Quarterly Publication Rs.

20

OCTOBER 2018 Weld 17 Bead 3

 S K MAZUMDER MEMORIAL LECTURE AWARD 2018
IWS JOURNAL

CONGRATULATES
Mr. R EASWARAN

THE RECIPIENT OF
S K MAZUMDER MEMORIAL LECTURE AWARD 2018
Prof. Dr. DRG ACHAR MEMORIAL DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD 2018

IWS JOURNAL

CONGRATULATES
Prof. Dr. V MUTHUPANDI

THE RECIPIENT OF
Prof. Dr. DRG ACHAR MEMORIAL
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD 2018
 THE JOURNAL OF

Regn. No. 41817 / 2002

QUARTERLY PUBLICATION
OCT 2018 Weld: 17 Bead: 3
PRESIDENT

SHRI S BISWAS
Immediate Past President

SHRI S GOPINATH
AROUND IWS
Past President

SHRI A V KRISHNAN 16th AGM

Vice Presidents

SHRI A MARUTHAMUTHU
Student Forum at
SHRI U D RANE
SHRI M P JAIN
C A ABDUL HAKEEM COLLEGE OF
Hon. Secretary
ENGINEERING, VELLORE
SHRI N RAJASEKARAN ADHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
Hon. Treasurer CHENNAI
SHRI G RAJENDRAN
HMR IT & M, NEW DELHI
Members
Dr K Asokkumar Shri R Subburayalu
KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Mrs. A Santhakumari Dr. T Senthil Kumar
Shri S Rajendran Dr. K Siva Prasad ICETE – 2018
Dr G Madhusudan Reddy Dr Shashikantha Karinka
ONE DAY WORKSHOP ON
Shri Narain Dharmendra Dr V R Krishnan
Prof. Sunil Pandey Dr G Padmanabham WELDING FOR MAINTENANCE
Shri Basu B K Shri Muneesh Narain RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
Shri Umesh Agarwal Dr T A Daniel Sagaya Raj
WELDING TECHNOLOGY
Shri Sandeep Mohan Ubhaykar Shri Uma Shanker G
Shri Amit Agarwal Dr T J Prasadarao
CII-AOTS TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON
Shri Viral Ashok Shah Shri S N Roy “HIGH PRECISION ARC WELDING
Shri Easwaran R Prof. V Balasubramanian TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA”
Shri Tamboli V B Dr M Kamaraj
LECTURE PROGRAMMES
EDITORIAL BOARD
Shri R SUBBARAYALU – Editor in Charge
Dr. G Madhusudhan Reddy Dr. V. Balasubramanian
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Mrs. A. Santhakumari Dr. T. Senthilkumar
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
 IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS SHIELDING
Shri Praveen Kumar Lakavat Shri R. Arivalagan
GASES USED IN TIG WELDING FOR
CO-ORDINATORS
Shri Sanjay Kadam Shri K Ganesh Kumar Dr. S. Aravindhan EXOTIC MATERIALS IN AEROSPACE
PUBLISHED BY INDUSTRY
On Behalf of IWS by
Shri N RAJASEKARAN
Hon. Secretary (IWS)  WELDING AND POST WELD HEAT
INDIAN WELDING SOCIETY
INSTITUTIONS BUILDING, KAILASAPURAM, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI – 620 014 TREATMENT OF WB 36 STEEL
INDIA
Websites: www.iws.org.in www.iwsevents.com
E mail: hiwsindia@gmail.com
 AROUND
16th ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING

The 16th Annual General Meeting of the Society was conducted at Institutions Building, BHEL Township,
Kailasapuram, Tiruchirappalli – 620 014 on 22nd September 2018 evening. 34 members attended the
AGM.

Mr. A Maruthamuthu, Chairman (IWS, SZ) welcomed the president, past president and members from
various parts of the country for the AGM. He said, under the dynamic leadership of our president, the
society is taking many new initiatives.

Mr. N Rajasekaran, Hon. Secretary read out the MOM of the

15th AGM and requested the AGM to adopt the same. Mr. N.
Parameswaran proposed and Dr. T Gurunathan seconded the
proposal. The AGM unanimously adopted the MOM.

Mr. N Rajasekaran, Hon.

Secretary presented the
Annual Report for the year
2017-18. Dr. A Shanmugam proposed and Dr. V P Raghupathy
seconded the report. The report was unanimously adopted by the
AGM.

Hon. Treasurer Mr. G. Rajendran submitted the audited accounts

for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18. For the year 2016-17, Mr. S Samidas proposed and Mr. S Singaravelu
seconded. For the year 2017-18,

Mr. K E R Chari proposed and Mr. L Ramachandran seconded. The AGM approved and adopted the
same.

Then, Mr. S Biswas, President addressed the members. In his

address he said, “The society is focusing on its primary objectives
and more and more activities are to be planned. Enrolling more
student members, launching of student forums and joining hands
with more colleges augment well for the society. The initiative by
NZ at Assam is a good beginning. IWS should approach all skill
development forums in various states and to organize such
programmes. Creating employable opportunities and skill development are to be focused. The MOU
with PSGTECH and the credit course schemes are to be taken nationwide.
Membership growth has to be accelerated and focus should be on more industrial members. He
appealed to the members to support IWS and its activities especially the IWS 2k18 symposium.

Regarding item no. 06 of the agenda, Hon. Secretary informed

the AGM that the 65th NGC decided to get expert opinions on
adoption of the revisions in the rules and regulations of the
society. Hence he requested the permission of the AGM to
defer the submission of the revisions for adoption to next AGM
/ EGM. Mr. M Kasinathan proposed and Mrs. A. Santhakumari
seconded the proposal. The AGM approved the same.

