TWI Technical Open Day featuring WeldCup 2015

Welding Processes Technical Group Meeting 2015Recent developments in joining techniques for manufacturing

2015 Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group Meeting: Pipework fabrication and PWHT requirements

Offshore Oil and Gas Technical Group Meeting: Duplex and super-duplex stainless steels - a refresher

Find out more at:www.twi-global.com/news-events

Connect+ is the electronic newsletter from TWI. This regular e-mail publication showcases a selection of news and technical information but for an expanded view and access to a wider collection of recent papers, please visit our Connect+ webpage: www.twi-global.com/news-events/connect-plus/

TWI Ltd, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AL, UK Tel: +44 (0)1223 899000

Connect+T h e m a g a z i n e o f T W I

TWI Events

August/September 2015

HRH The Princess Royal recently visited TWI’s Cambridge headquarters at Granta Park to open three new buildings dedicated to the advancement of engineering. During the morning, TWI Chief Executive Christoph Wiesner also presented Her Royal Highness with the Royal Fellowship of The Welding Institute.

The Princess Royal’s visit marks the completion of a large-scale construction programme supported by government, which will allow TWI to extend the scope and scale of work it carries out for its industry partners in workspace specifically designed for research and education in materials science, joining technologies and engineering processes.

The opening was also the official launch for TWI’s pioneering educational establishment, the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC), which provides postgraduate engineering students with the opportunity to qualify with direct industry experience. The buildings provide a location and state-of-the-art equipment for use by NSIRC students as they complete study programmes designed by industry partners and awarded by UK universities.

Her Royal Highness spent over an hour and a half touring the laboratories and meeting some of the 600 engineers, apprentices and students that work on site. The tour route took in demonstrations of laser welding, fatigue testing of steel mooring chains, linear friction welding of components for the aerospace industry, pipeline inspection and X-ray imaging, as well as welding with chocolate in a demonstration manned by pupils from nearby Great Abington Primary School.

Christoph Wiesner said: ‘It is a great honour for us to be able to show Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal a little of what we do here at TWI. We welcome The Princess Royal’s interest in materials joining and engineering and hope we have demonstrated how our new research capabilities will enhance our work with industry on the key issues affecting the everyday use of welded products and structures.’

The Royal visit culminated in the unveiling of a commemorative stone outside the new entrance and a further presentation to the Princess of a bouquet by TWI advanced engineering apprentice Mr Alex Russell.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal opens new laboratories at TWI

New X-ray microscope strengthens TWI imaging capabilityA state-of-the-art X-ray microscope (XRM), capable of generating manipulable, three-dimensional renderings of objects in extraordinary detail, has been installed at TWI.

The Zeiss Xradia Versa 520, located in TWI’s newly expanded Cambridge headquarters, greatly enhances the opportunities for research available to students undertaking postgraduate degrees at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC), and adds another dimension to the range of inspection and analysis services TWI is able to offer its Member companies.

The microscope has applications across a number of industry sectors, including oil and gas, aerospace, medical and electronics.

To facilitate non-destructive testing and materials research, it can be used to characterise materials, observe fractures and their mechanics and perform in-situ, time-dependent (4D) tensile compression studies. In electronics it can be used for failure analysis, package construction analysis and manufacturing process optimisation.

The XRM, which is capable of submicron imaging, uses a first-of-its-kind compositional contrast system and features a true spatial resolution of 0.7µm and a minimum voxel size of 70nm. Where traditional tomography relies on a single stage of geometric magnification, this high-specification XRM features a unique two-stage process based on synchrotron-calibre optics.

Advanced capabilities include a high-aspect-ratio tomography mode for flat samples and the dual energy contrast optimiser, which allows imaging of samples that contain a range of materials with similar radiographic contrast. The XRM is a tool that drastically expands the imaging capabilities for engineers, researchers and students studying at NSIRC.

The microscope was purchased using money awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to Brunel University London, lead academic partner at NSIRC and longstanding collaborator with TWI through the Brunel Innovation Centre.

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August/September 2015

New Members of TWI

ALTEK GroupUnited KingdomDross and scrap processing systems

Doncasters BramahUnited KingdomAerospace manufacturing

IMRA Europe S.A.S.United KingdomAutomotive technology research and development

MAATS Tech LtdUnited KingdomMarine engineering

Professional Testing Services Pte LtdSingaporeTesting services

Shanghai Institute of Special Equipment Inspection and Technical ResearchChinaInspection services

Snecma (Châtellerault and Vernon)FranceAerospace engine design and manufacturing

Tokyo Gas Company LtdJapanProvider of natural gas

Vectura Delivery Devices LimitedUnited KingdomDevelopment and manufacture of drug delivery systems

WallJAM LtdUnited KingdomElectronic training aids for sports

WSP UK LtdUnited KingdomEngineering and professional services consultancy

Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) CorporationChinaIron and steel processing

TWI Training and Examinations Services is about to launch a new innovative solution to phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) training, which will not only enhance the learning experience, but also offer significant time and cost savings for candidate sponsors and self-sponsored individuals. With its partner PhaseX, TWI is introducing a new online option around the world for students to acquire the essential knowledge element required for PAUT competence certification. The new course will be offered as ‘blended learning’; a mix of elearning, and in-class practical training followed by competence assessment or full BS EN 9712 CSWIP certification.

