WWW - Welding-And-Cutting - Info Technical Journal For Welding and Allied Processes

Issue
The
Welding
Institute
01
2016
www.welding-and-cutting.info
Welding the unweldable:

TWI friction stir welds ODS steel
Technical journal for welding and allied processes
How to avoid problems when furnace brazing stainless steels in a

reducing atmosphere - Part 1: An
introduction to the process
Identification of key GMAW fillet

weld parameters and interactions
using artificial neural networks
The new dimension of welding simulation!

Practical exercises and first-class theoretical knowledge
The particular features of Soldamatic
Good welders are very skilled in handling their
working devices and have no end of specialist
knowledge available. With the Soldamatic welding trainer, prospective welders can train this
important combination of practical experience
and theory in a professional way from now on.
As the rst welding simulator anywhere in the
world, Soldamatic combines practical exercises
relating to manual skills with high-quality theoretical units for the rst time. The individual courses
have been prepared didactically and reect the
experience from the elaboration of DVS teaching
documents.
the welding of bead-on-plate runs and, step

by step, lead right up to the manufacture of llet welds and butt welds in various welding positions. Throughout the duration of the course,
Soldamatic supports the practical exercises with
a coaching system. This makes corrections and
gives the assessment of each weld in a comprehensive evaluation.
All the tasks can be repeated any number of
times on the Soldamatic and can be practised
without any material consumption. As a whole,
they impart specialist knowledge and manual
skills using the most modern media on the ready
for the workshop level.
What specialist theory is imparted?

This is how it functions:
Soldamatic imparts the specialist theory in the
rst step. Thereafter, the understanding of the
things learned is checked using multiple-choice
questions, including direct evaluation and safeguarding of the results. Only when a certain performance has been achieved in the theory is the
path free for the next step, the virtual practising
of the practical welding task appropriate in each
case.
The degree of difculty of the course units rises
continuously. The practical exercises begin with
The courses which DVS Media developed specically for Soldamatic impart comprehensive
specialist knowledge, starting from knowledge
about the welding process in question right up
to safety at work:
Technical basics
Welding devices
Parameters and working techniques
Welding llers and gases
Weld types, joint types and welding positions
Safety at work
The following welder courses are available for Soldamatic:
Metal active gas welding (MAG)

Manual metal arc welding (E)*
Tungsten inert gas welding (TIG)*
* available from the spring of 2016
A cooperation measure between Seabery and DVS Media
AUGMENTED TRAINING & PERFORMANCE
E U RO P E
WELDPLUS UG
Nisterfeld 11, 57629 Mschenbach
T
F
+49. (0) 26 62. 944 33 39

+49. (0) 26 62. 969 65 14
Source: DVS
info@weldplus.de
www.weldplus.de
www.soldamatic.de
DVS Media GmbH

Aachener Strae 172, 40223 Dsseldorf
T +49. (0)2 11. 15 91-162
F +49. (0)2 11. 15 91-250
vertrieb@dvs-hg.de
www.dvs-media.eu/vwts
EDITORIAL
Continuing to reect,
and reecting to develop
May I wish all of you, members, colleagues and friends, a Happy
New Year. I trust you had a pleasant and peaceful Christmas.
January is a traditional time for reflection, and in this issues
editorial I offer some thoughts on how our successes in Continuing
Professional Development will support us in meeting future
competence requirements.
The events and activities of The Welding Institute are delivered
entirely for your benefit. Please read on page 43 my thoughts on
how we might work together to maximise that benefit.
Eur Ing Chris Eady BSc(Hons) CEng MRAeS FWeldI
Associate Director for Professional Affairs
The Welding Institute
Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1
CONTENTS WELDING AND CUTTING 01/2016
News
Manufacturing workforce qualification

requirements from Industry 4.0 at the forefront of EWFs activities in 2016
Economic outlook 2015-16: The insolvency U-turn
NSIRC PhD student presents research on

alumina-to-alumina brazed joints
High-spec thermal spraying facility opens

doors for industrial research
10
Welding the unweldable: TWI friction stir

welds ODS steel
10
Developing the highly-skilled workforce

required to bring advanced manufacturing back into Europe
12
Awareness towards industrial cybersecurity continues to remain low
13
Conferences and exibitions
14
The Interview
16
XING group Welding, allied processes

and alternative joining technologies
visiting Fanuc
19
Degaussing of ferromagnetic materials
21
Lighter with laser welding
22
Short messages
23
Products
Welding Practice
26
Health, safety and accident prevention during welding and cutting Control of welding fume
Reports
30
How to avoid problems when furnace

brazing stainless steels in a reducing atmosphere Part 1: An introduction to the
process
35
Development of phased array ultrasonic

testing inspection system for testing solid
railway axles Case Study
38
Experience with regard to the welding of

nickel alloys in pressure vessel construction Tips from practice
NSIRC PhD student presents research

on alumina-to-alumina brazed joints
at Euromat 2015
From Companies
10
4
High-spec thermal spraying facility

opens doors for industrial research
Welding the unweldable: TWI friction

stir welds ODS steel
Issue
The
Welding
Institute
01
2016
www.welding-and-cutting.info
Technical journal for welding and allied processes of

the DVS German Welding Society, Dsseldorf,
the Professional Division of The Welding Institute, Cambridge,
and the Institut de Soudure, Paris
Produced in Collaboration between
Specialist Articles
51
Identification of key GMAW fillet weld parameters and interactions using artificial
neural networks
Jonathan Cairns, Alex M. Galloway,
Norrie A. McPherson
60
Structural morphologies in the case

of the resistance spot welding of
aluminium/steel joints
21
Laser welding of steel and

aluminium (Photo: LZH)
Florian Goldmann, Ortwin Hahn,

Ulrich Tetzlaff, Sebastian Kunze
3D plasma cutting installation which
can be used for the cutting of welding
groove preparations for nozzle
openings in torispherical heads and tubes.
National Pages
57
Editorial Preview
66
Books
66
Imprint/Ad Index
58
Information from the DVS German

Welding Society
43
The Welding Institute News
51
38
Welding rig
NEWS
Manufacturing workforce qualication requirements from

Industry 4.0 at the forefront of EWFs activities in 2016
ufacture complex components and equipment. Additionally, sustainability is increasingly seen as a priority of the utmost relevance in Europe and, given the environmental impact of most industrial activities and
the stringent environmental and health safety regulations, creates additional challenges
for European companies, facing more regulatory issues than many of their competitors
elsewhere.
Fundamental paradigm shifts

As it is also happening in many other
sectors, manufacturing is being digitally disrupted, creating a plethora of challenges and
opportunities that can profoundly change
the landscape. This massive change can be
traced to the way digital technologies and
offspring such as 3D printing can impact the
future of how, where and when things are
designed, made and even assembled. That
change is called Industry 4.0 and was a terminology coined by a German government
think tank to describe a so-called fourth industrial revolution. The four phases can be
better described as the water/steam power
revolution (Industry 1.0); electric power (Industry 2.0), computing power (Industry 3.0)
and Internet of Things power (Industry 4.0).
Building a new industrial paradigm
around the Internet of Things (IoT) is an
enormous challenge, as it entails four major
disruptions, as envisioned by Mckinsey
(Manufacturings next act, June 2015):
the massive rise in data volumes, computational power and connectivity, especially new low-power wide-area
networks;
the emergence of analytics and business-intelligence capabilities;
new forms of human-machine interaction such as touch interfaces and augmented-reality systems and
improvements in transferring digital
instructions to the physical world, such
as advanced robotics and 3-D printing,
otherwise also referred to as additive
manufacturing (AM), the next industrial revolution in the manufacturing
mix.
Once deployed, AM will enable companies
to more efficiently and cost-effectively man-
These fundamental paradigm shifts entail profound changes, from supply chains
to professional requirements. To respond to
these challenges, companies need to reinvent themselves and, to be even more effective, are requiring new qualifications from
their teams.
EWF the European Federation for
Welding, Joining and Cutting is acutely
aware of those changes and has been hard
at work to ensure that, when needed, companies will have professional profiles ready
to be applied on their operations, nationally
or internationally, to respond to their business challenges. EWF has participated in numerous projects that address those challenges, either leading or being a member of
the consortium according to the projects
requirements. As a result, and given the
broad scope of the harmonised training and
qualification system offering courses and
qualifications that EWF operates, its training
guidelines support the evolving requirements that additive manufacturing puts
forth to the industry.
One additional example is EMFWeld,
a project led by EWF and which aims at providing a simple, fast and actionable method
to assess exposure risks for electromagnetic
fields during welding. The project team developed a web-based application software
to assist and support small and mediumsized enterprises, supplying easy-to-use, reliable and actionable information on the
risks in operating machines. It specifies risk
levels and whether exposure is expected to
be below or above the limit imposed by the
Directive, for welding and non-destructive
testing (NDT) scenarios, minimising impact
on work cycles on highly demanding and
continuous production scenarios.
Professional profiles continually

being evaluated and added
As a result of that early work developed
by EWF, recent and required professional
profiles in the area of manufacturing are
continually being evaluated and added,
such as in the case of the soon-to-be-released additive manufacturing, which will
have as basis the harmonised training and
qualification system devised by EWF according to the most demanding industry requirements. The system comprises guidelines
defining training syllabuses and examinations and rules for implementing the quality
assurance system that ensures the control
and monitoring of the system in all the 43
countries that presently use it.
Furthermore, the experience gained by
more than 20 years of providing the welding
personnel, dully qualified, with competencies that addresses current and future industry needs is a sound basis to implement
any international training and qualifications
needed for manufacturing. The recent developments to address additive manufacturing needs are one example of the initiatives underway to support Industry 4.0.
But the challenges are two-fold respond
to industrys professional profile requirements on the one hand, and providing
courses that match current technological
trends and their impact on lifestyle and information acquisition patterns on the other
hand. To respond to the latter, EWF has been
further improving modular training course
structures, defining more flexible profiles and
training, also using new methodologies. One
such new area of growth are webinars, and
EWF is looking into launch new ones focusing
on technological innovation in specific areas
to streamline knowledge acquisition, mainly
related with Horizon 2020 objectives.
Looking forward, beyond 2016, EWF will
follow the unfolding trends shaping the industry 4.0, as well as working side-by-side
with the industry thought leaders that are
working to define Europes industrial future.
EWFs contribution
Beyond participation on EFFRA European Factories of the Future Research Association, EWF is also working closely with
the European Centre for the Development
of Vocational Training (www.cedefop.europa.eu), as well as with the European Committee for Standardization (https://
www.cen.eu/ Pages/default.aspx), to ensure
that welding and joining professionals are
appropriately qualified for the upcoming
technical challenges facing the industry, including the new challenges that technologies like additive manufacturing bring in
terms of qualified personnel. And, as part
of its role and commitment to the reindustrialisation of Europe, EWF supports the
Manufacturing a Stronger and Greener Europe Manifesto, which embodies a commitment by the European manufacturing
industry to play vital role in Europes economic recovery.
Also within the Manufuture technology platform, Joining has been singled out
as a key enabling technology and, therefore,
a specific sub-platform was created, with the
purpose of developing a strategic approach
in the field, a core element of innovative and
sustainable manufacturing (http://www
.joining-platform.com/). EWF played an important role in creating this subplatform and

being part of the Management Committee,
globally touching all relevant areas within
the industry.
Lastly, EWF will further develop its two
partnerships with the relevant Federations/associations at the European level,
as it relates to manufacturing to jointly advance subjects of common interest. (According to press information from EWF;
www.ewf.be)
Economic outlook 2015-16: The insolvency U-turn

In 2016, instability in emerging markets
is set to end six consecutive years of decline
in global insolvencies, according to the international company Euler Hermes, dealing
with trade credit insurance. The Euler Hermes Economic Outlook 2015-16: The insolvency U-turn predicts that worldwide insolvencies will stabilise at 300,000 cases as
2015 marks the end of the post-crisis adjustment trend.
This trend, which saw a healthy decline
in insolvencies of 14% in 2014, continues
into 2015 but loses momentum in line with
the global economic slowdown. As a result,
Euler Hermes estimates that its Global Insolvency Index will decrease by only 4%
this year. Despite six consecutive years of
decline, the positive trend was not robust
enough to offset the sharp hike in bankruptcies recorded between 2007 and 2009, so the
Global Insolvency Index remains higher by
3% than its pre-crisis average.
After a five year love story with the
fastest-growing part of the world, time has
come for a reality check, said Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Euler Hermes. Large
current account deficits, a vulnerable private
sector and a highly politicised reform agenda created a perfect storm for emerging markets. Capital outflows, volatility and credit
risks are on the rise.
The divergence between advanced
economies and emerging markets should
continue to grow in 2016, creating a 1% decline in insolvencies in advanced economies
compared to a +4% increase in emerging
markets. Currently, a strong decrease in
bankruptcies in the U.S. and Western Europe
is offsetting turmoil in Asia and Latin American, but the outlook is increasingly cloudy
for emerging markets.
Brazil, China, Nigeria, Russia, South

Africa and Turkey to name a few have all
been negatively affected by cheaper commodity prices, a looming Fed rate hike which
is pressuring currencies and financing, and
the overall slow growth mode. World GDP
has been growing below 3% for the past five
years. High corporate debt levels, disinflation and disruption form a vicious circle in
3D, added Subran.
Companies in the Asia Pacific region are
the most affected by these 3Ds, resulting in
a +11% rise in insolvencies in 2015 the first
increase since 2008. China will struggle in
particular, with anticipated increases in insolvencies of +25% in 2015 and +20% in
2016. Construction, metals and mining, lowend manufacturing and export-related industries are the sectors likely to take the
biggest hit.
The U.S. and Western Europe are both
expected to register a steady -10% decline in
bankruptcies this year. Some countries, such
as the United States, Germany and the UK
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already enjoy historically low levels. However,

other countries, like France or Italy, are struggling to significantly lower their level of insolvencies, while some sectors such as construction remain particularly at risk.
More importantly, the overall improvement in the advanced economies is expected to lose momentum next year. Corporates
will have to deal with low global economic
growth, still-high debt levels, deflationary
pressures, disruptions and business demography dynamics.
Subran continued: Now that the shock
of the crisis has been absorbed, firms need
a solid macroeconomic and financial environment in order to turn from stabilisation
to growth, from protection to promotion.
The next 18 months will be quite a litmus
test. Diverging trends among countries, sectors, companies of different sizes and
changes in legal frameworks will be the key
underlying factors to identify the main pockets of risk. (According to press information
from Euler Hermes; www.eulerhermes.com)
NEWS
NSIRC PhD student presents research on aluminato-alumina brazed joints

Fig. 2 Presenting at
Euromat 2015.
Fig. 1 Main
building of the
Warsaw University of
Technology.
I am currently pursuing a PhD at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre

(NSIRC), Cambridge, UK and began my research in May 2013 when the centre first
opened. Recently, I was awarded a travel
prize by The Armourers and Brasiers Gauntlet Trust in conjunction with The Welding
Institute. This enabled me to attend the biennial European Congress and Exhibition
on Advanced Materials and Processes (Euromat 2015) to present my PhD work.
The Euromat 2015 conference took
place on 20 to 24 September at the Warsaw
University of Technology (Fig. 1). I delivered
a presentation entitled The Effect of Postgrinding Heat Treatment of Alumina and
Ag-Cu-Ti Preform Thickness on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of
Alumina-to-Alumina Brazed Joints as part
of the Joining and Interfaces symposium
(Fig.2).
My research has shown that whilst postgrinding heat treatment can affect the flexural strength of different grades of alumina,
it can also alter their surfaces prior to brazing. Despite a 5.2 % increase in the average
flexural strength of 96 wt.% Al2O3 after heat
treatment, once brazed, a 55.5 % reduction
in the average joint strength was observed.
Heat treatment led to secondary phase depletion at the surface of 96 wt.% Al2O3 creating fissures at intergrannular regions where
braze penetration was observed (Fig. 3).
My research has further determined that
in the formation of alumina-to-alumina
brazed joints, the Ag-Cu-Ti braze preform
thickness can affect joint strength. As the

Ticusil (68.8Ag-26.7Cu-4.5Ti wt.%) braze
preform thickness was increased from 50 to
100 m, the brazed joint and reaction layer
thicknesses in both 96 and 99.7 wt.% Al2O3
joints also increased. In

the joints made using 50
m thick Ticusil preforms, Ti was observed
to have been fully consumed at the alumina/
braze interfaces to form
Ti3Cu3O reaction layers.
Whilst Ti3Cu3O reaction layers also formed
in the joints made using 100 m thick
Ticusil preforms, Cu-Ti phases were observed in the joint microstructures (Fig. 4).
This was due to excess Ti in the interlayers
and Ag-rich braze flow out of the joints (Fig.
4). With the increase in Ticusil preform
thickness, from 50 to 100 m, the strength
of 96 and 99.7 wt.% Al2O3 joints increased by
75 and 25 % respectively (Fig. 5). AluminaFig. 3 SEM image
of an alumina/braze
interface in a
brazed joint made
using ground and
heat treated 96
wt.% Al2O3 and a
100 m thick
Ticusil preform.
Fig. 4 SEM image of a brazed

joint made using
as-ground 96
wt.% Al2O3 and a
100 m thick
Ticusil preform.
to-alumina brazed joints made using 96

wt.% Al2O3 and 100 m thick Ticusil were
consistently the strongest sample configuration and failed in the ceramic at an average
strength of 238 MPa. In these joints, Si from
the secondary phase in 96 wt.% Al2O3 was
observed by electron probe microanalysis
(EPMA) at the alumina/braze interface.
Following the conference, I was invited
to publish this work in the Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. I am
grateful to the Armourers and Brasiers
Gauntlet Trust and The Welding Institute
for providing me with the invaluable opportunity of attending and presenting at Euromat 2015.
Following my graduation from University College London with an MEng in Engineering with Business Finance in 2009, I
Fig. 5 Average joint

strengths (MPa) and
brazed thicknesses (m)
of alumina-to-alumina
brazed joints made using
as-ground 96 and 99.7
wt.% Al2O3 and 50 to
100 m thick Ticusil
braze preforms.
completed an MRes in the Science and Engineering of Materials at the University of

Birmingham in 2010. Thereafter, I worked
in international business development for a
leading materials testing manufacturer be-
High-spec thermal spraying facility

opens doors for industrial research
The 5/11 cold spray system tted to the OTC FD-V50 robot in the new coating facility.
TWI, Cambridge/UK, has commissioned a new coating facility and cold spray
system to bolster the service it provides to
its Industrial Members. These latest acquisitions, designed to complement TWIs existing spraying facilities, mean TWI can conduct vital research including upscaling of
technologies on behalf of its Member companies in the aerospace, defence, oil and
gas, and engineering sectors.
The new spraying facility, manufactured by Climavent Ltd, features a walkin, soundproof spraying enclosure 7.5 m
wide, 6 m deep and 4 m high. It also features the latest extraction technology to
ensure safe operation of TWIs thermal
spraying equipment, which includes
high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF), cold
spray, plasma, arc and flame spraying
processes.
fore commencing a role as a materials development engineer in the hardfacing repair

of forging dies.
Tahsin Ali Kassam
E-mail: tahsin.kassam@affiliate.twi.co.uk
The bespoke setup features a partition

so that it can be split into two conventionally sized spraying cells or opened up to
form one large spraying facility. It represents a permanent research and development facility and will enable activities including upscaling for pre-production procedure development, demonstration and
validation at technology readiness levels
three to seven.
An OTC FD-V50 robot has been installed inside the facility, which will shortly
be augmented with a second identical robot
and 5 m track system and offline programming capabilities to manipulate specialist
spraying equipment and allow the coating
of components several metres in size.
The newly installed state-of-the-art Impact Innovations 5/11 cold spray system
offers significant increases in operating temperature and pressure (N2 gas at up to
1,100C and 60 bar) over previous systems,
delivering improved coating quality. The
new facility brings all of TWIs thermal and
cold spraying equipment under one roof
and enables TWI to offer a unified, seamless
service to its Members.
TWI Members will be invited to an open
day on 17 March 2016, when the Surface Engineering Section will showcase the new facility, spraying equipment and capabilities.
For further information about the open day
or to discuss your requirements please get
in touch via www.twi-global.com page or
contact TWI Principal Project Leader Melissa
Riley, phone +44 (0)1223 899000. (According
to press information from TWI)
NEWS
Welding the unweldable: TWI friction stir welds ODS steel

TWI, Cambridge/UK, has successfully
joined a type of steel alloy considered unweldable using conventional fusion methods. As part of its core research programme
into the friction stir welding of steel, TWI
has welded a number of samples of oxide

dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steels. These
specialised alloys have been developed to
deliver excellent strength and creep performance at elevated temperatures, making
Friction stir welding

in progress on two
plates of MA956
ODS steel.
Detail of the surface

of friction stir welded MA956 ODS
steel showing a
smooth, highquality butt weld.
them suitable for applications in nuclear reactors and power generation equipment,
where they are exposed to extreme heat.
These steels derive their properties from
a distribution of fine particulates, usually
ceramic-based, which impede deformation
and so give the steel its strength and resistance to creep. Unfortunately, conventional
fusion welding techniques destroy these
strengthening particulates, preventing the
steel from being effectively fabricated.
TWI was asked to friction stir weld samples of these steels as part of a PhD project
being undertaken by Huw Dawson of Manchester University. Being a solid-state
process, friction stir welding does not melt
the steel being joined and would therefore
allow ODS steels to maintain their properties
after fabrication.
A number of samples of MA956, embedded with thermocouples to monitor process
temperatures, were successfully welded at
TWIs Yorkshire Technology Centre. These
samples are now undergoing extensive testing at Manchester University, to assess their
performance in hostile environments, including their susceptibility to irradiation
damage. It is believed that the friction stir
welding process, besides being able successfully to weld ODS steel, may also render it
less prone to hydrogen cracking a significant advantage for welds operating in a nuclear environment.
Visit www.twi-global.com for more information on the companys work investigating friction stir welding of steels. (According to press information from TWI)
Developing the highly-skilled workforce required

to bring advanced manufacturing back into Europe
The European Commission has identified advanced manufacturing as one of the
key growth pillars. To support such an am-
10
bitious goal, it is fundamental that European

companies can tap into the most important
asset of all a qualified and highly-trained
professional workforce, coming from either

system, be it traditional education or vocational education and training. The ManuMobile project (Transparency of credit allocation in VET Vocational Education and
Training and HE Higher Education in
Manufacturing) is expected to define the
connection between the two credit systems
for a profession in the manufacturing sector
and, as such, to ensure that these highly-
skilled professionals will be available when

the industry so requires.
The projects success is ensured by the
broad scope of participating organisations,
each having a strong experience in implementation and training using European Harmonized Guidelines, ranging from TWI, Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade and the
European Federation for Welding, Joining
and Cutting to the Universidade de Lisboa
and European Masters of Skilled Crafts.
This projects concept has arisen as a result of the fact that there is a lack of transferability between HE and VET systems,
even though, to match the existing European
Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the European Parliament and the Council have called
for the establishment of a European Credit
System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The existing European Credit
Transfer System, ECTS for the higher education sector, is a tool that helps to design,
describe and deliver programmes of study
as well as award higher education qualifications.
Three-fold project challenge

The challenge which the project takes
on is three-fold:
To achieve compatibility between the
basis of ECVET and ECTS credit accumulation and transfer systems, at the
theory, attribution and arithmetic levels, so that credits may readily be transferred between the two;
To establish trust between different systems of education and training concerning quality and content based on
learning outcome descriptions;
To ensure that VET and HE organisations embrace the results achieved and
foster transformation of educational
approaches, mobility of students and
workers as well as the creation of individual pathways towards European
Qualifications;
The use of ECTS, in conjunction with outcomes-based qualifications frameworks,
makes programmes of study and qualifications more transparent and provides for a
sound support of workforce mobility across
existing countries. This project states that

ECTS may be used as a credit accumulation
system, in fact creating a transfer system for
the mobile students and a tool for the
achievement of full recognition of the courses completed abroad by most of the HE institutions in the European Union. In its turn,
the ECVET is intended to facilitate the transfer, recognition and accumulation of assessed learning outcomes of individuals who
are aiming to achieve a qualification.
The EWF Quality Assurance System and
the principles of EQAVET will form the basis
of the ManuMobile Quality Assurance System, which will be designed for benchmarking with other professions in manufacturing.
The basis of the ECVET

With the new priority of the European
Commission to bring back manufacturing
to Europe, a need for a growing number of
qualified professionals is expected to occur.
This will require that VET providers and HE
Institutes work together to answer the needs
from industry. In order to allow this collab-
For permanent
joining
bercoweld
High-tech wire solutions made of

copper for brazing and welding.

