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CHAP 3

METHODOLOGY:
The most widely used material for the fabrication of pressure vessel is SA-516 grade 70. The plate of the material of 13mm thick was not in regular dimensions. Two specimens of dimensions 225mm 225mm were cut using the arc cutting facility. After that it was kept in air for slow cooling so that microstructure does not get distorted. A 60 bevel was made perpendicular to the direction of rolling of the plate.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SA-516 GRADE 70:

Chemical composition varies with the thickness range for SA-516 grade 70. Thickness(mm) 12.5 and under 12.5 to 50 50 to 100 100 to 200 Over 200 Carbon(%) 0.27 0.28 0.30 0.31 0.31 Manganese(%) 0.79 1.30 0.79 1.30 0.79 1.30 0.79 1.30 0.79 1.30 Silicon(%) 0.13 0.45 0.13 0.45 0.13 0.45 0.13 0.45 0.13 0.45 Phosphorous(%) 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.035 Sulphur(%) 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.035 0.035

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF E7018:

The electrode to be used for the welding of certain material should be chosen in a way so that both metal and electrode have same tensile strength. E7018 was the best choice while welding SA 516 grade 70. Both have tensile strength of 70ksi or 70,000psi. The chemical composition of E7018 is given by: Carbon 0.12 Manganese 0.3 0.6 Silicon 0.35 Phosphorous 0.04

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TACKING:
The procedure of putting tacks on the back side of the specimen is known as tacking. It is a necessary process because if its not done specimen position might get disturb and welding can get effected. According to ASME tacking should be done with GTAW. The gap between two plates was kept 3mm. The tacking of the samples is shown in the following picture:

WELDING USING SMAW:

The specimens were welded using the shielded metal arc welding with electrode E7018. The electrodes were placed in electrode oven so that they are properly preheated to avoid temperature gradient. The welder was not ASME certified for SMAW. Two sizes of electrodes were bought, one of 3mm and other of 4mm. The specimen A was welded with 4 passes. Root pass was made with 3mm rod, hot pass with 4mm rod, filler pass with 4mm rod, capping pass with 3mm rod and no backing pass was made. The specimen B was welded with 3 passes. Root pass was made with 4mm rod, no hot pass was made and direct filler pass was made with 4mm rod, capping pass was made using 3mm rod and backing pass was not made.

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HEAT INPUT:
During welding heat input for all the passes of both specimens was calculated primarily using avometer and then putting the values in the following heat input equation:

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CUTTING:
After the welding was complete the next step was cutting. The facility available was arc cutting which is usually not recommended as stresses develop in the specimen. Immediate stress relief annealing is required if arc cutting used. After the cutting process specimens were air cooled. 2 samples for tensile testing, 2 for bend testing and 1 for impact testing were cut from each specimen.

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POST WELD HEAT TREATEMENT:

ASME puts compulsion for PWHT if the thickness of the specimen is more than 30mm. But for some of the samples PWHT is done as lot of stresses have been developed during welding and arc cutting. The PWHT was done late although it is compulsory that it should be done immediately after the welding and cutting. The data is given as below:

No. of tensile specimen 2

No. of bend specimen 2

No. of impact specimen 2

Type of furnace

Capacity of furnace

Annealing temperature

Soaking time

Induction heating

20 kg

750C

30min

NON- DESTRUCTIVE TESTING:

The following two NDT techniques were used to check the surface and internal cracks:

1. Dye Penetrant Technique:

DPT was applied on all the tensile and bend specimens. Some cracks were observed on the surface other than major welding defects in specimen B.

2. Ultrasonic Testing:
USD 15X was used for specially checking the internal cracks. According to the readings of the ultrasonic testing machine there were defects present in the weldment which were later proved by the mechanical testing of the specimens.

MECHANICAL TESTING:
Three types of test were performed to test the weld joint quality:

1. TENSILE TESTING:

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CHAP 3
Tensile test of two specimen were done along the rolling direction

and perpendicular to the weld bead. The test was performed on Shimadzu Universal Testing Machine which was computerized but still having an error of about 6 to 8kN.

2. GUIDED BEND TEST:

Guided bend test was performed on four samples, 2 from each specimen. One for face bend test and other for root bend test. Shimadzu Universal Testing Machine was used to perform the desired tests.

3. IMPACT TEST:
Impact testing was performed to check the impact strength of the weldment. Charpy Impact Testing Machine and method was used for testing the 2 samples one from each specimen with a notch made on the weld.

OBSERVATIONS:
CONSUMABLE ESTIMATION:

14mm

A3

11mm

2..5mm

A2 A1

3mm m

In the figure above it is shown a welded specimen. It is intended to calculate the amount of consumable (electrode) in grams or kilograms. A1, A2, and A3 are showing the areas of three regions of the welded sample.

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1. Area A1: Lets consider that A1 is a square region. The area of A1 can be calculated as:

Area = l l = 3 3 = 9mm 2. Area A2: Lets consider that A2 is an equilateral triangle as the bevel is of 60. The area of A2 can be calculated considering the following formula:

where: s = length of any side of the triangle = 11mm

Area = 52.39 mm

3. Area A3: Lets consider that A3 which actually is the weld bead is in rectangular shape. The area of A3 can be calculated by the simple formula:

Area = l b where: l and b are the length and breadth of the rectangle.

A = 14 2.5 = 35 mm

Total area = A1 + A2 + A3 = 9 + 52.39 + 35 = 96.39 mm

Volume of the total weld = Total area length of the total specimen = 96.39 mm 450 mm

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= 43375.5 mm = 43.8 cm

Theoretical Mass of the electrodes = Density Volume = 7.8 g/cm 43.8 cm = 341.64g

Total mass of electrodes = theoretical + 20% wastage = 341.64g + 68.328g = 410g Hence 410g of electrodes is required to weld the specimen of length 450mm, thickness of 13.5 mm and bevel of 60

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TENSILE TEST:
The ductility of the specimen can be calculated with tensile test. It is indicated by the amount of deformation that is possible until fracture. It is determined by following two measurements:

ELONGATION:
It is determined by the following formula:

Elongation for the specimen A:

E = 59%

Area reduction for the specimen A:

Reduction in area = 46.5%

Elongation for the specimen B:

E = 27%

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Area reduction for specimen B:

Reduction in area = 12%

Specimen no A1 B1

Type

Length( ) mm 22 22

Width ( mm 22 22

Area ( ) mm 286 286

Transverse Transverse

Tensile Strength (psi) 42775 37700

Type of failure and location HAZ HAZ and weld