Recent developments in welding consumables for offshore structures
- Oerlikon Welding Ltd., Glossop (United Kingdom)
The submerged arc, manual metal arc and flux cored arc welding processes are used extensively in the fabrication of fixed offshore oil and gas production platforms. The development of submerged arc wire and flux combinations for the high deposition rate welding of both conventional and higher strength steels is described. In order to optimize the weld metal mechanical properties an investigation has been undertaken into the effect of nitrogen on the tensile and toughness properties. Welds have been deposited using wires with varying levels of nitrogen. The influence of nitrogen on the weld metal tensile, impact toughness and CTOD toughness properties has been examined together with its effect on the weld deposit microstructure. The implications of these results for commercial consumables have been assessed. The requirement to reduce the weight and cost of offshore structures has led to the increasing use of higher strength steels. The development of submerged arc wire and flux combinations for higher strength steels is described together with the tensile and toughness properties of the deposited welds. Manual metal arc electrodes and flux cored wires are both widely used in many applications. Weld metal alloy systems for manual metal arc electrodes have been investigated to produce weldments exhibiting both higher levels of strength together with retaining good low temperature impact toughness properties. The influence of these alloying elements on the resultant weld deposit strength and toughness properties is described. For manual metal arc electrodes raw materials and manufacturing conditions play a significant role in influencing the resultant weld deposit hydrogen content. The development of a packaging system which enables basic electrodes to be used without the need for onsite baking is described, together with its successful adoption on fabrication sites.
- OSTI ID:
- 27949
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940230--; ISBN 0-7918-1266-9
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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