good gap bridging

www.bercoweld.com
NEWS
oration between Vocational Education and

Training and Higher Education the first step
is to ensure the transferability of people between these two educational paths. In order to make it more effective and measurable, this specific HE&VET project will focus
on the need of qualified personnel in joining
technologies, notwithstanding future development for other technologies equally relevant for the manufacturing sector.
This expected collaboration will be
achieved through the development of a
methodology and tools to allow the transferability between systems. For this purpose, at
the start of the project, a study will be carried
out in order to understand the specific requirements in terms of VET and HE transferability in different countries and in different
industries where welding plays an important
role. This will allow the development of a
methodology in line with the requirements
of the different countries and industries.
By making higher education comparable
across Europe, the current European Credit
Transfer System makes teaching and learning in higher education more transparent
and facilitates the recognition of all studies.
It aids curriculum design and quality assurance and allows for the transfer of learning
experiences between different institutions,

greater student mobility and more flexible
routes to gain degrees.
It is this goal that is set for the ECVET in
vocational training with a further challenge
of alignment between two of (ECTs and
ECVET) organised in structured units addressing competence, skills and knowledge
(the vectors of the EQF- European Qualification Framework).
Expected outcomes
This recommendation is expected to facilitate the compatibility, comparability and
complementarity of credit systems used in
VET and the ECTS and thus contributes to
greater permeability and flexibility between
learning pathways in education and training.
The outcome will map the learning outcomes of some of the levels of the harmonised European System for training and
qualification of welding professionals, which
is referenced in CEN and ISO standards and
in high demand by the EU manufacturing
industry, and align them with the different
HE levels.
The consortium is constituted by five
partners. TWI will act as Project Coordinator,
in direct contact with the National Agency
from UK. EWF is the European Federation

for Welding, Joining and Cutting, with a
Training and Qualification network covering
31 member countries that will be essential
in the implementation and dissemination
of the HE&VET project results. Two of the
partners are the welding institutes of Portugal (ISQ) and UK (TWI), which have strong
knowledge and expertise in training and
qualification. Universidade de Lisboa is the
single partner from higher education in the
project, bringing its expertise in collaborating with VET providers and in developing
courses that combine HE with VET. Lastly,
EUROMASC is a consultancy with experience and competences from a longtime cooperation with national and international
organisations within vocational education
and training (VET) in managing, monitoring
as well as partnering in projects.
The project results are expected to have
a strong impact in the manufacturing industry, considering that the European metal working sector accounts for over 87 billion of value added to the European economy, as well as over 2 million jobs in welding and welding related professions. (According to press information from EWF;
www.ewf.be)
Awareness towards industrial cybersecurity

continues to remain low
While traditional manufacturing industries were not designed with security in
mind, the proliferation of networks and devices, disparate communication channels
and the use of off-the-shelf software has
thrust cybersecurity into the spotlight. Safety
and security concerns associated with the
high levels of connectivity and integration
are surfacing as the concept of the Internet
of Things (IoT) takes shape in the industrial
networks and manufacturing plant floors.
The alarming frequency of sophisticated and
targeted advanced persistent threats has given further weight to the safety argument
across both process and discrete industries.
New analysis from the international consulting company Frost & Sullivan The Safety-Security Argument: Expanding Needs in
a Connected Enterprise finds that the global cybersecurity market for control systems
is expected to grow at a rate between 20 to
25% every year till 2021. North America and
12
Europe will remain at the forefront of creating awareness and initiating technology advancements that address attacks from advanced persistent threats.
Enterprises currently employ a broad,
layered approach towards protecting cyber
assets while industry organisations work on
establishing suitable standards, said Frost
& Sullivan Industrial Automation and
Process Control Senior Research Analyst Sonia Francisco. Partnerships among government, industry and research institutes will
be vital in forming robust, industry-based
standards that will speed up the development of comprehensive security management solutions.
As the IoT concept transforms plant architecture, defence-by-default security strategies
will give way to defence-by-design solutions.
In-built security solutions that can sense, adapt,
modify and respond to threats based on various
ecosystem parameterswill gain traction.
Creating industry- and application-specific solutions will also be crucial as information technology (IT) solutions continue
to stream into the operational technology
(OT) space. Solution providers in the IT and
the OT ecosystems must join hands to deploy end-to-end cyber security solutions for
industrial systems.
Such extensive integration will require a new age workforce with both
IT and OT expertise, noted Francisco.
Cybersecurity service providers can provide training and change management
solutions that will bridge the knowledge
gap.
As a majority of industries upgrade to
smart systems and processes, industrial cybersecurity will soon make the inevitable
shift from a reactive operating model to a
proactive design philosophy. (According to
press information from Frost & Sullivan;
www.frost.com)
Conferences and Exhibitions

Date
Place
06.03.-10.03.2016 Vancouver/
Canada
04.04.-08.04.2016 Dsseldorf/
Germany
06.04.-08.04.2016 Tokyo/
Japan
07.04.-09.04.2016 Hyderabad/
India
19.04.-21.04.2016 Dsseldorf/
Germany
20.04.-21.04.2016 Halle (Saale)/
Germany
22.04.-23.04.2016 Hyderabad/
India
25.04.-27.04.2016 New Orleans/
USA
27.04.-29.04.2016 Aachen/
Germany
10.05.-12.05.2016 Shanghai/
China
11.05.-12.05.2016 Halle (Saale)/
Germany
17.05.-19.05.2016 Cambridge/
UK
17.05.-19.05.2016 Gijon/
Spain
23.05.-25.05.2016 Tehran/
Iran
02.06.-03.06.2016 Timisoara/
Romania
07.06.-09.06.2016 Aachen/
Germany
08.06.-11.06.2016 Opatija/
Croatia
14.06.-17.06.2016 Beijing/
China
10.07.-15.07.2016 Melbourne/
Australia
Event/Information
Corrosion 2016 International corrosion conference
and exposition
Information: NACE, Internet: www.nacecorrosion.org
wire the international wire and cable fair and Tube
the international tube fair
Information: Messe Dsseldorf, Internet: www.wire.de /
www.tube.de
3rd Metal Japan Highly-functional Metal Expo
Information: Reed Exhibitions Japan, Internet:
www.metal-japan.jp/en
6th International Institute of Welding Research and
Collaboration Colloquium
Information: Indian Institute of Welding, Internet:
www.iiwindia.com
9th International Congress and Exhibition
Aluminium Brazing 2016
Information: DVS, Internet: www.dvs-ev.de/aluminium-brazing
10th International Conference Beam Technology
Information: SLV Halle, Internet: www.beamtec-conf.com
6th IIW Welding Research and Collaboration Colloquium
Information: Indian Institute of Welding,
Internet: www. iiwindia.com
2016 Conference on Thermoplastics Welding & Joining
Information: TWI and AWS,
Internet: http://awo.aws.org/plastic-welding-and-joining
AKL 16 International Laser Technology Congress
Information: Fraunhofer ILT, Internet: www.lasercongress.org
ITSC 2016 International Thermal Spray Conference and
Exposition
Information: DVS, Internet: http://www.dvs-ev.de/itsc2016/
4th European Conference Join-Trans 2016 Joining and
Construction of Railway Vehicles
Information: SLV Halle, Internet: www.jointrans.eu
11th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium 2016
Information: TWI, Internet: www.fswsymposium.co.uk
3rd International Congress and 21st Technical Sessions on
Welding and Joining Technologies
Information: CESOL, Internet: www.interjoin.org/index_en.html
International trade fair smart factory iran 2016
Information: , fairtrade, Internet: www.smartfactory-iran.com
8th International Conference Innovative Technologies for
Joining Advanced Materials
Information: ISIM Timisoara, Internet: www.isim.ro/tima
LT 2016 11th International Conference on Brazing,
High Temperature Brazing and Diffusion Bonding
Information: DVS, Internet: www.dvs-ev.de/loet2016
41th International Conference Welding Modern Joining
Processes, Development of Filler Materials and Simulations
Information: Croatian Welding Society, Internet:
https://www.fsb.unizg.hr/hdtz/
International Trade Fair Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting
Information: Messe Essen, Internet: www.beijing-essen-weldingcutting.com
69th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference
Information: WTIA, Internet: www.iiw2016.com
Passion for
Perfection.
Convince yourself of the quality of our

Welding Tables & Clamping Systems:
Metav Dsseldorf
23.02. 27.02.2016, Hall 15, Stand B03
13
www.siegmund.com
14-25_WC1_From Companies__ 05.02.16 11:41 Seite 14
FROM COMPANIES
The Interview
The machine tool company Precision
Technologies Group (PTG) Ltd., headquartered in Milnrow, Rochdale/UK and among
others with a subsidiary in Augsburg/Germany, has so far been mainly known as a
leading developer, manufacturer and supplier
of high-precision machine tools. The scope
of supply includes grinding machines for rotor, thread and gear manufacturing, rotor
milling machines and lathes producing very
precise components for many different industries from aerospace, medical, mould
and tool making through shipping, power
generation, oil, gas up to steel and high-quality automotive engineering. In addition, the
company provides a modern and customised
Dr. Bannan, you are the CEO of the

company PTG. Please give us a brief
introduction of your company.
http://www.dvsmedia.eu/qr/SuS/9-2015/
frage-1.html
Our business is a machine tool technology business. We are multi-sector, but we specialise in a few key areas primarily to do with
complicated parts such as rotors that go into
the compressor for screw compressors and
gear grinding and so on. Well, we make the
machine tools that make these parts. We also
have a business making specialised welding
machines such as the friction stir welding
system. The business was founded in 1860
originally the first company of our group
and that was a company in the UK called John
Holroyd & Co to make machinery and gears.
Some of the early patents on the gear manufacturing processes were started and founded
by that business. So, many generations later,
our business was recently owned by a private
equity partnership and sold to a corporation
in 2010. We now have about 200 people with
foundations with employees in five countries.
Our main activities are in the UK and we have
a sales and service operation here in Augsburg/Germany. We are really looking for
niche market applications. So what we do, is
try and find something that is difficult to
solve, complicated and requires a lot of effort,
thought and collaboration and we set about
finding a solution. Essentially, we are not trying to become a general-purpose machine
builder or a technology provider because its
14
special software which is unique on the market and which was developed for a variety of
applications from a simple and quick setup,
an intuitive interface to 3D scanning on the
machine with automatic profile setting. PTG
offers technical consulting services, turnkey
solutions as well as a finishing plant for special machines with high capacities for the oil,
gas and aerospace industries. Meanwhile
PTG also makes a name for itself in welding
technology. In this area PTG offers facilities
for friction stir welding. At the end of last year,
such a facility was installed at the Institute of
Welding and Joining Technology (ISF) of the
RWTH Aachen University, Aachen/Germany.
The interview with Dr. Antony Bannan, Chief
Executive Officer of the company, was conducted at ISF. The QR codes/internet links
below will lead to his original answers.
too broad and the competitive pressure is too

high. We are looking for something specialised and in our partnership, for example
now with Aachen University and the Institute
here, we have found a way to provide a system
that will open up many opportunities and
many new fields, hopefully. But ultimately,
our business is a manufacturing company
and we are interested in the applications of
these technologies rather than the technology
itself. The science this technology depends
on is important, too, but what we want to use
it for is to solve real weld problems and
thats what we do.
Recently you delivered a friction

stir welding machine to the Welding Institute ISF of the Aachen
University. PTG is well known as a
producer of machine tools. How
did you come about to produce
friction stir welding machines?
frage-2.html
This goes back to the early development

of friction stir welding by TWI in the UK. They
obviously invented the process and established the original patents about 20 years ago.
The people in our business noticed that they
need to keep an eye on this kind of developments and approached TWI to see if we can
get involved in this technology because at
that time, I think, the principles were accepted and the execution of the process was tested metallurgically. I think an applied method
Dr. Antony Bannan, Chief Executive Officer of

the Precision Technologies Group (PTG) Limited,
Milnrow, Rochdale/UK.
of using this in an industrial fashion was still

further away. Thus, our business became a
licensee of TWI so that we could develop a
machine tool that used the friction stir welding process in a real-world application. Our
focus was very much on the practical control
of this process and how to make it work. The
process itself, as you know as a welding expert
which Im not, by the way is very simple.
It is very elegant, actually, and that is one of
the beauties of this whole process. The execution of it in an industrial, exploitable fashion takes a little bit of thought about the way
that the welding point, the tool, is controlled,
the pressure is sensed to measured and adjusted and the forces are controlled and so
on. So, thats what we focused on because we
were a machine tool company that specialised in grinding and rather delicate techniques. It was an obvious little side track for
us to get involved in. And it proved to be we
were one of the first licensees and one of the
first developers of the technology. And here
we are now 20 years later and we have a nice
machine that uses this process in different
applications.
Which experience and knowledge

with this welding process did you
get during the development of the
friction stir welding machines?
frage-3.html
I think the original challenge was to understand and utilise the forces within the
process because as you will know as a

welding expert the forces are critical in this
and using load cells and controlling or rather
monitoring the response of a load cell and
using that to control the process, the position
of the tool and the way of motion of the tool
within the process was new and that took a
little bit of work. Thats essentially the newest
part of it for us and that was the bit that we
focused on and again, as I said, that proved
to be the main challenge to overcome. If you
look at one of these welding machines, it
looks like a conventional machine tool,
standing outside and looking at it, it looks
like a 5-axis or 4-axis machine tool a
gantry-style machine tool. Only when you
actually look at the machine and study it internally, you will see a difference. There is
also an element of high stiffness required.
Most machine tools clearly do have to be
stiff, particularly grinding machine tools
need a lot of loop stiffness in the structure.
Loop stiffness is the resistance to flexing
of the structure during the cutting process.
Some cutting processes like grinding are actually not very efficient. So you get a lot of
hydrodynamic forces that push the grinding
wheel away from the workpiece. This commonly happens in grinding. This is why you
need a very, very stiff machine to get a highly
accurate positional control. The same principles actually apply somewhat in friction
stir welding. Its easy to make a machine very
stiff if you just pour a lot of iron into it or
concrete, if you want a concrete bed. But its
not very elegant and its also very expensive
and, of course, its also very cumbersome.
But if you understand the structure of the
machine and you are able to focus in the
key areas using various modelling methods,
you are able to create a very high stiffness
with minimum material and thats what we
did as well. That was another new area that
we developed to the point where we became
somewhat more aware of these critical
points.
cision. We also believe that you have to start

with a component that you are going to
manufacture in a process, you have to get to
start with a component and work backwards
from that. If you have a precision-made
component in most machined applications
a gear or a shaft or a spindle the machine
that you want to make that part on, needs
to be, in general, five times better than the
component in terms of precision. When we
first looked to the welding process and
welding is not generally required to such
high accuracies, you dont generally measure welds by microns whereas you do with
a finished surface, a contour or a profile on
the surface. If you look at a welded process
and you want to say, lets try and become
more precise with the weld and better controlled and you adopt that strategy or that
discipline in your machine tool design, starting with the component and working back,
you can develop a very accurate machine
tool. And accuracy, generally, causes reliability not always but generally theres a
correlation. We live from that perspective
and believe our machines generally speaking are better because they are more ac-
curate and therefore more reliable. And, of

course, efficiency comes with that as well.
The friction stir welding process

was first established for the welding of aluminium which is a relatively soft material. Meanwhile the
process is tested for the welding of
aluminium with steel as well as
the welding of pure steel joints.
Have you got experience with the
friction stir welding of steel?
frage-5.html
Actually, yes, and this is a very exciting

territory and certainly ISF in Aachen will be,
Im sure, working on some of these interesting areas. Yes, we have welded steel successfully, various grades of steel as well. Clearly,
it requires certain differences the tools
arent necessarily different but the parameters the process parameters are different
and it is a very interesting area because the
weld itself has certain qualities that conven-
What are the advantages, especially of your machine?

frage-4.html
Well, I would say that our machines are

better, faster, cheaper. Not cheaper in the
sense of being cheap, you know quality-wise,
but in the sense of being efficient. We focus
very much on the force control and the pre-
PTG-friction stir welding machine (top), friction welding tool (bottom left), friction welding process
(bottom middle) and weld end (bottom right). The QR-code (alternatively: http://www.dvsmedia.eu/qr/SuS/9-2015/fsw-demo-al.html) will lead to a demonstration welding video.
15
FROM COMPANIES
tional welding methods dont bring. I think

to be fair we are yet to exploit and understand those qualities in a broader fashion
to get this process to become more mainstream. We have welded steels, several different grades of steel, and interestingly we
have also exploited the possibilities of joining dissimilar metals. That brings a world of
opportunities if ways are found to make that
work properly. Clearly, different metals, different freezing temperatures or fluid/plastic
temperatures will in a conventional sense
may not even be fully welded in the true
sense or definition of welding. But if you can
get a kind of a hybrid condition where you
get some joining of these materials locally
with a sufficient element of strength to work
with whatever the application is required
then that can be a very, very interesting
way of using this technology, rather like
brazing or soldering joints materials together in a less strong bond or a deseal used for
materials. If we can make friction stir welding do some of this and we think we can
weve already done some tests and we got a
certain level of satisfaction. In fact, the application we are interested in is the continuous flow of materials going through a production line where warm material is, for example steel, going through the production
line and is then on the end of that line, that
batch of steel and aluminium strip is connected to it and it carries on going through
the production line so that you dont need
to reset all and start the line. We found a way
to do that and it is a very interesting area. I
am sure therell be a lot more work to do on
that.
What role are the friction stir

welding machines playing in your
company?
frage-6.html
Right now the part of PTG that makes

the friction stir welder is called our Crawford Swift/Binns and Berry and that forms
about 30% of PTGs sales. And of that 30%

about half of it is friction stir welding. So
its substantial, maybe 15 to 20% of our
business, and therefore very important to
us. And more than that it is the area of the
business where we see future growth opportunity and one that we are paying a lot
of attention to it in our development plans.
Thus, right now its a relatively small part
in terms of the sales, but it will become a
bigger part as time goes on. And we are
very interested to see what else we can do
with it. We are putting a lot of funds into
R&D. As a business, we reinvest something
like 15% of our revenue into our R&D,
which is pretty good. It is not as high as I
would like it to be but its still pretty impressive. And a lot of that is going into friction stir welding right now.
Dr. Bannan, thank you for this interview.

You are welcome!
Thank you very much.
XING group Welding, allied processes and alternative

joining technologies visiting Fanuc
Small groups of participants of the XING group during the visit of

Application bonding.
Time has come: Once again the XING

group Welding, allied processes and alternative joining technologies met. This time,
16
Visit of the application Camera technology and image processing iRVision

at Fanuc.
the company Fanuc founded in Japan,

opened its doors in Germany. During their
visit on 15 October 2015 in Neuhausen auf
den Fildern near Stuttgart all of the participants received an insight into the current
automation and robot technology of the
company while attending technical lectures

and presentations.
Seam following and weld tracking was
the main topic of the meeting of the group.
The intention of several companies to manufacture effectively using automation even
of small batch sizes has got a new dimension once industry 4.0 and a rising grade
of individualised manufacture has come up.
Automated joining, too, requires new concepts for a high level of flexibility. This was
used as an opportunity to further deal with
component and weld tracking. Thus, about
30 participants were informed about the latest-state-of-the-art of the company Fanuc
when they visited it in Germany.
Adaptive welding via Laser

tracking
For welding tasks that cannot be tackled
using constant welding parameters, the
adaptive welding using laser sensors is used.
A user-defined algorithm defines the
smooth adjustment of welding parameters,
oscillation parameters and robot speed as
well as the sensor pulse. Fine tuning is directly done on the robot with free defined
variables. The input parameters of the algorithm are the gap width, the cross-sectional
area of the weld and misalignment of the
plates.
FANUC iRVision
Automation without camera technology
and image processing cannot be thought of
today. Product diversity, a growing number
of products and the demand on quality require the processes to become faster and
more technically sophisticated. Fanuc has
met these requirements for several years
having her own image processing, FANUC
iRVision. Its special feature is that it is fully
integrated into the robot control. Therefore,
both, fitting and operating is particularly
simple getting along without further programming of interfaces. Moreover, there are
different configurations of the system ranging from the simpler 2D and 3D recognition
of the position over quality control up to
BinPicking (selection from a particular object from a container).
Therefore, the use of image processing
is applied in all areas of automation such
as welding, bonding, varnishing, handling,
inspections and final control. Special
tools have been developed to counteract
the fears and concerns of using image processing for different surfaces and ambient
conditions.
The ITW ORBITAL CUTTING & WELDING group provides global

customers one source for the finest in tube and pipe cutting,
beveling and orbital welding products.
DualArm-System in coordinated motion with external

axles
Complex parts in high numbers demand the use of several robots with external axles of a positioner. In order to
obtain this, Fanuc showed a coordinated motion where up to four robots
process one part simultaneously using
external axles.
Fast robot with resistance lightweight pliers

Using new technologies in the construction of resistance welding tongs,
these have become more lightweight.
The robot R1000 can be designed
much more filigree having a weight of
under 80 kg thus moving less mass. The
operating speed is reduced also by a
learning motion while the speed can
be reduced by another 10%.
Automation for small

companies
Many joining tasks that today are
performed manually in small companies could also be automated. Thus,
Fanuc offers an equipment package for
low-complex tasks consisting of a robot,
a single-axle positioner and welding
equipment offering the end user a very
good access to robotics at a reasonable
price. At a similar price range there is a
welding equipment (hard automation)
with which the user can also adequately
react on smaller quantities while having
a maximum flexibility. Qualified
welders can then address more sophisticated tasks thus ensuring both their
motivation and the revenue of their
company.
MobileRoboUnit VirtualRoboWelder
Operators of automated joining
equipment are often instructed in the
simple correction of fitted points
while operating the robot. In only some
cases, however, the eye is trained on the
welding process. Using a mobile unit,
where the robot is combined with a virtual welding trainer, Fanuc has developed a method of instruction using a
simple teaching interface, where the operators awareness for parameters such
as torch inclination, stick out and welding speed is raised. The development of
a training unit enables to include a con-
17
One source for the finest

in tube and pipe cutting,
beveling and orbital
welding.
ORBITALUM TOOLS GMBH

An ITW Company
Josef-Schuettler-Str. 17
78224 Singen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 77 31 792-0
Fax +49 (0) 77 31 792-524
tools@orbitalum.com
www.orbitalum.com
We look
forward to
your visit!
HALL 6/F40
FROM COMPANIES
siderably higher number of trainees in a

universal environment than it would be
possible in the real application of robots
for actual welding. The use of modern
training media has been included but is not
limited to the target group of young colleagues.
XING group Welding, allied processes

and alternative joining technologies
The XING group Welding, allied
processes and alternative joining technologies with its currently almost 6,000
members is the internationally largest, independent platform for users, developers
and those who are interested in joining
and every person interested is welcomed
very much. There are about 85 forums on
the most different topics of joining, cutting
and coating technology in the languages
German, English, Turkish and Russian
that offer a number of opportunities to
permanently present oneself, the company or specific specialist subjects. Since
very recently there has been a marketplace where items such as job applications and advertisements as well as small
advertisements can be uploaded, also
Mechanical and electrical

co-operation of two robots
In order to obtain high accuracy, a high
range with a low interfering contour on poorly accessible parts, Fanuc has combined a
carry-on robot R2000 for obtaining a large
range and a loading capacity of up to 210 kg
temporarily. The average range of articles,

whether they are in the table of contents, in
the detailed version or in the search for
groups, is at about 1,800 hits per months.
In order to transfer the use of the virtual
world to reality and to join people, the
founder of this network, Ursula Bch, technical consultant and application engineer
with a small welding robot ArcMate 50 attached to his hand. While the large robot determines the appropriate starting position using a 3dL-camera system, ArcMate can
join the corresponding welds on the part at
the same time. Both mechanical systems are
operated using one combined control.
U. Bch, Munich/Germany
for the metal-working industry, has regularly organised events and meetings since
2008, such as regional meetings,
larger events on
fairs or thrilling and
exclusive visits of
companies everything free of charge
for the participants.
Various members
have already reported on successful business deals which resulted from this network and its opportunities of getting to
know each other personally. Based on
this, the group is looking forward to new
meetings and events. Link:
https://www.xing.com/net/
schweisstechnik
DVS Technical Codes on Plastics Joining Technologies

This book contains more than 100 signicant DVS codes that deal with the joining of plastics in the eld of piping,
containers and apparatus construction as well as series fabrication.
From the content:
welding, adhesive bonding and
mechanical joining processes
testing and design calculation of
joints and constructions
practical application of
joining processes
training and examination of
qualied personnel
4th edition,
s,
1076 page
180012
Order-no.
00 Euro
Price: 120.
DVS Media GmbH Aachener Strae 172 40223 Dsseldorf T +49. (0)2 11. 15 91-162 F +49. (0)2 11. 15 91-250 vertrieb@dvs-hg.de www.dvs-media.eu
18
Degaussing of ferromagnetic materials

the flux density is B=0, and, likewise, the
field intensity is H=0. The continuous rise
of the field intensity H causes an increase of
the flux density B until the irons saturation
limit is reached. When the field intensity is
reduced again, the flux density declines not
along the rise curve but along a curve branch
which is located above the rise curve. When
H becomes zero, a residual flux density remains due to this fact [4]. This residual
magnetism is the reason why the arc cannot
burn stably during welding, the arc weaves
is deflected, droplets are not evenly detaching, sidewall fusion is improper and the
welding result is insufficient altogether.
Fig. 1 Hysteresis loop [3]. (Photo: EWM AG)
Ferromagnetic materials
When arc welding ferromagnetic materials, magnetism is not desired because it
causes the process to become very unstable
and leads to insufficient welding results.
Magnetism may even make arc welding impossible. This article deals in detail with the
mechanism of magnetism in connection
with welding processes and solutions for degaussing workpieces are examined to enable
high-quality, reproducible and economic
results.
Magnetic fields
Magnetism and magnetic phenomena
have been known for a long time. While in
ancient times magnetism was observable
only in magnetic iron ore, we see it in many
natural phenomena and technical applications today. For example, when looking at
the earths magnetic field and its effects on
a compass [1, 2]. In terms of physics, the
strength of a magnetic field can be defined
by the magnetic field intensity H [A/m] and
the magnetic flux density B [T] (magnetic
induction). If we look at the entire bundle
of all existing field lines and relate them to
the respective area, the result is the magnetic
flux density. The flux density B is the higher,
the higher the field intensity H is [3].
If N turns of a copper cable are wound
around an iron specimen and a current I
flows through the cable, the iron specimen
can be magnetised. In this way, the field intensity H is also easy to understand, as it is
the product of the number of turns N and
the current I (Fig. 1).
In the example of a completely demagnetised iron specimen without external
magnetic fields or magnetomotive forces,
Ferromagnetic means that a material is

magnetic without the influence of an external field. The reason for this can be looked
at in different ways. While, at the atomic level, electron shells interact via orbital and
spin angular momenta to create a parallel
alignment of the atomic magnetic moments
(and hence cause magnetisation), the physicist Pierre-Ernest Weiss in 1907 came up
with the idea of interpreting the phenomenon as due to the existence of magnetic areas [3].
Each Weiss domain has all magnetic
moments within it pointing in the same direction and has a neighbour of identical size
within which they point in the opposite direction. This can be illustrated in experiments using an ultra-fine magnetite suspension on a polished workpiece surface, where
the ultra-fine magnetite particles deposit at
the borders of the Weiss domains and make
them visible. Basically, primarily the alloying
elements iron, nickel and cobalt exhibit ferromagnetic properties.
Magnetic fields in semi-finished products made of ferromagnetic materials neutralise each other in the semi-finished product after the production and the cooling because the Weiss domains are in equilibrium.
When producing sheet and pipe cuttings
from a continuously cast semi-finished
product, the Weiss domains are separated
from each other and no longer are in equilibrium. For example, disequilibrium states
which influence the arc during welding may
occur at joint sidewalls to be welded. Another possibility of influencing the arc is
mentioned in [5]. There, it is assumed that
magnetically hard spots, caused by a lack of
homogeneity and impurities in the material,
create permanent magnetic properties
which need to be degaussed prior to welding
(Fig. 2). Other sources [6] point out that magnetic crack testing carried out in particular
at the beginning and ends of pipes using direct current may cause magnetism in the
pipe sections.
Consequence of magnetism
during welding
During welding, a high-temperature
plasma causing the materials to be welded
to heat extremely and melt is created between a cathode and an anode due to the
ionised gas and freely moving charge carriers. The plasma column is infinitely mobile
and behaves like an electrical conductor towards electrical and magnetic fields, which
is why it is sensitive to electrical and magnetic interference. If a critical magnetic flux
density B exists in the material to be welded,
the plasma column is attracted or repelled,
depending on polarity. The arc is then deflected, irrespective of the welding torch position, and behaves unstably. The consequences may be insufficient sidewall fusion
during weld preparation and hence lack of
fusion in the welding result. Droplet detach-
Fig. 2 Magnetically hard areas in the material [5]. (Photo: EWM AG)
19
FROM COMPANIES
Fig. 3 Degaussing process [3].

