welded drum

A NATIONALHISTORIC

MECHANICALENGINEERING

LANDMARK

The C-EAll WeldedTestBoiler DrumChattanooga, TennesseeMay 2, 1980

CHATTANOOGA WALDEN CLUB

LUNCHEON PROGRAM1:00 P.M., May 2, 1980

Welcome Mr. H. M. WintersonPresidentPower Systems GroupCombustion Engineering, Inc.

ASME Landmark Professor J. J. ErmencProgram Chairman, ASME National

History & Heritage Committee

C-E First Welded Mr. D. E. LyonsSteam Drum Vice PresidentCommemoratives Fossil Power Systems Division

Combustion Engineering, Inc.

DEDICATION CEREMONYNATIONAL HISTORIC MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LANDMARK

COMBUSTION ENGINEERING FIRST WELDED STEAM DRUMMay 2, 1980, 2:30 P.M.

C-E CHATTANOOGA METALLURGICAL ANDMATERIALS LABORATORY

PROGRAM

Welcome

Introduction of Honored Guests

Remarks

Dedication Speaker

Plaque Presentation

Acceptance

Closing Remarks and Invitationto Tour the Metallurgical Lab

Dr. Reginald I. VachonVice President, Region XIASMEDr. Ronald B. Cox, P.E.Chairman, Chattanooga SectionASME

The Honorable Charles A. RoseMayor, City of Chattanooga

The Honorable Dalton RobertsHamilton County Executive

The Honorable Gene RobertsCommissioner, Department of SafetyState of Tennessee

The Honorable Marilyn L. BouquardCongresswoman3rd District, TennesseeDr. S. Peter KeziosPast PresidentASME

Mr. D. E. Lyons, Vice PresidentFossil Power Systems DivisionCombustion Engineering, Inc.

Mr. R. E. Lorentz, Jr.Director, Metallurgical andMaterials LaboratoryCombustion Engineering, Inc.

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FUSION WELDED BOILER DRUM

INTRODUCTION

The bronze plaque commemoratingthe C-E fusion welded boiler drum as anational historic Engineering Land-mark reads as follows:

“This fusion-welded drum, testedduring 1930, was the first in a seriestested at Combustion Engineering,Inc., which led to the industrial accep-tance of welding for the fabrication ofboiler drums.

Welding, in replacing riveting forsteam power plants, permitted in-creased efficiencies through higherworking pressures and temperatures,and fabrication of larger units of im-proved safety. Welding then wasrapidly extended to fabrication usingalloys optimum for pressure vesseland structural application for all typesof service.”

This first welded boiler drum by CombustionEngineering was tested to destruction on May 2,1930.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

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HISTORY OF A LANDMARKUntil the late 1920s, pressure vessels

for boiler service were assembled byriveting. The process of welding asapplied to this industry simply did notexist. Under thermal and mechanicalexpansion, the crevice inherent in riv-eted construction leaked. Also, at veryhigh pressures, the crevice was a placeof corrosion concentration. Both ofthese conditions posed serious safetyproblems and demanded that othermethods of construction should beinvestigated.

Faced with this problem, the indus-try had two alternatives: The first wasto use metal forgings, but they werevery expensive. The second was toimprove safety, and to allow largerand more efficient units by experiment-ing with welding—a technique thathad yet to be fully perfected and ac-cepted for pressure vessel construction.

THE WELDED DRUMIt was about this time that the

Hedges-Walsh-Weidner Boiler Com-pany, a wholly owned subsidiary ofCombustion Engineering Co., cameinto the picture. They had already inthe late 1920s begun welding and test-ing boiler plate material coupons inChattanooga. A program to hydrostati-cally test welded boiler drum vessels onan experimental basis was started.

Since the use of coated electrodes forelectric arc fusion welding was in its in-fancy, much of the early work carriedout here in developing and perfect-ing these electrodes was extremelyimportant—both to the success of the

Rivets in these pre- 1930 boiler drums were drivenby hydraulic pressure.

