self control function and the remote controllable function. For this purpose, the visual sensor, a TV camera and an image processor, is installed and the image processing technique is applied to the all-position TIG welding system. In this system, all controls are made with microprocessors and every necessary information is displayed on the screen of the remote control unit. The excellent performance was obtained as the application of this system to the practical field. (author)

  8. Determination of airborne nanoparticles from welding operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, João Fernando Pereira; Albuquerque, Paula Cristina Silva; Miranda, Rosa Maria Mendes; Vieira, Maria Teresa Freire

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study is to assess the levels of airborne ultrafine particles emitted in welding processes (tungsten inert gas [TIG], metal active gas [MAG] of carbon steel, and friction stir welding [FSW] of aluminum) in terms of deposited area in pulmonary alveolar tract using a nanoparticle surface area monitor (NSAM) analyzer. The obtained results showed the dependence of process parameters on emitted ultrafine particles and demonstrated the presence of ultrafine particles compared to background levels. Data indicated that the process that resulted in the lowest levels of alveolar deposited surface area (ADSA) was FSW, followed by TIG and MAG. However, all tested processes resulted in significant concentrations of ultrafine particles being deposited in humans lungs of exposed workers.

  9. Instructional Guidelines. Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fordyce, H. L.; Doshier, Dale

    Using the standards of the American Welding Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, this welding instructional guidelines manual presents a course of study in accordance with the current practices in industry. Intended for use in welding programs now practiced within the Federal Prison System, the phases of the program are…

  10. Acoustic Emission Weld Monitoring in the 2195 Aluminum-Lithium Alloy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, James L.

    2005-01-01

    Due to its low density, the 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy was developed as a replacement for alloy 2219 in the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET). The external tank is the single largest component of the space shuttle system. It is 154 feet long and 27.6 feet in diameter, and serves as the structural backbone for the shuttle during launch, absorbing most of the 7 million plus pounds of thrust produced. The almost 4% decrease in density between the two materials provides an extra 7500 pounds of payload capacity necessary to put the International Space Station components into orbit. The ET is an all-welded structure; hence, the requirement is for up to five rewelds without hot cracking. Unfortunately, hot cracking during re-welding or repair operations was occurring and had to be dealt with before the new super lightweight tank could be used. Weld metal porosity formation was also of concern because it leads to hot cracking during weld repairs. Accordingly, acoustic emission (AE) nondestructive testing was employed to monitor the formation of porosity and hot cracks in order to select the best filler metal and optimize the weld schedule. The purpose of this work is to determine the feasibility of detecting hot cracking in welded aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) structures through the analysis of acoustic emission data. By acoustically characterizing the effects of reheating during a repair operation, the potential for hidden flaws coalescing and becoming "unstable" as the panel is repaired could be reduced. Identification of regions where microcrack growth is likely to occur and the location of active flaw growth in the repair weld will provide the welder with direct feedback as to the current weld quality enabling adjustments to the repair process be made in the field. An acoustic emission analysis of the source mechanisms present during welding has been conducted with the goals of locating regions in the weld line that are susceptible to damage from a repair operation

  11. Advances in solar cell welding technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chidester, L.G.; Lott, D.R.

    1982-09-01

    In addition to developing the rigid substrate welded conventional cell panels for an earlier U.S. flight program, LMSC recently demonstrated a welded lightweight array system using both 2 x 4 and 5.9 x 5.9 cm wraparound solar cells. This weld system uses infrared sensing of weld joint temperature at the cell contact metalization interface to precisely control weld energy on each joint. Modules fabricated using this weld control system survived lowearth-orbit simulated 5-year tests (over 30,000 cycles) without joint failure. The data from these specifically configured modules, printed circuit substrate with copper interconnect and dielectric wraparound solar cells, can be used as a basis for developing weld schedules for additional cell array panel types.

  12. Complete Report on the Development of Welding Parameters for Irradiated Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frederick, Greg [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knoxville, TN (United States); Sutton, Benjamin J. [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knoxville, TN (United States); Tatman, Jonathan K. [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knoxville, TN (United States); Vance, Mark Christopher [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Clark, Scarlett R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Feng, Zhili [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Miller, Roger G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Chen, Jian [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Tang, Wei [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gibson, Brian T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2017-11-01

    The advanced welding facility at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was conceived to enable research and development of weld repair techniques for nuclear power plant life extension, is now operational. The development of the facility and its advanced welding capabilities, along with the model materials for initial welding trials, were funded jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program, the Electric Power Research Institute, Long Term Operations Program and the Welding and Repair Technology Center, with additional support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Welding of irradiated materials was initiated on November 17, 2017, which marked a significant step in the development of the facility and the beginning of extensive welding research and development campaigns on irradiated materials that will eventually produce validated techniques and guidelines for weld repair activities carried out to extend the operational lifetimes of nuclear power plants beyond 60 years. This report summarizes the final steps that were required to complete weld process development, initial irradiated materials welding activities, near-term plans for irradiated materials welding, and plans for post-weld analyses that will be carried out to assess the ability of the advanced welding processes to make repairs on irradiated materials.

  13. A development of an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Hyun; Song, Sung Jin; Lee, Kang Won; Kim, Young Jin; Woo, Jong Sik

    2006-01-01

    Large scaled ships, manufactured inside of the country, should be passed welding inspection and painting film inspection. Normally, these kind of inspections are conducted by human inspectors manually, although it cause industrial disasters such as falling accidents and diving accidents frequently. In addition, Ship makers are not to give a full trust to shipowners because manual inspections cannot be conducted all over the welding parts. So, in this study we developed an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot. This system, controlled by an inspector at a remote field, can inspect welding parts of ship outer panel both under water and in air. In this paper we present the developed robot and ultrasonic TOFD inspection system and the inspection result.

  14. A development of an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Hyun; Song, Sung Jin; Lee, Kang Won; Kim, Young Jin; Woo, Jong Sik

    2006-01-01

    Large scaled ships, manufactured inside of the country, should be passed welding inspection and painting film inspection. Normally, these kind of inspections are conducted by human inspectors manually, although it cause industrial disasters such as falling accidents and diving accidents frequently. In addition, Ship makers are not to give a full trust to ship owners because manual inspections cannot be conducted all over the welding parts. So, in this study we developed an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot. This system, controlled by an inspector at a remote field, can inspect welding parts of ship outer panel both under water and in air. In this paper we present the developed robot and ultrasonic TOFD inspection system and the inspection result.

  15. Plug-welding of ODS cladding tube for BOR-60 irradiation. Welding condition setting. Device remodeling and welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seki, Masayuki; Ishibashi, Fujio; Kono, Syusaku; Hirako, Kazuhito; Tsukada, Tatsuya

    2003-04-01

    Irradiation test in BOR-60 at RIAR to judge practical use prospect of ODS cladding tube at early stage is planned as Japan-Russia a joint research. RIAR does fuel design of fuel pin used for this joint research. JNC manufactures ODS cladding tube and bar materials (two steel kind of martensite and ferrite), upper endplug production. They are welded by pressurized resistance welding, and are inspected in JNC Tokai, transported to RIAR. And RIAR manufactures vibration packing fuel pin. On the upper endplug welding by pressurized resistance welding method, we worded on the problems such as decision of welding condition by changing the size and crystallization of cladding tube and the design of endplug, and the chucking device remodeling to correspond to the long scale cladding tube welding system (included handling) and of quality assurance method. Especially, use of long scale cladding tube caused problem that bending transformation occurred in cladding tube by welding pressure. However, we solved this problem by shortening the distance of cladding tube colette chuck and pressure receiving, and by putting the sleeve in an internal space of welding machine, losing the bending of cladding tube. Moreover, welding defects were occurred by the difference of an inside state, an inside defect and recrystallization of cladding tube. We solved the problem by inside grinding for the edge of tube, angle beam method by ultrasonic wave, and ultrasonic wave form confirmation. Manufacturing process with long scale cladding tube including heat-treatment to remove combustion return and remaining stress was established besides, Afterwards, welding of ODS cladding tube and upper endplug. As the quality assurance system, we constructed [Documented procedure (referred to JOYO)] based on [Document of the QA plan] by OEC. Welding and inspection were executed by the document procedure. It is thought that the quality assurance method become references for the irradiation test in JOYO in the

  16. Pipeline welding with Flux Cored and Metal Cored Wire; Soldagem de dutos com processos Arame Tubular e de Alma Metalica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, Ubirajara Pereira da [ITW Soldagem Brasil Miller-Hobart, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2003-07-01

    Different welding process like SMAW, Semi-Automatic FCAW Gas-shielded and Self-shielded and Mechanized GMAW-MAG with Solid Wire are suggested to weld Transmission Pipelines. Presently, the largest extensions of Transmission Pipelines under construction, are in China like Lines West-East, Zong-Wu, Shan-Jing Fuxian and some others, totalizing about 8.000 km, and all using Semi-Automatic Self Shielded Flux Cored Arc Welding Process. Also, several papers and magazines that covers Transmission Pipelines Welding, not frequently mention Operational aspects of the process and some other variables like environment and site geography. This presentation intends to cover some of the Operational aspects of the Flux Cored Arc Welding and GMAW-Metal Cored in order to give sufficient information for Construction, Engineering, Projects e Contractors so they can evaluate these Process against the SMAW or even Mechanized Systems, considering the Operation Factor, Efficiency and Deposition Rate. We will not cover operational details of the GMAW Mechanized Systems but only suggest that be evaluated the possibility to replace the GMAW-Solid Wire by the GMAW-Metal Cored Wire. (author)

  17. Collection of arc welding process data

    OpenAIRE

    K. Luksa; Z. Rymarski

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of the research was to examine the possibility of detecting welding imperfections by recording the instant values of welding parameters. The microprocessor controlled system for real-time collection and display of welding parameters was designed, implemented and tested.Design/methodology/approach: The system records up to 4 digital or analog signals collected from welding process and displays their run on the LCD display. To disturb the welding process artificial disturbances...

  18. Philosophy of weld repair of steam turbine rotors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertilsson, J.E.; Scarlin, R.B.; Faber, G.

    1987-01-01

    Weld repair of a cracked rotor should never be limited to simply grinding out cracks and filling up with weld metal. It is essential to know where and why a crack appeared. In several instances in the past weld repairs have been made of fatigue cracked rotors which have been placed successfully into service. Prolonged further operation can be assured only if the cause of cracking is known and if the design weakness demonstrated in this way is eliminated. However, in cases where creep cracking is encountered or where the creep life is approaching exhaustion, a local repair even if achieved crack-free, cannot ensure successful long-term further operation. The decision must be made to replace a major section of the rotor. The paper describes weld repair trials performed on an HP rotor after 100,000 hours of operation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of making weld repairs of low-toughness CrMoV rotors according to this philosophy

  19. Characterisation of girth pipe weld for primary heat transport system of pressurised heavy water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, P.K.; Vaze, K.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

    2002-01-01

    The weld and heat affected zone (HAZ) associated with the girth weld are most vulnerable regions of the piping system. The different regions of the weld joint such as the weld metal, HAZ and base metal lead to heterogeneous mechanical and metallurgical properties of the joints. Due to their different metallurgical and mechanical properties, the amounts of damage produced in these regions are different when the component is subjected to service condition. Thus, it is imperative to know the characteristics of these regions of a pipe weld in order to identify the weakest zone for safe designing of high energy piping components. In view of this necessity the present study has been planned to carry out complete characterisation of the weld joint of SA 333 Gr.6 steel pipe, in terms of its metallurgical, mechanical and fracture properties. The mechanical and fracture mechanics properties of the base metal, weld deposit and HAZ have been compared and correlated with reference to their microstructures. Weld joints of SA 333 Gr.6 steel pipe have been prepared by using GTAW root pass and SMAW filling of V-grove as per recommended welding procedure specifications (WPS) conforming to ASME Sec IX commonly used to fabricate nuclear piping system components. The emphasis of the study is to characterise base, weld and HAZ of the pipe weld in terms of chemical, metallurgical, mechanical and fracture mechanics properties. The fracture toughness behaviour of the welds and HAZ has been characterised by J-integral parameters. The fatigue crack growth rate has been characterised by Paris Law. Stretched zone width (SZW) has been measured under SEM to evaluate initiation fracture toughness. The estimated initiation fracture toughness based on SZW and blunting line given by EGF recommendation have been compared. The fracture mechanics properties of base, weld and HAZ has been determined and compared. The fracture mechanics properties of the weld and HAZ have been correlated to their

  20. Recent advances in the TIG welding process and the application of the welding of nuclear components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucas, W.; Males, B.O.

    1982-01-01

    Recent advances in the field of precision arc welding techniques and infacilities for production of nuclear power plant components arc presented. Of the precision welding techniques, pulsed TIG welding, pulsed plasma arc welding, hot-wire TIG welding, and pulsed inert-gas metal-arc welding. In the field of weld cladding, GMA plasma welding is cited as an alternative to submerged-arc welding with a strip electrode. Transistors and computer-controlled welding systems get a special mention. Applications of TIG welding in the UK are cited, e.g. welding of components for the AGR nuclear power plant and construction of equipment for repair work in feedwater pipes of the MAGNOX reactor. (orig.) [de

  1. Intelligent Modeling Combining Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System and Genetic Algorithm for Optimizing Welding Process Parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gowtham, K. N.; Vasudevan, M.; Maduraimuthu, V.; Jayakumar, T.

    2011-04-01

    Modified 9Cr-1Mo ferritic steel is used as a structural material for steam generator components of power plants. Generally, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is preferred for welding of these steels in which the depth of penetration achievable during autogenous welding is limited. Therefore, activated flux TIG (A-TIG) welding, a novel welding technique, has been developed in-house to increase the depth of penetration. In modified 9Cr-1Mo steel joints produced by the A-TIG welding process, weld bead width, depth of penetration, and heat-affected zone (HAZ) width play an important role in determining the mechanical properties as well as the performance of the weld joints during service. To obtain the desired weld bead geometry and HAZ width, it becomes important to set the welding process parameters. In this work, adaptative neuro fuzzy inference system is used to develop independent models correlating the welding process parameters like current, voltage, and torch speed with weld bead shape parameters like depth of penetration, bead width, and HAZ width. Then a genetic algorithm is employed to determine the optimum A-TIG welding process parameters to obtain the desired weld bead shape parameters and HAZ width.

  2. [New welding processes and health effects of welding].

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Vecchia, G Marina; Maestrelli, Piero

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes some of the recent developments in the control technology to enhance capability of Pulse Gas Metal Arc Welding. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processing has been also considered. FSW is a new solid-state joining technique. Heat generated by friction at the rotating tool softens the material being welded. FSW can be considered a green and energy-efficient technique without deleterious fumes, gas, radiation, and noise. Application of new welding processes is limited and studies on health effects in exposed workers are lacking. Acute and chronic health effects of conventional welding have been described. Metal fume fever and cross-shift decline of lung function are the main acute respiratory effects. Skin and eyes may be affected by heat, electricity and UV radiations. Chronic effects on respiratory system include chronic bronchitis, a benign pneumoconiosis (siderosis), asthma, and a possible increase in the incidence of lung cancer. Pulmonary infections are increased in terms of severity, duration, and frequency among welders.

  3. Student Material for Competency-Based Education Curriculum for Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Associated Educational Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA.

    This student welding competency-based education curriculum consists of six units dealing with general areas related to trade occupations and nine units covering specific aspects of working with welding equipment and performing welding operations. Topics covered in the first six units are welding opportunities, human relations, safety, basic…

  4. Designing, Constructing and Installing a Local Exhaust Ventilation System to Minimize Welders\\' Exposure to Welding Fumes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sajad Zare

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Welder’s exposure to welding fumes can cause occupational diseases. The current study sought to examine exposure to welding fumes among welders who work in the repair shop of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex and design a local exhaust ventilation system to control exposure to welding fumes. Materials & Methods: This applied analytical study was conducted in the summer of 2016 among welders working in the repair shop of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex. The study comprised three phases; in the first one, welders’ exposure to welding fumes was assessed at the beginning of the study. After that, a local exhaust ventilation system was designed and installed in the aforementioned repair shop. In the final stage, welders’ exposure to welding fumes was assessed again after installation of the ventilation system. The procedure recommended by NIOSH (method number 7300 was used for individual sampling of welders. Results: Based on the obtained findings, before installing the ventilation system, welding technicians were exposed to 0.3 mg/m3 of copper fumes and 0.04 mg/m3 of chromium fumes. Journeyman welders were also exposed to 2.16 mg/m3 of manganese fumes, while stellar welders were exposed to 6.9 mg/m3 of iron fumes. In the light of these measurements, a local exhaust ventilation system was designed and installed. Subsequently, measurement of exposure to welding fumes showed a significant reduction. That is, welding technicians were exposed to 0.17 mg/m3 and 0.015 mg/m3 of copper and chromium fumes respectively. Additionally, journeyman welders were exposed to 0.86 mg/m3 of manganese fumes, whereas stellar welders were exposed to 4.3 mg/m3 of iron fumes. Conclusions: A comparison of standard limits of exposure to welding fumes and the results obtained from measurements in sampling stations before and after the installation of the local exhaust ventilation system reveals that this controlling measure was very effective in the

  5. Eddy current testing system for bottom mounted instrumentation welds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kobayashi Noriyasu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The capability of eddy current testing (ECT for the bottom mounted instrumentation (BMI weld area of reactor vessel in a pressurized water reactor was demonstrated by the developed ECT system and procedure. It is difficult to position and move the probe on the BMI weld area because the area has complexly curved surfaces. The space coordinates and the normal vectors at the scanning points were calculated as the scanning trajectory of probe based on the measured results of surface shape on the BMI mock-up. The multi-axis robot was used to move the probe on the mock-up. Each motion-axis position of the robot corresponding to each scanning point was calculated by the inverse kinematic algorithm. In the mock-up test, the probe was properly contacted with most of the weld surfaces. The artificial stress corrosion cracking of approximately 6 mm in length and the electrical-discharge machining slit of 0.5 mm in length, 1 mm in depth and 0.2 mm in width given on the weld surface were detected. From the probe output voltage, it was estimated that the average probe tilt angle on the surface under scanning was 2.6°.

  6. Application of YAG laser processing in underwater welding and cutting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohwaki, Katsura; Morita, Ichiro; Kojima, Toshio; Sato, Shuichi [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2002-09-01

    The high-power YAG laser is a new fabrication tool. The laser torch is easy to combine with complex with complex mechanics because of beam delivery through optical fiber. A direct underwater laser welding technology has been developed and applied to the preservation, maintenance and removal of nuclear power plants. For subdividing or removing operations for retirement of plants, the laser cutting properties were confirmed to allow a maximum cutting thickness of 80 mm. For repairing inner surface of stainless steel tanks, an underwater laser welding system using a remote-controlled robot was developed and the high quality of underwater laser welding was confirmed. (author)

  7. Development of a one side automatic TIG arc welding system in horizontal position for annular vessels in nuclear fuel cycle factory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtsuka, Takao; Ohsawa, Morihiko; Nakashima, Hiroyuki; Habuta, Susumu; Hori, Tomiji; Fujiwara, Katsusi; Kitaguchi, Yoshihisa.

    1995-01-01

    Various annular vessels are planned to be equipped as a part of the plutonium refining facility in the nuclear fuel cycle factory. For manufacturing the high quality vessels, a one side automatic TIG arc welding system which is applied to the circumferencial joints in horizontal welding position have been completed. The automatic welding system is confirmed to be effective for improving the joint qualities and saving the manufacturing cost by our Mockup test. The main points of our welding system are as follows. (1) Low pulsed TIG arc welding process with a mixed shielding gas of Ar+5%H 2 is being employed. (2) Mechanical seam trucking system for the carriage and welding torch is equipped in the welding machine. (3) Arc voltage controlling system is employed for stabilizing the welding condition. (4) Magnetic wheels are equipped at the carriage for travelling without rails. The weight of this welding machine is designed to be less than 15 kg. (author)

  8. Laser and electron beam welding of Ti-alloys: Literature review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cam, G; Santos, J.F. dos; Kocak, M [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Werkstofforschung

    1998-12-31

    The welding of titanium alloys must be conducted in completely inert or vacuum environments due to the strong affinity of titanium to oxygen. Residual stresses in titanium welds can greatly influence the performance of a fabricated aerospace component by degrading fatigue properties. Moreover, distortion can cause difficulties in the final assembly and operation of high-tolerance aerospace systems. Power beam welding processes, namely laser and electron beam welding, offer remarkable advantages over conventional fusion welding processes and have a great potential to produce full-penetration, single-pass autogenous welds with minimal component distortion due to low heat input and high reproducibility of joint quality. Moreover, electron beam welding process, which is conducted in a vacuum chamber, inherently provides better atmospheric protection. Although considerable progress has been made in welding of titanium alloys by power beam processes, there is still a lack of a complete set of mechanical properties data of these joints. Furthermore, the problem of solid-state cracking in fusion welding of {gamma}-TiAl intermetallic alloys due to their low ductility is still to be overcome. The purpose of this literature review is to outline the progress made in this area and to provide basic information for the Brite-Euram project entitled assessment of quality of power beam weld joints ``ASPOW``. (orig.) 31 refs.

  9. Field Testing Pulsed Power Inverters in Welding Operations to Control Heavy Metal Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-01

    Aluminum, zinc , and barium were also present, but they are believed to be an artifact of the CI substrate filter material.) Other metals that appear in the...OPERATIONS As noted earlier, PPI technology is promoted as producing less metal-bearing particulates because less slag and spatter take place. This is...2) Also, less slag and spatter should result in reduced welding time. In addition, PPI reportedly will generate less ozone, carbon monoxide, and

  10. Laser-GMA Hybrid Pipe Welding System

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-11-01

    Investigation of varying laser power. The welded pipe is shown, with close -ups of the rootside reinforcement and macro sections...68 Figure 44. Investigation of varying laser stand-off. The welded pipe is shown, along with close -ups of backside...conventional beveled joints. With appropriate joint configuration and preparation, deep keyhole penetration provided by the laser and additional filler

  11. Microstructure in welding zone of a zircaloy 4 tube welded by TIG process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolfarini, C.; Domingues Filho, H.

    1982-01-01

    The details concerned with the welding of seamless zircaloy 4 tubes for nuclear application and the earlier welding tests made in the tubes that will be used for the construction of the Argonautas' Reactor fuel element, are described. Based on the references the microestructure changes in the heat affected zone were analyzed in respect to the material's performance in operation. (Author) [pt

  12. Leakage detection device for weld portion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinkawa, Toshio; Setokuchi, Sadayuki.

    1994-01-01

    The present invention concerns leakage detection device for weld portions, for example, in a nuclear reactor cavity, which can rapidly detect by remote control. That is, a detection device capable of self running and stopping on a guide rail along a weld line is disposed. The detection device comprises a coating mechanism for automatically coating soap water to the weld portion, a vacuum box capable of evacuating the coated surface and a camera for detecting the presence or absence of the soap bubbles generated under the evacuation. Such a device can conduct, by remote control, self running/stopping along with the weld line, coating of the soap water, settling of the vacuum box and confirmation and recording of foaming by using a television monitor. Accordingly, leakage in the weld portion in the reactor cavity or the like can be inspected. As a result, it greatly contributes to improvement of danger upon worker's operation at high place, detection accuracy and reliability of detection and shortening of operation period. (I.S.)

  13. Ultrasonic Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabors, Sammy

    2015-01-01

    NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Ultrasonic Stir Welding (USW) to join large pieces of very high-strength metals such as titanium and Inconel. USW, a solid-state weld process, improves current thermal stir welding processes by adding high-power ultrasonic (HPU) energy at 20 kHz frequency. The addition of ultrasonic energy significantly reduces axial, frictional, and shear forces; increases travel rates; and reduces wear on the stir rod, which results in extended stir rod life. The USW process decouples the heating, stirring, and forging elements found in the friction stir welding process allowing for independent control of each process element and, ultimately, greater process control and repeatability. Because of the independent control of USW process elements, closed-loop temperature control can be integrated into the system so that a constant weld nugget temperature can be maintained during welding.

  14. TRANSIENT FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION AND MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION OF AA2219 WELD JOINT USING GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sivaraman Arunkumar

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study we focus on finite element simulation of gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW of AA2219 aluminum alloy and the behavioral of the microstructure before and after weld. The simulations were performed using commercial COMSOL Multiphysics software. The thermal history of the weld region was studied by initially developed mathematical model. A sweep type meshing was used and transient analysis was performed for one welding cycle. The highest temperature noted was 3568 °C during welding. The welding operation was performed on 200×100×25 mm plates. Through metallurgical characterization, it was observed that a fair copper rich cellular (CRC network existed in the weld region. A small amount of intermetallic compounds like Al2Cu is observed through the XRD pattern.

  15. Video Game Device Haptic Interface for Robotic Arc Welding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corrie I. Nichol; Milos Manic

    2009-05-01

    Recent advances in technology for video games have made a broad array of haptic feedback devices available at low cost. This paper presents a bi-manual haptic system to enable an operator to weld remotely using the a commercially available haptic feedback video game device for the user interface. The system showed good performance in initial tests, demonstrating the utility of low cost input devices for remote haptic operations.

  16. Application of CO2 laser beam weld for repair of fuel element of nuclear reactor 'YAYOI'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashimoto, Mitsuo; Yanagi, Hideharu; Sukegawa, Toshio; Saito, Isao; Sasuga, Norihiko; Aizawa, Nagaaki; Miya, Kenzo

    1986-01-01

    The present studies are to develop CO 2 laser beam welding techniques in order to apply for repoint of nuclear reactor fuel of Fast Neutron Source Reactor YAYOI. For that purpos, many experiments were conduted to obtain various effects of laser welding variables with use of SUS 304 plates, pipes and simulated dumy fuels. These experiments provided us an optimal welding condition through metallurgical observations, non-destructive and mechanical tests. It was found that the laser welds exhibited properties equivalent to those of the base metal, in addition they provided us a favorable system than that of electron beam welds against a cladding of radioactive nuclear fuel in a hot cell. The present paper reports on the characteristics of laser welds, structural analysis of fuel element and a system design of remotely operated devices setting in a hot cell. (author)

  17. IMPROVEMENT OF WELDED CONNECTIONS WITH SIDE LAP WELDS BY REDISTRIBUTION OF ALL-WELD METAL ALONG LENGTHS AND CROSS-SECTIONS THEREOF USING MECHANIZED AND ROBOTIC WELDING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlov Evgeniy Igorevich

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Experimental study of bearing capacity of samples of two series performed by semiautomatic welding in CO2 on the axis, and by robotic welding machine in mixture (CO2 + Ar, is presented. Welds of constant cross section, welds with extended leg on end sections, and welds in the form of two dowels on end sections were performed. Efficiency of pilot samples of the first series (with extended leg on end sections by way of a smooth transition defined by the ratio of weld metal volume to a crushing load reaches 28 % relative to samples with a leg constant as per length. Samples of the first series with an extended leg on end sections also showed efficiency increased to 17 %. According to the second series samples test results, the exceeding of bearing capacity of the samples performed with an extended leg on end sections by 24 % in comparison with the samples with a leg of constant cross section was determined. Samples of the second series performed in the form of two dowels on end sections demonstrated the exceeding of the relative bearing capacity by 42 % in comparison with the samples with a continuous leg of constant cross-section.

  18. Welding the AT-400A Containment Vessel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandon, E.

    1998-11-01

    Early in 1994, the Department of Energy assigned Sandia National Laboratories the responsibility for designing and providing the welding system for the girth weld for the AT-400A containment vessel. (The AT-400A container is employed for the shipment and long-term storage of the nuclear weapon pits being returned from the nation's nuclear arsenal.) Mason Hanger Corporation's Pantex Plant was chosen to be the production facility. The project was successfully completed by providing and implementing a turnkey welding system and qualified welding procedure at the Pantex Plant. The welding system was transferred to Pantex and a pilot lot of 20 AT-400A containers with W48 pits was welded in August 1997. This document is intended to bring together the AT-400A welding system and product (girth weld) requirements and the activities conducted to meet those requirements. This document alone is not a complete compilation of the welding development activities but is meant to be a summary to be used with the applicable references.

  19. Automatization of welding for nuclear power equipments and facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamai, Yasumasa; Matsumoto, Teruo; Koyama, Takaichi

    1980-01-01

    For the requirement of high reliability in the construction of nuclear power plants and the reduction of radiation exposure in the modefying works of existing plants, the automation and remote operation of welding have increased their necessity. In this paper, the present state of the automation of welding for making machines, equipments and pipings for nuclear power plants in Hitachi Ltd. is described, and the aim of developing the automation, the features of the equipments and the state of application to actual plants are introduced, centering around the automation of welding for large structures such as reactor containment vessels and the remote type automatic welding system for pipings. By these automations, the large outcomes were obtained in the improvement of welding quality required for the machines and equipments for atomic energy. Moreover, the conspicuous results were also obtained in case of the peculiar works to nuclear power plants, in which the reduction of the radiation exposure related to human bodies and the welding of high quality are demanded. The present state of the automation of welding for nuclear installations in Hitachi Ltd., the development of automatic welding equipments and the present state of application to actual plants, and the development and application of the automatic pipe working machine for reducing radiation exposure are explained. (Kako, I.)

  20. Soldadura (Welding). Spanish Translations for Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohhertz, Durwin

    Thirty transparency masters with Spanish subtitles for key words are provided for a welding/general mechanical repair course. The transparency masters are on such topics as oxyacetylene welding; oxyacetylene welding equipment; welding safety; different types of welds; braze welding; cutting torches; cutting with a torch; protective equipment; arc…

  1. Vision-based weld pool boundary extraction and width measurement during keyhole fiber laser welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Masiyang; Shin, Yung C.

    2015-01-01

    In keyhole fiber laser welding processes, the weld pool behavior is essential to determining welding quality. To better observe and control the welding process, the accurate extraction of the weld pool boundary as well as the width is required. This work presents a weld pool edge detection technique based on an off axial green illumination laser and a coaxial image capturing system that consists of a CMOS camera and optic filters. According to the difference of image quality, a complete developed edge detection algorithm is proposed based on the local maximum gradient of greyness searching approach and linear interpolation. The extracted weld pool geometry and the width are validated by the actual welding width measurement and predictions by a numerical multi-phase model.

  2. Welding process modelling and control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romine, Peter L.; Adenwala, Jinen A.

    1993-01-01

    The research and analysis performed, and software developed, and hardware/software recommendations made during 1992 in development of the PC-based data acquisition system for support of Welding Process Modeling and Control is reported. A need was identified by the Metals Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, for a mobile data aquisition and analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC-based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS) is a dedicated instrument, strictly for the use of data aquisition and analysis. Although the WMS supports many of the functions associated with the process control, it is not the intention for this system to be used for welding process control.

  3. Emissions of chromium (VI) from arc welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heung, William; Yun, Myoung-Jin; Chang, Daniel P Y; Green, Peter G; Halm, Chris

    2007-02-01

    The presence of Cr in the +6 oxidation state (Cr[VI]) is still observed in ambient air samples in California despite steps taken to reduce emissions from plating operations. One known source of emission of Cr(VI) is welding, especially with high Cr-content materials, such as stainless steels. An experimental effort was undertaken to expand and update Cr(VI) emission factors by conducting tests on four types of arc-welding operations: gas-metal arc welding (GMAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), fluxcore arc welding, and pulsed GMAW. Standard American Welding Society hood results were compared with a total enclosure method that permitted isokinetic sampling for particle size-cut measurement, as well as total collection of the aerosol. The fraction of Cr(VI) emitted per unit mass of Cr electrode consumed was determined. Consistent with AP-42 data, initial results indicate that a significant fraction of the total Cr in the aerosol is in the +6 oxidation state. The fraction of Cr(VI) and total aerosol mass produced by the different arc welding methods varies with the type of welding process used. Self-shielded electrodes that do not use a shield gas, for example, SMAW, produce greater amounts of Cr(VI) per unit mass of electrode consumed. The formation of Cr(VI) from standard electrode wires used for welding mild steel was below the method detection limit after eliminating an artifact in the analytical method used.

  4. Optimization and studies of the welding processes, automation of the sealing welding system and fracture mechanics in the vessels surveillance in nuclear power plants; Optimizacion y estudios de los procesos de soldadura, automatizacion del sistema de soldadura de sellado y mecanica de fractura en la vigilancia de vasijas en nucleoelectricas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gama R, G.

    2011-07-01

    Inside this work the optimization of two welding systems is described, as well as the conclusion of a system for the qualification of containers sealing in the National Institute of Nuclear Research that have application in the surveillance programs of nuclear reactors vessels and the correspondent extension of the operation license. The test tubes Charpy are assay to evaluate the embrittlement grade, when obtaining the increment in the reference temperature and the decrease of the absorbed maximum energy, in the transition curve fragile-ductile of the material. After the test two test tube halves are obtained that should take advantage to follow the surveillance of the vessel and their possible operation extension, this is achieved by means of rebuilding (being obtained of a tested test tube two reconstituted test tubes). The welding system for the rebuilding of test tubes Charpy, was optimized when diminishing the union force at solder, achieving the elimination of the rejection for penetration lack for spill. For this work temperature measurements were carried out at different distances of the welding interface from 1 up to 12 mm, obtaining temperature profiles. With the maximum temperatures were obtained a graph and equation that represents the maximum temperature regarding the distance of the interface, giving as a result practical the elimination of other temperature measurements. The reconstituted test tubes were introduced inside pressurized containers with helium of ultra high purity to 1 pressure atmosphere. This process was carried out in the welding system for containers sealing, where an automatic process was implemented by means of an application developed in the program LabVIEW, reducing operation times and allowing the remote control of the process, the acquisition parameters as well as the generation of welding reports, avoiding with this the human error. (Author)

  5. User's manual for remote-handled transuranic waste container welding and inspection fixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauptmann, J.P.

    1985-09-01

    Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) has designed built, and tested a prototype remotely operated welding and inspection fixture to be used in making the closure weld on the remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste container. The RH-TRU waste container has an average TRU concentration in excess of 100 nCi/gm, and a surface radiation dose rate in excess of 200 mrem/h, but not exceeding 100 rem/h. The RH-TRU waste container is to be used by defense waste generator sites in the United States for final packaging of RH-TRU wastes and is compatible with the requirements of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the WIPP handling system. Standard and stacked RH-TRU container designs are available. The standard container is 26 in. in dia. by 121 in. high; the stacked containers are 26 in. in dia. by 61.25 in. high. After loading, two stacked containers are fitted and welded together to form the identical measurements of the standard 121-in. container. The prototype RH-TRU waste container welding and inspection fixture was intended for test and evaluation only, and not for installation in an operating facility. The final RH-TRU waste container welding and inspection fixture drawings (see appendix) incorporate several changes made following operational testing of the original fixture. These modifications are identified in this manual. However, not all modifications have been functionally tested. The purpose of this manual is to aid waste generator sites in designing a remotely operated welding and inspection fixture that will conform to their own requirements. Modifications to the Rockwell design must be evaluated for structural and WIPP handling requirements. This manual also provides design philosophy, component vendor information, and cost estimates

  6. Quality status display for a vibration welding process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spicer, John Patrick; Abell, Jeffrey A.; Wincek, Michael Anthony; Chakraborty, Debejyo; Bracey, Jennifer; Wang, Hui; Tavora, Peter W.; Davis, Jeffrey S.; Hutchinson, Daniel C.; Reardon, Ronald L.; Utz, Shawn

    2017-03-28

    A system includes a host machine and a status projector. The host machine is in electrical communication with a collection of sensors and with a welding controller that generates control signals for controlling the welding horn. The host machine is configured to execute a method to thereby process the sensory and control signals, as well as predict a quality status of a weld that is formed using the welding horn, including identifying any suspect welds. The host machine then activates the status projector to illuminate the suspect welds. This may occur directly on the welds using a laser projector, or on a surface of the work piece in proximity to the welds. The system and method may be used in the ultrasonic welding of battery tabs of a multi-cell battery pack in a particular embodiment. The welding horn and welding controller may also be part of the system.

  7. Effects of microplasma arc AISI 316L welds on the corrosion behaviour of pipelines in LiBr cooling systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sánchez-Tovar, R.; Montañés, M.T.; García-Antón, J.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •SECM tests reveal differences in electrochemical activity of base and welded alloys. •The highest electrochemical activity is obtained for the welded alloy. •Microplasma arc welding process hinders passivation in lithium bromide. •Microplasma arc welding increases corrosion rate and susceptibility to pitting. •The galvanic pair between base and welded alloys in LiBr is weak. -- Abstract: The effect of microplasma arc welding (MPAW) on the electrochemical and corrosion behaviour of AISI 316L stainless steel tubes has been studied. Scanning electrochemical measurements were performed in sodium chloride to evaluate the difference in the electrochemical activity of base (non-welded) and welded samples. Oxygen reduction rates increase in AISI 316L due to the heat treatment effect induced by welding, indicating a higher electrochemical activity in the welded samples. Additionally, the use of MPA weldments in lithium bromide (LiBr) absorption machines was also analysed at typical operating temperatures and Reynolds numbers. The welding process increases corrosion rates, hinders passivation and increases the susceptibility to pitting attack in LiBr. However, zero-resistance ammeter and localization index measurements show that the galvanic pair generated between the base and welded alloys is weak, both electrodes being in their passive state. Temperature greatly affects the corrosion process

  8. Alternative welding reconditioning solutions without post welding heat treatment of pressure vessel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cicic, D. T.; Rontescu, C.; Bogatu, A. M.; Dijmărescu, M. C.

