African Fusion August 2013

AFRICAN FUSION AUGUST 2013
Contents
August 2013
FEATURES
Published four times a year and
mailed out together with
Mechanical Technology by:
Crown Publications cc
Crown House
Cnr Theunis and Sovereign Streets
Bedford Gardens 2007
PO Box 140
Bedfordview 2008
Tel: (011) 622 4770
4 SAIW celebrates South African welding successes

SAIW held its 65th Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony
at Gold Reef City Casino and Convention Centre on Friday,
16 August, 2013.
6 Steinmller Africa takes gold
African Fusion takes a tour of Steinmller Africas ISO
3834-certified Pretoria West facilities, visits one of its
technical training academies, and talks to Moso Bolofo,
Gerrit Buitenbos, and Sonet Jordaan, group training
administration manager.
Fax: (011) 615 6108

E-mail: mechanical@crown.co.za
Publisher: Jenny Warwick
Editor: Peter Middleton
Advertising: Jenny Warwick
Cover design: ESAB
Production & layout: Colin Mazibuko
Circulation: Karen Pearson
Reader enquiries: Radha Naidoo
Subscriptions: Wendy Charles
Printed by: Tandym Print Cape Town
16 The feasibility of utilising FHPP as a repair technique

for incorrectly drilled holes
William Pentz outlines work done at the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University on the use of Friction Hydro Pillar
Processing (FHPP) for repair welding of low alloy forged
steel (26NiCrMoV14-5).
24 Welding stainless steel using flux-cored wires
In this paper, Wiehan Zylstra presents the case for using
flux-cored consumables for welding stainless steels, and
highlights the advantages of bismuth-free stainless fluxcored wires.
24
30 Afrox reinvents the gas regulator

At a glittering event at The Maslow in Sandton on 19
July, Afrox launched the most technologically advanced
and engineered gas pressure regulator to hit the global
industrial market.
34 GEA patents tube welding invention
African Fusion visits GEAs Alrode facilities and talks to
the Angel Krustev, who has invented a new methodology
and device for tube-to-tube butt-welding on air-finned fan
coolers.
ESAB Africa Welding and

Cutting, through its BBBEE
channel partner, Xeon Gas and
Welding, has been awarded
the contract to supply a full
turnkey fabrication solution
for DCD Wind Towers R300million factory currently under
construction in the Coega
Industrial Development Zone
(IDZ). African Fusion talks to
Chris Eibl and Tim Sivewright.
The views expressed in this journal are

not necessarily those of the publisher,
the editor or the Institute of Welding.
30
36 Reconditioning the Teebus sluice gate

This article describes the reconditioning of the sluice gate
wheel, shaft and assembly at Teebus on the Orange-Fish
Tunnel.
REGULARS
34
3 Jims comment
10 SAIW bulletin board
12 Front cover story: Growing line concept for SAs wind
tower facility
40 Welding and cutting forum
44 Todays technology: Operating range extended for CMT
welding
3
Comment
SAIW and SAIW Certification

SAIW President and Vice President
Prof M du Toit - SAIW President, University of Pretoria
Mr M Maroga - Vice President and Eskom representative
Council members
Mr JR Williamson - Personal member
Mr T Rice - Personal member
Mr DJ Olivier - Personal member
Mr W Rankin - Personal member
Mr P Viljoen - Stainless Steel Fabricators
Dr A Koursaris - Personal member
Mr F Buys - Sasol representative
Mr G Joubert - SAISI representative
Mr J Pieterse - Afrox representative
Mr J Zinyana - Personal member
Mr L Breckenridge - CEA representative
Mr A Paterson - Personal member
Mr W Scurr - SASSDA representative
Mr J Botha - SAISI representative
Technology and Training Board
Mr P Doubell - Chairperson, Eskom
SAIW Certification Governing Board
Mr M Maroga - Chairperson, Eskom
Dr A Koursaris - SAIW
Prof M du Toit - University of Pretoria
Mr F Buys - SAQCC IPE
Mr J Guild - SAIW
Mr D Olivier - SAQCC CP
Mr A Benade - Sasol Technology
Mr R Williamson - Consultant/Service Industry
Mr J Peters - TV Rheinland & SAACB
Mr P Viljoen - Stainless Steel Fabricators
Mr G Joubert - ArcelorMittal Steel
Mr W Rankin - Velosi
Mr J Zinyana - New Age Welding Solutions
SAIW and SAIW Certification representatives

Executive director
Mr JC Guild
Tel: (011) 298-2101
Fax: (011) 836-6014
guildj@saiw.co.za
Qualification and certification

manager
Mr H Potgieter
Tel: (011) 298-2149
potgieterh@saiw.co.za
Executive secretary
Ms D Kreouzi
Tel: (011) 298-2102
Fax: (011) 836-6014
kreouzid@saiw.co.za
Technical services manager

Mr S Blake
Tel: (011) 298-2103
Fax: (011) 836-4132
blakes@saiw.co.za
Training services manager

Mr E Nell
Tel: (011) 298-2135
Fax: (011) 836-4132
nelle@saiw.co.za
Administration manager
Mrs M Warmback
Tel: (011) 298-2125
Fax: (011) 836-4132
warmbackm@saiw.co.za
SAIW regional representatives

Western Cape representative
Mrs L Berry
Tel: 084 446 0629
berrym@saiw.co.za
Durban branch chairman

Mr T Monte
Tel: 082 577-6158
Fax: (031) 700-5562
monte@absamail.co.za
Jims comment
ur new company, SAIW Foundation, should

be a reality in just a few weeks. If all goes
to plan, and there is no reason to think it
wont, SAIW Foundation will be a not for profit
company with SARS Section 18 approval in
effect, a charitable company.
This means that the company will be
able to issue tax certificates for donations
received, provided they are used for activities falling within the remit of exemption.
What are the objectives of the company? The intended scope of activities includes:
Providing bursaries to needy students for welding, NDT or other
related technology courses.
Conducting demonstrations and making presentations to schools and
colleges to promote careers in welding and inspection technologies.
Training teachers and instructors from technical high schools and
further education and training (FET) colleges.
Preparing DVDs and literature promoting careers in welding for
distribution to colleges and universities.
Promotional events encouraging young people to take up careers in
the welding industry and to enter the annual Young Welder of the
Year competition.
The Institute has provided start-up funding for the foundation and intends
to continue to make contributions as and when it can, but the real key to
success will be to get industry involved. This will grow the budget and
allow the Foundation to make larger and more effective interventions.
Initially SAIW Foundation will have an independent board made up of
a maximum of eight directors.
We have great hopes that the Foundation will become a cornerstone
of the welding industry and SAIW will be issuing invitations to companies
to get involved in the very near future.
Excellence in welding, fabrication and NDT should be recognised
and encouraged. Our Young Welder of the Year, Houston Isaacs, from
Afrox, performed exceptionally well in the WorldSkills competition held
in Leipzig in July, where he managed a creditable 23rd position, just a
few marks short of a medal of excellence.
You may think this was not an exceptional performance, but remember our winner comes from an open competition held just six months
before the WorldSkills event. Houston is a top class welder, but we only
had a few months to prepare our winner for the international competition. The leading countries select a contestant at least two years before
the event and use the years leading up to the competition for a training
programme specifically aimed at WorldSkills. We want to be competitive,
but we prefer an open competition that offers anyone capable a chance to
win. In the future, we hope to hold the competition earlier so that there
is more time between our national competition and WorldSkills and
next time we should achieve that medal of excellence.
Inside this issue you will also see that the Institute has recognised
our top trainees, Charl Brazelle and Khutso Moahloli who won awards
at the annual dinner. Charl achieved distinctions in both his Level 1 and
Level 2 welding inspector examinations and Khutso, an Eskom student,
managed to achieve an incredible 90% average in the examinations for
four surface and volumetric test methods at SAQCC NDT Level 1. The
Harvey Shacklock Gold Medal award for research went to Corney van
Rooyen, Herman Burger and our president Madeleine du Toit, for their
paper on laser metal deposition of modified low-C martensitic stainless
steel, which was presented at the IIW Regional Congress in November
2012.
Lastly, congratulations to Steinmuller Africa on being awarded the
SAIW Gold Medal our top award for an outstanding contribution to
welding and fabrication in the power generation and process industry
fields.
Jim Guild
SAIW dinner and awards
SAIW celebrates South African

welding successes
SAIW held its 65th Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony at Gold Reef City Casino and
Convention Centre on Friday, 16 August, 2013. Guests and welding industry stalwarts,
360 of them, were entertained by the Nubia Girls and Mark Lottering, who compred the
evening.
Not only is tonight about entertainment, celebration, enjoying the

company of friends, family and colleagues and creating new networks, we
are also here to honour and congratulate
certain people in the welding industry:
students who have done particularly
well on SAIW courses; researchers
who have contributed to the growing
body of knowledge in the industry; and
companies that have demonstrated notable commitment to industry, begins
Madeleine du Toit in her welcoming address. For your excellent performances,
we honour and congratulate all of the
award winners.
Among the notable guests in attendance were: Three past presidents:

Robin Williamson, Willie Rankin; and
Andy Koursaris; representatives from
the Department of Labour and Department of Trade and Industry; Ben Beetge,
the SAQCC NDT scheme committee
chairperson; and Hennie de Clercq, the
president of the South African Institute
of Steel Construction (SAISC).
Lastly, I would like to honour the Institutes staff, which we dont do enough.
The SAIW is well run, and that is down
to what they do every day. So, thanks to
them and to all others present who have
contributed to the Institute's welfare over
the past year, says Du Toit concluding
her welcome.
The 2013 awards
Khutso Moahloli, an Eskom student, receives the Presidents

Award for NDT from Madeleine du Toit, SAIW president.
The Phil Santilhano Award for the best student on an Institute

Welding Inspector course, was won by Charl Brazelle.
6
The first person to be honoured at the

ceremony was the winner of the 2013
South African Young Welder of the
Year competition, Houston Isaacs. We
have the main sponsors for the YWOY
competition here tonight, including representatives of merSETA, said Afroxs
Johan Pieterse, the SAIW councillor
designated to announce the awards on
the night. Without the involvement of
the sponsors, it would not be possible
for the Institute to hold the competition,
so we again say many thanks to you,
Pieterse adds.
Introducing Isaacs, he adds that in
January this young welder won prizes
for best young welder in: carbon steel;
stainless steel and aluminium as well as
being the overall prize winner. Houston
went on to represent South Africa at the
WorldSkills competition in Germany last
month, where he performed well, missing out on a medal of excellence by just
a few marks. In recognition of Houston
Isaacs dedication and commitment, we
have a token of our appreciation, says
Pieterse, inviting Isaacs onto the stage
to receive his gift from SAIW president,
Madeleine du Toit.
The first official awards for the night
were presented to the best students on
SAIW training courses. Describing these
courses, Pieterse says that the Institute
involves industry representatives in
every aspect of the development of
courses the syllabus, the training material and the examinations. It does this
to ensure that its training programmes
and qualifications are well-suited to real
industry needs. Using this approach
also helps to ensure that graduates from
SAIW courses have good prospects of
employment and that they will meet
industry expectations, adds Pieterse.
Anyone attending SAIW courses
will testify that they are very demanding. A lot of information has to be absorbed in a short space of time. To be
successful really takes a special effort
and we aim to recognise the very best
of our students through these training
awards.
The winners receive a gift of top
quality technical reference books and
a voucher worth R20000, which can
be used for any Institute training course,
seminar or conference.
The Presidents Award for

NDT
The SAIW has been training NDT personnel for more than 30 years, the same
length of time that it has been training
welders. This is a very important part
of the Institutes activities and we want
to encourage more young people to enter this field, which offers excellent career opportunities, continues Pieterse.
The Presidents Award, made in the
name of all of the past presidents of
the SAIW who have helped guide the
Institute to becoming South Africas
reference point for high quality training,
recognises the top NDT student on an
Institute course.
This years winner, Khutso Moahloli,
SAIW dinner and awards

is an Eskom student, who achieved an
average mark of over 90% in examinations for surface and volumetric testing
methods at SAQCC NDT Level 1,
Pieterse announces.
The Phil Santilhano Memorial

Award
Phil Santilhano was one of South Africas
leading welding technologists and is best
remembered for the research work he did
for Vecor on submerged-arc and electroslag welding of heavy walled pressure
vessels. When he was appointed technical
director in 1977, he became the SAIWs
first full-time employee.
This award goes to the best student
on an Institute Welding Supervision and
Inspection course. Since these courses
began 30 years ago, over 6000 inspectors and supervisors have been qualified
to work in South Africas welding industry.
This years winer is Charl Brazelle,
who achieved distinctions (over 80%)
in his Welding Inspection Level 1 and
Level 2 examinations, reveals Pieterse.
The Harvey Shacklock Gold

Medal Award
The Harvey Shacklock Award goes to
the author of the best technical paper
presented at an Institute event. Shacklock was the MD of BOC, now Afrox and
part of the global Linde Group. He was
instrumental in establishing the SAIW
and was its first president when it was
founded in 1948. Afrox has donated a
gold medal for this award since 1949.
This year, we are recognising Corney
van Rooyen of the CSIRs National Laser
Centre (NLC) and his co-authors, Herman
Burger, also of the CSIR NLC and Madeleine du Toit, of the University of Pretoria
for their paper: Laser metal deposition
microstructure of modified low-carbon
martensitic stainless steel which was
presented at the IIW Regional Congress
in November 2012, says Pieterse.
In 2012, Steinmller Africa, now a

member of the global Bilfinger Berger
group celebrated 50 years in South
Africa. The company has a relatively new
fabrication facility in Pretoria West, which
is currently primarily manufacturing boiler
components for the Medupi and Kusile
power stations and has recently expanded
its local operations with the acquisition
of KOG Fabricators in Alrode. Steinmller
also played a leading role in the refurbishment and recommisioning of Eskoms Simunye power stations Camden, Komati
and Grootvlei returning them to service
after many years of being mothballed.
The Gold Medal Award is made for
the following contribution to the South
African welding industry:
For the companys commitment
to skills development: Steinmller has established three training
academies in South Africa, all of
which have full five year merSETA
accreditation for the training of
artisans. More than 32 artisans
have been trained to date, including boilermakers and welders, who
leave with coded welder qualifications as well as Red Seal artisan
certificates. There are currently 165
students in training and this is being
extended to 180 for the 2014 year.
In addition, Steinmller partly owns
Eduardo Construction, which has
a further two training centres that
are both IIW approved facilities for
training according to the IIW International Welders Scheme.
The implementation of ISO 3834:
Along with its ISO 3834 accreditation for its Pretoria West and Alrode
works, Steinmller Africa has offered
all of its 12 construction sites to
independent scrutiny by technical
auditors, successfully, since all 12
are now certified.
The adoption of the latest welding

equipment: Steinmller Africa has
invested over R300-million in its
Pretoria West facilities over the past
five years.
The company has also demonstrated its
commitment to disadvantaged communities by setting up a welder training school
in Diepsloot to provide sustainable skills
to people seeking self-employment, adds
Pieterse, before inviting Moso Bolofo,
director of engineering and business
proposals at Steinmller Africa, to collect
the award.
African Fusion joins SAIW in congratulating all of these worthy winners.
The Harvey Shacklock Gold Medal Award for the best

technical paper went to Corney van Rooyen of the CSIRs
National Laser Centre (NLC) and his co-authors, Herman
Burger, and Madeleine du Toit for their paper: Laser metal
deposition microstructure of modified low-carbon
martensitic stainless steel.
Moso Bolofo, director of engineering and business

proposals at Steinmller Africa, collects the SAIW Gold
Medal award from Madeleine du Toit.
The Institutes Gold Medal