Then Mr. G Rajendran, Hon. Treasurer moved the motion to

retain the services of Mr. Gupta and associates as auditor for the year 2018-19. The AGM unanimously
approved the motion. The AGM also accepted the proposal mooted by Mr. G. Rajendran, Hon. Treasurer
that the remuneration for the auditor will be decided by the NGC. Mr. H I Gandhi proposed and
Mr. S M Mahajan seconded.

Under any other points with the permission of chair, Mr. N Rajasekaran read out the following points
submitted by Mr. H I Gandhi in writing and provided explanations and clarifications.

1. The present NGC office bearers is the first to receive the clear status of 12-A from the beginning in
the tenure, general body would like to have the statement from the President about the activity
directed under his leadership for charitable purpose – education and process of 80G etc.

2. President shall confirm to general body about the source of raising the funds on non-reciprocatory
business basis for IWS survival and further navigation plan with midterm vision of 5 years.

Hon. Secretary explained the initiatives taken by the society and

assured the AGM that it will explore the possibilities of utilising the
CSR funds from organizations to conduct educational programmes
and skill development. During the interactions Mr. Kasinathan said
IWS can conduct an interactive meeting with the colleges to
understand their requirement and help them. Mr. S M Mahajan
said that training to school dropouts also could be taken up again as in the past. Hon. Secretary recalled
the past efforts of IWS and assured that IWS will approach the SDCs of the states for the same.

3. President should make a clear statement about the action plan in following 2 scenarios:

a. In case 2K18, financially fails to make the break-even and incurred the business losses which cannot
be set-off against the reserved application of the fund under the charitable accounting, how the IWS
will discharge the liability towards outside vendor i.e. whether the pro-rata contribution will be
collected from the NGC and OC 2k18 members?

b. In case 2K18, financially fails to make the surplus of Rs. 20 lakhs to the education fund, in such case
the President shall commit to general body for not indulging IWS in such business activity in
collaboration with MDI or any such organization?
 Hon. Secretary replied that with the support of Members, zones,
centres and industry, the organizing committee will make IWS 2k18
as successful programme. He appealed all members to work for the
success of IWS.

Mr. L Ramachandran suggested that IWS should have a media to

interact with its members on monthly basis. Hon. Secretary assured
that the NGC will come out with an action plan.

The AGM accepted those replies. The AGM concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Shri K
Ganesh Kumar, Hon. Secretary. IWS, SZ. The AGM ended with a dinner.

IWS STUDENT FORUM AT C A ABDUL HAKEEM COLLEGE OF

ENGINEERING, VELLORE
IWS Student Forum was inaugurated at C A Abdul Hakeem College of
Engineering, Vellore by the Ranipet Centre on 21st July 2018 at the
college premises.

This was followed by a free seminar on “Recent trends in Welding

technologies”. It was well attended by second year Mechanical
students and Aeronautical engineering departments.

The Principal, Dr. A. Rajesh, and Mr. T. Sankar, Associate Professor / HOD –Mech chaired the
programme. Mr. M. Valavan, Deputy General Manager – Production, BAP-BHEL, Ranipet and Hon.
Secretary of IWS Ranipet Centre was the chief guest. Mr. N. Balamurugan, Sr. Engineer - Production,
BAP-BHEL, Ranipet and Mr. D. Parameshwaran of BAP-BHEL, Ranipet graced the programme. The
programme commenced with salutation to the Almighty – Qirath, recited by Mr. Sheik Kaja Nawaz, II
Mech B sec, followed by Tamil devotional song.

Mr. I. Rajkumar, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering welcomed the gathering.
Dr. A. Rajesh and Mr. T. Sankar honored the chief guest with a shawl and memento.

Mr. M. Valavan, inaugurated the student forum and delivered a

lecture on “Recent Trends in Welding Technologies” and shared his
deep knowledge about welding.

Mr. N. Balamurugan, highlighted the welding basics and

applications to the students in his lecture. The students interacted
with the experts and the resource personnel were very kind enough
to clarify the student queries. Mr. R. Umamageshwaran, Assistant
Professor delivered the vote of thanks. The programme concluded with the National Anthem.
IWS STUDENT FORUM AT ADHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, CHENNAI
IWS Student forum was inaugurated at Adhi College of Engineering
and Technology, Oragadam, Chennai on 02-08-2018 by the Chennai
Centre in a colourful function. Dr. S. Harikrishnan, Professor & Head
– Department of Mechanical Engineering of the college welcomed
the gathering.

Dr. I. Saravanan,
Professor, introduced the Guests of Honour of the occasion,
Dr. Murugaiyan Amirthalingam, Professor, IIT-Madras and Mr.
R. G. Ganesan, Secretary-IWS
Chennai Centre and he shared his
experiences with IWS and the
importance of membership in IWS.

Mr R G Ganesan inaugurated the forum and Dr. Murugaiyan Amirthalingam

delivered a technical lecture. ID cards were distributed to all the student
members. All the Students and the Staff of Mechanical Department attended
the inaugural function.