    2017-08-01

    In pressure vessels, working on high temperature and high pressure may appear some defects, cracks for example, which may lead to failure in operation. When these nonconformities are identified, after certain examination, testing and result interpretation, the decision taken is to repair or to replace the deteriorate component. In the current legislation it’s stipulated that any repair, alteration or modification to an item of pressurised equipment that was originally post-weld heat treated after welding (PWHT) should be post-weld heat treated again after repair, requirement that cannot always be respected. For that reason, worldwide, there were developed various welding repair techniques without PWHT, among we find the Half Bead Technique (HBT) and Controlled Deposition Technique (CDT). The paper presents the experimental results obtained by applying the welding reconditioning techniques HBT and CDT in order to restore as quickly as possible the pressure vessels made of 13CrMo4-5. The effects of these techniques upon the heat affected zone are analysed, the graphics of the hardness variation are drawn and the resulted structures are compared in the two cases.

  9. Case history of tantalum-weld cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knorovsky, G.A.

    1982-01-01

    Tantalum welding is normally a routine operation. Of course, the routine involves careful cleaning beforehand, and welding in an atmosphere which excludes reactive gases (O 2 , N 2 , H 2 ). Recently a weld cracking problem was encountered at SNLA despite the fact that normal precautions had been taken. This account reviews what happened, the analytical procedures followed to determine the unusual source of the problem, and the remedy which solved the problem

  10. Melt pool and keyhole behaviour analysis for deep penetration laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabbro, R

    2010-01-01

    One usually defines the main characteristic of the welding performances of a given laser system by its 'penetration curve' that corresponds to the welding depth as a function of the welding speed V w for a given set of operating parameters. Analysis of a penetration curve is interesting and gives very fruitful results. Coupled with high-speed video imaging of melt pool surface and ejected plume behaviour, the analysis of this penetration curve on a very large range of welding speeds, typically from 0 to 50 m min -1 , has allowed us to observe very different and characteristic regimes. These regimes are mainly characterized by the physical processes by which they impede the laser beam penetration inside the material. We show that it is only at rather high welding speeds that these limiting processes are reduced. Consequently, the scaling law of welding depth with welding speed is in agreement with adapted modelling of this process. On the other hand, as the welding speed is reduced, different effects depending on the weld pool dynamics and plume interaction strongly disturb the keyhole stability and are responsible for the deviation of the penetration curve from the previous modelling that agrees with a 1/V w scaling law. A corresponding criterion for the occurrence of this effect is defined.

  11. MAG narrow gap welding - an economic way to minimize welding expenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kast, W.; Scholz, E.; Weyland, F.

    1982-01-01

    The thicker structural components are, the more important it is to take measures to reduce the volume of the weld. The welding process requiring the smallest possible weld section is the so-called narrow gap process. In submerged arc narrow gap welding as well as in MAG narrow gap welding different variants are imaginable, some of them already in practical use. With regard to efficiency and weld quality an optimum variant of the MAG narrow gap welding process is described. It constitutes a two wire system in which two wire electrodes of 1.2 mm diameter are arranged one behind the other. In order to avoid lack of fusion, the wire guides are slightly pointed towards each groove face. Thus, by inclining the two arcs burning one behind the other in the direction of weld progress, it is achieved that two separately solidifying weld pools and two beads per layer are simultaneously formed. Welding parameters are selected in such a way that a heat input of 16-20 kJ/cm and a deposition rate of 11-16 kgs/h are obtained. In spite of this comparatively high deposition rate, good impact values are found both in the weld and HAZ (largely reduced coarse-grain zone) which is due to an optimum weld build-up. With the available welding equipment the process can be applied to structural members having a thickness of 40-400 mm. The width of gap is 13 mm (root section) with a bevel angle of 1 0 . As filler metal, basic flux-cored wires are used which, depending on the base metal to be welded and the required tensile properties, can be of the Mn-, MnMo-, MnCrMo-, MnNi-, or MnNiMo-alloyed types. (orig.)

  12. Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)-Based Models for Predicting the Weld Bead Width and Depth of Penetration from the Infrared Thermal Image of the Weld Pool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subashini, L.; Vasudevan, M.

    2012-02-01

    Type 316 LN stainless steel is the major structural material used in the construction of nuclear reactors. Activated flux tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) welding has been developed to increase the depth of penetration because the depth of penetration achievable in single-pass TIG welding is limited. Real-time monitoring and control of weld processes is gaining importance because of the requirement of remoter welding process technologies. Hence, it is essential to develop computational methodologies based on an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) or artificial neural network (ANN) for predicting and controlling the depth of penetration and weld bead width during A-TIG welding of type 316 LN stainless steel. In the current work, A-TIG welding experiments have been carried out on 6-mm-thick plates of 316 LN stainless steel by varying the welding current. During welding, infrared (IR) thermal images of the weld pool have been acquired in real time, and the features have been extracted from the IR thermal images of the weld pool. The welding current values, along with the extracted features such as length, width of the hot spot, thermal area determined from the Gaussian fit, and thermal bead width computed from the first derivative curve were used as inputs, whereas the measured depth of penetration and weld bead width were used as output of the respective models. Accurate ANFIS models have been developed for predicting the depth of penetration and the weld bead width during TIG welding of 6-mm-thick 316 LN stainless steel plates. A good correlation between the measured and predicted values of weld bead width and depth of penetration were observed in the developed models. The performance of the ANFIS models are compared with that of the ANN models.

  13. Fracture toughness of stainless steel welds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, W.J.

    1985-11-01

    The effects of temperature, composition and weld-process variations on the fracture toughness behavior for Types 308 and 16-8-2 stainless steel (SS) welds were examined using the multiple-specimen J/sub R/-curve procedure. Fracture characteristics were found to be dependent on temperature and weld process but not on filler material. Gas-tungsten-arc (GTA) welds exhibited the highest fracture toughness, a shielded metal-arc (SMA) weld exhibited an intermediate toughness and submerged-arc (SA) welds yielded the lowest toughness. Minimum-expected fracture properties were defined from lower-bound J/sub c/ and tearing modulus values generated here and in previous studies. Fractographic examination revealed that microvoid coalescence was the operative fracture mechanism for all welds. Second phase particles of manganese silicide were found to be detrimental to the ductile fracture behavior because they separated from the matrix during the initial stages of plastic straining. In SA welds, the high density of inclusions resulting from silicon pickup from the flux promoted premature dimple rupture. The weld produced by the SMA process contained substantially less manganese silicide, while GTA welds contained no silicide inclusions. Delta ferrite particles present in all welds were substantially more resistant to local failure than the silicide phase. In welds containing little or no manganese silicide, delta ferrite particles initiated microvoid coalescence but only after extensive plastic straining

  14. Development of an ultrasonic weld inspection system based on image processing and neural networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roca Barceló, Fernando; Jaén del Hierro, Pedro; Ribes Llario, Fran; Real Herráiz, Julia

    2018-04-01

    Several types of discontinuities and defects may be present on a weld, thus leading to a considerable reduction of its resistance. Therefore, ensuring a high welding quality and reliability has become a matter of key importance for many construction and industrial activities. Among the non-destructive weld testing and inspection techniques, the time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD) arises as a very safe (no ionising radiation), precise, reliable and versatile practice. However, this technique presents a relevant drawback, associated to the appearance of speckle noise that should be addressed. In this regard, this paper presents a new, intelligent and automatic method for weld inspection and analysis, based on TOFD, image processing and neural networks. The developed system is capable of detecting weld defects and imperfections with accuracy, and classify them into different categories.

  15. Verification of Strength of the Welded Joints by using of the Aramis Video System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pała Tadeusz

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In the paper are presented the results of strength analysis for the two types of the welded joints made according to conventional and laser technologies of high-strength steel S960QC. The hardness distributions, tensile properties and fracture toughness were determined for the weld material and heat affect zone material for both types of the welded joints. Tests results shown on advantage the laser welded joints in comparison to the convention ones. Tensile properties and fracture toughness in all areas of the laser joints have a higher level than in the conventional one. The heat affect zone of the conventional welded joints is a weakness area, where the tensile properties are lower in comparison to the base material. Verification of the tensile tests, which carried out by using the Aramis video system, confirmed this assumption. The highest level of strains was observed in HAZ material and the destruction process occurred also in HAZ of the conventional welded joint.

  16. Recent progress of welding technology applied for nuclear components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, T.; Hoshino, T.; Koide, H.; Yamamoto, T.; Takahashi, T.; Hashimoto, T.

    2005-01-01

    More than 30 years have been passed since the first nuclear power plant was in operation. Various needs for welding technology have been emerged and the technology has been developed. This paper first describes the key technologies in BWR power plants and then introduces ones in PWR power plants. Welding techniques are introduced in detail. Applications of arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, electroslag welding, electron beam welding are explained. In order to avoid stress corrosion cracking, water jet and laser peening techniques are used. (author)

  17. Metallurgical and fatigue assessments of welds in cast welded hydraulic turbine runners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trudel, A; Sabourin, M

    2014-01-01

    Decades of hydraulic turbine operation around the world have shown one undeniable fact; welded turbine runners can be prone to fatigue cracking, especially in the vicinity of welds. In this regard, three factors are essential to consider in runner fatigue assessments: (1) the runner's design, which can induce stress concentrations in the fillets, (2) the casting process, which inherently creates defects such as shrinkage cavities and (3) the welding process, which induces significant residual stresses as well as a heat affected zone in the cast pieces near the interface with the filler metal. This study focuses on the latter, the welding process, with emphasis on the influence of the heat affected zone on the runner's fatigue behavior. In a recently concluded study by a large research consortium in Montreal, the microstructure and fatigue crack propagation properties of a CA6NM runner weld heat affected zone were thoroughly investigated to find if this zone deteriorates the runner's resistance to fatigue cracking. The main results showed that this zone's intrinsic fatigue crack propagation resistance is only slightly lower than the unaffected base metal because of its somewhat finer martensitic microstructure leading to a less tortuous crack path. However, it was also confirmed that weld-induced residual stresses represent the dominant influencing factor regarding fatigue crack propagation, though post-weld heat treatments are usually very effective in reducing such residual stresses. This paper aims to further confirm, through a case study, that the weld-induced heat affected zone does not compromise the reliability of welded turbine runners when its fatigue crack propagation properties are considered in fatigue damage models

  18. Automatic Control Of Length Of Welding Arc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iceland, William F.

    1991-01-01

    Nonlinear relationships among current, voltage, and length stored in electronic memory. Conceptual microprocessor-based control subsystem maintains constant length of welding arc in gas/tungsten arc-welding system, even when welding current varied. Uses feedback of current and voltage from welding arc. Directs motor to set position of torch according to previously measured relationships among current, voltage, and length of arc. Signal paths marked "calibration" or "welding" used during those processes only. Other signal paths used during both processes. Control subsystem added to existing manual or automatic welding system equipped with automatic voltage control.

  19. Gas Metal Arc Welding. Welding Module 5. Instructor's Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Missouri Univ., Columbia. Instructional Materials Lab.

    This guide is intended to assist vocational educators in teaching an eight-unit module in gas metal arc welding. The module is part of a welding curriculum that has been designed to be totally integrated with Missouri's Vocational Instruction Management System. The following topics are covered in the module: safety and testing, gas metal arc…

  20. THE NEED FOR A NEW JOINING TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CLOSURE WELDING OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS CONTAINERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    CANNELL GR; HILL BE; GRANT GJ

    2008-01-01

    One of the activities associated with cleanup throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex is packaging radioactive materials into storage containers. Much of this work will be performed in high-radiation environments requiring fully remote operations, for which existing, proven systems do not currently exist. These conditions demand a process that is capable of producing acceptable (defect-free) welds on a consistent basis; the need to perform weld repair, under fully-remote operations, can be extremely costly and time consuming. Current closure welding technology (fusion welding) is not well suited for this application and will present risk to cleanup cost and schedule. To address this risk, Fluor and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are proposing that a new and emerging joining technology, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), be considered for this work. FSW technology has been demonstrated in other industries (aerospace and marine) to produce near flaw-free welds on a consistent basis. FSW is judged capable of providing the needed performance for fully-remote closure welding of containers for radioactive materials for the following reasons: FSW is a solid-state process; material is not melted. As such, FSW does not produce the type of defects associated with fusion welding, e.g., solidification-induced porosity, cracking, distortion due to weld shrinkage, and residual stress. In addition, because FSW is a low-heat input process, material properties (mechanical, corrosion and environmental) are preserved and not degraded as can occur with 'high-heat' fusion welding processes. When compared to fusion processes, FSW produces extremely high weld quality. FSW is performed using machine-tool technology. The equipment is simple and robust and well-suited for high radiation, fully-remote operations compared to the relatively complex equipment associated with the fusion-welding processes. Additionally, for standard wall thicknesses of radioactive materials

  1. The research of PSD location method in micro laser welding fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qiue; Zhang, Rong; Dong, Hua

    2010-11-01

    In the field of micro laser welding, besides the special requirement in the parameter of lasers, the locating in welding points accurately is very important. The article adopt position sensitive detector (PSD) as hard core, combine optic system, electric circuits and PC and software processing, confirm the location of welding points. The signal detection circuits adopt the special integrate circuit H-2476 to process weak signal. It is an integrated circuit for high-speed, high-sensitivity optical range finding, which has stronger noiseproof feature, combine digital filter arithmetic, carry out repair the any non-ideal factors, increasing the measure precision. The amplifier adopt programmable amplifier LTC6915. The system adapt two dimension stepping motor drive the workbench, computer and corresponding software processing, make sure the location of spot weld. According to different workpieces to design the clamps. The system on-line detect PSD 's output signal in the moving processing. At the workbench moves in the X direction, the filaments offset is detected dynamic. Analyze the X axes moving sampling signal direction could be estimate the Y axes moving direction, and regulate the Y axes moving values. The workbench driver adopt A3979, it is a stepping motor driver with insert transducer and operate easily. It adapts the requirement of location in micro laser welding fields, real-time control to adjust by computer. It can be content up 20 μm's laser micro welding requirement on the whole. Using laser powder cladding technology achieve inter-penetration welding of high quality and reliability.

  2. Infrared sensing techniques for adaptive robotic welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, T.T.; Groom, K.; Madsen, N.H.; Chin, B.A.

    1986-01-01

    The objective of this research is to investigate the feasibility of using infrared sensors to monitor the welding process. Data were gathered using an infrared camera which was trained on the molten metal pool during the welding operation. Several types of process perturbations which result in weld defects were then intentionally induced and the resulting thermal images monitored. Gas tungsten arc using ac and dc currents and gas metal arc welding processes were investigated using steel, aluminum and stainless steel plate materials. The thermal images obtained in the three materials and different welding processes revealed nearly identical patterns for the same induced process perturbation. Based upon these results, infrared thermography is a method which may be very applicable to automation of the welding process

  3. Welding of the A1 reactor pressure vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becka, J.

    1975-01-01

    As concerns welding, the A-1 reactor pressure vessel represents a geometrically complex unit containing 1492 welded joints. The length of welded sections varies between 10 and 620 mm. At an operating temperature of 120 degC and a pressure of 650 N/cm 2 the welded joints in the reactor core are exposed to an integral dose of 3x10 18 n/cm 2 . The chemical composition is shown for pressure vessel steel as specified by CSN 413090.9 modified by Ni, Ti and Al additions, and for the welding electrodes used. The requirements are also shown for the mechanical properties of the base and the weld metals. The technique and conditions of welding are described. No defects were found in ultrasonic testing of welded joints. (J.B.)

  4. Ultrasonic Stir Welding Development for Ground-Based and In Situ Fabrication and Repair for In-Space Propulsion Systems/Commercial Space Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Jeff

    2015-01-01

    The completed Center Innovation Fund (CIF) project used the upgraded Ultrasonic Stir Weld (USW) Prototype System (built in 2013/2014) to begin characterizing the weld process using 2219 aluminum (fig. 1). This work is being done in Bldg. 4755 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The capabilities of the USW system provides the means to precisely control and document individual welding parameters. The current upgraded system has the following capabilities: (1) Ability to 'pulse' ultrasonic (US) energy on and off and adjust parameters real-time (travel speed, spindle rpm, US amplitude, X and Z axis positions, and plunge and pin axis force; (2) Means to measure draw force; (3) Ability to record US power versus time; (4) Increasing stiffness of Z axis drive and reduce head deflection using laser technology; (5) Adding linear encoder to better control tool penetration setting; (6) Ultrasonic energy integrated into stir rod and containment plate; (7) Maximum 600 rpm; (8) Maximum Z force 15,000 lb; (9) Real-time data acquisition and logging capabilities at a minimum frequency of 10 Hz; and (10) Two separate transducer power supplies operating at 4.5 kW power.

  5. Real-time remote-controlled welding of the inspection nozzle on the Phenix double-wall tank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chagnot, C.; Dineghin, G. de; Baude, D.; Delmas, A.; Gauthier, A. [CEA Saclay, Lab. Moderne de Soudage, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France); Gros, J. [Centrale Phenix, 30 - Bagnols sur Ceze (France); Sommeillier, M. [Comex Nucleaire, 13 - Marseille (France)

    2001-07-01

    For the ultrasonic non destructive inspection of the vessel shell ring welds in the Phenix reactor, the insert of the NDT instrument needs to drill the double-wall tank, to install and weld nozzles. This last operation is realized by the way of an orbital welding installation. Considering severe environment restraints (irradiation, temperature, space,...), the welding control is made at distance (50 m). To supervise this operation, the welder requires an high quality image of the welding scene. Five nozzles of about 400 mm diameter are distributed on a 12 m-diameter tank. The junction between the nozzle and the tank present a shape of horse saddle and the passes trajectories against the tank wall show a lateral deviation of several millimeters. To take care of this deviation and of eventual geometrical defects, the welder adjust the torch position during welding. For that he needs an adapted information. The ''Laboratoire Moderne de Soudage'' inside CEA/CEREM has designed, validated and provided a new Computer-Assisted Welding for real-time remote-controlled orbital welding. Video cameras and a laser diode module were installed on the orbital installation for the watching of the welding scene. An image processing unit of new generation gives the real-time measurement of the distance between the torch and the wall tank. The control of the torch position is particularly significant to guarantee the good welding pass sequence. With this system, the position precision can reach 0,1 mm. (author)

  6. Real-time remote-controlled welding of the inspection nozzle on the Phenix double-wall tank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chagnot, C.; Dineghin, G. de; Baude, D.; Delmas, A.; Gauthier, A.; Gros, J.; Sommeillier, M.

    2001-01-01

    For the ultrasonic non destructive inspection of the vessel shell ring welds in the Phenix reactor, the insert of the NDT instrument needs to drill the double-wall tank, to install and weld nozzles. This last operation is realized by the way of an orbital welding installation. Considering severe environment restraints (irradiation, temperature, space,...), the welding control is made at distance (50 m). To supervise this operation, the welder requires an high quality image of the welding scene. Five nozzles of about 400 mm diameter are distributed on a 12 m-diameter tank. The junction between the nozzle and the tank present a shape of horse saddle and the passes trajectories against the tank wall show a lateral deviation of several millimeters. To take care of this deviation and of eventual geometrical defects, the welder adjust the torch position during welding. For that he needs an adapted information. The ''Laboratoire Moderne de Soudage'' inside CEA/CEREM has designed, validated and provided a new Computer-Assisted Welding for real-time remote-controlled orbital welding. Video cameras and a laser diode module were installed on the orbital installation for the watching of the welding scene. An image processing unit of new generation gives the real-time measurement of the distance between the torch and the wall tank. The control of the torch position is particularly significant to guarantee the good welding pass sequence. With this system, the position precision can reach 0,1 mm. (author)

  7. Formation mechanism for the nanoscale amorphous interface in pulse-welded Al/Fe bimetallic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jingjing; Yu, Qian; Zhang, Zijiao; Xu, Wei; Sun, Xin

    2016-01-01

    Pulse or impact welding traditionally has been referred to as “solid-state” welding. By integrating advanced interface characterizations and diffusion calculations, we report that the nanoscale amorphous interface in the pulse-welded Al/Fe bimetallic system is formed by rapid heating and melting of a thin Al layer at the interface, diffusion of iron atoms in the liquid aluminum, and subsequent rapid quenching with diffused iron atoms in solution. This finding challenges the commonly held belief regarding the solid-state nature of the impact-based welding process for dissimilar metals. Elongated ultra-fine grains with high dislocation density and ultra-fine equiaxed grains also are observed in the weld interface vicinity on the steel and aluminum sides, respectively, which further confirms that melting and the subsequent recrystallization occurred on the aluminum side of the interface.

  8. Formation mechanism for the nanoscale amorphous interface in pulse-welded Al/Fe bimetallic systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Jingjing [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 (United States); Yu, Qian; Zhang, Zijiao [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Electron Microscope, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Xu, Wei; Sun, Xin, E-mail: xin.sun@pnnl.gov [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354 (United States)

    2016-05-16

    Pulse or impact welding traditionally has been referred to as “solid-state” welding. By integrating advanced interface characterizations and diffusion calculations, we report that the nanoscale amorphous interface in the pulse-welded Al/Fe bimetallic system is formed by rapid heating and melting of a thin Al layer at the interface, diffusion of iron atoms in the liquid aluminum, and subsequent rapid quenching with diffused iron atoms in solution. This finding challenges the commonly held belief regarding the solid-state nature of the impact-based welding process for dissimilar metals. Elongated ultra-fine grains with high dislocation density and ultra-fine equiaxed grains also are observed in the weld interface vicinity on the steel and aluminum sides, respectively, which further confirms that melting and the subsequent recrystallization occurred on the aluminum side of the interface.

  9. Viewing Welds By Computer Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pascua, Antonio G.; Roy, Jagatjit

    1990-01-01

    Computer tomography system used to inspect welds for root penetration. Source illuminates rotating welded part with fan-shaped beam of x rays or gamma rays. Detectors in circular array on opposite side of part intercept beam and convert it into electrical signals. Computer processes signals into image of cross section of weld. Image displayed on video monitor. System offers only nondestructive way to check penetration from outside when inner surfaces inaccessible.

  10. Support system for welded part inspection using X-ray. Simplified inspection system which does not need skilled workers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suga, Yasuo

    1995-01-01

    X-ray radiography has the excellent ability for operation and recording, accordingly, it has been used widely in industrial fields, but for deciding the presence of defects and their kinds and shapes from X-ray films, skilled workers are required. Recently because of the shortage of skilled workers and the increase of inspection efficiency, the necessity of its automation increased. The images of the films of the X-ray inspection of welded part are photographed with a CCD camera, and these are taken in a personal computer as the image data, then image processing is applied to them, and defect images are extracted automatically. Further, the technique of displaying the images so that inspectors can recognize them easily is devised. These procedures were examined. The constitution of the system the way of thinking in developing the system, the acquiring of high contrast images, the emphasis of defect images, the elimination of noise the treatment of emphasizing nuclear defect images, the elimination of background and the extraction of defect images, the results of the processing and image display are reported. The order of processes, the kind of a filter used and so on can be changed according to the purpose, the kind of welding and the image quality of films. (K.I.)

  11. Some welding problems in the gas reinjection network at Hassi-Messaoud

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birette, J J; Lamau, H

    1966-07-01

    The pipeline network for the injection gas in the Hassi Messaoud Field covers about 50 sq km and consists of 6-in. and 8-in. pipe, maximum working pressure 476 atm. Considerations of safety and reliability, together with easy welding operations in the desert, dictated the choice of a carbon-manganese-silicon alloy steel for the pipe; the wall thickness was calculated considering the stresses in the various parts of the network. Special welding techniques has to be developed, in view of the extreme variations in ambient temperature. This also required close and continuous quality control of the welding operations. All joints were prefabricated and pre-tested. Automatic welding was used in the shop, but only manual welding in the field. The network has now been in operation for 2 years, without any troubles.

  12. Corrosion resistance of «tube – tubesheet» weld joint obtained by friction welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RIZVANOV Rif Garifovich

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Shell-and-tube heat exchangers are widely applied for implementation of various processes at ventures of fuel and energy complex. Cost of production and reliability of heat exchangers of this type is to a wide extent determined by corresponding characteristics of tube bundle, «tube – tubesheet» is its typical joint in particular when welding operations are used in order to attach tubes to tubesheet in addition to expansion. When manufacturing such equipment of heat-resistant chrome-bearing or chromium-molybdenum steels including steel 15H5M, the process of fixed joint manufacturing gets significantly more complicated and costly due to the necessity to use thermal treatment before, during and after welding (this problem is particularly applicable for manufacturing of large-size equipment. One of the options to exclude thermal treatment from manufacturing process is to use «non-arc» welding methods – laser welding, explosion welding as well as friction welding. Use of each of the welding methods mentioned above during production of heat-exchange equipment has its process challenges and peculiarities. This article gives a comparative analysis of weld structure and distribution of electrode potentials of welded joints and parent metal of the joints simulating welding of tube to tubesheet of steel 15H5M using the following welding methods: shielded manual arc welding, tungsten-arc inert-gas welding and friction welding. Comparative analysis of macro- and microstructures of specific zones of the studied welded joints showed that the joints produced by arc welding methods do not exhibit evident inhomogeneity of the structure after application of thermal treatment which is explained by the correctness of thermal treatment. Joints obtained via friction welding are characterized by structural inhomogeneity of the welded joint zone metal microstructure. The ultra-fine-grained structure obtained as a result of friction welding makes it possible to

  13. Underwater welding using remote controlled robots. Development of remote underwater welding technology with a high power YAG laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miwa, Yasuhiro; Sato, Syuuichi; Kojima, Toshio; Owaki, Katsura; Hirose, Naoya

    2002-01-01

    As components in nuclear power plant have been periodically carried out their inspection and repair to keep their integrity, on radioactive liquid wastes storage facility, because of difficulty on their inspection by human beings, some are remained without inspection, and even when capable of inspection, conversion from human works to remote operations is desired from a viewpoint of their operation efficiency upgrading. For response to these needs, some developments on a technology capable of carrying out inspection of their inside at underwater environment and repairing welding with YAG laser by means of remote operation, have been performed. Remote underwater inspection and repair technology is a combination technology of already applied underwater mobile technique (underwater inspection robot) with underwater YAG laser welding technique which is recently at actual using level. Therefore, this technology is composed of an inspection robot and a repair welding robot. And, testing results using the underwater inspection robot and welding test results using the underwater repair welding robot, were enough preferable to obtain forecasting applicable to actual apparatuses. This technology is especially effective for inspection and repair of inside of nuclear fuel cycle apparatuses and relatively high dose apparatuses, and can be thought to be applicable also to large capacity tanks, tanks dealing with harmful matters, underwater structures, and so on, in general industries. (G.K.)

  14. Use of narrow gap welding in nuclear power engineering and development of welding equipment at Vitkovice Iron Works (VZSKG), Ostrava

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehar, F.; Sevcik, P.

    1988-01-01

    Briefly discussed are problems related to automatic submerged arc welding into narrow gaps. The said method was tested for the first time at the Vitkovice Iron Works VZSKG for peripheral welds on pressurizers for WWER-440 reactors. The demands are summed up which are put on the welding workplace which must be met for the use of the said technology. The requirements mainly include the provision of the positioning of the welding nozzle towards the weld gap in order to maximally exclude the effect of the welder. An automatic device was designed and manufactured at the VZSKG plant for mounting the welding nozzle on the automatic welding machine manufactured by ESAB which operates on the principle of the flexible compression of the nozzle to the wall of the weld gap. In the bottom part the welding nozzle is provided with a pulley which rolls during welding thereby providing a constant distance to be maintained between the welding wire and the wall of the weld gap. The diameter of the pulley is ruled by the diameter of the welding wire. Provided the clamping part is appropriately adjusted the developed equipment may be used for any type of automatic welding machine with motor driven supports. (Z.M.). 8 figs., 5 tabs., 9 refs

  15. Experimental investigation on the weld pool formation process in plasma keyhole arc welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Anh, Nguyen; Tashiro, Shinichi; Van Hanh, Bui; Tanaka, Manabu

    2018-01-01

    This paper seeks to clarify the weld pool formation process in plasma keyhole arc welding (PKAW). We adopted, for the first time, the measurement of the 3D convection inside the weld pool in PKAW by stereo synchronous imaging of tungsten tracer particles using two sets of x-ray transmission systems. The 2D convection on the weld pool surface was also measured using zirconia tracer particles. Through these measurements, the convection in a wide range of weld pools from the vicinity of the keyhole to the rear region was successfully visualized. In order to discuss the heat transport process in a weld pool, the 2D temperature distribution on the weld pool surface was also measured by two-color pyrometry. The results of the comprehensive experimental measurement indicate that the shear force due to plasma flow is found to be the dominant driving force in the weld pool formation process in PKAW. Thus, heat transport in a weld pool is considered to be governed by two large convective patterns near the keyhole: (1) eddy pairs on the surface (perpendicular to the torch axis), and (2) eddy pairs on the bulk of the weld pool (on the plane of the torch). They are formed with an equal velocity of approximately 0.35 m s-1 and are mainly driven by shear force. Furthermore, the flow velocity of the weld pool convection becomes considerably higher than that of other welding processes, such as TIG welding and GMA welding, due to larger plasma flow velocity.

  16. Matrix phased array (MPA) imaging technology for resistance spot welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Na, Jeong K.; Gleeson, Sean T.

    2014-02-01

    A three-dimensional MPA probe has been incorporated with a high speed phased array electronic board to visualize nugget images of resistance spot welds. The primary application area of this battery operated portable MPA ultrasonic imaging system is in the automotive industry which a conventional destructive testing process is commonly adopted to check the quality of resistance spot welds in auto bodies. Considering an average of five-thousand spot welds in a medium size passenger vehicle, the amount of time and effort given to popping the welds and measuring nugget size are immeasurable in addition to the millions of dollars' worth of scrap metals recycled per plant per year. This wasteful labor intensive destructive testing process has become less reliable as auto body sheet metal has transitioned from thick and heavy mild steels to thin and light high strength steels. Consequently, the necessity of developing a non-destructive inspection methodology has become inevitable. In this paper, the fundamental aspects of the current 3-D probe design, data acquisition algorithms, and weld nugget imaging process are discussed.

  17. Matrix phased array (MPA) imaging technology for resistance spot welds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Na, Jeong K.; Gleeson, Sean T.

    2014-01-01

    A three-dimensional MPA probe has been incorporated with a high speed phased array electronic board to visualize nugget images of resistance spot welds. The primary application area of this battery operated portable MPA ultrasonic imaging system is in the automotive industry which a conventional destructive testing process is commonly adopted to check the quality of resistance spot welds in auto bodies. Considering an average of five-thousand spot welds in a medium size passenger vehicle, the amount of time and effort given to popping the welds and measuring nugget size are immeasurable in addition to the millions of dollars' worth of scrap metals recycled per plant per year. This wasteful labor intensive destructive testing process has become less reliable as auto body sheet metal has transitioned from thick and heavy mild steels to thin and light high strength steels. Consequently, the necessity of developing a non-destructive inspection methodology has become inevitable. In this paper, the fundamental aspects of the current 3-D probe design, data acquisition algorithms, and weld nugget imaging process are discussed

  18. Matrix phased array (MPA) imaging technology for resistance spot welds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Na, Jeong K.; Gleeson, Sean T. [Edison Welding Institute, 1250 Arthur E. Adams Drive, Columbus, OH 43221 (United States)

    2014-02-18

    A three-dimensional MPA probe has been incorporated with a high speed phased array electronic board to visualize nugget images of resistance spot welds. The primary application area of this battery operated portable MPA ultrasonic imaging system is in the automotive industry which a conventional destructive testing process is commonly adopted to check the quality of resistance spot welds in auto bodies. Considering an average of five-thousand spot welds in a medium size passenger vehicle, the amount of time and effort given to popping the welds and measuring nugget size are immeasurable in addition to the millions of dollars' worth of scrap metals recycled per plant per year. This wasteful labor intensive destructive testing process has become less reliable as auto body sheet metal has transitioned from thick and heavy mild steels to thin and light high strength steels. Consequently, the necessity of developing a non-destructive inspection methodology has become inevitable. In this paper, the fundamental aspects of the current 3-D probe design, data acquisition algorithms, and weld nugget imaging process are discussed.

  19. Artificial defects detection and location during welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asty, M.

    1978-01-01

    Welding control by acoustic emission allows defects detection as soon as they are created. Acoustic testing saves time and gives better quality assurance in the case of multiple pass welding of plates. A welded joint was performed on A533B steel plates 250 mm thick by submerged arc welding. Artificial defects were implanted to determine significative parameters of acoustic reception. In operating conditions a significant acoustic activity takes place only during welding as shown by preliminary tests. At the same time an important noise is created by the arc, scories cooling and metal solidification and cooling. These problems are solved by an original processing in time-space detecting and locating defects with a good approximation [fr

  20. Narrow groove gas metal-arc welding of aluminum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armstrong, R.E.

    1975-01-01

    The Gas Metal-Arc (GMA) welding process is explained and the equipment used described with an analysis of power supply function and the action of the arc, followed by discussion of general applications and problems. GMA braze welding of beryllium is then described, as is the development of a special high purity filler wire and a narrow deep groove joint design for improved weld strength in beryllium. This joint design and the special wire are applied in making high strength welds in high strength aluminum for special applications. High speed motion pictures of the welding operation are shown to illustrate the talk. (auth)

  1. Ultrasonically-assisted Thermal Stir Welding System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A welding head assembly has a work piece disposed between its containment plates' opposing surfaces with the work piece being maintained in a plastic state thereof at least in a vicinity of the welding head assembly's stir rod as the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis. The welding head assembly and the work piece experience relative movement there between in a direction perpendicular to the rod's longitudinal axis as the work piece is subjected to a compressive force applied by the containment plates. A first source coupled to the first containment plate applies a first ultrasonic wave thereto such that the first ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement. A second source coupled to the second containment plate applies a second ultrasonic wave thereto such that the second ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.

  2. Corrosion evaluation of multi-pass welded nickel–aluminum bronze alloy in 3.5% sodium chloride solution: A restorative application of gas tungsten arc welding process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabbaghzadeh, Behnam; Parvizi, Reza; Davoodi, Ali; Moayed, Mohammad Hadi

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Corrosion of GTA welded nickel–aluminum bronze (C95800) was studied. • Drastic microstructural changes occurred during the welding operations. • The β′ and α phases acts as anode and cathode, correspondingly, in weld region. • A few nanoamperes couple current was measured in ZRA test as galvanic corrosion. • Corrosion resistance of weld parts could not be weakened in marine environments. - Abstract: In this research, the corrosion behavior of a gas tungsten arc welded nickel–aluminum bronze (NAB) alloy is investigated by DC and AC electrochemical techniques in 3.5% sodium chloride solution. Regarding the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic results, uniform corrosion resistance of instantly immersed weld and base samples are almost analogous and increased (more in weld region) during the immersion times. Moreover, zero resistant ammeter results demonstrated that the few nanoampere galvanic currents are attributed to microstructural and morphological differences between these two regions. Therefore, the welding procedure could not deteriorate the general corrosion resistance of the restored damaged NAB parts operating in marine environments

  3. Laser-welded ureteral anastomoses: experimental studies with three techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gürpinar, T; Gürer, S; Kattan, M W; Wang, L; Griffith, D P

    1996-01-01

    Tissue welding with laser energy is a new technique for reconstructive surgery. The potential advantages of laser welding are (a) lack of foreign body reaction, (b) decreased operative time, (c) less tissue manipulation, and (d) effective union of tissues equivalent to sutured anastomoses. We have performed ureteral anastomoses in adult mongrel dogs using a KTP 532 nm laser at an intensity of 1.4 W. Multiple "spot welds" of 1-s duration were utilized in a single layer anastomosis. Laser-welded anastomoses were performed with and without protein solder (33% and 50% human albumin) and were compared to sutured anastomoses. The laser-welded anastomoses required less operative time and provided bursting pressure levels similar to those of traditional sutured anastomoses. There was no advantage or disadvantage to the addition of human albumin as a solder in these experimental studies.

  4. Protection of welded joints against corrosion degradation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiří Votava

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Welded joints form an integral part of steel constructions. Welded joints are undetachable joints, which are however subjects of corrosion processes. The internal energy increases during the fusion welding especially in the heat affected places around the welded joint, which become initiating spot of corrosion degradation.The aim of the experiment is to put a welded joint produced by the MAG method to a test of corrosion degradation under the conditions of the norm ČSN ISO 9227 (salt-spray test. Organic and inorganic anticorrosion protections were applied on welded beads. First of all, there were prepared welded beads using the method MAG; secondly, metallographical analyses of welded metal, heat affected places and base material were processed. Further, microhardness as well as analysis of chemical composition using the EDS microscope were analysed. Based on a current trend in anticorrosion protections, there were chosen three types of protective coatings. First protective system was a double-layer synthetic system, where the base layer is formed by paint Pragroprimer S2000 and the upper layer by finishing paint Industrol S 2013. Second protective system is a duplex system formed by a combination of a base zinc coating with Zinorex paint. The last protective system was formed by zinc dipping only. Corrosion resistance of the individual tested samples was evaluated based on degradation of protective coating. The corrosion origin as well as the corrosion process were observed, the main criteria was the observation of welded bead.