(Photo: EWM AG)
Fig. 4 Coil winding at one pipe half.
(Photo: EWM AG)
ment is negatively affected, the arc weaves

and moves on the workpiece. The energy
cannot be applied where it is needed. From
the users point of view, all this leads to insufficient welding results and much finishing work, up to scrapping of the workpiece,
and hence to a serious qualitative and economic loss.
Degaussing of ferromagnetic
materials
The above preliminary considerations
make it clear that ferromagnetic materials
can be degaussed by flooding them with alternating current. In the example of the pipe,
a copper cable needs to be wound around
the pipe (N turns). A current I, which after a
certain time changes its direction of flow
and also its amplitude towards a lower value,
is sent through the windings around the
pipe. The amplitude of the current is reduced each time it passes through the cable.
Due to this process, the magnetic field in-
tensity B, and hence also the residual magnetism in the material, are reduced to near
zero, as shown in Fig. 3.
Application-specific solution
Pico 350 cel puls pws dgs
As a manual metal arc welding machine,
the EWM Pico 350 cel puls pws dgs power
source is actually designed for extreme situations, especially in pipeline construction.
100% reliable vertical down welding with up
to 6 mm thick cellulose electrodes characterise the machine. Operating temperatures
between -25 C and +40 C and mains voltage tolerances of up to 25% are no obstacles
to operation. In addition, the power source
includes a function to carry out a continuous
degaussing process. For the user, this means
no instability of the arc, low-spatter and
high-quality welding results, no finishing
work and hence cost-efficient working without compromises. In addition to the power
source with degaussing function, the com-
pany offers the degauss 600 as a power

source exclusively for degaussing. Both machines are delivered with all aids required
for degaussing.
Degaussing of a creep-resistant
pipe made of alloy P91
At the start of the experiment, a gaussmeter was used to determine the magnetic flux
densities B in a pipe with a diameter of 400
mm and a wall thickness of 38 mm. In a subsequent weld test it was found that the arc is
strongly deflected especially in the upper area
of the sidewalls of the weld preparation because there the magnetic field is positive on
one side and negative on the opposite side.
To degauss the pipe, grounding cables
were attached to the pipe halves (Fig. 4). The
grounding cable was wound in the form of
a single-layer coil with ten turns per pipe
half. The degaussing process was then performed using the Pico 350 cel puls pws dgs.
Starting at 350 A, the degaussing process is
carried out automatically as described in the
section above. Due to the even degaussing
with changing current flow direction and
decreasing amplitude, the Weiss domains
can be turned and aligned continuously, so
that the pipe is degaussed and can be welded without disturbance.
After degaussing, the magnetic flux densities resulting at the defined markings were
measured again and recorded. Another weld
test was made to assess the effect of the degaussing on the arc. The Pico 350 cel puls
pws dgs reliably degaussed the previously
magnetised pipeline tube P91. The comparison between magnetised and demagnetised
pipe is shown in Fig. 5.
Recommendations regarding
degaussing
Fig. 5 Comparison of magnetised and demagnetised pipe. (Photo: EWM AG)
20
The Pico 350 cel puls pws dgs and the

degauss 600 feature a stored sequence pro-
gram which the user can run to degauss metal sheets and pipes. The current change increments are selected based on trials and
permanently stored in the process control
unit, so that errors in practical application
with respect to the actual degaussing
process are ruled out.
However, special attention should be
given to the number of windings applied
around the workpiece to be degaussed. As
a rule, residual magnetism decreases with
increasing number of turns following successful degaussing and, as a consequence,
the welding result is improved. The tests described were carried out with ten turns per
side and yielded very good results regarding

the welding behaviour or no detectable deflection of the arc. Examinations with just
five turns showed a value of the magnetic
flux density B after degaussing which was
about three times higher. The lower number
of turns had a negative effect especially at
the fusion faces.
Therefore, the number of turns should
be chosen in such a way that any possible
residual magnetism is not expected to affect
the welding process but the degaussing work
can still be carried out economically.
A. Burt and M. Hartke,
Mndersbach/Germany
Literature
[1] Online source: http://www.weltderphysik.
de/gebiete/stoffe/magnete/was-ist-magnetismus/, retrieved on 13-08-2014.
[2 Online source: http://de.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Magnet, retrieved on 11-08-2014.
[3] Ilschner, B., and R.F. Singer: Werkstoffwissenschaften und Fertigungstechnik Eigenschaften, Vorgnge, Technologien. 5th
edition, Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg,
2010, p. 292.
[4] Haug, A.: Grundzge der Elektrotechnik zur
Schaltungsberechnung. 2nd edition, Hanser
Verlag Mnchen Wien, 1985, pp. 274/81.
[5] Online source: http://umformtechnik
magazin.de/umformtechnik-fachartikel/
ungeliebte-eigenschaften_ 12916_de,
retrieved on 06-08-2014.
[6] Online source: http://www.ndt.net/article/
dgzfp03/papers/ p10/p10.htm retrieved on
06-08-2014.
Lighter with laser welding

For a definitive breakthrough of lightweight materials in the automotive industry,
new processes for manufacturing, testing
and measuring are necessary. For this, steelaluminium hybrid welds are of great interest,
since they can be used for load-adapted, and
at the same time lightweight components.
Within the project LaserLeichter (Laser
Lighter), the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
(LZH), Hanover/Germany, is currently developing a laser welding process for joining
three-dimensional structures made of steel
and aluminium in a hybrid design.
One of the challenges in welding steel
with aluminium is to avoid hard and brittle
intermetallic phases in the welding seam.
These phases can occur easily, since iron
and aluminium do not combine well. The
goal of the scientists at the LZH and their
partners in the project LaserLeichter is to
control the welding process as much as possible. Therefore, different measuring methods will be assessed.
For one, the engineers will be testing a
spectroscopic control of the welding depth,
which measures the emissions of the plasma.
During the ongoing process, the composition
of the plasma indicates the welding depth,
and allows to adapt the laser output accordingly. This control is already being evaluated
at the LZH for flat welds, and will now be expanded to three-dimensional structures.
Since the distance between the process zone
and the measurement sensors inevitably
changes in the course of the process, detecting the plasma emissions accurately is difficult. For optimal measurements, the spec-
Laser welding
of steel and
aluminium
(Photo: LZH)
trometer will be integrated into an innovative, scanner-based processing head.

Also, the scientists are testing a sensor
made by the project partner Precitec GmbH
& Co. KG, which can directly measure the
depth of the keyhole (vapour capillary). Additionally, they are examining a thermal imaging process of the InfraTec GmbH, as well
as a trailing nondestructive sample analysis
using active thermal imaging from the inpro
Innovationsgesellschaft fr fortgeschrittene
Produktionssysteme in der Fahrzeugindustrie
mbH (inpro). The processes developed within
the project are tested directly on demonstrators for the automotive industry, for example
on a car body element or a battery case.
Apart from the LZH, Precitec GmbH &
Co. KG, InfraTec GmbH and inpro, the following companies are working together in
the joint project Development of a laserbased joining technology for dissimilar lightweight constructions (LaserLeichter): Volk-
swagen AG, Scherdel Marienberg GmbH,

Matfem Partnerschaft Dr. Gese & Oberhofer,
Lunovu Integrated Laser Solutions GmbH,
Brandenburg University of Technology, and
Fraunhofer-Institut fr Werkstoff- und
Strahltechnik (Fraunhofer IWS). Associated
partners in the project are Trumpf Laser
GmbH, Astor Schneidwerkzeuge GmbH,
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG, Bond-Laminates GmbH and Sapa Aluminium Profile.
The joint project is coordinated by the
Robert Bosch GmbH, and the project management organisation is the VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH. LaserLeichter is financed by the German Federal Ministry of
Education and Research (BMBF).
LaserLeichter is a joint project within
the association Photonic Processes and
Tools for Resource Efficient Lightweight
Construction. This association is coordinated by the LZH and financed by the BMBF.
(According to press information from LZH)
21
FROM COMPANIES
Short Messages
EDE International sets course for
the future
Upon successful completion of all measures from the corporate strategy, the year
2020 will see achievement of a trade volume
of 10 billion Euros, combining all members
and contract suppliers. European activities
outside Germany are planned to contribute
2.2 billion Euros. In order to achieve this,
EDE International, Zurich/Switzerland, has
already taken major steps, with catalogues
still playing an important role in E/D/Es
growing European business. Recently, the
new Premium and Formatplus tools-catalogues appeared simultaneously in six European languages and with more than
100,000 copies. Apart from variants for the
French, Spanish, Dutch and Polish market
as well as a German edition for the Austrian
market, there was also an English edition
for quality-tools. More international catalogues, for instance the French version of
an occupational safety catalogue or a power
tools-catalogue for the Polish market will
follow. The numerous activities of EDE International to boost its activities lead to a
further increase in the number of direct
members of E/D/E group all over Europe.
New member companies could be won in
Great Britain, Poland, Austria, France and
Romania. An important milestone within
the current business year was the strategic
acquisition of shares from Swiss purchasing
association e+h Services AG. Therewith, the
aimed-for threshold of a trade volume of
one billion Euros outside Germany was surpassed early. With the shareholding in e+h,
EDE International AG underlined the longterm meaning of its expansion course. The
consequent expansion of European activities also goes hand in hand with a competent replacement for the central management position. With Annegret Franzen (43),
an excellent financial expert who is very
knowledgeable about the entire B2B-industry has taken over the management of EDE
International as of 1 October 2015. The management-team is once again complete and
will face the growing challenges of the international markets, in order to achieve zealous goals.
A growing network
On 30 November 2015, SKS Welding Systems s.r.o., Kaiserslautern/Germany, opened
22
its new premises in Mlad Boleslav. After

more than 6 years in the Czech Republic,
the move to these significantly larger premises offers customers new performance and
service options. SKS experts are now able
to weld prototypes and use them for industrial pilot production directly on site. The
more than one hundred Czech customers
served by them include, e. g., OEMs producing car bodies and components as well as
suppliers manufacturing exhaust systems,
axles, doors and related items. For these customers, the new site with an area of more
than 600 m2 located in a modern industrial
building offers significantly more space in
the technical center, training room, office
and warehouse than the old site. The private
Czech owners built the facilities according
to SKS specifications. In addition to the customers, also the employees will benefit from
the move. Staff increases for the expanded
responsibilities at the new site have already
been partially carried out; further increases
are planned for the technological areas. Also
in the Czech Republic, SKS focusses on
product developments specifically for robot
assisted arc welding processes as well as the
technical support of the users and their production on site. The owner-managed company has been serving industrial users of
automated welding technology for more
than 25 years. The companys focus is on the
automotive and automotive supplier industries. Since Managing Director Dieter Klein
founded SKS back in 1989, the welding specialist offers in this technology sector practical solutions and systems known for their
particular long lifetimes.
In larger, functionally designed facilities in

Mlad Boleslav, SKS Welding Systems s.r.o. supports their customers in the Czech Republic.
European innovation award for

welding torch
The Extractor, a welding torch that
takes away 90 to 95% of harmful welding
fumes directly at the source, has been
awarded the EARTO Innovation Award 2015.
This international award of the European
The awarded Extractor welding torch for a

healthier working environment.
Association of Research and Technology Organisations was presented to the developers

of the welding torch by Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science
and Innovation in Brussels/Belgium on 14
October 2015. The Award was accepted by
Bas Knoll of TNO, who was responsible for
the research and development involved in
the conical extraction system of the welding
torch. The Award was presented by the European Association of Research and Technology (EARTO), which was established in
1999 and represents the interests of more
than 350 European research and technology
organisations (RTOs) in European political
circles and European R&D research programmes. The Awards have been presented
since 2009 to RTOs that have contributed
significantly to innovation. Of the 26 entries,
6 innovations made the final, divided over
two categories: Impact Delivered and Impact Expected. Innovations in the first category have already demonstrated their social
and economic worth and been placed on
the market. The Extractor was placed in
this category in the final, up against the opposition of the German Fraunhofer-Institut
and Swedens SP Technical Research Institute, but in the end the Extractor prevailed.
Translas, Nieuwegein/The Netherlands, developed the welding torch in partnership
with the independent Dutch research institute TNO, Den Haag/The Netherlands, and
the innovation platform iTanks, Rotterdam/The Netherlands. Translas is responsible for the entire production and sales operation.
Ponsse wins Swedish Steel Prize

2015
2015s winner of the international
Swedish Steel Prize is Ponsse from
Vierem/Finland. The prize is awarded for
the companys new generation of forest har-
vester, the Scorpion. For decades forest

harvesting machines have remained pretty
much the same. They have traditional designs that focus on function and not on operation. Ponsse decided that by building a
new harvester around the operator, with a
focus on ergonomic, they could improve
both performance and comfort. The Scorpion features a symmetrical crane boom
where the operator sits in the center point
of all movements. If offers the operator total
visibility and the ability to work comfortably
and efficiently. By using Strenx 700 MC
Plus high-strength steel in the crane arms,
Strenx 700 in the chassis and Hardox
450 in the cutter head, the Scorpion has
a lower overall weight which helps manoeu-
vrability in rough terrain. Furthermore, fuel

consumption has been reduced and boom
movements are faster. The Swedish Steel
Prize was awarded for the 17th time in conjunction with a three-day event at which
700 participants from around the world
gathered to share the latest findings on
high-strength steel. The other finalists, Facil
System from Brazil, Milotek from South
Africa, and Terex Cranes from Germany,
were runners-up in the Swedish Steel Prize
2015. The Swedish Steel Prize was established by SSAB in 1999 to inspire and disseminate knowledge about high-strength
steel and how it can be used to develop
stronger, lighter and more sustainable products.
The Finnish company Ponsse was awarded the

Swedish Steel Prize 2015 for the new generation of forest harvester, the Scorpion.
Products
equipment or with industrial cooling in the

compact versions), mobile, DC welding, AC
welding, electrode welding (MMA), etc. The
equipment can be updated. That is to say, if
there are any changes they can be updated
to the latest characteristic curves provided
by Jckle. This means that you can make settings to the TIG equipment clearly and simply at all times. All the basic parameters are
clearly displayed on the user interface using
extra-bright LEDs. The ProTIG series can
be used in a variety of applications on steel,
TIG welding equipment

High-tech and still as sturdy and durable
as previously, this was the requirement that
Jckles new ProTIG (Fig. 1) series had to
meet. The display is impact protected and
enclosed between the bracket and the housing. It also is shielded with a 4 mm thick protective screen. Heavy duty even in the
smallest portable inverter devices from 220
to 300 A right up to the large, water-cooled
industrial systems with 350 to 500 A welding
current. The connection of the welding torch
in the water-cooled compact version is located in the inside of the housing and thereby protected from knocks. The small welding
inverters are fitted with an extra grippy
handle they can be easily carried. The
users can assemble the welding equipment
according to their requirements. Other features: small, portable, 230 V power supply,
400 V three-phase supply, gas-cooled, water-cooled (with separate high-performance
Fig. 1
23
FROM COMPANIES
stainless steel, aluminium, copper, and several alloys. (Jckle Schwei- u. Schneidtechnik GmbH, Riedweg 4 u. 9, 88339 Bad Waldsee/Germany; www.jaeckle-sst.de)
ting its experience to work by testing different materials in order to further expand the
applications of plasma welding. (IMI, Via
dellArtigianato 26/28, 25039 Travagliato
(BS)/Italy; www.imisrl.eu)
Plasma welding applied to gear

manufacturing
News 1/2016
www.dvstv.de/international
New welding machine offers TIG

and stick processes
Fig. 2
By using the technique of plasma welding, IMI is able to weld forged metals to sheet
metal gears with a diameter of up to 4 m and
a weight of up to 19 t. In fact, this technique
allows a full penetration butt weld to be performed in those cases where the geometries
of the components make the use of traditional welding techniques almost impossible. Two factors play a pivotal role in choosing this type of welding over the traditional
technique of back-gouging: the temperatures at which the welding is to be performed, and the space in which the butt joint
must be created. The use of quenched steels
means that very high temperatures are necessary, and such temperatures are extremely
difficult for a welder to stand if he is using
traditional welding techniques. In fact, he
would be forced to take frequent breaks and
subsequently reheat the metal each time,
prolonging the time it takes to carry out the
weld. In terms of geometries, working with
a technique that is only performed on one
side of the joint certainly simplifies the welding process: in fact, there is no need to intervene on the opposite side of the joint (Fig.
2). This is especially important when considering that work is being carried out in an
extremely restricted space, where more
complicated welding operations could result
in a lower quality finish, in addition to requiring a considerable effort on the part of
the welder. Thanks to its expertise, the company is able to manage the manufacturing
process as it sees fit, diversifying the application of its techniques in order to achieve
superior quality and give added value to the
component. The company is currently put-
24
The Square Wave TIG 200 (Fig. 3)

welding machine offers a multi-process TIG
and stick welding experience for craftsmen,
small shop fabricators, makers, etc. Users
can perform AC TIG welding on aluminium
and DC TIG welding on steel, stainless and
chrome-moly when precision and bead appearance are important. Users can also
switch to stick welding when working with
thicker materials or welding outdoors. The
Square Wave TIG 200 combines an easyto-use interface for fast set up with built-in
advanced features. A pulsed TIG feature provides a drumbeat-like rhythm for filler
metal deposition, making you a better
welder faster. AC frequency control allows
users to adjust the machine for a wider or
more narrow arc profile when TIG welding
on aluminium. Adjustable AC balance provides more cleaning action on aged aluminium and helps maximise penetration on
thicker aluminium materials. The Square
Wave TIG 200 allows you to Take it Everywhere, Plug in Anywhere. Portable and convenient to use, the machine plugs into standard 120 V or 230 V input circuits and weighs
only 46 pounds (21 kg). The TIG output
range is 10 to 200 A when operating on 230
V input, and 10 to 125 A when operating on
120 V input. The stick output range is 10 to
170 A when operating on 230 V input, and
10 to 90 A when operating on 120 V input.
Included with the machine is a PTA-17 series, 150 A, an air-cooled TIG torch with flexible head and an Ultra-Flex cable assembly and TIG torch parts, a Foot Amptrol,
regulator/flowmeter with gas hose, stick
electrode holder, ground clamp and 120/230
V input cables. (Lincoln Electric, 22801 St.
Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44117/USA;
www.lincolnelectric.com)
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Gas technology app now with

inert gas advisor
The latest version of the free iGases
app (Fig. 4) from Witt for Android and iOS
now answers in more detail questions on
technical gases and their use. To do this,
multiple tools are integrated, such as a gas
advisor, a gas lexicon, a unit converter and
a flow rate calculator for gas safety equipment. The popular app also comes with a
gas lexicon, which contains the most important properties and physical-chemical properties such as density, vapour pressure, flammability limits or thermal conductivity as
well as safety information for numerous gases. Required values such as pressure, volume, flowrate, temperature, mass and other
parameters can be converted to all important international units of measurement
with the extra unit converter. The integrated
flow rate calculator allows users to easily determine the right gas safety equipment for
the design of technical gas systems with the
help of the Cv value irrespective of the
manufacturer the equipment originates
from. The data sheets for the prescribed
equipment can also be called up directly
from the Witt website. Another feature: the
app establishes a direct email connection
on request. This enables a personal response
to your individual question from an expert
at the Witt head office. You can set either
German or English as the language of use
in the streamlined app optimised for tablets,
while the data sheets can be read in numerous other languages. iGases is available as
a free download in the App Store and Android Market. (Witt-Gasetechnik GmbH &
Co KG, Salinger Feld 4-8, 58454 Witten/Germany; www.wittgas.com)
Longwave infrared thermal

camera
Fig. 5
The perfect weld preparation

Pipe processing is an important production element in engineering, the steel industry, shipbuilding and the offshore segment.
But standard cutting machines and software
rarely offer the suitable output results for
these demanding operations. Only a couple
of steps and actions are necessary to prepare
the PTC500 (Fig. 5) system for cutting.
Thus the pipe is placed on at least two pipe
support carriages and positioned close to
the chuck. The axis of the pipe and the axis
of the pipe drive are made to coincide using
a manual (optionally electrical) height adjustment, and the pipe is clamped in a three
axis chuck. A self-limiting trapezium threaded spindle keeps the height position constant, once it has been set. The PTC500
processes pipes with diameters from 50 to
500 mm with wall thicknesses from 2 to 30
mm. The maximum length is 6 m, 2,000 kg
the maximum weight. Greater pipe lengths
can also be realised on request. For simple
pipe separation the plasma torch of the
Messer MultiTherm or OmniMat can be
set perpendicularly to the pipe surface, while
the pipe axis rotates. With the plasma units
Skew Rotator Infinity or Skew Rotator
Delta!, weld preparations, for example up
to 50 relative to the pipe surface, can be cut.
The dust produced is removed instantly by
the integrated internal pipe extraction. The
essential link between user and the cutting
machine is the software from HGG,
Wieringerwerf/The Netherlands. Thanks to
this, pre-programmed macros for pipe ends
and pipe to pipe connections can be stored
in the Global Controlplus. PTC500 is one
of the joint projects between Messer Cutting
Systems GmbH and HGG Profiling Equipment, who have united in a strategic alliance. Thanks to the synergy effects both
companies can spread wider in the global
market and consolidate and extend their positions. (Messer Cutting Systems GmbH, Otto-Hahn-Strae 2-4, 64823 Gro-Umstadt/
Germany; www.messer-cs.de)
Designed for electronics inspections,

medical thermography, manufacturing
monitoring, and non-destructive testing, the
Flir A6750sc SLS (Fig. 6) camera is ideal
for high-speed thermal events and fast-moving targets. Short exposure times allow users
to freeze motion and achieve accurate temperature measurements. In fact, the cameras image output can be windowed to increase frame rates to 480 frames per second
to accurately characterise even higher speed
thermal events, helping ensure critical data
doesnt get missed during testing. A6750sc
cameras stream temperature-calibrated data
over Gigabit Ethernet to a PC for live image
viewing and recording. Using Flirs ResearchIR software, researchers and scientists can easily monitor, acquire, analyse,
and share data. In addition, extender rings
for zoomed-in fields of view make the camera perfect for imaging small thermal targets,
and close-up lenses can detect spot sizes
down to 15 um per pixel well beyond the
capabilities that lower performance IR cameras are able to achieve. The Flir A6750sc
SLS incorporates a cooled Strained Layer
Fig. 6
Superlattice (SLS) detector that operates in

the 7.5 to 9.5 micron waveband producing
crisp LWIR thermal imagery at 640 x 512 pixel resolution. Working in snapshot mode,
the Flir A6750sc SLS is able to capture all
pixels from a scene simultaneously in under
190 s for room temperature scenes. This is
particularly important when monitoring fast
moving objects where an uncooled thermal
imaging camera would suffer from image
blur. The camera supports image frame rates
up to 4.1k frames per second when operating in windowing mode. The Flir A6750sc
SLS camera works seamlessly with Flir ResearchIR Max software enabling intuitive
viewing, recording and advanced processing
of the thermal data provided by the camera.
A Software Developers Kit (SDK) is optionally available. (Flir Systems, Inc., 27700
SW Parkway Avenue, Wilsonville, OR
97070/USA; www.flir.com)
25
WELDING PRACTICE
Health, safety and accident prevention during welding

and cutting Control of welding fume
Exposure to fume
Control of welding fume
For many gas and arc welding processes,

the fume concentration in the immediate
vicinity of the weld is well above its exposure
limit. The amount of fume generated is determined primarily by welding process, consumable and welding procedure. However, the following aspects are likely to influence the degree to which the welder is exposed to fume:
welding position
location and type of workplace
exposure duration
Thus, welders using the same process may
be exposed to different levels of fume. The
risks for each job should, therefore, be assessed individually.
If welding fume cannot be eliminated,

control measures should be adopted as follows:
choice or modification of the welding
process
improvement in working practices
ventilation
use of respiratory protection equipment
(RPE)
RPE should not be considered until the effectiveness of all other techniques has been
explored.
Choice or modification of the

welding process
The welding position (flat, vertical, horizontal or overhead) and proximity of the
welder to the fume plume affect exposure.
As the welder naturally bends over the workpiece, the flat position induces the highest
level of fume in the breathing zone. The
welder should adopt a working position
which ensures that his head is away from
the plume.
Process choice is usually made on the

basis of weld quality, economics and equipment availability. Nevertheless, if other
processes can be used, it should be borne
in mind that some processes, such as submerged-arc and TIG, generate significantly
less particulate fume than MMA, MIG and
FCAW. Consumable manufacturers also
supply information on fume composition
which can be used in selecting welding rods
for a particular job.
Location and type of workplace
Improvement in working practices
Welding in a large workshop, or outdoors, prevents build-up of fume and gases.