IWS STUDENT FORUM AT HMR IT & M, NEW DELHI

The Northern Zone of IWS has launched its First Student Forum at HMR Institute of Technology and
Management, New Delhi during September 2018, under the
initiative of Mr. M P Jain, vice president. The inauguration as
followed by a free technical
programme on welding.
Experts from the field of
welding delivered the
lectures. Senior members of
IWS including Shri S K Goel participated in the programme along
with the principal and faculty of the college. More than 100
students participated in the event.
 KNOWLEDGE SHARING

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING TRENDS

IN ENGINEERING ICETE – 2018 BY NITTE MANGAULRU STUDENT FORUM
During 14-15, May 2018, with the support of IWS student forum at NITTE, Mangaluru, a 2-day
International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering - ICETE – 2018 was organised by the
institute. Environment, Energy and Engineering Strategies for Sustainability (E3S) and Drives, Data
Science and Disruptive Technologies for Advancement (D3A) was the theme of the two day
deliberations conducted during 14-15 May 2018.

Prof. Dr. Indrani Karunasagar, Director (R&D), Nitte (Deemed to be University) and Director, Nitte-
Centre for Science Education & Research (N-CSER) inaugurated the
conference. Dr. Satoshi Soda, Professor, Dept. of Environmental Systems
Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Japan, Dr. Kazuhiro Shimonomura,
Professor, Dept. of Robotics, Ritsumeikan University, Japan and Dr. Lin
Meng, Lecturer, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering,
Ritsumeikan University, Japan delivered the keynote address and expert lectures. Shri N. Vinaya Hegde,
Chancellor, Nitte Deemed to be University & President, Nitte Education Trust presided over the
inaugural function. IWS STUDENT FORUM AT NMAM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NITTE, MANGALURU

Indian Welding Society extended support to the Department of Mechanical Engineering of NMAM
Institute of Technology NITTE and M/s Fronius India Pvt. Limited, Pune for establishing a centre for
welding technology named “NMAMIT-FRONIUS Centre for Welding Technology”, which became
operational on 28th June 2018. The centre was inaugurated by Shri S. Gopinath, Former President of
Indian Welding Society, Advisor NMAMIT & Adjunct Professor in the presence of Dr. Niranjan N.
Chiplunkar, Principal-NMAMIT, Vice Principals Dr. I. R Mithanthaya and Dr. Shrinivasa Rao B. R.,
Registrar Sri Yogeesh Hegde, Special Officer Sri Aravind Hegde, Dr. Sudesh Bekal-Dean (R&D), HoD of
Mechanical Engineering Dr. Shashikantha Karinka, HoDs of other departments, Dr. G. Ravichandran-
Former General Manager-WRI Tiruchy and Adjunct Professor-NMAMIT, IWS representatives Mr. S.
Singaravelu and Mr. Srinivasan, Fronius representatives Mr. Rahul Kulkarni - Segment Manager of
Fronius, Mr. Rahul Mehta and Fronius - Mangaluru region representative Mr. Abhay Pai, and faculty
members of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

ONE DAY WORKSHOP ON “WELDING FOR MAINTENANCE” BY NMAMIT

A One-Day Workshop on “Welding for Maintenance” under the auspices of IWS, Fronius and IWS -
NMAMIT Student Forum was organized by Department of Mechanical Engineering NMAMIT, NITTE on
June 28, 2018 at Phalguni Seminar Hall and NMAMIT-FRONIUS Centre for Welding Technology. The
workshop was inaugurated by Shri S. Gopinath, Former President of Indian Welding Society, Advisor
NMAMIT & Adjunct Professor.

Dr. Niranjan N. Chiplunkar, Principal - NMAMIT presided over

the function and explained about the importance of taking the
activities further through smaller student work groups so that
the students are skilled at least with the basic needs. He also
said that the laboratory is in its first phase of development with
only the basic needs and would be developed in due course
into an advanced centre of welding technology.

Dr. Shashikantha Karinka, Professor and Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering and Convener
of the Workshop, welcomed the gathering and gave an overview of the programme and activities
related to NMAMIT-FRONIUS Centre for Welding Technology.

He also briefed the delegates regarding enrolling for life membership of proposed IWS-Mangaluru
Centre of Indian Welding Society. Dr. Mallikappa, Coordinator of the programme, proposed vote of
thanks. About 57 participants took part in the Workshop, out of which 10 Industrial delegates from
major industries of the region such as MCF, Lamina, BASF, MRPL, etc., 12 Academia delegates from
engineering institutions and polytechnics of the region, 26 Student delegates and 9 internal faculty
members. The programme was compered by Mr. Baskar Achar P, Assistant Professor of Mechanical
Engineering. The programme was attended by Vice Principals of NMAMIT Dr. I. R Mithanthaya and Dr.
Shrinivasa Rao B. R., Dr. A. N. Parameswaran-Director IIC-NMAMIT, Dr. Sudesh Bekal-Dean (R&D), and
Dr. Subrahmanya Bhat- Dean Student Welfare, Dr. G. Ravichandran- Former General Manager-WRI
Tiruchy and Adjunct Professor-NMAMIT, IWS representatives Mr. S. Singaravelu- Former Additional
General Manager of Welding Technology Centre, BHEL and Mr. Srinivasan- Consultant from IWS.

WORKSHOP ON “RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN WELDING TECHNOLOGY”

BY KSRCT STUDENT FORUM
The KSRCT - IWS Student Forum, ISTE Student Chapter and Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.
S. Rangasamy College of Technology organized a Workshop “Recent Developments in Welding
Technology” on 13.07.2018 at Training Cell Seminar Hall. Mr. N. Rajasekaran Hon. Secretary (IWS) and
Mr. S. Singaravelu, Vice Chairman, IWS, SZ delivered the lectures.