  5. Cluster formation in in-service thermally aged pressurizer welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindgren, Kristina; Boåsen, Magnus; Stiller, Krystyna; Efsing, Pål; Thuvander, Mattias

    2018-06-01

    Thermal aging of reactor pressure vessel steel welds at elevated temperatures may affect the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. In this study, unique weld material from a pressurizer, with a composition similar to that of the reactor pressure vessel, that has been in operation for 28 years at 345 °C is examined. Despite the relatively low temperature, the weld becomes hardened during operation. This is attributed to nanometre sized Cu-rich clusters, mainly located at Mo- and C-enriched dislocation lines and on boundaries. The welds have been characterized using atom probe tomography, and the characteristics of the precipitates/clusters is related to the hardness increase, giving the best agreement for the Russell-Brown model.

  6. Thermal welding versus cold knife tonsillectomy: A prospective randomized study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metin Yilmaz

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This is a prospective randomized study conducted in a group of children who underwent two methods of tonsillectomy: thermal welding or cold knife tonsillectomy. Parameters, such as postoperative pain scores, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and postoperative bleeding rates, were analyzed to find out which technique is better. Ninety-one children (aged between 2 years and 13 years with recurrent tonsillitis, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, or both were included in the study. According to the type of tonsillectomy procedure, the patients were divided into two groups: cold knife and thermal welding procedure. The two groups were compared on the basis of postoperative pain scores, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and postoperative bleeding. Fifty-seven patients underwent thermal welding tonsillectomy and 34 had cold knife tonsillectomy. The mean pain score in thermal welding group was significantly lower (p<0.001. There was no remarkable blood loss intraoperatively in the thermal welding procedure. The operation time was not significantly different between two groups. No postoperative bleeding was encountered in the thermal welding group. Compared with the cold knife technique, thermal welding was found to be a relatively new and safe technique for tonsillectomy as it results in significantly less postoperative pain and no remarkable blood loss.

  7. Welding, Bonding and Fastening, 1984

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, J. D. (Editor); Stein, B. A. (Editor)

    1985-01-01

    A compilation of papers presented in a joint NASA, American Society for Metals, The George Washington University, American Welding Soceity, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers conference on Welding, Bonding, and Fastening at Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, on October 23 to 25, 1984 is given. Papers were presented on technology developed in current research programs relevant to welding, bonding, and fastening of structural materials required in fabricating structures and mechanical systems used in the aerospace, hydrospace, and automotive industries. Topics covered in the conference included equipment, hardware and materials used when welding, brazing, and soldering, mechanical fastening, explosive welding, use of unique selected joining techniques, adhesives bonding, and nondestructive evaluation. A concept of the factory of the future was presented, followed by advanced welding techniques, automated equipment for welding, welding in a cryogenic atmosphere, blind fastening, stress corrosion resistant fasteners, fastening equipment, explosive welding of different configurations and materials, solid-state bonding, electron beam welding, new adhesives, effects of cryogenics on adhesives, and new techniques and equipment for adhesive bonding.

  8. Automatic system of welding for nuclear fuel rods; Sistema automatico de soldadura para barras de combustible nuclear

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romero G, M; Romero C, J [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

    1998-07-01

    The welding process of nuclear fuel must be realized in an inert gas environment (He) and constant flow of this. In order to reach these conditions it is necessary to do vacuum at the chamber and after it is pressurized with the noble gas (purge) twice in the welding chamber. The purge eliminates impurities that can provoke oxidation in the weld. Once the conditions for initiating the welding are gotten, it is necessary to draw a graph of the flow parameters, pressure, voltage and arc current and to analyse those conditions in which have been carried out the weld. The rod weld must be free of possible pores or cracks which could provoke rod leaks, so reducing the probability of these failures should intervene mechanical and metallurgical factors. Automatizing the process it allows to do reliable welding assuring that conditions have been performed, reaching a high quality welding. Visually it can be observed the welding process by means of a mimic which represents the welding system. There are the parameters acquired such as voltage, current, pressure and flow during the welding arc to be analysed later. (Author)

  9. Application of the weld in maintenance mechanics at the Nuclear Power Station Atucha I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cosentino, R.E.

    1988-01-01

    The application of the 'weld procedures', in the field of activity of nuclear power is an special chapter of weld. The so called 'Nuclear Installations' are actually under control from their contruction up to their life extension operation to special control programs and quality assurance. This situation obliges the implementation of procedures to assure the fulfilment of the programs for the need to make the reparations or mechanics construction. This paper describes the considerations that has been taken into account to repare some components of the plant. The works carried out constitute applications to the TIG weld procedure. The 'lip weld' is a mechanic component required in pressurized systems subject to air pressure. (Author)

  10. An Evaluation of a Welding Fumes Exhaust System. Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report 284.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, C. O.

    A study evaluated the feasibility of introducing unheated outside air into the airstream of a cross-flow welding exhaust system to reduce heating energy costs of a school welding laboratory. The physical facility used was the agricultural mechanics laboratory at the University of Arizona, which is similar to facilities in which instruction in…

  11. Thin-Sheet zinc-coated and carbon steels laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pecas, P.; Gouveia, H.; Quintino, L.

    1998-01-01

    This paper describes the results of a research on CO 2 laser welding of thin-sheet carbon steels (Zinc-coated and uncoated), at several thicknesses combinations. Laser welding has an high potential to be applied on sub-assemblies welding before forming to the automotive industry-tailored blanks. The welding process is studied through the analysis of parameters optimization, metallurgical quality and induced distortions by the welding process. The clamping system and the gas protection system developed are fully described. These systems allow the minimization of common thin-sheet laser welding defects like misalignment, and zinc-coated laser welding defects like porous and zinc ventilation. The laser welding quality is accessed by DIN 8563 standard, and by tensile, microhardness and corrosion test. (Author) 8 refs

  12. Effects on the efficiency of activated carbon on exposure to welding fumes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghosh, D. [Southern Company Services, Inc., Birmingham, AL (United States)

    1995-02-01

    It is the intention of this paper to document that certain types of welding fumes have little or no effect on the effectiveness of the carbon filter air filtration efficiency when directly exposed to a controlled amount of welding fumes for a short-term period. The welding processes studied were restricted to shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes. Contrary to the SMAW and FCAW processes, the GTAW (or TIG) and the GMAW (or MIG) welding processes do not require the use of flux as part of the overall process. Credit was taken for these processes occurring in inert gas environments and producing minimal amount of smoke. It was concluded that a study involving the SMAW process would also envelop the effects of the TIG and MIG welding processes. The quantity of welding fumes generated during the arc welding process is a function of the particular process, the size and type of electrode, welding machine amperage, and operator proficiency. For this study, the amount of welding for specific testing was equated to the amount of welding normally conducted during plant unit outages. Different welding electrodes were also evaluated, and the subsequent testing was limited to an E7018 electrode which was judged to be representative of all carbon and stainless steel electrodes commonly used at the site. The effect of welding fumes on activated charcoal was tested using a filtration unit complete with prefilters, upstream and downstream high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and a carbon adsorber section. The complete system was field tested in accordance with ANSI N510 standards prior to exposing the filters and the adsorber bed to welding fumes. The carbon samples were tested at an established laboratory using ASTM D3803-1989 standards.

  13. Orbital friction stir welding of aluminium pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelhard, G.; Hillers, T.

    2002-01-01

    Friction stir welding (FSW) was originally developed for flat plates. This contribution shows how it can be applied to the welding of aluminium pipes. Pipes made of AlMG 3 (EN5754), AlMg 4.5Mn (EN5083) and AlMgSi 0.5 (EN6106) with dimensions of Da 600 and 520 x 10-8 mm were welded. The FSW orbital system comprises an annular cage with integrated FSW head, a hydraulic system, and a control unit. The welds were tested successfully according to EN 288. The mechanical and technical properties of the welds were somewhat better than with the TIG orbital process, and welding times were about 40 percent shorter [de

  14. Development of automatic reactor vessel inspection systems; development of data acquisition and analysis system for the nuclear vessel weld

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jong Po; Park, C. H.; Kim, H. T.; Noh, H. C.; Lee, J. M.; Kim, C. K.; Um, B. G. [Research Institute of KAITEC, Seoul (Korea)

    2002-03-01

    The objective of this project is to develop an automated ultrasonic data acquisition and data analysis system to examine heavy vessel welds. In order to examine nuclear vessel welds including reactor pressure vessel(RPV), huge amount of ultrasonic data from 6 channels should be able to be on-line processed. In addition, ultrasonic transducer scanning device should be remotely controlled, because working place is high radiation area. This kind of an automated ultrasonic testing equipment has not been developed domestically yet. In order to develop an automated ultrasonic testing system, RPV ultrasonic testing equipments developed in foreign countries were investigated and the capability of high speed ultrasonic signal processing hardwares was analyzed. In this study, ultrasonic signal processing system was designed. And also, ultrasonic data acquisition software was developed. The new systems were tested on the RPV welds of Ulchin Unit 6 to confirm their functions and capabilities. They worked very well as designed and the tests were successfully completed. 13 refs., 34 figs., 11 tabs. (Author)

  15. Automatic non-destructive system for quality assurance of welded elements in the aircraft industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chady, Tomasz; Waszczuk, Paweł; Szydłowski, Michał; Szwagiel, Mariusz

    2018-04-01

    Flaws that might be a result of the welding process have to be detected, in order to assure high quality thus reliability of elements exploited in aircraft industry. Currently the inspection stage is conducted manually by a qualified workforce. There are no commercially available systems that could support or replace humans in the flaw detection process. In this paper authors present a novel non-destructive system developed for quality assurance purposes of welded elements utilized in the aircraft industry.

  16. Laser penetration spike welding: a welding tool enabling novel process and design opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijken, Durandus K.; Hoving, Willem; De Hosson, J. Th. M.

    2002-06-01

    A novel method for laser welding for sheet metal. is presented. This laser spike welding method is capable of bridging large gaps between sheet metal plates. Novel constructions can be designed and manufactured. Examples are light weight metal epoxy multi-layers and constructions having additional strength with respect to rigidity and impact resistance. Its capability to bridge large gaps allows higher dimensional tolerances in production. The required laser systems are commercially available and are easily implemented in existing production lines. The lasers are highly reliable, the resulting spike welds are quickly realized and the cost price per weld is very low.

  17. Development of an automation system for Iodine-125 brachytherapy seed encapsulated by Nd:YAG laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somessari, S.L.; Feher, A.; Sprenger, F.E.; Rostelato, M.E.C.M.; Costa, F.E. da; Calvo, W.A.P.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this work is to develop an automation system for iodine-125 radioactive seed production by Nd:YAG laser welding, which has been used successfully in low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatment. This small seed consists of a welded titanium capsule, with 0.8 mm in diameter and 4.5 mm in length, containing iodine-125 adsorbed onto a silver rod. The iodine-125 seeds are implanted into the human prostate to irradiate the tumor for cancer treatment. Nowadays, the Radiation Technology Center, at Institute for Nuclear and Energy Research, Sao Paulo, Brazil (IPEN-CNEN/SP) imports and distributes 36,000 iodine-125 seeds per year, for the clinics and hospitals in the country. However, the Brazilian market potential is now over 8,000 iodine-125 seeds per month. The local production of these iodine-125 radioactive sources became a priority for the Institute, in order to reduce the price and the problems of prostate cancer management. It will permit to spread their use to a larger number of patients in Brazil. On the other hand, the industrial automation plays an important role for iodine-125 seeds in order to increase the productivity, with high quality and assurance, avoiding human factors, implementing and operating with good manufacturing practices (GMP). The technology consists of appliance electronic and electro-mechanical parts and components to control machines and processes. The automation system technology for iodine-125 seed production developed in this work was mainly assembled employing a programmable logic controller (PLC), a stepper motor, an Nd:YAG laser welding machine and a supervisory. The statistical repeatability of correctly encapsulated sealed sources with this automation system is greater than 95%. (authors)

  18. Welding wire pressure sensor assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Timothy B. (Inventor); Milly, Peter F., Sr. (Inventor); White, J. Kevin (Inventor)

    1994-01-01

    The present invention relates to a device which is used to monitor the position of a filler wire relative to a base material being welded as the filler wire is added to a welding pool. The device is applicable to automated welding systems wherein nonconsumable electrode arc welding processes are utilized in conjunction with a filler wire which is added to a weld pool created by the electrode arc. The invention senses pressure deviations from a predetermined pressure between the filler wire and the base material, and provides electrical signals responsive to the deviations for actuating control mechanisms in an automatic welding apparatus so as to minimize the pressure deviation and to prevent disengagement of the contact between the filler wire and the base material.

  19. An online real time ultrasonic NDT system for the quality control of spot welding in the automotive industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Athi, N; Wylie, S R; Cullen, J D; Al-Jader, M; Al-Shamma'a, A I; Shaw, A

    2009-01-01

    Resistance spot welding is the main joining technique used for the fabrication of body-in-white structures in the automotive industry. The quality of the welds depends on the profile of the spot welding electrode cap. The increased use of zinc coated steel in the industry increases wear rate of the caps, making quality control more difficult. This paper presents a novel online real time ultrasonic NDE system for resistance spot welding which evaluates every weld as it is formed. SEM results are presented to show the alloying of the electrode caps.

  20. An online real time ultrasonic NDT system for the quality control of spot welding in the automotive industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athi, N.; Wylie, S. R.; Cullen, J. D.; Al-Jader, M.; Al-Shamma'a, A. I.; Shaw, A.

    2009-07-01

    Resistance spot welding is the main joining technique used for the fabrication of body-in-white structures in the automotive industry. The quality of the welds depends on the profile of the spot welding electrode cap. The increased use of zinc coated steel in the industry increases wear rate of the caps, making quality control more difficult. This paper presents a novel online real time ultrasonic NDE system for resistance spot welding which evaluates every weld as it is formed. SEM results are presented to show the alloying of the electrode caps.

  1. Welding in repair of nuclear reactor pressure vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pilous, V.; Kovarik, R.

    1987-01-01

    Specific welding conditions are described in repair of the pressure vessels of nuclear reactors in operation and the effect is pointed out to of neutrons on changes in steel properties. Some of the special regulations are discussed to be observed in welding jobs. The welding methods are briefly described; the half-bead method is most frequently used. It is stressed that the defect must first be identified using a nondestructive method and the stages must be defined of the welding repair of the pressure vessel. (J.B.). 4 figs., 1 tab., 16 refs

  2. Welding development for LMFBR applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slaughter, G.M.; Edmonds, D.P.; Goodwin, G.M.; King, J.F.; Moorhead, A.J.

    1976-01-01

    High-quality welds with suitable properties for long-time elevated-temperature nuclear service are among the most critical needs in today's welding technology. Safe, reliable, and economic generation of future power depends on welded construction in systems such as Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs). Rapid thermal transients in LMFBR systems at coolant temperatures around 590 to 650 0 C (1000 to 1200 0 F) could cause creep and creep-fatigue damage that is not encountered in lower temperature reactor systems. The undesirable consequences of interaction between the two working fluids - sodium and steam - in the steam generators are also of major concern. Thus sound welds that have excellent reliability over a 30-year service life are essential. Several programs are actively underway at ORNL to satisfy this critical need and selected portions of three of these programs are discussed briefly

  3. Computer-aided orbital welding reaches a new level of performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galloway, J.G.; Maak, P.Y.Y.; McNabb, S.C.

    1993-01-01

    This article documents the development of a custom-built microprocessor controller which overcomes the major shortcomings of existing commercially available pipe welding systems. This unique control design effectively extends the one-knob-control concept of the power source industry to the control of a complete mechanized welding system. Magnatech, East Granby, Conn., a manufacturer of orbital welding equipment, will be commercializing this technology into its Pipeliner welding system in the near future. Ontario Hydro Research Div. purchased a commercial pipe welding system for both laboratory welding development and field trials. Its applications were targeted for pressure piping in both nuclear power and fossil fuel fired electricity generating plants. They demonstrated the feasibility of using a mechanized continuous wire welding process to weld the fill passes of carbon steel piping to stringent inspection standards of nuclear pressure piping. They also concluded that significant improvements to commercial pipe welding systems can be achieved through the use of microprocessor controls

  4. Probing weld quality monitoring in friction stir welding through characterization of signals by fractal theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, Bipul; Bag, Swarup; Pal, Sukhomay [Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam (India)

    2017-05-15

    Providing solutions towards the improvisation of welding technologies is the recent trend in the Friction stir welding (FSW) process. We present a monitoring approach for ultimate tensile strength of the friction stir welded joints based on information extracted from process signals through implementing fractal theory. Higuchi and Katz algorithms were executed on current and tool rotational speed signals acquired during friction stir welding to estimate fractal dimensions. Estimated fractal dimensions when correlated with the ultimate tensile strength of the joints deliver an increasing trend with the increase in joint strength. It is observed that dynamicity of the system strengthens the weld joint, i.e., the greater the fractal dimension, the better will be the quality of the weld. Characterization of signals by fractal theory indicates that the single-valued indicator can be an alternative for effective monitoring of the friction stir welding process.

  5. Probing weld quality monitoring in friction stir welding through characterization of signals by fractal theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Bipul; Bag, Swarup; Pal, Sukhomay

    2017-01-01

    Providing solutions towards the improvisation of welding technologies is the recent trend in the Friction stir welding (FSW) process. We present a monitoring approach for ultimate tensile strength of the friction stir welded joints based on information extracted from process signals through implementing fractal theory. Higuchi and Katz algorithms were executed on current and tool rotational speed signals acquired during friction stir welding to estimate fractal dimensions. Estimated fractal dimensions when correlated with the ultimate tensile strength of the joints deliver an increasing trend with the increase in joint strength. It is observed that dynamicity of the system strengthens the weld joint, i.e., the greater the fractal dimension, the better will be the quality of the weld. Characterization of signals by fractal theory indicates that the single-valued indicator can be an alternative for effective monitoring of the friction stir welding process.

  6. Weld repair of creep damaged steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croker, A.B.L.; Harrison, R.P.; Moss, C.J.

    1995-01-01

    A cooperative research centre project 'Welding of Thermally Modified Structures' was commenced in June 1993 with support from ANSTO, CSIRO, BHP, University of Wollongong and the CRC for Materials, Welding and Joining. The main aims of the project are to quantify the effects of performing repair welds on materials which have operated for extended periods at elevated temperature. Welding is an increasingly used method for performing repairs, replacements, retrofits and modifications to elevated temperature plant, however, the effects of these repairs on the ultimate life of a component are poorly understood. This paper presents details of the three ex-service materials chosen for the project, a carbon steel and two alloy steels. Work is also presented on development of new methods of assessing materials and components both destructively, along with new methods of modelling welded components in high temperature service. 6 figs, 3 tabs

  7. Hybrid laser arc welding: State-of-art review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acherjee, Bappa

    2018-02-01

    Hybrid laser arc welding simultaneously utilizes the arc welding and the laser welding, in a common interaction zone. The synergic effects of laser beam and eclectic arc in the same weld pool results in an increase of welding speed and penetration depth along with the enhancement of gap bridging capability and process stability. This paper presents the current status of this hybrid technique in terms of research, developments and applications. Effort is made to present a comprehensive technical know-how about this process through a systematic review of research articles, industrial catalogues, technical notes, etc. In the introductory part of the review, an overview of the hybrid laser arc welding is presented, including operation principle, process requirements, historical developments, benefits and drawbacks of the process. This is followed by a detailed discussion on control parameters those govern the performance of hybrid laser arc welding process. Thereafter, a report of improvements of performance and weld qualities achieved by using hybrid welding process is presented based on review of several research papers. The succeeding sections furnish the examples of industrial applications and the concluding remarks.

  8. Acoustic Emission Weld Monitor System. Data Acquisition and Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-10-01

    improved weld intergrity by allowing repairs to be performed on a pass by pass basis as the flaws occur rather than after the completion of a heavy...effect on weld intergrity . Flaw confirmation was primarily accomplished through the use of radio- graphic inspection. Positive confirmation of porosity...Figures 14-21, the weld is represented by the horizontal dashed line. Transducer locations, derived from calibration files, are indicated by verti

  9. A Plan to Optimize the Management of Weld ID SSN Numbering System for Nuclear Power Plants in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoo, Hyun Ju; Cho, Chan Hee; Kim, Jin Hoi; Park, Dong Min

    2016-01-01

    Summary Sheet Number(SSN) in the current LTP is an ID which means a weldment in a nuclear power plant. However, the SSN ID, which is unique on in a nuclear power plant, is not unique one if the weldments of entire nuclear power plant in Korea are treated in one system. Therefore, it is hard to manage the data during life time using the existing SSN ID system. It is also hard to configure the characteristics of weldment in mind because IDs implying Alloy600 and overlay weld do not exist in the existing SSN ID System. An optimized SSN numbering system managing weldments for the life time is introduced in this paper. Moreover, it is explained how to manage the SSN numbering system in the computer program system, too. The problem, which the weld is not harmoniously managed, would be solved provided adapting the new SSN ID introduced in this paper. A weld is managed during its life time from creation to extinction. The inquiry of inspection history of a concerned weld and the reference of statistics would be performed easily and rightly because the concerned weld can be accessed from anywhere connected to KHNP network such as KHNP headquater, plants and CRI

  10. Cryogen spray cooling during laser tissue welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fried, N M; Walsh, J T

    2000-03-01

    Cryogen cooling during laser tissue welding was explored as a means of reducing lateral thermal damage near the tissue surface and shortening operative time. Two centimetre long full-thickness incisions were made on the epilated backs of guinea pigs, in vivo. India ink was applied to the incision edges then clamps were used to appose the edges. A 4 mm diameter beam of 16 W, continuous-wave, 1.06 microm, Nd:YAG laser radiation was scanned over the incisions, producing approximately 100 ms pulses. There was a delay of 2 s between scans. The total irradiation time was varied from 1-2 min. Cryogen was delivered to the weld site through a solenoid valve in spurt durations of 20, 60 and 100 ms. The time between spurts was either 2 or 4 s, corresponding to one spurt every one or two laser scans. Histology and tensile strength measurements were used to evaluate laser welds. Total irradiation times were reduced from 10 min without surface cooling to under 1 min with surface cooling. The thermal denaturation profile showed less denaturation in the papillary dermis than in the mid-dermis. Welds created using optimized irradiation and cooling parameters had significantly higher tensile strengths (1.7 +/- 0.4 kg cm(-2)) than measured in the control studies without cryogen cooling (1.0 +/- 0.2 kg cm(-2)) (p laser welding results in increased weld strengths while reducing thermal damage and operative times. Long-term studies will be necessary to determine weld strengths and the amount of scarring during wound healing.

  11. Development of an automation system for iodine-125 brachytherapy seed production by ND:YAG laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somessari, Samir L.; Feher, Anselmo; Sprenger, Francisco E.; Rostellato, Maria Elisa C.M.; Costa, Fabio E.; Calvo, Wilson A.P.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this work is to develop an automation system for iodine-125 radioactive seed production by Nd:YAG laser welding, which has been used successfully in low dose rate brachytherapy treatment. This small seed consists of a welded titanium capsule, with 0.8 mm in diameter and 4.5 mm in length, containing iodine-125 adsorbed onto a silver rod. The iodine-125 seeds are implanted into the human prostate to irradiate the tumor for cancer treatment. Nowadays, the Radiation Technology Center, at IPEN-CNEN/SP imports and distributes 36,000 iodine-125 seeds per year, for the clinics and hospitals in the country. However, the Brazilian market potential is now over 8,000 iodine-125 seeds per month. The local production of these iodine-125 radioactive sources became a priority for the Institute, in order to reduce the price and the problems of prostate cancer management. It will permit to spread their use to a larger number of patients in Brazil. On the other hand, the industrial automation plays an important role for iodine-125 seeds in order to increase the productivity, with high quality and assurance, avoiding human factors, implementing and operating with good manufacturing practices. The technology consists of appliance electronic and electro-mechanical parts and components to control machines and processes. The automation system technology for iodine-125 seed production developed in this work was mainly assembled employing a Programmable Logic Controller, a stepper motor, an Nd:YAG laser welding machine and a supervisory. (author)

  12. Development of an automation system for iodine-125 brachytherapy seed production by (Nd:YAG) laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somessari, Samir Luiz

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this work is to develop an automation system for iodine-125 radioactive seed production by (Nd:YAG) laser welding, which has been used successfully in Low Dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatment. This small seed consists of a welded titanium capsule, with 0.8mm in diameter and 4.5mm in length, containing iodine-125 adsorbed onto a silver rod. The iodine-125 seeds are implanted into the human prostate to irradiate the tumor for cancer treatment. Nowadays, the Radiation Technology Center, at IPEN-CNEN/SP imports and distributes 36,000 iodine-125 seeds per year, for the clinics and hospitals in the country. However, the Brazilian market potential is now over 8,000 iodine-125 seeds per month. The local production of these iodine-125 radioactive sources becomes a priority for the Institute, in order to reduce the price and the problems of prostate cancer management. It will permit to spread their use to a largest number of patients in Brazil. On the other hand, the industrial automation plays an important role for iodine-125 seeds in order to increase the productivity, with high quality and assurance, avoiding human factors, implementing and operating with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The technology consists of appliance electronic and electro-mechanical parts and components to control machines and processes. The automation system technology for iodine-125 seed production developed in this work was mainly assembled employing Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), stepper motors, drivers, (Nd:YAG) laser welding machine, photoelectric sensors and supervisory. (author)

  13. Neural Network-Based Resistance Spot Welding Control and Quality Prediction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allen, J.D., Jr.; Ivezic, N.D.; Zacharia, T.

    1999-07-10

    This paper describes the development and evaluation of neural network-based systems for industrial resistance spot welding process control and weld quality assessment. The developed systems utilize recurrent neural networks for process control and both recurrent networks and static networks for quality prediction. The first section describes a system capable of both welding process control and real-time weld quality assessment, The second describes the development and evaluation of a static neural network-based weld quality assessment system that relied on experimental design to limit the influence of environmental variability. Relevant data analysis methods are also discussed. The weld classifier resulting from the analysis successfldly balances predictive power and simplicity of interpretation. The results presented for both systems demonstrate clearly that neural networks can be employed to address two significant problems common to the resistance spot welding industry, control of the process itself, and non-destructive determination of resulting weld quality.

  14. The Northern States Power Company welding manual advisor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Yi; Wood, R.M.

    1993-01-01

    The Welding Manual Advisor (WMA) is an object oriented expert system designed to assist Northern States Power (NSP) personnel in implementing the company's Welding Manual. The expert system captures the knowledge of welding experts, addresses important issues in welding activities and automates the use of the Welding Manual. It is estimated that use of the WMA will save $81,000 over the next six years at NSP, because of the reduction of labor and errors in the use of the Welding Manual, and facilitation of training of NSP personnel. The important features of the WMA include the accuracy and consistency in determining welding procedure and requirements, update capability, user friendly interface, on-line help function, back-up capability, and well-documented manuals

  15. A reliability-based preventive maintenance methodology for the projection spot welding machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fayzimatov Ulugbek

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available An effective operations of a projection spot welding (PSW machine is closely related to the effec-tiveness of the maintenance. Timely maintenance can prevent failures and improve reliability and maintainability of the machine. Therefore, establishing the maintenance frequency for the welding machine is one of the most important tasks for plant engineers. In this regard, reliability analysis of the welding machine can be used to establish preventive maintenance intervals (PMI and to identify the critical parts of the system. In this reliability and maintainability study, analysis of the PSW machine was carried out. The failure and repair data for analysis were obtained from automobile manufacturing company located in Uzbekistan. The machine was divided into three main sub-systems: electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic. Different distributions functions for all sub-systems was tested and their parameters tabulated. Based on estimated parameters of the analyzed distribu-tions, PMI for the PSW machines sub-systems at different reliability levels was calculated. Finally, preventive measures for enhancing the reliability of the PSW machine sub-systems are suggested.

  16. Electrostimulated recovery of welded joint durability: experiment and model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semakin, E.V.; Chirakadze, D.Z.; Tsellermaer, V.Ya.; Gromov, V.E.; Sosnin, O.V.

    1997-01-01

    The possibility to increase the durability of welded joints operating under conditions of low cycle fatigue is shown to be brought about using electric current pulses. Experimental method of recovery of operational capability is demonstrated on welded joints of tool steels R6M5 and 40Kh/ The onset of critical stage of fatigue in the welded joint was determined by ultrasonic testing. Then the specimens were treated with 20 Hz electric pulses with amplitude of 250 MA/M 2 for 100 μs. Such treatment resulted in an increase of time to fracture. The phenomenological model of the process is proposed

  17. Study of Dissimilar Welding AA6061 Aluminium Alloy and AZ31B Magnesium Alloy with ER5356 Filler Using Friction Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahamud, M. I. I.; Ishak, M.; Halil, A. M.

    2017-09-01

    This paper is to study of dissimilar welding AA6061 aluminium alloy and AZ31B magnesium alloy with ER5356 filler using friction stir welding. 2 mm thick plates of aluminium and magnesium were used. Friction stir welding operations were performed at different rotation and travel speeds and used the fixed tilt angle which is 3°. The rotation speeds varied from 800 to 1100 rpm, and the travel speed varied from 80 to 100 mm/min. In the range rotation speed of 800 to 1000 rpm and welding speed of 80 to 100 mm/min there are no defect at the weld. Tensile test show the higher tensile strength is 198 MPa and the welding efficiency is about 76%.

  18. Pre-Industry-Optimisation of the Laser Welding Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gong, Hui

    This dissertation documents the investigations into on-line monitoring the CO2 laser welding process and optimising the process parameters for achieving high quality welds. The requirements for realisation of an on-line control system are, first of all, a clear understanding of the dynamic...... phenomena of the laser welding process including the behaviour of the keyhole and plume, and the correlation between the adjustable process parameters: laser power, welding speed, focal point position, gas parameters etc. and the characteristics describing the quality of the weld: seam depth and width......, porosity etc. Secondly, a reliable monitoring system for sensing the laser-induced plasma and plume emission and detecting weld defects and process parameter deviations from the optimum conditions. Finally, an efficient control system with a fast signal processor and a precise feed-back controller...

  19. High quality, high efficiency welding technology for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoki, Shigeyuki; Nagura, Yasumi

    1996-01-01

    For nuclear power plants, it is required to ensure the safety under the high reliability and to attain the high rate of operation. In the manufacture and installation of the machinery and equipment, the welding techniques which become the basis exert large influence to them. For the purpose of improving joint performance and excluding human errors, welding heat input and the number of passes have been reduced, the automation of welding has been advanced, and at present, narrow gap arc welding and high energy density welding such as electron beam welding and laser welding have been put to practical use. Also in the welding of pipings, automatic gas metal arc welding is employed. As for the welding of main machinery and equipment, there are the welding of the joints that constitute pressure boundaries, the build-up welding on the internal surfaces of pressure vessels for separating primary water from them, and the sealing welding of heating tubes and tube plates in steam generators. These weldings are explained. The welding of pipings and the state of development and application of new welding methods are reported. (K.I.)

  20. TomoWELD. Precise detection of weld defects; TomoWELD. Defekte in Schweissnaehten praezise erkennen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walter, David [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

    2016-06-15

    Nuclear power plants are complex and technically elaborate systems whose aim is to produce electricity. They must meet the highest safety requirements. Within the reactors, nuclear reactions and radioactive transformations release energy which is used to evaporate water. The steam generated drives turbines that in turn are coupled with generators which convert the kinetic energy provided by the turbines into electrical energy. The process is easy to illustrate but difficult to control and requires technical equipment such as kilometre-long pipe systems. Austenitic steel is frequently used for this purpose because of its high strength and corrosion resistance. The individual pipe components are joined by welding. However, welds may contain hidden defects. Cracks, lack of fusion or pore nests that can remain undetected may have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, all welds in a nuclear power plant, without exception, must be checked. Approved non-destructive methods use ultrasound and X-ray. The technology developed at BAM is called TomoWELD. [German] Kernkraftwerke sind komplexe und technisch aufwendige Anlagen zur Gewinnung von Elektrizitaet. Sie muessen allerhoechsten Sicherheitsanspruechen genuegen. Die bei Kernreaktionen und radioaktiven Umwandlungen freiwerdende Energie wird genutzt, um Wasser zu verdampfen. Der Dampf treibt Turbinen an und die wiederum sind mit Generatoren gekoppelt, welche die durch die Turbinen bereitgestellte kinetische Energie in elektrische Energie umwandeln. Der Prozess laesst sich einfach darstellen, ihn zu steuern ist allerdings kompliziert und erfordert weitere technische Komponenten, wie beispielsweise kilometerlange Rohrleitungssysteme. Wegen seiner hohen Festigkeit sowie Korrosionsbestaendigkeit wird oft austenitischer Stahl dafuer verwendet. Gefuegt werden die einzelnen Rohrteile durch Schweissen. Doch Schweissnaehte koennen viele verborgene Defekte enthalten. Bleiben Risse, Bindefehler oder Porennester unentdeckt, kann das

  1. Standardization of the WPS and Development of the Welding Process Management System for Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Hong Seok; Lee, Jang Wook; Cho, Ki Hyun; Choi, Sang Hoon

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to integrate existing WPS(welding procedure specification) and PQR(procedure qualification records) which are kept by every branch office respectively and to develop a specialized program that will assist in the creation of WPS and PQR in accordance with the ASME Sec. IX, III, B31.1, etc. These research results make possible not only to ensure structural integrity by applying WPS and PQR correctly but also to cut down on expenses by managing the welding process efficiently. Moreover, as the specialized program will be linked with ERP system between KHNP and KPS, an administration action of welding process will be dealt with on-line. The backgrounds of this study are as follows; · Need to apply WPS correctly and promptly · Need to cut down on expenses due to overlapping development WPS · Need to manage welding resources efficiently · Need to standardize welding QA(quality assurance) documents · Need to improve efficiency of administrative welding process

  2. Automatic monitoring of vibration welding equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spicer, John Patrick; Chakraborty, Debejyo; Wincek, Michael Anthony; Wang, Hui; Abell, Jeffrey A; Bracey, Jennifer; Cai, Wayne W

    2014-10-14

    A vibration welding system includes vibration welding equipment having a welding horn and anvil, a host device, a check station, and a robot. The robot moves the horn and anvil via an arm to the check station. Sensors, e.g., temperature sensors, are positioned with respect to the welding equipment. Additional sensors are positioned with respect to the check station, including a pressure-sensitive array. The host device, which monitors a condition of the welding equipment, measures signals via the sensors positioned with respect to the welding equipment when the horn is actively forming a weld. The robot moves the horn and anvil to the check station, activates the check station sensors at the check station, and determines a condition of the welding equipment by processing the received signals. Acoustic, force, temperature, displacement, amplitude, and/or attitude/gyroscopic sensors may be used.

  3. High Power Laser Beam Welding of Thick-walled Ferromagnetic Steels with Electromagnetic Weld Pool Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritzsche, André; Avilov, Vjaceslav; Gumenyuk, Andrey; Hilgenberg, Kai; Rethmeier, Michael

    The development of modern high power laser systems allows single pass welding of thick-walled components with minimal distortion. Besides the high demands on the joint preparation, the hydrostatic pressure in the melt pool increases with higher plate thicknesses. Reaching or exceeding the Laplace pressure, drop-out or melt sagging are caused. A contactless electromagnetic weld support system was used for laser beam welding of thick ferromagnetic steel plates compensating these effects. An oscillating magnetic field induces eddy currents in the weld pool which generate Lorentz forces counteracting the gravity forces. Hysteresis effects of ferromagnetic steels are considered as well as the loss of magnetization in zones exceeding the Curie temperature. These phenomena reduce the effective Lorentz forces within the weld pool. The successful compensation of the hydrostatic pressure was demonstrated on up to 20 mm thick plates of duplex and mild steel by a variation of the electromagnetic power level and the oscillation frequency.

  4. Investigation on mechanical properties of welded material under different types of welding filler (shielded metal arc welding)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahir, Abdullah Mohd; Lair, Noor Ajian Mohd; Wei, Foo Jun

    2018-05-01

    The Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is (or the Stick welding) defined as a welding process, which melts and joins metals with an arc between a welding filler (electrode rod) and the workpieces. The main objective was to study the mechanical properties of welded metal under different types of welding fillers and current for SMAW. This project utilized the Design of Experiment (DOE) by adopting the Full Factorial Design. The independent variables were the types of welding filler and welding current, whereas the other welding parameters were fixed at the optimum value. The levels for types of welding filler were by the models of welding filler (E6013, E7016 and E7018) used and the levels for welding current were 80A and 90A. The responses were the mechanical properties of welded material, which include tensile strength and hardness. The experiment was analyzed using the two way ANOVA. The results prove that there are significant effects of welding filler types and current levels on the tensile strength and hardness of the welded metal. At the same time, the ANOVA results and interaction plot indicate that there are significant interactions between the welding filler types and the welding current on both the hardness and tensile strength of the welded metals, which has never been reported before. This project found that when the amount of heat input with increase, the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness decrease. The optimum tensile strength for welded metal is produced by the welding filler E7016 and the optimum of hardness of welded metal is produced by the welding filler E7018 at welding current of 80A.

