Published on 21 January 2013
Seasoned experts in TWI's welding shop had their skills pushed to the utmost in a project to manufacture large stainless steel welded specimens for an Industrial Member. The parts were intentionally flawed.
Abington has been producing defect specimens for testing the skills of NDT personnel since the early 1980s. Indeed, its expertise at purposely installing slag inclusions, cracks, voids and sidewall fusion defects has earned it an international reputation.
'But these have really had us thinking' said Deputy Head of Department Richard Jones. 'They are stainless steel forgings joined to stainless castings, and the defects within them have been tailored, in size and location, exactly to the member company's requirements. How we install them intentionally is a well guarded secret.'
Each circumferential weld demanded high levels of weld integrity to be achieved in difficult welding positions. The joints, in 95mm wall thickness, required large volumes of weld materials and were estimated to consume 2500 electrodes.
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