The inauguration started with invocation song followed

by the welcome address. The guest lecture was
preceded by a felicitation by the Director, Department
of Mechanical Engineering, K. S. Rangasamy College of
Technology. “Advances in Gas shielded welding
processes” and “Advances in Flux Shielded welding
processes” were the main topics covered in the one-day
workshop. The Workshop lectures covered the themes
like advancement of welding related technologies and
other allied sciences. It facilitated exchange of ideas, information, development work, offered flexible
learning in various aspects of welding and related technology that suit the requirement of various
levels, promoted professional exchange of information, experience and advanced training, promoted
the application of flux shielded welding process in engineering, its wide exposure testing and its
methods in solving quantitative and qualitative manufacturing problems.

The workshop was coordinated by Dr. K. Mohan, Professor & Faculty Advisor, IWS student Forum and
Mr. R. Prakash, Assistant Professor, K. S. Rangasamy College of Technology. 60 student members from
K. S. Rangasamy college of Technology actively participated in the free workshop. The workshop
concluded with the vote of thanks by Mr. Karthikeyan, Assistant Professor, K. S. Rangasamy College of
Technology.

CII-AOTS TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON “HIGH PRECISION ARC WELDING

TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA”
Under the CII – AOTS programme, a technical seminar was organised during 22 – 23 Aug 2018 at Hotel
ITC Grand Chola, Guindy, Chennai. The theme of the seminar was “High Precision Arc Welding
Technology in India”. Invited lectures were delivered by M/s Panasonic, Kobelco and Iwtani. Besides,
professors from JWRI and JWES also delivered lectures. IWS supported the technical programme by
nominating delegates from industry and institute. There was no delegate fee for the programme.

LECTURE PROGRAMMES
A technical lecture on ‘Additive Manufacturing” was organised in association with Institution of
Engineers Coimbatore local Centre on 10/7/2018. Dr. Gopal Magadi, Principal Engineer from Cameron
International Corporation, Houston, USA, delivered the lecture on challenges faced in additive
manufacturing of metal components by various processes including Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing.
He shared his industrial experiences and provided a great awareness about fabrication of metal
components by additive manufacturing among engineers, faculty members and students.

A technical lecture was organised in association with Institution of

Engineers Coimbatore local Centre on 20/8/2018. Dr. A. Vijai,
Associate Professor of Karunya University delivered a lecture on
Composite Materials: Electromagnetic Applications. He shared his
research experience on fabrication and characterisation of
composites gained in Jeonju University, RoK during his Post-doctoral
fellowship. The lecture was well received by the audience and the lecture session was more interactive.
 IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS SHIELDING GASES USED IN TIG WELDING
FOR EXOTIC MATERIALS IN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
Surendra Vaidya, Ashok Kumar, Sindhu Hitesh & Ashwin Narsia
Executive Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Aerospace. smv@godrej.com
Chief Technical Officer, Godrej Aerospace. ashoka@godrej.com
Assistant Manager Welding, Godrej Aerospace. narsia@godrej.com
Abstract
The Purpose of this paper is to describe the importance of different shielding gases used in
aerospace industry to weld challenging materials and their effect on welding parameters,
heat input, weld repairs, bead profiles, and their mechanical and metallurgical properties.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Aerospace designs are continually optimized in terms of the multiple exotic materials used and
functional requirements in defense, space and aviation sectors. Joining of exotic materials is
often more difficult than joining of common materials. For welding of aerospace materials, all
variables (essential, supplementary essential and non-essential) are equally important to meet
the desired requirements. It is more significant due to control of Weld discontinuities, Heat Input
and Weld Distortion in Aerospace materials. Shielding gases plays an important role in number
of aspects of welding, including arc characteristics and the microstructure of weldments. The
application of different shielding gases can result in different penetration and weld bead profiles.
Selection of appropriate shielding gas is important as it should not affect the mechanical,
chemical and metallurgical properties of material. As for example, Small amount of H2 with Argon
will be very helpful in welding of austenitic SS and Nickel base alloys, but if the same gas is used
in CS and LAS, Hydrogen Embrittlement and failure will occur.

2.0 AEROSPACE STANDARD REQUIREMENTS

Aerospace is a generic term that includes commercial aircrafts, planes and helicopters, military
and defense, ground equipments, and space. Producing aerospace parts needs a long supply
chain, creating a major challenge for the industry. As this chain is so long and complicated, it
should come as no surprise that Aerospace standards are comes with stringent expectations from
the manufacturers. Manufacturing sophisticated vehicles, such as airplanes or rockets,
understandably needs special attention throughout the entire production process. It must ensure
to demonstrate the integrity of the across the complete manufacturing process starting from raw
material to finished part. The aerospace industry has a strong certification and compliance
requirement, with consequences on development cost and technology solutions. Few of the
mandatory certifications are listed below:

AS 9100 ensures Aerospace manufacturers, being up-to-date with the quality standards, is
essential to supply parts to the industries. System Structure is complex by disciplines, segment,
 component etc. by large system management combined with high precision. Data access and
security is critical, especially on Defence and Space Programmes.

NADCAP ensures advancements in the aerospace industry continue, it is not only need to ensure
they obtain the required certification but keeping up to date with revisions. The standard
additionally focuses on aerospace manufacturers being able to improve their quality
management system between their audits, which can make the certification quite difficult to
maintain. NADCAP is important to all special processes like welding, Heat Treatment, Surface
Treatment, Non- Destructive Testing.

Customer Approval is required to meet the design criteria depending upon the product. Different
customers have different criteria depending upon the criticality of the product. Separate
Procedures, Welders and Facilities need to qualify and maintained as per the customer
requirements.