However, in a small workshop, fume will not
be readily dispersed and the welder may be
subjected to a higher than average exposure.
Working in confined spaces, in particular,
requires an efficient, monitored, ventilation
system so exposure is controlled and there
is no depletion of oxygen in the working atmosphere.
A substantial improvement can often be

made by placing the workpiece so the
welder can avoid the plume which rises
above the weld.
In large scale fabrications, the welding
sequence should be organised to minimise
the work carried out in enclosed or confined
spaces.
Welding position
Exposure duration
Long term Occupational Exposure Limits (OELS) given in Welding and Cutting
6/2015 relate to the average concentration
over an eight hour period. Exposure will be
intermittent, mainly during the arcing period. There should be relatively little exposure
between arcing periods but this may be influenced by the presence of other welders,
effectiveness of control measures and general ventilation. Furthermore, as the work
patterns (arcing time and down time) vary
from day to day, average exposure may often
only be assessed by frequent sampling.
26
Strategy in use
of ventilation to
control fume
Safe practice and accident avoidance

adopt position and techniques to keep
head out of welding plume
avoid welding in enclosed and confined
spaces
As local exhaust ventilation (LEV) and

on-gun extraction systems are never 100%
efficient, especially when welding awkward
structures, general ventilation may also be
necessary to control the background level
of fume.
As each type of extraction equipment
has limitations, it is important to select the
right equipment for each job. It is also essential that welders are adequately trained
to use the equipment and adopt good working practices. Supervision is needed to ensure the equipment is being used effectively
and to minimise background fume level in
the workshop.
Ventilation
The strategy for using ventilation to control fume is shown on the picture to the right.
General ventilation may be adequate for
some welding processes if welding is of short
duration. The most efficient way of controlling exposure to welding fume is its removal
at source. There are several methods of removing fume close to the weld, see pictures
on the opposite page.

check that the equipment is working correctly and is regularly maintained, for example, cleaning and replacing filters according to manufacturers recommendations
place the extraction hood or nozzle to capture the fume without disturbing the gas
shield
Local exhaust
ventilation (LEV)
Extracted
booth
On-gun
extraction
Extracted
benches
when welding large structures, reposition

the hood at appropriate intervals to ensure
fume continues to be effectively extracted
(Information prepared by Bill Lucas in collaboration with Roger Sykes, Health & Safety
Executive, Newcastle upon Tyne/UK and

Geoff Melton, TWI. Copyright TWI 2016)
Respiratory protection equipment

(RPE)
Where fume needs to be controlled, LEV
should always be used to achieve as much
control as possible. If LEV is not possible, or
there is still unacceptable exposure, RPE is
needed. RPE should always be the least preferred means of control because it only protects the wearer. Other methods are all aimed
at preventing exposure whereas RPE is essentially curative. There are two types of RPE:
respirators - workshop air cleaned before
being inhaled
air-supplied - air supply is separate from
workshop atmosphere
Selection of suitable RPE will require the advice of an expert who can make the selection
based on fume concentration, presence of
toxic gases and whether there is an oxygen
deficient atmosphere.
Consult expert in choice of respirator
Each welder to be personally fitted with
an RPE to ensure that it provides adequate
protection
Personnel to be trained in use of an RPE
and its maintenance and cleaning
Management to ensure systems exist for
control of equipment and training
27
EVENTS
wire 2016 and Tube 2016: industries with an

optimistic outlook for the coming year
From 4 to 8 April 2016 the worlds leading trade fairs wire the international wire
and cable fair and Tube the international tube fair will simultaneously present
their technology highlights from their respective industries at the Dsseldorf Exhibition Centre for the 15th time.
The global economic climate is generally
favourable, despite Eurozone imponderables and the Ukraine crisis. Forecasts unanimously agree that the global economy will
have grown by 2 to 3% in 2015.
Covering a net exhibition space of currently over 59,000 m2, wire will feature machinery for the production and finishing of
wire, tools and auxiliary materials in process
engineering as well as materials, special
wires and cables. The trade fair will also cover innovations in measurement and control
engineering, test engineering and special
areas.
The international wire and cable fair will
occupy Halls 9 to 13, 16 and 17 in wire, cable
and glass fibre machinery as well as wire
and cable products and the wire and cable
trade, while innovations in metal forming
will be shown in Hall 15. Hall 16 will open
its gates to mesh welding machines and
spring making technology. So far over 1,100
wire 2016 and Tube 2016 will take place

from 4 to 8 April 2016. (Photo: Messe Dsseldorf/ctillmann)
28
companies from 49 countries have registered.

Traditionally, the countries which are
particularly well represented by exhibitors
are Italy, Belgium, France, Spain, Austria,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, the
UK, Sweden and Germany. But a large number of registrations have also been received
from overseas: the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Japan and China.
Tube, the international tube fair, has
so far received registrations for over 50,000
m2 of net exhibition space, covering the
full range of pipe and tube manufacturing,
processing, treatment and trade. The spectrum includes raw materials, pipes, tubes
and accessories, machinery for the production of pipes and tubes, pre-owned machines, as well as tools in process engineering, auxiliary materials, measuring and
control engineering and test engineering.
The line-up also includes pipelines, OCTG
technology, profiles and machines and the
Plastic Tube Forum (PTF). So far over
1,000 exhibitors from 49 countries have
registered.
2014 saw an all-time record in the production of steel pipes, reaching 165 million
tonnes 8% more than in the previous year.
However, the large-diameter pipeline market also experienced overcapacities.
At Tube the countries with the largest
numbers of exhibitors are again Italy, the
UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland,
Poland, Spain, Turkey and Germany. The
largest numbers of overseas exhibitors are
from the United States, India, South Korea
and China.
This number-one trade fair in the pipe
and tube industry will focus on pipe accessories in Halls 1 and 2, while the pipe trade
and pipe manufacturing can be found in
Halls 2, 3, 4, 7.0 and 7.1. As before, the China
Pavilion will be in Hall 2.
Metal forming will occupy Hall 5, and

Halls 6 and 7a will feature tube processing
machines. Mechanical engineering and construction will be presented in Hall 7a. Halls
1 to 7.0 will also have profiles for a wide
range of applications. The special show PTF
(Plastic Tube Forum) will be presented in
Hall 7.1.
Up-to-date details of the two trade fairs
can be found on the web portals:
www.wire.de/www.wire-tradefair.com and
www.Tube.de/www.tube-tradefair.com (According to press information from Messe
Dsseldorf)
smart factory
iran 2016
smart factory iran, the countrys premier
trade exhibition on smart industrial technologies is scheduled for 23 to 25 May 2016 at the
Tehran International Fairgrounds, Tehran/
Iran. This new hub targets to accompany the
Middle Easts leading industrial nation on its
way to modernise its entire industrial infrastructure. The event is organised by the German trade show specialists fairtrade and their
Iranian partners Palar Samaneh.
After the Vienna agreement of July 2015
Irans 80-million-strong, highly educated,
consumption-savvy market is opening up.
Experts now foresee Iranian imports easily
to double within the next few years as the
Middle Easts leading industrial nation aims
at modernising its entire industrial infrastructure. smart factory iran 2016, the countrys
premier trade exhibition on smart industrial
technologies targets to accompany the countrys industrial upswing in the years to come,
is focusing on the following range of exhibits:
Factory automation & robotics,
metal working,
welding & surface treatment,
logistics,
conveyance & storage.
Held under the auspices of the Iranian
Ministry of Industries and Business the
event is supported by TPO-Trade Promotion
Organization of Iran and the IIEC-Iran International Exhibitions Co. smart factory
iran is organised by the German trade show
specialists fairtrade and their Iranian part-
ners Palar Samaneh, both with more than

twenty years of experience in organising toplevel international trade shows in Iran such
as iran telecom innovations, iran food+
bev tec, iran food +hospitality and iran
agro.
Iran is one of the Middle Easts leading
importers of electrical and automation technology. Between 2010 and 2014 Iran has annually imported automation technology between 443 and 688 million euros (ZVEI).
Iranian imports of metal working, welding
and surface treatment technology in this period annually amounted 64 to 283 million
smart factory iran

2016 one component
to modernise the countrys infrastructure.
euros and imports of logistics, conveyance

and storage technology made up for 177 to
254 million euros (VDMA). For further in-
formation visit: www. smartfactory-iran.com

(According to press information from fairtrade GmbH & Co. KG)
9th International Congress and Exhibition on

Aluminium Brazing 2016 in April in Dsseldorf
The International Aluminium Brazing
Congress, organised by the DVS German
Welding Society, will take place from 19 to
21 April 2016 in Dsseldorf/Germany in the
Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel. Specialists
and authorities from the sector, well known
experts from industry and research and other important decision makers from this field
will further promote technology by means
of presentations, comments and technical
discussions.
The congress will, of course, also provide
numerous opportunities to establish or
strengthen business relationships, establish
personal contacts and expand networks. An
exhibition of participating companies running concurrent to the congress will help
getting further contacts.
There will be five different conference

sections at the congress, dealing with the
following topics:
Opening presentations
Materials
Equipment
Research and development

Testing and design
Online registration is possible on the website
www.dvs-ev.de/aluminium-brazing until 15
April 2016. Contact person: Ms Britta Wingartz, e-mail britta.wingartz@dvs-hg.de.
The International
Aluminium Brazing Congress will
take place in the
Radisson Blu
Scandinavia Hotel in Dsseldorf/Germany.
(Photo: DVS)
29
REPORTS
How to avoid problems when furnace brazing

stainless steels in a reducing atmosphere
Part 1: An introduction to the process
Setting the scene
When I retired in 1996, after a little more
than 40 years of activity as an international
trouble-shooter of brazing technology problems for some major players in the brazing
industry, I created my own consultancy
business, Delphi Brazing Consultants. My
previous experience indicated there was a
need in Industry for impartial technical advice on brazing matters that I felt I could satisfy. So it is now 58 years that I have been
actively engaged in problem solving in the
field of brazing technology, and as a result
it has become increasingly confirmed to me
that at the grass roots of two important areas of modern industry there is an obvious
lack of wide-spread technical expertise and

know-how. These areas are:
1. The brazing of tungsten carbide, and,
since the turn of the century,
2. The reducing atmosphere furnace brazing of stainless steels.
This situation has, over the years, taken me
to dozens of companies on three of the five
continents, and it is interesting to note that
the particular problems being experienced
by the companies involved in the brazing
of tungsten carbide that I was asked to help
with their problem were all broadly similar.
This situation was also repeated in the difficulties being faced by companies who
were using reducing atmosphere furnace
brazing to join stainless steel components.

Thus the difficulties experienced in these
two highly important, but very different
product areas, are generally common for
each of the individual products involved.
Whether I was working in England, Mainland Europe, South Africa, Australasia, the
Middle East or North America, the problems that faced me, and the cure that I recommended, were essentially the same for
each specific industry type! It was this fact
that provided me with the desire to prepare
three articles related to the brazing of tungsten carbide. As regular readers will know,
these were recently published in this journal.
Fig. 1 A conventional continuous conveyor furnace. (Diagram: Courtesy Mahler GmbH, Plochingen/Germany)
Fig. 2 Typical Hump-back furnace. (Diagram: Courtesy Mahler GmbH, Plochingen/Germany)
30
This present article is the first in a series

of four that are all concerned with the reducing atmosphere furnace brazing of stainless steels. As we shall see, in order to
achieve success when brazing these materials, all that one needs to have is an understanding of the fine detail of the specific
technical requirements demanded by the
process, and then to be certain that they become an integral part of the product design
and the activities undertaken during the
overall furnace brazing production procedure. In some situations this is much easier
to recommend than it is to ensure that the
client fully understands why certain specific
recommendations need to be implemented
if a solution to the problem he is facing can
be achieved!
Fortunately, the technology needed to
ensure satisfactory brazing of stainless steel
in a reducing atmosphere is relatively
straightforward and not particularly complex, but it is quite extensive. Consequently
for this series of articles it has been necessary to cover each of the major facets of the
process separately; hence the need for three
articles that collectively cover all the important aspects of the technology that need to
be understood, and one related to any subsequent trouble shooting that might be
needed, to ensure success when brazing
members of the stainless steel family under
a reducing atmosphere in a continuous conveyor furnace.
and externally, still occurs during the early

part of the heating stage of the process.
Furthermore, the oxide layer that is present on the surfaces of the workpieces when
they enter a continuous conveyor furnace
initially increases in thickness. This continues until the atmosphere composition and
the temperature within the furnace hot-zone
reach a point where the hydrogen in the atmosphere is able to begin to reduce the oxides that are present on the components.
The success of this chemical reduction reaction is absolutely fundamental to the success of a reducing atmosphere furnace brazing process. Thus its practitioners must both
study, and understand, the fine detail and
importance of the quality of the reducing
atmosphere to be used when the furnace
brazing of stainless steels under reducing
atmosphere it to be undertaken.
Part 2 of this series is devoted to this
highly important matter. This is because the
influence of atmosphere quality, particularly in regard to its reducing capability in
respect of the oxides present on the parts to
be brazed, is of fundamental importance if
a successful outcome is to be achieved. Unfortunately, it is also too frequently the case
that this aspect of furnace brazing technology is not fully understood by the engineers
who are operating the furnace: and this explains, in part, why they have engaged a consultant to help them resolve the problems
that they are experiencing!
An introduction to the technology
Types of furnaces used for brazing
Worldwide, the largest numbers of

brazed joints in modern production brazing
are produced by furnace brazing. Many of
these are assemblies that require the joining
of perhaps ten or more stainless steel components to produce an end product that is
destined to be used by the automotive industry, for both simple, but sometimes relatively complex, fuel injection rails.
The use of reducing atmosphere furnace
brazing in such situations is the preferred
joining method. This is because:
1. The process is undertaken without the
necessity to use a separate fusible flux.
2. The parts emerge from the furnace
brighter (cleaner?) than when they entered it.
3. In a large number of cases the filler material used to make the joint is copper.
The fact that the process is widely described
as being a flux-free process is, in reality, only
a half-truth. The fact is that surface oxidation
of stainless steel components, both internally
There are four basic types of furnace in

use for brazing. These are:
1. Chamber furnaces
2. Bell furnaces
3. Continuous conveyor furnaces
4. Vacuum furnaces
However, since both Bell and Chamber furnaces are not particularly widely used for
brazing stainless steels this document only
comments on the detail of brazing with continuous conveyor furnaces.
Continuous conveyor furnaces

The most popular type of continuous
furnace is the mesh-belt conveyor, Fig 1. Depending upon the use to which the furnace
is to be put, its interior can be lined either
with refractory bricks or with a gas-tight
muffle fabricated from a heat-resistant alloy.
When the product to be brazed is a stainless
steel it is mandatory to ensure that the hotzone is lined with heat-resistant steel and
not refractory bricks!
The mesh-belt is usually fabricated from

a woven nickel-chromium alloy, although
in some cases the belt is in the form of a
continuous band of a heat-resistant alloy.
The work is placed directly upon the belt;
the speed with which it passes through the
furnace can be easily adjusted, and is capable of very accurate control. An alternative
is to place the work that is to be brazed into
trays fabricated from sheet or from fine-woven nickel-chromium alloy mesh, these being placed onto the moving work-track. The
advantage of the use of trays is only partially
related to the ease with which a large number of parts can be prepared for brazing in
an area that can be well away from the furnace and, when prepared, brought to the
furnace and loaded onto the belt. Of equal
importance is the fact that their use prevents
any of the brazing material that is being used
from coming into contact with the belt.
Should this occur the belt-life is very likely
to be substantially reduced!
The lengths of the heating and cooling
zones of such equipment are arranged to
ensure that the parts can be raised to, and
cooled from, brazing temperature in a time
that makes the process economically attractive. The cooling chamber is invariably surrounded by a water jacket in order to ensure
that its length and hence the overall length
of the furnace is kept to a minimum.
In order to ensure that efficient cooling
of the components occurs after completion
of the heating cycle, it is relatively common
to arrange for the cooling system to be of
the closed-circuit type. With this system the
water is pumped around the cooling jacket
and then through one or more heat exchangers mounted above the cooling jacket of the
furnace. By the judicious design of the venting system associated with these heat exchangers it is possible to use the reclaimed
heat for space heating in the factory during
the winter and discharging it to the exterior
of the factory in the summer months.
Hump-back furnaces
As shown in Fig.1, many continuous-conveyor furnaces have a horizontal work track.
There is, however, a variant of the basic type
where the entry and exit chambers are angled
upwards from the horizontal by about 6, and
where the entire length of the hot-zone of the
furnace is lined with a muffle made from
heat-resisting material. This type is universally known as a hump-back furnace, Fig 2.
It is normal practice to introduce the
protective atmosphere of a continuous fur-
31
REPORTS
nace directly into the hot-zone. Consequently, the use of the hump-back variant automatically provides for an excellent atmosphere quality to be maintained in the specific area of the furnace hot-zone where the
brazing actually takes place. Clearly, the
maintenance of a high quality atmosphere
is of fundamental importance to the success
of the reducing atmosphere furnace brazing
process. This is particularly so in cases where
the brazing of stainless steel is to be undertaken, and where the dew point of the atmosphere has to be maintained at a level of
at least -45C. In order to ensure that there
is an adequate flow of atmosphere gas
through a hump-back furnace there must
be a slight over-pressure of the atmosphere;
this forces it to flow down its angled entry
and exit chambers.
The presence of this small positive pressure more than counter-balances the diffusion effect which would otherwise allow
small quantities of air (oxygen) to enter the
furnace and disturb the atmosphere quality.
Indeed, it is common practice with furnaces
of this type to arrange for the hot zone to be
operated under an atmosphere of pure hydrogen, with nitrogen carrying a trace of water vapour being fed only to the entry zone
and, as shown in Fig. 3, with only pure nitrogen being fed to the exit end. The purpose
of the trace of water vapour being introduced at the entry-end is normally used
when a brazing alloy paste is the source of
the brazing filler metal. The presence of the
water vapour ensures that when the temperature in the furnace in the entry zone is
high enough it is cracked into its constituents of hydrogen and oxygen. This provides for a sufficient amount of oxygen to be
present in the local atmosphere to ensure
that the organic content of the binder in the
filler-metal paste is able to be burnt to produce carbon monoxide.
As can be seen in Fig. 3, by a judicious
balancing of the gas input-flow it is possible
to arrange matters so that there is no burning gas at the exit end of the furnace, it only
being present at the entry end. This feature
has the distinct benefit of avoiding the localised re-heating (and hence oxidation) of
sections of the brazed parts that would almost certainly occur were they to be passed
through a flame-curtain when leaving the
furnace at the conclusion of the brazing
process.
In cases where a furnace is required to
operate with a closely controlled, low, dew
point, and where the required clearanceheight over the belt is 80 mm or more, the
use of a hump-back furnace is strongly recommended. This will ensure that the use,
and hence the cost, of the required volume
of reducing atmosphere is kept to a minimum.
Furnace atmospheres
In general terms, when one thinks of
furnace brazing one generally has those
situations in mind where heating of the parts
to brazing temperature is accomplished in
a furnace under a protective atmosphere so
avoiding the necessity to use a fusible chemical flux. The notable exception to this norm
in furnace brazing is the situation where automotive heat exchangers and condensers,
fabricated in aluminium and its alloys, are
furnace-brazed under nitrogen in association with a specialised, non-corrosive, flux.
This procedure is universally known as the
Nocolok process. Worldwide, hundreds of
furnaces are making literally billions of joints
by this procedure each day!
Naturally, there are many different kinds
of protective atmospheres that can be employed. However, and because this article is
specifically concerned with the technical
features of the brazing of stainless steel, it
only discusses the use reducing atmospheres that have a hydrogen content that is
typically in excess of 30% and which has a
dew point that is at least -42C.
Gaseous atmospheres
One of the fundamental requirements
for all successful brazing operations is that
the surfaces of the parent metals that are to
be joined must be free from oxide films at
Fig. 3 The ideal arrangement for atmosphere ow when brazing stainless steel.
32
Table 1 The heat of formation of a series of

metallic oxides that might be encountered when
using reducing atmosphere furnace brazing.
Oxide
Au2O3
Ag2O
PdO
CuO
Cu2O
Co3O4
CoO
NiO
CdO
FeO
ZnO
Cr2O3
MnO
Ta2O5
TiO2
ZrO2
Al2O3
BeO
Heat of Formation (kJ) related

to 1 mole of oxygen
30.6
61.1
175.8
314.0
343.3
411.1
481.4
489.0
520.8
540.1
698.3
751.9
774.6
835.7
916.9
1,082.3
1,116.2
1,233.4
brazing temperature. As a result, it is a fundamental requirement of the actual brazing

process that those that are present on the
work pieces and brazing filler materials
when the components are assembled, together with those that are formed during the
heating stage of the brazing process, are removed by chemical reduction as the parts
travel through the furnace hot-zone.
When brazing is undertaken in air it is
generally the case that removal of the surface
oxides is achieved by the use of a fusible
chemical flux. However in protective atmosphere furnace brazing one of the fundamental objectives (and as already mentioned it
is one of its major attractions) is the production of a brazed joint without the need to
use a fusible flux. It therefore follows that
part of the detailed study of protective atmosphere furnace brazing must include a
discussion of the mechanism by which these
flow inhibiting oxide films are removed prior
to the parts reaching brazing temperature
and prevented from reforming until after the
filler material has flowed and made the joint.
As mentioned earlier, it is this fundamental
aspect of reducing atmosphere furnace brazing that will be discussed in detail of Part 2
of this series of four articles. In reducing atmosphere furnace brazing the only atmosphere category that has to be considered are
those that are described as being of chemically active.
Chemically active atmospheres

Atmospheres of this type react with the
oxides present on the surfaces of the parent
materials and brazing filler metals removing
them in the process. In those situations
where an in-line continuous conveyor furnace is brazing stainless steel the active ingredient in the atmosphere needs to be ultra-dry and ultra-pure hydrogen and thus
the mechanism of oxide removal is one of
chemical reduction.
It is, however, very important for readers
to understand why, for example, it is very
easy to braze mild steel in a furnace that is
often brazing stainless steel under hydrogen
at 1,100C, but why the brazing of stainless
steel under an exothermic atmosphere generated by the catalytic reaction of natural
gas with air is not possible at this temperature. Further, it is also extremely important
to ensure that if consistently good results
are to be achieved one should never process
mild steel in a furnace that was installed
where the primary objective of using it was
to braze stainless steels! This is because after
having brazed mild steel in such a furnace
it is often found that the furnace needs to
run empty for several hours to recondition
it, to make it possible to use it for its primary
role: i.e. the brazing of stainless steels.
Oxide films
Perhaps the most fundamental requirement for any successful furnace brazing operation is to ensure that the surfaces of the
metals being brazed are free from oxide, or
other films, which may inhibit wetting when
the filler material melts. Thus the ease with
which surface oxides can be removed from
any given material is a function of the ease
with which the oxygen ions can be detached
from the metallic ions present in the oxide.
Clearly, the degree of difficulty that is experienced depends upon the strength of the
chemical bond existing between the oxygen
ions and the metal involved.
The strength of such a bond can be assessed in several different ways:
1. By the Heat of Formation, H, of the
particular oxide in question. (However,
this will only provide an approximate
guide).
2. More accurately, by the change in Free
Energy, F, in the system during the reaction.
3. From the maximum energy obtainable
from the general chemical reaction:
where Me = metal and, m = 1 mole of

oxygen.
As shown in Table 1, metals like gold, silver
and palladium possess a low heat of formation value for their oxides and as a result
such oxides are relatively unstable and so
can easily be decomposed. The oxides of
metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, iron
and cadmium are higher on the stability
scale and are therefore somewhat more difficult to reduce. Of higher stability still are
to be found the oxides of chromium, manganese, titanium, aluminium and beryllium.
In fact the various oxides of beryllium have
a far higher degree of stability than virtually
any other element likely to be encountered
in most furnace brazing situations.
From this it follows that when using a reducing atmosphere furnace as the heating
method for a brazing process, metals and
their alloys may be classified into groups according to the difficulty that is experienced
in separating the oxygen ions from the respective metallic ions. In turn, this is, of
course, directly related to the degree of difficulty that one might expect to experience
when undertaking a furnace brazing operation when these materials are constituents
of the parent materials. For example, the
brazing of the noble metals presents no difficulty, while copper, cobalt, nickel and iron
are slightly more difficult. Both chromium
and manganese are even more troublesome,
while if refractory elements such as titanium,
tantalum, aluminium or beryllium are present in the parent material or brazing filler
material at levels above about 0.75% it is
about certain that reducing atmosphere furnace brazing techniques will not be successful and so such materials are best avoided!
This is the reason why the use of unstabilised stainless steels is always preferred to
niobium- or titanium-stabilised steels if reducing atmosphere furnace brazing is to be
the joining method of choice for the components concerned. To complicate matters
further, it must also be remembered that
some metals form more than one oxide, and
that these different oxides have different levels of stability. In consequence when assessing the degree of difficulty likely to be encountered in a reducing atmosphere brazing
process it is necessary to consider which particular oxide, or groups of oxides, is present.
Oxides that are formed on the surfaces
of alloys are usually solid solutions of the
oxides of the metals that comprise the alloy,
and not just a single oxide! Moreover, the
heat of formation of oxides on the surface
of pure metals will not necessarily be the

same as that of oxides produced on alloys
of those metals. As a consequence, it does
not follow that if it is relatively easy to braze
a particular alloy that the brazing of the individual metals that comprise that alloy will
also be relatively easy. For example, stainless
steel, which is an alloy of iron, nickel and
chromium, is much more difficult to braze
under reducing atmosphere than a nickeliron alloy. This is because the oxides of iron
and nickel both possess a heat of formation
that is substantially lower than that of
chromium oxide. In these circumstances it
is the presence of chromium in the stainless
steel that is accounting for the difficulty. As
we shall see in Part 2 of this series, the presence of manganese in a stainless steel makes
the wetting of its surface by the filler material
even more difficult to achieve.
During any oxidation cycle the surface
of the alloy becomes covered with a contaminating film that, quite often, consists of
layers of oxides that have different compositions. The type and composition of oxides
present in such layers is dependent upon
the temperature and time for which the
component has been exposed to the oxidising environment. A typical example may be
found in the range of 18/8 stainless steels.
Due to their chromium content these materials are generally considered to be relatively
difficult materials to braze in reducing atmosphere furnaces. The oxide of chromium,
Cr2O3, forms a strong bond with surface of
the steel to which it is attached and is not
readily reduced to metallic ions. However,
it is recognised that more complex oxides,
such as Fe Cr2O3 and FeO Cr2O3, will be
formed on the surface of the steel during the
oxidation cycle but that the ionic bonds of
these oxides are weaker than those of Cr2O3,
and hence they are easier to reduce.
It is a well-known fact that the free energy associated with the formation of oxides
decreases as the temperature of the environment in which the material is located increases. As a result, the tendency for an oxide to dissociate increases as the temperature within the furnace rises. The temperature at which dissociation will occur depends directly on the partial pressure of oxygen in the environment. However it is important to remember that if the partial pressure of oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere is above about 200 millibars, the temperature required to cause dissociation of
the oxide will, for practically all metals and
their alloys, be higher than their respective
33
REPORTS
melting points. It is therefore clear that as a