  5. Socket welds in nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, P.A.; Torres, L.L.

    1995-01-01

    Socket welds are easier and faster to make than are butt welds. However, they are often not used in nuclear facilities because the crevices between the pipes and the socket sleeves may be subject to crevice corrosion. If socket welds can be qualified for wider use in facilities that process nuclear materials, the radiation exposures to welders can be significantly reduced. The current tests at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) are designed to determine if socket welds can be qualified for use in the waste processing system at a nuclear fuel processing plant

  6. Performance Improvement of Friction Stir Welds by Better Surface Finish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Sam; Nettles, Mindy

    2015-01-01

    The as-welded friction stir weld has a cross section that may act as a stress concentrator. The geometry associated with the stress concentration may reduce the weld strength and it makes the weld challenging to inspect with ultrasound. In some cases, the geometry leads to false positive nondestructive evaluation (NDE) indications and, in many cases, it requires manual blending to facilitate the inspection. This study will measure the stress concentration effect and develop an improved phased array ultrasound testing (PAUT) technique for friction stir welding. Post-welding, the friction stir weld (FSW) tool would be fitted with an end mill that would machine the weld smooth, trimmed shaved. This would eliminate the need for manual weld preparation for ultrasonic inspections. Manual surface preparation is a hand operation that varies widely depending on the person preparing the welds. Shaving is a process that can be automated and tightly controlled.

  7. TIG welding power supply with improved efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Сергій Володимирович Гулаков

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In the article, the influence of the DC component of the welding current during TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas welding is discussed. Known methods of DC current cancellation are reviewed, such as capacitor bank or diode/thyristor network insertion in the secondary circuit of the welding transformer. A new method of controlling the magnitude and shape of the TIG welding current is proposed. The idea is to insert a controlled voltage source in the secondary circuit of the welding transformer. This controlled voltage source is realized using a full-bridge voltage source inverter (VSI. VSI control system design issues are discussed. VSI is controlled by a three-level hysteretic current controller, while current reference is generated using lookup table driven by PLL (Phase Locked Loop locked to the mains frequency. Simulation results are shown. The proposed topology of TIG power supply allows to provide magnitude and shape control of the welding current, with the limitation that its DC component must be zero. Thus, some capabilities of professional AC-TIG welders are obtained using substantially lower cost components: VSI built using high-current low voltage MOSFETs with control system based on 32-bit ARM microcontroller. The use of proposed TIG welding power supply will eliminate the DC component of the welding current, improve welding transformer’s power factor and improve welding technology by increasing the welding arc stability

  8. Development of data acquisition and analysis system for the nuclear vessel weld

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, J. P.; Park, C. H.; Lim, H. T.; Noh, H. C. [Research Institute of KAITEC, Taejeon (Korea)

    2000-03-01

    The objective of this project is to develop an automated ultrasonic data acquisition and data analysis system to examine heavy vessel welds. In order to examine nuclear vessel welds including reactor pressure vessel(RPV), huge amount of ultrasonic data from 6 channels should be able to be on-line processed. In addition, ultrasonic transducer scanning device should be remotely controlled, because working place is high radiation area. This kind of an automated ultrasonic testing equipment has not been developed domestically yet. In order to develop an automated ultrasonic testing system, RPV ultrasonic testing equipments developed in foreign countries were investigated and the capability of high speed ultrasonic signal processing hardwares was analyzed. In this study, ultrasonic signal processing system was designed. And also, ultrasonic data acquisition software was developed. 11 refs., 6 figs. (Author)

  9. Electron Beam Welding of Gear Wheels by Splitted Beam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dřímal Daniel

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This contribution deals with the issue of electron beam welding of high-accurate gear wheels composed of a spur gearing and fluted shaft joined with a face weld for automotive industry. Both parts made of the high-strength low-alloy steel are welded in the condition after final machining and heat treatment, performed by case hardening, whereas it is required that the run-out in the critical point of weldment after welding, i. e. after the final operation, would be 0.04 mm max..

  10. Optical sensor for real-time weld defect detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancona, Antonio; Maggipinto, Tommaso; Spagnolo, Vincenzo; Ferrara, Michele; Lugara, Pietro M.

    2002-04-01

    In this work we present an innovative optical sensor for on- line and non-intrusive welding process monitoring. It is based on the spectroscopic analysis of the optical VIS emission of the welding plasma plume generated in the laser- metal interaction zone. Plasma electron temperature has been measured for different chemical species composing the plume. Temperature signal evolution has been recorded and analyzed during several CO2-laser welding processes, under variable operating conditions. We have developed a suitable software able to real time detect a wide range of weld defects like crater formation, lack of fusion, excessive penetration, seam oxidation. The same spectroscopic approach has been applied for electric arc welding process monitoring. We assembled our optical sensor in a torch for manual Gas Tungsten Arc Welding procedures and tested the prototype in a manufacturing industry production line. Even in this case we found a clear correlation between the signal behavior and the welded joint quality.

  11. Voltage balancing in modular energy storage of power supply for micro resistance welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kozhushko Yu. V.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Micro resistance welding is one of the most effective ways to obtain permanent joints of metal parts. The quality of welded joints strongly depends on the characteristics of the power supply of welding equipment. The power supplies for micro resistance welding based on Energy Storage topology have a softer impact on the network than the ones based on Direct Energy topology. The use of supercapacitors for Energy Storage type power supplies makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of welding equipment and to improve its technical parameters. However, the feature of the supercapacitors is low value of the nominal voltage, which usually does not exceed 3 V. To provide higher voltage, the modules of supercapacitors connected in series are designed. In order to extend the life time of such modules, a voltage balancing system is required. A circuit for balancing the voltage of a modular supercapacitor energy storage of a power supply for micro resistance welding is proposed. The fragments of calculation of control units of a supercapacitor module cell are given. The simulation of the balancing circuit operation is carried out and time charts of the supercapacitor charge process are obtained. The operability and effectiveness of the proposed solution is confirmed. The advantage of the proposed circuit is the possibility of obtaining the high efficiency because of returning the excessive energy of the module cell back into the power supply.

  12. Numerical weld modeling - a method for calculating weld-induced residual stresses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fricke, S.; Keim, E.; Schmidt, J.

    2001-01-01

    In the past, weld-induced residual stresses caused damage to numerous (power) plant parts, components and systems (Erve, M., Wesseling, U., Kilian, R., Hardt, R., Bruemmer, G., Maier, V., Ilg, U., 1994. Cracking in Stabilized Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping of German Boiling Water Reactors - Characteristic Features and Root Causes. 20. MPA-Seminar 1994, vol. 2, paper 29, pp.29.1-29.21). In the case of BWR nuclear power plants, this damage can be caused by the mechanism of intergranular stress corrosion cracking in austenitic piping or the core shroud in the reactor pressure vessel and is triggered chiefly by weld-induced residual stresses. One solution of this problem that has been used in the past involves experimental measurements of residual stresses in conjunction with weld optimization testing. However, the experimental analysis of all relevant parameters is an extremely tedious process. Numerical simulation using the finite element method (FEM) not only supplements this method but, in view of modern computer capacities, is also an equally valid alternative in its own right. This paper will demonstrate that the technique developed for numerical simulation of the welding process has not only been properly verified and validated on austenitic pipe welds, but that it also permits making selective statements on improvements to the welding process. For instance, numerical simulation can provide information on the starting point of welding for every weld bead, the effect of interpass cooling as far as a possible sensitization of the heat affected zone (HAZ) is concerned, the effect of gap width on the resultant weld residual stresses, or the effect of the 'last pass heat sink welding' (welding of the final passes while simultaneously cooling the inner surface with water) producing compressive stresses in the root area of a circumferential weld in an austenitic pipe. The computer program FERESA (finite element residual stress analysis) was based on a commercially

  13. Welding Challenges in the nuclear context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delany, Fred; Raghunathan, Sayee; Rubir, Nicolas; Wiesner, Christoph

    2013-06-01

    Nuclear Power forms an essential part of the strategies deployed to provide the future global energy demands whilst meeting the obligations on CO 2 emission reduction targets. In the UK, plans across the political spectrum call for a substantial nuclear new-build (NNB) programme. This necessitates application of best practice design, fabrication and welding technology in the UK context as well as a consideration of current and future skill requirements. Existing nuclear technology covers a range of different designs, and many reactors have reached the end of their design life. The decommissioning of old plants and management of nuclear waste, especially high-level, long-life and spent fuel waste, therefore also requires ongoing attention. Welding is defined by ISO as a 'special process', as imperfections in welded/fabricated products, even after inspection, may become apparent only after the product is put in use or service. Thus, welding has a major influence on the quality and cost of the final product, as well as the operational and maintenance costs. Most current trends in welding process innovations focus on improving weld quality and productivity, or reducing the dependency on welder/operator skills. Materials research concentrates on improving the understanding of influence of the environment (irradiation, temperature, corrosion, fatigue) on long-term performance and on repair of existing plants or future designs that will require higher temperature materials. The ITER nuclear fusion and the Jules-Horowitz Research reactors also have unique demands on materials and welding processes. Through the Engineering the Future alliance, the UK has organised a review of the international lessons learnt during recent nuclear new-build projects, and welding has been identified as a critical area requiring particular attention for any future new-build activities. TWI chaired the group advising on welding issues resulting in recommendations for the UK NNB programme. Key

  14. Recognition and automatic tracking of weld line in fringe welding by autonomous mobile robot with visual sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suga, Yasuo; Saito, Keishin; Ishii, Hideaki.

    1994-01-01

    An autonomous mobile robot with visual sensor and four driving axes for welding of pipe and fringe was constructed. The robot can move along a pipe, and detect the weld line to be welded by visual sensor. Moreover, in order to perform welding automatically, the tip of welding torch can track the weld line of the joint by rotating the robot head. In the case of welding of pipe and fringe, the robot can detect the contact angle between the two base metals to be welded, and the torch angle changes according to the contact angle. As the result of tracking test by the robot system, it was made clear that the recognition of geometry of the joint by the laser lighting method and automatic tracking of weld line were possible. The average tracking error was ±0.3 mm approximately and the torch angle could be always kept at the optimum angle. (author)

  15. DISPOSAL CONTAINER HANDLING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    E. F. Loros

    2000-06-30

    The Disposal Container Handling System receives and prepares new disposal containers (DCs) and transfers them to the Assembly Transfer System (ATS) or Canister Transfer System (CTS) for loading. The system receives the loaded DCs from ATS or CTS and welds the lids. When the welds are accepted the DCs are termed waste packages (WPs). The system may stage the WP for later transfer or transfer the WP directly to the Waste Emplacement/Retrieval System. The system can also transfer DCs/WPs to/from the Waste Package Remediation System. The Disposal Container Handling System begins with new DC preparation, which includes installing collars, tilting the DC upright, and outfitting the container for the specific fuel it is to receive. DCs and their lids are staged in the receipt area for transfer to the needed location. When called for, a DC is put on a cart and sent through an airlock into a hot cell. From this point on, all processes are done remotely. The DC transfer operation moves the DC to the ATS or CTS for loading and then receives the DC for welding. The DC welding operation receives loaded DCs directly from the waste handling lines or from interim lag storage for welding of the lids. The welding operation includes mounting the DC on a turntable, removing lid seals, and installing and welding the inner and outer lids. After the weld process and non-destructive examination are successfully completed, the WP is either staged or transferred to a tilting station. At the tilting station, the WP is tilted horizontally onto a cart and the collars removed. The cart is taken through an air lock where the WP is lifted, surveyed, decontaminated if required, and then moved into the Waste Emplacement/Retrieval System. DCs that do not meet the welding non-destructive examination criteria are transferred to the Waste Package Remediation System for weld preparation or removal of the lids. The Disposal Container Handling System is contained within the Waste Handling Building System

  16. An Approach to Maximize Weld Penetration During TIG Welding of P91 Steel Plates by Utilizing Image Processing and Taguchi Orthogonal Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Akhilesh Kumar; Debnath, Tapas; Dey, Vidyut; Rai, Ram Naresh

    2017-10-01

    P-91 is modified 9Cr-1Mo steel. Fabricated structures and components of P-91 has a lot of application in power and chemical industry owing to its excellent properties like high temperature stress corrosion resistance, less susceptibility to thermal fatigue at high operating temperatures. The weld quality and surface finish of fabricated structure of P91 is very good when welded by Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG). However, the process has its limitation regarding weld penetration. The success of a welding process lies in fabricating with such a combination of parameters that gives maximum weld penetration and minimum weld width. To carry out an investigation on the effect of the autogenous TIG welding parameters on weld penetration and weld width, bead-on-plate welds were carried on P91 plates of thickness 6 mm in accordance to a Taguchi L9 design. Welding current, welding speed and gas flow rate were the three control variables in the investigation. After autogenous (TIG) welding, the dimension of the weld width, weld penetration and weld area were successfully measured by an image analysis technique developed for the study. The maximum error for the measured dimensions of the weld width, penetration and area with the developed image analysis technique was only 2 % compared to the measurements of Leica-Q-Win-V3 software installed in optical microscope. The measurements with the developed software, unlike the measurements under a microscope, required least human intervention. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) confirms the significance of the selected parameters. Thereafter, Taguchi's method was successfully used to trade-off between maximum penetration and minimum weld width while keeping the weld area at a minimum.

  17. Thermal aging effects of VVER-1000 weld metal under operation temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernobaeva, A.A.; Kuleshova, E.A.; Gurovich, B.A.; Erak, D.Y.; Zabusov, O.O.; Maltsev, D.A.; Zhurko, D.A.; Papina, V.B.; Skundin, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    The VVER-1000 thermal aging surveillance specimen sets are located in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) under real operation conditions. Thermal aging surveillance specimens data are the most reliable source of the information about changing of VVER-1000 RPV materials properties because of long-term (hundred thousand hours) exposure at operation temperature. A revision of database of VVER-1000 weld metal thermal aging surveillance specimens has been done. The reassessment of transition temperature (T t ) for all tested groups of specimens has been performed. The duration of thermal exposure and phosphorus contents have been defined more precisely. The analysis of thermal aging effects has been done. The yield strength data, study of carbides evolution show absence of hardening effects due to thermal aging under 310-320 C degrees. Measurements of phosphorus content in grain boundaries segregation in different states have been performed. The correlation between intergranular fracture mode in Charpy specimens and transition temperature shift under thermal aging at temperature 310-320 C degrees has been revealed. All these data allow developing the model of thermal aging. (authors)

  18. Nuclear welding, application for an LMFBR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patriarca, P.; Goodwin, G.M.

    1975-01-01

    Fabrication of an LMFBR system is discussed, with emphasis on areas where joint welding innovations have been introduced. Each major component of the system, including reactor vessel, intermediate heat exchanger, steam generator, and sodium-containment piping, is treated separately. Developmet of special filler metals to avoid the low elevated-temperature creep ductility obtained with conventional austenitic stainless steel weldments is reported. Bore-side welding of steam generator tube-to-tubesheet joints with and without filler metal is desirable to improve inspectability and eliminate the crevice inherent with face-side weld design, thus minimizing corrosion problems. Automated welding methods for sodium-containment piping are summarized which iminimize and control distortion and ensure welds of high integrity. Selection of materials for the various components is discussed for plants presently under construction, and materials predictions are made for future concepts. (U.S.)

  19. Passive Visual Sensing in Automatic Arc Welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Jinchao

    For decades much work has been devoted to the research and development of automatic arc welding systems. However, it has remained a challenging problem. Besides the very complex arc welding process itself, the lack of ability to precisely sense the welding process, including the seam geometry...... and the weld pool, has also prevented the realization of a closed-loop control system for many years, even though a variety of sensors have been developed. Among all the sensor systems, visual sensors have the advantage of receiving visual information and have been drawn more and more attentions. Typical...... industrial solutions for seam detection such as using laser scanners suer from several limitations. For instance, it must be positioned some distance ahead to the molten pool and may cause problem when dealing with shiny surfaces. Existing techniques for weld pool sensing mostly rely on auxiliary light...

  20. Investigations in thermal fields and stress fields induced by electron beam welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basile, G.

    1979-12-01

    This document presents the thermal study of electron beam welding and identifies stresses and strains from welding: description of the operating principles of the electron gun and characterization of various welding parameters, examination of the temperature fields during electron beam welding development of various mathematic models and comparison with experimental results, measurement and calculation of stresses and strains in the medium plane of the welding assembly, residual stresses analysis [fr

  1. Influence of scandium on the microstructure and strength properties of the welded joint at the laser welding of aluminum-lithium alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malikov, A. G.; Golyshev, A. A.; Ivanova, M. Yu.

    2017-10-01

    Today, aeronautical equipment manufacture involves up-to-date high-strength aluminum alloys of decreased density resulting from lithium admixture. Various technologies of fusible welding of these alloys are being developed. Serious demands are imposed to the welded joints of aluminum alloys in respect to their strength characteristics. The paper presents experimental investigations of the optimization of the laser welding of aluminum alloys with the scandium-modified welded joint. The effect of scandium on the micro-and macro-structure has been studied as well as the strength characteristics of the welded joint. It has been found that scandium under in the laser welding process increases the welded joint elasticity for the system Al-Mg-Li, aluminum alloy 1420 by 20 %, and almost doubles the same for the system Al-Cu-Li, aluminum alloy 1441.

  2. Residual stress measurements in coil, linepipe and girth welded pipe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Law, M.; Prask, H.; Luzin, V.; Gnaeupel-Herold, T.

    2006-01-01

    Residual stresses in gas pipelines come from forming operations in producing the coil and pipe, seam welding the pipe, and girth welding pipes together to form a gas pipeline. Welding is used extensively in gas pipelines, the welds are made without post weld heat treatment. The three normal stresses were measured by neutron diffraction for three types of sample: coil, unwelded rings cut from the pipe made from this coil, and girth welded rings cut from linepipe. All three specimens came from three thicknesses of manufacture (5.4, 6.4, and 7.1 mm). The welds are manual metal arc cellulosic electrode welds made in X70 linepipe, these were measured at 5 through-thickness positions at 19 locations (from the center of the weld up to 35 mm away from the weld) with a spatial resolution of 1 mm 3 . The coil and unwelded rings were measured at the same five through-thickness positions

  3. Welding Emissions in Shipbuilding and Repair (Briefing Charts)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-09-03

    gas – GTAW –uses shield gas, but low emissions –aka TIG – SAW – lowest rate, solid wire weld covered with flux material 7 Naval Facilities...Reduced fume generation rate •Measurement of Cr(VI) –SMAW over operating range of consumable –GTAW or other processes of interest to DoD • Welding ...Engineering Service Center Welding Emissions in Shipbuilding and Repair Kathleen M Paulson, PE Port Hueneme, CA 3 September 2009 Report

  4. Temper-bead repair-welding of neutron-irradiated reactor (pressure) vessel by low-heat-input TIG and YAG laser welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakata, Kiyotomo; Ozawa, Masayoshi; Kamo, Kazuhiko

    2006-01-01

    Weldability in neutron-irradiated low alloy steel for reactor (pressure) vessel has been studied by temper-bead repair-welding of low-heat-input TIG and YAG laser welding. A low alloy steel and its weld, and stainless steel clad and nickel (Ni)-based alloy clad were irradiated in a materials test reactor (LVR-15, Czech Republic) up to 1.4 x 10 24 n/m 2 (>1 MeV) at 290degC, which approximately corresponds to the maximum neutron fluence of 60-year-operation plants' vessels. The He concentration in the irradiated specimens was estimated to be up to 12.9 appm. The repair-welding was carried out by TIG and YAG laser welding at a heat input from 0.06 to 0.86 MJ/m. The mechanical tests of tensile, impact, side bend and hardness were carried out after the repair-welding. Cracks were not observed in the irradiated low alloy steel and its weld by temper-bead repair-welding. Small porosities were formed in the first and second layers of the repair-welds of low alloy steel (base metal). However, only a few porosities were found in the repair-welds of the weld of low alloy steel. From the results of mechanical tests, the repair-welding could be done in the irradiated weld of low alloy steel containing a He concentration up to 12.9 appm, although repair-welding could be done in base metal of low alloy steel containing up to only 1.7 appmHe. On the other hand, cracks occurred in the heat affected zones of stainless steel and Ni-based alloy clads by repair-welding, except by YAG laser repair-welding at a heat input of 0.06 MJ/m in stainless steel clad containing 1.7 appmHe. Based on these results, the determination processes were proposed for optimum parameters of repair-welding of low alloy steel and clad used for reactor (pressure) vessel. (author)

  5. Microstructure and mechanical characteristics of a laser welded joint in SA508 nuclear pressure vessel steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Wei, E-mail: wei.guo-2@manchester.ac.uk [Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester, M13 9 PL (United Kingdom); Dong, Shiyun [Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester, M13 9 PL (United Kingdom); Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124 (China); Guo, Wei; Francis, John A.; Li, Lin [Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester, M13 9 PL (United Kingdom)

    2015-02-11

    SA508 steels are typically used in civil nuclear reactors for critical components such as the reactor pressure vessel. Nuclear components are commonly joined using arc welding processes, but with design lives for prospective new build projects exceeding 60 years, new welding technologies are being sought. In this exploratory study, for the first time, autogenous laser welding was carried out on 6 mm thick SA508 Cl.3 steel sheets using a 16 kW fiber laser system operating at a power of 4 kW. The microstructure and mechanical properties (including microhardness, tensile strength, elongation, and Charpy impact toughness) were characterized and the microstructures were compared with those produced through arc welding. A three-dimensional transient model based on a moving volumetric heat source model was also developed to simulate the laser welding thermal cycles in order to estimate the cooling rates included by the process. Preliminary results suggest that the laser welding process can produce welds that are free of macroscopic defects, while the strength and toughness of the laser welded joint in this study matched the values that were obtained for the parent material in the as-welded condition.

  6. Transition welds in welding of two-ply steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fartushnyj, V.G.; Evsyukov, Yu.G.

    1977-01-01

    Studied were physico-mechanical properties of welds made by various welding wires of chromium-nickel and nickel-chromium steels in submerged arc welding of double-layer steels with main layer of the VSt.3sp. carbon steel. It is shown that service-reliable structures welded of two-layer steels are obtained by providing the content from 11 to 20 % Ni in the automatically welded transition layer

  7. FSW of Aluminum Tailor Welded Blanks across Machine Platforms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hovanski, Yuri; Upadhyay, Piyush; Carlson, Blair; Szymanski, Robert; Luzanski, Tom; Marshall, Dustin

    2015-02-16

    Development and characterization of friction stir welded aluminum tailor welded blanks was successfully carried out on three separate machine platforms. Each was a commercially available, gantry style, multi-axis machine designed specifically for friction stir welding. Weld parameters were developed to support high volume production of dissimilar thickness aluminum tailor welded blanks at speeds of 3 m/min and greater. Parameters originally developed on an ultra-high stiffness servo driven machine where first transferred to a high stiffness servo-hydraulic friction stir welding machine, and subsequently transferred to a purpose built machine designed to accommodate thin sheet aluminum welding. The inherent beam stiffness, bearing compliance, and control system for each machine were distinctly unique, which posed specific challenges in transferring welding parameters across machine platforms. This work documents the challenges imposed by successfully transferring weld parameters from machine to machine, produced from different manufacturers and with unique control systems and interfaces.

  8. WELDING PROCESS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zambrow, J.; Hausner, H.

    1957-09-24

    A method of joining metal parts for the preparation of relatively long, thin fuel element cores of uranium or alloys thereof for nuclear reactors is described. The process includes the steps of cleaning the surfaces to be jointed, placing the sunfaces together, and providing between and in contact with them, a layer of a compound in finely divided form that is decomposable to metal by heat. The fuel element members are then heated at the contact zone and maintained under pressure during the heating to decompose the compound to metal and sinter the members and reduced metal together producing a weld. The preferred class of decomposable compounds are the metal hydrides such as uranium hydride, which release hydrogen thus providing a reducing atmosphere in the vicinity of the welding operation.

  9. Recent progress on gas tungsten arc welding of vanadium alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grossbeck, M.L.; King, J.F.; Alexander, D.J. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

    1997-08-01

    Emphasis has been placed on welding 6.4 mm plate, primarily by gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding. The weld properties were tested using blunt notch Charpy testing to determine the ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT). Erratic results were attributed to hydrogen and oxygen contamination of the welds. An improved gas clean-up system was installed on the welding glove box and the resulting high purity welds had Charpy impact properties similar to those of electron beam welds with similar grain size. A post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of 950{degrees}C for two hours did not improve the properties of the weld in cases where low concentrations of impurities were attained. Further improvements in the gas clean-up system are needed to control hydrogen contamination.

  10. Development of Welding and Instrumentation Technology for Nuclear Fuel Test Rod

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joung, Chang Young; Ahn, Sung Ho; Heo, Sung Ho; Hong, Jin Tae; Kim, Ka Hye

    2013-01-01

    It is necessary to develop various types of welding, instrumentation and helium gas filling techniques that can conduct TIG spot welding exactly at a pin-hole of the end-cap on the nuclear fuel rod to fill up helium gas. The welding process is one of the most important among the instrumentation processes of the nuclear fuel test rod. To manufacture the nuclear fuel test rod, a precision welding system needs to be fabricated to develop various welding technologies of the fuel test rod jointing the various sensors and end-caps on a fuel cladding tube, which is charged with fuel pellets and component parts. We therefore designed and fabricated an orbital TIG welding system and a laser welding system. This paper describes not only some experiment results from weld tests for the parts of a nuclear fuel test rod, but also the contents for the instrumentation process of the dummy fuel test rod installed with the C-type T. C. A dummy nuclear fuel test rod was successfully fabricated with the welding and instrumentation technologies acquired with various tests. In the test results, the round welding has shown a good weldability at both the orbital TIG welding system and the fiber laser welding system. The spot welding to fill up helium gas has shown a good welding performance at a welding current of 30A, welding time of 0.4 sec and gap of 1 mm in a helium gas atmosphere. The soundness of the nuclear fuel test rod sealed by a mechanical sealing method was confirmed by helium leak tests and microstructural analyses

  11. Development of Welding and Instrumentation Technology for Nuclear Fuel Test Rod

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joung, Chang Young; Ahn, Sung Ho; Heo, Sung Ho; Hong, Jin Tae; Kim, Ka Hye [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-10-15

    It is necessary to develop various types of welding, instrumentation and helium gas filling techniques that can conduct TIG spot welding exactly at a pin-hole of the end-cap on the nuclear fuel rod to fill up helium gas. The welding process is one of the most important among the instrumentation processes of the nuclear fuel test rod. To manufacture the nuclear fuel test rod, a precision welding system needs to be fabricated to develop various welding technologies of the fuel test rod jointing the various sensors and end-caps on a fuel cladding tube, which is charged with fuel pellets and component parts. We therefore designed and fabricated an orbital TIG welding system and a laser welding system. This paper describes not only some experiment results from weld tests for the parts of a nuclear fuel test rod, but also the contents for the instrumentation process of the dummy fuel test rod installed with the C-type T. C. A dummy nuclear fuel test rod was successfully fabricated with the welding and instrumentation technologies acquired with various tests. In the test results, the round welding has shown a good weldability at both the orbital TIG welding system and the fiber laser welding system. The spot welding to fill up helium gas has shown a good welding performance at a welding current of 30A, welding time of 0.4 sec and gap of 1 mm in a helium gas atmosphere. The soundness of the nuclear fuel test rod sealed by a mechanical sealing method was confirmed by helium leak tests and microstructural analyses.

  12. Prediction Analysis of Weld-Bead and Heat Affected Zone in TIG welding using Artificial Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saldanha, Shamith L.; Kalaichelvi, V.; Karthikeyan, R.

    2018-04-01

    TIG Welding is a high quality form of welding which is very popular in industries. It is one of the few types of welding that can be used to join dissimilar metals. Here a weld joint is formed between stainless steel and monel alloy. It is desired to have control over the weld geometry of such a joint through the adjustment of experimental parameters which are welding current, wire feed speed, arc length and the shielding gas flow rate. To facilitate the automation of the same, a model of the welding system is needed. However the underlying welding process is complex and non-linear, and analytical methods are impractical for industrial use. Therefore artificial neural networks (ANN) are explored for developing the model, as they are well-suited for modelling non-linear multi-variate data. Feed-forward neural networks with backpropagation training algorithm are used, and the data for training the ANN taken from experimental work. There are four outputs corresponding to the weld geometry. Different training and testing phases were carried out using MATLAB software and ANN approximates the given data with minimum amount of error.

  13. Effect of Post-Weld Heat Treatment on Creep Rupture Properties of Grade 91 Steel Heavy Section Welds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Leijun

    2012-11-02

    This project will conduct a systematic metallurgical study on the effect of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) on the creep rupture properties of P91 heavy section welds. The objective is to develop a technical guide for selecting PWHT parameters, and to predict expected creep-rupture life based on the selection of heat treatment parameters. The project consists of four interdependent tasks: Experimentally and numerically characterize the temperature fields of typical post-weld heat treatment procedures for various weld and joint configurations to be used in Gen IV systems. Characterize the microstructure of various regions, including the weld fusion zone, coarse-grain heat-affected zone, and fine-grain heat affected zone, in the welds that underwent the various welding and PWHT thermal histories. Conduct creep and creep-rupture testing of coupons extracted from actual and physically simulated welds. Establish the relationship among PWHT parameters, thermal histories, microstructure, creep, and creep-rupture properties.

  14. Ultrasonic Real-Time Quality Monitoring Of Aluminum Spot Weld Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez Regalado, Waldo Josue

    The real-time ultrasonic spot weld monitoring system, introduced by our research group, has been designed for the unsupervised quality characterization of the spot welding process. It comprises the ultrasonic transducer (probe) built into one of the welding electrodes and an electronics hardware unit which gathers information from the transducer, performs real-time weld quality characterization and communicates with the robot programmable logic controller (PLC). The system has been fully developed for the inspection of spot welds manufactured in steel alloys, and has been mainly applied in the automotive industry. In recent years, a variety of materials have been introduced to the automotive industry. These include high strength steels, magnesium alloys, and aluminum alloys. Aluminum alloys have been of particular interest due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Resistance spot welding requirements for aluminum vary greatly from those of steel. Additionally, the oxide film formed on the aluminum surface increases the heat generation between the copper electrodes and the aluminum plates leading to accelerated electrode deterioration. Preliminary studies showed that the real-time quality inspection system was not able to monitor spot welds manufactured with aluminum. The extensive experimental research, finite element modelling of the aluminum welding process and finite difference modeling of the acoustic wave propagation through the aluminum spot welds presented in this dissertation, revealed that the thermodynamics and hence the acoustic wave propagation through an aluminum and a steel spot weld differ significantly. For this reason, the hardware requirements and the algorithms developed to determine the welds quality from the ultrasonic data used on steel, no longer apply on aluminum spot welds. After updating the system and designing the required algorithms, parameters such as liquid nugget penetration and nugget diameter were available in the ultrasonic data

  15. On detection and automatic tracking of butt weld line in thin wall pipe welding by a mobile robot with visual sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suga, Yasuo; Ishii, Hideaki; Muto, Akifumi

    1992-01-01

    An automatic pipe welding mobile robot system with visual sensor was constructed. The robot can move along a pipe, and detect the weld line to be welded by visual sensor. Moreover, in order to make an automatic welding, the welding torch can track the butt weld line of the pipes at a constant speed by rotating the robot head. Main results obtained are summarized as follows: 1) Using a proper lighting fixed in front of the CCD camera, the butt weld line of thin wall pipes can be recongnized stably. In this case, the root gap should be approximately 0.5 mm. 2) In order to detect the weld line stably during moving along the pipe, a brightness distribution measured by the CCD camera should be subjected to smoothing and differentiating and then the weld line is judged by the maximum and minimum values of the differentials. 3) By means of the basic robot system with a visual sensor controlled by a personal computer, the detection and in-process automatic tracking of a weld line are possible. The average tracking error was approximately 0.2 mm and maximum error 0.5 mm and the welding speed was held at a constant value with error of about 0.1 cm/min. (author)

  16. Research on pipe welding information management system basedon RFID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Xun

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces the construction background, construction target and construction principle of the pipe welding management system based on RFID. Then, describes the specific requirements of the system. The basic principle and key technology of the system are introduced. The structure of the system (including the system design, the selections of handheld devices and high frequency passive RFID tags is described .Then the system management software designs (including software structure, the main functions of the management center system and the main functions of the handheld detection system are described in detail. Finally, the management system is implemented, and it is deployed to several Gas Co, which has chieved good results.

  17. Welding hazards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.A.

    1992-01-01

    Welding technology is advancing rapidly in the developed countries and has converted into a science. Welding involving the use of electricity include resistance welding. Welding shops are opened in residential area, which was causing safety hazards, particularly the teenagers and children who eagerly see the welding arc with their naked eyes. There are radiation hazards from ultra violet rays which irritate the skin, eye irritation. Welding arc light of such intensity could damage the eyes. (Orig./A.B.)

  18. Thick SS316 materials TIG welding development activities towards advanced fusion reactor vacuum vessel applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, B. Ramesh; Gangradey, R.

    2012-11-01

    Advanced fusion reactors like ITER and up coming Indian DEMO devices are having challenges in terms of their materials design and fabrication procedures. The operation of these devices is having various loads like structural, thermo-mechanical and neutron irradiation effects on major systems like vacuum vessel, divertor, magnets and blanket modules. The concept of double wall vacuum vessel (VV) is proposed in view of protecting of major reactor subsystems like super conducting magnets, diagnostic systems and other critical components from high energy 14 MeV neutrons generated from fusion plasma produced by D-T reactions. The double walled vacuum vessel is used in combination with pressurized water circulation and some special grade borated steel blocks to shield these high energy neutrons effectively. The fabrication of sub components in VV are mainly used with high thickness SS materials in range of 20 mm- 60 mm of various grades based on the required protocols. The structural components of double wall vacuum vessel uses various parts like shields, ribs, shells and diagnostic vacuum ports. These components are to be developed with various welding techniques like TIG welding, Narrow gap TIG welding, Laser welding, Hybrid TIG laser welding, Electron beam welding based on requirement. In the present paper the samples of 20 mm and 40 mm thick SS 316 materials are developed with TIG welding process and their mechanical properties characterization with Tensile, Bend tests and Impact tests are carried out. In addition Vickers hardness tests and microstructural properties of Base metal, Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) and Weld Zone are done. TIG welding application with high thick SS materials in connection with vacuum vessel requirements and involved criticalities towards welding process are highlighted.

  19. Thick SS316 materials TIG welding development activities towards advanced fusion reactor vacuum vessel applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, B Ramesh; Gangradey, R

    2012-01-01

    Advanced fusion reactors like ITER and up coming Indian DEMO devices are having challenges in terms of their materials design and fabrication procedures. The operation of these devices is having various loads like structural, thermo-mechanical and neutron irradiation effects on major systems like vacuum vessel, divertor, magnets and blanket modules. The concept of double wall vacuum vessel (VV) is proposed in view of protecting of major reactor subsystems like super conducting magnets, diagnostic systems and other critical components from high energy 14 MeV neutrons generated from fusion plasma produced by D-T reactions. The double walled vacuum vessel is used in combination with pressurized water circulation and some special grade borated steel blocks to shield these high energy neutrons effectively. The fabrication of sub components in VV are mainly used with high thickness SS materials in range of 20 mm- 60 mm of various grades based on the required protocols. The structural components of double wall vacuum vessel uses various parts like shields, ribs, shells and diagnostic vacuum ports. These components are to be developed with various welding techniques like TIG welding, Narrow gap TIG welding, Laser welding, Hybrid TIG laser welding, Electron beam welding based on requirement. In the present paper the samples of 20 mm and 40 mm thick SS 316 materials are developed with TIG welding process and their mechanical properties characterization with Tensile, Bend tests and Impact tests are carried out. In addition Vickers hardness tests and microstructural properties of Base metal, Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) and Weld Zone are done. TIG welding application with high thick SS materials in connection with vacuum vessel requirements and involved criticalities towards welding process are highlighted.

  20. Effect of Mg and Cu on mechanical properties of high-strength welded joints of aluminum alloys obtained by laser welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annin, B. D.; Fomin, V. M.; Karpov, E. V.; Malikov, A. G.; Orishich, A. M.

    2017-09-01

    Results of experimental investigations of welded joints of high-strength aluminum-lithium alloys of the Al-Cu-Li and Al-Mg-Li systems are reported. The welded joints are obtained by means of laser welding and are subjected to various types of processing for obtaining high-strength welded joints. A microstructural analysis is performed. The phase composition and mechanical properties of the welded joints before and after heat treatment are studied. It is found that combined heat treatment of the welded joint (annealing, quenching, and artificial ageing) increases the joint strength, but appreciably decreases the alloy strength outside the region thermally affected by the welding process.