Award
The Gold Medal Award, which is the
Institutes highest award, was introduced in 1966 and is made to either a
company or an individual in recognition
of outstanding contributions to welding
technology or to the Institute.
This year we are recognising Steinmller Africa, a multi-service provider
of pressure piping, components and
repair services to the power generation,
petrochemical and allied industries.
SAIWs 65th Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony was held at the Gold Reef City Casino and Convention
Centre on Friday, 16 August, 2013.
7
Gold Medal Award: Steinmller Africa
Steinmller Africa takes gold

On August 16, Steinmller Africa received the
SAIWs Gold Medal Award at the 2013 Annual
Dinner and Awards ceremony of the Southern
African Institute of Welding. African Fusion takes
a tour of the companys ISO 3834-certified
Pretoria West facilities, visits one of its technical
training academies, and talks to Moso Bolofo,
director of business development;
Gerrit Buitenbos, group quality assurance
manager; and Sonet Jordaan, group training
administration manager.
Steinmller Africas Moso Bolofo, Gerrit Buitenbos, and

Sonet Jordaan.
Trainees under instruction at the merSETA accredited Steinmller Africa Technical Training Academy
(SATTAs), at the companys Pretoria Works.
A trainee artisan practices the special skill of welding boiler tubes in circumstances that simulate real
boiler repair conditions.
8
n recognition of the companys

commitment to training, quality of
welded fabrications, the development of local and welding supervision
personnel, and the implementation
of ISO 3834 at its workshops and its
site facilities, Steinmller Africa is the
2013 winner of the SAIWs Gold Medal
Award.
Central to the SAIW Councils reasons for awarding the medal to Steinmller Africa is the companys contributions to training and skills development,
which is, according to Jordaan a core
pillar of the companys philosophy.
People are a key ingredient for success.
We have a unique approach to human
capital management at Steinmller
Africa: personnel and payroll on the
administration side and two additional
divisions: talent management and training, she says.
Talent involves performance management, careers and succession
planning and incorporates recruitment.
When we source talent, we look for
very specific competencies. We also
continuously review the competencies
and skills of our people to support their
development and to identify new career
opportunities, Jordaan explains.
It is the success of her training and
skills development portfolio that has
attracted the recognition of the SAIW.
Jordaan joined Steinmller Africa
two years ago and, within three months,
had set up a technical skills development programme. In the past 15
months we have successfully put 36
artisans through the Red Seal tests.
And today, we run three merSETA accredited Steinmller Africa Technical

Training Academies (SATTAs); one at
our Pretoria Works; one at Bethal and
one at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in Sebokeng, Jordaan tells
African Fusion.
The Pretoria works with its 52
apprentices, focuses on boilermaking
and welding; Bethal trains mechanical
and pipe fitters as well as welders; and
VUT is dedicated to welder training.
We currently have 169 apprentices
across the three academies and we
expect 99% of them to graduate as
Red Seal artisans, she continues.
The apprenticeships are 18 to 24
months in duration but we add three
additional months for specialisations.
The welders, for example, need to be
coded and boilermakers or fitters also
need to learn additional skills to get
successfully integrated into the Steinmller Africa workplace.
Where do the apprentices come
from? We invite young people with
Matric maths and science to send
us their CVs, but most come through
the Our Schools programme that we
initiated last year. We have identified
12 partner schools, mostly technical
schools from disadvantaged communities that we work with. We start by
going into Grade 7 classrooms to talk
to learners before they choose between
the academic and technical fields.
We tell them what it means to be
an artisan, how much they can earn
and the global opportunities that practical qualifications can open up. We
support and nurture these schools; securing equipment and material support
from local industries; providing the
basic curriculum to meet merSETAs
minimum requirements; and providing their teachers with some technical
training and support to make sure they
have skills to pass on in classrooms,
Jordaan reveals.
As well as Red Seal artisan training, Steinmller Africa is also proactive
about upskilling its experienced workers. We have a significant number
of skilled, experienced people and
supervisors who do not have Red Seal
qualifications. These people mean a
lot to us and we cannot afford to lose
them, Buitenbos reveals. Jordaan
explains: Therefore, these people do
an internal mini trade test that helps
us to identify gaps in their knowledge.
Then we customise a training
course to fill these gaps. After the
course we issue them with a Certificate
of Competence, which allows them to

apply to become fully qualified Red
Seal artisans under Section 28.
These people are encouraged to
apply to our service provider, the Artisan Training Institute (ATI), to do the
full trade test for themselves.
Jordaan continues: This is part
of a companywide programme called
Thuthuka, a Zulu word which means
we grow. The programme is associated with adult basic education (ABET)
in numeracy, literacy and soft skills

such as business and personal finance.
The idea is to uplift and open doors for
our own people, not only in technical
fields, but across the organisation.
We are introducing 24-month
courses at all of our 16 sites nationwide. Trainees are released from work
for two hours a week, but then we
ask them to commit to a further two
hours of their own time every Friday
afternoon.
Superheater elements loaded and ready for shipment to the Medupi Power station.
The tube bending shop at Steinmller Africas Pretoria West works.

9
10

The commitment to quality of welded
fabrications
Bolofo assures African Fusion that in
spite of recent criticisms of the contractors on the Medupi and Kusile projects,
Steinmller Africa has been audited
by both Eskom and Hitachi and no
problems with welding procedures,
heat treatment or the qualifications of
welders have ever been identified.
Over the past five years, we have
invested over R300-million in our Pretoria West facility, so the welding is being
done using the very latest machines
and technology available anywhere in
the world, he points out. In fact, this
plant in South Africa is now considered
to be the global centre of competence
for pressure parts for the entire Bilfinger
Group.
Steinmller Africa is contracted to
manufacture water-wall panels, headers, and superheater elements, amongst
others, for the Medupi and Kusile power
plants. We have extensive experience
with all of the modern materials being
used for these, Bolofo adds, with both
the P91 and the new 12% Cr VM12
steel, which we are welding and heat
treating successfully to the standards
required.
As well as the Medupi and Kusile
new build projects, which will be
completed from a manufacturing point
of view within two years, Steinmller
Africa has also won an export tender for
replacement headers and other pressure
parts for a large 12-unit power plant
in Poland. This is a modernisation
programme to extend the life of 25 to
30 year old power boilers by a further
20 to 25 years, says Bolofo.
By using newer materials and
designs, we have been able to increase
the efficiency of these plants by more
than 2%. For a power plant, this results
in massive cost benefits over time. And
we are fast approaching the time when
we will need to do something similar
here. Even Majuba, one of the younger
power plants in the Eskom fleet, will
get to the end of its life quicker than
expected because it has been cycled a
lot more than anticipated, he suggests.
Despite coping with harsh conditions
and high-ash coal in South Africa, we
became very good at boiler maintenance, Bolofo continues. We are
used to running excellent maintenance
regimes and we are in the process of
building that ability back up. We run
service contracts, for example, for the
majority of the Eskom fleet. Many of

these are performance-based, so we get
paid based on meeting the shut-down
times, weld repair rates and reliability
indicators stipulated in the contracts,
he says.
Gerrit Buitenbos, group quality
assurance manager, cites Steinmller
Africas certifications as evidence of the
companys commitment to weld quality.
We acknowledge welding as a special
process that is critical to the success
of our products and business, he says.
ISO 3834 offers a practical approach to welding and everybody
involved in fabrication processes is
committed to maintaining the quality
standards required.
The certifications of our Pretoria
West and our Alrode manufacturing
plants and all of our site-based operations, ensure that qualified welding and
supervisory staff are always available,
following the required procedures, putting the necessary documentation in
place and continually looking to achieve
sound welding and product quality.
ISO 3834 makes the welding requirements very clear, which steers welders
towards good practice and good quality
work, which is the ultimate aim. Certification based on international standards
puts us in a globally competitive position, Buitenbos suggests.
As a result of Steinmller Africas
combined commitments in training and
upskilling people, adopting the latest
welding technology, the implementation
of ISO 3884, along with the Eskom

Rule Book, welding code requirements,
client site requirements, the pressure
equipment regulation (PER) and SANS
347, and its general commitment to
the health of the South African welding industry in general, the SAIW Gold
Medal award is well deserved.
The CNC machining and nipple welding machine for

boiler headers, one of the investments that has made this
South African plant the Bilfinger Groups global centre of
competence for pressure parts.
The Pema submerged-arc welding system for fabricating water-wall panels. Six submerged-arc welding
seams are deposited simultaneously to join four water-tubes together with three connecting strips.
11
SAIW bulletin board
Materials Testing Laboratory officially opened
AIW s new Materials Testing

Laboratory was officially opened
on Friday, 19 July, 2013 at an afternoon event at the Institutes City West
premises. The journey towards this
opening began back in 2006, while
we were looking for ways to improve
the quality of services offered to clients
and members, says Jim Guild, SAIW
executive director. After extending the
building, we identified some underutilised space and decided to make
our Technology Centre more useful by
adding metallurgical and weld testing
capabilities, he adds.
Rising damp required that the entire floor had to be dug up and relaid,
delaying completion of the project
Madeleine du Toit, SAIW president, cuts the ribbon on the

Materials Testing Laboratory, watched by Sean Blake and
Jim Guild (foreground)
by at least a year. So, thanks to the

Institutes council for its ongoing support and patience during this time and
to our equipment suppliers, IMP, who
willingly stored our equipment in their
warehouses.
Finally, apart from one piece of
preparation equipment and one final
testing machine, we are good to go,
Guild announces. We have a combination of good equipment and good people
and are finally able to support industry
with the quality service that we originally envisaged, he says, before handing over to Sean Blake, SAIW technical
services manager, who is responsible
for the new laboratory.
Our core objective as SAIW is
to improve the quality of welding in
industry, so we have coined the tag
line Testing for quality in welding for
our Materials Testing Laboratory, says
Blake. We have always offered a welding consulting service, but in the past,
we have never been able to test welds.
We have always had to use third party
inspection services.
Inspection reports give results, but
you cant always get a feel for a weld
from the results alone. Having our own
lab allows us to look at the detail and
interpret the results. If one Charpy result
is a little lower than others, for example,
even if it is still within specification, we
can prepare a micrograph and look for
a reason and we recently did exactly

that and discovered a layer of continuous martensite on one sample, while
the other three showed martensite interspersed with ferrite. This allows us to
make recommendations about welding
that traditional testing houses could not
have picked up, Blake reveals.
The SAIW facility is offering a
specialist testing services for welds.
If it has anything to do with welding,
we are able to test, evaluate and give
advice based on the results. If a weld
fails, we can find out why. We can test
welding consumables for mechanical
strength, toughness and hardness. We
can do welding procedure qualifications
and welder qualifications, as well as
positive material identifications to
determine if the correct welding consumable has been used, for example,
he explains.
The laboratory will also be used to
improve the quality of the Institutes
training courses. With our inspection
and NDT courses, we can support
classroom activities by showing students how to do tests and how poor
control of weld quality will affect a
weld, Blake continues. Year on year,
we are seeing increasing numbers of
students in welding engineering, welding technology, weld inspection and
NDT coming through and we want to
support all of these training initiatives.
IIW 2013-Essen: The 66th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference
laus Middeldorf says that it is a

great honour and privilege for DVS,
the German Welding Society, to welcome the IIW family to Germany for the
fourth time. After Essen 1957, Dsseldorf 1973 and Hamburg 1998, the
IIW Annual Assembly and International
Conference will return to Essen in the
North Rhine-Westphalia region from
11-17 September for its 66th meeting, says the DVS general manager.
IIW2013-Essen will be unique
compared to previous annual assemblies. The usual Thursday to Saturday
technical working group meetings are
scheduled, but the event is destined
to be a one-of-a-kind opportunity as
it offers the added bonus of linking the
IIWs family of science and technology
with the world of joining applications,
all under the same roof and at the same
time. IIW attendees will be encouraged
12
to visit and network with over 1000

exhibitors from more than 40 nations
during Schweissen & Schneiden 2013,
the international trade fair for the joining, cutting and surfacing industries
taking place from 16-21 September.
The overlapping of IIW2013-Essen with
the worlds largest welding, joining,
cutting and surfacing trade show will
certainly add a new and unforgettable
dimension to the IIWs world of joining
experience.
The two-day IIW International Conference will focus on the globally trendsetting topic Automation in Welding
and will feature invited speakers from
the international scientific community
and from industry. The current and
future status of welding automation, as
well as the present and projected world
market situations, will be explored.
Applications including the newest and
most emerging technologies, methods

and processes, will be presented.
In addition to the stimulating technical sessions, an interesting and varied
programme of technical and sightseeing
tours have been organised. As the leading city of the Ruhr metropolis, Essen is
home to many acknowledged cultural
institutions, including a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Essen was nominated as
a 2010 European Capital of Culture.
The nearby cities of Cologne, Dsseldorf, Aachen, Duisburg and Dortmund,
as well as Mnster, Oberhausen and the
former German capital city of Bonn, also
have much to offer to delegates and accompanying persons in terms of science
and sightseeing.
DVS is pleased to be hosting the
IIWs international materials joining fraternity in Essen, concludes Middeldorf.
SAIW bulletin board
What we expect from a welding engineer by Tony Patterson
elding is a craft. Facets of both

art and science are evident.
Whilst we like the concept of science
for its apparent predictability, the reality of welding cannot be modelled exactly. With a wide scope of applications
and, in many cases, a significant cost
of failure, a competent professional
welding engineer is required.
Structures, large or small, are
intended to achieve a purpose under
certain operating conditions. The requirements may be described in terms
of externally applied loads, and load
effects that result in stresses in the
structure. In most cases, the safety of
many people depends on the integrity
of the welds. The welding is a vital and
enabling component of the structure.
If one considers the history of failures, joints are high on the list. Who
takes responsibility for such failures?
The structural engineer signs drawings,
taking legal responsibility for the integrity of the structure. Structural engineers
are well trained to identify loads and
load effects that affect structures and
to determine models to characterise
members of structures, but are not well
trained to manage joints, particularly
welded joints. Whilst the assumption of
structural models is material homogeneity, welded joints are not homogeneous
and their analysis needs to integrate
continuum and discrete material models. Welding engineers are trained to
manage the interface between the cast
joint and the wrought structural elements together with the effects of local
geometric change.
So, where does the welding engineer fit in? Welding engineering is a
relatively new postgraduate specialist
qualification. It is the senior of three
associated disciplines: the welding engineer, welding technologist and welding
specialist. New procedures, such as ISO
3834, require that fabricators employ or
have access to welding engineers, the
requirements increasing as the impact
of failure increases.
By its very nature, welding science
and technology is multidisciplinary. It
embraces the discrete theories of material chemistry and heat behaviour with
the continuum theory used by structural
engineers. Welding engineering is a
postgraduate qualification. Candidates
are drawn from graduate mechanical and metallurgical engineers with
some experience. In this country, the
qualifying authority is the International
Institute of Welding (IIW).
The IIW differentiates between the
international welding engineer (IWE)
and the certified international welding
engineer. The certification of the IWE
is similar to a CPD system and has a
period of validity of three years. Every
three years, the certified IWE needs to
document two recent years of experience through relevant job content and
demonstrate how technical knowledge
has been maintained and developed.
In order to build a body of welding
engineers in South Africa, both recognition of prior learning and a willingness to train graduate engineers and
scientists without prior experience is
required. Training with opportunity to
SAIW launches new safety course