general rule it is not reasonable to expect
that oxide dissociation will be the method
of first choice as the means of oxide removal
from a metallic surface! There are, of course,
some exceptions to this rule. These are the
oxides of the six platinum-group metals,
(platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium,
ruthenium and osmium), and those of gold
and silver. With all eight of these noble metals oxide dissociation takes place at a temperature that is very much lower than their
respective melting point. Thus, a decrease
in the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere that surrounds them tends to
favour the decomposition of their oxides, so
increasing the likelihood that brazing of
them will be completed satisfactorily.
Reduction of the partial pressure of oxygen contained in the gas atmosphere may
be achieved in two ways:
34
1. By the formation of a vacuum in the

vicinity of the parts that are to be brazed
2. By filling the space surrounding the part
to be brazed with an oxygen-free inert
or reducing gas.
In the first instance the partial pressure of
oxygen is reduced without altering the composition of the atmosphere, while in the second case the composition of the gas atmosphere is altered. The second method of the
reduction of partial pressure of oxygen mentioned above is being increasingly used in
brazing procedures. The joining of titanium
and its alloys with silver-containing materials is a typical example. Difficulties with the
brazing of titanium and its alloys arise not
only because of the stability of the oxide
coatings, but because these metals tend to
absorb nitrogen and hydrogen from any atmosphere in their vicinity. Both titanium
hydride and titanium nitride will result in
the embrittlement of titanium, and so such

gases should never be constituents in an atmosphere in which their brazing is to be undertaken. In consequence, if a successful
outcome is to be achieved, it is of critical
importance that only vacuum or an inertgas atmosphere of high purity is employed
when brazing these materials.
However, the uses of vacuum- or inert
atmosphere-brazing are matters that do not
concern us in this series of articles, and so
will not be discussed further. However, and
in order to proceed further, we do need to
discuss the matter of the use and technological aspects of reducing atmospheres
when brazing stainless steels; and as mentioned earlier, this is the specific subject of
Part 2 of this series.
P. M. Roberts, Delphi Brazing Consultants,
Congleton, Cheshire/UK
Development of phased array ultrasonic

testing inspection system for
testing solid railway axles Case Study
30
Maximum skewing angle=15
Focal depth =500 mm
Reception waves
quently scheduled inspections throughout

the lifetime of the axle are beneficial in order
to detect any growing fatigue cracks. However, current inspection systems for solid
axles require full disassembly of the axle bogey in order to perform a full inspection.
Objectives
AxleInspect has addressed industry
needs by designing a system with:
a phased array probe to operate both in
pulse-echo and pitch-catch inspection
modes
adaptability for different axle geometries
and axle box configurations with minimum modification
ability to record encoded inspection data
ease of mounting and operation during
inspections.
Transmission waves
Fig. 1 Probe performance requirements.
Design considerations
Fig. 2 Beam performance from developed probe for Steering (two images on
the left) and Skewing.
AxleInspect, a recently completed European project, has successfully developed a

prototype system which could help rail safety through the improved inspection of railway axles. The bespoke system uses phased
array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) for the insitu inspection of solid railway axles from
the end-face. This approach reduces the
time required for testing railway axles, with
minimum disassembly when compared

with existing methods.
Phased array probe

The phased array probe must meet the
following design requirements:
Adaptable to axle end face diameters from
110 mm to 160 mm
Operation in pulse-echo and pitch-catch
mode
Provide beam steering and beam skewing
capabilities.
Figures 1 and 2 present the probe performance requirements as well as the beam performance achieved.
Inspection scanner
Mounted onto a wide range of axles and
wheel bearing housings
Ability to position the probe to end face
diameters from 110 to 165 mm
Perform 360 encoded circumferential scan
Provide radial movement to position the
phased array probe as required.
Figure 3 shows the design concept for the
inspection scanner and its main parts.
Achievements
Reducing downtime
The structural integrity of wheelsets in
rolling stock is of great importance. Axle failure can result in derailment, causing service
disruption and great expense for the industry, not to mention injury to passengers. Fre-
The unique prototype phased array probe

has met these requirements, providing:
excellent beam steering and skewing capabilities
coverage of the critical areas of the axle
improved detection capabilities.
35
REPORTS
Static Ring
DeMountable Constant
Force Probe Toolpost
Rotating Ring
Cross Slide Movement Adjusting Screw
Encoder
130 Dia Axle

Axle Box Representation
Phased Array Probe
Substitute Cover Screws
(324 PCD)
P15402-Axle Scanner-Mounted To AxleBox PCD

Fig. 3 Scanner design concept mounted on an axle box.
The developed inspection solid axle

scanner met the requirements for adaptability and can be used for:
inspection of dismantled wheel sets
inspection of fully assembled wheel sets.
The complete integrated system provides
industry with:
high accuracy and repeatability of the inspection results
recordable inspection results
comparison of the inspection results from
different inspection intervals.
Figure 4 shows the scanner and the phased
array probe mounted on a full length solid
axle that artificial defects of various depths
have been introduced at different distances
from the end face.
Figure 4 also presents the phased array
data acquired by system that demonstrates
all the introduced defects have been detected with high accuracy.
Fig. 4 Phased array

data acquired by the
developed inspection
system during lab
trials.
Commercial application
The system will be developed for commercial application. This next phase will involve:
full automation of the inspection scanner
development of software comprising the
scanner motion control and phased array
data acquisition and analysis
full validation of the system using relevant
railway inspection standards.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The AxleInspect project was a collaboration between: TWIs NDT Validation Centre, Balfour Beatty Rail,
Vermon Danobat Railway Systems, IDEKO, Pheonix Inspection Systems Ltd and West Pomeranian University
of Technology. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Unions
Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under Grant
agreement number 286573.
(According to press information from TWI)
36
Robotics
Artificial
Intelligence
Sensors
26 May 2016 - Milan - Italy

Recent developments and addresses for robotics,
sensors and artificial intelligence
applied to welding
Sponsor 15/12/2015:
Under the patronage of:
Media Partner:
INFO:
ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF WELDING GROUP
Technical contact person Dr. Elisabetta Sciaccaluga - e-mail: elisabetta.sciaccaluga@iis.it - Ph.: +39 010 8341.515

feelweld@iis.it - Ph.: +39 010 8341.373 - fax: 010 836.7780
web site: www.iis.it
REPORTS
Experience with regard to the welding of nickel alloys in

pressure vessel construction Tips from practice
Introduction
Ever trickier substances are being
processed in the chemical, pharmaceutical
and biotechnological industries. Thus, increasingly stringent requirements are also
being imposed on the utilised materials and
their processing by means of welding technology. In this respect, particular attention
is frequently focused on a high corrosion resistance. Often, only special materials such
as nickel alloys, duplex steels, titanium, zirconium or tantalum are appropriate in such
cases. Using the example of the Kasag Langnau company, the article describes what
must be borne in mind when such materials
are welded.
Kasag Langnau AG, Langnau im Emmental/Switzerland, is specialised in the
processing of a large number of such materials by means of welding technology. The
medium-sized company produces pressure
vessels and plant components for the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological and
food industries. These include, amongst other items, pharmaceutical vessels, heat exchangers, cryogenic vessels and special apparatuses, in part also as complete subassemblies (Figs. 1 and 2). In most cases,
high flexibility and reliability in operation
as well as high weld and surface qualities
are demanded of these objects in order to
ensure the corrosion resistance and asepsis
of the installations.
The materials processed in the company
are:
austenitic stainless steels such as
1.4307, 1.4404 and 1.4571,
fully austenitic stainless steels such as
1.4529 and 1.4539,
nickel alloys such as 2.4602, 2.4856,
2.4819 and 1.4876,
duplex (austenitic-ferritic) stainless
steels,
aluminium alloys.
In this respect, the nickel alloys are utilised,
above all, in special pressure vessels, e.g.
Fig. 2 Internal view of

a reactor for the pharmaceutical industry.
Fig. 3 3D plasma cutting installation which

can be used for the cutting of welding groove
preparations for nozzle
openings in torispherical heads and tubes.
38
Fig. 1 Finished
reactor including
installation components made of
various nickel
alloys for the
pharmaceutical
industry.
pharmaceutical reactors. Since the export

proportion of these pressure vessels which
are subject to acceptance in most cases is
around 80%, the company attaches enormous significance to the wide spectrum of
Manufacturer Licenses and to the know-how
with the most diverse sets of requirements.
It has certificates and authorisations not only
for the Pressure Equipment Directive but also for the ASME U-Stamp, the China
Stamp and the Manufacturer License of
Russia. Acceptances can also be carried out
for many other countries such as Canada,
Singapore and Japan.
The firm has a high in-house production
depth in order to implement projects as flexibly as possible and to be able to react to
customer wishes quickly. One example of
this is the Engineering Department where
not only designs and developments of apparatuses and components but also the design calculations according to the require-
ments of AD 2000, EN 13445 and ASME Section VIII-1 are carried out.
The company performs welding with the
tungsten inert gas, plasma and gas-shielded
metal arc processes. Longitudinal and circular welds on pressure vessels are executed
in machine operation and the other welds
such as the welding of nozzles in manual
operation. Longitudinal, circular and orbital
welding machines are used for the fully machined welding work. In addition, the company has on its premises a variety of other
fabrication installations, e.g. for cutting,
rounding, pickling, grinding and polishing
(Fig. 3).
In order to ensure the quality of the objects, the company can also conduct and
evaluate a large number of examinations
such as X-ray, dye penetration and helium
leak tests as well as positive material identification (PMI) checks. Thus, the company is
in a position to design, manufacture, test
and accept pressure vessels and plants itself.
This is a great advantage in the case of complex projects.
Good properties profiles of NiCr

and NiCrMo alloys
Nickel alloys are materials in which the
nickel content makes up the largest proportion of the alloy composition. Depending on
the desired properties, iron, copper, chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, aluminium
and/or niobium (amongst other substances)
are added to the alloy in various concentrations.
Primarily NiCr and NiCrMo alloys are
utilised in pressure vessel construction. With
their austenitic structures, these are characterised by outstanding corrosion and scale
resistances as well as by good mechanical
properties. Due to the addition of molybdenum by means of alloying, NiCrMo alloys
exhibit higher corrosion resistances than
those of the NiCr alloys. A selection of the
utilised materials is listed in Table 1. The
NiCr and NiCrMo alloys have high resistances to pitting, crevice and intercrystalline
corrosion as well as to chlorine-induced
stress cracking corrosion. Thus, they can
readily be utilised in oxidising media consisting of mineral acids such as nitric, phosphoric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids or
organic acids such as formic and acetic
acids.
Because of differing alloy compositions,
nickel alloys have, in part, physical and mechanical properties which are distinctly different to those of the austenitic stainless
Table 1 Selection of nickel alloys utilised in pressure vessel construction.

Material no.
Material designation
UNS
Alloy
1.4876
X10NiCrAlTi32-20
N08800
800H
2.4066
Ni99.2
N02200
200
2.4600
NiMo29Cr
N10675
B-3
2.4602
NiCr21Mo14W
N06022
C-22
2.4605
NiCr23Mo16Al
N06059
59
2.4610
NiMo16Cr16Ti
N06455
C4
2.4816
NiCr15Fe
N06600
600
2.4819
NiMo16Cr15W
N10276
C-276
2.4856
NiCr22Mo9Nb
N06625
625
2.4858
NiCr21Mo
N08825
825
steels. The difference to the carbon steels is

even greater. A comparison of these is listed
in Table 2 using the examples of 2.4856,
1.4404 and S235JR. The values of other nickel alloys are located in ranges similar to
those of the 2.4856.
These properties have direct influences
not only on the welding but also on other
fabrication processes such as chip-producing machining and forming. Nickel alloys
are easy to weld with all the common
processes such as tungsten inert gas, plasma,
gas metal arc, submerged arc or manual
metal arc welding. However, the susceptibility to solidification cracking and the sensitivity to contaminations must be borne in
mind in this respect. The material can be
cut by means of plasma, water jet and laser
beam cutting. Chip-producing machining
and forming are also possible with all the
common processes. Above all, the high
strengths and ductility as well as the inclination to cold work hardening must be taken
into account here. Thus, the entire design
of a pressure vessel is influenced by these
properties.
Challenges of the design

The higher strengths permit, for example, lower wall thicknesses. The fabrication
properties primarily have influences on the
design of the joint preparation and other details of construction. However, the correct
material must be selected first of all. This is
carried out on the basis of the planned operating media and specified design parameters (pressure and temperature) of the pressure vessel. On occasion, these even extend
up to 350 bar or 950C. In many cases, the
customer stipulates the material himself.
However, this is often suggested by the Kasag
engineers too. The material choice concen-
trates on the corrosion and temperature resistances as well as on any possible interactions with the operating medium.
The Design Code is stipulated when the
material has been chosen. The ASME Code
(for the USA and the regions influenced by
the USA), AD2000 or EN13445 (both for the
European region) is applied in most cases.
This is dependent on the installation country
and the respective official regulations.
The choice of the set of rules has influences not only on the strength calculation
but also on the welding details, the scope of
examinations and purchasing of the material. This is shown impressively by the example of the weld joint of a 40 mm thick
shell on a 120 mm thick flange, portrayed
on Figs. 4 and 5. The weld volume for
AD 2000 is merely 41% of that for ASME.
Thus, a totally different design would be required for ASME. This is of decisive significance particularly in the case of materials
such as the nickel alloys. Because, with this
material group, the weld volume must be
kept as small as possible due to the susceptibility to hot cracking.
In this case, the contour of the welding
groove was configured as narrow as possible.
In order to ensure that the accessibility is
sufficient even in the region of the weld root,
the groove was printed out on paper in a 1:1
scale and the welding of the root pass was
simulated with a welding torch. The welding
distortion has also been taken into account
in this respect.
These problems are substantially smaller with lower shell thicknesses. Therefore,
customary welding grooves are possible. Because of the tough weld pool, the chosen included angle is, at 60 to 80, wider than is
customary with carbon steels. The root face
is approx. 2mm and the root gap 2 to 3mm.
39
REPORTS
Fig. 4 Comparison of
weld volumes according to AD 2000 and
the ASME Code.
In each case, the design of the welding details is agreed upon with the Welding Technology Team led by the welding engineer
Holger Thiele and his colleague Walter Egger. The basis is the welding specification in
question which is already elaborated in the
offer phase and includes all the relevant processing guidelines of the material in question.
Inspection and work plans as well as
welding procedure specifications are subsequently drawn up on the basis of the design. Furthermore, the Welding Technology
Team plans the required welding procedure
tests (e.g. in the extension of the longitudinal
weld). These must be tried out with hot tensile tests at the operating temperature. Any
welding tests which may be required are carried out in addition (Figs. 6 and 7).
The material procurement already begins while the designing is still ongoing. Primarily in the case of nickel alloys, that constitutes a particular challenge. One problem
relates to long delivery times. Another is the
availability of material which has the required tests. When these materials are
utilised, the respective VdTV material data
sheets on which not only processing guidelines but also, amongst other specifications,
any required material tests are listed must
be complied with in addition according to
AD 2000 or EN 13445. Because the order
quantities are only small in single-part production, only ASME material which needs
these tests in addition is frequently available,
above all, in the case of tubes and bars.
These include, for example, hot tensile tests
and notched-bar impact tests and must be
documented with a Material Test Report 3.2
according to EN 10204. Clarification with
the material suppliers and the inspection of
the material test reports before the ordering
as well as clarification if the tests are failed
are required so frequently and cause a great
scope of work time and again.
Upon completion of the design, the Notified Body checks during the design review
the strength calculation, the drawing, the
parts list, the inspection and test plans as
well as the welding procedure specifications
and procedure qualification records. The
fabrication can begin when the Notofied
Body finally gives the approval.
Stringent requirements during the

manufacture
Fig. 5 Welding groove of the steep-anked

single-V butt weld on Fig. 4, material: 2.4856.
40
During the operations scheduling, not

only are the fabrication steps stipulated but
the workplace is also prepared and checked.
Since nickel alloys are very sensitive to moisture and contaminations of all kinds, the
company pays attention to the utmost cleanness and care as well as to protection from
draughts, moisture and unnecessary metal
dust when these materials are processed.
Because of the required purity, it is imperative to prevent any contamination with carbon steels. For this reason, these steels have
been taboo in Kasags fabrication for a long
time already. In fabrication, attention is also
paid to proper tools such as new abrasives
and stainless brushes. Only new, undamaged tungsten electrodes are utilised for
welding.
In order to avoid any moisture in the
weld region, the welding machines have
short hose packages, steam-diffusion-resistant hoses and gas-tight joints. Modern, water-cooled TIG direct-current devices are
utilised. Before the beginning of the fabrication, the welders are also once again
trained with regard to the peculiarities and
processing properties of the material and
are qualified if necessary.
When the procured material has been
delivered, the first step is the incoming
goods inspection with the checking of the
material stamping, the dimensional check,
the checking of the Material Test Report according to EN 10204-3.2 and the random
positive material identification (PMI) check,
Figs. 8 and 9. The parts are subsequently restamped with an internal code. In this respect, it must be possible to unambiguously
retrace every installed part and to assign it
to the heat number.
The cutting to size begins when this has
happened. This is carried out by means of
plasma cutting, sawing or shearing. With
sawing or shearing, the inclination to cold
work hardening is also taken into account.
In the case of plasma cutting to size, the cutting is carried out with an allowance of approx. 2 mm in order to be able to remove
any temper colours or scale thereafter.
The cutting to size is followed by the
rounding of the shell and the execution of
the longitudinal weld (Fig. 10). The welding
grooves are manufactured mechanically if
at all possible. When the surface is ground
over, it is ensured that the material is not
overheated. The included angle of the welding grooves is, as stipulated by the design,
60 to 80. In this respect, preference is given
to an angle of approx. 80 in spite of the larger weld volume. The root gap is 2 to 3mm
and the root face approx. 2 mm. Any temper
colours, scale, oil, grease, moisture or other
contaminations are cleaned off the groove
sidewalls and the weld region (min. 10 mm
on both sides of the weld) before the tacking

and the welding. The welders also remove
the oxide coating from the top of the groove
and both sides of it.
Because of the susceptibility to hot
cracking, the tacking is only carried out with
filler material and, due to the great distortion, at small distances apart. In spite of the
lower thermal expansion, the distortion is
in the range similar to that of the austenitic
stainless steels since the thermal conductivity is lower too. The temper colours and
contaminations of the tacks are cleaned
thoroughly before the welding.
During the welding, the torch is manipulated in a steep position (tilt angle: approx.
10 to 20) and the arc is kept as short as possible. The welding is carried out in the
stringer bead technique. In this respect, the
weaving movement, except in the case of
vertical-up welds, is no greater than twoand-a-half times the core wire diameter. This
is required because the material is susceptible not only to oxides but also to hot cracking. Due to the latter, the interpass temperature of 120 to 150C (depending on the material) is not exceeded. The heat input is kept
at approx. 8 to 12 kJ/cm. In this respect, temper colours are removed by means of overgrinding, brushing-off or pickling after each
pass. The end craters are filled and are
ground out in the root. The striking takes
place approx. 10 mm in front of the last end
crater and the welders then go back to the
end crater and weld over the striking point
once again.
Argon or argon with a hydrogen proportion of max. 3% is utilised as the shielding
and backing gases. The flow rate of the
shielding gas is no more than 6 to 8 l/min
because of the danger of turbulence and is
measured on the torch. The backing gas is
filled from the bottom to the top in order to
avoid any turbulence with air.
Table 2 Comparison of physical and mechanical properties.

Properties
2.4856
1.4404
1.0038
(NiCr22Mo9Nb)
(X2CrNiMo17-12-2)
(S235JR)
Thermal expansion at
100C (10-6/K)
12,8
16,0
11,1
Thermal conductivity at
20C (W/m K)
9,8
15,0
54,0
Density (g/cm3)
8,4
8,0
7,85
Tensile strength Rm (MPa)
740
530
360
Yield strength Rp0.2 (MPa)
350
240
235
Elongation at fracture
(longitudinal)
30%
40%
21%
Material values for 2.4856 from ThyssenKrupp VDM: Material Data Sheet No. 4118, for 1.4404 from
ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH: Material Data Sheet Nirosta 4404 and for S235JR from ThyssenKrupp
Materials International: Material Data Sheet S235JR.
Fig. 6 Welding for a welding procedure test.
Comprehensive examinations in
the welding process
A visual inspection of the welds is carried out after each individual pass. Moreover, dye penetration tests (PTs) are performed on interpasses if necessary. In the
case of particularly thick-walled or complicated welds, X-ray tests on interpasses are
conducted in addition.
Upon completion of the weld (Fig. 11),
this is inspected visually and subjected to
an X-ray or dye penetration test depending
on the requirement in the Design Code. AD
2000 demands, e.g. in the case of materials
Fig. 7 Metallographic section through a weld on a 25 mm thick plate made of 2.4856.
41
REPORTS
Fig. 9 Typical material marking of a

plate manufacturer.
Fig. 8 PMI check on a forging made of 2.4856.
in the group Ni 2, 100% testing of the longitudinal weld and 25% testing of the circular
weld in an ultrasonic test (UT) or a radiographic test (RT) as well as 10% testing of
the nozzle welds in a PT or another surface
cracking test. In this respect, X-ray testing is
carried out with higher energies and longer
exposure times because of the higher material density.
As a rule, no prior or subsequent heat
treatment is required with these materials.
In part, it may even be harmful. However,
in special cases, a heat treatment may
nevertheless be necessary in order to increase the corrosion resistance.
Depending on the object requirements
on purity and asepsis, the last work step is
42
Fig. 10 Execution of a longitudinal weld on a

shell, including a welding procedure test in the
extension of the longitudinal weld.
Fig. 11 Finished and thoroughly cleaned steepanked single-V butt weld.
to grind, polish and, if necessary, electropolish the surfaces of the pressure vessel.
The acceptance can take place when the
pressure vessel has been completely finished. With most pressure vessels, this must
be carried out by the Notified Body and includes the construction and pressure testing
with a hydrostatic test as well as the checking
of the pressure vessel, the welds, the material, the executed examinations and the documentation.
ceptiblity to hot cracking and the sensitivity

to contaminations. These materials need
very precise and meticulous preparation as
well as work with the utmost care and cleanness. Thus, enormous significance is attached to mastering the process during all
the individual work steps and this is the basic prerequisite for processing in a way appropriate for quality. The materials are easy
to weld if these particular characteristics are
taken into account. However, extensive practice and experience are indispensable for
this purpose.
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Holger Thiele (IWE) and
Walter Egger, Kasag Langnau AG,
Langnau im Emmental/Switzerland
Mastering the process is enormously important

When nickel alloys are processed, it is
particularly important to pay attention to
the peculiarities of the material, e.g. the sus-
N EWS
January
February
2016
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE WELDING INSTITUTE
Editorial
-Continuing to reflect, and reflecting to develop
May I wish all of you, members, colleagues and friends, a Happy
New Year. I trust you had a pleasant and peaceful Christmas. I have
said before that January is traditionally the time for looking back
on the old year and looking forwards into the new. Our last year
has been one of focus on supporting our members to achieve their
career aspirations through professional development, and we have
seen increasing numbers of new registrants and some notable successes of members progressing to higher registration and membership grades. As we move through 2016, The Welding Institute will
be placing a stronger emphasis on Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
This increased emphasis is partially due to enhanced requirements
from the Engineering Council, and mainly due to CPD activities
being the major service that we deliver to members. In 2015, we delivered technical presentations to support your CPD through webinars, Branch events, Technical Group events, AWFTE events, an
IoRW seminar, and an annual conference.
Paragraph 52 of the Registration Code of Practice requires Licensed
Members, such as The Welding Institute, to monitor, through an
appropriate review system, the CPD of registrants, without making any stipulations about how this should be done. In addition, the
CPD Policy Statement in UK-SPEC, the Standard for Professional
Engineering Competence, states that in future all Licensed Members
should strengthen their support for registrants Continuing Professional Development by reviewing a random sample of their professionally active registrants CPD records each year and providing
appropriate feedback. 1 January 2017 is the aspired-to date for all
Licensed Members to have implemented this.
A structured approach to CPD
All Professional Members of The Welding Institute and CSWIP certificate holders commit to comply with The Welding Institute Rules
of Professional Conduct, which already state that a member shall
ensure that he/she keeps up-to-date in the technology in which
he/she practises. To this end, members are encouraged to adopt a
formal approach to professional development.
Compliance with this rule satisfies the basic requirement of the Engineering Council Registration Standards Committee (RSC), and
the recertification requirement of the international standard for personnel competence certification, ISO/IEC 17024, for CPD.
However, the RSC Policy Statement notes, all professionally active
registrants will undertake some form of CPD, but often this is not
the result of a conscious decision and the learning which has taken
place is not recorded or reflected upon. The CPD Code for Registrants (2013) says that registrants should plan how they are going
to meet their learning and development needs, and record, reflect
upon and evaluate their professional development activity. Monitoring of records by Professional Engineering Institutions is in-
tended to help registrants and to encourage good practice in planning, recording and reflecting. Reflection is considered to be an important aspect of learning and development, and it is suggested that
registrants should be asked to indicate what they have learnt from
the activities which they list and, where appropriate, how this might
bear upon their professional work.
As such, The Welding Institute will introduce additional monitoring
of CPD achievement, beyond that already in place from routine
CPD questionnaires, CSWIP recertification, and renewal of Certified
European and International diplomas. In support, we do not believe in stick without carrot, and would like to utilise the outcomes
of this monitoring to evolve and better target our CPD service delivery to you. As the RSC policy states, you are required to reflect
on the outcomes and benefits of your CPD engagement, and in turn,
we intend to use the results of our CPD monitoring to reflect on the
outcomes and benefits of our CPD service delivery.
Learning from experience
Reflecting on my Welding and Cutting Editorial published in Issue
5/2011, I wrote that, reflection is important for our professional
development. Whether we reflect on the results of an entire project,
a decision, or merely a single conversation, reflection initiates a
pause that enables us to externalise the situation and assess the
facts, more as an observer than as a participant, allowing us to view
the evidence from different standpoints. This is learning from experience, or experiential learning, and humans reflect on experiences quite naturally; thats why you may have found yourself
saying to colleagues, Let me reflect on that for a moment, and
taken time to consider the facts before you. You will then run
through questions such as the following:
What is happening/has happened?
What was the cause?
What are the positive and negative aspects of the situation?
How can the situation be improved?
Were my assumptions correct and how might I act if the same situation arose again?
With this guidance in mind, we will supplement our existing Professional Development Plan guidance with a points-based CPD system that will enable you to evaluate the relative benefits of differing
CPD opportunities delivered by The Welding Institute. We will also
introduce a CPD survey to ensure that a representative proportion
of members is considered each year to provide feedback to the Engineering Council on CPD achievement across our membership, to
provide you with feedback on best practices in CPD engagement,
and to provide us with feedback on the effectiveness of our CPD
services. Based on this feedback, we will develop learning outcomes
for our CPD services that will enable you to better select your CPD
activities against the objectives that you have set for yourself in your
Professional Development Plan, and will help you to reflect upon
43
THE WELDING INSTITUTE NEWS
and record what you learned or achieved through your engagement

in that CPD activity.
Our CPD services are not your only option for professional development support; CPD includes anything that you believe has contributed to your learning and development as a professional engineer
or technician. This can include voluntary activity within The Welding
Institute or TWI Certification Ltd, or in the wider community. I encourage everyone who is requested to provide a CPD submission
Eur Ing Dr David Newton Shackleton PhD CEng