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company’s testing programs at thattime and to the future of welding forhigh pressure, high temperatureapplications.

THE TESTProgress in this area continued until

finally on May 2, 1930 an historic occa-sion took place—the first of a series ofthe company’s boiler drums that hadbeen assembled by welding was hy-drostatically tested to destruction, andwith significant results. To begin with,this first welded vessel had been fabri-cated from rolled shell plate one inchthick, purchased to ASTM standards of55,000 psi tensile strength for fireboxboiler plate.

The heads were formed in the shapeof a dish from 1½ inch thick plate mate-rial made to the same specifications asthe cylindrical shell. One head wasblank. The other had a 12 × 16 inchoval manway opening sealed by a stan-dard manway cover. The shell cylinderhad a 34 inch inside diameter. Therewas a distance of 72 inches between thehead weld seams.

The overall length of the drum was98 inches—a small but historic start. Asingle longitudinal seam weld joinedthe edges of the rolled shell. Two girthseam welds joined the heads to theshell. Flux coated metal electrodes pro-duced by C-E were used for welding.Samples of the weld joint had beentested and found satisfactory prior totesting the vessel.

The vessel itself was mounted on alaboratory test stand. Dial indicatorsmeasured the extent of two dimen-sional strains as hydrostatic pressurewas applied.

This historic recording shows C-E’s first all weldedboiler drum in the shop where it was tested todestruction.

A forerunner of today’s larger models, this 550 tonflanging press was used to form heads for earlyC-E boilers.

4


SUCCESS AT 3250 PSIGBased on tentative design calcula-

tions which were then proposed for theASME Code, the safe working pressurefor this pressure vessel was calculatedto be 517 psig. It is doubtful anyone atthat time realized just how much moreit would actually withstand under test.

A test pressure of 3250 psig wasreached. As the test vessel expandedunder hydraulic pressure, the flanged-in manway bulged, causing a leak thatprevented further testing. Neverthe-less, the test was a success. It provedconclusively that these welded jointswere 100% efficient and couldwithstand pressures more than sixtimes those considered safe.

INDUSTRY RECOGNITIONAfter the first successful C-E test, fol-

low up work and interest in weldingcontinued in earnest. Coincidentally,an opportunity to share these de-velopments with the boiler industrypresented itself at just about the sametime. On May 10, 1930, some eightdays after this first successful test, C-Eofficials in New York City received a let-ter from Mr. C. W. Obert, a consultingengineer at Union Carbide and CarbonCo., Inc., an official of the AmericanWelding Society and the honorary sec-retary of the ASME Boiler CodeCommittee.

In his letter to A. C. Weigel, the man-ager of C-E’s boiler department, Obertrequested that C-E participate in theannual meeting of the National Boardof Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspec-tors. He asked C-E to prepare a paper onthe subject of welding. Perhaps not

At pressures more than six times those calculatedto be within safe limits, this first welded test unitwas so deformed at 3250 psig that it leaked andcould no longer hold more pressure.

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being completely familiar with some ofthe test results C-E had achieved justeight days earlier, Obert wrote, “May Iinquire if you will be willing to be rep-resented at this symposium . . . and willbe prepared to criticize the proposed(fusion welding code) specificationsprepared by the National Board? It ismy understanding that you would not.be in favor of the use of such fusionwelded drums for the construction ofpower boilers, although of course, ifyou have any favorable comments tooffer, they will be in order at that time.”

Weigel then wrote back to Obert,“As you undoubtedly know, we . . .

have been working on some experi-ments of welding work and have somemore or less fixed opinions of our own. . . While you assume we will take anattitude of opposing . . . welding work. . . in favor of riveting . . . we probablywill not take an attitude of this type.Our attitude will, however, insist that ifwelding is done, . . . every assuranceshould be obtained that it is done rightand correct and, . . . we are not in favorof welding . . . unless proper pre-cautions are made to insure good weld-ing work.”

C-E’s first expression of support for welded boilerconstruction was pointed out in this letter to anASME official.

