A RE-ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF AUTOMATIC ARC WELDING IN STEEL FABRICATION

The demand for high quality in fabricated steel is increasing. At the same time welding operators wages are rising and there is a growing world- wide awareness of the conditions under which the welding operator must work. Submerged arc welding is a productive process whose particular advantages have not always been fully utilised- particularly in the semi-automatic form. Likewise other semi-automatic arc welding processes have complementary attributes which bear re-stating. The advantages and disadvantages of submerged arc welding are reviewed, as applied particularly to joints found in structural, vessel and off- shore rig fabrication. Submerged arc welding is inherently limited to the downhand position. The nature of the complementary role of gasless flux cored wires in the achievement of maximum productive efficiency is considered and comparative economic data are presented (a). The number of the covering abstract of the conference is TRIS no 348547. (TRRL)