Product Specific Qualification and Acceptance after Meeting specification requirements, before
commencing on actual hardwares. Mockup of the same size need to perform and shall be
resulting positive in all destructive and Non-destructive tests.

3.0 SHIELDING GASES USED IN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Shielding gases fall into two categories – Inert or Semi-inert. Only two of the noble inert
gases, helium and argon, are used in welding. The latest developments in shielding gas
technology have included semi-inert gases with new additions of Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and
mixtures of these. Most of these gases, in large quantities, would damage the weld, but when
used in small, controlled quantities, can improve weld characteristics.

3.1 Universally used Inert Gases

3.1.1 Argon: Argon is the most popular shielding gas and is often used for both gas metal
arc and gas tungsten arc welding. Excellent welds are often produced using pure argon as a
shielding gas. Argon gas produces a narrower penetration profile, which is useful for fillet and
butt welds. All materials (except Cu of higher thickness) are easily weldable using Argon Gas.
Aerospace industry uses a much higher purified form of Argon I.e. Grade 5 UHP (Ultra High Purity)
Gas. To ensure the gas purity and check the dew point of the gas, AWS A 5.32 method is used.

UHP Argon gas ensures quality weld and lessening the chances of porosities in the weld. Apart
from mechanical and chemical properties understanding and maintaining dimensional
requirements are equally important. First Time Right (FTR) results are necessary in aerospace
industries as compare to all other sectors as rework cost is very high. Materials weld with this gas
are Austenitic SS, Ni Alloys, Co Alloys, Titanium and its alloys, Aluminium, Maraging steel,
Maraging steel to SAE 4130 steel, 15CDV6 Steel, 25CD45 Steels used in different applications of
Space, Defense and Aviation sectors.
 Fig (1) Commercial Argon Gas Fig (2) Argon Grade-5 Ultra High Pure Gas

3.1.2 Helium having high Thermal conductivity, is not easy to ionize hence requires higher
voltage to start the arc. Due to higher ionization potential it produces hotter arc at higher voltage
which helps produce wide deep bead, advantageous for welding of aluminum, magnesium, and
copper alloys. In comparison with argon, helium provides more energy-rich but less stable arc.
Helium is more expensive than argon and requires higher flow rates, so despite its advantages it
may not be a cost-effective choice for higher-volume production. Pure helium is not used for
steel, as it then provides erratic arc and encourages spatter.

Apart from shielding gas, Helium gas is widely use in purging of difficult to access area in Copper
to SS, SS to Nickel and Stellite Final Joints.

3.2 Improvised Unconventional Mixture Gases

3.2.1 Argon – Hydrogen Mixture: Hydrogen (H2) can be added to shielding gases for GTA
welding of austenitic stainless steels, Nickel base alloys to reduce oxide formation. The addition
also means more heat in the arc and a more constricted arc, which improves penetration. It also
gives a smoother transition between weld bead and base metal. For root protection purposes,
hydrogen addition is beneficial due to its reducing effect of oxygen which will improve the fluidity
of weld molten pool and reduce the viscosity.

Experimental Procedure

Semi cryogenic engine - The second largest thrust generating engine produced till date, has one
of its key material as high Strength Nickel Alloy having UTS of 930 MPa. Weld thickness varies
from 7 mm to 21.5 mm and joint accessibilities are also poor due to complex designs. Manual or
Auto TIG mandate for this generates higher heat inputs, resulting in shrinkage and distortion.
Secondly, porosities and linear indications are problem with the nickel alloys, the main culprit
being nitrogen. As little as 0.025% of nitrogen will form pores in the solidifying weld of Nickel
alloy. Oxygen is also a cause of porosity in certain circumstances when it combines with carbon
in the weld pool to form carbon monoxide. A further characteristic of nickel alloys is that the
amount of penetration is less compared to carbon or stainless steel. Increasing the welding
current will not increase penetration proportionally.

To counter these conditions, addition of H2 seems to be the solution. Generally, reference case
studies suggested addition of H2 with Ar within 2 to 10% range. Keeping low H2 content will lead
to formation of the viscous and adherent scum on the surface of the weld pool. This sluggish weld
pool does not flow freely, may result in lumpy bead and will not allow weld metal to wet the side
walls to get fuse properly. On the other side, keeping higher H2 content will generate gas bubbles
due to high turbulence, chances of tungsten inclusions will increase in weld. Hence, for above
limitations, for this material addition of H2 with Ar gas is fixed to 5%.

Test Plate of 15 mm thick welding carried out using Pure Ar (UHP) and Ar + 5% H2 Gas. Comparison
is shown below:

Weld Parameters Ar (UHP) Ar + 5 % H2

No. of Weld Passes 09 07

Current (A) 125 - 130 90 – 95

Voltage (V) 10.5-11.5 12.5 – 13.5

Travel Speed (mm/min) 45 55

Heat Input (KJ/mm) 1.99 1.39

Shrinkage (mm) 2.5 1.5

RT Defects (Out of 6 Segment) 2 0 (FTR)

Procedure Qualification Testing carried out having values listed below. Apart from regular
testing, wet chemical test IS 228 carried out to ensure Hydrogen level in Weld and parent and
results shown satisfactory.

Testing carried out Specified Achieved

Tensile Test UTS (MPa) 930 965 – 1024

Tensile Test 0.2 % PS (MPa) 550 671 – 677
%Elongation 15 16.4 – 17.4
Side Bend Tests (85 mm Former No Crack No Crack. Accepted
Dia)
Micro/Macro Satisfactory Fusion. Defect Satisfactory Fusion. Defect Free
Free Weld and HAZ Weld and HAZ
H2 in weld and parent <0.5 ppm <0.5 ppm
Heat Input reduced by 30%, Zero defects and Controlled Shrinkage/Distortion. Mechanical
properties Maintained.