FWeldI (20 March 1937 to 22 November 2015)
When viewing a magnificent, tall building or an elegant, widespanned bridge, it is not readily possible to recognise the individual
welds that create such a wonderful structure. In the same way, when
regarding a welding engineer of the stature of David Shackleton,
the multiplicity of his achievements is shrouded by his overall reputation. Whilst the importance of both the welds and the achievements is generally recognised, they are too numerous to list;
however, their significance can be recognised through examination
of some of their details.
Dr David Shackleton was a metallurgist, welding engineer and
quality engineer, a formidable combination of expertise, fused together by industrial experience and career progression, that enabled
him to influence the application of the welding process with direct
engineering decision-making, through development of guidance,
specifications, and standards, and by enhancing and assuring the
professional competence of others.
Following graduation from the University of Sheffield with an
Honours degree in Metallurgy and PhD from the University of
Leeds, in 1964 David commenced work with the British Welding
Research Association (BWRA), which became TWI Ltd. David
contributed to significant developments in welding and materials
testing activities, including work on the Emley Moor Television
Transmitter Mast, and high tensile steels for nuclear submarine
hulls, and was also involved in the development of submerged
arc welding fluxes, which led to his long-standing involvement
in the submerged arc welding technical group. Poignantly, David
also helped to develop electro-slag welding for the Redcar blast
furnace, the closure of which was announced only shortly before
his death.
After 14 years at the British Welding Research Association, David
enjoyed employment with Rockweld, GKN Lincoln Electric, and
Head Wrightson, before becoming an independent consultant in
1986. It was during these engagements that David met and formed
relationships with many who remained friends and colleagues
throughout his long career in welding engineering. It was also in
these roles that David consolidated his knowledge of welding engineering and enhanced his understanding of quality management,
two elements of his expertise that underpinned his enormous contributions to standards development.
For many years, David was the UK delegate to European and International committees for welding standards, and chaired the International Institute of Welding select committee and working group
44
to The Welding Institute or TWI Certification Ltd to do so. It is an

essential element in assuring your continued compliance with competence requirements, and will help you and your peer group benefit from better-targeted and more effectively delivered CPD
services from your Professional Institution.
Eur Ing Chris Eady BSc(Hons) CEng MRAeS FWeldI
Associate Director for Professional Affairs
The Welding Institute
for standardisation for eleven years. Davids expertise in welding

and quality were applied to excellent effect in his contribution to
the development and implementation of standards for the quality
control of welding that have become increasingly important in ensuring the safety and reliability of welded structures internationally.
There is no doubt that Davids influence in BSI, CEN and ISO meetings will have a lasting beneficial impact on the application and effectiveness of welding.
David became a Fellow of The Welding Institute aged 37 and, to
the very end of his career, remained an energetic and committed
supporter of the profession; he contributed selflessly to Institute
committees, activities and events, across development of technology and engineering solutions, through delivery of guidance and
standards, and in governance of professional registration and certification.
In recognition of his commitment, David received The Welding Institute Distinguished Service Award in 2005, and the International
Institute of Welding Thomas Medal in 2007 and, in 2013, the Arthur
Smith Award and also an IIW lapel pin recognising 30 years of service. But these were small recognition of Davids tireless and valuable
contributions.
David was most generous in sharing his knowledge. He authored
more than 70 technical papers and he spoke at countless conferences, seminars and meetings. Beyond formal presentations, so
many were fortunate enough to hear David say, Im going to give
you the benefit of my experience, and to recognise from his soft
voice and knowing smile that his reflection on past events was not
only well meant but accurately targeted and embedded with the information and encouragement we would need to face the challenges
ahead.
In the same way that the impact of that tall building or wide bridge
is more to do with how it is regarded than the sum of its parts, the
full measure of David Shackleton really only comes into perspective
when it is possible to understand how people regarded him. I was
honoured to be asked to speak at Davids funeral and we have received so many messages from his many friends and colleagues
from around the world that, in a few brief moments, I was barely
able to do justice to the warmth of affection in which he was held
and the strength of feeling that was expressed at his untimely passing. The following paragraph, created from some of those comments, provides a deeper insight into David Shackletons
professional impact from some of his friends and colleagues who
knew him best.
David Shackleton was a gentle man and a gentleman, committed
throughout his life to welding engineering, he was a father figure
in our industry who could always be relied upon to provide a

thoughtful and well informed perspective. His perspective on our
industry and meticulous rigour, combined with the calm and intelligent approach that he brought, made him an approachable and
humble man who contributed so much to so many. David was indeed a workaholic, with high professionalism and a remarkable
sense of human values; a person of the highest integrity and honesty. Eur Ing Dr David Shackleton left a lasting impression of a very
dedicated, knowledgeable and personable welding engineer of the
highest order, the ultimate welding professional, and his calming
influence will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by all who
knew him.
Eur Ing Chris Eady Bsc(Hons) CEng MRAeS FWeldI
Notes from The Welding Institutes Pressure and

Process Plant Technical Group (TG5) Meeting held
on 5 November 2015 at TWI, Cambridge, UK
Meeting topic: Pipework fabrication standards and PWHT requirements
The meeting was attended by more than 40 delegates from a variety
of industry stakeholders including operation and maintenance personnel, oil and gas subcontractors, integrity assessment consultants,
corrosion specialists and researchers.
There was a panel discussion towards the end of the meeting
that gave the audience the opportunities to ask questions.
John Marlow, Chairman of the TG5 Meeting, welcomed the participants and gave introductions.
Philip D. Flenner from FES Flenner Engineering Services LLC
made the keynote speech on Revisions to preheat and PWHT
rules ASME B31.1 and B31.3 codes.
Phils presentation covered the significant recent changes for preheat and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) in the ASME B31.1
Power Piping Code and the ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code that
were made in the 2014 editions. The background for these changes
was primarily provided from EPRI research activities supporting
the effects of welding on various thicknesses of carbon and lowalloy steels. The changes were both technical and to the format, such
that the rules have been made consistent between B31.1 and B31.3.
The anticipated future efforts affecting the ASME codes and standards were also discussed.
Kevin Millican from Shell presented on ASME B31.3 2014 PWHT
exemptions an operators perspective.
Kevin discussed the B31.3 changes from an offshore oil and gas operators perspective, and the issues they raise with regards to existing process pipework and for future projects. B31.3 no longer
requires PWHT on carbon manganese steels if an appropriate level

of preheat is applied. His presentation covered the drivers that
brought about the change in PWHT requirement and the question
of whether, if PWHT is optional, the industry has been doing it in
vain, or, is it going to do it wrongly from now.
Marcello Consonni from TWI presented on Temper bead welding.
Marcello started by explaining scenarios where PWHT may become impractical and hence temper bead welding could be applied. He explained principles of temper bead welding followed
by its benefits, namely good heat-affected zone (HAZ) toughness
and reduction in HAZ hardness. He noted ASME codes at the
manufacturing stage for the nuclear industry and pressure vessels,
and also at inservice stage in addition to NBIC code (pressure vessels, inservice). His presentation showed the relevant sections of
the ASME 2015 code for boilers and the pressure vessel section IX
on welding, brazing, and fusing. He finished his presentation with
three case studies from TWI showing repair using temper bead
welding.
Paul Jordinson from Amec Foster Wheeler presented on Performance of local post-weld heat treatment and its effectiveness in site
environments.
Paul began by noting the difference between PWHT and stress-relieving and then explained the reasons why PWHT is typically performed. PWHT is often dictated by codes and service requirements;
it can improve material properties and reduce the risk of H2S and
stress corrosion cracking. He described the methods of PWHT, their
advantages and disadvantages, and the applicable codes and standards stipulating the temperatures required. Key PWHT methods
are those 1) involving the use of furnace (offsite or onsite), where
the whole component is heat treated, and 2) implementing localised
PWHT using electrical resistance or induction heating. Paul then
showed two media files demonstrating how incorrect setup can lead
to bad PWHT result. Paul finished his presentation by emphasising
the importance of using trained personnel, approved procedures
and associated technique sheets, and updated CVs and training
records of relevant personnel. Paul provided the delegates with a
handbook on FGHs standard wrapping specification requirements
for local preheat and PWHT of pipe welds.
Mark Stone from Sonomatic presented on Developments in
methods for nonintrusive inspection of pressure vessels and effective management of pipework.
There is growing application of nonintrusive inspection (NII) of
pressure vessels as a full replacement for or deferment of internal
visual inspection. Marks presentation outlined developments in
approaches to NII, covering both integrity and inspection aspects.
Some examples of recent work were presented. The presentation
also highlighted improvements in approaches to pipework inspection and integrity management, with emphasis on more quantitative methods for planning and evaluating inspections. A summary
of practical application statistical methods for planning and analysis
of data was also presented.
45
Isabel Hadley from TWI presented on Waiver of PWHT by using

ECA.
KENT BRANCH
Isabels presentation covered the reasons why and when PWHT

is required, the problems associated with its use, the use of fracture mechanics or engineering critical assessment (ECA) to potentially waive PWHT requirements, and references to standards
citing ECA.
EXPLANATION AND DEMONSTRATION OF RAIL WELDING

(alumino-thermic)
PWHT is used to reduce welding residual stress and thus the susceptibility to brittle fracture and environmentally assisted fracture,
eg sulphide stress cracking and stress corrosion cracking. It can
improve toughness of the weldment by tempering. However,
PWHT adds to fabrication costs, has safety implications, and there
is code inconsistency in that, for example, tensile properties of
steel may be degraded with PWHT. ECA can be employed to
waive PWHT by showing that the toughness of the aswelded
structure is adequate. BS 7910 provides guidance to ECAbased
methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic structures. Isabel presented two case studies showing the application
of ECA to support decisions regarding PWHT requirements. The
standards that cite ECA include PD5500, BS EN13445, DNV F101,
and BS EN ISO 19902.
REPORT OF MEETING 15th October 2015
The wide-gap system, with the re-useable crucible. The spectacular reaction is at
its peak before the fusible insert has collapsed. To the right (on the sleepered
rail) is the weld of the previous demonstration after the hot shear has removed
The presentation sessions were followed by a panel Q&A session.
the moulds and most of the excess weld metal.
Topics that were discussed include coverage of toughness and

Charpy impact test in ASME B31.1 and .3, effective heat in PWHT,
combining heat requirements and thickness, validation of NII with
internal visual inspection, and the extent of PWHT actually required, if optional.
Inline Track Welding Ltd, Ashmill Business Inline Track Welding Ltd,
Ashmill Business Park, Lenham, Kent, provide Network Rail-approved
rail welding training and also contract to undertake rail welding on
the national rail networks of Europe as well as various tram networks,
using their in-house trained labour. Their principal, David Thomson,
who is member of the Kent Branch, has arranged several visits to his
company to explain and demonstrate rail welding. Our latest visit was
the third and our previous visit was in 2008. In contrast to previous occasions, this event was listed as a Joint Kent Institute Programme
(JKIP) event, which Kent Branch and David Thomson hosted. In addition to Kent Branch, the other Kent institutes cooperating to produce
JKIP this season are the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport
(CILT), the East and West Kent Associations of the Institute of the Motor
Industry (IMI) and the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE).
Deceased members from November 2015

Name
Number
Grade
Joined
Branch
David
Shackleton
503173
Fellow
1972
Teesside
Cedric Salmon
504616
Senior
Member
1969
Kent
Richard Greville
Hughes
505301
Senior
Member
1944
South Wales
Thomas Edward
Malcolm Jones
503440
Fellow
1960
Sheffield
Cedric Salmon
Cedric joined The Welding Institute in 1968 and served on Medway
Branch Committee as Treasurer, Vice Chairman and Chairman
throughout the 1980s and 90s, finally stepping down in 2000 after 25
years continuous service. He was awarded the Loyal Service Award
in 1997 and was elected the Kent Branch President in 2005, a post he
held until 2011.
Malcolm Jones
Malcolm first joined The Welding Institute in 1960 and was very active
in his membership. The institute benefitted from his expertise, knowledge and wisdom throughout the 1980s and 90s, as he served on Professional Board, Council and the Finance and General Purposes
Committee. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 1995.
46
David initially explained the advantages of welded rails. For example,

welding obviates regular fish-plate examination and maintenance and
provides a lower noise level to passengers and bystanders. In addition,
welded rails reduce rail and wheel damage, reducing replacement
costs to both items. David illustrated these points with several short
videos, including an historic fish-plate maintenance instruction video,
the consequences of poor track maintenance, typical noise comparison
between a fish-plated and welded rail and an example of on-site rail
welding being undertaken.
After the videos our group was taken to the warehouse and shown
examples of various rail and tramway sections. David explained how
each different rail section requires a specific mould (assisted by thermally resilient sealants, as necessary) to encapsulate the weld area and
prevent the escape of the molten weld metal. For a given rail section,
more than one mould system may be available.
Rail webs have rolled in details of their specification at regular intervals, which defines the chemistry and mechanical properties of
the rail. In turn, this gives the welding crew the information they
require to identify the correct mixture to match the mechanical
properties (primarily UTS) so that the rail and weld do not wear
differentially. However, in practice, all this information is normally
specified by the main contractor, but the onus is on the welding
crew to check this on-site and raise a query if actual rail identification differs from that advised.
The various systems and mixtures are essentially time-controlled
procedures, i.e. after moulds are secured and sealed, the timing of
pre-heating, the time to position the mixture charge and ignite it,
the time to allow the weld to solidify before the mould supports
and slag trays are removed and before the hydraulic shear is used
to remove the moulds and excess weld metal. Following this, the
weld is dressed to align with the rail running and gauge surfaces.
From the warehouse, we adjourned to the demonstration area
where David and Gary Stevens demonstrated three different systems (French, German and a wide-gap system). Each was a one-shot
system. All three demonstrations utilised different mould forms,
with their respective supports and sealing methods. The first two
systems had the mixture contained within a commercially supplied,
refractory-lined can. In the bottom of the can there is a fusible insert,
which was timed to melt after the reaction has been completed
(reaching around 3000C), to allow the molten charge and lighter
slag to separate.
Once the fusible insert collapsed, the molten charge dropped under
gravity into the weld gap and, because of the degree of superheat,
the rail ends were adequately fused. The excess slag was collected
in slag trays hung on the mould supports. For the wide-gap system,
a reusable reaction crucible was used, which required a larger mixture. The crucible also required a fusible insert, but this had to be
New Developments in Plastic Welding

Joint Technical Group Seminar
TG7 Polymers and Branson Ultrasonics
Granta Centre, Cambridge 2 December 2015
The Welding Institute hosted a joint Technical Group meeting on
Wednesday 2 December, at Granta Centre in Cambridge, the subject
of which was new developments in plastic welding. The meeting
was well attended with 67 persons present, both members and nonmembers.
Dr Mike Troughton, chairman of the Polymers Technical Group,
opened the proceedings and briefly described The Welding Institute
and its Technical Groups.
The first presentation was given by Mr Paul White from Branson Ultrasonics. His presentation was on contoured laser technology. He described basic principles of simultaneous through-transmission laser
Presentation of engraved tankards; left to right: Norman Baldwin (President,

Kent Branch), Gary Stevens (Inline Track Welding), David Thomson (Inline
Track Welding and Branch member), Bernard Dawe (Treasurer, Kent Branch)
positioned by the welder before the mixture is added to the crucible.

It is important that the fusible insert is successfully sealed to prevent
premature collapse before the condition of the reacted charge is optimised.
The Kent Branch Committee sincerely thanks David Thomson and
Gary Stevens for their time and for organising the evening at Inline
Track Welding and also for providing food and refreshments for the
attendees that evening, many of whom have since also expressed
their thanks and how impressed they were with the detail required
and the spectacular demonstrations. As a thank you, Both David
and Gary were subsequently presented with engraved tankards to
commemorate the evening.
Attendance: Total 17, The Welding Institute 5.
N E Baldwin President, Kent Branch
welding technology and its applications. In his presentation he also

described appropriate joint designs, common issues that need to be
avoided in part design and materials compatibility in laser welding.
One of the questions to Paul was about the cost of the laser welding
equipment; he explained that the complexity of the cost of the equipment, with the tooling, laser banks and bundles having to be designed
for welding of a specific part, means it is not easy to give a fixed price.
The second presentation, in absence of Mr Scott Andrews, was
given by Dr Mike Troughton from TWI. Mike introduced the friction
stir welding technique and explained the theory of the process. He
described current applications of this welding process for metals
and also the available equipment at TWI. He then described recent
development work at TWI on friction stir welding of thermoplastics, including welding dissimilar plastics and fibre-reinforced plastics. One of the questions following Mikes presentation asked how
far the process is from being commercially available for welding of
thermoplastics; he replied that it will probably be between three and
five years before it is a commercial process.
47
The second presentation of the afternoon session was by Mr Ian

Jones, who presented the work carried out at TWI to produce the
worlds smallest welds in plastics; less than 1m in width. In his
presentation, Ian covered different aspects of transmission and direct laser welding, including process and equipment variations and
applications.
Following the coffee break Dr Farshad Salamat-Zadeh from TWI

gave a presentation on the use of computed tomography (CT) in
failure investigations for plastic components. He briefly described
the increasing trend in the use of thermoplastics in the automotive
industry since the 1970s, and the increasing importance of welding
techniques to join these thermoplastic components. In his presentation he emphasised the lack of standards for welding of plastics and
the testing of plastic welds. He presented two case studies where
CT identified weak points and flaws in the joints of injectionmoulded components and in the components themselves. He was
asked how long it takes to carry out a CT scan on a welded component. He replied that the duration of the scan depends on the required resolution; if a high resolution is not required, a general scan
of the component will take approximately one hour.
The fourth speaker of the day was Ken Hindwell from Branson Ultrasonics, with a presentation titled ThermoSonics, which is a new
technology that involves ultrasonic staking using a heated horn. He
started his presentation by describing the current problems with ultrasonic staking and heat staking of polymers with high melting
points. In this new technique the ultrasonic horn is heated up to
300C without affecting its efficiency by continuous cooling of the
booster. There were questions regarding tuning of the horn at elevated temperatures. Ken replied that the horn is tuned over a range
of frequencies and the equipment auto-tunes the horn.
During the lunch break the delegates had an opportunity to see
demonstrations of contoured laser technology and the latest ultrasonic welding equipment from Branson Ultrasonics, as well as a
micro-CT system and the Polytest phased array ultrasonic inspection system from TWI.
The afternoon session started with a presentation titled The development of quality standards on the joining of thermoplastic
moulded components, by Mr George Thirlaway from Jaguar Land
Rover. In his presentation, George highlighted the joining quality
issues in the automotive industry and the costs incurred remedying
these issues. He also described the importance of the presence of
standards and procedures in welding and assessing the quality of
welds in the automotive industry and the current initiative to develop international standards to cover the welding of thermoplastic
moulded components.
48
The last presentation of the day, titled Clean vibration technology,

was given by Mr Peter Wells from Branson Ultrasonics. He explained that production of particles can be a major issue with vibration welding, especially in industries where production of debris is
not accepted. He introduced the hybrid IR heating/vibration welding (IR/VIB) technique and explained the benefits of this technique
compared to conventional vibration welding. In his presentation he
described welds made using both the conventional vibration and
the IR/VIB welding techniques.
The meeting was closed by Dr Mike Troughton, who thanked all
the speakers for their contributions and all the delegates for their
participation.
For further information on future meetings of the Polymer Technical
Group, please contact Amir Khamsehnezhad (amir.khamsehnezhad@twi.co.uk) or visit The Welding Institute website
(http://www.theweldinginstitute.com/benefits-branches/membership-services/technical-groups/).
Duplex and super-duplex stainless steels

a refresher
TWI Offshore Oil and Gas Technical Group Meeting (TG4)
Date: Wednesday 11 November 2015, Skyway Aberdeen Hotel,
Aberdeen Airport
Chairman: Alan Denney, Consultant
Secretary: Matthew Haslett, TWI
Number of attendees: 35
Speakers:
Roger Howard, 35 years of the use of duplex grades for offshore oil
and gas: An overview of historical development milestones and the
challenges
Johan Lthman, Sandvik, Duplex and super-duplex an introduction to the grades and their critical differences in performance in
offshore and subsea applications
Andy Backhouse, Daniel Reuithe, Outokumpu, Current developments in the duplex steels grades, manufacturing and offshore applications
Audrey Boule, TWI, Challenges with fatigue fracture morphology
characterisation of duplex and super-duplex
Mark Golding, Metrode, An overview of duplex and super-duplex
properties
Graeme Barritte, Standards and specifications a reality check
A meeting of The Welding Institutes Offshore Oil and Gas Technical
Group was held on Wednesday 11 November 2015 at the Skyway
Hotel in Aberdeen. The theme was Duplex and super-duplex stainless steels a refresher and the meeting was well supported, with
35 professionals from across the industry attending. The speakers
from companies representing primary producers, a consumable
supplier, a fabricator, an end user and a researcher presented on a
range of topics to provide an overview of the history and development of these steels, the critical issues in their use and specification
and some new grades of the steels which are of interest to the offshore industry.
Roger Howard kicked off the meeting with a keynote presentation
entitled 35 years of the use of duplex grades for offshore oil and
gas: An overview of historical development milestones and the challenges. He provided an excellent insight from his many years working in the industry, starting with a rundown of the history of
stainless steel, and in particular duplex. He then moved on to look
at the mechanical properties of duplex and super-duplex and outlined some of the challenges faced with using these steels, including
heat treatment, the risk of development of intermetallic compounds
(notably sigma phase), the problems of supply chain management
and quality management and the risks posed by cathodic protection. The presentation was concluded with discussion on the issues
faced when welding these steels including qualifying welders to
work to welding procedures which need to be applied within narrow parameter ranges.
Sandviks Johan Lthman then presented on Duplex and super-duplex an introduction to the grades and their critical differences in
performance in offshore and subsea applications. He introduced
the different families of duplex stainless steels before looking into
the various mechanical properties that set them apart from other
steels. He highlighted the importance of nitrogen in the corrosion
properties and the factors in hydrogen-induced stress cracking
(HISC). He discussed the challenges with welding and some of the
important aspects related to performance before concluding by
highlighting a specific use of hyper-duplex in the offshore industry
for deep-sea umbilicals.
The morning session was concluded by Andy Backhouse and
Daniel Reuithe from Outokumpu, who talked about Current developments in the duplex steels grades, manufacturing and offshore applications. Andy set the scene with an overview of the
company and the range of leaner duplex alloys. Daniel outlined
the properties of a high-strength duplex alternative to 316, EDX
2304. This grade is a variant on 2304 with a more restrictive
analysis range including an increase in the minimum nitrogen,
chromium and molybdenum and a reduction in nickel. It has a
PREN of greater than 28 and can be used for blast walls, structural pipe, cable trays and process vessels. Andy then discussed
another duplex grade, LDX 2101, which can be used as a lowcost variant with corrosion resistance intermediate between alloy
304 and 316 with the strength of a duplex steel. Its uses are for
low-pressure vessels and storage tanks. He also highlighted the
use of lean duplex steels as alternatives to austenitic and carbon
steels, with examples of their use in casing units for the nuclear
industry and lightweight bridges. Daniel finished by outlining
the development of duplex alloys with enhanced formability.
After an opportunity for networking over an excellent buffet lunch,