The new PAUT elearning package leads the student through high-quality theory training which can be either part- or full-time study. Being portable, individuals can study when and where it is most convenient, to match learning preferences and reduce the overall cost and impact of training. The package separates the learning of key concepts from the learning of a specific instrument, coupled with interactive exercises focused on the principals behind set-up, calibration, acquisition and data analysis. An intuitive logical training structure, which invariably helps the students understand key concepts, step by step.

Not all students learn at the same speed, so the package enables mandatory hours to be completed within a certain time frame; students are given 60 days to complete requisite training hours.

Students are able to access previously covered material, and can also repeat interactive exercises until fully understood.

Self-evaluation is essential to enable students to recognise their weaknesses, and offers them an opportunity to practise.

In-built self-evaluation tests help the students verify their level of understanding, and ongoing access to pre-learned areas enables them to consolidate knowledge and build self-confidence.

Once logged on as a TWI student, regional nominated lecturers will be able to monitor online progress and final online result, and will provide advice whether the student is ready to go forward for in-class practical training to gain full Level 2 certification. In the event that a student requires assistance during the online phase, they will be supported by the respective lecturer, which will ensure the student is better prepared for the practical phase, and establish an early rapport with the student.

Distance learning is an established and accepted method of academic and vocational training for many professions, providing an opportunity to access training which would otherwise be cost and time-prohibitive. TWI sees this as adapting to customer and industry needs, and the introduction of elearning sits well with our ethos to embrace innovation whilst maintaining a high quality of training for our customers.

If you consider this is a suitable route to gaining PAUT certification, but would like to know more about this option, please contacttrainexam@twitraining.com or call +44 (0)1223 899500.

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January/February 2014

Phased array ultrasonic training – an innovative approach

New welding apprenticeship standards receive government approvalThe UK Government has approved two new apprenticeship standards developed by a group of companies including The Welding Institute.

On 21 August, as part of a series of announcements relating to national apprenticeships, David Cameron formally approved both the apprenticeship standard for welding (level 2) – general welder (arc processes), and the apprenticeship standard for welding (level 3) – multi-positional welder (arc processes).

The official approval of the two standards is the culmination of a year’s work by the Welding Apprenticeship Employer Group, a consortium of employers, skills councils, professional bodies and trade organisations that has developed the new standards to improve and homogenise the quality of welding training for apprentices.

Each standard contains a description of the role profile; the requirements in terms of theoretical knowledge, practical skills and behaviours; entry requirements; duration; and progression beyond completion of the apprenticeship. The standards offer flexibility in terms of welding processes, parent materials and welding positions, so that employers can select only those modules that are relevant to their products. A practical skill test, in accordance with a recognised standard such as ISO 9606, is an integral part of both standards. For more information on the new standards, contact us on +44(0)1223 899000.

August/September 2015

Job Knowledge - EuP Directive and welding equipment energy consumption

Introduction

In modern engineering and fabrication, environmental aspects are often as much of a consideration as technical and economic drivers. The European Commission is developing legislation regulating the environmental impact all industry, from the producer to the consumer. The main goal is to develop a green economy, which is not only sustainable but circular, and with a zero-waste objective. Energy consumption is a prime topic.

As part of this objective, the EuP (Energy-using Products) Directive was adopted in 2005 (EuP 2005a) and transposed into national law in member states in August 2007. This directive concerns producers of energy-using products other than transport. The environmental impact of all products must be taken into account during their design and manufacture, including the choice of joining technology used for fabrication. The EuP Directive is a major part of European legislation and has the potential to be imposed on any aspect of a product’s design to reduce its environmental impact. For welding equipment, a study has been carried out by Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration (IZM) and Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik (IPK) (EuP 2005a).

It has been estimated that welding and joining processes, including resistance polymer and arc welding, represent 4.5 per cent of the European Union’s gross energy consumption (EPTA, 2007). A better choice of process or an increased understanding of this consumption can lead to energy saving.

This job knowledge article is focused only on power supplies and major arc welding processes and is based on a TWI report (Pike S, 2010).

Approach

A welding process is primarily selected for its performance and secondarily for its cost. The environmental factor is not generally considered, though this may be required in the future.

To effectively compare the environmental impact of different joining techniques it is necessary to use a quantifiable value. Multiplying power consumption in kilowatts (kW) by time in operation gives the energy consumption of a process in kilowatt-hours (kWh). This value can then be transformed into equivalent kilograms of CO2, a measure of the process’s environmental impact.