3.2.2 Argon – Helium Mixture: Addition of Helium supplies more heat input to the base metal
and causes an increase in the welding rate, penetration and weld puddle fluidity. Greater fluidity
of the weld pool can facilitate the escape of hydrogen gas bubbles, which are the source of weld
 porosity in the weld pool. Addition of helium in the shielding atmosphere results in an increase
in impact energy and decrease in the crack growth rate.

Experimental Procedure

Welding of Aluminum (AA 2219) Material: Welding of aluminum and its alloys encounters more
difficulties than welding of steels. Major concerns are cracking and porosity, due to the high
solubility of the hydrogen in the molten metal and the relatively high thermal expansion
coefficient, which causes large changes in volume upon solidification. Due to surface oxide film
formation during welding, it’s very difficult for the welder to identify the weld pool. Helium when
added to Argon improves oxide breakdown performance and restricts hydrogen entrapment in
the weld pool, thus resulting in better arc stability and weld quality.

AA 2219 (Al – 6 % Cu) is a material used in VIKAS Engine. While using UHP argon as shielding gas,
it was difficult to fuse the joint edges due to difficult joint configurations and lack of fusion defects
was encountered. To overcome these, Mixture of Argon (80%) +Helium (20%) was used for
shielding.

Proper Penetration between two

meting parts

Fig (3) - Penetration using different Shielding Gas Fig (4) - Penetration using Ar 80 : He 20
Shielding gas
As shown in figure (3) Argon yield arc gives deeper penetration whereas pure He gives wider
penetration. Appropriate Mixture of Argon and Helium gives penetration of correct depth and
width. (Ar + O2 / CO2 is not used in GTAW, it is useful in GMAW) Figure (4) showing actual joint,
welded using this mixture gas, having penetration of 0.5 to 1.0 mm as per the drawing
requirements.

Weld Parameters Ar (UHP) Ar 80 : He 20

No. of Weld Passes 02 02

Current (A) 210-225 160-185

Voltage (V) 11-13 11-13

Travel Speed (mm/min) 70-80 75-85

 Heat Input (KJ/mm) 2.50 1.92

Shrinkage (mm) NA NA

Defect % ~ 6-7% < 1%

With these parameters, Procedure qualification carried out having satisfactorily. This WPS and
PQR is approved from LPSC, ISRO.

Heat Input reduced by 20 %, reduced defects and Controlled Distortion. Mechanical properties
Maintained.

Welding of Copper to SS: One of the assemblies of Semi Cryo Engine has copper to SS joint before
brazing. Thickness of the joint is 2 mm. Qualification attempts done using pure Argon & Pure
Helium were unsuccessful. When welded using pure argon, the copper edges were not getting
fused where using Helium very concentrated arc was generating which limited the weld pool
visibility. Trails carried out using Ar 80% + He 20 % Gas and having satisfactory Depth of Fusion
on both Copper and SS sides.

Fig (5) – Micro Photograph of Cu #SS Joint

using Ar80:He20

Leg Length Leg Length DOP(Cu) DOP(SS)

(Cu) (SS)

1.6 mm 2.6 mm 0.9 mm 0.5 mm

As shown in Fig (5) Fusion is satisfactory and weld and HAZ are free from defects. DOP and Leg
Length Values are acceptable, and this procedure is also approved by LPSC, ISRO.

CONCLUSION

To meet the First-Time Right results in aerospace applications, shielding gas playing an important
role along with other variables.

Desired requirements Physical, Chemical, Fusion and Dimensional are meeting with the selection
of appropriate shielding gas against the material.

Ar+ H2 Gas has shown improved performance in High Strength Nickel alloys. In Future, ASS and
Cobalt base alloys trails to be conducted to confirm the outcome.

Ar + He gas has shown better performance in Aluminium, Copper to SS materials in which fusion
was very difficult.

Experimentation backed with metallurgical knowledge is must to utilise the individual

characteristics of gases for applicability in exotic alloys of Aerospace Industry.
Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Godrej Aerospace team for performing experimental studies and allowing
to publish this subject. Special Thanks to LPSC, ISRO for guidance and cooperation during
experiments.

References

1. Welding of Nickel Alloys – Part I and II – The Welding Institute

2. Article on Factors affecting the Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Ni-Cr-Mn-Nb Welds – 6th
International trends in welding research conference proceedings 15-19 Apr 2002, ASM International
pp. 666-671.
3. Article on shielding gas selection for Aluminium welding using GTAW and GMAW process –
Matheson Select Shielding Gas
4. Article on Shielding gas selection Manual – AWS (American Welding Society)
 WELDING AND POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT OF WB 36 STEEL
S. Singaravelu* & Lakavath Praveen Kumar **
*Former AGM BHEL, Tiruchirappalli, India
**BHEL, Tiruchirappalli, India

ABSTRACT

The need for increasing the plant efficiencies for fossil fuel fired power plants
necessitates development and use of new materials in boilers. Emission rules
demands reduction of CO2 emissions and thus leads to higher operating pressures
and temperatures. Once through Super Critical Boilers (OTSC) manufacturing
involves higher quantum of pipes to transport high pressure and high
temperature water and steam. In order to reduce the piping weight and the
related supports and hangers, new material WB 36 /P36 is used in boiler feed
water piping. This steel grade is mainly used in high-pressure, medium-
temperature feed water lines (close to 400 °C). WB 36 exhibits excellent high-
strength properties up to 450 °C. The reduced weight of the feed water piping
components compared with conventional carbon steel allows improved
resistance to thermal fatigue and high level of mechanical characteristics at the
service temperature. The aim of this study is to demonstrate joining of thick wall
piping and to qualify a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) by GTAW with
SMAW process. Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) was carried out to assess the
required weld metal strength, hardness and toughness.

