Fig.
2-14 A large three-spindle, vertical-bridge, numerically controlled
profiler. MAG IAS, LLC
and numerous types of handling machinery are now
weldments. Other manufacturers are using welding
for many of the accessories, pipelines, chip pans, and
subassemblies.
The flexibility of welding in this work is exemplified
by a milling machine bed made in one piece and con-
structed without any manufacturing difficulty in lengths
varying from 10 to 25 feet. Broaching machines, which
are used for a great variety of accurate machining of plane
and curved surfaces, depend on welded construction. The
manufacture of machine tools requires the use of bars,
shapers, and heavy plates up to 6 inches in thickness. Bed
sections for large planers and profilers may be as long as
98 feet, Figs. 2-14 and 2-15.
A horizontal cylinder block broach, among the largest
(almost 35 feet long) equipment of its kind made, has con-
struction features that would be almost impossible with-
out welding. For example, a rough bed for a certain broach
would have necessitated a casting of over 40,000 pounds.
Heat-treated alloy parts, mild carbon plate, sheet steel,
iron and steel castings, and forgings were used where suit-
able. Because of welded fabrication, the bed weighed only
26,000 pounds. Each member was made of material of
the correct mechanical type, and the whole was a rigidly
dependable unit.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear power depends upon the generation of large, con-
centrated quantities of heat energy, rapid heat removal, a
highly radioactive environment, and changes in the prop-
erties of radioactive materials. The heart of the process is
a reactor pressure vessel used to contain the nuclear reac-
tion, Fig. 2-16.
20 Chapter 2 Industrial Welding
Fig. 2-15 A mechanic grinding welds on the
bed of the profiler shown in Fig. 2-13.
MAG IAS, LLC
A B OU T WEL DIN G
Aerowave
The nuclear facility at General Electric
uses aluminum chambers from an Aero Vac, a fabrica-
tion shop. To avoid problems with tungsten spitting, the
shop uses the asymmetric technology of an Aerowave, an
a.c. TIG machine from Miller Electric. The Aerowave has
a low primary current draw. The technology provides a
fast travel speed and the ability to weld thick metals at a
given amperage. The operator can independently adjust
the current in each a.c. half cycle from 1 to 375 amperes
(A). The duration of the electrode negative portion of
the cycle canbe changed from 30 to 90 percent. The
frequency can be adjusted from 40 to 400 hertz (Hz). An
operator can fine-tune the penetration depth and width
ratios of the weld bead. Has been updated to the Dynasty
with similar features.
In addition to the reactor vessel, the system includes
a heat exchanger or steam generator and associated
equipment such as piping, valves, and pumps, as well
as purification, storage, and waste disposal equip-
ment. Welding is necessary for the fabrication of all
Fig. 2-16 This large reactor for a nuclear power plant is
designed to withstand high pressure and high temperatures.
Wall thicknesses are typically over several inches thick and Fig. 2-17 A Y branch shop fabricated undergoing NDE to assure
welding plays a critical role in their manufacture. Note the weld quality through soundness testing. GMAW root pass followed
large lifting eyes. Large crawler cranes can lift this type mega by FCAW fill and final beads. Piping Systems, Inc.
ton load into position in one lift. Frank Hormann/AP Images

these units. The production of nuclear energy would

not be possible but for the highly developed processes
of today.