Comparison

Arc welding power sources operate at high efficiency levels, typically 65 per cent for conventional transformer and 90 per cent for inverter equipment. The inverters operate at higher frequencies (10kHz) compared to power frequency (50/60Hz), leading to reduced losses and higher efficiency. However, this improved efficiency can be decreased by additional ancillary functions (such as square wave capability).

In every case, process efficiency is increased when the power source is used near its maximum output. As an example, using a 500A arc welding power source for a weld at 200A will be more detrimental to the environment than using a 200A arc welding power source.

Figure 1 above presents the environmental impact of joining techniques depending on the CO2 emission in grams per second.

The SAW (submerged arc welding) process, with direct current, three phases and a transformer power source, has the greatest impact on the environment, with 18.63 grams of CO2 produced per second.

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January/February 2014August/September 2015

At the opposite end of the scale, the process with the lowest impact on the environment is PAW (plasma arc welding) with a direct-current, single-phase inverter power source. It produces 1.49 grams of CO2 per second.

It is necessary to keep in mind that process comparison can only be complete when the time to perform a specific weld is known. For example, the SAW process has a greater impact on the environment but has a much higher deposition rate, so joint completion time (and resulting energy usage) may be lower than MMA (manual metal arc).

Another consideration is standby or idle losses. These vary depending on the power source design and process and may have a noticeable impact on energy consumption. The cost of leaving an arc process on standby is generally low (three pence per hour) in comparison with laser-welding equipment such as a 4kW Nd:YAG laser (£1 per hour).

It is also possible to assess welding technology in terms of environmental lifecycle. For example, Chang et al. 2015 compared MMA with manual and mechanised MAG (metal active gas), and determined that MMA has a greater potential environmental impact as a result of the greater consumption of resources (energy, filler metal and coating on electrodes) per one metre of welding seam.

Other studies (Maak et al. 2015) taking into account standby and arc-on period also demonstrate that significant energy savings may be obtained by changing the power supply for a more efficient one, with less energy consumption during standby, or changing the process for a less energy-intensive alternative.

Recommendations

Manufacturers should be aware of the EuP Directive and its potential impact within their business.

The environmental impact of joining techniques and arc welding processes is significant and should be taken into account when designing and manufacturing.

An audit of equipment usage should be made by manufacturers to evaluate their impact and assess how to reduce electricity consumption and CO2 emission and potentially lower costs.

For more information about environmentally conscious design you can refer to our best practice guide ( Best practice guide 2011 ) or contact us on (0)1223 899000.

References

Best practice guide 2011: Environmentally conscious design

Chang 2015 ‘Environmental and social life cycle assessment of welding technologies’, 12th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Procedia CIRP 26 293-298

EPTA 2007: ‘Study for preparing the first working plan of the EcoDesign Directive’. Report for tender No. ENTR/06/026

EuP 2005 a: www.eup-network.de

EuP 2005 b: http://www.eup-network.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Produktgruppen/Lots/Final_Documents/EuP_LOT5_ExecutiveSummary_August2012_Final.pdf

Maak 1993: ‘Energy efficiency studies for arc welding equipment and processes’, The Environment and the Joining Industry – Product Manufacture, Pollution Prevention, and Safety and Health. Proceedings, 9th Annual North American Welding Research Conference, Columbus, OH.

Pike S 2010, ‘Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacture: Efficiency Measurements of Welding and Joining Equipment’, TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 944/2010

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January/February 2014August/September 2015

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Case Study: Plastic pipe inspection made simple with PolyTestIn 2014 TWI launched PolyTest: a new invention capable of reliably and non-destructively detecting flaws in welds in plastic pipelines.

Several Member companies have already benefited from the new technology, which uses phased array ultrasonic testing techniques to identify flaws in welded joints in polyethylene (PE) pipes caused by factors such as cold fusion, contaminants and under-penetration.

Towards the end of 2014 TWI inspected 40 plastic pipe joints for a client. The joints were in pipeline of two different sizes: 36mm wall thickness and 400mm outer diameter, and 51mm wall thickness and 560mm outer diameter.

Pinpointing flaws

PolyTest is a modular system consisting of wheeled chain links that are mounted on the outside of the pipe adjacent to the weld to be inspected. The chain link system is rotated around the circumference of the weld, enabling the attached transducer to complete a full volumetric examination.

Using the system and applying an industry-approved procedure, TWI collected data from each of the joints before analysis and reporting were performed the following day. The acquired data formed a three-dimensional matrix, where combining A-, B- and S-scans helped to accurately locate and size any flaws.

Of the 40 joints that were inspected, seven showed ‘indications’: tell-tale signs of a fault. The client did not accept any of the flaws and the joints were rejected based on the inspection results. A second site visit three weeks later allowed the data to be validated and verified through repeat inspections.