Key Words: OTSC, WPS, PWHT, Toughness, Hardness.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Increasing of operating parameters (pressure, temperature) and unit size of thermal boilers
requires the development of high strength steels. Developments in steelmaking have improved
the cleanliness and properties of steel. In Sub critical boilers high pressure hot water are present
primarily in feed water system and headers, which are manufactured by standard carbon steels
like A 106 grade B or A 106 grade C pipes. For super critical power plants, this leads to very thick
piping system. V&M has developed WB 36 steel (15 NiCuMoNb5-6-4) for high pressure piping of
boiler feed water system. It is designed to compete against the carbon manganese pipes. It is a
low alloy steel with 1.1 % Ni and 0.7 % Cu. Addition of copper increases the strength level. WB 36
seamless pipe became significant when the capacity of the newly built power stations is
increased. In the feed water applications based on ASME B 31.1, the main advantage is the
possibility of reduction of wall thicknesses between 15 to 35% compared with other candidate
materials.

As an example, Table 1 gives the results of calculation of wall thickness according to the steel
grade for pipes for an application at 370 bar 320 °C with an inner diameter of 480 mm. This clearly
 shows the potential reduction in wall thickness of P36 in comparison to other grades. Using
thinner pipes allows in time and cost savings in material, welding /PWHT operations and reduces
the weight of structures, column and supporting hangers.

Table 1 Comparison of wall thickness requirement for different grade steels

Operating conditions of 370 bar /320 °C

Steel grade Minimum Wall thickness (mm)

15 NiCuMoNb5- Cl. 1 58.9

15 NiCuMoNb5- Cl. 2 55.1

SA 106 Gr B 109.3

SA 106 Gr C 90.2

2.0 STEEL PROPERTIES

2.1 Applicable Standards & Product Forms

Various applicable standards and their product forms are given below.

ASTM A 182 Grade F36 Forgings

ASTM A 335 Grade P36 Seamless pipes

ASTM A 213 Grade T36 Seamless Tubes.

BSEN 10216-2 Grade 15NiCuMoNb5-6-4 Seamless Steel tubes

2.2 Chemical Composition

The chemical composition of WB36 according to ASME is given in Table 2 along with SA 106 Gr C
for comparison. Grade C belongs to the group of carbon manganese steels. The composition of
WB36 differs in nickel, copper and niobium content.

2.3 Mechanical properties

The pipe material has been included in ASTM standard “Specification for seamless ferritic alloy
steel pipe for high temperature service” under A335 P36. The specified properties for the pipe
material as per ASTM (2005) are given in Table 3. WB36 composition has been optimized to
achieve high yield and tensile strength values. The strengthening effect is obtained by means of
grain refinement through the addition of Nb. A second effect is partial hardening by Cu-
precipitates. During the development of WB36, it was found that a Cu/Ni-roughly 0.5 is needed
in order to avoid hot shortness during hot forming.

Page 20 of 24
 Table 2 Chemical requirements of WB 36 (%)

WB 36 /P36

C Si Mn P S Cr Mo Ni N Cu V Nb Al

Min 0.10 0.25 0.80 -- -- -- 0.25 1.00 -- 0.50 -- 0.015 --

Max 0.17 0.50 1.20 0.030 0.025 0.30 0.50 1.30 0.02 0.80 0.02 0.045 0.050

SA 106 Gr C

Min -- -- 0.29 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Max 0.35 0.10 1.06 0.035 0.035 0.40 0.15 0.40 - 0.40 0.08 - -

15NiCuMoNb5-6-4

Min 0.25 0.80 -- -- -- 0.25 1.00 -- 0.50 -- 0.015 --

Max 0.17 0.50 1.20 0.025 0.020 0.30 0.50 1.30 -- 0.80 -- 0.045 0.050

Table 3 Specified mechanical properties of WB36 steel

Standard *YS *UTS *Elong. (%) Hardness CVN impact

(MPa) (MPa) HV energy J at
+20 °C

ASTM A 335 P36 440 620 15 265 Hv -

Class 1, N & T

Class 2, Q& T 460 660 15 265 Hv --

EN 10216-2 440 610-780 19 long. - 40 long.

WB 36 17 trans. 27 trans

SA 106 GR C 275 485 16.5 - -

* Specified minimum

3.0 EXPERIMENTAL SET UP

3.1 Joints

Pipe butt joints of diameter 323.9 mm and wall thickness 40 mm were made with Gas Tungsten
Arc Welding process for root welding. Diameter of filler rod and 2% ceriated tungsten rods are
2.4 mm. Since P36 and the filler used are of low alloy, purging of root was not carried out. Then
the balance thickness was completed by Shielded Metal Arc Welding. The electrodes used are
diameters 2.5 and 3.2 mm and 4 mm. The electrodes are backed at 300- 350 °C before welding.
The recommendations of pipe manufacturer for preheat temperatures and interpass
temperatures are given in table 4.
Page 21 of 24
 Preheat temperature of 120 °C was used to avoid the risk of hydrogen cracking after welding.
Inter pass temperature was maintained within 300 °C. BS 2633 recommendations are similar to
V&M recommendations. PWHT shall be applied directly from welding /preheat temperature
without any need for cooling to room temperature. The pipe butt joints were subjected to
radiographic test to assess the soundness of the weld