the first afternoon session consisted of two presentations: Challenges
with fatigue fracture morphology characterisation of duplex and
super-duplex by Audrey Boule from TWI and An overview of duplex and super-duplex properties by Mark Golding from Metrode.
Audreys presentation covered current exploratory work at TWI
looking into the challenges of characterising fatigue fracture in duplex and super-duplex. She provided an overview of fatigue features and the most common challenges faced when trying to
identify these types of failure. These steels do not show the beach
markings and striations under SEM examination which are characteristic of fatigue in carbon steels. She highlighted a couple of examples of failures that were difficult to characterise (fatigue failure
in a flowline and a pipe-to-stiffener weld) and the fact that these
difficulties were encountered in many other materials as well (e.g.
Alloy 825 clad X65 pipe). She concluded by outlining the objectives
of the current work and the future plans to try and help with these
characterisation problems.
Mark discussed problem areas when working with duplex and
super-duplex. He talked about the requirements and difficulties
when welding, before concentrating on the problems faced in a
number of important areas including hardness, ferrite content,
toughness, corrosion testing and corrosion resistance, also outlining
how some of these problems can be tackled and overcome. He went
into detail about the major difficulties in measuring ferrite content
using the methods currently available, the effect of intermetallic
phases on corrosion resistance and the wide range of differences
across testing laboratories when it comes to the G48A corrosion test.
Graeme Barritte concluded the meeting, talking about Standards
and specifications a reality check. He talked about the fact that
project and company specifications continue to dominate ahead of
British and international standards and the problems that this can
cause. He highlighted the danger in the cut and paste culture of
preparing these specifications by using as an example the amount
of sigma phase allowed in specifications for welded duplex, with
examples of the limit being 1%, 0.5%, 0.05% and zero, which he related to the challenge of actually measuring the amount of sigma
phase. He observed that this may not be necessary since the Charpy
test requirements and corrosion test requirements may be more
valuable indicators of potential future performance. He also mentioned the saga of G48 testing and the seemingly arbitrary requirements that are often laid down by companies for these tests, notably
test temperature with specified requirements of 20, 22, 22.5, 24 and
25C quoted. He concluded by proposing that TWI re-address its
guidance in these areas and stating that the standards should be updated using the good parts from project specifications to simplify
the methodology and provide a common approach.
Wrapping up the meeting, Alan Denney (Chairman) thanked the
secretariat in TWI for organising the meeting, the speakers for presenting and all present for attending the meeting, for participating
actively in the discussions and for making the meeting a success.
Matthew Haslett
49
Teesside Branch
Forty-seven Middlesbrough College students were given an insight
into the merits of becoming an official member of The Welding Institute at a two-day conference aimed to ignite students interest in
the subject.
The Welding Institute is the leading
professional engineering institution responsible for the professional registration and certification of welding and
joining personnel worldwide, working
across all industry sectors and in all aspects of manufacturing and fabrication.
Taking place on 4 and 5 November, the
conference was delivered by Colin Galbraith, programme secretary
for the Teesside Branch of The Welding Institute.
He commented: Our services include consultancy, technical advice,
research and investigation for industrial member companies and
public funding bodies. Today we have been able to show students
the benefits of joining our organisation and how they can tap into
our resource base. The three-hour sessions were well attended by
both apprentices on day release at the college and full-time Level 2

and 3 vocational learners. All of the students who attended were
given a free one-year membership.
Peter Wood, lecturer of fabrication and welding, commented: We
regularly invite industry professionals into the college to spark students interests in the range of career opportunities available in the
world of STEM.
It is hoped that visits such as these will encourage more young people to pursue a career in the engineering industry. This is in line
with the colleges STEM agenda, which hopes to encourage young
people from all backgrounds to consider a career in science, technology, engineering or maths.
Its 20million STEM Training Centre is now open. It will use superrealistic training to help bridge the engineering skills gap in the region.
For further information on the range of courses available at Middlesbrough College call +44 (0)1642 333333.
Nathan Wadwell
New members of The Welding Institute (12 Nov 2015 16 Jan 2016)
Member No
Name
Member Grade
EngC Registration
Branch
Prev. Member Grade
504238
504784
504069
BOYD, Iain
DOXFORD, Walter
BRIDGER Keith
Fellow
Fellow
Fellow
CEng
CEng
-
MAN
TEE
EMI
Senior Member/CEng
Senior Member/CEng
Senior Member
657827
671768
671571
688096
550196
509885
612512
648646
662336
682163
657401
659408
593297
560224
593112
687401
566200
687771
691221
HUDSON, Daniel
BALDOMIR, Luis
STRAWBRIDGE, Trevor
WEI Sam
Mark ATKINSON
ERIBO Clement
EVANS Leighton
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SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Identication of key GMAW llet weld parameters and

interactions using articial neural networks
Fillet welds are one of the most commonly used weld joints but one of the
most difficult to weld consistently. This paper presents a technique using
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to identify the key Gas Metal Arc Welding
(GMAW) fillet weld parameters and interactions that impact on the resultant geometry, when using a metal cored wire. The input parameters
to the model were current, voltage, travel speed, gun angle and travel
angle and the outputs of the model were penetration and leg length. The
model was in good agreement with experimental data collected and the
subsequent sensitivity analysis showed that current was the most influential parameter in determining penetration and that travel speed, followed closely by current and voltage were most influential in determining
the leg length. The paper also concludes that a pushing travel angle is
preferred when trying to control the resultant geometry mainly because
both the resultant leg length and penetration appear to be less sensitive
to changes in heat input.
1 Introduction
Fig. 1 Fillet weld

inputs and outputs.
Presently there is no economic technology available

to accurately measure the actual internal geometry of a
fillet weld without destructively testing the work piece.
The external geometry of a fillet weld can be measured
easily using specifically designed gauges, but the internal
characteristics, such as penetration, cannot be measured
as easily. Penetration is critical in determining the structural integrity of a fillet weld to ensure that the axis between the bar and the plate is effectively cut.
In order to guarantee satisfactory penetration and
weld geometry it is imperative that a high level of control
of the welding parameters can be demonstrated. Over the
years there have been numerous studies [1, 3-4] proving
that the ability to predict weld geometry is related to the
level of control of the parameters. Miller [1] reported that
tight control of electrode placement, fit-up, welding posi-
THE AUTHORS
Jonathan Cairns MEng Dipl Mgt CEng MIET
graduated from Strathclyde University, Glasgow/UK in 2004 with a MEng in Manufacturing
Sciences and Engineering with a Diploma in
Management for Engineers. He is currently
working as a Production Engineer at BAE Systems Naval Ships yard in Glasgow/UK and is
undertaking a part time PhD on Gas Metal Arc
Fillet Welding at Strathclyde University.
Dr. Alex M. Galloway, CEng, MIMechE, is Associate Dean (International) at the Faculty of
Engineering, University of Strathclyde in Glasgow/UK. Current research includes weld distortion studies of stiffened plates using thermomechanical modelling, in collaboration with
BAE Systems, and the development of microstructure property relationships in friction
stir welded steel.
Dr. Norrie A. McPherson holds a PhD in metallurgy from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow/UK. Since the end of 2014 he has held a
position as Knowledge Exchange Associate
within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow/UK.
KEYWORDS
Articial Neural Networks (ANN), Fillet welding, Design of
Experiments (DOE), Gas-shielded metal arc welding (GMAW)
tion and welding procedures are required to ensure repeatability. Initial investigations would seem to indicate
that increasing stick out increases spatter but reduces
penetration and the width of the weld bead.
There are also studies [12, 22] which demonstrate that
alternating the shielding gas can have a positive effect on
the level of weld penetration whilst reducing leg length
and also that the shielding gas flow rate can be reduced
substantially without impacting the overall coverage and
quality of the weld. Tham et al [3] also demonstrated the
correlation between the welding parameters and the resultant bead geometry. Table 1 shows the results of a short
study of a number of welders showing the parameters
they used to complete a series of downhand fillet welds.
The variation seen in this study highlights that even within
a group of experienced welders there is a high level of
variation of the input parameter settings for a relatively
simple fillet weld arrangement.
51
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Fig. 2 Welding
rig.
Fig. 3 Gun angle
orientation.
There have been numerous papers written and studies

undertaken on the subject of controlling GMAW weld parameters and resultant geometry; however as Fig. 1 shows,
the large number of input parameters and variables (this
list is indicative not exhaustive) makes it extremely challenging to understand exactly what impact the variation
each of the inputs (and their interactions with each other)
has on the resultant fillet weld. The impact of this variation
will be discussed later. However, in order to maintain consistent quality fillet welds it is critical to understand the
extent to which each of these input parameters (and their
interactions) affect the resultant outputs. Furthermore if
a robust process control model can be developed that can
demonstrate tight control of the parameters and interactions that affect the joint geometry, then confidence can
be increased that sufficient penetration and leg length is
being achieved whilst heat input and distortion is minimised.
This paper details the first stage of a wider scope of
work which will focus on understanding how the input
parameters in Fig. 1 interact and impact the resultant fillet
weld geometry. One of the key goals of this research is ultimately to provide guidance on parameter control to ensure that all automated welding is carried out consistently.
This paper however will deal specifically with understanding the impact and interactions the following parameters
current voltage, travel speed, travel angle and gun angle
have on the resultant fillet weld geometry (leg length
and penetration).
There are many sources of guidance on input parameter selection for GMAW, in both academic and industrial
publications. However on closer inspection the wealth of
guidance on offer can be confusing and at times contradictory. The following examples, taken from a mixture of
suppliers websites, technical documentation and academic publications, highlight the level of variation and
the complexities involved in trying to identify exactly what
the optimum gun and travel angles are for GMAW fillet
welding.
Miller Electric [6] advise that a pushing (+ve) travel
angle produces less penetration and a flatter bead (so con-
52
versely a pulling (-ve) travel angle produces a deeper/narrower bead). Miller Electric [6] also advises using a travel
angle of 5 to 15 because increasing to greater than 20 to
25 creates more spatter, less penetration and is consequently less stable. Similar advice can be found from Esabs
online handbook where a backhand (pulling) technique
is recommended to reduce spatter and produce a more
stable arc. Esab also advise that a backhand technique increases penetration and bead width, whereas a forehand
(pushing) technique reduces the penetration and bead
width of the resultant weld. BOC [7] advises that for metal
cored GMAW the travel angle should be 20 to 30 (pushing). Harwig [8] advises that higher deposition rates can
be achieved with a 15 pushing travel angle, Bhattacharya
[9] advises that in general pushing reduces deposition
efficiency, however Lincoln Electric [10] advise using a
pulling angle of between 20 to 30. The range of gun angles also varies depending on what publication is being
referred to. Lincoln Electric [10] recommends using a gun
angle of less than 45 and BOC [7] a gun angle range of 30
to 40. Tham et al [3] also conducted investigations using
a fixed gun angle of 45. The experiments detailed within
this paper, with the aid of an ANN model aim to try and
provide some clarity as to what guidance can be confidently applied to GMAW mild steel fillet joints (6 mm).
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are computing systems consisting of a collection of interconnected processing elements which are able to represent complex interactions between process inputs and outputs, such as that
shown for fillet welding. During the model development
a number of different network topologies were assessed
including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Generalised Feed
Forward (GFF) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN).
As part of the model development the software produced
a report comparing the accuracy of the different various
network topologies. This report concluded that a MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP) Model, with five inputs, two hidden layers and three output layers was the most accurate
model and so was selected.
ANNs can be used to predict the outputs to a process
as long as sufficient data is created and fed in to train the
model. The ANN can identify patterns, trends and interactions that are too complex to be detected by other existing methods and technologies. Bhadeshia [19] suggests
that ANNs are ideal for determining welding process parameters such as penetration. ANNs which could accurately predict the penetration and internal geometry of a
fillet joint would provide a great benefit by greatly reducing
the cost (material and labour) or trialling and testing new
welding procedures and processes. The main benefits that
ANNs provide are:
They do not require any predefined relationship between the variables to be understood.
They allow patterns, trends and interactions to be
identified that otherwise would be impossible to detect.
They work well when there are a large number of diverse variables to analyse.
They can be used and applied to a variety of problems
(not specific to thermo-mechanical engineering related processes).
They can be used to process symbolic data as well as
numeric data.
There are however some important limitations in using
MLP ANN models that need to be understood:
They do not explain why patterns and/or interactions
exist so it requires analyses and interpretation of the
results.
Fig. 4 Travel angle orientation.
Fig. 6 Key llet weld geometry.
They may not always find the optimal solution.

The model development requires an element of trial
and error (trying different network topologies, iterations, number of layers etc.) in order to try and create
the most accurate model.
There are numerous examples of ANNs that have been
developed to predict GMAW fillet weld geometries. [1118] provide examples of ANNs that have been successfully
developed using a subset of the input and output parameters shown in Fig. 1. However there are no publications
that investigate the impact of both the travel angle and
the gun angle (and their interactions) have on the resultant
fillet weld geometry (horizontal leg length, vertical leg
length and penetration). This paper will use ANNs to
analyse the relationship/impact that the current, voltage,
travel speed, torch travel angle and gun angle have on the
resultant fillet weld geometry (leg length and penetration).
It will also analyse if the interactions between these input
parameters are significant in influencing the resultant
weld geometry.
2 Experimental procedure
In total 97 test plates were welded on the rig (Fig. 2) at
Strathclyde University using a customised jig to set the
gun and travel angle. The jig was designed to allow the
torch (gun) angle (Fig. 3) to be set at 5 increments from
35 to 50 relative to the horizontal base plate. The jig also
Fig. 5 Macro image and photograph of acceptable llet weld prole.
Fig. 7 ANN model results (actual vs. predicted).
53
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
allowed the torch travel angle

(Fig. 4) to be set a 15 increments from 30to +30 relative
to the direction of travel. Each
test piece consisted of two (100
mm 500 mm 6 mm)
primed DH36 grade steel test
plates tack welded together at
90 to form a T-Joint. Magnetic
aids were used to set the 90 fillet angle. Primed plates were
used to best replicate production conditions and all the experimental plates were cut from
the same primed steel plate in
order to minimise the potential
impact of the primer during the
experiments.
The impact of primer as a
welding variable is out with the
scope of this paper, however
further investigation is planned
to understand what impact the
primer has on the stability of the
arc and the resultant geometry.
The welding process used was
gas metal arc welding (GMAW)
performed using 1 mm diameter (NST MC-1) metal cored
welding wire fed through a stationery straight necked torch
suspended above the moving
test piece. A pre-calibrated
Portable Arc Monitoring System
(PAMS) was connected to the
equipment during the experiments to obtain accurate readings for the arc voltage and current.
Table 2 Experimental parameters.
Fig. 8 Results of ANN sensitivity analysis.
Table 1 Variation in parameter settings for manual welding
54
Fig. 9 Impact of varying travel angle has on penetration.
Table 3 Fillet
weld cost model.
Fig. 10 Effect that

changing the travel
angle (from push
to pull) has on the
difference between
the resultant horizontal and vertical
leg lengths.
All test pieces were single side welded in the downhand (2F) position. Table 2 shows the parameters that
were varied and kept constant during the experiments.
Once welded the test pieces were cut and macrographed
(Fig. 5) so that the internal geometry of the weld could
be photographed and then measured. Imaging software
(ImageJ) was then used to measure the leg length and
penetration, as identified below, from each sample. The
weld geometry characteristics (Fig. 6) defined above were
then reviewed against a combination of Lloyds Register
rules and regulations for Naval Ships [21] and local shipyard guidelines to assess whether or not they could be
categorised as acceptable or not.
3 Results
Comparing the experimental results against the settings detailed in Table 1 indicated that this level of parameter variation can cause the leg length and penetration
of the resultant weld to vary by approximately 20% and

80% respectively. A simple cost model analysis (Table 3)
also highlighted that the fillet weld cost (labour and material) could be reduced by approximately 20% and the
heat input by 44% simply by selecting and maintaining
tight control of an optimal set of parameters. This 20%
cost saving does not take into consideration any subsequent distortion related costs (i.e. additional fairing, heat
damage, rework), so in real life production the cost savings
associated with maintaining tight control of welding parameters could be much higher.
4 ANN model development

Neurosolutions for Excel was used to develop the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). A total of 97 test pieces
were analysed in order to develop the model. 72 samples
were used to train the model and 25 for cross validating
and testing the model. The input variables to the model
were current, voltage, travel speed, travel angle and gun
angle. The desired output variables to the model were
penetration, vertical leg length and horizontal leg length.
The model was run three times in order to ensure acceptable levels of repeatability. The analysis concluded that a
Multi-Layer Perceptron Model with five inputs (current,
voltage, travel speed, gun angle and travel angle), two hidden layers and three output layers (horizontal leg length,
vertical leg length and penetration) was the most accurate
model and so was selected.
Once the model had been trained and tested its ability
to predict fillet weld leg length and penetration given input
values for current, voltage, travel speed, gun angle and
travel angle was further validated with some additional
experimental data. Fig. 7 shows the results of this validation. The results showed good overall agreement between
the predicted and the actual outputs for both the vertical
and horizontal leg length. There was also reasonable
55
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
agreement between the predicted and actual outputs for

penetration, however this would be expected due to the
higher % error in measuring the relatively small sizes of
penetration.
5 Sensitivity analysis Main effects and

interaction
Once the ANN model had been trained and tested a
sensitivity analysis was conducted using Neurosolutions
for Excel. The results of the sensitivity analysis are shown
in Fig. 8. The analysis indicates that current was the most
influential parameter in determining the penetration of
the fillet weld and that the travel speed was the most influential parameter in determining the vertical and horizontal leg lengths. The analysis also shows the travel angle
and the gun angle are not insignificant in determining
the vertical and horizontal leg lengths as single variables.
This confirms the results of further sensitivity analysis of
the variables and their interactions, and will be discussed
in a later section.
Following the results of the ANN model, an Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) study was carried out in order to
determine if any of the interactions between the input
variables are significant in predicting the penetration and
leg length of the resultant fillet weld. This analysis highlighted that current was the most influential parameter
in determining the penetration of the fillet weld. This
seems to support the results of the ANN sensitivity analysis. The analysis also concluded that the three way interaction between the gun angle, travel angle and current
and the two way interaction between the travel angle and
current were both significant in determining fillet weld
geometry. The analysis also highlighted that the two way
interaction between travel speed and travel angle was the
most influential in determining the leg length, followed
closely by travel speed.
The dominance of travel speed in these results again
reinforce the results from the ANN sensitivity analysis
(Fig. 8), that travel speed was the most influential factor.
Travel speed is one of the key factors in determining the
amount of filler material that is deposited at each position
across the length of the weld, so it is logical that the angle
of deposition (travel angle) and the volume of filler material deposited per unit length are the most influential factors in determining the leg length. The significance of the
travel speed in determining GMAW geometry reflects
favourably with the data reported by Campbell et al [11]
when developing an ANN model to predict GMAW weld
geometry.
Further analysis of the experimental data shows that
a pushing (+ve) travel angle improves the consistency
of the resultant penetration (Fig. 9) and leg length, regardless of the heat input. The results also show that for
pulling (-ve) and neutral travel angles the leg length increases proportionally with the heat input, however for
pushing (+ve) travel angles the resultant leg length is
less sensitive to increases in heat input. Fig. 10 also
shows that a pushing (+ve) travel angle reduced the variation between the resultant horizontal and vertical leg
56
lengths compared to when the torch is being pulled (ve). This would be in line with industrial supplier guidance which advocates pushing when using metal cored
wires as recommended by BOC [7] on lighter gauge material.
An improved coverage of shielding gas, caused by the
pushing travel angle may also be one of the main contributing factors towards the observed reduced variation
in leg length and penetration. A similar analysis was conducted on the impact that the gun angle has on the penetration and leg length of a fillet weld. The results show
that the gun angle seems to have no significant impact on
the leg length of the resultant weld; however the variation
in penetration of the welds conducted with a gun angle
of 50 appeared to be slightly more stable than at 40 and
45. The experimental results also demonstrated that on
average a pushing travel angle produces less penetration
and a flatter weld bead. Conversely the pulling experiments produced a fillet weld with a more rounded reinforcement. This supports the technological stance put forward by Miller Electric [6].
The results also show that ANN software can be used
to create a model which can accurately predict fillet weld
geometry given a range of input parameters. The results
of the sensitivity analysis and the assessment of the interactions were also in broad agreement that current is the
most influential factor when determining penetration and
that travel speed and current are both influential factors
in determining leg length. The effect and interaction analysis also identified that there are a number of interactions
between the input parameters that are significant in determining both the penetration and leg length of the fillet
weld. Further studies will be required to assess the aforementioned interactions in more detail and understand
how the constituent input parameters affect the geometry
via the interaction.
6 Conclusions
This study has confirmed, using an ANN Model, the
impact that key GMAW input parameters have on the resultant penetration and leg length of a fillet weld. Based
on the results of this work we can draw the following conclusions:
Current is the most significant factor in determining
penetration.
Both travel speed and current are significant in determining the leg length.
A pushing travel angle produces a more consistent
level of penetration and leg length that are less sensitive to variations in heat input.
An optimised set of parameters can generate cost
savings of approximately 20% and a reduction in heat
input of 40% for a GMAW fillet weld.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank BAE Systems Naval Ships for
permission to publish this paper.
Literature
[1] Miller, D.K.: Consider penetration when determining fillet
weld size. Welding Innovation 1998, Vol XV, No.1, pp. 20/22.
[2] Welding Technology Institute of Australia: A Guide for Welding, Assessment and Inspection of Fillet Welding. May 2006
[3] Tham, G., et al.: Predicting the GMAW 3F T-Fillet Geometry
and its Welding Patameter. Procedia Engineering, International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors, Vol.
41 (2012), pp. 1794/99.
[4] Beckett, S., et al.: Improved Welding Control of Automated
Fillet Welding for Ship Structures Using Artificial Neural
Networks (ANN). Presented at JOM 16 Conference, May
2011, Helsingor.
[5] Lightfoot, M.P., et al.: The Application of Artificial Neural
Networks to Weld-Induced Deformation in Ship Plate. Supplement to the Welding Journal, February 2005, pp. 23s/26s.
[6] Miller Electric Mfg. Co: Guidelines for Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), 2012-04.
[7] BOC: Fundamentals of flux and Metal Cored Arc Welding,
Section 8: Consumables (2007), pp. 322/325.
[8] Harwig, D.: Arc Wise Optimisation, Productivity and Quality in Arc Welding. Materials Joining Technology Newsletter,
Vol. 13 (2000), No 2.
[9] Pal, K., et al.: Multisensor-based monitoring of weld deposition and plate distortion for various torch angles in pulsed
MIG welding. Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 50: 543/56.
[10] Lincoln Electric: Innershield Welding Guide. Publication
C3.2400, Issue Date 02/11, pp. 21/31.
[11] Campbell, S.W., et al.: Artificial Neural Network Prediction
of Weld Geometry performed using GMAW with Alternating Shielding Gases. Welding Journal, Vol. 91, No. 6, June
2012. Supplement: Welding Research, pp.174s/181s, ISSN:
0043-2296 .
(12)Dadgar Asl, Y., et al.: Prediction of Weld Penetration in
FCAW of HSLA Steel using Artificial Neural Networks. AIP
Conf. Proc. 1315, 884 (2011).
[13] Moon, H., and S. Na: Optimum Design Based on Mathematical Model and Neural Network to Predict Weld Parameters for Fillet Joints. Journal of Manufacturing Systems,
01/1997; 16(1):13/23.
[14] Andersen, K., et al.: Artificial Neural Networks Applied to
Arc Welding Process Modeling and Control. IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications. 10/1990; 26(5): 824/30.
[15] Nagesh, D.S., and G.L. Datta: Prediction of weld bead
geometry and penetration in shielded metal-arc welding
using artificial neural networks. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 123, No. 2, pp. 303/312, April 2002.
[16] Nagesh, D.S., and G.L. Datta: Modeling of fillet welded joint
of GMAW process: integrated approach using DOE, ANN
and GA. International Journal for Interactive Design and
Manufacturing (IJIDeM) 07/2008; 2(3): 127/36.
[17] Kumar, A., and T. Debroy: Tailoring Fillet Weld Geometry
Using a Genetic Algorithm and a Neural Network Trained
with Convective Heat Flow Calculations. Welding Journal,
Vol. 86, No.1., January 2007, pp. 26/33.
[18] Chan, B., et al.: Modelling Gas Metal Arc Weld Geometry
Using Artificial Neural Network Technology. Canadian
Metallurgical Quarterly, Vol. 38, No.1., January 1999, pp.
43/51.
[19] Bhadeshia, H.K.D.H.: Neural Networks in Materials Science. ISIJ International, Vol. 39 (1999), No. 10, pp. 966/79.
[20] Kim, I.S., et al.: An investigation into an intelligent system
for predicting bead geometry in GMA Welding process.
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 159, No.
1., January 2005, pp. 113/118.
[21] Lloyds Register: Rules and Regulations for the classification
of Naval Ships. Jan. 2011, Vol. 1, Part 6, Chapter 6, Section
4, pp. 11/17.
[22] Campbell, S.W., et al.: GMAW Shielding Gas Flow Optimisation by Refinement of Nozzle Geometry. 8th Pacific
Rim International Congress on Advanced Materials and
Processing, August 2013, Hawaii.
Welding and Cutting editorial preview

Issue 2 (March/April)
Issue 3 (May/June)
Thermal spraying: materials and applications

Examples of applications in welding and cutting technology
Automation using robots and sensors for joining

Use of adhesive bonding technology
Closing date for editiorial contributions: 7 March 2016

Closing date for advertisements: 22 March 2016
Closing date for editiorial contributions: 9 May 2016

Closing date for advertisements: 12 May 2016
The editorial preview is subject to modifications.

For information about advertising, please contact:
Iris Jansen, DVS Media GmbH, Dsseldorf/Germany, e-mail iris.jansen@dvs-hg.de
For information about submitting editorial contributions, please contact:
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57
German welders win Silver at the WeldCup

The DVS Team Germany comfortably
occupied the runners-up spot at the second
European welding competition WeldCup
at TWI The Welding Institute in Cambridge/UK on 21 October 2015. The team
from Rumania came first and the third place
went to the United Kingdom.
The German team which was composed
of the winners of the 11th national DVS
Young Welders competition was accom-
panied in situ by coaches and representatives of the Young Welders working group
of DVS. In total, six European countries were
represented at the WeldCup with their upand-coming welders.
The DVS team was able to prepare for
the WeldCup at the SK Pfalz welding technology course centre for a whole week before the competition. The intensive training
in Kaiserslautern was made possible,
amongst other factors, by the support of

sponsors. The stay at SK Pfalz and the outstanding coaching in situ were worthwhile
because the young welders showed their
gratitude with the Silver Medal.
At the worlds premier welding fair
Schweissen & Schneiden in Dsseldorf in
September 2017, young welders will once
again compete against each other in the
competition.
The DVS team secured the second place at the

WeldCup in Cambridge for Germany (from
left to right): Philipp Schreier, Janik Schmidt,
Elias Sutter and Tobias Piesch. (Photo: Martin
Schneider)
A reason to celebrate: 40 years of the

DVS Research Association
The DVS Research Association on Welding and Allied Processes can look at a birthday with a zero: On 30 September 2015, it
celebrated its 40th anniversary with a festive
event in the Maritim Hotel in Cologne to
which a large number of members and
friends of the Research Association came.
For example, the DVS President Professor Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Flegel, Professor Dr.Ing. Uwe Reisgen as the representative of
the Scientific Society for Joining Technology,
Ernst Miklos from Linde AG and Professor
Dr.-Ing. Hans-Dieter Steffens, honorary and
founding member of the Research Association, did not want to miss the chance to re-
58
view the 40 years in their welcoming addresses and speeches.

