Process Stability, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Underwater Submerged-Arc Welded Steel

In underwater wet welding, the unstable welding process caused by the generation and rupture of bubbles and the chilling effect of water on the welding area result in low quality of welded joints, which makes it difficult to meet the practical application of marine engineering. To improve the process stability and joining quality, a mixture of welding flux with a water glass or epoxy resin was placed on the welding zone before underwater welding. In this paper, welds’ appearance, geometry statistics of welds’ formation, welding process stability, slag structure, microstructure, pores and mechanical properties were investigated. It was found that with the addition of water glass in the mixture, the penetration of weld was effectively increased, and the frequency of arc extinction was reduced. Though the porosity rose to a relatively high level, the joints’ comprehensive mechanical properties were not significantly improved. Notably, the applied epoxy resin completely isolated the surrounding water from the welding area, which greatly improved process stability. Furthermore, it benefited from the microstructure filled with massive acicular ferrite, the average elongation and room temperature impact toughness increased by 178.4%, and 69.1% compared with underwater wet welding, respectively, and the bending angle of the joint reaches to 180°.

Analysis of underwater welding in Indonesian warship using low hydrogen electrodes

As a security unit for the territorial waters of the Republic of Indonesia, the Indonesian Navy is required for combat readiness to carry out security operations quickly and precisely. It is very important to the readiness of the Indonesian Navy's ABK Soldiers and the Republic of Indonesia's defense equipment for warships in carrying out security activities in the territorial waters of the Republic of Indonesia. This study discusses underwater wet welding in anticipating an emergency if the ship's hull is hit by a collision so that the hull has cracks or holes. This research method uses AH36 steel plate metal. Then, underwater wet welding was carried out on the AH36 plate using a low hydrogen type electrode. Before welding, the electrodes were subjected to a drying process to a temperature of 900C. Wet welding underwater is carried out at a depth of 5 meters in seawater. The results of underwater wet welding are NDT testing; penetrant test, radiography test, then also DT test; hardness test, tensile test, and test according to ASTM standard. Analysis of underwater wet welding results compared to atmospheric welding results as quality control, so that the percentage difference in mechanical properties can be known. The interesting thing from welding AH36 steel plate with underwater wet welding and applying low hydrogen electrodes is the minimal level of weld porosity defects in the welding results. So that the low hydrogen electrode can be used in welding AH36 steel plate in underwater welding applications.

Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of A36 Marine Steel Subjected to Underwater Wet Welding

Underwater wet welding (UWW) is applied to repair basic offshore structures, underwater pipelines, water transportation, docks, and port equipment. The underwater wet welding method used in the current research was shield metal arc welding (SMAW), and this was conducted on an A36 steel plate. We investigated the effect of a water temperature of 10 ± 5 °C and different types of water flow (without flow, non-uniform flow with baffle bulkhead, and non-uniform flow without baffle bulkhead). The defects found on the specimen included spattering, irregular surfaces, porosity, and undercutting. A high cooling rate led to the formation of more acicular ferrite (AF) phases in the weld metal area than a slow cooling rate. The microstructure of the heat affected zone (HAZ) area led to the formation of finer and small grains. Values of tensile, impact, and hardness strength were greater with higher cooling rates. The highest tensile strength value was 585.09 MPa, and this occurred with non-uniform flow without a baffle bulkhead. The highest values of absorbed energy and impact strength were 41.9 J and 2.05 J/mm2, respectively, and these occurred with a non-uniform flow without a baffle bulkhead. The greatest hardness values were found with a non-uniform flow without a baffle bulkhead in the weld metal area.

The State of the Art of Underwater Wet Welding Practice: Part 2

Developments in underwater wet welding (UWW) over the past four decades are reviewed, with an emphasis on the re-search that has been conducted in the last ten years. Shielded metal arc welding with rutile-based coated electrodes was established as the most applied process in the practice of wet welding of structural steels in shallow water. The advancements achieved in previous decades had already led to control of the chemical composition and microstructure of weld metals. Research and development in consumables formulation have led to control of the amount of hydrogen content and the level of weld porosity in the weld metal. The main focus of research and development in the last decade was on weldability of naval and offshore structural steels and acceptance of welding procedures for Class A weld classification according to American Welding Society D3.6, Underwater Welding Code. Applications of strictly controlled welding techniques, including new postweld heat treatment procedures, allowed for the welding of steels with carbon equivalent values greater than 0.40. Classification societies are meticulously scrutinizing wet welding procedures and wet weld properties in structural steels at depths smaller than 30 m prior to qualifying them as Class A capable. Alternate wet welding processes that have been tested in previous decades — such as friction stir welding, dry local habitat, and gas metal arc welding — have not achieved great success as originally claimed. Almost all of the new UWW process developments in the last decade have focused on the flux cored arc welding (FCAW) process. Part 1 of this paper covered developments in microstructural optimization and weld metal porosity control for UWW. Part 2 discusses the hydrogen pickup mechanism, weld cooling rate control, design, and qualification of consumables. It ends with a description of the advancements in FCAW applications for UWW.

The State of the Art of Underwater Wet Welding Practice: Part 1

Developments in underwater wet welding (UWW) over the past four decades are reviewed, with an emphasis on the research that has been conducted in the last ten years. Shielded metal arc welding with rutile-based coated electrodes was established as the most applied process in the practice of wet welding of structural steels in shallow water. The advancements achieved in previous decades had already led to control of the chemical com-position and microstructure of weld metals. Research and development in consumables formulation have led to control of the amount of hydrogen content and the level of weld porosity in the weld metal. The main focus of research and development in the last decade was on weldability of naval and offshore structural steels and acceptance of welding procedures for Class A weld classification according to American Welding Society D3.6, Under-water Welding Code. Applications of strictly controlled welding techniques, including new postweld heat treatment procedures, allowed for the welding of steels with carbon equivalent values greater than 0.40. Classification societies are meticulously scrutinizing wet welding procedures and wet weld properties in structural steels at depths smaller than 30 m prior to qualifying them as Class A capable. Alternate wet welding processes that have been tested in previous decades — such as friction stir welding, dry local habitat, and gas metal arc welding —have not achieved great success as originally claimed. Al-most all of the new UWW process developments in the last decade have focused on the flux cored arc welding (FCAW) process. Part 1 of this paper covers developments in microstructural optimization and weld metal porosity control for UWW. Part 2 discusses the hydrogen pickup mechanism, weld cooling rate control, design, and qualification of consumables. It ends with a description of the advancements in FCAW applications for UWW.

Study of weld form and weld bead in bottom position at semi-automatic underwater wet welding

Some features of underwater mechanized and automatic wet welding with pulse feed of the electrode wire are considered. The conditions for experimental research to identify the parameters of forming of the weld metal at different parameters of pulse feed of the electrode wire are described. Regression equations describing the dependences of the size of the roll on the parameters of pulse feed and contour plots and response surfaces of the marked dependences are presented.