6


THE FIRST TECHNICAL PAPERA. J. Moses, shop superintendent of

Hedges-Walsh-Wiedner in Chat-tanooga, was chosen to prepare thisimportant paper. It was Moses’ earlyinvolvement in welding developmentthat led to the decision.

As planned, the presentation wasmade to the National Board Of Boilerand Pressure Vessel Inspectors in June,1930. In addition to discussing hisviews on the proposed requirements

and codes, Moses took it a step further.He incorporated C-E suggestions for“having a special licensed shop forbuilding welded boiler drums andthat the inspector passing them (berequired) to stand a specialexamination.”

Welding as a viable alternative toriveting of boiler drums was starting totake shape and form. Over the nextseveral months, additional tests ofwelded boiler drums were conducted.

C-E’S COMMITMENT TOWELDED CONSTRUCTION

In November, 1930, Moses wroteanother paper that was published inCombustion magazine, entitled, “Testsof Welded Boiler Drums.” In it he fullydescribed the details of the test workconducted during those prior monthsand concluded that while further testswere contemplated, “The process ofmetallic arc welding developed by theHedges-Walsh-Weidner Company issafely applicable to power boilers andpressure vessels. It has met all the re-quirements of the proposed ASMECode without exception in numerouswelded coupon tests and in two dem-onstrations with full size drums.”

C-E had opened the door andcommitted itself to this emergingtechnology.

Tests ofWelded Boiler Drums

By A. J. MOSESS u p e r i n t e n d e n t , H e d g e s - W a l s h - W e i d n e r C o m p a n y

Boiler welding as a viable alternative to rivetingbegan to take shape and form with the first relatedtechnical paper on the subject by A. J. Moses.

7


ASME CODE ACCEPTANCEBy 1931, the entire boiler industry

was engaged in the development ofwelding processes for pressure vessels.In June of that year, an industry mile-stone was reached when the ASMECode Committee adopted new rulesapproving the use of welding for boilerdrum construction. The rules alsoestablished requirements for x-raytesting the weld seams and for stressrelieving welded vessels.

A jump ahead of the game, C-E hadalready installed large industrial X-rayequipment and a large stress relievingfurnace. In fact, on June 22, 1931, thecompany shipped to the Fisher BodyDivision of General Motors Corpora-tion what is believed to be the firstcommercial land boiler fabricated tothese ASME Code welding require-ments. By June 4, 1931, the HartfordSteam Boiler Inspection and InsuranceCompany had given C-E approval to goahead with construction of unfiredpressure vessels of fusion weldedconstruction.

This drum, believed to be the first unit built toASME Code welding rules, was shipped to FisherBody Division of General Motors on June 22,1931.

Approval from the Hartford Steam Boiler Insur-ance Company to go ahead with welded construc-tion on unfired pressure vessels opened the doorfor C-E.

8


HOLDING THE LINEON CODES

While C-E was able to move ahead inwelded pressure vessel technology,some boiler manufacturers were ap-parently having difficulty meeting therequirements of the new rules to theASME Code. In November, 1931, C. W.Obert requested that A. J. Moses pre-pare another paper—this one for a jointmeeting of ASME and the AmericanWelding Society. Obert said in the let-ter, “We are interested to some extentin demonstrating to the public at largethat the new welding rules are practicaland workable and that they do not in-volve an impossible set of conditions assome of the boiler manufacturers haveclaimed. Anything you can do to assistus in emphasizing this fact will begreatly appreciated.”

C-E backed up this request 100%when A. C. Weigel of C-E wrote in amemo to corporate management, “Weunderstand that quite a number of themanufacturers are having troublesmeeting the requirements of the newASME Code and are objecting strenu-ously to the specifications. In our opin-ion this is due to their lack of havingdeveloped the art to the extent neces-sary. We have found out that the weld-ing code can be readily met and see noreason why its requirements should belowered. It is our intention that thispaper shall support the Code commit-tee and our stand along these lines.”

U N I O N C A R B I D E A N D C A R B O N R E S E A R C H L A B O R A T O R I E S , IN C.