  1. Russian and Ukrainian welding industries learn to handle change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziegenfuss, H.G.

    1993-01-01

    Less than three weeks after the coup against Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that eventually led to the disbanding of the Soviet Union, a technical delegation from the US entered the newly renamed city of St. Petersburg. The delegation visited manufacturing facilities and welding institutions that were changing from central control to a local decentralized operation and that were unsure of what would be the government's role in their operations. Plans for the trip began at the AWS Welding Show in Detroit, Mich., in April 1991, when in-depth discussions were held with Deputy Director Sergey Kuchuk-Yatsenko of the E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute, Kiev, Ukraine. A summary of the trip is given in this paper

  2. A Review on Solidification and Change in Mechanical Properties Under Vibratory Welding Condition

    OpenAIRE

    Jyoti Prakash; Dr. S.P. Tewari; Bipin Kumar Srivastava

    2010-01-01

    Welding has been applied to various industries in particular, automotive, aerospace and microelectronics. Thermal cycle produced near weld line generates residual stress and inhomogeneous plastic deformation in weldments. However there are many methods for welding the workpieces and one of the method among these is vibratory welding. It has the advantages of less investment, more convenient operation, less pollution and shorter manufacturing period. In vibratory welding, workpiece vibrates in...

  3. Preliminary Study for Development of Welds Integrity Verification Equipment for the Small Bore Piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Geun Suk; Lee, Jong Eun; Ryu, Jung Hoon; Cho, Kyoung Youn; Sohn, Myoung Sung; Lee, Sanghoon; Sung, Gi Ho; Cho, Hong Seok

    2016-01-01

    It has been reported leakage accident of small-bore piping in Korea. Leakage accident of small-bore pipes are those that will increase due to the aging of the nuclear power plant. And if leakage of the pipe is repaired by using the clamping device when it occur accident, it is economically benefits. The clamping device is a fastening device used to hold or secure objects tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure. However, when the accident occurs, it can't immediately respond because maintenance and repairing technology are not institutionalized in KEPIC. Thus it appears an economic loss. The technology for corresponding thereto is necessary for the safety of the operation of nuclear power plants. The purpose of this research is to develop an online repairing technology of socket welded pipe and vibration monitoring system of small-bore pipe in the nuclear power plant. Specifically, detailed studies are as follows : • Development of weld overlay method of safety class socket welded connections • Development of Mechanical Clamping Devices for Safety Class 2, 3 small-bore pipe. The purpose of this study is to develop an online repairing technology of socket welded pipe and vibration monitoring system of small-bore pipe, resulting in degraded plant systems. And it is necessary to institutionalize the technology. The fatigue crack testing of socket welded overlay will be performed and fatigue life evaluation method will be developed in second year. Also prototype fabrication of mechanical clamping device will be completed. Base on final goal, the intent is to propose practical evaluation tools, design and fabrication methods for socket welded connection integrity. And result of this study is to development of KEPIC code case approved technology for on-line repairing system of socket welded connection and fabrication of mechanical clamping device

  4. Advanced Welding Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Robert J.

    2010-01-01

    Four advanced welding techniques and their use in NASA are briefly reviewed in this poster presentation. The welding techniques reviewed are: Solid State Welding, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), Thermal Stir Welding (TSW) and Ultrasonic Stir Welding.

  5. Resistance seam welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schueler, A.W.

    1977-01-01

    The advantages and disadvantages of the resistance seam welding process are presented. Types of seam welds, types of seam welding machines, seam welding power supplies, resistance seam welding parameters and seam welding characteristics of various metals

  6. Mechanical properties of electron beam welds of 316LN austenitic steels at low temperature for ITER gravity support system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, P.Y.; Huo, B.L.; Kuai, K.W.

    2007-01-01

    The gravity support system in ITER not only sustains magnet system, the vacuum vessel and in-vessel components, but also endures several large forces, such as electromagnetic force, thermal load and seismic loads. Based on the ITER design report, the maximum displacement of the gravity support system is estimated to be 32 mm in radial direction at the top flange of the flexible plates during the TF coil cool down from room temperature to 80 k. Welds are located in the peak stress region and subject to cyclic loads in the top flange is a potential problem. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the welds are extremely important for this system. 316LN austenitic stainless steel has been selected as the gravity support structure materials. However, there is still lack of the related mechanical data of the welding components of 316LN stainless steel at present. In this study, we are systematically investigated the mechanical properties of the welding components at low temperature. (authors)

  7. Braze welding of cobalt with a silver–copper filler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Everett M. Criss

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A new method of joining cobalt by braze-welding it with a silver–copper filler was developed in order to better understand the residual stresses in beryllium–aluminum/silicon weldments which are problematic to investigate because of the high toxicity of Be. The base and filler metals of this new welding system were selected to replicate the physical properties, crystal structures, and chemical behavior of the Be–AlSi welds. Welding parameters of this surrogate Co–AgCu system were determined by experimentation combining 4-point bending tests and microscopy. Final welds are 5 pass manual TIG (tungsten inert gas, with He top gas and Ar back gas. Control of the welding process produces welds with full penetration melting of the cobalt base. Microscopy indicates that cracking is minimal, and not through thickness, whereas 4-point bending shows failure is not by base-filler delamination. These welds improve upon the original Be–AlSi welds, which do not possess full penetration, and have considerable porosity. We propose that utilization of our welding methods will increase the strength of the Be–AlSi weldments. The specialized welding techniques developed for this study may be applicable not only for the parent Be–AlSi welds, but to braze welds and welds utilizing brittle materials in general. This concept of surrogacy may prove useful in the study of many different types of exotic welds.

  8. Advantages and successful use of TIG narrow-gap welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loehberg, R.; Pellkofer, D.; Schmidt, J.

    1986-01-01

    Narrow-gap welding, an advancement of the mechanized TIG impulse welding process with conventional seam geometry (V-shaped and/or U-shaped welds), not only assures great economic efficiency on account of the low weld volume but also offers considerable benefits in terms of quality. Thanks to the low number of beads, the following advantages are gained: less axial and radial shrinkage which reduces the strain in the root area, total heat input and, thus, the dwell time in the critical temperature range from 500 to 800 0 C leading to a chromium depletion at the grain boundaries during the welding process is minimized which markedly reduces the sensitivity of non-stabilized steels to intercrystalline stress corrosion cracking, and a relatively favourable residual welding stress profile in the heat affected zone. The process was used successfully in the past for welds of ferritic and austenitic steel pipes in the construction of nuclear power plants and in the remote-controlled welding during the replacement of piping in plants already in operation. (orig.) [de

  9. Two-process approach to electron beam welding control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lastovirya, V.N.

    1987-01-01

    The analysis and synthesis of multi-dimensional welding control systems, which require the usage of computers, should be conducted within the temporal range. From the general control theory point two approaches - one-process and two-process - are possible to electron beam welding. In case of two-process approach, subprocesses of heat source formation and direct metal melting are separated. Two-process approach leads to two-profile control system and provides the complete controlability of electron beam welding within the frameworks of systems with concentrated, as well as, with distributed parameters. Approach choice for the given problem solution is determined, first of all, by stability degree of heat source during welding

  10. Welding method, and welding device for use therein, and method of analysis for evaluating welds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aendenroomer, A.J.; Den Ouden, G.; Xiao, Y.H.; Brabander, W.A.J.

    1995-01-01

    Described is a method of automatically welding pipes, comprising welding with a pulsation welding current and monitoring, by means of a sensor, the variations occurring in the arc voltage caused by weld pool oscillations. The occurrence of voltage variations with only frequency components below 100

  11. Fatigue evaluation of socket welded piping in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vecchio, R.S.

    1996-01-01

    Fatigue failures in piping systems occur, almost without exception, at the welded connections. In nuclear power plant systems, such failures occur predominantly at the socket welds of small diameter piping ad fillet attachment welds under high-cycle vibratory conditions. Nearly all socket weld fatigue failures are identified by leaks which, though not high in volume, generally are costly due to attendant radiological contamination. Such fatigue cracking was recently identified in the 3/4 in. diameter recirculation and relief piping socket welds from the reactor coolant system (RCS) charging pumps at a nuclear power plant. Consequently, a fatigue evaluation was performed to determine the cause of cracking and provide an acceptable repair. Socket weld fatigue life was evaluated using S-N type fatigue life curves for welded structures developed by AASHTO and the assessment of an effective cyclic stress range adjacent to each socket weld. Based on the calculated effective tress ranges and assignment of the socket weld details to the appropriate AASHTO S-N curves, the socket weld fatigue lives were calculated and found to be in excellent agreement with the accumulated cyclic life to-date

  12. Comparison of Welding Residual Stresses of Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding and Submerged Arc Welding in Offshore Steel Structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreassen, Michael Joachim; Yu, Zhenzhen; Liu, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    In the offshore industry, welding-induced distortion and tensile residual stresses have become a major concern in relation to the structural integrity of a welded structure. Particularly, the continuous increase in size of welded plates and joints needs special attention concerning welding induced...... residual stresses. These stresses have a negative impact on the integrity of the welded joint as they promote distortion, reduce fatigue life, and contribute to corrosion cracking and premature failure in the weld components. This paper deals with the influence and impact of welding method on the welding...... induced residual stresses. It is also investigated whether the assumption of residual stresses up to yield strength magnitude are present in welded structures as stated in the design guidelines. The fatigue strength for welded joints is based on this assumption. The two welding methods investigated...

  13. Three-dimensional simulations of resistance spot welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Chris Valentin; Zhang, Wenqi; Perret, William

    2014-01-01

    This paper draws from the fundamentals of electro-thermo-mechanical coupling to the main aspects of finite element implementation and three-dimensional modelling of resistance welding. A new simulation environment is proposed in order to perform three-dimensional simulations and optimization...... of resistance welding together with the simulations of conventional and special-purpose quasi-static mechanical tests. Three-dimensional simulations of resistance welding consider the electrical, thermal, mechanical and metallurgical characteristics of the material as well as the operating conditions...... of the welding machines. Simulations of the mechanical tests take into account material softening due to the accumulation of ductile damage and cover conventional tests, such as tensile–shear tests, cross-tension test and peel tests, as well as the possibility of special-purpose tests designed by the users...

  14. Welding Current Distribution in the Work-piece and Pool in Arc Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Rybachuk

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to select the optimal configuration of controlling magnetic fields and build rational construction of magnetic systems, we need to know the distribution of welding current in the molten metal of the weld pool. So the objective of the work is to establish the calculated methods for determining current density in the weld pool during arc welding. The distribution of welding current in the pool depends on the field of the electrical resistance, which is determined by the deformed temperature field while arc moves with the welding speed. The previous works have shown experimentally and by simulation on the conductive paper that deformation of temperature field defines deformation of electric field. On the basis thereof, under certain boundary conditions the problem has been solved to give a general solution of differential equation, which relates the potential distribution to the temperature in the product during arc welding. This solution is obtained under the following boundary conditions: 1 metal is homogeneous; 2 input and output surfaces of heat flux and electric current coincide; 3 input and output surfaces of heat flux and electric current are insulated and equipotential; 4 other (lateral surfaces are adiabatic boundaries. Therefore, this paper pays basic attention to obtaining the analytical solution of a general differential equation, which relates distribution of potential to the temperature in the product. It considers the temperature field of the heat source, which moves at a welding speed with normal-circular distribution of the heat flow at a certain concentration factor. The distribution of current density is calculated on the assumption that the welding current is introduced through the same surface as the heat flux and the distribution of current density corresponds to the normally circular at a certain concentration factor. As a result, we get an expression that allows us to calculate the current density from the known

  15. Remote-controlled welding during replacement of components and piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faeser, K.; Huemmeler, A.; Pellkofer, D.

    1986-01-01

    Only on the basis of a thorough fundamental knowledge of nuclear power stations in general and the relevant codes and regulations in particular can extended repair measures, such as the replacement of components or pipelines, be planned and prepared. The application of effective decontamination procedures and shielding measures and a high degree of mechanization of the machining and welding operations will lead to a drastic reduction of the radiation load to which the personnel is exposed. By using highly sophisticated pipe assembling and welding systems the exposure period can be minimized. At the same time a very high level of quality is being reached. The close adherence to the schedule of individual detail operations confirms and justifies the necessity of thorough planning and training of personnel. It may be assumed that in the field of nuclear engineering some pioneer work has been done that will have a stimulating effect on other areas with similar or transferable applications. (orig.) [de

  16. New weld coating process for directional horizontal drilling operations; Neues Schweissnaht-Beschichtungsverfahren fuer Horizontalbohrungen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quast, M. [Denso GmbH, Leverkusen (Germany)

    2005-07-01

    Corrosion protective coatings of steel pipes laid by horizontal directional drilling are particularly stressed. Thermosetting compounds based on polyurethane or expoxides have proven their performance for the protection of welded joints of such pipes. The application of thermosetting joint coatings can currently be carried out in a lamination process, resulting in glass reinforced plastics coatings, or by spatula in case of polyurethane based materials. Both application procedures require a certain period of time and come along with drawbacks, which are typical for the application of reactive resins. This report describes a new procedure for the coating of welded joint areas of steel pipes with polyurethane reactive resins. By use of a special casing system the complications of applying the coating material by spatula are avoided. Consequently one can take complete advantage of using polyurethane coatings for HDD laid pipes without suffering from typical handling drawbacks. (orig.)

  17. Electron beam welding of high-purity copper accelerator cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delis, K.; Haas, H.; Schlebusch, P.; Sigismund, E.

    1986-01-01

    The operating conditions of accelerator cells require high thermal conductivity, low gas release in the ultrahigh vacuum, low content of low-melting metals and an extremely good surface quality. In order to meet these requirements, high-purity copper (OFHC, Grade 1, according to ASTM B 170-82 and extra specifications) is used as structural material. The prefabricated components of the accelerator cells (noses, jackets, flanges) are joined by electron beam welding, the weld seam being assessed on the basis of the same criteria as the base material. The welding procedures required depend, first, on the material and, secondly, on the geometries involved. Therefore experimental welds were made first on standardized specimens in order to study the behaviour of the material during electron beam welding and the influence of parameter variations. The welded joints of the cell design were planned on the basis of these results. Seam configuration, welding procedures and the parameters were optimized on components of original geometry. The experiments have shown that high-quality joints of this grade of copper can be produced by the electron beam welding process, if careful planning and preparation of the seams and adequate containment of the welding pool are assured. (orig.)

  18. Advanced nondestructive examination of the reactor vessel head penetration tube welds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cvitanovic, M.; Zado, V.

    1996-01-01

    Beside a referent code examination requirements, appearance of the service induced flaws on the Reactor Vessel Head (RVH) penetration tube welds forced development of remotely operated examination tools and techniques. Several systems were developed for examination of RVH PWR type while only one system for examination of VVER - 440 type RVH has been developed by Inetec. In this article the most advanced RVH VVER - 440 type examination techniques such as ultrasonic, eddy current and visual testing techniques as well as remotely operated tool are described. (author)

  19. Friction Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

    2008-01-01

    Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process invented in 1991 at The Welding Institute in the United Kingdom. A weld is made in the FSW process by translating a rotating pin along a weld seam so as to stir the sides of the seam together. FSW avoids deleterious effects inherent in melting and promises to be an important welding process for any industries where welds of optimal quality are demanded. This article provides an introduction to the FSW process. The chief concern is the physical effect of the tool on the weld metal: how weld seam bonding takes place, what kind of weld structure is generated, potential problems, possible defects for example, and implications for process parameters and tool design. Weld properties are determined by structure, and the structure of friction stir welds is determined by the weld metal flow field in the vicinity of the weld tool. Metal flow in the vicinity of the weld tool is explained through a simple kinematic flow model that decomposes the flow field into three basic component flows: a uniform translation, a rotating solid cylinder, and a ring vortex encircling the tool. The flow components, superposed to construct the flow model, can be related to particular aspects of weld process parameters and tool design; they provide a bridge to an understanding of a complex-at-first-glance weld structure. Torques and forces are also discussed. Some simple mathematical models of structural aspects, torques, and forces are included.

  20. Numerical analysis of weld pool oscillation in laser welding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jung Ho [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Farson, Dave F [The Ohio State University, Columbus (United States); Hollis, Kendall; Milewski, John O. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos (United States)

    2015-04-15

    Volume of fluid (VOF) numerical simulation was used to investigate melt flow and volumetric oscillation of conduction-mode pulsed laser weld pools. The result is compared to high speed video stream of titanium laser spot welding experiment. The total simulation time is 10ms with the first 5 ms being heating and melting under constant laser irradiation and the remaining 5 ms corresponding to resolidification of the weld pool. During the melting process, the liquid pool did not exhibit periodic oscillation but was continually depressed by the evaporation recoil pressure. After the laser pulse, the weld pool was excited into volumetric oscillation by the release of pressure on its surface and oscillation of the weld pool surface was analyzed. The simulation model suggested adjusting thermal diffusivity to match cooling rate and puddle diameter during solidification which is distinguishable from previous weld pool simulation. The frequency continuously increased from several thousand cycles per second to tens of thousands of cycles per second as the weld pool solidified and its diameter decreased. The result is the first trial of investigation of small weld pool oscillation in laser welding although there have been several reports about arc welding.

  1. State of the art of the welding method for sealing spent nuclear fuel canister made of copper. Part 1 - FSW

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Purhonen, T.

    2014-05-15

    The purpose of this report is to gather together comprehensive information concerning FSW as an optional welding method for welding the nuclear waste copper canister at the disposal facility. This report discusses the current situation, knowledge of the process and information concerning results of the development and research work related to welding thick copper and the special needs of the disposal environment. Most of the research work and development work has been done by Posiva's Swedish partner SKB, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. SKB chose FSW as their reference welding method in 2005. FSW (friction stir welding) is a solid-state welding method, invented in 1991, in which frictional heat is generated between the tool and the weld metal, causing the metal to soften, normally without reaching the melting point, and allowing the tool to traverse the joint line. Friction stir welding can be used for joining many types of materials and material combinations, if the tool materials and designs can be found which operate at the forging temperature of the workpiece. The general requirements for the copper canister weld and base material are presented in Posiva's VAHA-system, which sets the most critical values or demands concerning the short- and long-term properties or other needs. The sections in this report are set out in a similar way as in the VAHA-system. Concerning the results from the research and development work, it can be said that FS weld material fulfils the values set by VAHA. The quality of the welds fulfils the set demands for intact weld material and the welding process is robust using an automatic control system. There still remains work concerning the acceptance procedure for the welding process and other open issues which are described in this report. (orig.)

  2. State of the art of the welding method for sealing spent nuclear fuel canister made of copper. Part 1 - FSW

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purhonen, T.

    2014-05-01

    The purpose of this report is to gather together comprehensive information concerning FSW as an optional welding method for welding the nuclear waste copper canister at the disposal facility. This report discusses the current situation, knowledge of the process and information concerning results of the development and research work related to welding thick copper and the special needs of the disposal environment. Most of the research work and development work has been done by Posiva's Swedish partner SKB, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. SKB chose FSW as their reference welding method in 2005. FSW (friction stir welding) is a solid-state welding method, invented in 1991, in which frictional heat is generated between the tool and the weld metal, causing the metal to soften, normally without reaching the melting point, and allowing the tool to traverse the joint line. Friction stir welding can be used for joining many types of materials and material combinations, if the tool materials and designs can be found which operate at the forging temperature of the workpiece. The general requirements for the copper canister weld and base material are presented in Posiva's VAHA-system, which sets the most critical values or demands concerning the short- and long-term properties or other needs. The sections in this report are set out in a similar way as in the VAHA-system. Concerning the results from the research and development work, it can be said that FS weld material fulfils the values set by VAHA. The quality of the welds fulfils the set demands for intact weld material and the welding process is robust using an automatic control system. There still remains work concerning the acceptance procedure for the welding process and other open issues which are described in this report. (orig.)

  3. Alternate Welding Processes for In-Service Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-04-24

    Conducting weld repairs and attaching hot tap tees onto pressurized pipes has the advantage of avoiding loss of service and revenue. However, the risks involved with in-service welding need to be managed by ensuring that welding is performed in a rep...

  4. Sturdy on Orbital TIG Welding Properties for Nuclear Fuel Test Rod

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joung, Changyoung; Hong, Jintae; Kim, Kahye; Huh, Sungho

    2014-01-01

    We developed a precision TIG welding system that is able to weld the seam between end-caps and a fuel cladding tube for the nuclear fuel test rod and rig. This system can be mainly classified into an orbital TIG welder (AMI, M-207A) and a pressure chamber. The orbital TIG welder can be independently used, and it consists of a power supply unit, a microprocessor, water cooling unit, a gas supply unit and an orbital weld head. In this welder, the power supply unit mainly supplies GTAW power for a welding specimen and controls an arc starting of high frequency, supping of purge gas, arc rotation through the orbital TIG welding head, and automatic timing functions. In addition, the pressure chamber is used to make the welded surface of the cladding specimen clean with the inert gas filled inside the chamber. To precisely weld the cladding tube, a welding process needs to establish a schedule program for an orbital TIG welding. Therefore, the weld tests were performed on a cladding tube and dummy rods under various conditions. This paper describes not only test results on parameters of the purge gas flow rates and the chamber gas pressures for the orbital TIG welding, but also test results on the program establishment of an orbital TIG welding system to weld the fuel test rods. Various welding tests were performed to develop the orbital TIG welding techniques for the nuclear fuel test rod. The width of HAZ of a cladding specimen welded with the identical power during an orbital TIG welding cycle was continuously increased from a welded start-point to a weld end-point because of heat accumulation. The welding effect of the PGFR and CGP shows a relatively large difference for FSS and LSS. Each hole on the cladding specimens was formed in the 1bar CGP with the 20L/min PGFR but not made in the case of the PGFR of 10L/min in the CGP of 2bar. The optimum schedule program of the orbital TIG welding system to weld the nuclear fuel test rod was established through the program

  5. Sturdy on Orbital TIG Welding Properties for Nuclear Fuel Test Rod

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joung, Changyoung; Hong, Jintae; Kim, Kahye; Huh, Sungho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    We developed a precision TIG welding system that is able to weld the seam between end-caps and a fuel cladding tube for the nuclear fuel test rod and rig. This system can be mainly classified into an orbital TIG welder (AMI, M-207A) and a pressure chamber. The orbital TIG welder can be independently used, and it consists of a power supply unit, a microprocessor, water cooling unit, a gas supply unit and an orbital weld head. In this welder, the power supply unit mainly supplies GTAW power for a welding specimen and controls an arc starting of high frequency, supping of purge gas, arc rotation through the orbital TIG welding head, and automatic timing functions. In addition, the pressure chamber is used to make the welded surface of the cladding specimen clean with the inert gas filled inside the chamber. To precisely weld the cladding tube, a welding process needs to establish a schedule program for an orbital TIG welding. Therefore, the weld tests were performed on a cladding tube and dummy rods under various conditions. This paper describes not only test results on parameters of the purge gas flow rates and the chamber gas pressures for the orbital TIG welding, but also test results on the program establishment of an orbital TIG welding system to weld the fuel test rods. Various welding tests were performed to develop the orbital TIG welding techniques for the nuclear fuel test rod. The width of HAZ of a cladding specimen welded with the identical power during an orbital TIG welding cycle was continuously increased from a welded start-point to a weld end-point because of heat accumulation. The welding effect of the PGFR and CGP shows a relatively large difference for FSS and LSS. Each hole on the cladding specimens was formed in the 1bar CGP with the 20L/min PGFR but not made in the case of the PGFR of 10L/min in the CGP of 2bar. The optimum schedule program of the orbital TIG welding system to weld the nuclear fuel test rod was established through the program

  6. Friction welded closures of waste canisters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, R.F.

    1987-01-01

    Liquid radioactive waste presently stored in underground tanks is to undergo a vitrifying process which will immobilize it into a solid form. This solid waste will be contained in a stainless steel canister. The canister opening requires a positive-seal weld, the properties and thickness of which must be at least equal to those of the canister material. All studies and tests performed in the work discussed in this paper have the inertia friction welding concept to be highly feasible in this application. This paper describes the decision to investigate the inertia friction welding process, the inertia friction welding process itself, and a proposed equipment design concept. This system would provide a positive, reliable, inspectable, and full-thickness seal weld while utilizing easily maintainable equipment. This high-quality weld can be achieved even in highly contaminated hot cell

  7. Welding iridium heat-source capsules for space missions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanne, W.R. Jr.

    1982-03-01

    A remote computer-controlled welding station was developed to encapsulate radioactive PuO 2 in iridium. Weld quench cracking caused an interruption in production of capsules for upcoming space missions. Hot crack sensitivity of the DOP-26 iridium alloy was associated with low melting constituents in the grain boundaries. The extent of cracking was reduced but could not be eliminated by changes to the welding operation. An ultrasonic test was developed to detect underbead cracks exceeding a threshold size. Production was continued using the ultrasonic test to reject capsules with detectable cracks

  8. Hybrid laser-TIG welding, laser beam welding and gas tungsten arc welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Liming; Wang Jifeng; Song Gang

    2004-01-01

    Welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy was carried out using hybrid laser-TIG (LATIG) welding, laser beam welding (LBW) and gas tungsten arc (TIG) welding. The weldability and microstructure of magnesium AZ31B alloy welded using LATIG, LBW and TIG were investigated by OM and EMPA. The experimental results showed that the welding speed of LATIG was higher than that of TIG, which was caught up with LBW. Besides, the penetration of LATIG doubles that of TIG, and was four times that of LBW. In addition, arc stability was improved in hybrid of laser-TIG welding compared with using the TIG welding alone, especially at high welding speed and under low TIG current. It was found that the heat affect zone of joint was only observed in TIG welding, and the size of grains in it was evidently coarse. In fusion zone, the equiaxed grains exist, whose size was the smallest welded by LBW, and was the largest by TIG welding. It was also found that Mg concentration of the fusion zone was lower than that of the base one by EPMA in three welding processes

  9. Closing the weld gap with laser/mig hybrid welding process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bagger, Claus; Olsen, Flemming Ove; Wiwe, Bjarne David

    2003-01-01

    In this article, laboratory tests are demonstrated that systematically accesses the critical gap distance when welding CMn 2.13 mm steel with a 2.6 kW CO2 laser, combined with a MIG energy source. In the work, the welding speed is varied at gap distances from 0 to 0.8 mm such that the limits...... for obtaining sound welds are identified. The welds are quality assessed according to ISO 13.919-1 and EN25817, transversal hardness measurements are made and the heat input to the workpiece is calculated. The results show that the critical gap is 0.1 mm for a laser weld alone. With hybrid welding, this can...... be increased to 0.6 mm, even at a welding speed of 3.5 m/min. The maximum welding speed with the hybrid process is comparable to laser welding alone, 4.5 m/min. The measured hardness is comparable to MIG welding, and this corresponds to a 33 percent reduction compared to laser welding alone. The heat input...

  10. Last developments in welding for structural cladding; Ultimos desarrollos en el area de soldadura por recubrimiento estructural

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grubb, T.; Llovet, R.; Newton, B.

    2007-07-01

    PCI Energy Services LLC Westinghouse electric company subsidiary has developed over the last years a series of techniques aimed at improving the structural nickel-based weld filler as well as its application in preventive repairs at operating plants. Amongst these developments, the material optimization, the full orbital progression and the low-profile weld system are worth to mention. This article depicts in more details all the above mentioned developments. (Author)

  11. Feasibility of correlating V-Cr-Ti alloy weld strength with weld chemistry. CRADA final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grossbeck, M.L.; Odom, R.W.

    1998-06-01

    The mechanical properties of refractory metals such as vanadium are determined to a large extent by the interstitial impurities in the alloy. In the case of welding, interstitial impurities are introduced in the welding process from the atmosphere and by dissolution of existing precipitates in the alloy itself. Because of the necessity of having an ultra-pure atmosphere, a vacuum chamber or a glove box is necessary. In the V-Cr-Ti system, the titanium serves as a getter to control the concentration of oxygen and nitrogen in solid solution in the alloy. In this project the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) technique was used to detect, measure, and map the spacial distribution of impurity elements in welds in the alloy V-4Cr-4Ti. An attempt was then made to correlate the concentrations and distributions of the impurities with mechanical properties of the welds. Mechanical integrity of the welds was determined by Charpy V-notch testing. Welds were prepared by the gas-tungsten-arc (GTA) method. Charpy testing established a correlation between weld impurity concentration and the ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT). Higher concentrations of oxygen resulted in a higher DBTT. An exception was noted in the case of a low-oxygen weld which had a high hydrogen concentration resulting in a brittle weld. The concentrations and distributions of the impurities determined by SIMS could not be correlated with the mechanical properties of the welds. This research supports efforts to develop fusion reactor first wall and blanket structural materials

  12. Modelling of Energy Expenditure at Welding Workstations: Effect of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The welding workstation usually generates intense heat during operations, which may affect the welder's health if not properly controlled, and can also affect the performance of the welder at work. Consequently, effort to control the conditions of the welding workstation is essential, and is therefore pursued in this paper.

  13. LASER WELDING WITH MICRO-JET COOLING FOR TRUCK FRAME WELDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan PIWNIK

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the mechanical properties of the weld steel structure of car body truck frames after laser welding. The best welding conditions involve the use of proper materials and alloy elements in steel and filer materials, in addition to welding technology, state of stress and temperature of exploitation. We present for the first time the properties of steel track structures after laser welding with micro-jet cooling. Therefore, good selection of both welding parameters and micro-jet cooling parameters is very important to achieve a proper steel structure. In this study, the metallographic structure, tensile results and impact toughness of welded joints have been analysed in terms of welding parameters.

  14. Forming Completely Penetrated Welded T-joints when Pulsed Arc Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krampit, N. Yu; Krampit, M. A.; Sapozhkov, A. S.

    2016-04-01

    The paper is focused on revealing the influence of welding parameters on weld formation when pulsed arc welding. As an experimental sample a T-joint over 10 mm was selected. Welding was carried out in flat position, which required no edge preparation but provided mono-directional guaranteed root penetration. The following parameters of welding were subjected to investigation: gap in the joint, wire feed rate and incline angles of the torch along and across the weld axis. Technological recommendations have been made with respect to pulsed arc welding; the cost price of product manufacturing can be reduced on their basis due to reduction of labor input required by machining, lowering consumption of welding materials and electric power.

  15. Cu-Fe welding techniques by electromagnetic and electron beam welding processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Satendra; Saroj, P.C.; Kulkarni, M.R.; Sharma, A.; Rajawat, R.K.; Saha, T.K.

    2015-01-01

    Electromagnetic welding being a solid state welding process has been found suitable for welding Copper and Iron which are conventionally very tricky. Owing to good electrical conductivity of both copper and iron, they are best suited combination for EM welding. For the experimental conditions presented above, 1.0 mm wall thickness of Cu tube was lap welded to Fe disc. A heavy duty four disc stainless steel coil was used for electromagnetic welding of samples. MSLD of the welded samples indicated leak proof joints. Metallographic examination of the welds also revealed defect free interfaces. Electron beam welding is also a non-conventional welding process used for joining dissimilar materials. Autogenous welding of the above specimen was carried out by EBW method for the sake of comparison. A characterization analysis of the above mentioned joining processes will be discussed in the paper. (author)

  16. Surface residual stress evaluation in double-electrode butt welded steel plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estefen, S.F.; Gurova, T.; Castello, X.; Leontiev, A.

    2010-01-01

    Surface residual stress evaluation for double-electrode welding was studied. The stresses were monitored after each operational step: positioning, implementing of constraints, welding and constraints removal. The measurements were performed at the deposited metal, heat affected zone, base metal close to the weld joint and along the plate using the X-ray diffraction method. It was observed differences in the stress evaluations for double-electrode welding which resulted in lower bending distortions and higher values of surface residual stresses, compared with single-electrode welding. This behavior is associated with the stress distribution just after the welding processes in both heat affected zone and base metal close to the fillet for double-electrode welding. The main results from the laboratorial tests indicated lower values of the bending distortions for double-electrode welding compared with the single-electrode. In relation to the residual stress, the double-electrode welding generated, in general, higher stress values in both longitudinal and transversal directions.

  17. Optical design and development of a fiber coupled high-power diode laser system for laser transmission welding of plastics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Vidal, Eva; Quintana, Iban; Etxarri, Jon; Azkorbebeitia, Urko; Otaduy, Deitze; González, Francisco; Moreno, Fernando

    2012-12-01

    Laser transmission welding (LTW) of thermoplastics is a direct bonding technique already used in different industrial applications sectors such as automobiles, microfluidics, electronics, and biomedicine. LTW evolves localized heating at the interface of two pieces of plastic to be joined. One of the plastic pieces needs to be optically transparent to the laser radiation whereas the other part has to be absorbent, being that the radiation produced by high power diode lasers is a good alternative for this process. As consequence, a tailored laser system has been designed and developed to obtain high quality weld seams with weld widths between 0.7 and 1.4 mm. The developed laser system consists of two diode laser bars (50 W per bar) coupled into an optical fiber using a nonimaging solution: equalization of the beam parameter product (BPP) in the slow and fast axes by a pair of step-mirrors. The power scaling was carried out by means of a multiplexing polarization technique. The analysis of energy balance and beam quality was performed considering ray tracing simulation (ZEMAX) and experimental validation. The welding experiments were conducted on acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS), a thermoplastic frequently used in automotive, electronics and aircraft applications, doped with two different concentrations of carbon nanotubes (0.01% and 0.05% CNTs). Quality of the weld seams on ABS was analyzed in terms of the process parameters (welding speed, laser power and clamping pressure) by visual and optical microscope inspections. Mechanical properties of weld seams were analyzed by mechanical shear tests. High quality weld seams were produced in ABS, revealing the potential of the laser developed in this work for a wide range of plastic welding applications.

  18. Weld overlay cladding with iron aluminides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goodwin, G.M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1997-12-01

    The author has established a range of compositions for these alloys within which hot cracking resistance is very good, and within which cold cracking can be avoided in many instances by careful control of welding conditions, particularly preheat and postweld heat treatment. For example, crack-free butt welds have been produced for the first time in 12-mm thick wrought Fe{sub 3}Al plate. Cold cracking, however, still remains an issue in many cases. The author has developed a commercial source for composite weld filler metals spanning a wide range of achievable aluminum levels, and are pursuing the application of these filler metals in a variety of industrial environments. Welding techniques have been developed for both the gas tungsten arc and gas metal arc processes, and preliminary work has been done to utilize the wire arc process for coating of boiler tubes. Clad specimens have been prepared for environmental testing in-house, and a number of components have been modified and placed in service in operating kraft recovery boilers. In collaboration with a commercial producer of spiral weld overlay tubing, the author is attempting to utilize the new filler metals for this novel application.

  19. High-strength laser welding of aluminum-lithium scandium-doped alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malikov, A. G.; Ivanova, M. Yu.

    2016-11-01

    The work presents the experimental investigation of laser welding of an aluminum alloy (system Al-Mg-Li) and aluminum alloy (system Al-Cu-Li) doped with Sc. The influence of nano-structuring of the surface layer welded joint by cold plastic deformation on the strength properties of the welded joint is determined. It is founded that, regarding the deformation degree over the thickness, the varying value of the welded joint strength is different for these aluminum alloys. The strength of the plastically deformed welded joint, aluminum alloys of the Al-Mg-Li and Al-Cu-Li systems reached 0.95 and 0.6 of the base alloy strength, respectively.

  20. Deconvoluting the Friction Stir Weld Process for Optimizing Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Judy; Nunes, Arthur C.

    2008-01-01

    In the friction stir welding process, the rotating surfaces of the pin and shoulder contact the weld metal and force a rotational flow within the weld metal. Heat, generated by the metal deformation as well as frictional slippage with the contact surface, softens the metal and makes it easier to deform. As in any thermo-mechanical processing of metal, the flow conditions are critical to the quality of the weld. For example, extrusion of metal from under the shoulder of an excessively hot weld may relax local pressure and result in wormhole defects. The trace of the weld joint in the wake of the weld may vary geometrically depending upon the flow streamlines around the tool with some geometry more vulnerable to loss of strength from joint contamination than others. The material flow path around the tool cannot be seen in real time during the weld. By using analytical "tools" based upon the principles of mathematics and physics, a weld model can be created to compute features that can be observed. By comparing the computed observations with actual data, the weld model can be validated or adjusted to get better agreement. Inputs to the model to predict weld structures and properties include: hot working properties ofthe metal, pin tool geometry, travel rate, rotation and plunge force. Since metals record their prior hot working history, the hot working conditions imparted during FSW can be quantified by interpreting the final microstructure. Variations in texture and grain size result from variations in the strain accommodated at a given strain rate and temperature. Microstructural data from a variety of FSWs has been correlated with prior marker studies to contribute to our understanding of the FSW process. Once this stage is reached, the weld modeling process can save significant development costs by reducing costly trial-and-error approaches to obtaining quality welds.

  1. Effects of Fusion Tack Welds on Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Pendleton, M. L.; Brooke, S. A.; Russell, C. K.