A new five-day welding safety course
will be presented by SAIW for all
personnel carrying responsibility for
safety in welding workshops and facilities. The course is ideal for welding
supervisors and safety officers.
Regulatory requirements of the
OHS Act, and the Mines and Works
Act, as well as SANS 10238: Welding and thermal cutting processes
Health and safety, will be dealt with
in detail.
In summary, the five-day course
syllabus will include:
Welding theory in SMAW, GTAW,
GMAW and FCAW.
Practical welding in the above

processes.
OHS Act Regulation IX and the
Mines and Works Act.
A detailed look at SANS 10238.
An Afrox presentation on oxyfuel
gas welding and cutting equipment and regulations.
The course will run from 30 September to 4 October, 2013 and participants will write an examination on the
final day for certification purposes.
For further information contact Michelle Warmback on 011 298-2100
or 298 2125.
warmbackm@saiw.co.za.
practice leads to competence. Competence

is based in principles
not rules first learn
to question, to doubt.
Maintaining competence is a lifetime endeavour. Competence
is what enables the
professional welding Tony Patterson, associate
professor for welding at Wits.
engineer to take legal
responsibility for decisions.
The certificated IWE qualification
is awarded to those who have passed
the theory exam, have kept up with
current theory and practice and who
can document relevant experience. If
the academic qualification and certification system cannot be administered
by ECSA, as it is for other professional
engineering disciplines, the local ANB,
SAIW could take the lead.
Long service award for

Johannes Msomi
Madeleine du Toit presents a long service

award to SAIWs Johannes Msomi.
ohannes Msomi, who was recently

appointed as the sample preparation technician for SAIWs new Materials Testing Laboratory, received a
long service award from SAIW on July
19, 2013. Johannes has now been
with the Institute for 30 years, and
in recognition of that, we would like
to present him with this long service
award, said Jim Guild, the Institutes
executive director.
Johannes is one of the Institutes
most loyal, reliable and multi-skilled
employees. For many years he travelled
to work every morning from his home
in Bronkhorstspruit, not something that
anyone can now afford with fuel prices
and toll fees where they are, he adds.
The award was presented by Madeleine du Toit, the Institutes president.
13
Cover story
Growing line concept for SAs

wind tower facility
ESAB Africa Welding and Cutting, through its BBBEE channel partner, Xeon Gas and
Welding, has been awarded the contract to supply a full turnkey solution, comprising
cutting, welding, handling and rotating equipment and consumables for DCD Wind Towers
a division of the DCD Group at its R300-million factory currently under construction
in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). African Fusion talks to Chris Eibl, MD of
ESAB Africa, and Tim Sivewright of Xeon.
outh Africas first wind tower

fabrication facility, a 23 000m2,
ultra-modern production line ca-
Chris Eibl, MD of ESAB Africa, and Tim Sivewright,

general sales manager of Xeon Gas and Welding.
pable of producing 120m towers, is

currently being built in Port Elizabeths
Coega IDZ. The localisation of manufacturing has got to be the right way to
go, and now that wind tower volumes
are here, this production facility will
provide sustainable employment for
more than 100 people in the Eastern
Cape. This factory in Port Elizabeth is
a major boost for the upliftment and
upskilling of people in that region,
says Sivewright.
The first round of the Independent
Power Producer (IPP) bids had a 25%
local content requirement, which is
easily achieved during construction.
So, at Jeffreys Bay and at Van Stadens,
for example, tower sections are being
At the start of the process are two ESAB SUPRAREX HD 6000 CNC-controlled flame cutting machines
with 6,0 m width and 38 m length capacities. Insert: ESABs triple torch cutting heads enable I-, Y- and
X-weld preparations to be cut in a single operation.
14
imported, shipped and bolted together

on site, he continues. Bid Round 2,
though, requires 40% local content.
This means that the joint venture IPP
companies and consortiums that have
been awarded wind farm development
contracts are going to have to get much
more of the fabrication work done locally, he explains.
To put the size of these wind
towers in perspective, if you take
the length of a rugby field and turn
it upright, you will get a sense of just
how tall they are! exclaims Eibl. A
complete wind tower consists of three
to five sections, giving a hub height
of around 80-120m. Each section is
made up of individual cans 3,0m
in length and with diameters ranging
from around 5,0 m at the base to about
2,5m just below the turbine.
In a development that has been two
years in the making, DCD and ESAB
have planned and designed a complete
cutting and welding production line to
meet the high productivity and cost
efficiency requirements of modern
wind tower manufacturing. This line
is a complete, innovative and turnkey
solution. DCD has embraced ESABs
growing line concept and, as the
only original equipment manufacturer
capable of supplying the equipment
and consumables necessary to fabricate wind towers cutting machines,
manipulators, columns and booms,
welding equipment and consumables
everything on the line will be supplied
and integrated by ESAB, Eibl tells
African Fusion.
Simply put, wind tower manufacture involves cutting plate, rolling it
into cans and then joining cans until
the length of the section is achieved.
Cover story
Each of the cans has to be perfectly
aligned and welded. The old way of
doing things was to use cranes, says
Eibl. You would make a can, lift it
into position and weld it onto the previous can, and so on.
This factory will not use cranes
for manipulation during the welding of
the wind tower sections. Instead, rollerbeds with built in manipulators are
used to grow the line, he explains. A
set of hydraulically driven transferring
rollers lift the can clear of the rotating
rollers and shuffle it along and onto a
rollerbed further up the line. A new
can is then loaded and welded, before
the whole weldment is shuffled up a
further 3,0 m. So you end up with a
complete tower section of up to 38m
in length on a single growing line; and
DCD Wind Towers has four of these
lines, he says.
We have developed handling solutions to cater for most of the handling
from the moment the plates arrive to
the shot blasting and painting of the
finished tower, says Siverwright. At
the start of the process are two ESAB
SUPRAREX HD 6000 CNC-controlled
flame cutting machines with 6,0 m
width and 38 m length capacities.
A key advantage is provided by the
triple torch cutting heads that enable
I-, Y- and X-weld preparations to be cut
in a single operation and these heads
will cut a perfect landing nose at the
same time, continues Eibl.
Once profiled, the plate is rolled
with equipment not supplied by ESAB,
to form the can and the longitudinal
seam is closed at the first welding station. DCD has decided to go for single
wire submerged arc welding to start
with, says Sivewright, but tandem,
twin tandem and even ICE (integrated
cold electrode) options are open to
them should they need to increase
throughput at a later stage.
The root runs are done from the
inside at ground level. The can is then
rotated through 180 to place the seam
on top. The root is done with no back
gouging as punch through is used before the seam is filled and capped from
the other side. On the thin sections,
we are sometimes completing the seam
in two runs, but on the 55mm sections, we might have to do 25 runs to
completely close the joint.
ESAB Aristo 1000 AC/DC submerged arc power sources are being
used, which use patent pending
technologies to deliver more welding

per kilowatt hour. The primary input
power requirement of these machines
is lower than any equivalently rated
competitor machine and is the only

power source on the market that can
go from 100% dc to ac on the fly,
claims Eibl.
Rollerbeds with built in manipulators are used to grow the line. A set of hydraulically driven transferring
rollers lift the can clear of the rotating rollers and shuffle it along and onto a rollerbed further up the line.
ESABs flux feed and recovery system (FFRS) is being used to optimise flux use, temperature and humidity.
15
16
Cover story
The completed 3,0m can is then
shuffled along onto the next roller bed.
There, a circular seam welding system
joins it to the previously completed
section. On the circs, we put the root
in with dc-positive to get the required
penetration and, without stopping the
rotation, we switch to ac parameters,
which give higher deposition rates,
he adds.
Different welding procedures and
parameters are required for each seam,
but the ESABs PEK controller is able
to store up to 255 pre-programmed
procedures, so the parameters for
every run at a station can be preprogrammed.
As the tower grows, increasingly
longer lengths have to be rotated. Two
parallel rows of rollerbeds, all with precisely synchronised speed control, and
load capacities varying from 30-90 t,
stretch the full length of the line. Once
a tower is completed on one of the four
growing lines, it is transferred across
to a parallel line coming back down,
where it is finished, shot blasted, and
painted, explains Sivewright.
Highlighting the welding innovations embedded into the stations, Eibl
says that ESAB GMH touch-probe
seam tracking systems are being used
to track the root seam and to control
standoff. We also use a laser pointer
when an edge for the touch probe to
follow is unavailable. The operator
uses a joystick to keep the laser on the
required seam as welding progresses.
In addition, ESABs flux feed and
recovery system (FFRS) is being used
to optimise flux use, temperature and
humidity. The quality and consistency
of the flux is important for achieving
the required weld toughness, Eibl
reveals. This system not only recovers unused flux, but it ensures that
the ratio of recovered flux to new flux
is maintained. The flux is heated and
dehumidified in a thermostatically
controlled, 6,0 bar pressure vessel
before use. This system, when used
with our OK Flux 10.72 and OK Autrod
12.22 wire, enables us to guarantee
the integrity of the weld and therefore
the mechanical properties of the finished seam.
From a business perspective,
our partnership with Xeon was a key
factor in securing this contract, Eibl
continues. As a Level 1 BBBEE company that has been properly funded
and established, ESAB now has a
channel partner that adds value for the

end customer.
And we have committed to this
project for the long term, Sivewright
assures African Fusion. We will
have dedicated specialists on
call in Port Elizabeth, 24/7,
to go with
our just-intime deliver y system
from our local warehouse
to ensure a
secure supply of
consumables.
This is a stateof-the-art factory and
both Xeon and ESAB
are determined to assist
DCD in their quest to be a
leader in wind tower manufacturing in South Africa for many
years to come, Eibl concludes.
ESABs A6S Arc Master single-wire

submerged are welding heads,
complete with positioning, joint
tracking, flux handling and a laser
pointer system, are being used to
automatically weld the horizontal
and circumferential seams.
ESAB automatic welding heads on a three-section telescopic boom offer the operator safety, excellent
reach and heavy loading capacity.
17
FHPP
The feasibility of utilising FHPP

as a repair technique for incorrectly drilled holes
Presenting at the SAIW-hosted International Institute of Weldings
Regional Congress, 2012, William Pentz outlined work done at
the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on the use of Friction
Hydro Pillar Processing (FHPP) for repair welding of low alloy
forged steel (26NiCrMoV14-5) used for components in turbinegenerator installations.
his paper reports on the findings of a study done to

establish the feasibility of implementing Friction Hydro
Pillar Processing (FHPP) as a repair technique for incorrectly drilled or worn holes in high value components. FHPP
is a solid state welding technique that utilises frictional heat
generated by rotating a cylindrical consumable tool co-axially
in a blind hole under an applied load. The resultant solidified plasticised tool material then fills the hole. The first part
of the paper reports results obtained from FHPP weld trials
done on AISI 1018 material. Particular attention was given
to evaluating the influence of axial force, rotational speed
and consumable length on defect population and bonding.
The study showed that a good correlation exists between
weld quality and the appearance of the primary and secondary flash formation of a completed weld. A change in the
axial force had a significant effect on weld time for a given
consumable length. The weld quality was also significantly
affected by the clearance between the consumable tool and
the sidewall of the hole.
The second part of the paper discusses results obtained
from FHPP welds made with 26NiCrMoV14-5. These welds
were made considering some of the trends observed during
the AISI 1018 weld investigation. The 26NiCrMoV14-5
material welds responded similarly to the AISI 1018 welds;
however, the main difference being that fewer defects were
observed at higher axial forces. The 26NiCrMoV14-5 FHPP
welds produced bonding of 90% and above for the complete
axial force range tested.
The study further showed that defects observed at the
last shear interface decreased with an increase in forge force
whereas excessive consumable length increased the amount
of second phase particles in this same region.
William Pentz.
Introduction
Friction Taper Stud Welding (FTSW) and Friction Hydro Pillar
Processing (FHPP) were first researched in the early 1990s by
The Welding Institute (TWI)[1]. FHPP is a solid state welding
process, where a load is applied to a rotating consumable
tool in a co-axially aligned blind hole. The FHPP weld can
be completed under water as researched by Ambroziak and
Gul[2]. An example of utilising FHPP with a tapered geometry
for the repair of a crack has been previously illustrated by
Hattingh et al.[3]
The focus of this study is to evaluate FHPP as a potential
repair procedure for damaged or incorrectly drilled holes in
high value components. The work done was aimed to assist
in creating an understanding of important considerations for
producing an acceptable weld by FHPP in 26NiCrMoV14-5
materials. The proposed repair technique consists of six
stages as shown in Figure 1. Firstly a sacrificial backing plate
is placed below the hole and fastened to the component to
be repaired.
The damaged hole is machined larger to remove the damaged circumference and into the backing plate. The machined
hole is then repaired by FHPP and if required, post-weld heat
treatment is performed. Excess material from the FHPP and
backing plate is removed mechanically and a new hole redrilled to complete the repair.
The quality of the bonding for this study refers to the
degree of fusion achieved along the bond line between the
sidewall and weld nugget. The bonding quality is expressed
as a bonding percentage and will aid in establishing the
feasibility of the repair technique. During FHPP welding the
bottom corners and bottom surface of the hole presents the
biggest challenge for achieving good bonding.
Figure 1: Proposed repair technique.

