Fri, 14 March, 2025
There is still time for Industrial Members to join our joint industry project (JIP) dedicated to the qualification and codification of out-of-chamber electron beam welding, with a particular focus on its use for offshore wind support structures.
Out-of-chamber electron beam (EB) welding is a high-productivity welding process that has the potential to deliver significant fabrication cost reduction and longer fatigue lifetimes for large tubular structures, such as the monopiles used for offshore wind turbines.
Capable of welding sections of 40-160mm thickness, this process has advanced as a result of the TWI-assisted RapidWeld Project (Innovate UK ref: 71824) to show that thick-section steels of 85mm can be successfully welded in a single pass with exceptional mechanical properties and fatigue strength at least as good as that of equivalent submerged arc welds (SAW).
By switching from the conventional SAW-based process route to out-of-chamber EB welding it could be possible to make a potential productivity increase of 80%. In addition, if initial results are shown to be correct, EB welds demonstrate a higher fatigue performance than SAW welds, which would lead to significant material savings through the use of thinner wall thicknesses, or the justification of longer asset lifetimes.
This JIP has been working on the validation of the out-of-chamber EB welding process and on generating the fatigue data required to gain approval by relevant certification bodies, such as DNV, for the process to be used in wind turbine support structure fabrication.
Although the project has now started, we are still accepting more partners to join this JIP as sponsors and receive exclusive access to the outcomes of the project.
To find out more about the project, ‘Validation of Out-of-Chamber Electron Beam Welding for the Fabrication of Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures,’ including the full objectives of this JIP, please follow the link:
https://www.twi-global.com/what-we-do/research-and-technology/research-programmes/joint-industry-projects/validation-of-out-of-chamber-electron-beam-welding-for-the-fabrication-of-offshore-wind-turbine-support-structures