    2012-01-01

    In order to know whether fusion tack welds would affect the strength of self-reacting friction stir seam welds in 2195-T87 aluminum alloy, the fracture stresses of 144 tensile test coupons cut from 24 welded panels containing segments of friction stir welds were measured. Each of the panels was welded under unique processing conditions. A measure of the effect of the tack welds for each panel was devised. An analysis of the measures of the tack weld effect supported the hypothesis that fusion tack welds do not affect the strength of self-reacting friction stir welds to a 5% level of confidence.

  2. Residual stress reduction in the penetration nozzle weld joint by overlay welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Wenchun; Luo, Yun; Wang, B.Y.; Tu, S.T.; Gong, J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Residual stress reduction in penetration weld nozzle by overlay welding was studied. • The overlay weld can decrease the residual stress in the weld root. • Long overlay welding is proposed in the actual welding. • Overlay weld to decrease residual stress is more suitable for thin nozzle. - Abstract: Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the penetration nozzle weld joint endangers the structural reliability of pressure vessels in nuclear and chemical industries. How to decrease the residual stress is very critical to ensure the structure integrity. In this paper, a new method, which uses overlay welding on the inner surface of nozzle, is proposed to decrease the residual stresses in the penetration joint. Finite element simulation is used to study the change of weld residual stresses before and after overlay welding. It reveals that this method can mainly decrease the residual stress in the weld root. Before overlay welding, large tensile residual stresses are generated in the weld root. After overlay weld, the tensile hoop stress in weld root has been decreased about 45%, and the radial stress has been decreased to compressive stress, which is helpful to decrease the susceptibility to SCC. With the increase of overlay welding length, the residual stress in weld root has been greatly decreased, and thus the long overlay welding is proposed in the actual welding. It also finds that this method is more suitable for thin nozzle rather than thick nozzle

  3. Hardness prediction of HAZ in temper bead welding by non-consistent layer technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Lina; Saida, Kazuyoshi; Mochizuki, Masahito; Kameyama, Masashi; Chigusa, Naoki; Nishimoto, Kazutoshi

    2014-01-01

    Based on the experimentally obtained hardness database, the neural network-based hardness prediction system of heat affect zone (HAZ) in temper bead welding by Consistent Layer (CSL) technique has been constructed by the authors. However in practical operation, CSL technique is sometimes difficult to perform because of difficulty of the precise heat input controlling, and in such case non-CSL techniques are mainly used in the actual repair process. Therefore in the present study, the neural network-based hardness prediction system of HAZ in temper bead welding by non-CSL techniques has been constructed through thermal cycle simplification, from the view of engineering. The hardness distribution in HAZ with non-CSL techniques was calculated based on the thermal cycles numerically obtained by finite element method. The experimental result has shown that the predicted hardness is in good accordance with the measured ones. It follows that the currently proposed method is effective for estimating the tempering effect during temper bead welding by non-CSL techniques. (author)

  4. Welding processes handbook

    CERN Document Server

    Weman, Klas

    2011-01-01

    Offers an introduction to the range of available welding technologies. This title includes chapters on individual techniques that cover principles, equipment, consumables and key quality issues. It includes material on such topics as the basics of electricity in welding, arc physics, and distortion, and the weldability of particular metals.$bThe first edition of Welding processes handbook established itself as a standard introduction and guide to the main welding technologies and their applications. This new edition has been substantially revised and extended to reflect the latest developments. After an initial introduction, the book first reviews gas welding before discussing the fundamentals of arc welding, including arc physics and power sources. It then discusses the range of arc welding techniques including TIG, plasma, MIG/MAG, MMA and submerged arc welding. Further chapters cover a range of other important welding technologies such as resistance and laser welding, as well as the use of welding techniqu...

  5. Local exhaust ventilation for the control of welding fumes in the construction industry--a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Michael R; Susi, Pam

    2012-08-01

    Arc welding is a common unit operation in the construction industry, where frequent changes in location and welding position make it more difficult to control fume exposures than in industries where fixed locations are the norm. Welders may be exposed to a variety of toxic airborne contaminants including manganese (Mn) and hexavalent chromium (CrVI). Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is a well-known engineering control for welding fumes but has not been adopted widely in the construction industry. This literature review presents data on the performance of a variety of LEV systems for welding fume control from the construction (five references), shipyard (five references), and other industries. The studies indicate that LEV can reduce fume exposures to total particulate, Mn, and CrVI to levels below currently relevant standards. Field studies suggest that 40-50% or more reduction in exposure is possible with portable or fixed LEV systems relative to natural ventilation but that correct positioning of the hood and adequate exhaust flow rates are essential. Successful implementation of extraction guns for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and flux core arc welding has been demonstrated, indicating that a successful balance between extraction airflow and shielding gas requirements is possible. Work practices are an important part of achieving successful control of fume exposures; in particular, positioning the hood close to the arc, checking exhaust flow rates, and avoiding the plume. Further research is needed on hood size effects for controlling welding fume with portable LEV systems and identifying and overcoming barriers to LEV use in construction.

  6. Laser ablated micropillar energy directors for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Carl Esben; Kistrup, Kasper; Andersen, Nis Korsgaard

    2016-01-01

    We present a new type of energy director (ED) for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems. These micropillar EDs are based on the replication of cone like protrusion structures introduced using a pico-second laser and may therefore be added to any mould surface accessible to a pico-second laser...

  7. Crack Resistance of Welded Joints of Pipe Steels of Strength Class K60 of Different Alloying Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabatchikova, T. I.; Tereshchenko, N. A.; Yakovleva, I. L.; Makovetskii, A. N.; Shander, S. V.

    2018-03-01

    The crack resistance of welded joints of pipe steels of strength class K60 and different alloying systems is studied. The parameter of the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) is shown to be dependent on the size of the austenite grains and on the morphology of bainite in the superheated region of the heat-affected zone of the weld. The crack resistance is shown to be controllable due to optimization of the alloying system.

  8. Welding Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alaska State Dept. of Education, Juneau. Div. of Adult and Vocational Education.

    This competency-based curriculum guide is a handbook for the development of welding trade programs. Based on a survey of Alaskan welding employers, it includes all competencies a student should acquire in such a welding program. The handbook stresses the importance of understanding the principles associated with the various elements of welding.…

  9. Robust Control of Welding Robot for Tracking a Rectangular Welding Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manh Dung Ngo

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlights a welding robot (WR for its end effector to track a rectangular welding line (RWL. The WR includes five actuators which use a DC motor as a power source. Two controllers are proposed to control the WR's end effector: a main controller and a servo controller. Firstly, based on WR's kinematic equations and its feedback errors using backstepping method the main controller is proposed to design the reference-inputs for the WR's actuators in order that the WR's end effector tracks the RWL. Secondly, based on the dynamic equation of WR's actuator, the servo controller is designed using an active disturbance rejection control method. Finally, a control system incorporated with the main controller and the servo controllers make the WR's end effector robustly track a RWL in the presence of the modeling uncertainty and disturbances during the welding process. In experiment, the main controller which has a function as a master of the control system links to the five servo controllers which have a function as a slave via I2C communication. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is proven through the simulation and experimental results.

  10. Robust Control of Welding Robot for Tracking a Rectangular Welding Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manh Dung Ngo

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlights a welding robot (WR for its end effector to track a rectangular welding line (RWL. The WR includes five actuators which use a DC motor as a power source. Two controllers are proposed to control the WR's end effector: a main controller and a servo controller. Firstly, based on WR's kinematic equations and its feedback errors using backstepping method the main controller is proposed to design the reference-inputs for the WR's actuators in order that the WR's end effector tracks the RWL. Secondly, based on the dynamic equation of WR's actuator, the servo controller is designed using an active disturbance rejection control method. Finally, a control system incorporated with the main controller and the servo controllers make the WR's end effector robustly track a RWL in the presence of the modeling uncertainty and disturbances during the welding process. In experiment, the main controller which has a function as a master of the control system links to the five servo controllers which have a function as a slave via I2C communication. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is proven through the simulation and experimental results.

  11. MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION AND AUTOMATION OF PROCESS ENGINEERING FOR WELDED STRUCTURE PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. V. Zankovets

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Models and methods for presentation of database and knowledge base have been developed on the basis of composition and structure of data flow in technological process of welding. The information in data and knowledge base is presented in the form of multilevel hierarchical structure and it is organized according to its functionality in the form of separate files. Each file contains a great number of tables. While using mathematical simulation and information technologies an expert system has been developed with the purpose to take decisions in designing and process engineering for production of welded ructures. The system makes it possible to carry out technically substantiated selection of welded and welding materials, sttypes of welded connections, welding methods, parameters and modes of welding. The developed system allows to improve quality of the accepted design decisions due to reduction of manual labour costs for work with normative-reference documentation, analysis and evaluation of dozens of possible alternatives. The system also permits to reduce labour inputs for testing structures on technological effectiveness, to ensure reduction of materials consumption for welded structures, to guarantee faultless formation of welded connections at this stage.

  12. Welding mechanization in shipyard CIM; Zosen ni okeru yosetsu no jidoka robot ka CIM ka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyazaki, T. [Hitachi Zosen Corp., Osaka (Japan)

    1997-12-01

    This paper explains development and examples of application of automated welding devices from a viewpoint of an element technology constituting computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), based on the history of modernization of shipyards that has been achieved to date. In the first step of promoting the modernization, elevating cutting accuracy in the uppermost stream process was thought a starting point of rationalization. What have been achieved therefrom are adoption of the most advanced NC plasma cutting machine, and improvement in the computer aided system for the cutting machines. In addition, a twenty-electrode line welder has been developed, which does not create angle deformation in welding longerons, and can be operated even by unskilled workers. The welder has successfully realized a construction method in which robots can be applied more easily. Further developments have been made on a robot to weld cells, advanced CAD/CAM operation techniques which are linked with data from design, an automatic one-side welding device which can achieve a speed 2.5 times greater than by conventional devices, and an automation device for three-dimensionally bent blocks, whose automation has been regarded difficult. 11 figs., 1 tab.

  13. Pulsed TIG welding in the fabrication of nuclear components and structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucas, W.; Males, B.O.

    1979-01-01

    TIG welding is an important welding technique in nuclear plant fabrication for the welding of critical components and structures where a high level of weld integrity is demanded. Whilst the process is ideally suited to precision welding, since the arc is a small intense heat source, it has proved to be somewhat intolerant to production variations in 'difficult' applications, such as tube to tube plate welding and orbital tube welding with tube in the fixed position. Whilst the problems directly associated with this intolerance (of the welding process) are less frequently observed when used manually, difficulties are experienced in fully mechanised welding operations particularly when welding to a relatively rigid approved procedure. Pulsing of the welding current was developed as a technique to achieve greater control of the behaviour of the weld pool. Instead of moving the weld pool in a continuous motion around the joint, welding was conducted intermittently in the form of overlapping spots. This technique, which offers significant advantages over continuous current welding has been exploited in nuclear fabrication for welding those components which demand a high level of weld quality. In this paper, the essential features of this technique are described and, in indicating its advantages, examples have been drawn from recent experiences on the welding of two types of joint for the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor, a tube sheet and a butt joint in the G Position. (author)

  14. Automatic Optimization of Focal Point Position in CO2 Laser Welding with Neural Network in A Focus Control System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gong, Hui; Olsen, Flemming Ove

    CO2 lasers are increasingly being utilized for quality welding in production. Considering the high cost of equipment, the start-up time and the set-up time should be minimized. Ideally the parameters should be set up and optimized more or less automatically. In this paper a control system...... is designed and built to automatically optimize the focal point position, one of the most important parameters in CO2 laser welding, in order to perform a desired deep/full penetration welding. The control system mainly consists of a multi-axis motion controller - PMAC, a light sensor - Photo Diode, a data...

  15. Phased array ultrasonic testing of dissimilar metal pipe weld joints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajeev, J.; Sankaranarayanan, R.; Sharma, Govind K; Joseph, A.; Purnachandra Rao, B.

    2015-01-01

    Dissimilar metal weld (DMW) joints made of stainless steel and ferritic steel is used in nuclear industries as well as oil and gas industries. These joints are prone to frequent failures which makes the non-destructive testing of dissimilar metal weld joints utmost important for reliable and safe operation of nuclear power plants and oil and gas industries. Ultrasonic inspection of dissimilar metal weld joints is still challenging due to the inherent anisotropic and highly scattering nature. Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) is an advanced technique and its capability has not been fully explored for the inspection of dissimilar metal welds

  16. LASER WELDING WITH MICRO-JET COOLING FOR TRUCK FRAME WELDING

    OpenAIRE

    Jan PIWNIK; Bożena SZCZUCKA-LASOTA; Tomasz WĘGRZYN; Wojciech MAJEWSKI

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to analyse the mechanical properties of the weld steel structure of car body truck frames after laser welding. The best welding conditions involve the use of proper materials and alloy elements in steel and filer materials, in addition to welding technology, state of stress and temperature of exploitation. We present for the first time the properties of steel track structures after laser welding with micro-jet cooling. Therefore, good selection of both welding paramet...

  17. Development of thick wall welding and cutting tools for ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakahira, Masataka; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Akou, Kentaro; Koizumi, Koichi

    1998-01-01

    The Vacuum Vessel, which is a core component of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), is required to be exchanged remotely in a case of accident such as superconducting coil failure. The in-vessel components such as blanket and divertor are planned to be exchanged or fixed. In these exchange or maintenance operations, the thick wall welding and cutting are inevitable and remote handling tools are necessary. The thick wall welding and cutting tools for blanket are under developing in the ITER R and D program. The design requirement is to weld or cut the stainless steel of 70 mm thickness in the narrow space. Tungsten inert gas (TIG) arc welding, plasma cutting and iodine laser welding/cutting are selected as primary option. Element welding and cutting tests, design of small tools to satisfy space requirement, test fabrication and performance tests were performed. This paper reports the tool design and overview of welding and cutting tests. (author)

  18. Development of thick wall welding and cutting tools for ITER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakahira, Masataka; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Akou, Kentaro; Koizumi, Koichi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1998-04-01

    The Vacuum Vessel, which is a core component of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), is required to be exchanged remotely in a case of accident such as superconducting coil failure. The in-vessel components such as blanket and divertor are planned to be exchanged or fixed. In these exchange or maintenance operations, the thick wall welding and cutting are inevitable and remote handling tools are necessary. The thick wall welding and cutting tools for blanket are under developing in the ITER R and D program. The design requirement is to weld or cut the stainless steel of 70 mm thickness in the narrow space. Tungsten inert gas (TIG) arc welding, plasma cutting and iodine laser welding/cutting are selected as primary option. Element welding and cutting tests, design of small tools to satisfy space requirement, test fabrication and performance tests were performed. This paper reports the tool design and overview of welding and cutting tests. (author)

  19. Effect of tool geometry on friction stir spot welding of polypropylene sheets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. K. Bilici

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The effects of tool geometry and properties on friction stir spot welding properties of polypropylene sheets were studied. Four different tool pin geometries, with varying pin angles, pin lengths, shoulder diameters and shoulder angles were used for friction stir spot welding. All the welding operations were done at the room temperature. Lap-shear tensile tests were carried out to find the weld static strength. Weld cross section appearance observations were also done. From the experiments the effect of tool geometry on friction stir spot weld formation and weld strength were determined. The optimum tool geometry for 4 mm thick polypropylene sheets were determined. The tapered cylindrical pin gave the biggest and the straight cylindrical pin gave the lowest lap-shear fracture load.

  20. Thermal Stir Welding: A New Solid State Welding Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, R. Jeffrey

    2003-01-01

    Thermal stir welding is a new welding process developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Thermal stir welding is similar to friction stir welding in that it joins similar or dissimilar materials without melting the parent material. However, unlike friction stir welding, the heating, stirring and forging elements of the process are all independent of each other and are separately controlled. Furthermore, the heating element of the process can be either a solid-state process (such as a thermal blanket, induction type process, etc), or, a fusion process (YG laser, plasma torch, etc.) The separation of the heating, stirring, forging elements of the process allows more degrees of freedom for greater process control. This paper introduces the mechanics of the thermal stir welding process. In addition, weld mechanical property data is presented for selected alloys as well as metallurgical analysis.

  1. 33 CFR 126.30 - What are the conditions for conducting welding and hotwork?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... conducting welding and hotwork? 126.30 Section 126.30 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT... FACILITIES § 126.30 What are the conditions for conducting welding and hotwork? (a) The facility operator must ensure that all welding or hotwork conducted at the facility meets the requirements of this...

  2. Characterization of electromagnetic pulse welding joints for advanced steels (ODS) welding applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buddu, Ramesh Kumar; Shaikh, Shamsuddin; Raole, P.M.; Sarkar, B.

    2015-01-01

    Advanced fusion reactors structural materials (like in case of TBM and, first wall components) have several operation challenges due to the demanding high temperature exposure conditions (∼800°C) and low neutron radiation effects. The present paper reports the preliminary case studies carried out on steel and copper EMP joints and their properties characterization towards establishing this technology for ODS alloys. The EMP joints in form of tubes are fabricated and tested (typical process parameters ∼ Voltage 25 kV, Current ∼600-800 kA, Max. energy ∼ 50 kJ, and 50 sec duty cycle as major process parameters). The weld joints are further characterized by X-ray radiography and found that there were no measureable defects/discontinuities across the weld interface. This indicates the good process of joining and acceptable. Characterization studies like microstructure, interface grain orientation features, deformation, hardness has been carried out. SEM studies also carried to check the interface status and some interesting features of discontinuities are observed which are not exclusively revealed by radiography tests. Hardness survey also revealed that there is no much variation in the both parent materials as well at weld zone indicating the no hardening affects like in arc/beam weld process. EMP joining has potential features for the joining requirements of ODS kind typical metallurgical requirements

  3. Plasma ARC Welding of High-Performance-Ship Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-05-01

    welding (EBW) and laser beam welding (LBW). Figure 2 shows examples of PAW keyhole welds using a square butt joint with and without filler metal additions...produced by some manufacturers has reliability problems. f) Existing equipment for initiating and closing out the keyhole is not totally satisfactory and...system for establishing and closing out keyhole craters is necessary. Work is being done by several Investigators, but it is not known L whether any system

  4. Design, Construction, Demonstration and Delivery of an Automated Narrow Gap Welding System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-06-29

    DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, DEMONSTRATION AND DELIVERY OF WE DA4I &NARROW GAP CONTRACT NO. NOOGOO-81-C-E923 TO DAVID TAYLOR NAVAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT...the automated * Narrow Gap welding process, is the narrow (3/8 - inch), square-butt joint *design. This narrow joint greatly reduces the volume of weld...AD-i45 495 DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION AiND DELIVERY OF RN 1/j AUrOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING SYSTEMI() CRC AUTOMATIC WELDING CO HOUSTON TX 29

  5. Application of Taguchi approach to optimize friction stir welding parameters of polyethylene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bejaoui S.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents experimental and numerical results of butt friction stir welding of high density polyethylene. The FSW designed tool insulates the welded samples and preserves the heat gained from friction thus avoiding the appearance of blisters and splits after welding. The experimental tests, conducted according to combinations of process factors such as rotation speed, welding speed, pin diameter and hold time at beginning welding, were carried out according the Taguchi orthogonal table L27 in randomized way. Temperatures in the joint during the welding operation and flow stresses from the tensile tests of welded samples were measured and variances were analyzed. Identified models were used to simulate, by finite elements, the tensile tests performed on specimens having a weld cordon in their active area. The results show coherence between the numerical predictions and experimental observations in different cases of weld cordon mechanical behaviour.

  6. Weld quality inspection using laser-EMAT ultrasonic system and C-scan method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lei; Ume, I. Charles

    2014-02-01

    Laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique has attracted more and more interests in weld quality inspection because of its non-destructive and non-contact characteristics. When ultrasonic techniques are used to detect welds joining relative thin plates, the dominant ultrasonic waves present in the plates are Lamb waves, which propagate all through the thickness. Traditional Time of Flight(ToF) method loses its power. The broadband nature of laser excited ultrasound plus dispersive and multi-modal characteristic of Lamb waves make the EMAT acquired signals very complicated in this situation. Challenge rises in interpreting the received signals and establishing relationship between signal feature and weld quality. In this paper, the laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique was applied in a C-scan manner to record full wave propagation field over an area close to the weld. Then the effect of weld defect on the propagation field of Lamb waves was studied visually by watching an movie resulted from the recorded signals. This method was proved to be effective to detect the presence of hidden defect in the weld. Discrete wavelet transform(DWT) was applied to characterize the acquired ultrasonic signals and ideal band-pass filter was used to isolate wave components most sensitive to the weld defect. Different interactions with the weld defect were observed for different wave components. Thus this C-Scan method, combined with DWT and ideal band-pass filter, proved to be an effective methodology to experimentally study interactions of various laser excited Lamb Wave components with weld defect. In this work, the method was demonstrated by inspecting a hidden local incomplete penetration in weld. In fact, this method can be applied to study Lamb Wave interactions with any type of structural inconsistency. This work also proposed a ideal filtered based method to effectively reduce the total experimental time.

  7. Sustainability of Welding Process through Bobbin Friction Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sued, M. K.; Samsuri, S. S. M.; Kassim, M. K. A. M.; Nasir, S. N. N. M.

    2018-03-01

    Welding process is in high demand, which required a competitive technology to be adopted. This is important for sustaining the needs of the joining industries without ignoring the impact of the process to the environment. Friction stir welding (FSW) is stated to be benefitting the environment through low energy consumption, which cannot be achieved through traditional arc welding. However, this is not well documented, especially for bobbin friction stir welding (BFSW). Therefore, an investigation is conducted by measuring current consumption of the machine during the BFSW process. From the measurement, different phases of BFSW welding process and its electrical demand are presented. It is found that in general total energy in BFSW is about 130kW inclusive of all identified process phases. The phase that utilise for joint formation is in weld phase that used the highest total energy of 120kWs. The recorded total energy is still far below the traditional welding technology and the conventional friction stir welding (CFSW) energy demand. This indicates that BFSW technology with its vast benefit able to sustain the joining technology in near future.

  8. Enabling high speed friction stir welding of aluminum tailor welded blanks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovanski, Yuri

    Current welding technologies for production of aluminum tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) are utilized in low-volume and niche applications, and have yet to be scaled for the high-volume vehicle market. This study targeted further weight reduction, part reduction, and cost savings by enabling tailor-welded blank technology for aluminum alloys at high-volumes. While friction stir welding (FSW) has traditionally been applied at linear velocities less than one meter per minute, high volume production applications demand the process be extended to higher velocities more amenable to cost sensitive production environments. Unfortunately, weld parameters and performance developed and characterized at low to moderate welding velocities do not directly translate to high speed linear friction stir welding. Therefore, in order to facilitate production of high volume aluminum FSW components, parameters were developed with a minimum welding velocity of three meters per minute. With an emphasis on weld quality, welded blanks were evaluated for post-weld formability using a combination of numerical and experimental methods. Evaluation across scales was ultimately validated by stamping full-size production door inner panels made from dissimilar thickness aluminum tailor-welded blanks, which provided validation of the numerical and experimental analysis of laboratory scale tests.

  9. A Study on the Evaluation Technology of Welds Integrity in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Hyun Young; Kim, Jong Sung; Jin, Tae Eun

    2007-01-01

    The final goal of this study is to develop the core technologies applicable to the design, operation and maintenance of welds in nuclear structures. This study includes predicting microstructure changes and residual stress for welded parts of nuclear power plant components. Furthermore, researches are performed on evaluating fatigue, corrosion, and hydrogen induced cracking and finally constructs systematically integrated evaluation system for structural integrity of nuclear welded structures. In this study, metallurgical and mechanical approaches have been effectively coordinated considering real welding phenomena in the fields of welds properties such as microstructure, composition and residual stress, and in the fields of damage evaluations such as fatigue, corrosion, fatigue crack propagation, and stress corrosion cracking. Evaluation techniques tried in this study can be much economical and effective in that it uses theoretical/semi-empirical but includes many additional parameters that can be introduced in real phenomena such as phase transformation, strength mismatch and residual stress. It is clear that residual stress makes great contribution to fatigue and stress corrosion cracking. Therefore the mitigation techniques have been approached by reducing the residual stress of selected parts resulting in successful conclusions

  10. Weld Joint Design for SFR Metallic Fuel Element Closures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Won; Kim, Soo Sung; Woo, Yoon Myeng; Kim, Hyung Tae; Kim, Ki Hwan; Yoon, Kyung Ho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    The sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) system is among the six systems selected for Gen-IV promising systems and expected to become available for commercial introduction around 2030. In Korea, the R and D on SFR has been begun since 1997, as one of the national long-term nuclear R and D programs. The international collaborative research is under way on fuel developments within Advanced Fuel Project for Gen-IV SFR with the closed fuel cycle of full actinide recycling, while TRU bearing metallic fuel, U-TRU-Zr alloy fuel, was selected and is being developed. For the fabrication of SFR metallic fuel elements, the endplug welding is a crucial process. The sealing of endplug to cladding tube should be hermetically perfect to prevent a leakage of fission gases and to maintain a good reactor performance. In this study, the joint designs for endplug welding were investigated. For the irradiation test of SFR metallic fuel element, the TIG welding technique was adopted and the welding joint design was developed based on the welding conditions and parameters established. In order to make SFR metallic fuel elements, the weld joint design was developed based on the TIG welding technique.

  11. Some studies on weld bead geometries for laser spot welding process using finite element analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siva Shanmugam, N.; Buvanashekaran, G.; Sankaranarayanasamy, K.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: → In this study, a 2 kW Nd:YAG laser welding system is used to conduct laser spot welding trials. → The size and shape of the laser spot weld is predicted using finite element simulation. → The heat input is assumed to be a three-dimensional conical Gaussian heat source. → The result highlights the effect of beam incident angle on laser spot welds. → The achieved results of numerical simulation are almost identical with a real weldment. -- Abstract: Nd:YAG laser beam welding is a high power density welding process which has the capability to focus the beam to a very small spot diameter of about 0.4 mm. It has favorable characteristics namely, low heat input, narrow heat affected zone and lower distortions, as compared to conventional welding processes. In this study, finite element method (FEM) is applied for predicting the weld bead geometry i.e. bead length (BL), bead width (BW) and depth of penetration (DP) in laser spot welding of AISI 304 stainless steel sheet of thickness 2.5 mm. The input parameters of laser spot welding such as beam power, incident angle of the beam and beam exposure time are varied for conducting experimental trials and numerical simulations. Temperature-dependent thermal properties of AISI 304 stainless steel, the effect of latent heat of fusion, and the convective and radiative aspects of boundary conditions are considered while developing the finite element model. The heat input to the developed model is assumed to be a three-dimensional conical Gaussian heat source. Finite-element simulations of laser spot welding were carried out by using Ansys Parametric Design Language (APDL) available in finite-element code, ANSYS. The results of the numerical analysis provide the shape of the weld beads for different ranges of laser input parameters that are subsequently compared with the results obtained through experimentation and it is found that they are in good agreement.

  12. A Neural Network Approach for GMA Butt Joint Welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the application of the neural network technology for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) control. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a certain degree of quality in the field of butt joint welding with full...... penetration, when the gap width is varying during the welding process. The process modeling to facilitate the mapping from joint geometry and reference weld quality to significant welding parameters has been based on a multi-layer feed-forward network. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for non-linear least...

  13. A Neural Network Approach for GMA Butt Joint Welding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

    2003-01-01

    penetration, when the gap width is varying during the welding process. The process modeling to facilitate the mapping from joint geometry and reference weld quality to significant welding parameters has been based on a multi-layer feed-forward network. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for non-linear least......This paper describes the application of the neural network technology for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) control. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a certain degree of quality in the field of butt joint welding with full...

  14. Systemic immune cell response in rats after pulmonary exposure to manganese-containing particles collected from welding aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonini, James M; Zeidler-Erdely, Patti C; Young, Shih-Houng; Roberts, Jenny R; Erdely, Aaron

    2012-01-01

    Welding fume inhalation affects the immune system of exposed workers. Manganese (Mn) in welding fume may induce immunosuppressive effects. The goal was to determine if Mn in welding fume alters immunity by reducing the number of circulating total leukocytes and specific leukocyte sub-populations. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated by intratracheal instillation (ITI) with either a single dose (2.00 mg/rat) or repeated doses (0.125 or 2.00 mg/rat for 7 weeks) with welding fumes that contained different levels of Mn. Additional rats were treated by ITI once a week for 7 weeks with the two doses of manganese chloride (MnCl₂). Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed to assess lung inflammation. Also, whole blood was recovered, and the number of circulating total leukocytes, as well as specific lymphocyte subsets, was determined by flow cytometry. The welding fume highest in Mn content significantly increased lung inflammation, injury, and production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared to all other treatment groups. In addition, the same group expressed significant decreases in the number of circulating CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-lymphocytes after a single exposure, and significant reductions in the number of circulating total lymphocytes, primarily CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-lymphocytes, after repeated exposures (compared to control values). Repeated MnCl₂ exposure led to a trend of a reduction (but not statistically significant) in circulating total lymphocytes, attributable to the changes in the CD4⁺ T-lymphocyte population levels. The welding fume with the lower concentration of Mn had no significant effect on the numbers of blood lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets compared to control values. Evidence from this study indicates that pulmonary exposure to certain welding fumes cause decrements in systemic immune cell populations, specifically circulating T-lymphocytes, and these alterations in immune cell number are not dependent exclusively on Mn, but likely a

  15. Effect of Welding Process on Microstructure, Mechanical and Pitting Corrosion Behaviour of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammed, Raffi; Madhusudhan Reddy, G.; Srinivasa Rao, K.

    2018-03-01

    An attempt has been made to weld 2205 Duplex stainless steel of 6mm thick plate using conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and activated gas tungsten arc welding (A- GTAW) process using silica powder as activated flux. Present work is aimed at studying the effect of welding process on depth of penetration, width of weld zone of 2205 duplex stainless steel. It also aims to observe the microstructural changes and its effect on mechanical properties and pitting corrosion resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steel welds. Metallography is done to observe the microstructural changes of the welds using image analyzer attached to the optical microscopy. Hardness studies, tensile and ductility bend tests were evaluated for mechanical properties. Potentio-dynamic polarization studies were carried out using a basic GillAC electro-chemical system in 3.5% NaCl solution to observe the pitting corrosion behaviour. Results of the present investigation established that increased depth of penetration and reduction of weld width in a single pass by activated GTAW with the application of SiO2 flux was observed when compared with conventional GTAW process. It may be attributed to the arc constriction effect. Microstructure of the weld zones for both the welds is observed to be having combination of austenite and delta ferrite. Grain boundary austenite (GBA) with Widmanstatten-type austenite (WA) of plate-like feature was nucleated from the grain boundaries in the weld zone of A-GTAW process. Mechanical properties are relatively low in activated GTAW process and are attributed to changes in microstructural morphology of austenite. Improved pitting corrosion resistance was observed for the welds made with A-GTAW process.

  16. Evaluation of Manual Ultrasonic Examinations Applied to Detect Flaws in Primary System Dissimilar Metal Welds at North Anna Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Michael T.; Diaz, Aaron A.; Doctor, Steven R.

    2012-01-01

    During a recent inservice inspection (ISI) of a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) in an inlet (hot leg) steam generator nozzle at North Anna Power Station Unit 1, several axially oriented flaws went undetected by the licensee's manual ultrasonic testing (UT) technique. The flaws were subsequently detected as a result of outside diameter (OD) surface machining in preparation for a full structural weld overlay. The machining operation uncovered the existence of two through-wall flaws, based on the observance of primary water leaking from the DMW. Further ultrasonic tests were then performed, and a total of five axially oriented flaws, classified as primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC), were detected in varied locations around the weld circumference.

  17. Development of a new bundle welding technology for CANDU fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Soo Sung; Lee, D. Y.; Goo, D. S.

    2010-01-01

    The new technology of welding process for fuel bundle of CANDU nuclear fuels is considered important in respect to the soundness of weldments and the improvement of the performance of nuclear fuels during the operation in reactor. The probability of leakage of the fission products is mostly apt to occur at the weldments of fuel bundles, and it is connected directly with the safety and life prediction of the nuclear reactor in operation. The fuel bundles of CANDU nuclear fuels are welded by the electrical resistance method, connecting the endplates and endcaps with fuel rods. Therefore, the purpose of this study of the 2nd year is to select the proper welding parameters and to investigate the characteristics of the full-sized samples using the projection endplates and make some prototype samples for the endplate welding of CANDU nuclear fuels. This study will be also provide the fundamental data for the new design and fabrications of CANDU nuclear fuel bundles

  18. The Influence of Friction Stir Weld Tool Form and Welding Parameters on Weld Structure and Properties: Nugget Bulge in Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Judy; Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.; Brendel, Michael S.

    2010-01-01

    Although friction stir welding (FSW) was patented in 1991, process development has been based upon trial and error and the literature still exhibits little understanding of the mechanisms determining weld structure and properties. New concepts emerging from a better understanding of these mechanisms enhance the ability of FSW engineers to think about the FSW process in new ways, inevitably leading to advances in the technology. A kinematic approach in which the FSW flow process is decomposed into several simple flow components has been found to explain the basic structural features of FSW welds and to relate them to tool geometry and process parameters. Using this modelling approach, this study reports on a correlation between the features of the weld nugget, process parameters, weld tool geometry, and weld strength. This correlation presents a way to select process parameters for a given tool geometry so as to optimize weld strength. It also provides clues that may ultimately explain why the weld strength varies within the sample population.

  19. Discontinuity Detection in the Shield Metal Arc Welding Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocota, José Alberto Naves; Garcia, Gabriel Carvalho; da Costa, Adilson Rodrigues; de Lima, Milton Sérgio Fernandes; Rocha, Filipe Augusto Santos; Freitas, Gustavo Medeiros

    2017-05-10

    This work proposes a new methodology for the detection of discontinuities in the weld bead applied in Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) processes. The detection system is based on two sensors-a microphone and piezoelectric-that acquire acoustic emissions generated during the welding. The feature vectors extracted from the sensor dataset are used to construct classifier models. The approaches based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers are able to identify with a high accuracy the three proposed weld bead classes: desirable weld bead, shrinkage cavity and burn through discontinuities. Experimental results illustrate the system's high accuracy, greater than 90% for each class. A novel Hierarchical Support Vector Machine (HSVM) structure is proposed to make feasible the use of this system in industrial environments. This approach presented 96.6% overall accuracy. Given the simplicity of the equipment involved, this system can be applied in the metal transformation industries.

  20. MINERVA, qualification of dissimilar welds for HTR-application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumann, B.; Gnirss, G.; Neureuther, H.; Schneider, K.

    1989-01-01

    The component test ''MINERVA'' is part of an overall concept to qualify dissimilar welds in pipings of advanced gas-cooled high temperature reactors. ''MINERVA'' is designed for a testing time of 20000 h. The experiment started in January 1987. The paper describes the concept, the manufacuring parameters including the basis of selection of materials and welding procedures. The experiment MINERVA and the operating conditions are described. (orig.)

  1. Microstructure examination and microhardness of friction stir welded joint of (AA7020-O after PWHT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghada M.F. Essa

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the microstructure and microhardness of the welded joints of the annealed aluminum alloy AA7020-O produced by friction stir welding (FSW technique. The material was applied to post weld heat treatment (solution treatment and artificially aged, T6. The traverse speed and the rotational speed are the most important process parameters of FSW, and have great influence on the heat input of the welding operation which governs the welded joints quality. To investigate their effect, the welding operation was performed using three traverse speeds, 20, 40 and 60 mm/s with two rotational speeds of 1125 and 1400 rpm, and other welding parameters were kept constant to produce comparable joints. It was found that the two rotational speeds are accepted with lower traverse speeds to produce sound joints. Microstructure of the welded joints was significantly affected by the FSW process parameters, and slight effect was reported for the grain size. Microhardness examination showed high weld joint quality with respect to the base metal hardness, which proves the reprecipitation of the hardening phase in the weld zone. The microhardness profile was strongly dependant on the rotational speed, and the average values of the joints hardness have increased with the decrease in the rotational speed, where it have been slightly affected by the welding speed. Keywords: Friction stir welding, Aluminum alloy, Mechanical properties, Microstructures

  2. Weld-Windsor 115-kV Transmission Line Project, Weld County, Colorado

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-05-01

    The Western Area Power Administration is proposing to rebuild a 3.0 mile segment of the existing Flatiron-Weld 115-kV transmission line in Weld County. The line would be reconductored with new conductor on new wood pole double circuit structures. The new structures would support a double circuit transmission line configuration. The first circuit would be owned by Western and the second by Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCO). Alternatives considered included no action, constructing PSCO's circuit on new right-of-way, and reconductoring Western's existing line on the same structures. The proposed action was selected because it provided an opportunity to share structures with PSCO and, overall, would minimize costs and environmental impacts. The environmental assessment identifies minor effects on existing natural or human resources and minor benefits for agricultural operations

  3. Development of high productivity pipeline girth welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yapp, David; Liratzis, Theocharis

    2010-01-01

    The trend for increased oil and gas consumption implies a growth of long-distance pipeline installations. Welding is a critical factor in the installation of pipelines, both onshore and offshore, and the rate at which the pipeline can be laid is generally determined by the speed of welding. This has resulted in substantial developments in pipeline welding techniques. Arc welding is still the dominant process used in practice, and forge welding processes have had limited successful application to date, in spite of large investments in process development. Power beam processes have also been investigated in detail and the latest laser systems now show promise for practical application. In recent years the use of high strength steels has substantially reduced the cost of pipeline installation, with X70 and X80 being commonly used. This use of high strength pipeline produced by thermomechanical processing has also been researched. They must all meet three requirments, high productivity, satisfactory weld properties, and weld quality

  4. Clad vent set cup closure-weld-zone grinding evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ulrich, G.B.; Woods, A.T.; Ohriner, E.K.