18
FHPP
To improve the bonding at the bottom of the hole to be repaired
a sacrificial backing plate was introduced, which allowed the
drilled hole to be extended into the backing plate. During
removal of the backing plate, the inherent discontinuities are
removed, resulting in a reduced risk of bonding defects at the
bottom of the repaired hole.
Figure 2 shows a typical process torque curve of a AISI
1018 FHPP weld with the corresponding shear layers also
visible on the macrograph as indicated.
Hasui and Fukushima were the first researchers to divide
the torque curve of a friction weld into stages[4]. Later, Kimura
et al[5] divided the first stage into two sub-stages, namely a
wear stage and a seizure stage. With reference to Figure 2,
the wear stage (a-b) commences as soon as contact is made
between the tool and hole surfaces. This is also referred to as
the dry friction stage and continues until frictional contact
is established on the whole of the bottom interface surface.
Then the seizure stage starts (b-c). During this stage, frictional heat is generated while process torque continues to rise
sharply, indicating that a pseudo-plasticised stage exists until
torque starts to decrease. This is the second primary process
stage where material is now fully plasticised and can no longer
support an increase in torque due to a reduction in mechanical
strength associated with the increase in temperature.
Torque will continue to decrease between the tool face and
fused material until it can again support an increase in torque.
This indicates the start of Stage 3 where the torque remains
fairly constant. The torque increases during Stage 4 until the
entire surface is plasticised again and can no longer support
the increase in torque. It should be noted that a shear layer
occurs when the torque drops during the welding process.
During Stage 5 (d-h) the torque continually increases and
decreases cyclically as shear layers are formed. Stage 6 (h)
occurs closer to the top of the weld when the weld interface
area decreases, resulting in shear layers forming at lower
torque values.
After the volume fill has been completed, the rotation stops
and Stage 7 starts (i). During this stage an axial forge force is
applied to allow for consolidation of the final plasticised material in the top region of the weld under a forge type set-up.
Figure 3 shows a cross-section of a FHPP weld that shows
the weld nugget, heat-affected zone (HAZ), consumable tool,
rotor block and backing plate. The primary flash is mainly
formed from the solidified plasticised material originating from
the consumable tool, while the secondary flash is formed from
the rotor block material.
During this study, the fusion between the consumable tool
and the side wall of the rotor block will be referred to as rotor
bonding percentage whereas the fusion with the side wall
of the backing plate will be referred to as the backing plate
bonding and the bonding at the bottom surface of the hole
will be referred to as bottom bonding.
The work done during this feasibility study was planned
so as to assist in creating some understanding of the important considerations for producing acceptable FHPP welds in
26NiCrMoV145 materials.
Characterising the relationship between the process parameters and their influence on the bond quality is considered a
crucial contribution towards the development of an acceptable
industrial FHPP repair technique. During the feasibility study
there were no static or dynamic tests completed as good bonding was set as the first hurdle to cross.
Experimental setup
Feedback data during welding is required to analyse the
process and bonding. Torque and axial force were recorded
by a calibrated load cell at 100Hz, whereas the plunge
depth and rotational speed was recorded at 1,0Hz, due to
platform limitations. The process parameters mentioned in
this study refer to the values programmed into the control
unit. All the welds were completed on the FHPP platform
shown in Figure 4.
The consumable tool geometry and assembly of the work
piece is shown in Figure 5. The assembly consists of the backing plate, holding block and the consumable block. Unless
stated otherwise, all the welds were performed with a face
diameter of 9,0 mm, tool diameter of 14mm, chamfer angle
and height of 45 and 2,5 mm respectively, hole diameter of
15mm and a total hole depth of 25mm. The depth of the
hole in the backing plate was 7,0mm.
FHPP as applied to AISI 1018

Recognising that 26NiCrMoV14-5 low alloy steel is costly
and difficult to source, AISI 1018 steel was selected for preliminary experimental development. Initially it was decided
Figure 2: The process torque curve for an AISI 1018 FHPP weld (left) and (right),
the corresponding shear layers in macrograph.
Figure 3: Graphical representation of FHPP and associated micrograph.

19
20
FHPP
to set a rotor bonding criteria as an indicator and that a rotor
bonding percentage lower than 80% would be considered
unacceptable from a feasibility study point of view. All the
AISI 1018 welds (22 in total) were completed with a constant
forge force of 12kN applied for 20sec. It is important to note
that the forge force relates to the axial downward force applied
after completion of the weld, ie, with a stationary spindle.
The initial work indicated that the maximum tool face
diameter had to be limited to 9,0mm so as not to exceed
the allowable motor start-up torque of the FHPP platform. To
accommodate the larger tool diameter of 14mm, a chamfer
was machined onto the face of the consumable tool. Toolhole clearance was initially evaluated followed by the two
significant process parameters as identified by literature,
namely axial force and rotational speed.
The volume fill was tested last, as it was believed to play a
secondary role to bonding and was only beieved to be crucial
in order to avoid underfill.
The initial tests, done at 9,0kN to establish the effect of
clearance between tool and hole, indicated a 10% variance in
rotor bonding, with the 1,0mm clearance achieving complete
bonding. The only other noticeable difference was primary flash
appearance, with the large clearance resulting in the flash rising
along the tool shank as illustrated in Figure 6. Although considered non-critical in the case where a sacrificial backing
plate is used, it is important to note that this study showed
a remarkable reduction in side wall backing plate bonding
(90% to 2%) with an increase in clearance.
Figure 7 illustrates the effect of increased axial force with
a pre-determined clearance of 1,0mm. Externally there is a
noticeable difference in the appearance of the flash, however
more importantly, higher rotor force gives a 28% increase in
rotor bonding. Poor bonding at lower axial forces can be attributed to the consumable tools tendency to plasticise and
solidify onto itself, preventing it from transmitting sufficient
heat to promote side wall bonding. An axial force of 9,0kN
was selected for use in further tests, as it gave a higher rotor
bonding percentage (95%) and a last shear layer, which was
closer to the top surface of the weld than the 12,0 kN weld.
Changing rotational speeds between 4000rpm,
5000rpm and 6000rpm had some effect on the flash
formation as illustrated in Figure 8. More important to note
is that at 9,0kN of axial force, the higher rotational speeds
achieved a substantial increase in rotor bonding percentage,
most probably as a result of the greater heat input. It was
also noticed that the primary flash tends to be smaller with
higher rotational speed.
The FHPP platform could not maintain the rotational
speed of 6000rpm during the weld, thus 5000rpm was
selected, which had a rotor bonding percentage of 86%.
Increasing the volume fill at constant clearance (1,0
mm), axial force (9,0 kN) and rotational speed (5000 rpm)
resulted in a negligible change in rotor bonding, but 140%
volume fill produced a more geometrically rounded flash as
indicated in Figure 9. Volume fill of 120% was similar to the
primary and secondary flash formation of 140%, however
the bonding percentage was 95%.
From the analysis of all 22 welds made as part of this
study, secondary and, to a lesser extent, primary flash formation was identified as a potential early indicator of poor bonding. All welds that exhibited an identifiable lack or absence
of secondary flash, or where the primary flash did not exhibit
Figure 4: The Friction Hydro Pillar Processing (FHPP) platform.

Capabilities include: torque 100 Nm; axial and forge force
40 kN; rotational speed 6000 RPM; sliding distance 95 mm.
Figure 5: Consumable Tool Geometry: left, consumable tool;

right, workpiece.
Clearance
1,0 mm
3,0 mm
Axial force
9,0 kN
9,0 kN
Rotational speed
5000rpm
5000rpm
Volume fill [%]
100%
100%
Rotor bonding [%]
100%
91%
90%
2%
Backing plate
bonding [%]
Visual appearance
and macrograph
Figure 6: The effect of clearance between tool and hole indicated a 10% variance
in rotor bonding, with the 1,0mm clearance achieving complete bonding. A large
clearance (3,0mm) results in the flash rising along the tool shank.
Axial force
Clearance
Rotational
speed
Volume fill
Rotor bonding
6,0kN
1,0 mm
5000rpm
12kN
1,0 mm
5000rpm
120%
67%
120%
95%
Visual appearance
and macrograph
Figure 7: The effect of increased axial force on bonding. The higher rotor force
gives a 28% increase in rotor bonding.
21
22
FHPP
a rounded appearance, were associated with low rotor bonding percentages. Although more work needs to be done to
definitively prove this, early indications are that a preliminary
bond-quality screening model could be developed by combining external flash appearance with process torque data.
Figure 10 shows torque data of selected welds done
with variation in clearance, axial force, rotational speed and
volume fill for process conditions as indicated on each graph.
The first graph shown in Figure 10 (a) was used to interpret
the influence of clearance between the tool and hole. It was
very clear from this study that there is a limit to clearance in
both minimum and maximum directions. Evidence gathered
indicated that the side wall must be close enough to the tool
periphery for bonding, but far enough from the side wall so
as not to interfere or bond prematurely, as this will result in
uneven bonding and the formation of large voids.
Bonding percentage certainly improved as the clearance
was reduced from 3,0mm to 1,0mm. If the clearance is too
large, bonding with the sidewall is restricted as the plasticised
material advances rapidly upwards along the shank and solidifies above the top of the hole around the consumable tool
shank. Large clearance also resulted in smaller heat affected
zones, indicating that the sidewall heating was less effective.
As expected, Figure 10 (b) confirmed that increasing the axial
force resulted in a corresponding torque increase over the first
5,0sec, most probably due to increased frictional resistance
caused by the larger applied axial force.
It is believed that optimal plasticising temperature is
only obtained when the recorded torque starts to decrease.
Evidence pertaining to shear-layer formation appears to be
less prominent in high axial force torque curves; possibly
suggesting that shear layer formation is rapidly interrupted
or more continuous in nature. Macrographical evidence indicates that with high axial forces the last shear layer formed
is more parabolic in shape with the lowest point well below
the welds top surface. Since this phenomena reduces the
hole volume to be filled by the plasticised tool material, it
contributes to decreased welding time as was recorded for
welds with higher axial forces.
With increased rotational speed, there was a significant
decrease in the torque as shown in Figure 10 (c). The data
tends to indicate that optimal plasticisation temperature is
reached at lower torque values with a rotational speed of
5000rpm. The higher rotational speed certainly contributes
to higher bonding percentages and evidence suggests that this
is the result of increased shear layer interface temperatures,
allowing shear layers to form more rapidly.
The data in Figure 10 (d) illustrates the relationship
between process torque and volume fill. Recorded rotor
bonding percentages were high and fairly constant between
the 100 and 140% volume fill for the reported conditions. As
expected, the HAZ at the top of the weld increased in width
as volume fill increased. Preliminary interpretation of process
parameter interaction tends to indicate that improved weld
quality could be realised with lower process torque, reduced
shear layer thickness and enough heat transfer between the
plasticised tool material and the side wall of the hole.
FHPP of 26NiCrMoV14-5
Based on the knowledge gained during the AISI 1018
weld trails, sixteen 26NiCrMoV14-5 welds were made and
compared according to the matrixes shown in Table 1. This
analysis was done to identify process parameters that would

contribute to increased bonding. This part of the paper will
look at selected aspects of this study.
Considering the increased strength at elevated temperatures of 26NiCrMoV14-5 compared to the AISI1018, it was
decided to increase the forge force to 15kN and the volume
Rotational Speed
Volume fill
Rotor bonding
4000rpm
100%
58%
6000rpm
100%
83%
Visual
appearance and
macrograph
Figure 8: The effect of varying rotational speeds between 4000rpm, 5000rpm

and 6000rpm. At a 9,0kN of axial force, the higher rotational speeds achieved
a substantial increase in rotor bonding percentage.
Volume fill
Rotor bonding
100%
98%
140%
99%
Visual
appearance and
macrograph
Figure 9: Increasing the volume fill at constant clearance (1,0 mm), axial force
(9,0 kN) and rotational speed (5000 rpm) resulted in a negligible change in rotor
bonding.
Figure 10: Torque data of selected welds done with variations in clearance, axial
force, rotational speed and volume fill.
Process
parameters
Axial force
matrix
Rotational
speed matrix
Volume fill
matrix
Forge force
matrix
Axial force Rotational speed Forge force Consumable length

[kN]
[rpm]
[kN]
[mm]
9
5000
15
130
12
15
18
21
24
21
3000
15
130
4000
5000
21
5000
15
130
170
21
5000
15
130
25
Table 1: Rotor material input process parameters and heat treatment.

23
FHPP
fill from 100% to 130% to accommodate the expected higher
axial forces required during welding. The forge time was kept
constant at 15 sec for the duration of the 26NiCrMoV14-5
weld trials.
The consumable tool and the rotor block geometry were
carried over from the AISI 1018 welds as illustrated in Figure
11, while the consumable tool tip run-out was kept within
0,15mm. Considering the limits of the FHPP platform, it was
decided to first vary the axial force from 9,0 to 21kN in increments of 3,0kN. For the evaluation of varying axial forces, the
Axial force
9,0kN
21kN
24kN
Rotor bonding
93,4%
97,1%
91,4%
Visual
appearance
Macrograph
Figure 11: The effect and visual appearance due to axial force variations in welds.
Rotational speed
3000rpm
4000rpm
5000rpm
Rotor bonding
44,3%
97,1%
97,1%
Visual appearance
Macrograph
Figure 12: The effect and visual appearance of rotational speed variation on welds.
Axial force
Rotational
speed
Volume fill
Chamfer
angle
Bonding [%]
Macrograph
9,0kN
12kN
15kN
18kN
24kN
5000rpm
5000rpm
5000rpm
5000rpm
5000rpm
130%
130%
130%
130%
130%
45
45
45
45
45
93,4%
98,8%
97,3%
97,1%
91,4%
Arrow
indicates the
prominent
shear layer
Figure 13: The effect of axial force on the prominent shear layer.
Volume fill
130%
170%
Rotor bonding
97,1%
96,6%
Visual appearance
Macrograph
rotational speed, volume fill and forge force were kept constant
as indicated in Table 1.
Increasing the axial force resulted in reduced weld time and
a higher average torque, the same trend as was observed with
the AISI 1018 welds. Important to note was that the bonding
percentage was found to be independent on variation in axial
force. Although 12kN was sufficient to achieve maximum
bonding, welds from 15-21kN achieved bonding of 97% and
higher. It was only the weld completed at the lowest axial force
(9,0kN), which produced lower bonding (93%).
One additional weld was completed at 24kN to determine
the maximum axial force of 26NiCrMoV14-5. It was found that
an axial force of 24kN was too high, as it produced a similar
scenario as in AISI1018, where the primary flash moved up
along the consumable tool as shown in Figure 11. The rotor
bonding of the 24kN weld decreased compared to the 21 kN.
The effect of increasing the rotational speeds from
3000rpm to 4000rpm and 5000rpm was evaluated with an
axial force, volume fill and forge force kept constant as shown
in Table 1. The weld performed at 3000rpm could not be
completed due to platform constraints, however the other two
welds indicated an increase in weld time and decrease in average torque as rotational speed increased. Figure 12 shows the
effect of rotational speed on the primary and secondary flash.
The 5000rpm weld was the most promising and ensured
lower process torque during the weld.
Areas of higher micro-hardness values were found around
the shear layers of various welds as indicated by the arrows in
Figure 13. The Vickers micro-hardness tests were performed
with a 500g load and a 15 sec dwell time. Inclusions with
high percentages of chrome, manganese and sulphide were
found at these areas. Further investigation showed manganese
sulphide inclusions in the original parent material, accounting
for the presences of the manganese sulphide inclusions in the
weld nugget. The chrome could contribute to higher hardness
values, however further investigation is required to determine
the factors involved.
While completing the volume fill matrix, where the axial
force and rotational speed were kept constant at 21kN and
5000rpm respectively, the relationship between volume fill
and rotor bonding percentage was investigated. When the
volume fill was increased from 130% to 170%, the weld time,
maximum torque, average torque and top HAZ were fairly
constant, indicating that volume fill is not a major contributor
in cases of weld overfill.
As expected, the primary flash moved further up along
the consumable tool as shown in Figure14, due to surplus
displaced material. Additionally, the last shear layer did have
a similar appearance to the above-mentioned welds as indicated by the arrow and the welds where the forge force was
increased from 15kN to 25kN. Flaws in the top region of
the weld nugget close to the fusion line were fewer as can be
seen in Figure 15.
To investigate the effect of heat-treatment on the hardness,
welds were performed with a rotor block pre-heating temperature of 200C and post weld heat-treated at 740C. The input
process parameters for the three welds were: 21kN axial force,
5000rpm rotational speed, 25kN forge force, 15 sec forge
time and a volume fill of 130%. With the aid of pre-heat and
a post weld heat treatment, the hardness of the weld nugget
decreased to that of the parent material as shown in Figure 16.
Figure 14: Effects and visual appearance of volume fill variation on welds.
24
FHPP
Forge Force
Rotor bonding
15kN
94,9%
25kN
92,7%
Visual
appearance
Figure 15: Effects and macrographs of varied forge force on welds.
Conclusion
The feasibility study showed that a 15mm diameter hole,
25mm deep can be filled successfully with an AISI1018 tool
at an axial force of 9,0kN, rotational speed of 5000rpm,
volume fill of between 120% and 140 %, with a forge force
of 12kN and a forge time of 20sec. Evidence was found
indicating that lower rotational speed and larger clearance
adversely affect rotor bonding.
With the 26NiCrMoV14-5 material, it was found that the
trends observed in the AISI 1018 welds could be transferred,
although higher axial forces and forge forces were required to
accommodate the higher strength of the material at elevated
temperature.
While FHPP welding of the AISI 1018 and 26NiCrMoV14-5
materials, it was found that with increased axial force the
volume of primary flash, torque, plunge rate and the distance from the top surface to the last shear layer of the weld
increased, whereas the weld time and top HAZ width decreased. It was also found that a higher forge force improves
weld consolidation.
Additionally, it was concluded that the combined analysis
of torque, primary flash and secondary flash data can be
used for preliminary screening to determine initial acceptable
welding parameters.
Successful FHPP welds in 26NiCrMoV14-5 with similar
geometry to AISI1018 consumables can be produced using:
an axial force of 21kN, a rotational speed of 5000rpm,
forge force of 25kN and a volume fill of 130%.
Figure 16:The effect of pre- and post-weld heat treatment on