Piping
High pressure pipeline work, with its headers and other
fittings, is a vast field in which welding has proved it-
self. The number of ferrous and nonferrous alloys used
as piping materials is increasing. Industry requires bet-
ter materials to meet the high heat and high pressure
operating conditions of power plants, nuclear plants,
oil refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants, and
many other manufacturing plants where steam, air, gas,
or liquids are used. Pressure of over 1,000 p.s.i. and
temperatures ranging from 200 to +1,200 F are not Fig. 2-18 A high pressure flange SAW to a heavy wall pipe
uncommon in high pressure pipelines, Figs. 2-17 and 20inches in diameter and 3-1/2 inches thick. GMAW was used for
2-18. Marine lines and generator stations have instal- the root bead and extensive visual, ultrasonic, and radiography
are used to assure weld soundness. Location: Piping Systems Inc.
lations operating at 1,250 p.s.i. with 950 F at turbine McGraw-Hill Education/Mark A. Dierker, photographer
throttles. Demands for equipment in the steel mills, oil
refineries, and other industries in which such lines oper-
ate emphasize reductions in size and weight and stream- systems can be eliminated. The absence of projections in-
lining the appearance of piping as well as the flow. The side the pipe produce less resistance to flow, Fig. 2-20.
lines are becoming increasingly complex: recirculation Because welded piping systems have permanently tight
units, boosters, headers, and miscellaneous accesso- connections of greater strength and rigidity, maintenance
ries and fittings are introduced into the lines, making costs are reduced. Other advantages of welded fabrication
them take on the appearance of complex electrical lines. include a more pleasing appearance and easier, cheaper
Small pipe is connected with large pipe; Ts, bends, re- application of insulation.
turn valves, and other fittings are introduced into the With the development of welded fittings, the pipe
lines, Fig. 2-19. fabricator realized the possibility of easily making
The design of fittings for welded pipe is flexible and any conceivable combination of sizes and shapes.
simple. Many fittings required by mechanically connected Practically all overland pipeline is welded, Fig. 2-21.

Industrial Welding Chapter 2 21


Fig. 2-19 A pipe header being fabricated in the shop. The roller allows the header
to be position in the most advantageous position for weld quality and productivity.
With a number of branches coming off. Piping Systems, Inc.
Piping is used for
the transportation of
crude petroleum and
its derivatives, gas
and gasoline, in all
parts of the country.
Overland welded-
pipe installations are
both efficient and
Fig. 2-20 An etched cross section economical. Succes-
of a multipass weld in chromemoly sive lengths of pipe
pipe. Note the sequence of weld are put together so
beads. Nooter Corp.
cheaply in the field
that total construc-
tion costs are materially reduced. These lines can be
welded to the older lines without difficulty.
No better example of the extreme reliability and
speedy construction available in the welding of pipe-
line can be cited than the oil line running from Texas
to Illinois. This is almost 2,400 miles of pipe joined by
welding.
extensively in the construction and repair of
equipment on the right-of-way.
Railroad units fabricated by welding in-
clude streamlined diesel and electric loco-
motives (Figs. 2-22 and 2-23), passenger
cars, subways, freight cars, tank cars, refrig-
erator cars, and many other special types.
Most new track is of the continuous welded
type, and battered rail ends of old track are
built up with the process.
Weight is an important consideration in
the design of freight cars. In an entire train-
load, a freight engine may be called upon
to haul a string of up to 100 freight cars
whose deadweight alone amounts to 2,400
to 3,400 tons. Welding and alloy steel con-
struction reduced the weight of 50-ton box-
cars from a light weight (empty) of 48,000
to 36,000pounds, a reduction of approxi-
mately 25percent. These cars are also able
to carry a 25 percent greater load than their
former 50-ton capacity.
Large cars are 50 feet in length and have a capacity
of up to 100 tons and an empty weight of approximately
61,500 pounds. This is an increase of 100 percent in load-
carrying capacity and only 35 percent in empty weight.
Cars constructed for automobile shipping service are
89 feet in length.
Another development in freight car construction is
the super-sized aluminum gondola. The car is a third
longer and almost twice as high as the ordinary gondola.

Railroad Equipment
Welding is the principal method of joining materials used
by the railroad industry. The railroads first made use of
the process as a maintenance tool, and it has been ex-
tended to the building of all rolling stock. It is also used
Fig. 2-21 Cross-country pipeline being made. Note the rug-
ged terrain. The pipe cannot be rotated so much to be welded
in position. Both 5G and 6G would be common. The 6G welds
are often referred to as Arkansas Bell Hole. TransCanada
Pipelines Ltd.