    1996-04-01

    Clad vent set (CVS) cups were ground in the closure-weld zone to reduce the wall-thickness variation created by the cup deep-drawing process. A significantly more uniform wall thickness would be beneficial for the CVS closure-weld operation. The goal was to reduce the average within-cup wall-thickness variation (defined as the range of wall thicknesses in the closure-weld zone) approximately 50% from the Cassini production value of 42 microm. This goal was shown to be achievable but, unfortunately, not with the existing blank and formed cup thicknesses

  5. Influence of Welding Process and Post Weld Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Pitting Corrosion Behavior of Dissimilar Aluminium Alloy Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkata Ramana, V. S. N.; Mohammed, Raffi; Madhusudhan Reddy, G.; Srinivasa Rao, K.

    2018-03-01

    Welding of dissimilar Aluminum alloy welds is becoming important in aerospace, shipbuilding and defence applications. In the present work, an attempt has been made to weld dissimilar aluminium alloys using conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and friction stir welding (FSW) processes. An attempt was also made to study the effect of post weld heat treatment (T4 condition) on microstructure and pitting corrosion behaviour of these welds. Results of the present investigation established the differences in microstructures of the base metals in T4 condition and in annealed conditions. It is evident that the thickness of the PMZ is relatively more on AA2014 side than that of AA6061 side. In FS welds, lamellar like shear bands are well noticed on the top of the stir zone. The concentration profile of dissimilar friction stir weld in T4 condition revealed that no diffusion has taken place at the interface. Poor Hardness is observed in all regions of FS welds compared to that of GTA welds. Pitting corrosion resistance of the dissimilar FS welds in all regions was improved by post weld heat treatment.

  6. Repair welding and online radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nuding, W.; Grimm, R.; Link, R.; Schroeder, P.; Schroeder, G.

    1990-01-01

    The status of a joint project is reported, which is to develop a computerized testing and welding system for repair work in turbine blades. An X-ray radiographic testing device consisting of microfocus tube, manipulator and image processing system, is modified for this purpose so as to offer a greater number of image points scanned for image processing, and to thus achieve a better resolution for reliable detection of even very small defects. The consistency of the X-ray tube performance, which is a pre-requisite for automation, is to be achieved by a wa tercooled, high-duty tube head. The recording of defect coordinates in the repair zone is done for input into a welding robot to be developed by other partners in the project, so as to allow automated welding work. (orig.) [de

  7. Qualification of a digital radiographic equipment for thin weld inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boulanger, G.; Furlan, J.

    1988-04-01

    The level of quality asked for welding plugs to fuel pins requires to test all the welds, that is to say about 200 000 welds of the fuel assemblies of the fast reactor Super-Phenix. X-ray radiography is one of the tests. Before the operation was done on a film by the personnel automatic selection of tested material and image processing are substituted to the film in the digital radiographic equipment IRENE. Main advantages are: elimination of human factor in defect appreciation, reliability of image processing and instant availability. On 1000 welds a good correlation is obtained between results on films and those of image processing [fr

  8. Remote Welding, NDE and Repair of DOE Standardized Canisters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eric Larsen; Art Watkins; Timothy R. McJunkin; Dave Pace; Rodney Bitsoi

    2006-05-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) to manage DOE’s spent nuclear fuel (SNF). One of the NSNFP’s tasks is to prepare spent nuclear fuel for storage, transportation, and disposal at the national repository. As part of this effort, the NSNFP developed a standardized canister for interim storage and transportation of SNF. These canisters will be built and sealed to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section III, Division 3 requirements. Packaging SNF usually is a three-step process: canister loading, closure welding, and closure weld verification. After loading SNF into the canisters, the canisters must be seal welded and the welds verified using a combination of visual, surface eddy current, and ultrasonic inspection or examination techniques. If unacceptable defects in the weld are detected, the defective sections of weld must be removed, re-welded, and re-inspected. Due to the high contamination and/or radiation fields involved with this process, all of these functions must be performed remotely in a hot cell. The prototype apparatus to perform these functions is a floor-mounted carousel that encircles the loaded canister; three stations perform the functions of welding, inspecting, and repairing the seal welds. A welding operator monitors and controls these functions remotely via a workstation located outside the hot cell. The discussion describes the hardware and software that have been developed and the results of testing that has been done to date.

  9. Optical Arc-Length Sensor For TIG Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Matthew A.

    1990-01-01

    Proposed subsystem of tungsten/inert-gas (TIG) welding system measures length of welding arc optically. Viewed by video camera, in one of three alternative optical configurations. Length of arc measured instead of inferred from voltage.

  10. Intelligent sensing and control of gas metal arc welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smartt, H.B.; Johnson, J.A.

    1993-01-01

    Intelligent sensing and control is a multidisciplinary approach that attempts to build adequate sensing capability, knowledge of process physics, control capability, and welding engineering into the welding system such that the welding machine is aware of the state of the weld and knows how to make a good weld. The sensing and control technology should reduce the burden on the welder and welding engineer while providing the great adaptability needed to accommodate the variability found in the production world. This approach, accomplished with application of AI techniques, breaks the tradition of separate development of procedure and control technology

  11. Numerical Simulation Of The Laser Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksander Siwek

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The model takes into consideration thermophysical and metallurgical properties of theremelting steel, laser beam parameters and boundary conditions of the process. As a resultof heating the material, in the area of laser beam operation a weld pool is being created,whose shape and size depends on convection caused by the Marangoni force. The directionof the liquid stream depends on the temperature gradient on the surface and on the chemicalcomposition as well. The model created allows to predict the weld pool shape depending onmaterial properties, beam parameters, and boundary conditions of the sample.

  12. Digital Radiography Qualification of Tube Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carl, Chad

    2012-01-01

    The Orion Project will be directing Lockheed Martin to perform orbital arc welding on commodities metallic tubing as part of the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle assembly and integration process in the Operations and Checkout High bay at Kennedy Space Center. The current method of nondestructive evaluation is utilizing traditional film based x-rays. Due to the high number of welds that are necessary to join the commodities tubing (approx 470), a more efficient and expeditious method of nondestructive evaluation is desired. Digital radiography will be qualified as part of a broader NNWG project scope.

  13. Development Of Ultrasonic Testing Based On Delphi Program As A Learning Media In The Welding Material Study Of Detection And Welding Disables In The Environment Of Vocational Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwi Cahyono, Bagus; Ainur, Chandra

    2018-04-01

    The development of science and technology has a direct impact on the preparation of qualified workers, including the preparation of vocational high school graduates. Law Number 20 the Year 2003 on National Education System explains that the purpose of vocational education is to prepare learners to be ready to work in certain fields. One of the learning materials in Vocational High School is welding and detecting welding defects. Introduction of welding and detecting welding defects, one way that can be done is by ultrasonic testing will be very difficult if only capitalize the book only. Therefore this study aims to adopt ultrasonic testing in a computer system. This system is called Delphi Program-based Ultrasonic Testing Expert System. This system is used to determine the classification and type of welding defects of the welded defect indicator knew. In addition to the system, there is a brief explanation of the notion of ultrasonic testing, calibration procedures and inspection procedures ultrasonic testing. In this system, ultrasonic input data testing that shows defects entered into the computer manually. This system is built using Delphi 7 software and Into Set Up Compiler as an installer. The method used in this research is Research and Development (R & D), with the following stages: (1) preliminary research; (2) manufacture of software design; (3) materials collection; (4) early product development; (5) validation of instructional media experts; (6) product analysis and revision; (8) media trials in learning; And (9) result of end product of instructional media. The result of the research shows that: (1) the result of feasibility test according to ultrasonic material testing expert that the system is feasible to be used as instructional media in welding material subject and welding defect detection in vocational education environment, because it contains an explanation about detection method of welding defect using method Ultrasonic testing in detail; (2

  14. Computer modeling of the stress-strain state of welded construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurguzhin, Marat; Danenova, Gulmira; Akhmetzhanov, Talgat

    2017-11-01

    At the present time the maintenance of the welded construction serviceability over normative service life is provided by the maintenance system on the basis of the guiding documents according to the concept of "fail safe". However, technology factors relating to welding such as high residual stresses and significant plastic strains are not considered in the guiding documents. The design procedure of the stressed-strained state of welded constructions is suggested in the paper. The procedure investigates welded constructions during welding and the external load using the program ANSYS. In this paper, the model of influence of the residual stress strain state on the factor of stress intensity is proposed. The calculation method of the residual stressed-strained state (SSS) taking into account the phase transition is developed by the authors. Melting and hardening of a plate material during heating and cooling is considered. The thermomechanical problem of heating a plate by a stationary heat source is solved. The setup of the heating spot center on distance (190 mm) from the crack top in a direction of its propagation leads to the fact that the value of total factor of stress intensity will considerably decrease under action of the specified residual compressing stresses. It can lower the speed of the crack propagation to zero. The suggested method of survivability maintenance can be applied during operation with the purpose of increasing the service life of metal constructions up to running repair of technological machines.

  15. Effect of Welding Parameters on Dilution and Weld Bead Geometry in Cladding

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    The effect of pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW) variables on the dilution and weld bead geometry in cladding X65 pipeline steel with 316L stainless steel was studied. Using a full factorial method, a series of experiments were carried out to know the effect of wire feed rate, welding speed, distance between gas nozzle and plate, and the vertical angle of welding on dilution and weld bead geometry. The findings indicate that the dilution of weld metal and its dimension i.e. width, height and depth increase with the feed rate, but the contact angle of the bead decreases first and then increases. Meantime, welding speed has an opposite effect except for dilution. There is an interaction effect between welding parameters at the contact angle. The results also show forehand welding or decreasing electrode extension decrease the angle of contact. Finally,a mathematical model is contrived to highlight the relationship between welding variables with dilution and weld bead geometry.

  16. Modeling of welded bead profile for rapid prototyping by robotic MAG welding

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CAO Yong; ZHU Sheng; WANG Tao; WANG Wanglong

    2009-01-01

    As a deposition technology, robotic metal active gas(MAG) welding has shown new promise for rapid prototyping (RP) of metallic parts. During the process of metal forming using robotic MAG welding, sectional profile of single-pass welded bead is critical to formed accuracy and quality of metal pans. In this paper, the experiments of single-pass welded bead for rapid prototyping using robotic MAG welding were carried out. The effect of some edge detectors on the cross-sectional edge of welded bead was discussed and curve fitting was applied using leat square fitting. Consequently, the mathematical model of welded bead profile was developed. The experimental results show that good shape could be obtained under suitable welding parameters. Canny operawr is suitable to edge detection of welded bead profile, and the mathematical model of welded bead profile developed is approximately parabola.

  17. Laser welding closed-loop power control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bagger, Claus; Olsen, Flemming Ove

    2003-01-01

    A closed-loop control system is developed to maintain an even seam width on the root side of a laser weld by continually controlling the output laser power of a 1500 W CO2 laser.......A closed-loop control system is developed to maintain an even seam width on the root side of a laser weld by continually controlling the output laser power of a 1500 W CO2 laser....

  18. Fusion welding process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kenneth C.; Jones, Eric D.; McBride, Marvin A.

    1983-01-01

    A process for the fusion welding of nickel alloy steel members wherein a ferrite containing pellet is inserted into a cavity in one member and melted by a welding torch. The resulting weld nugget, a fusion of the nickel containing alloy from the members to be welded and the pellet, has a composition which is sufficiently low in nickel content such that ferrite phases occur within the weld nugget, resulting in improved weld properties. The steel alloys encompassed also include alloys containing carbon and manganese, considered nickel equivalents.

  19. Effect of pulsed current and post weld aging treatment on tensile properties of argon arc welded high strength aluminium alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasubramanian, V.; Ravisankar, V.; Reddy, G. Madhusudhan

    2007-01-01

    This paper reveals the effect of pulsed current and post weld aging treatment on tensile properties of argon arc welded AA7075 aluminium alloy. This alloy has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring high strength-to-weight ratio, such as transportable bridge girders, military vehicles, road tankers and railway transport systems. The preferred welding processes of high strength aluminium alloy are frequently gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process due to their comparatively easier applicability and better economy. Weld fusion zones typically exhibit coarse columnar grains because of the prevailing thermal conditions during weld metal solidification. This often results inferior weld mechanical properties and poor resistance to hot cracking. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to refine the fusion zone grains by applying pulsed current welding technique. Four different welding techniques have been used to fabricate the joints and they are: (i) continuous current GTAW (CCGTAW), (ii) pulsed current GTAW (PCGTAW), (iii) continuous current GMAW (CCGMAW) and (iv) pulsed current GMAW (PCGMAW) processes. As welded joint strength is much lower than the base metal strength and hence, a simple aging treatment has been given to improve the tensile strength of the joints. Current pulsing leads to relatively finer and more equi-axed grain structure in GTA and GMA welds. In contrast, conventional continuous current welding resulted in predominantly columnar grain structures. Post weld aging treatment is accompanied by an increase in tensile strength and tensile ductility

  20. FFTF report: FFTF piping installation and welding techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilles, J.

    1975-01-01

    The main sodium piping with a diameter of 16'' or 28 '' is being installed at the FFTF construction site starting in December 1974. The supplier and authority demarcations are: Combustion Engineering supplies the reactor vessel, guard vessel and adjoining pipes and uses the machine welding equipment ''Dimetrics''; for the piping system of the primary and secondary loops the pipes manufactured by Rollmet at HUICO, Pasco, were delivered and prefabricated there, as far as compatible with the installation. ''Astroarc'' welding machines are used by Bechtel for the piping prefabrication in the weld laboratory as well as on site at the construction site. Technical welding problems occurring during the course of the installation at the construction site and several during this time are described. At present 6 weld seams in the reactor and 14 weld seams in the secondary loop are accepted. The requirement exists to carry out as many welds as possible automatically, in order to produce sodium pipe welds of high technical quality and which are reproducible. The welding equipment is described

  1. Case Study Regarding the Design of a Direct Current Electromagnet for the MIG Welding of Metallic Materials Part II: Constructive-Electromagnetic Dimension and Verification of the Electromagnet Operation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tudorel Ene

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper refers to the design of a direct current electromagnet, located on the head of a swan neck welding gun of a MIG welding equipment and used for magnetising the rotation space of two additional electric arches, in order to preheat the electrode wire and of the protective gas, partially turned into plasma jet. We present the constructive - electromagnetic dimensioning and the verification of the electromagnet operation.

  2. Modeling Long-term Creep Performance for Welded Nickel-base Superalloy Structures for Power Generation Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Chen [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States); Gupta, Vipul [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States); Huang, Shenyan [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States); Soare, Monica [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States); Zhao, Pengyang [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States); Wang, Yunzhi [GE Global Research, NIskayuna, NY (United States)

    2017-02-28

    The goal of this project is to model long-term creep performance for nickel-base superalloy weldments in high temperature power generation systems. The project uses physics-based modeling methodologies and algorithms for predicting alloy properties in heterogeneous material structures. The modeling methodology will be demonstrated on a gas turbine combustor liner weldment of Haynes 282 precipitate-strengthened nickel-base superalloy. The major developments are: (1) microstructure-property relationships under creep conditions and microstructure characterization (2) modeling inhomogeneous microstructure in superalloy weld (3) modeling mesoscale plastic deformation in superalloy weld and (4) a constitutive creep model that accounts for weld and base metal microstructure and their long term evolution. The developed modeling technology is aimed to provide a more efficient and accurate assessment of a material’s long-term performance compared with current testing and extrapolation methods. This modeling technology will also accelerate development and qualification of new materials in advanced power generation systems. This document is a final technical report for the project, covering efforts conducted from October 2014 to December 2016.

  3. Quality improvement of steel cast-welded constructions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Аркадій Васильович Лоза

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Among the various types of metallurgical equipment there are structures which are welded compounds of a cast base and additional elements produced by casting or any other means. Such structures are called cast-welded constructions. Besides new working properties such constructions appear to be more efficient and provide better durability as compared to the similar structures produced by other industrial means. Meanwhile the advantages of the technology are not used in full. One reason is low quality of the compound products caused by lack of proper preparation of the elements to be welded and poor quality of the welds themselves. In the article the methods of quality production and the maintenance of steel cast-welded constructions have been considered. A ladle of a blast-furnace slag car is used as the subject of investigation and further testing of the mentioned above technologies. The ladle is a cast product. Under operating conditions, the ladle undergoes mechanical and thermal load, which results in deformation of its sides that deflect inside. To prevent the deflection stiffening ribs are welded onto the outer surface of the ladle. However, there may be casting defects in the base metal that could reduce the durability of the welds. It has been proved that welds on the unprepared cast base of the steel product cannot guarantee the combination’s durability and reliability. To prevent the influence of the casting defects it has been recommended to cover the base metal with one more metal layer before welding the elements on. Two-layer surfacing provides best result as the first layer serves for the weld penetration of the casting defects since this layer has a significant share of base metal therefore it is less malleable; the second layer is necessary for making the layer viscous enough. The viscous layer ensures the absence of sharp transition from the deposited metal to the base metal and increases the crack resistance of the weld. In

  4. Subminiature eddy-current transducers designed to study welded joints of titanium alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malikov, V. N.; Dmitriev, S. F.; Katasonov, A. O.; Sagalakov, A. M.; Ishkov, A. V.

    2017-12-01

    Eddy current transducers (ECT) are used to construct a sensor for investigating titanium sheets connected by a welded joint. The paper provides key technical information about the eddy current transducer used and describes the procedure of measurements that makes it possible to control defects in welded joints of titanium alloys. It is capable of automatically changing the filtering cutoff frequency and operating frequency of the device. Experiments were conducted on welded VT1-0 titanium plates. The paper contains the results of these measurements. The dependence data facilitates the assessment of the quality of the welded joints and helps make an educated conclusion about welding quality.

  5. Prediction of Tensile Strength of Friction Stir Weld Joints with Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Neural Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewan, Mohammad W.; Huggett, Daniel J.; Liao, T. Warren; Wahab, Muhammad A.; Okeil, Ayman M.

    2015-01-01

    Friction-stir-welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process where joint properties are dependent on welding process parameters. In the current study three critical process parameters including spindle speed (??), plunge force (????), and welding speed (??) are considered key factors in the determination of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of welded aluminum alloy joints. A total of 73 weld schedules were welded and tensile properties were subsequently obtained experimentally. It is observed that all three process parameters have direct influence on UTS of the welded joints. Utilizing experimental data, an optimized adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model has been developed to predict UTS of FSW joints. A total of 1200 models were developed by varying the number of membership functions (MFs), type of MFs, and combination of four input variables (??,??,????,??????) utilizing a MATLAB platform. Note EFI denotes an empirical force index derived from the three process parameters. For comparison, optimized artificial neural network (ANN) models were also developed to predict UTS from FSW process parameters. By comparing ANFIS and ANN predicted results, it was found that optimized ANFIS models provide better results than ANN. This newly developed best ANFIS model could be utilized for prediction of UTS of FSW joints.

  6. Laser beam welding quality monitoring system based in high-speed (10 kHz) uncooled MWIR imaging sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linares, Rodrigo; Vergara, German; Gutiérrez, Raúl; Fernández, Carlos; Villamayor, Víctor; Gómez, Luis; González-Camino, Maria; Baldasano, Arturo; Castro, G.; Arias, R.; Lapido, Y.; Rodríguez, J.; Romero, Pablo

    2015-05-01

    The combination of flexibility, productivity, precision and zero-defect manufacturing in future laser-based equipment are a major challenge that faces this enabling technology. New sensors for online monitoring and real-time control of laserbased processes are necessary for improving products quality and increasing manufacture yields. New approaches to fully automate processes towards zero-defect manufacturing demand smarter heads where lasers, optics, actuators, sensors and electronics will be integrated in a unique compact and affordable device. Many defects arising in laser-based manufacturing processes come from instabilities in the dynamics of the laser process. Temperature and heat dynamics are key parameters to be monitored. Low cost infrared imagers with high-speed of response will constitute the next generation of sensors to be implemented in future monitoring and control systems for laser-based processes, capable to provide simultaneous information about heat dynamics and spatial distribution. This work describes the result of using an innovative low-cost high-speed infrared imager based on the first quantum infrared imager monolithically integrated with Si-CMOS ROIC of the market. The sensor is able to provide low resolution images at frame rates up to 10 KHz in uncooled operation at the same cost as traditional infrared spot detectors. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the new sensor technology, a low-cost camera was assembled on a standard production laser welding head, allowing to register melting pool images at frame rates of 10 kHz. In addition, a specific software was developed for defect detection and classification. Multiple laser welding processes were recorded with the aim to study the performance of the system and its application to the real-time monitoring of laser welding processes. During the experiments, different types of defects were produced and monitored. The classifier was fed with the experimental images obtained. Self

  7. Welding challenges constructing the alliance pipeline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilroy-Scott, A.; Huntly, B.; Gross, B.

    2001-01-01

    The best Non Destructive Testing technique for Gas Metal Arc welding (GMAW) is Automated Ultrasonic Inspection because of its inherent ability to detect the planar flaws traditionally produced by GMAW operating in the short-circuiting mode in a narrow gap pipeline application. There is a tendency for GMAW flaws to be somewhat longer than those created by SMAW by the mechanised nature of the process which completes anywhere from one sixth to one half of the pipe circumference in one event. Consequently the alternative acceptance criteria of API 1104 in the USA and CSA Z662 in Canada were implemented for the ∼120,000 mechanised welds required to complete the project. Automated Ultrasonic inspection provided the ability for both the length and height of weld flaws to be determined. This is a prerequisite if alternative acceptance criteria are to be considered

  8. Apparatus for assembling and welding end plugs to nuclear fuel cladding tubes and inspecting the end plug welds on an automated basis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoenig, F.C. Jr.; Walker, E.S.; Cueman, M.K.; Haughton, R.A.; Zuloaga, J.A. Jr.

    1989-01-01

    This patent describes an automated apparatus for welding a separate end plug to one open end of each of a succession of nuclear fuel cladding tubes and for inspecting each end plug weld. The apparatus comprising, in combination: a welding station; a cooldown station for cooling each end plug weld in an inert gas atmosphere; a serial number reader station for reading a serial number on each end plug; a first weld inspection station; a second weld inspection station for generating second weld inspection data; a computer system linked with the serial number reader and the first and second weld inspection stations; an input queue for holding a plurality of tubes; a tube transporter for periodically picking individual tubes from the input queque and conveying the tubes in a direction transverse to their tube axis in indexing steps to index positions respectively axially aligned with the welding, serial number reader, and first and second weld inspection stations; and a sorter positioned at an output end of the tube transporter

  9. Advanced Welding Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Robert J.

    2010-01-01

    Some of the applications of advanced welding techniques are shown in this poster presentation. Included are brief explanations of the use on the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicle and on the Space Shuttle Launch vehicle. Also included are microstructural views from four advanced welding techniques: Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) weld (fusion), self-reacting friction stir welding (SR-FSW), conventional FSW, and Tube Socket Weld (TSW) on aluminum.

  10. Development of automatic reactor vessel inspection systems: development of data acquisition and analysis system for the nuclear vessel weld

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, C. H.; Lim, H. T.; Um, B. G. [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejeon (Korea)

    2001-03-01

    The objective of this project is to develop an automated ultrasonic data acquisition and data analysis system to examine the reactor vessel weldsIn order to examine nuclear vessel welds including reactor pressure vessel(RPV), huge amount of ultrasonic data from 6 channels should be able to be on-line processed. In addition, ultrasonic transducer scanning device should be remotely controlled, because working place is high radiation area. This kind of an automated ultrasonic testing equipment has not been developed domestically yet In order to develop an automated ultrasonic testing system, RPV ultrasonic testing equipments developed in foreign countries were investigated and the capability of high speed ultrasonic signal processing hardwares was analyzed in this study, ultrasonic signal processing system was designed. And also, ultrasonic data acquisition and analysis software was developed. 11 refs., 6 figs., 9 tabs. (Author)

  11. Influence of Welding Parameters on the Weld Pool Dimensions and Shape in a TIG Configuration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marine Stadler

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The weld pool shape created by the plasma arc interaction on a workpiece depends on many geometrical and physical parameters and on the operating conditions. Theoretical models are developed in such a way as to predict and to characterize the material. However, these models first need to be validated. Experimental results are hence proposed with parametric studies. Nevertheless, the interaction time is often short and the weld pool shape evolution not presented. In this work, the experimental setup and the diagnostic methods characterizing the workpiece are presented. The weld pool shape was evaluated versus time according to several parameters such as the current intensity value, the distance between the two electrodes, the cathode tip angle or the plasma gas nature. The results show that the depth-to-width ratio alone is not enough to compare the impact of the parameters. The analysis points out the great influence of the current intensity on the increase of the width and depth compared to the influence of the value of the cathode tip angle. The rise of the arc length leads to an increase of the power through a higher arc voltage; nevertheless, for distances of three and five millimeters and a characteristic time of the welding process of one second, this parameter has a weak influence on the energy transferred. The use of helium leads to a bigger volume of the weld pool due to an increase of width and depth.

  12. WELDING METHOD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornell, A.A.; Dunbar, J.V.; Ruffner, J.H.

    1959-09-29

    A semi-automatic method is described for the weld joining of pipes and fittings which utilizes the inert gasshielded consumable electrode electric arc welding technique, comprising laying down the root pass at a first peripheral velocity and thereafter laying down the filler passes over the root pass necessary to complete the weld by revolving the pipes and fittings at a second peripheral velocity different from the first peripheral velocity, maintaining the welding head in a fixed position as to the specific direction of revolution, while the longitudinal axis of the welding head is disposed angularly in the direction of revolution at amounts between twenty minutas and about four degrees from the first position.

  13. Friction stir welding tool and process for welding dissimilar materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovanski, Yuri; Grant, Glenn J; Jana, Saumyadeep; Mattlin, Karl F

    2013-05-07

    A friction stir welding tool and process for lap welding dissimilar materials are detailed. The invention includes a cutter scribe that penetrates and extrudes a first material of a lap weld stack to a preselected depth and further cuts a second material to provide a beneficial geometry defined by a plurality of mechanically interlocking features. The tool backfills the interlocking features generating a lap weld across the length of the interface between the dissimilar materials that enhances the shear strength of the lap weld.

  14. Medium- and high-pressure gauges and transducers produced by laser welding technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daurelio, Giuseppe; Nenci, Fabio; Cinquepalmi, Massimo; Chita, Giuseppe

    1998-07-01

    Industrial manufacturers produce many types of pressure gauges and transducers according to the applications, for gas or liquid, for high-medium and low pressure ranges. Nowadays the current production technology generally prefers to weld by micro TIG source the metallic corrugated membranes to the gauge or transducer bodies for the products, operating on the low pressure or medium pressure ranges. For the other ones, operating to high pressure range, generally the two components of the transducers are both threaded only and threaded and then circularly welded by micro TIG for the other higher range, till to 1000 bar. In this work the products, operating on the approximately equals 30 divided by 200 bar, are considered. These, when assembled on industrial plants, as an outcome of a non-correct operating sequence, give a 'shifted' electrical signal. This is due to a shift of the 'zero electrical signal' that unbalances the electrical bridge - thin layer sensor - that is the sensitive part of the product. Moreover, for the same problem, often some mechanical settlings of the transducer happen during the first pressure semi-components, with an increasing of the product manufacturing costs. In light of all this, the above referred, in this work the whole transducer has been re-designed according to the specific laser welding technology requirements. On the new product no threaded parts exist but only a circular laser welding with a full penetration depth about 2.5 divided by 3 mm high. Three different alloys have been tested according to the applications and the mechanical properties requested to the transducer. By using a 1.5 KW CO2 laser system many different working parameters have been evaluated for correlating laser parameters to the penetration depths, crown wides, interaction laser-materia times, mechanical and metallurgical properties. Moreover during the laser welding process the measurements of the maximum temperature, reached by the transducer top, has been

  15. Effect of friction stir welding and post-weld heat treatment on a nanostructured ferritic alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazumder, B.; Yu, X.; Edmondson, P.D.; Parish, C.M.; Miller, M.K.; Meyer, H.M.; Feng, Z.

    2016-01-01

    Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) are new generation materials for use in high temperature energy systems, such as nuclear fission or fusion reactors. However, joining these materials is a concern, as their unique microstructure is destroyed by traditional liquid-state welding methods. The microstructural evolution of a friction stir welded 14YWT NFA was investigated by atom probe tomography, before and after a post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) at 1123K. The particle size, number density, elemental composition, and morphology of the titanium-yttrium-oxygen-enriched nanoclusters (NCs) in the stir and thermally-affected zones were studied and compared with the base metal. No statistical difference in the size of the NCs was observed in any of these conditions. After the PWHT, increases in the number density and the oxygen enrichment in the NCs were observed. Therefore, these new results provide additional supporting evidence that friction stir welding appears to be a viable joining technique for NFAs, as the microstructural parameters of the NCs are not strongly affected, in contrast to traditional welding techniques.

  16. Effect of friction stir welding and post-weld heat treatment on a nanostructured ferritic alloy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mazumder, B., E-mail: mazumderb@ornl.gov [Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Yu, X.; Edmondson, P.D.; Parish, C.M. [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Miller, M.K. [Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Meyer, H.M.; Feng, Z. [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

    2016-02-15

    Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) are new generation materials for use in high temperature energy systems, such as nuclear fission or fusion reactors. However, joining these materials is a concern, as their unique microstructure is destroyed by traditional liquid-state welding methods. The microstructural evolution of a friction stir welded 14YWT NFA was investigated by atom probe tomography, before and after a post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) at 1123K. The particle size, number density, elemental composition, and morphology of the titanium-yttrium-oxygen-enriched nanoclusters (NCs) in the stir and thermally-affected zones were studied and compared with the base metal. No statistical difference in the size of the NCs was observed in any of these conditions. After the PWHT, increases in the number density and the oxygen enrichment in the NCs were observed. Therefore, these new results provide additional supporting evidence that friction stir welding appears to be a viable joining technique for NFAs, as the microstructural parameters of the NCs are not strongly affected, in contrast to traditional welding techniques.

  17. Syllabus in Trade Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Secondary Curriculum Development.

    The syllabus outlines material for a course two academic years in length (minimum two and one-half hours daily experience) leading to entry-level occupational ability in several welding trade areas. Fourteen units covering are welding, gas welding, oxyacetylene welding, cutting, nonfusion processes, inert gas shielded-arc welding, welding cast…

  18. Detailed characterization of welding fumes in personal exposure samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quémerais, B; Mino, James; Amin, M R; Golshahi, H; Izadi, H

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the project was to develop a method allowing for detailed characterization of welding particles including particle number concentration, size distribution, surface chemistry and chemical composition of individual particles, as well as metal concentration of various welding fumes in personal exposure samples using regular sampling equipment. A sample strategy was developed to evaluate the variation of the collection methods on mass concentration. Samples were collected with various samplers and filters at two different locations using our collection system. The first location was using a robotic welding system while the second was manual welding. Collected samples were analysed for mass concentration using gravimetryand metal concentration using ICP/OES. More advanced analysis was performed on selected filters using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy to determine surface composition of the particles, and X-Ray Diffraction to determine chemical composition of the fumes. Results showed that the robotic system had a lot of variation in space when the collection system was located close to the weld. Collection efficiency was found to be quite variable depending upon the type of filter. As well, metal concentrations in blank filters were dependent upon the type of filter with MCE presenting with the highest blank values. Results obtained with the XRD and XPS systems showed that it was possible to analyse a small of powdered welding fume sample but results on filters were not conclusive. (paper)

  19. Repair welding of fusion reactor components. Final technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chin, B.A.; Wang, C.A.

    1997-01-01

    The exposure of metallic materials, such as structural components of the first wall and blanket of a fusion reactor, to neutron irradiation will induce changes in both the material composition and microstructure. Along with these changes can come a corresponding deterioration in mechanical properties resulting in premature failure. It is, therefore, essential to expect that the repair and replacement of the degraded components will be necessary. Such repairs may require the joining of irradiated materials through the use of fusion welding processes. The present ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) conceptual design is anticipated to have about 5 km of longitudinal welds and ten thousand pipe butt welds in the blanket structure. A recent study by Buende et al. predict that a failure is most likely to occur in a weld. The study is based on data from other large structures, particularly nuclear reactors. The data used also appear to be consistent with the operating experience of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). This reactor has a fuel pin area comparable with the area of the ITER first wall and has experienced one unanticipated fuel pin failure after two years of operation. The repair of irradiated structures using fusion welding will be difficult due to the entrapped helium. Due to its extremely low solubility in metals, helium will diffuse and agglomerate to form helium bubbles after being trapped at point defects, dislocations, and grain boundaries. Welding of neutron-irradiated type 304 stainless steels has been reported with varying degree of heat-affected zone cracking (HAZ). The objectives of this study were to determine the threshold helium concentrations required to cause HAZ cracking and to investigate techniques that might be used to eliminate the HAZ cracking in welding of helium-containing materials

  20. Progress in welding studies for Canadian nuclear fuel waste disposal containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maak, P.Y.Y.

    1985-11-01

    This report describes the progress in the development of closure-welding technology for Canadian nuclear fuel waste disposal containers. Titanium, copper and Inconel 625 are being investigated as candidate materials for fabrication of these containers. Gas-tungsten-arc welding, gas metal-arc-welding, resistance-heated diffusion bonding and electron beam welding have been evaluated as candidate closure welding processes. Characteristic weldment properties, relative merits of welding techniques, suitable weld joint configurations and fit-up tolerances, and welding parameter control ranges have been identified for various container designs. Furthermore, the automation requirements for candidate welding processes have been assessed. Progress in the development of a computer-controlled remote gas-shielded arc welding system is described

  1. Detection and measurement of fatigue cracks in welded joints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, F.C.

    1985-01-01

    A direct current potential drop system was developed for the detection and measurement of very small fatigue cracks that grow from the toes of welds. Measurement of crack growth less than 0.01 mm and of crack growth rates less than 10 -10 m/cycle, even for cracks less than 1.0 mm deep, is made possible by using a high stability measurement apparatus and an adjustment based on initial conditions. Thus far, the measurement system has successfully examined several aspects of fatigue in welded elements. Crack growth results justified the use of a linear elastic expression for the stress intensity factor and provided an evaluation of a growth law which includes the threshold stress intensity factor. Needle peening fillet welded joints did not change the small proportion of crack initiation life to total fatigue life observed for untreated (not improved) welded joints. However, the measurement system demonstrated that needle peening retarded crack growth rates up to 1 mm depth below the weld toe

  2. Ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds and its dependency on the welding process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabatabaeipour, S.M.; Honarvar, F.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes the ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds prepared by two different welding processes. The tests were carried out by the ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction (ToFD) technique. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) are the welding processes used for preparing the specimens. Identical artificial defects were implanted in both welds during the welding process. Both specimens were examined by the ToFD technique under similar conditions. Metallographic images were also obtained from the cross sectional plane of both the SMA and GTA welds. These images show that the grain orientation in the two welded specimens are different. D-scan images obtained by the ToFD technique from these welds indicates that inspecting the specimens prepared by the SMAW process is easier than the one made by the GTAW process. The results also show that the D-scan images cannot reveal the small vertical drilled holes implanted in the specimens. (author)

  3. The technology and welding joint properties of hybrid laser-tig welding on thick plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shenghai, Zhang; Yifu, Shen; Huijuan, Qiu

    2013-06-01

    The technologies of autogenous laser welding and hybrid laser-TIG welding are used on thick plate of high strength lower alloy structural steel 10CrNiMnMoV in this article. The unique advantages of hybrid laser-TIG welding is summarized by comparing and analyzing the process parameters and welding joints of autogenous laser welding laser welding and hybrid laser-TIG welding. With the optimal process parameters of hybrid welding, the good welding joint without visible flaws can be obtained and its mechanical properties are tested according to industry standards. The results show that the hybrid welding technology has certain advantages and possibility in welding thick plates. It can reduce the demands of laser power, and it is significant for lowering the aspect ratio of weld during hybrid welding, so the gas in the molten pool can rise and escape easily while welding thick plates. Therefore, the pores forming tendency decreases. At the same time, hybrid welding enhances welding speed, and optimizes the energy input. The transition and grain size of the microstructure of hybrid welding joint is better and its hardness is higher than base material. Furthermore, its tensile strength and impact toughness is as good as base material. Consequently, the hybrid welding joint can meet the industry needs completely.

  4. Optimization of process parameters of pulsed TIG welded maraging steel C300

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deepak, P.; Jualeash, M. J.; Jishnu, J.; Srinivasan, P.; Arivarasu, M.; Padmanaban, R.; Thirumalini, S.