micro-hardness values.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank THRIP and the National Research
Foundation for financial assistance. Also to Eskom for the
opportunity to do the research, and Phillip Doubell, Mark
Newby and Ronnie Scheppers from Eskom for their assistance
during the research.
References
1 Nicholas ED. Friction Processing Technologies. Welding in the
World. 2003.
2 Ambroziak A, Gul B. Investigations
of underwater FHPP for welding
steel overlap joints. Archives of
Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
2007;: p. 67-76.
3 Hattingh DG, Steuwer A, James
MN, Wedderburn IN. Residual
Stresses in Overlapping Friction
Taper Stud Welds. In MACASENS;
May 2010.
4 Hasui A, Fukushima S. On the
Torque in Friction Welding. 1975;

44(12): p. 1005 - 1010.
5 Kimura M, Seo K, Kusaka M, Fuji
A. Observation of Joining Phenomena in Friction Stage and Improving
Friction Welding Method. JSME
Interantional Journal. 2003.
6 Kimura M, Inoue H, Kusaka M,
Kaizu K, Fuji A. Analysis Method
of Friction Torque and Weld Interface Temperature during Friction
Process of Steel Friction Welding.
Journal of Solid Mechanics and
Materials Engineering. 2010.
25
FCAW of SS
Welding stainless steel using

flux-cored wires
The Welding Alloys Group is a global manufacturer of flux-cored welding consumables
for welding, hardfacing, joining and cladding applications, as well as automated welding
equipment for surfacing and joining. In this paper, Wiehan Zylstra presents the case for
using flux-cored consumables for welding stainless steels, and highlights the advantages of
bismuth-free stainless flux-cored wires.
tainless steel cored wires have existed for almost 50

years, but have only really taken off in the last twenty.
The present state of evolution of stainless steel cored
wires is highlighted by the appearance of the latest editions of
EN ISO 17633 and AWS A-5.22 standards. These standards,
if not exhaustive, nonetheless include almost as many filler
Figure 1: Cross sections of 1,2 mm stainless steel flux-cored wires.
No
Process
114
Self-shielded tubular-cored arc welding
125
Submerged arc welding with tubular-cored electrodes
132
MIG welding with flux-cored electrodes

Gas metal arc welding using inert gas and metal-cored
wire, USA.
133
MIG welding with metal-cored electrodes.

Gas metal arc welding using inert gas and metal-cored
wire, USA.
136
MAG welding with flux-cored electrodes.

Gas metal arc welding using active gas and flux-cored
electrodes, USA
138
MAG welding with metal-cored electrodes.

Gas metal arc welding using active gas and metal-cored
electrodes.
143
TIG welding with tubular-cored filler material

Gas tungsten arc welding using inert gas and tubular-cored
filler material.
Table1: Cored wires EN ISO 4063 edition 2011 Numbering

of the welding processes.
Figure 2: Open arc hardfacing with CHROMECORE 414N-O wire.

26
metal compositions as their counterparts for coated electrodes

or solid wires.
Interesting advances and innovations have been made in
all alloy classes: not only the well-known martensitic, ferritic,
austenitic and austeno-ferritic stainless steels, but also special
types for welding dissimilar materials, as well as compositions
designed for high temperature service.
Stainless steel cored wires are commonly chosen nowadays for cladding and for joining [1]-[4]. They are used in
applications involving corrosion resistance and those involving
service at elevated or cryogenic temperatures, applications
that are far beyond the scope of low alloy steels. Stainless
steel cored wires are available with or without slag, for welding in all positions, with or without shielding gas. Products
designed for submerged arc welding are also available.
This presentation describes the different products available today and highlights one new trend, the use of bismuthfree cored wires for specific applications.
Introduction
Austenitic stainless steel flux-cored wires have been used
in Europe since the beginning of the 1980s. At that time,
products on offer consisted mainly of wires for welding in the
flat and horizontal positions with an external active shielding
gas. Only very common compositions were available.
Since then, choices have greatly evolved, not only with
respect to the variety of compositions available, but also with
the emergence and the optimisation of slag systems allowing
improvements in productivity, quality and welder comfort.
The flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) technique has advantages that make it an attractive alternative to other common
welding processes such as shielded metal arc welding, gas
metal arc welding with solid wire or submerged arc welding
and cladding with solid wire or strip.
The two main application fields for stainless steel cored
wires are joining and cladding. In both cases, they present
specific and useful characteristics. Hardfacing and cladding
processes overlap when martensitic stainless steels are
chosen for surfacing. Numerous proprietary compositions
are available to cope with specific wear mechanisms and to
meet the demands of end users.
Stainless steel cored wires are used today for cryogenic
and high temperature applications, for the corrosion resistant
properties conferred by their compositions and because of
their ability to produce sound welds. They are also used for
welding dissimilar materials, such as weld overlay cladding
of a corrosion resistant material over a base material.
FCAW of SS
Stainless steel cored wires welding processes
and core types
The EN ISO 4063 edition 2011 [4] standard for stainless
steel cored wires mentions seven processes (Table 1) where
cored wires are used. It is important to differentiate clearly
between these processes to realise the benefits that welding
with stainless steel cored wires can offer.
Process 114: Open arc welding

The most commonly used self-shielded (open arc) stainless
steel wires are the martensitic or martensitic-ferritic grades
used for hardfacing steel mill rolls or other parts requiring
mechanical strength, hardness and moderate corrosion
resistance.
Open arc stainless steel wires are also available for many
austenitic grades. Some of these wires are approved for assembly work and their mechanical properties give no cause
for complaint compared with gas-shielded wires. This solution
is worth considering when the use of external gas protection
is impractical or uneconomical.
wires to be used for positional work, though at modest

parameters when compared with all-positional flux-cored
wires. With pulsed arc welding, it must be remembered that
the requirements for metal-cored wire are slightly different
to those of solid wire. As cored wires vary more widely in
electrical and physical characteristics than solid wires, preprogrammed synergic parameters optimised for one brand
may not work as well for another brand and some fine-tuning
of the parameters may be needed. [1], [2], [6]
A slightly active gas such as M12 (an argon and CO2 mix)
with or without helium (Process 138) is often preferred to
favour arc stability and weld bead appearance. However, experience shows that with cored wires, as distinct from GMAW
with solid wires, pure argon (Process 133) is frequently the
best choice to obtain the cleanest weld appearance and the
best weld quality without impairing arc stability. Argon is
recommended with most fully austenitic metal-cored wires,
with superduplex metal-cored wires and, in some cases, with
standard austenitic compositions.
Process 125: Submerged arc welding with

cored wire.
Stainless steel cored wires for submerged arc welding are
essentially filled with metallic ingredients, though some basic mineral additions may be added to improve weld metal
soundness and toughness.
The interest in stainless steel cored wires for submerged
arc welding is explained not only by the possibility of depositing special compositions, but also by clear quality advantages,
flexibility of use and productivity. [5]
The advantages of the tubular wire route may be summarised as follows:
Increased productivity.
Less warping of welded structures on account of increased
linear travel speeds.
Attractive weldability, very good slag detachment even at
the root of the joint, neat beads with no adhering matter.
Flexibility: tubular SAW wire is weldable over a wide
parameter range. It is therefore possible to weld a root
pass at low current (eg, 250 A for 2,4 mm wire) and
continue with the filling passes using the same wire at
higher deposit rates (eg, 450 A for 2,4 mm).
Logistical advantages: a single diameter covers all applications.
Figure 3: Open arc cladding with TRI S 309L-O, E309LT0-3 wire.
Processes 133 and 138: Welding with

metal-cored wire
Metal-cored wires may contain minor quantities of slagforming additions. Their cores contain at least 95% metallic
elements. A key advantage of metal-cored wires is the possibility of offering alloys that cannot easily be manufactured
as solid wires. [6]
The arc characteristics peculiar to the tubular construction
of metal-cored wires offer other advantages as well. Compared
with solid wires, when used at the same welding current,
the higher current density flowing through the sheath of a
metal-cored wire brings on a quicker transition to spray-arc
conditions, giving better penetration, better wetting and less
risk of weld defects. Deposit efficiency is comparable to that
of solid wires, and deposit rates are often superior at a given
diameter, stick out and current.
Pulsed arc welding allows stainless steel metal-cored
Figure 4: A digester of a base metal composition of stainless steel A240 TP 304L

is being submerged arc welded with EC308L wire.
27
28
FCAW of SS
Processes 132 and 136. Welding with
flux-cored wire.
Processes 132 and 136 relate to flux-cored wires. Three slag
types are possible: rutile, slow freezing; rutile, fast freezing;
and basic [1]-[6].
Rutile with slow freezing slag (Process 136)
benefit fully from their process advantages. They are especially

recommended for fillet welds and are often a good choice for
the filling and capping layers of butt weld joints.
Rutile fast freezing slag (process 136)

The slag system used in flux-cored wires for downhand
welding can be modified to obtain fast freezing. This gives
a slag, which contains the weld pool well, allowing welding
in any position with almost the same parameter settings.
The flux in tubular wire is designed to function in almost

the same way as that for stick electrodes. It can react with
the molten droplets of metal as they transfer across the arc,
with the slag refining and protecting the metal, but more
importantly, it supports and smoothes the weld metal during
solidification.
The melting point, viscosity and surface tension properties
of the slag are optimised for welding in the flat and horizontal
positions. [16]
The slow-freezing slag and the presence of arc stabilisers
confer several advantages [1], [2]:
Ease of use: Of all the arguments used for flux-cored wire,
ease of use is the least convincing in print and perhaps
the most convincing on the shop floor.
Very pleasing arc characteristics with no spatter.
Smooth clean bead with fine ripple, but with no silicate
surface layer. The result is comparable to that of high
efficiency stainless steel stick electrodes, but without
interruptions for electrode changes.
Self-detaching slag (or close to it), giving useful timesavings during weld finishing.
Wide tolerance to parameter settings that allow the weld
quality to be maintained quite easily, even if the operator
uses different parameters to those prescribed.
Wetting characteristics and a safe penetration profile
allow welders to use faster travel speeds than with solid
wires, and to get the most attractive bead appearance
without using complex gas mixtures and sophisticated
power sources.
Flat position stainless steel flux-cored wires can be a very
productive, high quality substitute for GMAW and SMAW
consumables. They are often used for welding vessels in
the chemical, petrochemical, shipbuilding and food industries. Base material thickness should be at least 3,0 mm to
Figure 6: A fillet weld in the PB-2F position on thin gauge

plate completed using metal-cored wire: EC316L.
Figure 5: The submerged arc weld detail for the digester above.
Figure 7: A butt weld in PA-1G position on non-magnetic stainless steel Material

N 1.3964 completed using metal-cored wire: TUBE S 21 16 5N-G.
Metal transfer via spray-arc assures excellent penetration,

particularly in the vertical-up position where the productivity
of this family is greatest. Excellent results are also obtained in
the overhead, horizontal-vertical and vertical-down positions.
Compared to other manual arc welding processes, allpositional FCAW can provide significant productivity benefits,
enabling considerable cost savings to be made during fabrication. Rutile all-positional stainless steel wires provide excellent
operability and the capability of producing high quality welds
in all positions, including 6G pipework.
Active gases with a carbon dioxide content of at least
8% are required when welding with rutile-cored stainless
steel wires. The amount of CO2 in the shielding gas has no
29
FCAW of SS
significant influence on the all-weld metal analysis.
Basic slag (Processes 136 and 132)

Basic flux-cored wires are characterised by a coarse droplet
metal transfer and a slightly convex fillet weld. The flux consists mainly of fluorides and oxides of alkaline earth metals.
They were first used for assembly and cladding work on
martensitic stainless steels because this slag system gives
tough and ductile welds [7].
As with stick electrodes, a basic slag system is favourable for controlling hot cracking in stainless steel weld metals undergoing a primary austenitic solidification. Some of
these austenitic stainless steel types operate at temperatures
exceeding 600C. The absence of bismuth mineral additives,
which reduce creep resistance, is a further reason for selecting
basic flux-cored wires. This slag system also improves the
toughness of duplex grades and especially of the superduplex
filler metals, without too serious an effect on weldability and
slag detachment.
Basic flux-cored wires are usually used with mixed gases
of the M21 type (with at least 15% CO2) according to EN
ISO 14175 [8]. Pure argon shielding (process 132) is also a

possible choice for high-alloy pure austenitic grades.
Bismuth-free core systems [11], [12]

One of the advantages of modern stainless steel flux-cored
welding wires is their very easy slag detachment, which allows
weld beads to be obtained that resemble those produced by
the latest generation of coated electrodes.
Table 2 shows the different stainless steel cored wires
available. Metal-cored and basic flux-cored wires do not
contain bismuth at all. Conventional rutile stainless steel
flux-cored wires generally contain bismuth oxide additions to
improve slag detachment. The weld deposit therefore contains
traces of bismuth.
Most corrosion-resisting stainless steel welds are put into
service as welded, without heat treatment. Such constructions
are intended for applications where the service temperature
does not exceed 300C. Under these conditions, the use of
low melting point oxides to improve slag detachment does
not cause problems.
However, many stainless steels are also used in applications where resistance to high temperatures is important. In
such cases, structures must frequently operate above 500C
and, within the weldments, bismuth and other low melting
point elements can segregate at grain boundaries and cause
cracking.
Wires with deliberate bismuth addition should not be
used for service at temperatures above 500C or when an annealing treatment is carried out after welding. In such cases,
stainless steel flux-cored wires that produce no more than
0,002% Bi in the weld metal should be specified (ASME II
C SFA-5.22 2011a).
It is not necessary to limit the bismuth content of fluxcored wires for applications under 500C: however, to forestall
high-temperature cracking, it is accepted that bismuth levels
Figure 8: Dissimilar weld SA 240-304H onto SA516gr70

performed in the PC/2G position using TETRA V 309L-G fluxcored wire with a fast freezing rutile slag.
Figure 9: A PB-2F fillet weld on AISI 310 plate showing the

typical convex shape of basic flux-cored wire.
30
Figure 10: Horizontal fillet welding is a typical application for

stainless steel flux-cored wire with slow freezing slag.
FCAW of SS
Description
Core ingredient
Classification
ISO
Classification
AWS
Slag
Gas or flux shielded