THOMPSON AVENUE AND MANLEY STREET

LONG ISLAND CITY

NEW YORK

November 24, 1931

In November, 1931, C-E was asked to prepare apaper on our experiences showing that proposedASME welding codes were both practical andworkable.

From the beginning Combustion Engineering’sposition on welding was to maintain the higheststandards and codes.

9


FUSION WELDING HERETO STAY

When Moses presented the paper onJanuary 5, 1932, there was no doubtwhere C-E stood. His summary para-graph said it all. “By adhering to grade 1testing specifications (of the ASMECode) we have absolute confidence inthe reliability of all welded vessels fab-ricated in our shop.”

As a result of testing that first boilerdrum to destruction on May 2, 1930,C-E had made a substantial contribu-tion to the acceptance of fusion weldingin pressure vessels—a step that led tothe eventual adoption of a set of rules inthe ASME Code of 1931.

J O U R N A Lof the

AMERICANW E L D I N GS O C I E T Y

A. J. Moses pointed out in this 1932 technicalpaper, published later in the Journal of the Amer-ican Welding Society, that the company had ab-solute confidence in its welded pressure vesselfabrication.

10


MODERN TECHNOLOGYC-E’s involvement in pressure vessel

welding has continued over the years.Today, in the Chattanooga manufactur-ing facilities, welding processes havebeen developed to a very high order ofsophistication.

Early in the proposal stage of a con-tract, welding engineering is used toaddress many of the pertinent fabrica-tion questions and to develop thenecessary welding procedures.

A comparison between shop facilities in the 1920sand today, shows the degree of sophisticationmodern welding fabrication technology hasreached.

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Welding shop support units followthe procedures, teach new methodsand monitor shop conformance. Eachyear approximately 1200 C-E weldersundergo training, skill upgrading andqualifying tests in virtually every typeand technique of welding; submergedarc, gas metal arc, gas tungston arc,electroslag, resistance and inductionpressure welding.

Many of the welding controls, powersupplies and automatic weldingequipment used are developed by C-E’smetallurgical laboratory and weldingengineering department. Even tech-niques for various types of strip clad-ding have been developed to thehighest degree in C-E’s Chattanoogafacility.

Today, many of the high precision,high pressure, high temperature vesselsused in the electric utility, chemical, pe-troleum and other process industries,are fabricated at this multi-million dol-lar complex occupying 143 acres andnearly four million square feet of man-ufacturing space in Chattanooga,Tennessee—birthplace of C-E’s first allwelded steam drum for modern pres-sure vessel boiler applications.

Arc welding techniques and machining havecome a long way since this equipment was firstused in the 1930s.

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Comparing the first 175,000 volt x-ray equipmentwith today’s 13 Mev unit shows the progress thathas been made in the last 50 years.

13


Over 143 acres and nearly four million square feetof manufacturing space make this Chattanoogaplant one of the largest facilities of its kind.

The C-E metallurgical laboratory in Chattanoogais devoted to the study and testing of materials andresearch to develop processes to improve C-Eproducts.

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National Historic MechanicalEngineering Landmark Program

In September 1971 the ASME Council reactivated the Society’s History and Heritage pro-gram with the formation of a National History and Heritage Committee. The overall objectiveof the Committee is to promote a general awareness of our technical heritage among both en-gineers and the general public. A charge given the Committee is to gather data on all worksand artifacts with a mechanical engineering connection which are historically significant tothe profession—an ambitious goal, and one achieved largely through the volunteer efforts ofthe Section and Division History and Heritage Committees and interested ASME members.

Accordingly, two major programs are carried out by the Sections and Divisions under thedirection of the National Committee: 1) a listing of industrial operations and related mechani-cal engineering artifacts in local Historic Engineering Records; and 2) a National HistoricMechanical Engineering Landmark program. The former is a record of detailed studiesof sites in each local area; the latter is a demarcation of local sites which are of nationalsignificance—people or events which have contributed to the general development ofcivilization.