22 Chapter 2 Industrial Welding


Fig. 2-22 Welding frames of railway cars. Note the safety gear and
fresh air welding helmet. Bruce Forster/Stone/Getty Images
Fig. 2-23 These rack gears being MAG welded are made from forged and heat
treated 8630 material. It is being welded to the beam section which is A514, 100K
yield material. Four to six welders were engaged in preheating and welding. It was
preheated and welded from both sides via fixturing and head and tail stock position- pounds.
ers to reduce distortion. This rack is used to moves a 3.5 million ton counterweight
during lifts. The Manitowoc Company, Inc.
The car is 90 feet long and weighs 96,400 pounds: some
60 pounds per foot less than ordinary steel gondolas of
similar design. The underframe is steel, and the exten-
sive use of aluminum saves 11,000 pounds in weight.
The principal welding processes are shielded metal
arc, gas metal arc, and gas tungsten arc. A considerable
amount of gas and arc cutting is also used in the fabrica-
tion of the plate.
In addition to the weight saving and the greater pay-
loads, the tight joints that welding makes possible have
virtually eliminated infiltration of dust and moisture
into the cars, thus reducing damage claims against
railroads. This can be effected only through welded
fabrication, for no matter how carefully riveted joints
are made, the constant jolting to which freight cars are
subjected loosens the joints and opens seams that per-
mit dust and moisture infiltration. Welded freight cars
have a life of 20 to 40 years with very little maintenance
required.
By employing low alloy steel and welded fabrication,
car builders have been able to reduce the weight of a
refrigerator car by as much as 6 tons. This leakproof
construction, made possible by welding and the corrosion-
resistant properties of the low alloy steel that make up the
car body, make it possible to keep the car in active service
because the damage done to riveted refrigerator cars by
leaking brine solutions is prevented.
Tank cars, too, have benefited through
the use of corrosion-resistant steels and the
permanently tight joints. The old type of
construction caused many leakage prob-
lems. Often liquids are carried that require
preheating to make them flow easily when the
cars are being emptied. The alternate heating
and cooling to which the riveted joints were
subjected pulled them loose. Many of the
tank cars being built today are 61 feet long
and have a capacity of 30,300 gallons.
Another means of freight transporta-
tion in the United States is the highway
trailer carried by railroad flat cars, com-
monly called piggyback service. Automobile
carriers are also another means of freight
transportation.
As many as twelve standard cars can
be hauled on one 89-foot flat car equipped
with triple decks. These flat cars weigh
56,300 pounds and can transport 130,000
Hopper cars were redesigned with a
saving in weight and the development of
interior smoothness that permits free dis-
charge of the load. With riveted construction it was dif-
ficult to clean these cars when unloading because coal,
carbon black, sulfur, sand, and cement adhered to the
rivet heads and laps.
Industrial Welding Chapter 2 23