Slag
R
Metal
Open
arc
Slag
AISI
UNS
Material
EN Symbol
number
Wire
Welding alloys wire
selection
304H
S30409 1.4948
X6 CrNi 18-11
308H,
16 8 2
321H
S32109 1.4941
X8 CrNiTi 18-10
347H,
308H,
16 8 2
T0-1/4
T1-1/4
T0-4
ECXXX
T0-3
Rutile
Rutile
Basic
None
Basic/
rutile
Slow
freezing
PA, PB
347H
S34709 1.4961
347H,
X8 CrNiNb 16-13 308H,
16 8 2
316H
S31609 1.4919
X6 CrNiMo 17-13 16 8 2
309
S30900 1.4828
X15 CrNiSi 20-12 309H
IG, 1F,
2F
None
153MA S30415 1.4891
X4 CrNiSiN 18 10
309H,
309HT
253MA S30815 1.4893
X8 CrNiSiN 21 11
309HT,
309H
310
S31000 1.4841
X15 CrNiSi 25-21 310
310S
S31008 1.4845
X12 CrNi 25-21
Slag freezing
SlowFastSlowtime
freezing freezing freezing
Positions EN
PA, PB
All
PA, PB PA PB
ISO
Positions
IG, 1F, 2F
All
IG, 1F, IG, 1F,
ASME
2F
2F
Shielding
M21,
M21,
M21,
M12,
gas EN ISO
M20, CO2 M20, M20 ,I1 M13,
14175
CO2
I1 flux
(subarc)
Table 2: Cored wires for GMAW, FCAW and SAW [8], [9], [10].
must be limited to 20 ppm. Welding Alloys has produced

wires meeting this criterion for several years now, and recommends a wide range of bismuth-free flux-cored wires. These
products are suitable not only for high temperature service,
but also for welds subjected to a stabilisation or solution
heat treatments.
310
TETRA V 308H-G
TETRA S B 308H-G
TETRA V 308H-G
TETRA S B308H-G
TETRA V 347H-G
TETRA V 16 8 2-G
TETRA V 309H-G
TETRA V 309HT-G
TETRA V 310-G
TETRA S B 310-G
Table 3: Examples of high temperature stainless steels and the associated

bismuth free wire selection.
Conclusions
Various processes are available for welding stainless steel
with cored wire. For a comparable slag system, the quality
achieved is generally the same as with SMAW electrodes. As
for productivity, it is at least as good as with solid wires with
the additional advantages of versatility, ease of use, quality
and compositional possibilities.
Stainless steel cored wires are often a good choice for
use in combination with other processes or when problems
or performance limitations arise.
With the availability of bismuth-free types, the scope of
use is extended to applications at high temperature or for any
weldments that have to undergo post-weld heat treatment.
Figure 11: A 310S reactor under heat treatment. It was welded using TETRA S B
310-G cored wire and for the SAW seams, TUBE S 310-S and WAF 380 flux.
References
[1] Fils tubulaires pour le soudage daciers
inoxydables, JM Bonnel - N Vass NC Pease,
Soudage Automatique Applications Industrielles du Soudage avec Fil Fourr Institut de
Soudure 11/12/2001.
[2] Tubular wire welding, D Widgery, Abington
Publishing, ISBN 1 85573 088X.
[3] Cored wires for corrosion resistant alloys:
status report 2006, JM Bonnel, NC Pease,
International Institute of Welding Congress,
8-10/03/2006, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
[4] N ISO 4063 2011: Welding and allied
processes Nomenclature of processes.
[5] Gevulde draad MIG/MAG en onderpoederdek
lassen van austenitisch en duplex roestvast
staal, JM Bonnel, Welding Alloys Seminarie
Belgisch Instituut voor Lastechniek, Stivak en
De Nayer Instituut, 2001.
[6] Fils fourrs poudre mtallique, JM Bonnel
Journe dtude Soudage et mise en uvre

de lacier inoxydable , Institut Belge de la
Soudure 28 novembre 2002.
[7] Basische Flldrhte fr Edelstahl und NickelBasis-Legierungen. Das fehlende Bindeglied.
O Penning, JM Bonnel, H Mhlbauer. Groe
Schweitechnische Tagung 17. 19.09.2008.
[8] EN ISO 14175 2008: Welding consumables
Gases and gas mixtures for fusion welding
and allied processes.
[9] EN ISO 17633 2010: Welding consumables Tubular cored electrodes and rods for
gas shielded and non-gas shielded metal arc
welding of stainless and heat-resisting steels
Classification.
[10] A S M E I I C S F A - 5 . 2 2 2 0 1 1 a :
Specification for stainless steel flux cored and
metal cored welding electrodes and rods.
[11] IIW-1498-00: Position statement on the
effect of bismuth on the elevated temperature

properties of flux cored stainless steel weldments JCM Farrar, AW Marshall, Z Zhang.
[12] Fils fourrs base nickel, JM Bonnel, A Cordari, JL Desir, SWI Sminaire Soudure,
10/03/2004 Yverdon-les-Bains.
[13] Magdeburg: Schweitechnische Fachtagung,
05/2011, Herstellung von korrosionsbestndigen Plattierungen durch Auftragschweien mit
Flldrahtelektroden B Bouquin, O Penning,
JM Bonnel, 15.
[14] Technical report ISO/TR 17671-5:2004:
Welding Recommendations for welding of
metallic materials Part 5: Welding of clad
steels.
[15] Understanding cored-wires for welding stainless steel, K Salmon Stainless Steel Europe,
02/1991.
31
The SMOOTHFLO hybrid regulator
Afrox reinvents the gas regulator

At a glittering event at The Maslow in Sandton on 19 July, Afrox launched the most
technologically advanced and engineered gas pressure regulator to hit the global industrial
market. Called SMOOTHFLOTM, this hybrid regulator demonstrates Afroxs commitment
to being a leader in the gas equipment market, and Lindes commitment to Afroxs South
African manufacturing capability. African Fusion reports.
froxs MD, Brett Kimber, says that

Afrox is a proudly South African
company that is also part of the
global Linde Group, with annual sales of 15-billion and
operations in 100 countries,
making it one of the worlds
leading gas and engineering
companies. Afrox is also unique
within the Linde Group, as it
is the only Linde-owned original equipment manufacturer
(OEM). Linde recognises AfAfroxs MD, Brett Kimber.
roxs hardgoods manufacturing
capability as an asset to the
group, and this ground breaking
new innovation was developed
in South Africa and is currently exclusively manufactured
here, says Kimber.
Citing a recent presentation
by Clem Sunter, Kimber relates
that innovation towards product
Nazmi Adams, head of
and application development is
hardgoods and exports for
essential if South Africa is to
Afrox.
remain in the premier League
of Nations and avoid relegation.
We have to be more innovative
as a country, believes Kimber,
and this Afrox innovation is
moving us as a company and
as a supplier into a different
global realm. SMOOTHFLOTM
is being released here first,
but we intend to leverage
Roberto Dionisio, head
our global footprint by exof R&D for hardgoods at
porting it all over the world.
Afrox.
Through the Linde Group, we
are turning Afrox into a global OEM, he
says.
Following Kimber onto the podium
is Nazmi Adams, head of hardgoods
and exports for Afrox. Every so often, a
product emerges that radically changes
things, and it is a privilege to be part of
such a development, he begins. The gas
regulator was invented about 100 years
ago and it did not really change much
for many years. Then, a few decades
ago, Afrox, along with colleagues from
32
Australia, UK and USA, invented the encapsulated valve, which was a dramatic
step forward, he says.
From this, the Premium series 6000
and 8000 single-stage regulators were
developed for the export market and
were immediately successful in Australia
under the BOC brand. Both series 6000
and 8000 were released into South East
Asia Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, India,
Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia. In 2002, the 8000 was restyled
and launched into the USA under the
Airco brand, and in 2005, the 6000 and
8000, along with the multi-stage 8500
and 9500 regulators became flagships of
the BOC brand in the UK, displacing the
leading UK brand.
Then in 2007, German-styled versions, designed and built in South Africa
around our encapsulated valve technology, were released into the bastilles of
Germany, Italy, continental and eastern
Europe under the Linde brand, reveals
Adams.
According to Roberto Dionisio, head
of R&D for hardgoods at Afrox, the
regulators reinvention began in 2011,
when Afrox presented its capabilities to
its Linde parent at the groups global
hardgoods conference in Munich. We
met with a view to identify what the
regulator of the future would look like.
We presented some concepts on how to
make regulators look more modern, with
better gauge protection. But the
delegates suggested that the
ideas were too conservative
and not innovative enough.
They challenged us to revolutionise the

product to make it more suitable for a
modern, global and high-tech market, he
relates. Linde made a commitment, that
if by 2012 we could put onto the table a
prototype of the next-generation regulator,
then Linde would not only support the
development, but would purchase and
supply the product across all markets of
the Linde Group.
During the development year, the
marketing divisions of Afrox and Linde
conducted focus groups in markets in key
geographies around the world and came
back with a wish list of features: We
determined that we had to do something
about the bunny-ear gauges; to better
protect regulators from accidental damage; improve the safety specifications; and
to make it easier to use, says Dionisio.
In a parallel development of integrated
valve oxygen regulators for the medical
industry, Afrox had developed a pistoncontrolled regulator to replace the traditional spring loaded diaphragm. These
regulators use a piston to control the
pressure and have
a built-in flow
meter allowing oxygen to
The re-invented and compact SMOOTHFLO oxygen regulator with

completely encapsulated gauges.

be dosed to medical patients.
Describing how gas regulators work,
Dionisio says that the high pressure inlet
connected to a gas cylinder is typically
200 bar pressure from a compressed gas
such as oxygen. At the first stage of regulation of a single-stage regulator we have
the encapsulated valve, which is located
between the high pressure and the low
pressure chambers. By adjusting the pressure control knob of the regulator, a spring
on the low pressure side of the regulator
presses against the pin in the centre of the
encapsulated valve via a diaphragm plate,
opening the encapsulated valve. This creates a balance of forces between the low
pressure and high pressure chambers of
the pressure regulator, he explains. But
the diaphragm is the weakest link in these
traditional regulators, so replacing it with
a more reliable piston is very desirable,
he adds.
Radoslav Jovanovic, the innovation
manager and a key member of Afrox's
inventive R&D team, relates how the
piston-controlled regulator became possible for industrial applications. The
SMOOTHFLOTM design concept was born
out of the challenge to develop a state-ofthe-art medical integrated valve. We faced
a technological barrier and had to come
up with some innovative solutions to make
the medical regulator work. The solution
was to use a lever to give mechanical
advantage, which reduces the forces
required for the regulator to function. This
helped eliminate the diaphragm.
By developing the lever-activated
encapsulated valve, the pressure range
required to activate the valve is nar-
rowed, the internal forces of the regulator

mechanism are significantly reduced,
and both flow and pressure can be more
accurately controlled. The size of the
springs and all of the internal components
on the low pressure side of the regulator,
compared to a diaphragm and diaphragm
spring of a traditional equivalent, are also
much smaller. We saw the opportunity to reduce the size and improve the
performance of all regulators, reveals
Jovanovic. Thus the SMOOTHFLOTM was
created, drawing on the Linde Groups
experience and its position as the leading
supplier of medical gas and technology.
The end result is an innovation indeed.
SMOOTHFLOTM features include:

A much smaller and lighter regulator
with a novel shape that mimics the
internal piston-lever-encapsulated
valve components inside.
Completely encapsulated pressure
gauges, made by WIKA, give excellent protection against accidental
physical damage. The cladding
also acts as a physical safety barrier
against internal over-pressurisation,
adds Dionisio.
The regulator is tested to comply
with both ISO 2503 and AS4267,
and it has also passed the Simulated Promoted Ignition Test,
developed in Australia to protect
against promoted ignition explosions caused by combustible dust
accumulation inside the regulator
in dusty environments.
Conventional pressure gauges also
have blow-out backs in the event of
over pressurising them. SMOOTHFLOTM regulators deal with this
condition by safely discharging the
pressure through specially designed
ports.
A SMOOTHFLO regulator before encapsulation. The replacement of conventional diaphragm

technology with more robust and compact lever-activated piston actuation results in much better
reliability and regulation.
The SMOOTHFLO development team at Afroxs Gas Equipment Factory in Germiston, South Africa: Back row from left: Roberto Dionisio,
Wisdom Vilakazi, Donald Balaam, Herman Bakker, Pedrag Savcic and Eric van Eeden; Middle row: Lesego Legobye, Leonardt van Zyl and Len Wright;
Front row: Mathews Mntambo, Willem Viljoen and Radoslav Jovanovic.
33
34

The inlet stem incorporates a break-off
feature with a built-in shut-off valve.
This removes the risk of creating a
dangerous situation should the inlet
stem be snapped off, adds Dionisio.
The replacement of the old and
conventional diaphragm technology
with more robust and compact piston
actuation.
The patented lever-activated encapsulated valve design results in
much better reliability and better
regulation multi-stage-like regulator performance for flows in excess
of 2500 /min resulting in better
productivity for processes such as
flame cutting, heating and welding..
The full range of pressure settings can
be accessed through three full turns of
the adjusting knob, compared to eight
to 10 turns on traditional regulators.
To supply the global market with a technologically advanced SMOOTHFLOTM
gas regulator, Afrox designed and built
a state-of-the-art assembly facility at its
Germiston-based Gas Equipment Factory. Devandran Naicker, SMOOTHFLOTM
project manager describes the line: The
unique Y-cell configuration employs
several lean manufacturing principles to
ensure that product quality and process

reliability is optimised and productivity is
enhanced.
Semi-automated assembly and testing processes, combined with poke-yoke
fixture designs, facilitate in-line quality
checking on each assembly, he says,
adding that the inclusion of front-line
operators in the industrialisation phases
allow for the incorporation of first-hand
learning into the process. From random
sketches to first production, the local
SMOOTHFLOTM team has delivered the
next generation of pressure regulating
equipment, he believes.
We foresee competitors will claim
that they also use piston technology or
other elements, but the simple reality is
that SMOOTHFLOTM will do to the gas
regulator market what injectors did to the
old carburettor technology, adds Adams.
Afrox is offering SMOOTHFLOTM at a
price below that of premium multi-stage
regulators and accompanied by a conditional five-year warranty. And we are
not stopping there, says Dionisio. We
will soon be complementing the range by
releasing variants for other gases.
Says Lourens le Roux, Afroxs
product manager for gas equipment:
SMOOTHFLO TM is a new industry

benchmark, incorporating all the elements of modern technologies and
safety features demanded by the
mining, fabrication, manufacturing,
shipbuilding, railways and automotive
industries. Were proud to be a world
class technology exporter, rather than
purely a product importer.
SMOOTHFLO is a new industry benchmark, incorporating

all the elements of modern technologies and safety features
demanded by the mining, fabrication, manufacturing,
shipbuilding, railways and automotive industries.
35
Tube butt welding invention
GEA patents tube welding

invention
Angel Krustev, welding engineer at GEA Aircooled Systems in South Africa, has invented a new
methodology and device for tube-to-tube butt-welding. The system was mainly developed to
improve the fabrication efficiency of air-finned coolers (AFCs). The technique enables small
diameter, autogenous orbital TIG welding equipment to be used without the associated underfill.
African Fusion visits GEAs Alrode facilities and talks to the techniques inventor.
s part of the Germany-based GEA