Table 4

Wall thickness mm Minimum Pre heat Temp °C Maximum Interpass Temp °C

15 80 150

16-30 100 180

31-50 120 220

> 50 120 250

3.2 Welding Consumables

Welding consumables are selected to nearly match the base metal composition. Weld metals are
with Mn-Mo or Ni-Mo alloyed types. For GTAW welding, Union I Mo brand (AWS A 5.28 ER 80 S
G) was used, which is 0.5 Mo type as per the recommendations of pipe manufacturer. M/s
Metrode recommends the use of Mn Mo brand (AWS A 5.28 ER 80S D2 /ER 90S-D2) for GTAW.
Welding parameters are voltage 14-16 and current 90-120 amps. Argon is used as shielding gas
with gas cup size of 6 mm with a flow rate of 12 litres per minute. For SMAW AWS A 5.5 E 9018 G
electrodes (Brand name Phoenix SH Schwarz 3K Ni) were used. Welding current of 80-100
amperes for 2.5 mm diameter electrodes, 90-140 amperes for 3.2 mm diameter electrodes and
140-180 amperes for 4.0 mm diameter electrodes were used. Weld Metal deposit analysis are
reported in table 5 and meets the requirement of A number 2.

Table 5

Process C Si Mn P S Cr Mo Ni N Cu V Nb Al

GTAW 0.10 0.60 1.20 0.008 0.010 -- 0.50 -- -- 0.1 -- -- --

SMAW 0.08 0.36 1.25 0.010 0.010 0.20 0.40 0.95 -- 0.08 -- -- --

Welding consumables of both GTAW and SMAW are tested as per the applicable AWS
classifications and the test results are given in table 6. Both the weld deposits exceed the
minimum requirements of base metal P36/WB36.

Table 6

Process PWHT YS MPa TS MPa % Elongation CVN Impact energy J at +20 °C

GTAW 570 °C/ 120 minutes 510 603 24 95

SMAW 570 °C/ 120 minutes 595 660 28 120

Page 22 of 24
4.0 PWHT

Post weld heat treatment has to be carried out to relieve the internal stresses caused by welding
and the tempering of heat affected zone is to be ensured. PWHT was carried out in a gas fired
furnace with necessary thermocouples. As per ASME B 31.1 for ASTM A335 P36 and ASTM A 182
F36 materials, post weld heat treatment is mandatory under all conditions. For class 1 material
the recommended range is 595 – 650 °C and for class 2 components recommended range is 540-
620 °C. Class 1 components are to be held at PWHT temperature for one hour per 25 mm thickness
up to 50 mm thickness with minimum soaking time of 15 minutes. For over 50 mm thickness, add
15 minutes minimum for each additional 25 mm thickness. Class 2 components are to be held at
PWHT temperature for one hour per 25 mm thickness with minimum soaking time of 30 minutes.
The rate of heating and rate of cooling rate above 315 °C was maintained at 115 °C/h.

5.0 TEST RESULTS

The pipe weld joints were tested as required in ASME Sec IX. The tensile test as per QW 150 and
bend test as per QW 180 were carried out. Location of failure in tensile test specimen is parent
metal and the ultimate unit stress reported are 675 and 683 MPa. All the four side bend
specimens have passed the 4t, 180° guided bend test. In addition to mandatory tests weld
hardness measurements were taken. The readings in Hv are given in table 7.

Table 7

Base metal HAZ Weld metal.

218 254 230

221 260 228

220 251 231

218 240 234

215 257 227

223 248 235

5.1 Weld metal toughness

ASME base material does not mention the required toughness for P36 but the EN standard
specifies minimum 27 joules at room temperature. Adequate toughness is required for weld
metal during the pressure testing of the boilers. The weld metal has average toughness values of
120 joules.

5.2 Elevated Temperature tensile strengths

P36 weld metals are having significant importance due to high temperature applications. The hot
tensile properties of the weld metal do not necessarily provide information on the joint
properties but they are important because design is based on yield strength and not on creep
Page 23 of 24
 properties. The all weld tensile tests for SMAW weld metal were reported for three different test
temperatures and the results are given in table 8

Table 8

Temp (°C) Yield Strength (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elong. (%)

250 500 629 20

350 460 620 25

450 470 563 29

SUMMARY

The material P36 has specific chemical composition and mechanical properties at room
temperature and elevated temperatures. Welding consumables and the welding parameters are
qualified to match the base metal requirements. The test results met the ASME requirements and
procedure qualification record was qualified, based on the PQR results Welding Procedure is
qualified for P36 material for 5-80 mm thickness by GTAW and MMAW processes.

REFERENCES
1. Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes “The WB36 Book (15NiCuMo)”, 2002.
2. ASME B 31.1 -2016 Power Piping
3. ASTM A335 / A335 M-06 “Standard specification for seamless ferritic alloy-steel pipe for high temperature
service.”
4. ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code IX-2017.
5. Welding Studies on WB 36 for Feed Water Piping- Sathish Kumar R, Dr. T Ramesh and Dr. K Asokkumar
6. BS EN 10216-2:2002 “Seamless tubes for pressure purposes – Technical delivery conditions Part 2. Non-alloy and
alloy steel tubes with specified elevated temperature properties.”
7. Technical profiles October 2009 by Metrode Products Limited.

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