Fig. 2-24 A crew of 23 arc welders supply their own light
for the photographer as they apply 100 feet of weld in a matter
of minutes to the underframe of a Center Flow dry bulk com-
modities railroad car, with a capacity of 5,250 cubic feet.
ACF Industries
The increase in the demand for covered hopper cars
to transport many powdered and granular food prod-
ucts, as well as chemicals, has resulted in the Center
Flow car of modern welded design, Fig. 2-24. These
cars are 50 or more feet in length and have capacities
of from 2,900 to 5,250 cubic feet and loading capacities
up to 125 tons.
Many hopper cars are now made of aluminum. A steel
hopper car weighs 72,500 pounds, but one made of alumi-
num weighs only 56,400 pounds. This makes it possible
to carry heavier loads and thus reduce the cost of moving
freight. Steel is still needed, however, for highly stressed
parts like the underframe.
Hopper cars have two, three, or four compartments.
Each compartment has a loading hatch and hopper outlet,
providing for up to four different kinds of materials in
the load. A four-compartment hopper car requires 4,000
feet of weld. Welding is the largest and most important
production operation, Fig. 2-25. One-piece side plates
are 112 inches by 49 feet by 516 inch thick. Steel mem-
bers are welded with the submerged arc process, and the
24 Chapter 2 Industrial Welding
Fig. 2-25 The end view of a covered hopper railcar. Note its
clean smooth appearance. Ease of cleaning and painting are other
reasons for making welding a good choice in fabricating products
like this. stayorgo/iStockphoto/Getty Images
aluminum is welded with the gas metal arc process. A
considerable amount of gas tungsten and shielded metal
arc welding is also used.
A standard steel passenger coach has a weight of about
160,000 pounds. Experimentation with welded construc-
tion for this type of coach produced a coach weight of
98,000 pounds. In addition, the modern welded coaches
are stronger, safer, and considerably more comfortable
than former types.
Not only has the rolling stock of the railroads been
improved through the use of welding, but the rails they
roll on are also undergoing great change. The old 90- to
100-pound rail sections of 39-foot lengths are giving way
on several roads to continuous rail of 14-mile lengths.
This so-called continuous rail is not actually continuous
but consists of a number of lengths welded together at
the joints.
Track maintenance workers are continually faced with
the problem of batter in rail ends that occurs at the joints.
Battered rail ends cause a jolting when the train passes
over them, which in turn means discomfort for passengers,
shifting freight load, and wear on rolling stock. Battered
rail ends can be eliminated by one of two methods: either
replace the rail or build up the battered end. By employing
welding and building up battered ends to a common level
somewhere near the rail body level, both rails may remain
in service. However, as old rails are replaced by continuous
welded rail, service life is longer, and joint maintenance is
decreased.
Inside the railroad shop, welding is likewise doing
yeoman service. In locomotive maintenance it is used
on pipe and tubing repair, frames, cylinders, hub lin-
ers, floors, housings, tender tanks, and for streamlining
shrouds. On freight cars, posts and braces, bolster and
center plate connections, and other underframe and su-
perstructure parts are repaired, strengthened, or straight-
ened. Passenger car bolsters and cracked truck sides are
repaired without difficulty. Vestibule and baggage-car
side doors and inside trim are weld-repaired as standard
practice.

Shipbuilding
The Naval Limitation Treaties of the 1920s and 1930s
were the impetus behind the research program that
led to a new conception of welding in ship construc-
tion. Under these treaties the various nations agreed to
limit not only the number of capital vessels built, but
also their weight. The Navys reaction, therefore, was
to build the most highly effective ships possible by any
method within the limitations of the treaties. A capital
ship must be light in weight and highly maneuverable,
but it must have adequate defensive armor plate, gun
power, and strength. It must be built to take as well as to
give punishment.
That welded ships can take it is borne out by the story
of the USS Kearney, which limped into port on October
18, 1941. This fighting ship, blasted amid-ships by a tor-
pedo, came home under its own power, putting the stamp
of approval on a type of construction in which our Navy
had been a leader for years. It is highly improbable that
any other than a welded type of ship could have reached
home, and it was impossible that any other could have
rejoined its command, as did the Kearney, a few months
later. Since World War II, a large number of similar occur-
rences involving military and nonmilitary ships have been
recorded.
Military watercraft fabricated by welding include air-
craft carriers, battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and atomic-
powered submarines.
The standard specifications for Navy welding work,
which cover all welding done for the Bureau of Ships,
are concerned with a variety of structures, such as
watertight and oiltight longitudinals, bulkheads, tanks,
turret assemblies, rudder crossheads, pressure vessels,
and pipelines. Air, steam, oil, and water lines in various
systems are all of homogeneous welded construction,
Fig. 2-26.
Fig. 2-26 The main steam system piping for the engine room of
a nuclear submarine. Crane Co.
Some idea of the immensity of these units may be
gathered from the fact that gun turrets of a 35,000-ton
battleship are built from welded materials ranging from
one-half to several inches thick. The units weigh 250 tons
each. The sternposts weigh 70 tons; and the rudders, 40
tons. The welded rudder of the carrier USS Lexington
weighed 129 tons and was a 1212-foot thick (not 1212-inch)
fabrication.
It is now possible to construct submarine hulls with a
seam efficiency of 100 percent, as against the 70 percent
efficiency of riveted hulls. Caulking is unnecessary because
the hull is permanently leakproof. Hull production time is
reduced by approximately 25percent, and the total weight
of the hull is reduced by about 15 percent because of the use
of butt joints and groove welded plate. The smooth lines of
the welded plate make hulls more streamlined and, there-
fore, faster and more maneuverable. They foul less quickly
because of their smooth lines and can stay away from bases
longer.
SH OP TA L K
Repairing Welds
The very first step to repairing a weld is
knowing the base material. From there, you can figure out
the matching electrode and the correct preheat and inter-
pass temperatures.