Group, GEA Aircooled Systems
is a leading original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) of heat transferequipment to the power and petrochemical industries. The South African
GEA operation is a contributor to South
Africas Broad Based Black Economic
Empowermentprogramme and qualifies
as a Level 3 contributor. In addition to
its OEM services, GEA has a 75 % share
Angel Krustev with the controller for the orbital welding

equipment used for his new tube-to-tube butt-welding
methodology.
In South Africa, GEA specialises in the embedded fin

technique for the finning of heat exchanger tubes.
36
in a separate entity, GEA Nilenca, which

specialises in the aftermarket and refurbishment of heat transfer equipment,
site erection work and heat exchanger
cleaning.
Globally, GEA is a pioneer and a
market leader in the field of dry cooling
for power and petrochemical industries.
Alstom placed the order on GEA for the
design, manufacture, supply and erection of the air-cooled condensers (ACCs)
for the Medupi Power Station. The main
components of the ACCs include the aircooled steam condenser modules, which
utilise GEAs proprietary tube design,
similar to the system used at the Matimba and Majuba Power Stations. The
condenser modules consist of galvanised
air-cooled condenser tubes, tube sheets
and the steam and condensate collection headers.
The company is also an OEM for
air-finned fan coolers, which are predominantly used in the petrochemical
industry. These coolers have banks of
finned tubes. The product being cooled
is pumped though these tubes and
cooled by forced-draft air flowing across
them, says Krustev. AFCs operate at
high temperatures (over 300C) and high
pressure (up to 500bar), so any failure
in a weld will result in catastrophic consequences. Weld quality is therefore of
critical importance, he explains.
The manufacturing starting point of
AFCs is the finning of the tubes. Several
options are available, but in South Africa, GEA specialises in the embedded
fin technique. A spiral groove is first
machined onto a primary length of tube.
Then an aluminium strip is placed on
edge into the groove, tensioned and
spirally wound along its length. The
ends are stapled in place to stop the fin
unravelling and the fin is mechanically
held in contact with the tube by the ten-
sion in the spiral, says Krustev. Primary

applications for embedded finned tubes
include high temperature and cyclical
service.
The most common style of air-cooled
heat exchanger is the forced draft design,
which positions the fans beneath the
finned-tube bundle, allowing easy access
to all mechanical components. The unit
is a pressure vessel and consists of three
main sections; headers, finned tubes and
supporting structures.
GEA Aircooled Systems manufactures and refurbishes various manifoldtype heat exchangers, which have a
tubular inlet and outlet header at each
end of the tube bundles, Krustev
explains. To manufacture this type of
AFC, one or more rows of nipples are
welded to the tubular headers and to the
finned tubes. The tubes are laid in rows
between the headers. U-shaped return
bends then have to be welded onto the
tubes to channel the flow backwards and
forwards through the heat exchanger.
The welds between the finned tubes
and the return-bends are particularly difficult, mostly due to space restrictions.
Typically, the pitch distance between
tubes is 67mm, which leaves less than
50mm of access between tubes to
complete the high-integrity tube-to-tube
weld, Krustev adds.
And here is where the patented
invention plays a major role. Each AFC
can have 250 tubes in the bundle, which
will require 500 return bend welds.
Welding is very time consuming if done
manually, and is prone to defects since
the welds are subject to radiography
and very tight quality requirements, he
continues. So autogenous orbital TIG
equipment is preferred.
Simply fusing the butt weld, however, does not satisfy code requirements
because of underfill. The weld bead sinks
Tube butt welding invention

under gravity into the inside of the tube
leaving a thinned, hollow profile on the
top surface, which compromises the
tubes effective thickness and pressure
capability. The code specifies a minimum weld thickness equal to or greater
than the tube thickness, so autogenous
TIG welding alone is unacceptable. You
have to find a way of adding filler, explains Krustev.
Filler metal is also used to improve
the joint appearance and sometimes has
to be added for metallurgical reasons or
to reduce the materials tendency for centreline cracking; Incolloys, for example,
are very prone to centreline cracking, he
suggests, and the filler metal contains
deoxidants that help prevent porosity in
carbon steel welds, he adds.
In the past, Krustev developed a
procedure for manually adding filler after
autogenous orbital TIG welding for root
penetration. This helped with the weld
quality, but was still a slow and difficult
process. It was while thinking about
ways to fill the groove created after orbital welding that the idea for the current
invention emerged, he explains.
The GEA patent is not about the
orbital welding process. This is a well
established technology and small welding heads that will fit between the tube
spaces are widely available and used.
The challenge has always been how to
add the filler wire, and that is what the
patent is about.
The published patent reads: This
invention relates to a method for butt
welding tubes using a tungsten inert gas
(TIG) arc welding process ... the method
includes: providing a filler ring of weld
filler material ...
Custom designed welding heads
can add wire, but they are bulky, prohibitively expensive and it remains difficult
to shield the weld area adequately. So,
instead of using small rolls of wire, a
piece of filler wire is formed into a ring,
which is fitted over the top of the butt
joint before welding, Krustev explains.
This enables standard autogenous orbital TIG welding equipment to be used
to produce near perfect tube-to-tube
joints, he adds.
Commercial filler metals are used,
depending on the tube alloy being
welded, and GEA has developed a way
of manufacturing small split rings in
different diameters to best suit different
tube diameters. By using matching
filler wires or TIG welding rods, rings are
produced that fit tightly onto the tubes
to be welded. The finned tubes are

loaded between the headers, one row
at a time, and clamped to the return
bends using a positioning technique
described in the second part of the
GEA patent. The whole row of bends
are tacked and made ready for welding.
A filler ring is placed over the butted
joints and the weld is completed autogenously in a single pass in a few minutes
per joint, reveals Krustev. Showing
African Fusion a typical joint, he adds
that the finish, on both the underbead
and the surface, is lovely. The tube
ends have to be machined square and
well cleaned to give a perfectly square
butt joint with no gap and the specially
designed alignment tool that GEA uses
prior to tacking helps to achieve this
consistently, he says.
A further time saver is that a whole
row of tubes can be loaded at once.
When manual welding, to keep the
joints accessible, each tube bend must
be welded in place before the next can
be loaded, which is much slower.
The immediate benefit of the invention, according to Krustev, is quality:
The end result is that we are achieving
99% defect-free welds and this is a massive improvement when you consider the
thousands of welds involved. Traditional
methods might have produced 30-40%
post x-ray reject and repair rates. Also,
traditional welding may have taken up
to five times longer to complete, so this
technique offers significant production
efficiency and lead time advantages.
GEA Aircooled Systems has already
completed four AFCs so far using the
new method, all in record time, and will
be producing a further four before the
end of this year. Krustev has also developed welding procedures for a sister GEA
company in France, which has tendered
for 60AFCs for use in the Middle East.
This is a patented technique, which
means that competitors cannot simply
copy it, Krustev warns. GEA owns the
intellectual property, and GEA will protect against patent infringement rights. If
an end user knowingly contracts a competitor in violation of our patent and
all users will know because they have
to be party to the welding procedure
specifications they are just as guilty
as the fabricator, he advises.
In addition, a huge amount of
research and procedure development
accompanies the successful use of the
method. This is an engineering process.
The parameters need to be checked and
continually adjusted to cater for hidden

variations. You might do thousands of
welds successfully and the next day,
you have lost penetration, Krustev
advises. To be completed successfully,
someone with intimate knowledge of
the specific parameters and their effects
needs to oversee the welding process,
he concludes.
A piece of filler wire is formed into a ring, which is fitted

over the top of the butt joint before welding. This enables
standard autogenous orbital TIG welding equipment to be
used to produce near perfect tube-to-tube joints.
Each AFC can have 250 tubes in the bundle, which will
require 500 return bend welds, so autogenous orbital TIG
equipment is preferred.
A filler ring is placed over the butted joints and the weld
is completed autogenously in a single pass in a few
minutes per joint. A typical joint has an excellent finish,
on both the underbead and the surface.
37
Refurbishment of the Teebus wheel, shaft and assembly
Reconditioning the Teebus

sluice gate
This article, by Leanne Matthysen and Jan Lourens of Thermaspray; Volkmar Kohlmeyer
and Jan Adriaan Nel of the Department of Water Affairs; and Hugo Howse of United
Surface Technologies, describes the reconditioning of the sluice gate wheel, shaft and
assembly at Teebus on the Orange-Fish Tunnel.
Figure 1: Shaft assemblies prior to reconditioning at

Thermaspray.
Figure 2: The typical sluice gate wheel assembly, which

was approximately 1,4 m in length before refurbishment.
Figure 3: A schematic cross-section of the sluice gate

wheel assembly prior to refurbishment.
38
he Orange-Fish Tunnel was

completed in 1975 and is the
key structure by which water
is delivered from the Gariep Dam to
the Teebus Spruit and the Great Brak
River and from the valley of the Great
Fish River and the Sundays River.
With a length of 82,8km, the
5,35m diameter tunnel is the longest
continuous enclosed aqueduct in the
southern hemisphere and the secondlongest water supply tunnel in the
world. The main purpose of the tunnel
is to divert water to the Eastern Cape
for irrigation, urban and industrial use.
Over 200000m3 of concrete was
used to line the tunnel, which has a
maximum capacity of 54m3/s.
Recently, the sluice gate wheel,
shaft and assembly at Teebus (Figure
1) were removed for reconditioning
and repair work due to severe deterioration of the components. This is the
first work performed on the sluice gate
wheel assembly since its installation
some 37 years ago.
The ingress of water and other
contaminants were not prevented by
the old design and this lead to significant damage to the various parts
exposed to the immediate water environment. The basic construction and
set up of the assembly is as follow:
Each sluice gate/emergency sluice
gate is positioned by manoeuvring
the wheel assemblies on eccentric
bushes.
The shaft is positioned into the
wheel, separated by 20 rollers of
60 mm in diameter.
The inner and outer cover plates
keep the wheel, shaft and roller
assembly intact.
The bush journal is connected to
the gate and locked into position
by means of key plates.
The eccentric ring on the shaft is
used to push the gate assembly
closed once the gate is in place at

the bottom of the tunnel.
The wheel/sluice gate assembly is
lowered into position into the 85 m
deep tunnel by means of a guide rail
and extension rod system.
The OD of the wheels runs on the
rolling surface when the gate opens
and is subjected to full load when
the gate is closed against flow.
The sluice gate assemblies are moved
very infrequently, ie, on average only
once every five years. During this prolonged stationary period, significant
damage to the wheel assembly results
due to: crevice and electrolytic corrosion between cover plates and wheels,
shafts and rollers; general corrosion due
to the stationary position; the failure
of lubricants after extended periods of
immersion; mechanical and adhesive
wear damage due to inadequate lubrication when the wheels were forced into
motion; and wear damage between the
roller ends and the cover plates.
The refurbishment of the shaft

Each component of the assembly was
removed and the extent of the damage
assessed. The main focus of the reconditioning of the sluice gate assembly
was to repair worn components and,
where relevant, upgrade the surface of
the components through the use of best
practice materials and processes, such
as thermal spraying, plasma transferred
arc (PTA) welding, and other welding
processes. All components needed to
be brought back to their original dimensions and surface finish through applicable machining and grinding practices.
The first challenge was the reconditioning and upgrade of the components
exhibiting surface damage. These had
to be either resurfaced or remanufactured from new materials. The interesting challenge was applying newer
coating technologies to old castings of

unknown integrity.
Secondary challenges were the prevention of water ingress into the shafts
wheel assembly and the prevention
of damage to the cover plates by the
roller ends.
A schematic of the sluice gate shaft
wheel assembly is shown in Figure 4.
The damage on the shafts was observed
to be due mainly to a combination of
fatigue, corrosion and wear between the
shaft and the rollers, as well as corrosion between the bush journal and the
gate. The wear damage resulted from
inadequate corrosion protection of the
components by the hard chrome coatings on the outer diameter of the shafts
(A) and the eccentric rings (C).
Severe damage, cracking of the hard
chrome coating and corrosion deposits
were observed on the shaft bush journals (B). The wear damage on surfaces
(A) and (C) resulted from inadequate
lubrication or the lack of wear resistant
properties of the base materials. This
situation was significantly worsened
by the ingress of solids during the
protracted period of no movement. The
cracking of the hard chrome coating
on Region B is as expected due to the
porosity of the hard chrome coatings,
which are inherently full of cracks.
Cracks in hard chrome coatings lead to
the ingress of water onto the base material and this results in base material corrosion driven by electrolytic potential.
Metal shavings were taken from the
shaft in order to determine the chemical composition. The results from the
analysis indicated that the material of
manufacture of the shaft is comparable
to EN8.
The initial reconditioning solution
was to pre-machine the outer diameters (A) and eccentric rings (C) and
then build up the shaft with Stellite 6

using the plasma transferred arc (PTA)
process. A thermal spray coating could
not have been applied in this region of
the shaft as the loads experienced by
the bearing are too high.
A Stellite 6 PTA trial. however,
revealed that this method of reconditioning the surfaces was not going to be
successful, due to significant variation
of the 40 year-old as-cast base material.
This limitation led to the manufacturing
of a sleeve from ST52 seamless hollow
bar. The outer diameter of the sleeve
was PTA welded with Stellite6 prior
to fitting the sleeve onto the shaft at
Region A. The PTA surface thus became
the contact area for the rollers, improving anti-galling and wear resistant
properties.
This solution required that the outer
diameter of the shaft be reduced by
approximately 20 mm per side prior to
fitting the sleeve.
The hard chrome coating on Region
B (the shaft bush journal) was machined off and a thermal spray coating
alternative, namely chrome carbide/
nickel chrome was recommended using
the HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel)
process. This coating was selected due
to its enhanced corrosion and wear
resistance and HVOF thermal spray
coating was the most appropriate process choice.
Reconditioning the wheel

A schematic diagram of the wheel from
the sluice gate assembly is shown in
Figure 5. Severe corrosion damage was
observed on the outer diameters (G) of
the wheels, while wear and galling damage was observed on the inner diameter
(H). The galling damage was as a result
of the bearing roller surfaces contacting
the surface of the inner diameter of the

wheel due to a lack of lubrication and
the accumulation of corrosion products
in the bearing.
Metal shavings were taken from the
outer diameter and inner diameter of the
wheels and analysed via wet chemical
analysis. The results indicated that the
base material was comparable to EN9.
After pre-machining of the inner
diameter (H), liquid penetrant testing
(LT) was performed to determine if
Figure 4: The sluice gate shaft showing the areas that

were reconditioned.
Figure 5:
Sluice gate
wheel showing
the areas that
were reconditioned.
Figure 6: The sluice

gate wheel assembly bearing rollers.
39

there were any cracks on the machined
surface. A Stellite 6 PTA welding trial
was performed on the inner diameter
of the wheel. This was, again, not successful due to significant variations in
casting material integrity resulting in
inadequate fusion between the Stellite
and the base material.
The same approach as with the
shaft was therefore adopted and a
sleeve was manufactured from ST52
seamless hollow bar. Instead of PTA
welding Stellite 6 onto the inner diameter, however, it was decided to
submerge arc weld a butter layer of 430
stainless steel followed by a final layer
of 410 stainless steel with the same
welding process. The buttering technique is commonly used to provide a
suitable transition layer when dissimilar
metals are not compatible to each other.

