UNDERWATER WELDING

By

SUMAN WINSTAND .P
K. SUBASH
SRIHARI.R
 We cant lift ship and then repair it ,Hence
comes the use of underwater welding.
 First under water welding by British
Admiralty
– Dockyard
 In 1946, special waterproof electrodes were
developed in Holland by ‘Van der Willingen’
1970s: Whitey Grubbs and Dale Anderson of
Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) qualified an
underwater wet welding procedure to
American Welding Society (AWS) standards.
Underwater welding can be classified
as
1) Wet Welding

2) Dry Welding
• In wet welding the welding
is performed underwater,
directly exposed to the wet
environment.
• The welder is allowed to
have freedom of movement.
Hence, wet welding is the
most effective, efficient and
economical process.
The welding power and
supply unit is placed on the
surface and is connected to
the welder with the help of
cables and hoses.
Advantages:
* The expenditure is very minimal. Unlike in the case of dry
welding.
* The speed of the operation is extremely high.
* As the equipments are very minimum, the welding can be
performed in a shorter time with minimal planning.
Disadvantages:
* The weld is quenched is very fast under water. It
decreases the ductility and impact strength an also
makes the weld very porous.
* The visibility of the welder is not up to the required
level.
* The amount of voltage that can be employed is very
limited. Care has to be taken so that the welder is not
harmed by probable electrical shocks.
• In dry welding, a dry
chamber is created
near the area to be
welded and the welder
does the job by staying
inside the chamber .
The chamber is filled
with gas containing 0.5
bar oxygen.
• The gas tungsten arc
welding process is
used.
Advantages:
• Welding can be carried out without getting affected by ocean
currents and marine animals.
• Better quality welds can be used.
• From the surface itself, there is a possibility of visually
monitoring joint preparation and pipe alignment.

Disadvantages:
* The chamber is very complex. Large support equipment is needed
at the surface to support the chamber.
* The expense will be very high. The cost increases proportionately
to the depth under water.
* The chamber has limited reusability.
LARGE HABITAT MINI HABITAT
Large habitat underwater welding
 Power supply requrements-400 amp or larger.
DC generators, motor generators and rectifiers
are acceptable power supplies
 Power converters.

 Welding Generator, Pre-Setup Polarity.

 Diesel Driven Welding Generator Amperage

and Voltage settings.

 Gas Manifolds.
 Both the welder and the structure are at risk.
The welder has to protect himself from electric
shocks. The welder has to be insulated. The
voltage of the welding sets has to be controlled.
Pockets of oxygen and hydrogen built up by
the arc will be potentially explosive. The
welder has to take precaution because nitrogen
will be built up in the blood stream of the
welder, when exposed to air at high pressure
under the water surface.