    2016-09-01

    Pulsed TIG welding technology provides excellent welding performance on thin sections which helps to increase productivity, enhance weld quality, minimize weld costs, and boost operator efficiency and this has drawn the attention of the welding society. Maraging C300 steel is extensively used in defence and aerospace industry and thus its welding becomes an area of paramount importance. In pulsed TIG welding, weld quality depends on the process parameters used. In this work, Pulsed TIG bead-on-plate welding is performed on a 5mm thick maraging C300 plate at different combinations of input parameters: peak current (Ip), base current (Ib) and pulsing frequency (HZ) as per box behnken design with three-levels for each factor. Response surface methodology is utilized for establishing a mathematical model for predicting the weld bead depth. The effect of Ip, Ib and HZ on the weld bead depth is investigated using the developed model. The weld bead depth is found to be affected by all the three parameters. Surface and contour plots developed from regression equation are used to optimize the processing parameters for maximizing the weld bead depth. Optimum values of Ip, Ib and HZ are obtained as 259 A, 120 A and 8 Hz respectively. Using this optimum condition, maximum bead depth of the weld is predicted to be 4.325 mm.

  5. Multi Objective Optimization of Weld Parameters of Boiler Steel Using Fuzzy Based Desirability Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Satheesh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The high pressure differential across the wall of pressure vessels is potentially dangerous and has caused many fatal accidents in the history of their development and operation. For this reason the structural integrity of weldments is critical to the performance of pressure vessels. In recent years much research has been conducted to the study of variations in welding parameters and consumables on the mechanical properties of pressure vessel steel weldments to optimize weld integrity and ensure pressure vessels are safe. The quality of weld is a very important working aspect for the manufacturing and construction industries. Because of high quality and reliability, Submerged Arc Welding (SAW is one of the chief metal joining processes employed in industry. This paper addresses the application of desirability function approach combined with fuzzy logic analysis to optimize the multiple quality characteristics (bead reinforcement, bead width, bead penetration and dilution of submerged arc welding process parameters of SA 516 Grade 70 steels(boiler steel. Experiments were conducted using Taguchi’s L27 orthogonal array with varying the weld parameters of welding current, arc voltage, welding speed and electrode stickout. By analyzing the response table and response graph of the fuzzy reasoning grade, optimal parameters were obtained. Solutions from this method can be useful for pressure vessel manufacturers and operators to search an optimal solution of welding condition.

  6. Ultrasonic diagnosis of spot welding in thin plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, No You; Hong, Min Sung

    2005-01-01

    Spot welding widely used in automotive and aerospace industries has made it possible to produce more precise and smaller electric part by robotization and systemization of welding process. The quality of welding depends upon the size of nugget between the overlapped steel plates. Recently, the thickness of the steel plates becomes much thinner and hence, it introduces the smaller size of nugget. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the criterion to evaluate the quality of weld in order to obtain the optimal welding conditions for the better performance. In this paper, a thin steel plates, 0.1 mm through 0.3 mm thickness, have been spot-welded at different welding conditions and the nugget sizes are examined by defocused scanning microscopy. The relationships between nugget sizes and weldability have been investigated experimentally. The result of ultrasonic technique shows the good agreement with that of the tensile test.

  7. A Comparative Study of Fracture Toughness at Cryogenic Temperature of Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aviles Santillana, I.; Boyer, C.; Fernandez Pison, P.; Foussat, A.; Langeslag, S. A. E.; Perez Fontenla, A. T.; Ruiz Navas, E. M.; Sgobba, S.

    2018-03-01

    The ITER magnet system is based on the "cable-in-conduit" conductor (CICC) concept, which consists of stainless steel jackets filled with superconducting strands. The jackets provide high strength, limited fatigue crack growth rate and fracture toughness properties to counteract the high stress imposed by, among others, electromagnetic loads at cryogenic temperature. Austenitic nitrogen-strengthened stainless steels have been chosen as base material for the jackets of the central solenoid and the toroidal field system, for which an extensive set of cryogenic mechanical property data are readily available. However, little is published for their welded joints, and their specific performance when considering different combinations of parent and filler metals. Moreover, the impact of post-weld heat treatments that are required for Nb3Sn formation is not extensively treated. Welds are frequently responsible for cracks initiated and propagated by fatigue during service, causing structural failure. It becomes thus essential to select the most suitable combination of parent and filler material and to assess their performance in terms of strength and crack propagation at operation conditions. An extensive test campaign has been conducted at 7 K comparing tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds using two fillers adapted to cryogenic service, EN 1.4453 and JK2LB, applied to two different base metals, AISI 316L and 316LN. A large set of fracture toughness data are presented, and the detrimental effect on fracture toughness of post-weld heat treatments (unavoidable for some of the components) is demonstrated. In this study, austenitic stainless steel TIG welds with various filler metals have undergone a comprehensive fracture mechanics characterization at 7 K. These results are directly exploitable and contribute to the cryogenic fracture mechanics properties database of the ITER magnet system. Additionally, a correlation between the impact in fracture toughness and microstructure

  8. On use of weld zone temperatures for online monitoring of weld quality in friction stir welding of naturally aged aluminium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imam, Murshid; Biswas, Kajal; Racherla, Vikranth

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • FSWs for 6063-T4 AA are done at different process parameters and sheet thicknesses. • Weld nugget zone and heat affected zone temperatures are monitored for each case. • Microstructural and mechanical characterisation of welds is done in all cases. • Weld ductility is found to be particularly sensitive to weld zone temperatures. • Strong correlation is found between WNZ and HAZ temperatures and weld properties. - Abstract: 6063-T4 aluminium alloy sheets of 3 and 6 mm thicknesses were friction stir butt welded using a square tool pin at a wide range of tool rotational speeds. Properties of obtained welds were characterised using tensile tests, optical micrographs, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Shape, size, and distribution of precipitates in weld zones, and strength and ductility of welds were seen to directly correlate with peak temperatures in weld nugget and heat affected zones, independent of sheet thickness. In addition, fluctuations in measured temperature profiles, for 3 mm sheets, were seen to correlate with an increase in scatter of weld nugget zone properties for 3 mm sheets. Optimal weld strength and ductility were obtained for peak weld nugget zone temperatures of around 450 °C and corresponding peak heat affected zone temperatures of around 360–380 °C. Results obtained suggest that, at least for naturally aged aluminium alloys, nature of temperature evolution and magnitudes of peak temperatures in weld nugget and heat affected zones provide information on uniformity of properties in weld zones, overaging of heat affected zones, and formation of tunnel defects from improper material mixing at low weld zone temperatures

  9. Surface crack behavior in socket weld of nuclear piping under fatigue loading condition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Y.H.; Kim, J.S.; Choi, S.Y.

    2005-01-01

    The ASME B and PV Code Sec. III allows the socket weld for the nuclear piping in spite of the weakness on the weld integrity. Recently, the integrity of the socket weld is regarded as a safety concern in nuclear power plants because many failures and leaks have been reported in the socket weld. OPDE (OECD Piping Failure Data Exchange) database lists 108 socket weld failures among 2,399 nuclear piping failure cases during 1970 to 2001. Eleven failures in the socket weld were also reported in Korean NPPs. Many failure cases showed that the root cause of the failure is the fatigue and the gap requirement for the socket weld given in ASME Code was not satisfied. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue crack behavior of a surface crack in the socket weld under fatigue loading condition considering the gap effect. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was performed to estimate the fatigue crack behavior of the surface crack. Three types of loading conditions such as the deflection due to vibration, the pressure transient ranging from P=0 to 15.51 MPa, and the thermal transient ranging from T=25 C to 288 C were considered. The results are as follows; 1) The socket weld is susceptible to the vibration where the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME operation and maintenance (OM) Code. 2) The effect of pressure or temperature transient load on the socket weld integrity is not significant. 3) No-gap condition gives very high possibility of the crack initiation at the socket weld under vibration loading condition. 4) For the specific systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement in the ASME Code OM and/or the transient loading condition from P=0 and T=25 C to P=15.51 MPa and T=288 C, radiographic examination to examine the gap during the construction stage is recommended. (orig.)

  10. Measuring weld heat to evaluate weld integrity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schauder, V., E-mail: schauder@hks-prozesstechnik.de [HKS-Prozesstechnik GmbH, Halle (Germany)

    2015-11-15

    Eddy current and ultrasonic testing are suitable for tube and pipe mills and have been used for weld seam flaw detection for decades, but a new process, thermography, is an alternative. By measuring the heat signature of the weld seam as it cools, it provides information about weld integrity at and below the surface. The thermal processes used to join metals, such as plasma, induction, laser, and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), have improved since they were developed, and they get better with each passing year. However, no industrial process is perfect, so companies that conduct research in flaw detection likewise continue to develop and improve the technologies used to verify weld integrity: ultrasonic testing (UT), eddy current testing (ET), hydrostatic, X-ray, magnetic particle, and liquid penetrant are among the most common. Two of these are used for verifying the integrity of the continuous welds such as those used on pipe and tube mills: UT and ET. Each uses a transmitter to send waves of ultrasonic energy or electrical current through the material and a receiver (probe) to detect disturbances in the flow. The two processes often are combined to capitalize on the strengths of each. While ET is good at detecting flaws at or near the surface, UT penetrates the material, detecting subsurface flaws. One drawback is that sound waves and electrical current waves have a specific direction of travel, or an alignment. A linear defect that runs parallel to the direction of travel of the ultrasonic sound wave or a flaw that is parallel to the coil winding direction of the ET probe can go undetected. A second drawback is that they don't detect cold welds. An alternative process, thermography, works in a different fashion: It monitors the heat of the material as the weld cools. Although it measures the heat at the surface, the heat signature provides clues about cooling activity deep in the material, resulting in a thorough assessment of the weld's integrity It

  11. The effect of post-welding conditions in friction stir welds: From weld simulation to Ductile Failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hattel, Jesper Henri; Nielsen, Kim Lau; Tutum, Cem Celal

    2012-01-01

    software ANSYS, a thermo-mechanical model is employed to predict the thermally induced stresses and strains during welding, while an in-house finite element code is used to study the plastic flow localization and failure in a subsequent structural analysis. The coupling between the two models is made......The post-welding stress state, strain history and material conditions of friction stir welded joints are often strongly idealized when used in subsequent modeling analyses, typically by neglecting one or more of the features above. But, it is obvious that the conditions after welding do influence......, showed the largest influence of the post-welding conditions, even though significant relaxation of the residual stress state was predicted....

  12. Nitrogen And Oxygen Amount In Weld After Welding With Micro-Jet Cooling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Węgrzyn T.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Micro-jet cooling after welding was tested only for MIG welding process with argon, helium and nitrogen as a shielded gases. A paper presents a piece of information about nitrogen and oxygen in weld after micro-jet cooling. There are put down information about gases that could be chosen both for MIG/MAG welding and for micro-jet process. There were given main information about influence of various micro-jet gases on metallographic structure of steel welds. Mechanical properties of weld was presented in terms of nitrogen and oxygen amount in WMD (weld metal deposit.

  13. A study of weld quality in ultrasonic spot welding of similar and dissimilar metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Sarraf, Z; Lucas, M

    2012-01-01

    Several difficulties are faced in joining thinner sheets of similar and dissimilar materials from fusion welding processes such as resistance welding and laser welding. Ultrasonic metal welding overcomes many of these difficulties by using high frequency vibration and applied pressure to create a solid-state weld. Ultrasonic metal welding is an effective technique in joining small components, such as in wire bonding, but is also capable of joining thicker sheet, depending on the control of welding conditions. This study presents the design, characterisation and test of a lateral-drive ultrasonic metal welding device. The ultrasonic welding horn is modelled using finite element analysis and its vibration behaviour is characterised experimentally to ensure ultrasonic energy is delivered to the weld coupon. The welding stack and fixtures are then designed and mounted on a test machine to allow a series of experiments to be conducted for various welding and ultrasonic parameters. Weld strength is subsequently analysed using tensile-shear tests. Control of the vibration amplitude profile through the weld cycle is used to enhance weld strength and quality, providing an opportunity to reduce part marking. Optical microscopic examination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the weld quality. The results show how the weld quality is particularly sensitive to the combination of clamping force and vibration amplitude of the welding tip.

  14. Electron-beam welding of the grill flanges of the FTU additional heating system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cucchiaro, A.; Marra, A.

    1994-10-01

    The research and development program of the fusion sector of ENEA (Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Environment) Frascati center is mainly based on experiments on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) machine. The FTU is a medium-high magnetic field (8 T) tokamak with a radio-frequency (RF) additional heating system (8 MW, 8 GHz) that can heat the plasma to temperatures of fusionistic interest. The RF power is coupled to the plasma by a coupling structure consisting of three grills, each formed of an array of waveguides welded at the terminal flanges by an electron-beam technique. This solution allows highly accurate dimensions and optimum clean-surface conditions of the welded copper joints

  15. Fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steel weld metal at 4 K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodwin, G.M.

    1984-08-01

    Selection of the welding processess and weld filler metals for fabrication of a large toroidal superconducting magnet is described. Data available in the literature are collected and compared with data generated in this study for three welding processes, shielded metal arc (SMA), gas tungsten arc (GTA), and flux cored arc (FCA) welds had the highest fracture toughness as measured by K/sub Ic/ estimated from J/sub Ic/. The SMA and FCA welds had about the same toughness, below the GTA values but above the average from the literature. The fracture mode for all three processes was typified by ductile dimples. The fracture morphology of the FCA weld specimens was influenced by the solidification substructure, and small particles were found to be nucleation sites for void formation, especially for the GTA welds. All three welding processes were deemed adequate for the intended service and were used to fabricate the large magnet. A trunnion-type turning fixture eliminated the need for welding in the vertical and overhead positions. The GTA process was used for all root passes, and the horizontal welds were filled by the SMA process. Over 80% of the welds were done in the flat position with the FCA process, and its high deposition rate and ease of operation are credited with contributing greatly to the success of the effort

  16. Welding and cutting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drews, P.; Schulze Frielinghaus, W.

    1978-01-01

    This is a survey, with 198 literature references, of the papers published in the fields of welding and cutting within the last three years. The subjects dealt with are: weldability of the materials - Welding methods - Thermal cutting - Shaping and calculation of welded joints - Environmental protection in welding and cutting. (orig.) [de

  17. Simplified welding distortion analysis for fillet welding using composite shell elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingyu Kim

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the simplified welding distortion analysis method to predict the welding deformation of both plate and stiffener in fillet welds. Currently, the methods based on equivalent thermal strain like Strain as Direct Boundary (SDB has been widely used due to effective prediction of welding deformation. Regarding the fillet welding, however, those methods cannot represent deformation of both members at once since the temperature degree of freedom is shared at the intersection nodes in both members. In this paper, we propose new approach to simulate deformation of both members. The method can simulate fillet weld deformations by employing composite shell element and using different thermal expansion coefficients according to thickness direction with fixed temperature at intersection nodes. For verification purpose, we compare of result from experiments, 3D thermo elastic plastic analysis, SDB method and proposed method. Compared of experiments results, the proposed method can effectively predict welding deformation for fillet welds.

  18. Welding Technician

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Ken

    2009-01-01

    About 95% of all manufactured goods in this country are welded or joined in some way. These welded products range in nature from bicycle handlebars and skyscrapers to bridges and race cars. The author discusses what students need to know about careers for welding technicians--wages, responsibilities, skills needed, career advancement…

  19. X-ray tomographic in-service testing of girth welds - The European project TomoWELD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ewert, Uwe; Redmer, Bernhard; Walter, David; Thiessenhusen, Kai-Uwe; Bellon, Carsten; Nicholson, P. Ian; Clarke, Alan; Finke-Haerkoenen, Klaus-Peter; Scharfschwerdt, Joerg W.; Rohde, Karsten

    2015-01-01

    The new standard ISO 17636-2: 2013 'NDT of welded joints - Radiographic testing - Part 2: X- and gamma radiographic testing with digital detectors ''defines the testing practice for digital radiography of welds for the production and in-service inspection. Furthermore the DIN 25435-7:2014 ''In-service inspections of the components of the primary circuit of light water reactors - Part 7: Radiographic testing'' was published. The essential requirements are discussed. The new TomoWELD system can both perform measurements according to these standards as well as record tomographic cross-sectional images (equivalent to metallographic sections), to determine image sizes. Areas of application are chemical and nuclear facilities. It provides a fast testing of girth welds as compared to the use of film or imaging plates. In 2006 the mechanized planar tomography system, TomoCAR, was already introduced, with one could measure cross-sectional images. TomoWELD uses a new photon counting and energy resolving detector with CdTe-CMOS crystal hybrids. The new detector allows the choice of energy thresholds, and enables the reduction of the influence of scattered radiation on the radiographic images and the reconstructed cross-sectional images. An optimized irradiation geometry with a new manipulator design and a fast GPU-based reconstruction algorithm can be used to accelerate the reconstruction and to improve the reconstruction results. The size and the shape of planar and voluminous irregularities can be determined. The concept and the first pictures will be presented. (Contains mainly PowerPoint slides). [de

  20. Introduction to Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortney, Clarence; Gregory, Mike

    This curriculum guide provides six units of instruction on basic welding. Addressed in the individual units of instruction are the following topics: employment opportunities for welders, welding safety and first aid, welding tools and equipment, basic metals and metallurgy, basic math and measuring, and procedures for applying for a welding job.…

  1. Orbital welding technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoeschen, W.

    2003-01-01

    The TIG (Tungsten-inert gas) orbital welding technique is applied in all areas of pipe welding. The process is mainly used for austenitic and ferritic materials but also for materials like aluminium, nickel, and titanium alloys are commonly welded according to this technique. Thin-walled as well as thick-walled pipes are welded economically. The application of orbital welding is of particular interest in the area of maintenance of thick-walled pipes that is described in this article. (orig.) [de

  2. Electromagnetic interference from welding and motors on implantable cardioverter-defibrillators as tested in the electrically hostile work site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetter, J G; Benditt, D G; Stanton, M S

    1996-08-01

    This study was designed to determine the susceptibility of an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator to electromagnetic interference in an electrically hostile work site environment, with the ultimate goal of allowing the patient to return to work. Normal operation of an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator depends on reliable sensing of the heart's electrical activity. Consequently, there is concern that external electromagnetic interference from external sources in the work place, especially welding equipment or motor-generator systems, may be sensed and produce inappropriate shocks or abnormal reed switch operation, temporarily suspending detection of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The effects of electromagnetic interference on the operation of one type of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (Medtronic models 7217 and 7219) was measured by using internal event counter monitoring in 10 patients operating arc welders at up to 900 A or working near 200-hp motors and 1 patient close to a locomotive starter drawing up to 400 A. The electromagnetic interference produced two sources of potential interference on the sensing circuit or reed switch operation, respectively: 1) electrical fields with measured frequencies up to 50 MHz produced by the high currents during welding electrode activation, and 2) magnetic fields produced by the current in the welding electrode and cable. The defibrillator sensitivity was programmed to the highest (most sensitive) value: 0.15 mV (model 7219) or 0.3 mV (model 7217). The ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation therapies were temporarily turned off but the detection circuits left on. None of the implanted defibrillators tested were affected by oversensing of the electric field as verified by telemetry from the detection circuits. The magnetic field from 225-A welding current produced a flux density of 1.2 G; this density was not adequate to close the reed switch, which requires approximately 10 G

  3. Welding stresses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poirier, J.; Barbe, B.; Jolly, N.

    1976-01-01

    The aim is to show how internal stresses are generated and to fix the orders of magnitude. A realistic case, the vertical welding of thick plates free to move one against the other, is described and the deformations and stresses are analyzed. The mathematical model UEDA, which accounts for the elastic modulus, the yield strength and the expansion coefficient of the metal with temperature, is presented. The hypotheses and results given apply only to the instantaneous welding of a welded plate and to a plate welded by a moving electrode [fr

  4. High-Speed Friction-Stir Welding to Enable Aluminum Tailor-Welded Blanks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovanski, Yuri; Upadhyay, Piyush; Carsley, John; Luzanski, Tom; Carlson, Blair; Eisenmenger, Mark; Soulami, Ayoub; Marshall, Dustin; Landino, Brandon; Hartfield-Wunsch, Susan

    2015-05-01

    Current welding technologies for production of aluminum tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) are utilized in low-volume and niche applications, and they have yet to be scaled for the high-volume vehicle market. This study targeted further weight reduction, part reduction, and cost savings by enabling tailor-welded blank technology for aluminum alloys at high volumes. While friction-stir welding (FSW) has been traditionally applied at linear velocities less than 1 m/min, high-volume production applications demand the process be extended to higher velocities more amenable to cost-sensitive production environments. Unfortunately, weld parameters and performance developed and characterized at low-to-moderate welding velocities do not directly translate to high-speed linear FSW. Therefore, to facilitate production of high-volume aluminum FSW components, parameters were developed with a minimum welding velocity of 3 m/min. With an emphasis on weld quality, welded blanks were evaluated for postweld formability using a combination of numerical and experimental methods. An evaluation across scales was ultimately validated by stamping full-size production door inner panels made from dissimilar thickness aluminum TWBs, which provided validation of the numerical and experimental analysis of laboratory-scale tests.

  5. Estimation of weld nugget temperature by thermography method in resistance projection welding process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Setty, D.S.; Rameswara Roa, A.; Hemantha Rao, G.V.S.; Jaya Raj, R.N.

    2008-01-01

    In the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) fuel manufacturing, zirconium alloy appendages like spacer and bearing pads are welded to the thin wall zirconium alloy fuel tubes by using resistance projection welding process. Out of many joining processes available, resistance-welding process is reliable, environment friendly and best suitable for mass production applications. In the fuel assembly, spacer pads are used to get the required inter-element spacing and Bearing pads are used to get the required load-bearing surface for the fuel assembly. Performance of the fuel assembly in the reactor is greatly influenced by these weld joint's quality. Phase transformation from α to β phase is not acceptable while welding these tiny appendages. At present only destructive metallography test is available for this purpose. This can also be achieved by measuring weld nugget temperature where in the phase transformation temperature for zirconium alloy material is 853 o C. The temperature distribution during resistance welding of tiny parts cannot be measured by conventional methods due to very small space and short weld times involved in the process. Shear strength, dimensional accuracy and weld microstructures are some of the key parameters used to measure the quality of appendage weld joints. Weld parameters were optimized with the help of industrial experimentation methodology. Individual projection welding by split electrode concept, and during welding on empty tube firm support is achieved on inner side of the tube by using expandable pneumatic mandrel. In the present paper, an attempt was made to measure the weld nugget temperature by thermography technique and is correlated with standard microstructures of zirconium alloy material. The temperature profiles in the welding process are presented for different welding conditions. This technique has helped in measuring the weld nugget temperature more accurately. It was observed that in the present appendage welding

  6. Influence of Loading Direction and Weld Reinforcement on Fatigue Performance of TIG Weld Seam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HUI Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The influence of loading direction and weld reinforcement on fatigue performance of TC2 titanium alloy TIG weld seam was investigated via fatigue experiments and SEM fracture observation. The results show that the fatigue life of retaining weld reinforcement specimens is lower than that of removing one in the same weld direction. The fatigue life of oblique weld specimens is higher than that of straight one with the same weld reinforcement treatment. The initiation of removing weld reinforcement specimens' fatigue crack sources is in the hole defect, but the weld reinforcement specimen initiate at the weld toes. During the early stage of fatigue crack propagation, the cracks all grow inside the weld seam metal with obvious fatigue striation. And the fatigue cracks of oblique weld specimens pass through the weld seam into the base with a typical toughness fatigue striation during the last stage of fatigue crack propagation. The dimple of straight weld specimens is little and shallow in the final fracture zone. The oblique weld specimens broke in the base metal area, and the dimple is dense.

  7. Nitrogen And Oxygen Amount In Weld After Welding With Micro-Jet Cooling

    OpenAIRE

    Węgrzyn T.; Piwnik J.

    2015-01-01

    Micro-jet cooling after welding was tested only for MIG welding process with argon, helium and nitrogen as a shielded gases. A paper presents a piece of information about nitrogen and oxygen in weld after micro-jet cooling. There are put down information about gases that could be chosen both for MIG/MAG welding and for micro-jet process. There were given main information about influence of various micro-jet gases on metallographic structure of steel welds. Mechanical properties of weld was pr...

  8. Key quality aspects for a new metallic composite pipe: corrosion testing, welding, weld inspection and manufacturing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conder, Robert J.; Felton, Peter [Xodus Group Ltd., Aberdeen (United Kingdom); Smith, Richard [Shell Global Solutions Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Burke, Raymond [Pipestream Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Dikstra, Frits; Deleye, Xavier [Applus RTD Ltd., Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2010-07-01

    XPipeTM is a new metallic composite pipe. This paper discusses three aspects of this new technology. The first subject is determination of the probability of hydrogen embrittlement by the XPipeTM manufacturing method. Two materials were analyzed in three tests: slow strain rate test, constant load test and notched tensile test. The results showed that the high strength steels used do not appear to be susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. The second subject of this article is weld inspection. A non-destructive testing method of girth welds is developed to allow inspection of the thin-walled austenitic liner pipe. The results demonstrated that the welds can be inspected using the creeping wave technique. The third subject is quality control systems using the SCADA system, which maintains traceability of the materials and monitors and records all parameters during the production process. This system appears to be efficient in ensuring that the product pipe meets recognized quality standards.

  9. Computational modeling and experimental studies of the dynamic performance of ultrasonic horn profiles used in plastic welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roopa Rani, M; Rudramoorthy, R

    2013-03-01

    Ultrasonic horns are tuned components designed to vibrate in a longitudinal mode at ultrasonic frequencies. Reliable performance of such horns is normally decided by the uniformity of vibration amplitude at the working surface and the stress developed during loading condition. The horn design engineer must pay particular attention to designing a tool that will produce the desired amplitude without fracturing. The present work discusses horn configurations which satisfy these criteria and investigates the design requirements of horns in ultrasonic system. Different horn profiles for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics have been characterized in terms of displacement amplitude and von-Mises stresses using modal and harmonic analysis. To validate the simulated results, five different horns are fabricated from Aluminum, tested and tuned to the operating frequency. Standard ABS plastic parts are welded using these horns. Temperature developed during the welding of ABS test parts using different horns is recorded using sensors and National Instruments (NIs) data acquisition system. The recorded values are compared with the predicted values. Experimental results show that welding using a Bezier horn has a high interface temperature and the welded joints had higher strength as compared to the other horn profiles. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. In-Process Detection of Weld Defects Using Laser-Based Ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacher, G.D.; Kercel, S.W.; Kisner, R.A.; Klein, M.B.; Pouet, B.

    1999-01-01

    Laser-based ultrasonic (LBU) measurement shows great promise for on-line monitoring of weld quality in tailor-welded blanks. Tailor-welded blanks are steel blanks made from plates of differing thickness and/or properties butt-welded together; they are used in automobile manufacturing to produce body, frame, and closure panels. LBU uses a pulsed laser to generate the ultrasound and a continuous wave (CW) laser interferometer to detect the ultrasound at the point of interrogation to perform ultrasonic inspection. LBU enables in-process measurements since there is no sensor contact or near-contact with the workpiece. The authors are using laser-generated plate (Lamb) waves to propagate from one plate into the weld nugget as a means of detecting defects. This paper reports the results of the investigation of a number of inspection architectures based on processing of signals from selected plate waves, which are either reflected from or transmitted through the weld zone. Bayesian parameter estimation and wavelet analysis (both continuous and discrete) have shown that the LBU time-series signal is readily separable into components that provide distinguishing features which describe weld quality. The authors anticipate that, in an on-line industrial application, these measurements can be implemented just downstream from the weld cell. Then the weld quality data can be fed back to control critical weld parameters or alert the operator of a problem requiring maintenance. Internal weld defects and deviations from the desired surface profile can then be corrected before defective parts are produced

  11. Influence of weld structure on cross-weld creep behavior in P23 steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allen, D.J.; Degnan, C.C. [E.ON Engineering (United Kingdom); Brett, S.J. [RWE npower (United Kingdom); Buchanan, L.W. [Doosan Babcock (United Kingdom)

    2010-07-01

    A thick section pipe weld in low alloy steel P23 has been characterised by cross-weld creep rupture testing at a range of stresses, together with all-weld-metal and parent material testing, under the auspices of the UK High Temperature Power Plant Forum. The results generally show that the weld metal can be weak when tested in the transverse (cross-weld) orientation, and can fail with limited overall ductility by cracking in the zone of refined weld metal beneath the fusion boundary of the superposed weld bead. However, one specimen showed a much superior performance, which could be understood in terms of its locally more creep resistant weld macrostructure. The implications for P23 performance and weld manufacture are discussed. (orig.)

  12. Welded joints integrity analysis and optimization for fiber laser welding of dissimilar materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Yuewei; Shao, Xinyu; Jiang, Ping; Li, Peigen; Liu, Yang; Liu, Wei

    2016-11-01

    Dissimilar materials welded joints provide many advantages in power, automotive, chemical, and spacecraft industries. The weld bead integrity which is determined by process parameters plays a significant role in the welding quality during the fiber laser welding (FLW) of dissimilar materials. In this paper, an optimization method by taking the integrity of the weld bead and weld area into consideration is proposed for FLW of dissimilar materials, the low carbon steel and stainless steel. The relationships between the weld bead integrity and process parameters are developed by the genetic algorithm optimized back propagation neural network (GA-BPNN). The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is taken for optimizing the predicted outputs from GA-BPNN for the objective. Through the optimization process, the desired weld bead with good integrity and minimum weld area are obtained and the corresponding microstructure and microhardness are excellent. The mechanical properties of the optimized joints are greatly improved compared with that of the un-optimized welded joints. Moreover, the effects of significant factors are analyzed based on the statistical approach and the laser power (LP) is identified as the most significant factor on the weld bead integrity and weld area. The results indicate that the proposed method is effective for improving the reliability and stability of welded joints in the practical production.

  13. Automatic visual monitoring of welding procedure in stainless steel kegs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leo, Marco; Del Coco, Marco; Carcagnì, Pierluigi; Spagnolo, Paolo; Mazzeo, Pier Luigi; Distante, Cosimo; Zecca, Raffaele

    2018-05-01

    In this paper a system for automatic visual monitoring of welding process, in dry stainless steel kegs for food storage, is proposed. In the considered manufacturing process the upper and lower skirts are welded to the vessel by means of Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding. During the process several problems can arise: 1) residuals on the bottom 2) darker weld 3) excessive/poor penetration and 4) outgrowths. The proposed system deals with all the four aforementioned problems and its inspection performances have been evaluated by using a large set of kegs demonstrating both the reliability in terms of defect detection and the suitability to be introduced in the manufacturing system in terms of computational costs.

  14. Weld energy reduction by using concurrent nondestructive evaluation. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, J.A.; Carlson, N.M.; Watkins, A.D.

    1985-05-01

    In-process inspection of partially completed welds is shown to be feasible and to have the potential of large economic and productivity improvements in certain circumstances. Ultrasonic inspection of the weld and analysis by an automatic pattern-recognition system has a flaw detection rate of 90 to 95% with a false call rate of about 8%. The pattern-recognition system uses cues that human observers use to discriminate between good and flawed weld. The system has the potential to discriminate among types of flaws. An application analysis shows a potential savings of over $21 per foot of weld on two in. thick plates such as used for pressure vessel fabrication. 5 refs., 15 figs., 8 tabs

  15. Report on the Progress of Weld Development of Irradiated Materials at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Zhili [ORNL; Miller, Roger G. [ORNL; Chen, Jian [ORNL; Tang, Wei [ORNL; Clark, Scarlett R. [ORNL; Gibson, Brian T. [ORNL; Vance, Mark Christopher [ORNL; Frederick, Greg [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Tatman, Jonathan K. [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Sutton, Benjamin J. [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

    2018-04-01

    This report summarizes recent welding activities on irradiated alloys in the advanced welding facility at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the development of post-weld characterization capabilities and procedures that will be critical for assessing the ability of the advanced welding processes housed within the facility to make successful repairs on irradiated alloys. This facility and its capabilities were developed jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program and the Electric Power Research Institute, Long Term Operations Program (and the Welding and Repair Technology Center), with additional support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The significant, on-going effort to weld irradiated alloys with high Helium concentrations and comprehensively analyze the results will eventually yield validated repair techniques and guidelines for use by the nuclear industry in extending the operational lifetimes of nuclear power plants.

  16. Contribution to a research on electron beam welding of metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stohr, J.

    1964-03-01

    The electron beam welding of metals is performed by the travelling of the focusing point along the junction of two pieces to be connected. Welding parameters are the electron gun power W, the value of the electron impact surface S, the welding speed s. From the beginning of our research in 1954, the preponderant part played by specific power W/s on the shape of the welded zone and the penetrating depth, became evident. A more methodical research has been undertaken in the laboratories of C.E.N. under the patronage of Professor CHAUDRON, in order to define in a better way the importance of the different welding parameters and to determine their influence on the metallurgical qualities of welded assemblies. This research induced us to define an electron gun adapted as well as possible to the performance of weldings, not only from the point of view of behaviour, especially during the passage from the atmospheric to a low pressure at 10 -5 Torr, necessary for the carrying out of a welding, but also from the point of view of adjustment conveniences of the different welding parameters, indispensable to the intended research work. The variations of welding parameters show that the shape of the molten zone turns from a circle segment to that of a very high triangle, which implies a continual change of the mode of heat transmission. Tests have been made, in order to confirm this way of looking, especially in order to achieve isotherms in dynamic operating and also the comparison of these isotherms with that recorded while using a method of argon arc welding. The thermal balance of energy supplied to the part, the necessary welding energy, and the energy loss (through conduction, radiation and evaporation) has also been established. These results proved that almost the whole of energy has been used for melting, that the different losses are negligible and that heat transmission can not occur by thermal conduction through the part during 'welding' time, when operating under

  17. Process parameters-weld bead geometry interactions and their influence on mechanical properties: A case of dissimilar aluminium alloy electron beam welds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Mastanaiah

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Prediction of weld bead geometry is always an interesting and challenging research topic as it involves understanding of complex multi input and multi output system. The weld bead geometry has a profound impact on the load bearing capability of a weld joint, which in-turn decides the performance in real time service conditions. The present study introduces a novel approach of detecting a relationship between weld bead geometry and mechanical properties (e.g. tensile load for the purpose of catering the best the process could offer. The significance of the proposed approach is demonstrated by a case of dissimilar aluminium alloy (AA2219 and AA5083 electron beam welds. A mathematical model of tensile braking load as a function of geometrical attributes of weld bead geometry is presented. The results of investigation suggests the effective thickness of weld – a geometric parameter of weld bead has the most significant influence on tensile breaking load of dissimilar weld joint. The observations on bead geometry and the mechanical properties (microhardness, ultimate tensile load and face bend angle are correlated with detailed metallurgical analysis. The fusion zone of dissimilar electron beam weld has finer grain size with a moderate evaporation and segregation of alloying elements magnesium and copper respectively. The mechanical properties of weld joint are controlled by optimum bead geometry and HAZ softening in weaker AA5083 Al alloy. Keywords: Electron beam welding, AA2219, AA5083, Bead geometry, Tensile breaking load

  18. Recommended welding criteria for use in the fabrication of shipping containers for radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monroe, R.E.; Woo, H.H.; Sears, R.G.

    1984-03-01

    Welding and related operations are evaluated to assess the controls required to prevent weld-related failure of shipping containers used for transportation of radioactive materials. The report includes (1) recommended criteria for controlling welding as applied to shipping containers and (2) a discussion of modifications of the recommended industry Codes as applied to shipping containers. 13 references, 2 tables

  19. A Plasma Control and Gas Protection System for Laser Welding of Stainless Steel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juhl, Thomas Winther; Olsen, Flemming Ove

    1997-01-01

    A prototype shield gas box with different plasma control nozzles have been investigated for laser welding of stainless steel (AISI 316). Different gases for plasma control and gas protection of the weld seam have been used. The gas types, welding speed and gas flows show the impact on process...... stability and protection against oxidation. Also oxidation related to special conditions at the starting edge has been investigated. The interaction between coaxial and plasma gas flow show that the coaxial flow widens the band in which the plasma gas flow suppresses the metal plasma. In this band the welds...... are oxide free. With 2.7 kW power welds have been performed at 4000 mm/min with Ar / He (70%/30%) as coaxial, plasma and shield gas....

  20. Experience and Applications Up-date: Automation of Arc-Welding Operations Using Robot-Technology; Experiencia y actualizacion de las aplicaciones: automatizacion de las operaciones de soldadura utilizando tecnologia robotica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teubel, G

    1997-12-31

    In a short introduction, the important criteria for the correct choice of a robot cell, taking into account the given application, are highlighted. Furthermore, important hints are listed in terms of management decisions. The second chapter shows the main features of a welding robot cell in line with the present state of the art and describes some new developments with the aim of extending the arc-welding system to new applications such as flame cutting and beveling. The third chapter as centre piece gives an overall view of a brand new network control with many outstanding features for the users of arc-welding robots. the fourth and last chapter shows a recent realisation of a highly sophisticated F.M.S. system for welding, in random sequence, different large and heavy components. (Author) 1 ref.