Industrial Welding Chapter 2 25

Fig. 2-27 This Tri-Hull 319-foot long high speed ferry can carry
760 passengers and 200 vehicles at speeds of 40 knots or 46 mph.
With 38,000 HP from four diesel engines. Made from lightweight
aluminum, the boat was fabricated using the pulsed gas metal arc
welding process. Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
The hulls and power plants of nuclear submarines are
also constructed of all-welded alloy steel plate instead of
castings. Reductions in weight and size are accomplished
along with improved structural strength. Between these
savings and the weight reductions possible with welded
piping and accessories, the modern submarine is made
into a fabrication of far greater potential use. Hull strength
for longer underwater runs, resistance to depth bombs,
and deeper dives; increased power plant efficiency; and
an overall decrease in weight per horsepower make the
submarine an outstanding example of a unit welded for its
purpose.
Ships differ widely in type and conditions of service.
They range from river barges to large cargo and passenger
vessels, Fig. 2-27. The adoption of the construction meth-
ods used in building ocean-going Liberty ships during
World War II has reduced construction time from keel
laying to launching by more than 20 percent.
Prefabrication, preassembly, and welding are the
reasons for the dramatic reduction in building time,
Fig. 2-28. Parts and substructures are shaped in advance.
Accessories, pipelines, and necessary preassemblies are
constructed in many cases far away from the scene of the
actual building of the ships hull. After completion, they
are transported to the site and then installed as units into
the vessel.
A completely riveted freighter would require in its
construction thousands of rivets, averaging about 1 pound
each. From a labor and timesaving standpoint, there is a
reduction of 20 to 25 percent in deadweight that can be
used largely for cargo carrying. In many ships today, there
are only 200 rivets. A welded ship uses approximately
26 Chapter 2 Industrial Welding
Fig. 2-28 Welder at work in shipyard. Note the overhead
position and leather safety protection. Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG/
Getty Images
18 percent less steel than one that is riveted. In other
words, in every six 10,000-ton vessels built, enough steel
is saved to build another ship. Todays cargo ships weigh
from 10 to 15 percent less than their 1918 counterparts,
despite the fact that their deadweight capacity is 2,000
tons greater. Smoothness of hull construction has materi-
ally increased the speed of the vessels and reduced hull
maintenance costs by 25 percent.
Oil tankers are of such size that only the welding process
with its great saving in weight and strength makes construc-
tion possible. A fairly recently constructed tanker is more
than 100 feet longer than one of the worlds largest passen-
ger liners, the Queen Elizabeth II, which is 1,031 feet long
and 119 feet wide. The deck would dwarf a football field.
The tanker is 105 feet high. It is powered by an 18,720-horse-
power diesel engine, with a second one in reserve. It is de-
signed to carry 276,000 tons of cargo and costs $20 million.
Tankers now on the drawing boards will have a capacity of
600,000 tons.
Structural Steel Construction
The welding process has been applied to the construction
of hydroelectric units, power generation units, bridges,
commercial buildings, and private dwellings. The con-
struction of such superpowered projects as the Bonn-
eville, Grand Coulee, Hoover Dam, and the Tennessee
Valley Authority projects called for entirely new methods
of construction for water turbine parts and water power
machinery.
Welded construction was first used extensively for the
74,000-horsepower hydraulic turbines in the Bonneville
project on the Columbia River near P ortland, Oregon.