In his speech, Dr.-Ing. Godehard
Schmitz as the Chairman of the Research
Association examined what challenges for
joining technology will move the Research
Association in the next few years. In this respect, he drew attention to the cross-sectional subjects such as Joining technology
for wind energy or Industry 4.0 which will
increasingly play a great role. The Research
Association will commission a study in order
to elaborate the Industry 4.0 subject and
its significance for joining technology.
One day after the festivities, the Research
The Chairman of
the Research Association Dr.-Ing.
Godehard Schmitz.
(Photo: DVS)
Council meeting and the General Assembly

of the Research Association took place at the
same venue and served to set the points for
continuing success in the future.
Premiere turned out well: DVS presented itself

successfully at Fabtech
This year, the DVS society presented itself together with DVS Media GmbH at
Fabtech, North Americas largest fair for
metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing technologies, for the first time. From
9 to 12 November 2015, over 43,000 guests
broke the previous record for the number of
visitors to the McCormick Place conference
and fair centre in Chicago/USA. Thus, DVS
was represented overseas at exactly the right

point in time.
At DVSs request, there was also a German Pavilion, the official German cooperative booth, at Fabtech for the first time.
There, a total of 13 firms took the opportunity to introduce their products or services.
On the DVS booth, a large number of visitors
obtained information about the ranges offered by the German society such as,
amongst others, about a DVS membership.
We are positively surprised by the great interest on the part of the American trade visitors, according to Dr.-Ing. Roland Boecking, General Manager of DVS. On behalf of
the society, he was able to address the subject of a double membership between DVS
and the American Welding Society (AWS) in
even greater detail at the fair.
In addition to many different conferences, the International Electron Beam

Welding (IEBW) Conference also took place
at Fabtech. IEBW is a joint event of AWS,
DVS and the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and was staged for the third time
already. No fewer than 75 international experts from science and industry took part in
the conference. At present, one particular
main focal point in this field relates to transferring the beam measurement as a quality
criterion to guidelines or standards in order
to master the welding processes on various
installations. Evaluation recommendations
about mechanical fracture properties of
electron beam welds will be transferred to
sets of DVS rules in the future.
The next Fabtech will take place in Las Vegas from 16 to 18 November 2016.
The CEO Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Emil Schubert (far left)
and the Marketing Manager Jan Hasselbaum (far
right) of Abicor Binzel
visited the DVS General
Manager Dr.-Ing. Roland
Boecking and Melanie
Liesenhoff, DVS Booth
Manager, on the booth at
Fabtech.
Fabtech, North Americas largest fair for metal

forming, fabricating, welding and nishing
technologies, took place in Chicago in November
2015. (Photos: DVS)
German-American cooperation between DVS and AWS

For many years already, there have been
close relations between DVS and AWS the
American Welding Society. Both societies
have great interest in extending their cooperation even further. The DVS Congress
and the DVS Expo in Nuremberg in September resulted in the opportunity to discuss possible cooperation ideas. The setting
for this was formed by a joint discussion between David J. Landon, AWS President in
2015, the DVS President Professor Dr.-Ing.
Heinrich Flegel, the DVS General Manager

Dr.-Ing. Roland Boecking and Professor Dr.Ing. Peter Mayr from the Chemnitz University of Technology in his function as the
Head of the German Section of AWS.
Landon sees in DVS an important partner for worldwide cooperation in joining
technology, particularly with regard to the
foreign fairs in the Schweissen & Schneiden family. Landon also found words of
praise for the joint work between AWS and
its Germany International Section. Because,

under the leadership of Professor Mayr, the
number of members of the Section has risen
by 39%, from 57 people in 2014 to 79 in 2015.
Professor Flegels proposal to mutually delegate Presidents or General Managers of the
societies to the respective society bodies in
the future was received positively. However,
it has not yet been decided whether and how
this proposal can be implemented in concrete terms.
59
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
Structural morphologies in the case of the resistance

spot welding of aluminium/steel joints
In comparison with the joining of similar materials, the thermal joining of
dissimilar materials such as aluminium and steel is characterised by complicated joining technologies. The parameters of the welding current and
the welding time have the biggest influences on the temperature profile in
the joining plane. The resulting diffusion kinetics of the principal alloying
elements exert decisive influences on the forming structural morphology
and thus on the mechanical and technological properties. Any arising intermetallic phases of the FexAly type make the joint more brittle because
of their complex lattice structure and their bonding character. The shorttime, strong heating of the joining plane using high welding currents should
be striven for in order to attain a fine-grained homogeneous nature of the
intermetallic compound and to minimise the distinctness of this.
1 Introduction
Due to those strategies for decreasing the CO2 emissions of passenger cars which were already published in
February 2007, the automobile manufacturers are currently facing the challenge of lowering the vehicle mass
even further using consistent lightweight construction [1].
The targeted substitution of classical steel materials is being striven for in order to comply with the statutory limiting values for average CO2 emissions of 95g/km per vehicle by 2020 [2]. One example of this is the use of aluminium in the region of the exterior panelling of the vehicle.
Material combination results in challenging applications
for joining technology. Because of its high economic viability and reproducibility of the welding results, resistance
spot welding is a thermal joining process widely utilised
in automobile construction. Continuous refinements of
the installation and process engineering have meant that
the similar joining of steel or aluminium is assured nowadays and belongs to the state of the art [3].
For the joining of dissimilar materials (e.g. aluminium
with steel), preference is currently being given to mechanical joining technology. The reason for this is that a joint
forms via intermetallic phases during the thermal joining
THE AUTHORS
M. Sc. Florian Goldmann studied Mechanical
Engineering at the University of Rostock/Germany with Materials Engineering/Welding Technology as the specialised eld. Since the end of
2013, he has been an employee at LWF Transfer
GmbH & Co. KG and has dealt with the resistance spot welding of mixed aluminium/steel
joints in the eld of the technological development of thermal/mechanical joining at AUDI AG
in Ingolstadt.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ortwin Hahn was promoted to
professorial status at the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering at the RWTH Aachen University in
1975. He was appointed as the Head of the Full
Professorship of Materials Engineering and
Joining Technology at the Comprehensive University of Paderborn/Germany in 1976. He managed the Laboratory for Materials Engineering
and Joining Technology (LWF) at the University
of Paderborn until 2011.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Tetzlaff teaches Materials
Engineering, Chipless Fabrication Processes and
Composite Materials at the Ingolstadt University of Technology in Ingolstadt/Germany. There,
he manages the Laboratory for Materials Analytics. His main focal points lie in the elds of
high-temperature applications, tribology and
joining technology.
Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Kunze completed the studies in Engineering and Business Administration
at the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg/Germany. Since 2012, he has been an employee at AUDI AG where he has been active in
the technological development of thermal/mechanical joining in the eld of resistance welding. At the start of 2014, he obtained his doctorate at the University of Paderborn on the
subject of the resistance spot welding of aluminium bodywork materials.
KEYWORDS
Aluminium, aluminium alloys, metallurgical questions, cracking, resistance pressure welding
Fig. 1 Electrical resistance prole and heat development

during the resistance spot welding of similar steel joints (left)
and dissimilar aluminium/steel joints (right) according to [4].
60
of both these joining members. This seam consisting of

intermetallic compounds makes the joint more brittle.
Therefore, a satisfactory welding result cannot be achieved
in most cases. Additional aspects such as the fact that the
physical properties of the materials to be joined deviate
from each other extremely (e.g. the thermal expansion)
mean that the joint often already fails after the welding
due to the arising local stress field. Building upon this
connection, the objective in the investigation presented
here is to characterise the forming intermetallic phases.
In this respect, particular consideration is given to the influences of the welding time and the welding amperage
on the structural morphology and the failure behaviour.
Finally, a conclusion is drawn about attainable tensile
shear strengths and a recommendation is made for the
parameterisation.
2 Joining process and metallurgical

processes
The heat development is subjected to strong influences during the welding of dissimilar materials. Differences in the material thicknesses and in the electrical and
thermal conductivities have the biggest effects in this respect. Similar process peculiarities come to bear during
the resistance spot welding of materials with extremely
deviating physical properties, e.g. during the resistance
welding of a thin steel sheet on to another significantly
thicker steel sheet. The different conductor lengths of the
individual joining members lead to the asymmetrical formation of the resistance conditions between the electrode
tips. This is accompanied by unequal heat development
and joining problems associated with this. Moreover, deviating physical properties of the joining members ensure
an additional displacement of the resistance courses towards the joining member with the worse electrical conductivity. Consequently, the resistance spot welding of
an aluminium alloy with a steel material results in the
primary heating of the steel because its electrical conductivity is compared to aluminium up to three times higher
(depending on the Al alloy). Furthermore, the high thermal conductivity of the aluminium (Al =237Wm-1 K-1
at 25C) causes increased heat dissipation. Thus, the steel
material is substantially hotter in the joining region
(Fe =80.2Wm-1 K-1 at 25C) [4;5].
The asymmetrically forming temperature field and
the lower melting temperature of the aluminium compared with that of the steel material result in the formation
of two individual weld nuggets which do not mix in the
molten state. A self-contained weld nugget (in part, even
just a heat-affected region) arises inside the steel and, in
most cases, does not grow as far as the sheet surface, Fig.
1. If the molten steel happens to break through the sheet
surface, this leads to the overheating of the aluminium
joining member or to spattering which must be avoided.
Furthermore, a weld nugget forms on the aluminium side
and is open towards the joining plane due to the indirect
heating from the steel joining member. During the welding
process, this leads to the wetting of the molten aluminium
on the solid steel surface [16].
Diffusion between the joining members is required
for the formation of a welding joint in the form of an intermetallic compound. Since every diffusion process
needs a certain minimum temperature and dwell time in
the temperature interval, a characteristic diffusion profile
forms across the joining plane depending on the welding
Fig. 2 Bearable tensile shear load and expended fracture energy

depending on the welding current with a welding time of 400ms.
Fig. 3 XRD fracture face analysis (glancing incidence: 2 Al; 15 Fe)

(top) and EDX diffusion prole (bottom) of a weld with a welding
time of 400ms at a welding current of 10kA.
conditions. The iron/aluminium constitution diagram illustrates that both elements are incompatible with regard
to fusion metallurgy and joining takes place solely via intermetallic phases which are present in defined existence
regions. The forming FexAly phases exhibit the most diverse and, in part, very complex lattice structures, Table
1, from which extremely deviating mechanical-technological properties result [5...7].
Different preceding investigations such as [5...8] have
shown that the -Fe2Al5 and -FeAl3 phases (frequently
61
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
in the form of Fe4Al13) are essentially predominant in the

joint after the welding process. Because of the lower enthalpy of formation, the -FeAl3 phase forms as an acicular
structure from the joining plane into the aluminium at
the beginning of the welding process as a consequence
of the Fe diffusion. Another temperature rise and the melting of the aluminium result in an abrupt rise in the diffusion coefficient of the aluminium into the iron matrix.
This leads to the precipitation of the FeAl2 phase on the
steel side because of the Al diffusion through the FeAl3
seam initially at lower temperatures. Another temperature
rise causes the nucleation of the -Fe2Al5 phase between
the -FeAl3 whiskers and the FeAl2 precipitations which,
due to further aluminium diffusion, grows into coarsegrained, tongue-shaped grains. During the build-up of
the -Fe2Al5 phase, the contrary growth kinetics lead to
the disintegration of the -FeAl3 and FeAl2 phases [6...8].
Since the specified phases in particular exhibit very
high hardness and strength compared with those of the
aluminium and steel base materials, this results in a discontinuous stiffness profile between the base material
and the weld metal which have negative influences on
the joining strength. The intended objective was to achieve
uniform hardness and strength profile across the joining
plane. The exertion of targeted influences on the reaction
temperatures and times in the joining plane can be used
in order to form further equilibrium and non-equilibrium
phases which entail mechanical-technological properties
with less extreme deviations (e.g. the FeAl phase). How-
Fig. 4 XRD fracture face analysis (glancing incidence: 7.5 Al;

2 Fe) (top) and EDX diffusion prole (bottom) of a weld with a
welding time of 400ms at a welding current of 12kA.
62
ever, since these only arise at substantially higher temperatures because of their high free enthalpy of formation,
there is the danger of coarse grain formation from the unwanted brittle phases. In turn, this is reflected in unwanted
intermetallic compound growth over the often mentioned
critical limit of 5to10m [4;6;10].
3 Experimental details
In order to investigate the influences of the welding
time and welding current on the tensile shear strength
and the failure type as a consequence of intermetallic
phases forming during the resistance spot welding of aluminium and steel, welding tests were carried out with a
C-shaped welding gun using the following welding parameters:
Welding time:
200-600ms
Welding current:
10-14kA
Electrode force:
3kN
Preweld/postweld hold time: 100ms
Electrode tips: CuCr1Zr (DINENISO5182)
On the aluminium side: ISO 5821 - A0- 16- 20- 40
On the steel side: ISO5821 - F1- 16- 20- 40- 8
The utilised test materials were an AlSi1.2Mg0.4 aluminium alloy, material number: ENAW-6016T4 (coil passivated with dry lubricant), and an HX260LAD+Z100MB
steel, with a sheet thickness of 1.0mm in each case. The
joining strengths of the welds were established by means
of tensile shear tests according to DINENISO14273. The
metallurgical joint was assessed on transverse sections.
Fig. 5 XRD fracture face analysis (glancing incidence: 2 Al;

7.5 Fe) (top) and EDX diffusion prole (bottom) of a weld with a
In this respect, SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and

EDX (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) analysis
served to portray the intermetallic compound and to establish diffusion profiles. A LEO1450 scanning electron
microscope with an EDX system from Rntec was available for the investigations. X-ray-diffractometric (XRD)
investigations were conducted on the fracture faces of the
joint with an Empyrean (co-radiator) from Panalytical in
the GID mode (glancing incidence: 2, 7.5 and 15) in order to determine the forming phases.
4 Influence of the welding amperage on the

structural morphology
On Fig. 2, it can be seen that a rising welding amperage
leads to a substantial rise in the maximum bearable tensile
shear load from 0.7kN at 10kA to 3kN at 14kA. The mean
fracture energy also rises to the same extent from 0.04J to
1.13J. The extreme embrittlement due to the formation of
the intermetallic phases is illustrated here. The comparison
of the different diffusion profiles across the joining face
shows that different rises and instabilities occur in the region of the intermetallic phase. It may thus be concluded
that temperature differences exist in the joining zone during
the welding. The weld at a welding amperage of 10kA has
not only both principal alloying elements (Al and Fe) but
also an increased zinc deposit in the joining plane, Fig. 3.
This signifies that, during the welding, the temperatures
were not adequate in order to achieve the all-encompassing
dispelling of the hot-dip coating of the steel from the joining
zone. The eutectic reaction product from aluminium and
zinc remains in the joining plane. This prevents any direct
contact between the Al matrix and the Fe substrate and
thus impairs the Al diffusion and the formation of adequate
material locking. Moreover, the inhibited Al diffusion is expressed in an increased plateau in the Al concentration in
front of the joining zone [11;12]. The Zn deposit in the joining plane results in a joining zone which has a width of
more than 16m in part and in which primarily aluminium
and zinc enter into a eutectic mixture.
This is also illustrated during the fracture face analysis.
On the aluminium side, it is possible to detect solely the
Fe4Al13 phase in addition to the Al solid solution. In contrast, the fracture face of the steel material also exhibits
Fe4Al13 compounds in isolated cases and Fe-rich phases
are present only to a slight extent and only in conjunction
with the strongly represented zinc (Fe2Al5Zn0.4). The tensile
shear test specimens all fail in shear fractures. Due to the
acicular structure of the monoclinic Fe4Al13 phase, this
leads to cracking in the primary structure of the aluminium which runs parallel to the joining plane and along the
lattice strain of both crystal structures as a consequence
of the different lattice constants of cubic face centred aluminium and monoclinic Fe4Al13 phase [13;14]. The fracture in the joint arises along this weak spot and the eutectic
reaction products in the joining plane wherefore the
strength is lower than in the other test series [15].
If the welding amperage rises to 12kA, the diffusion
profile changes to the effect that, because of the higher
temperatures, the zinc coating is nearly completely dis-
Fig. 6 Fracture in the HAZ of

the aluminium with a welding
time of 400ms at a welding
current of 14kA.
Fig. 6 Fracture in the HAZ of the aluminium with a welding time of 400 ms at a
welding current of 14 kA.
Fig. 7 Bearable tensile shear load and expended fracture energy

depending on the welding time at a welding current of 14kA.
Fig. 8 XRD fracture face analysis (glancing incidence: 15 Al;

63
SPECIALIST ARTICLES
pelled from the joining plane and the constant diffusion

of the principal alloying elements occurs across a width
of 5.5m on average, Fig. 4. The fracture face of the aluminium is characterised by the presence of acicular
Fe4Al13 phases and of Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phases enriched with
zinc. On the steel side, it is possible to detect not only
the Zn traces of the hot-dipping but also the FeAl2 phase.
Due to the growth of the Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phase, the increased disintegration of the Fe4Al13 phase reduces the
lattice strain in the primary aluminium, thus avoiding
any solidification cracks. The tensile shear test specimens
fail due to a fracture in the intermetallic compound between Fe 2Al5(Zn0.4) and FeAl 2. Because of the high
strength of these phases, this leads to a higher tensile
shear load.
Table 1 Properties of selected intermetallic phases of the

FexAly type according to [5] (% substance amount fraction).
Fig. 9 XRD fracture face analysis (glancing incidence: 7.5 Al;

64
Another rise in the welding amperage to 14kA ensures another temperature rise in the joining plane
which is simultaneously accompanied by a steeper temperature gradient. The diffusion profile resulting from
this, Fig. 5, is characterised by a steeper rise in the Fe
concentration in the joining zone which, on average,
occurs over a width of 4.0m. As a consequence of the
high temperature, the Fe atoms can continue to diffuse
into the Al matrix. There, the rapid cooling results in
the precipitation of metastable FeAl6 phases. These can
be established by analysing the fracture face on the aluminium side. Large proportions of Al solid solution are
also shown on the relevant fracture face of the steel joining member. Furthermore, it is possible to find the
Fe4Al13 phase (close to the surface at an XRD incidence
angle of 2) and, to an increasing extent, the Fe2Al5(Zn0.4)
phase (located at a greater depth at the XRD incidence
angle of 7.5). As a result of this, a failure took place
above the Fe4Al13 seam in the Al primary structure. Since
the Fe4Al13 whiskers are degenerated compared with the
Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phase because of the contrary formation
mechanisms, this does not lead to any failures as a consequence of the described solidification cracks but instead to the button fracture of the weld nugget, Fig. 6.
This can also be recognised on the basis of the substantially higher tensile shear force and the rising fracture
energy.
5 Influence of the welding time on the structural morphology

A comparison using different welding times illustrates that an adequate joint already occurs with short
welding times of 200 ms. Compared to the reference
weld with a welding time of 400ms at a welding amperage of 12kA, it is shown that a shorter welding time of
200ms gives rise to similar bearable tensile shear loads.
The deviation of around 150 N may be attributed to
process fluctuations and to the measuring tolerance of
the utilised load cells. Also with another rise in the welding time to 600ms, it is possible to register a rise in the
bearable tensile shear load only within the scope of the
fluctuation range, Fig. 7.
The short welding time of 200 ms results in a steep
temperature gradient across the joining plane which is
reflected in the diffusion profiles of the principal alloying
elements. A diffusion zone covering 3.5 m on average
describes a low intermetallic compound thickness which
is accompanied by good strength properties. Furthermore,
it is possible to detect only small Zn proportions in the
joining zone. This suggests adequate temperatures and
also gives rise to good mechanical-technological properties. Similar to the weld with a welding time of 400ms at a
welding amperage of 14kA (Section 4), the steep temperature gradient leads to the precipitation of metastable
FeAl6 phases in the Al primary structure, Fig. 8.
Large proportions of the Fe4Al13 phase can be detected
on the fracture face of the steel material. The short welding
time only results in the deficient degeneration of this
phase in favour of the Fe2Al5 phase. For this reason, the
strength occurring here is lower than that of a weld with a

welding time of 400ms at a welding amperage of 14kA.
However, since the temperature gradient is also steep, the
Fe4Al13 phase does not form as an acicular structure in
the Al primary structure. This serves to avoid a crack starting point above the intermetallic compound in the aluminium and metastable FeAl6 phases tend to be precipitated.
The rise in the welding time to 600ms leads to a flatter
temperature gradient and thus to a widely extended diffusion zone which has a width up to 8m, Fig. 9. In the
joining zone, it is possible to recognise that the principal
alloying elements form a plateau. This suggests the existence of a primary, presumably coarse-grained, phase.
The fracture face analysis indicates that large proportions
of Fe4Al13 phases and isolated Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phases can be
found on the fracture face on the aluminium side. The
fracture face on the steel side is characterised by adhesions
of aluminium and FeAl2 phases. It may be deduced from
this that a failure must have taken place inside the
Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phase. Because of the wide existence region
of the Fe2Al5(Zn0.4) phase in the diffusion profile, it may
be assumed that the strong growth of this phase with
coarse grain formation has led to the failure of the joint
inside the intermetallic compound.
6 Conclusions
It may be concluded from the investigation results
that the parameters of the welding time and the welding
amperage have decisive influences on the forming phase
morphologies and thus characterise the failure behaviour
of the joint to a decisive extent.
The welding time and amperage exert crucial influences on the temperature profile spreading in the joining
zone and varying diffusion profiles thus occur. In conjunction with the local element concentration, the locally
occurring temperatures lead to the formation of different
intermetallic compound morphologies. An acicular Fe4Al13
structure causes lattice stresses in the aluminium and, in
interplay with shrinkage stresses, gives rise to the extreme
embrittlement of the joint which leads to cracking. Due
to the primary Fe diffusion, long dwell times in the temperature range between 350C and 500C lead to the formation of this structure. For this reason, especially low
welding currents with long welding times favour such
structures and make the joint more brittle [6].
An increase in the temperature in the joining plane
permits the formation of the Fe2Al5 phase which entails
the disintegration of a negative acicular Fe4Al13 structure.
This can be set by increasing the welding current. A longer
welding time should be rated as negative in so far as a
long dwell time above 650C entails extensive Al diffusion
and may cause embrittlement due to coarse grain growth.
For the optimisation of the tensile shear load, it is to be
recommended to minimise the welding time in order to
avoid any increased growth of the intermetallic phase.
Moreover, a high welding current should be chosen in order to achieve a satisfactory welding result. Building upon
the highlighted findings, the future objective should be
to use further test series for the development and assessment of appropriate current/force programs which are
suitable for the production of narrow, homogeneous, finegrained intermetallic compounds.
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65
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IIW Reference Catalogue ISO 5817

The International Standard ISO 5817: 2003 Welding; Fusion-welded joints in steel, nickel, titanium and their alloys
(beam welding excluded); Quality levels for imperfections
lists the quality requirements for production of arc welded
steel joints.
This international standard is a fundamental technical standard and species the basic standardized requirements for
the evaluation of welded joints in the various elds of application of welding, such as pressure vessels, metal construction, piping, rolling stock etc. Fur thermore, this standard
shall be used as the basis for the evaluation of testpieces
for the approval testing of welders and welding procedure qualication tests according to ISO-Standard. The reference catalogue is useful for persons with low experience
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standard. Using the reference cards, they will learn to interpret correctly various imperfections and their specic representation and to classify them by size to quality levels of the
standard. The catalogue may also be used by manufacturers, operators and test bodies as a tool for aid and decision
about the evaluation of individual items.
The reference catalogue is useful for the group of persons,
who are not trained to transfer the specied limits to individual cases.
It may also be used by manufacturers, operators and test
bodies for aid and decision elements to evaluate the welded
joints during production in a clear manner.
Also
available for
tablet PC`s
IIW Reference Catalogue ISO 5817

Reference radiographs for assessment of weld imperfections according to ISO 5817, interpretation of arc-welded
butt joints in steel, 2005, 60 reference cards, DIN A4, ring
binder
Order-no. 600060
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Issue

Welding the unweldable:

Technical journal for welding and allied processes

How to avoid problems when furnace brazing stainless steels in a

Identification of key GMAW fillet

The new dimension of welding simulation!

the welding of bead-on-plate runs and, step

What specialist theory is imparted?

The following welder courses are available for Soldamatic:

Metal active gas welding (MAG)

A cooperation measure between Seabery and DVS Media

AUGMENTED TRAINING & PERFORMANCE

+49. (0) 26 62. 944 33 39

DVS Media GmbH

Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1

CONTENTS WELDING AND CUTTING 01/2016

Manufacturing workforce qualification

Economic outlook 2015-16: The insolvency U-turn

NSIRC PhD student presents research on

High-spec thermal spraying facility opens

Welding the unweldable: TWI friction stir

Developing the highly-skilled workforce

Awareness towards industrial cybersecurity continues to remain low

Conferences and exibitions

XING group Welding, allied processes

Degaussing of ferromagnetic materials

Lighter with laser welding

How to avoid problems when furnace

Development of phased array ultrasonic

Experience with regard to the welding of

NSIRC PhD student presents research

High-spec thermal spraying facility

Welding the unweldable: TWI friction

Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1

Technical journal for welding and allied processes

Technical journal for welding and allied processes of

Structural morphologies in the case

Laser welding of steel and

Florian Goldmann, Ortwin Hahn,

Information from the DVS German

The Welding Institute News

Manufacturing workforce qualication requirements from

Fundamental paradigm shifts

Professional profiles continually

Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1

.joining-platform.com/). EWF played an important role in creating this subplatform and

Economic outlook 2015-16: The insolvency U-turn

Brazil, China, Nigeria, Russia, South

220 | 300 | 350 | 500

For more informations contact your

already enjoy historically low levels. However,

NSIRC PhD student presents research on aluminato-alumina brazed joints

I am currently pursuing a PhD at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre

thickness can affect joint strength. As the

joints also increased. In

Fig. 4 SEM image of a brazed

Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1

to-alumina brazed joints made using 96

Fig. 5 Average joint

completed an MRes in the Science and Engineering of Materials at the University of

High-spec thermal spraying facility

Welding and Cutting 15 (2016) No. 1

fore commencing a role as a materials development engineer in the hardfacing repair