In addition, the Society cooperates with the Smithsonian Institution in a joint projectwhich provides contributions of historical material to the National Museum of History andTechnology in Washington, D.C. The Institution’s permanent exhibition of mechanical en-gineering memorabilia is under the direction of a curator, who also serves as an ex officiomember of the ASME National History and Heritage Committee.

The Fusion Welded Drum is the forty-second landmark to be designated since the programbegan in 1973. The others are:

Ferries and Cliff House Cable Railway Power House, San Francisco, CA

Leavitt Pumping Engine, Chestnut Hill Pumping Station, Brookline, MA

A. B. Wood Low-Head High-Volume Screw Pump, New Orleans, LA

Portsmouth-Kittery Naval Shipbuilding Activity, Portsmouth, NH

102-inch Boyden Hydraulic Turbines, Cohoes, NY

5000 KW Vertical Curtis Steam Turbine-Generator, Schenectady, NY

Saugus Iron Works, Saugus, MA

Pioneer Oil Refinery, Newhall, CA

Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Scoop Wheel and Engines, Chesapeake City, MD

U.S.S. Texas, Reciprocating Steam Engines, Houston, TX

Childs-Irving Hydro Plant, Irving, AZ

Hanford B-Nuclear Reactor, Hanford, WA

First Air Conditioning, Magma Copper Mine, Superior, AZ

Manitou and Pike’s Peak Cog Railway, Colorado Springs, CO

Edgar Steam-Electric Station, Weymouth, MA

Mt. Washington Cog Railway, Mt. Washington, NH

Folsom Power House #1, Folsom, CA

Crawler Transporters of Launch Complex 39, J.F.K. Space Center, FL

Fairmont Water Works, Philadelphia, PA

U.S.S. Olympia, Vertical Reciprocating Steam Engines, Philadelphia, PA

5 Ton “Pit-Cast” Jib Crane, Birmingham, AL

State Line Generating Unit #1, Hammond, IN

Pratt Institute Power Generating Plant, Brooklyn, NY

Monongahela Incline, Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, PA

Great Falls Raceway and Power System, Paterson, NJ

Vulcan Street Power Plant, Appleton, WI

Wilkinson Mill, Pawtucket, RI

New York City Subway System, New York, NY

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Balttmore, MD

Ringwood Manor Iron Complex, Ringwood, NJ

Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale. CA

Hacienda La Esperanza Sugar Mill Steam Engine, Manati, PR

RL-10 Liquid-Hydrogen Rocket Engine, West Palm Beach, FL

A.O. Smith Automated Chassis Frame Factory, Milwaukee, WI

Reaction-Type Hydraulic Turbine, Morris Canal, Stewartsville, NJ

Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EBR-1), Idaho Falls, Idaho

Drake Oil Well, Titusville, PA

Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA

East Wells (Oneida Street) Power Plant, Milwaukee, WI

Watkins Woolen Mill, Lawson, MO

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Acknowledgements

The Chattanooga Section of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers gratefully acknowledgesthe efforts of all who cooperated on the landmark dedication of the C-E All Welded Test Boiler Drum,

Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The American Society of Mechanical EngineersDr. Donald N. Zwiep President

Dr. S. Peter Kezios past-president

Reginald I. Vachon Vice President Region XI

Bobby L. Green, Chairman H&H, Region XI

Dr. Rogers B. Finch Executive Director and Secretary

The ASME National History & Heritage CommitteeProf. J. J. Ermenc

Dr. R. Carson Dalzell

Prof. R. S. Hartenberg

Robert M. Vogel

Carron Garvin-Donohue

Jill Birghenthal

Chairman

Secretary

Smithsonian Institution

ASME Staff Director of Operations

Administrator

The ASME Chattanooga Section—Executive BoardDr. R. B. Cox Chairman

G. S. Myers

George Riddle

Clem Schonoff

George Campbell H&H Chattanooga Section

Combustion Engineering, Inc.Active and Retired Officials and Employees

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Stamford and Windsor, Connecticut

Ottawa, Canada

16

welded drum

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ermencprogram chairman