Backing up findings with testing

Having established that the inspections were producing accurate, repeatable results, destructive tests of one of the welds were carried out to determine the cause of the indication. This revealed the presence of a foreign material, which had presumably entered the pipeline in the manufacturing process.

Plastic pipelines carry a number of benefits over their metal equivalents, but the lack of a reliable non-destructive examination technique has traditionally prohibited their use in safety-critical applications such as nuclear power stations. With the introduction of PolyTest, the first commercially available ultrasonic testing device for PE pipelines, that could be about to change.

For more information on PolyTest and TWI’s plastics inspection capability, please contact us on+44 (0)1223 899000.

August/September 2015

August/September 2015

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Meeting the manufacturing, operations and maintenance challenges in the offshore wind energy sectorWe are planning a free one-day workshop to understand some of the technological obstacles to the economic implementation of offshore wind energy.

The role of recent developments in fabrication, inspection, coatings and structural health monitoring will be covered, potentially addressing some of the obstacles to the successful delivery and operation of viable offshore wind projects.

The event takes place on 24 November at TWI, Cambridge.

To register your interest in this free one day event please visit our website or contact us on +44 (0)1223 899000.

NSIRC student experience with ANSTOSecond-year NSIRC PhD student Yao Ren has just returned from Australia, where she spent six weeks working with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

Yao’s work at ANSTO, carried out in collaboration with Brunel University London and Australia’s Bragg Institute, saw her using a scientific instrument known as KOWARI – a uniquely capable residual stress diffractometer.

Yao spent her time with ANSTO participating in a large-scale investigation into the effectiveness of various post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) procedures on stress relaxation of girth welds. The research is directly related to work she is currently undertaking as part of her studies with NSIRC.

NSIRC is a state-of-the-art postgraduate engineering facility, which provides its students with a number of opportunities to travel for their research. These include work placements such as Yao’s, as well as conference attendance and opportunities to present on their publications.

For more details on NSIRC email at enquiries@nsirc.co.uk or visit the NSIRC website at www.nsirc.co.uk

TWI announces Technical Open Day in conjunction with WeldCup TWI is pleased to announce an opportunity for its Industrial Member companies and industry partners to visit TWI’s new buildings and facilities in Cambridge on Wednesday 21 October 2015.

The day will allow visitors to hear from our directors and technical experts about our most recent project work in materials joining and engineering as well as the growing impact of the research being carried out at the new National Structural Integrity Research Centre at TWI.

You will be able to tour the Cambridge laboratories with our experts and see a large collection of new equipment in operation. During the afternoon we will run a series of industry sector briefings and technical workshops focused on industry needs and developments in technology. There will also be static exhibitions, displays and activities hosted by all areas of TWI business including Training and Examinations, Certification, The Welding Institute, The Test House and group company Pi Ltd.

An added attraction to the day will be the live final of the European Welding Federation’s WeldCup which sees teams of young welders from seven countries in competition to produce the best welded workpiece.

To register for this industry event please visit our website or contact us on +44(0)1223 899000.

Specialists at TWI have designed and commissioned a high-pressure flow loop that enables a greater range of tests to be carried out in an environment representative of field conditions.

This unique facility allows the circulation of ISO 23936-1:2009 sour fluids containing heptane, cyclohexane, toluene, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, methane and water at pressures up to 89barg and temperatures up to 130°C. An important feature of the test rig is the ability to conduct experiments under realistic field conditions in terms of flow and mass transport.

During the operation of the rig, the fluid is conditioned in the bypass loop. This fluid mixture can then be pumped through a pipe section or other component under test and the temperature, pressure and flow rate monitored remotely.

Currently the rig is being used to test polymer-lined steel section for a joint industry project: ‘Service performance and life prediction of polymer-lined steel pipe – “polymer-lined pipe and OCTG”’. More information on this project can be found on the project page on the TWI website.

Following completion of this work, TWI’s Members will have the opportunity to use this facility for other applications, such as conditioning of sections of fibre-reinforced composites, sealing assemblies and exposure testing of electronic components.

TWI’s established facilities for permeation monitoring of gas and liquid phases, along with rapid gas decompression and fluid sampling facilities, can be used to enhance these experiments.

To find out more about the high-pressure flow loop and discuss other potential applications, contact on +44(0)1223 89000 or visit our website.

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January/February 2014

Connect+ is the bi-monthly magazine of TWIPhotographySimon Condie Production Kim BarrattJames Burton Graphic Design Craig Carter Copyright © TWI Ltd 2015Articles may be reprinted with permission from TWI. This publication is also available in alternative formats. To request a copy please contact marketing@twi.co.uk

One-of-a-kind facility simulates real-world conditions for oil and gas research

August/September 2015