The higher chrome (16 to 18% Cr) 430
material is welded onto the base metal
followed by the lower chrome (11,5 to
13,5%) 410 material. This prevents
excessive dilution of the 410 material
and gives full corrosion resistance.
The outer diameter of the wheel was
welded with a 430 butter layer followed
by a final layer of 410 stainless steel.
After welding the internal diameter
(ID) of the sleeve, the outer diameter of
the sleeve was machined to the wheel's
internal diameter.
After rough machining of the inner
and outer diameters, liquid penetrant
testing (LT) was performed to assess weld quality before completing
the machining. The sleeve was then
shrink-fitted into the inner diameter of
the wheel and machined to final size.
Bearing rollers
Figure 7: The custom-designed seal manufactured for the

sluice gate wheel assembly.
Figure 8: The final assembly.

40
The rollers in the sluice gate wheel assembly are placed between the shafts
(A) and the wheel IDs (H) to facilitate
movement after prolonged stationary
periods. There are 20 rollers per wheel/
shaft assembly.
Severe corrosion damage due to
the ingress of water and wear due
to roller surfaces contacting the surface
of the inner diameter of the wheel was
observed on the rollers. The damage
was so severe that salvaging the surface
of the rollers was not justified and the
rollers were replaced.
For the refurbishment of the gate
assemblies, different bearing configurations were investigated. Three bearing configurations were considered:
Configuration 1: Keep the existing arrangement with 20 rollers of 60 mm
diameter per wheel; Configuration 2:
Reduce the diameter of the rollers to
30mm and have 37 rollers per wheel
assembly; and Configuration 3: Remove
the rollers and insert a brass bush or a
plain bearing assembly.
Configuration 1 and 2 were the
most optimal when
the weight per
wheel of each
option was calculated and it was decided
to keep the existing configuration for
the refurbishment process. The bearing
rollers (Figure 6) were manufactured
from 431 stainless steel, rough machined from billets, then heat treated
to the required hardness, before being
machined to final tolerance and finish.
Cover plates
Corrosion was observed on the plates
of the sluice gate wheel assembly and
after assessing the extent of the damage, it was decided that these parts
could be salvaged. Subsequent removal
of the corroded layers followed.
There are four plates per sluice gate
wheel assembly, two inner cover plates
and two outer cover plates. The original
corrosion protection layer was removed
by abrasive grit blasting. The plates
were inspected and, where required,
machined to original specifications. An
epoxy coating was applied to the prepared plates for further corrosion protection. The inner cover plate closest to the
eccentric ring on the shaft bush journal
side of the wheel assembly was profiled
in order to fit the double-lip seal.
The following additional design
changes were also performed.
Two Vesconite thrust pads per sluice
gate wheel assembly were inserted between the cover plates and the rollers.
Vesconite was selected due to its good
wear protection properties when under
water for prolonged periods of time and
its resistance to swelling.
Double lip (high pressure) seals
one double lip seal (Figure 7) per sluice
gate wheel assembly were inserted
between the two inner cover plates to
prevent the ingress of water to the roller
bearing and wheel internal diameter
surfaces.
The addition of the double lip seal
was one of many unique development
aspects to the refurbishment of the
sluice gate wheel assembly. The seals
were custom manufactured from Carbon PTFE and rubber material.
Specialised grease (Kluber Staburags MBU 30 specifically developed
as sealing grease for components subjected to water and aggressive media
was applied to the roller bearing and the
wheels ID surfaces. This grease has a
high resistance to mechano-dynamical
loads and good wear protection. It
also offers good corrosion and water
resistance.
Conclusion
The team, consisting of engineers
from the Department of Water Affairs
and from Thermaspray, successfully
reconditioned the sluice gate wheel
assembly of the Teebus shaft by adopting a combination of technologically
advanced welding and metal spraying
processes.
Welding and cutting
Air Products 30 year incident-free facility
t takes highly developed skills to

work with gas a volatile and complex substance but managing large
volumes of gas on a daily basis without
incident for over 30 years is no mean
feat, and requires strict compliance
with health and safety regulations,
a commitment to caution and sound
organisational practices.
Air Products South Africas Port Elizabeth facility boasts both a clean track
record and multiple awards for adhering
to and exceeding safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) expectations.
The plant is a National Occupational
Safety Association (NOSA) accredited
facility an indication of its on-site
safety and health standards.
Air Products area sales manager,
Pierre Fourie, says the company is
extremely proud of running an incidentfree facility for the past 30 years the
entire time that the plant has been in
operation. We regularly empower our
staff with broad-ranging skills. In addition, they are also given first aid, fire
fighting, dangerous goods and fork-lift
training, as well as welding courses. We
also conduct internal and external qual-
ity audits to ensure that our

premises are maintained to
the best standards, says
Fourie.
On the list of criteria
that helped Air Products
scoop the NOSCAR award
are: Good housekeeping,
mechanical, electrical and
personal safeguarding,
management of fire and
other risks, incident recording and abidance to their
safety, health environmental and quality policies.
When I arrive at work Air Products fill operator, Justin Krige, is committed to upholding the
I make sure that I am com- high standards of safety and health at the companys award-winning
pletely fixated on the work at Port Elizabeth depot by keeping a clear focus when blending complex
mixtures of gases.
hand. It is so easy to make
mistakes because we work
skills complexity requirements.
with highly complex mixtures of gas
My job entails blending various
every day. I have to be 100% focused
volumes of gas together to produce
to ensure that I mix the correct blend of
welding and speciality gases that
gas, said Justin Krige, an Air Products
serve various industries. A mistake
fill operator. Krige started off as a genin gas blending could mean that the
eral dutyman at Air Products and moved
customer receives the incorrect mix, a
his way up the ranks to become a fill
fault will be detected and the high level
operator, a job he takes very seriously
of customer service and satisfaction
because of its technical nature and
that Air Products seeks to deliver will
be compromised which we cannot
allow, says Krige.
Krige, who holds no formal qualification in his field of expertise, credits
his career successes to the regular
exceed the minimum requirements of
training he receives from Air Products.
the AWS specification in these tests,
We are given the option to attend short
proving that our electrodes are manucourses, as well as pursue studies in
factured to the highest quality. They
our line of work to develop our skills.
have the robust metallurgical and
I enjoy physics, mathematics and scimechanical properties to withstand
ence and I look forward to developing
extremely harsh conditions, such
my skills in this field with the support
as those encountered in refineries
of Air Products, Krige says.
and power generation plants, where
Air Products will start construction
components operate under extremely
of its highly efficient and reliable
high temperatures and pressures.
R300-million air separation unit in the
These electrodes are available
Coega Industrial Development Zone
in normal packaging, as well as in
during this quarter. The plant, driven
Afroxs DriPac range that offers extra
by technological innovation and stateprotection against moisture pick-up.
of-the-art machinery, will produce liquid
Fabricators of refinery and power
oxygen and nitrogen which will be
generation components using Afrox
strategically stored in bulk tanks on site,
creep resistant electrodes can be fully
ensuring security of supply for critical
confident that they are using locally
customers in the Eastern Cape.
manufactured products that not only
The completion and commissioning
meet the minimum requirements of
of the new air separation unit the first
global standards, but also exceed
ever in the Eastern Cape is planned
the stringent ASME II specifications,
for the third quarter of 2014.
Majatladi concludes.
Afroxs ASME II creep resistant electrodes
n response to customer demand,

Afroxs KV creep resistant electrodes now comply with the requirements of ASME II parts A & C. During production our KV creep resistant
electrodes undergo normal testing to
ensure that they comply with AWS
specification requirements according
to their respective classification,
says Sandy Majatladi, Afrox product
manager, Special Alloys.
These requirements involve
chemical analysis, tension tests,
impact tests and fillet weld tests,
depending on the electrodes classification and size.
Now, in an additional step, further tests are conducted according
to ASME II part A for long cycle and
ASME II part C for short cycle postweld heat treatment (PWHT). The
test results must also comply with the
minimum requirements of the AWS
specification.
Afrox creep resistant electrodes
www.afrox.co.za
www.airproducts.co.za
41
Welding and cutting
DCD establishes R300-million wind turbine factory in Coega IDZ
he newly-established Wind Towers

subsidiary of international manufacturing and engineering company,
DCD, has officially started construction
work on its R300-million, 23000m2
wind tower manufacturing facility, following an official sod turning ceremony
held onsite on May 2, 2013, at the
Coega Industrial Development Zone
(IDZ) in Port Elizabeth.
The wind tower manufacturing facility is a joint initiative between DCD
Group, the Industrial Development
Corporation (IDC) and the Coega Development Corporation (CDC), which
manages the Coega IDZ. DCD energy
sector marketing manager Henk Schoeman notes that the manufacturing
facility is being established to support
the localisation of wind tower manufacturing in South Africa.
The partnership between DCD
Group, the IDC and Coega Development Corporation is evidence of a combined effort to provide sustainability
and growth to the local renewable energy sector. The facility is expected to
create close to 200 jobs, and produce
between 110 and 120 wind towers per
year, he says.
Coega sees DCDs major investment as an enabler for renewable
energy-focused industrial growth and
is a result of its proactive lobbying
for green energy investments. With
DCD located in the Coega IDZ we
add impetus to moves to position the
Coega IDZ as the green energy hub
of the Eastern Cape and this action
also enables local renewable energy
component manufacturing growth in
tandem with major wind projects in
the province and country, says Ayanda
Vilakazi, CDC head of marketing and
communications. Both Coega and
DCD are proud to be a part of a nationwide imperative of this calibre. The
partnership between DCD Wind Towers
and Coega is evidence of a mutual drive
to provide sustainability and growth of
the local energy sector, while advancing socio-economic development and
transformation in the Eastern Cape.

Schoeman says that DCD has
entered into an agreement with a
technology partner, Vestas, in order to
ensure the highest standards of production efficiency. A substantial amount
of research and development work
has already been undertaken, and the
DCD Wind Towers team is benchmarking its facility on a number of similar
facilities in Europe and Asia and, with
the help of its technology partner, has
designed the layout of a factory that is
internationally competitive in terms of
production, quality and pricing.
He adds that DCD Wind Towers
is committed to sourcing local competitively priced materials in order to
ensure that the towers are classified
as being 100% locally manufactured,
while being internationally competitive.
Schoeman is optimistic that the
DCD Wind Towers factory will be fully
completed, with initial supply of towers expected to commence in February
2014 to its first two clients.
www.dcd.co.za
Rio-Carb launches 3/3 CrC liner plate
DCD managing director, Rob King, breaks ground on the

new R300-million, 23000m2 wind tower manufacturing
facility being built in the Coega Industrial Development
Zone (IDZ) in Port Elizabeth.
42
first-of-its-kind 6,0 mm Chromium Carbide (CrC) liner plate,

which boasts a wear resistance of
up to eight times more than industry
standard 400- and 500-type quench
and tempered (Q&T) steels, has been
introduced into the South African
market by liner plate specialist,
Rio-Carb.
According to Rio-Carb director,
Colin Maine, the thinner characteristics of the 6,0 mm (3/3) CrC liner
plate make it ideally suited for use in
processing equipment with moving
components, such as induced draft
(ID) fans, cyclones and vibrating
feeders.
The thinner plate is not only
more flexible to cater for the moving
components, it is also more cost effective to purchase, as it is 25% lighter
than the previously thinnest 8,0mm
(4/4) CrC liner plates, he explains.
These unique characteristics are
achieved using proprietary MaxCS
Technology. Rio-Carb casts CrC, via
a welding process, onto a mild steel

backing plate, giving it an optimum
hardness of 58RC, while maintaining
flexibility for moulding and shaping.
The Rio-Carb 3/3 CrC liner plate is
also more environmentally friendly
than Q&T steels, because less material is consumed as a result of process
material continuously flowing over it.
Mineral processing operations
are becoming more environmentally
conscious and making efforts to shift
towards greener equipment to reduce
their carbon footprint. Using CrC results in less wastage and a reduction
in energy required. What is more, the
superior abrasion resistance of the
6,0mm (3/3) CrC liner plate results
in a far longer wear life, which drastically reduces costs associated with
downtime and maintenance, Maine
explains.
Rio-Carb now offers a range
of thicknesses from 6,0mm (3\3)
through to 30 mm (20 CrC/10 steel).
www.riocarb.com
Welding and cutting
Gas economiser assists clients in obtaining carbon credits
ndustrial operations in South Africa

that are able to reduce gas wastage can purchase carbon credits, by
making use of Shield Technologies
locally manufactured Shielding Gas
Economiser, designed specifically for
welding and industrial applications.
Shield CEO, Wayne Holt, explains
that the use of gas in welding cannot be
avoided, as it is required in many welding applications to protect the weld from
the atmosphere and prevent interaction
with nitrogen and oxygen, which causes
welding defects. But efficient gas
management can substantially reduce
carbon emissions, he says.
The impact of gas on the environment starts with the manufacture of
industrial gases, where a considerable amount of electrical energy is
consumed. In South Africa, the vast
majority of electricity is generated by
coal-fired power stations, and this high
consumption has a direct and significant impact on the environment.
During the supply and usage cycle,
further electrical energy is used to compress the gas, while from a logistical
point of view, trucks contribute further
to carbon emissions when delivering the
gas to its final destination. Gas wastage is, therefore, a major contributor
to excessive carbon emissions in the
industry, and can be substantially reduced via a shielding gas saving system.
An important component of this
technology is that the Shielding Gas
Economiser, a system that prevents
surges at start-up, allowing for even
gas flow during welding, as well enabling routine leak detection surveys
to be conducted. The result has been
significant gas and financial savings for
clients, with wastage being reduced by
up to 80%, says Holt.
A proactive approach to reducing
wastage entitles a business to purchase
JSE-listed carbon credit notes, which
can be used to offset a companys
emissions. A single carbon credit
represents the reduction of one ton
of CO2-equivalent emissions, and is a
listed tradable security.
Carbon credit notes can be traded
via a stockbroker, and the price is
determined by supply and demand of
carbon credits in the market. Carbon
credits also enable the holder to report
a reduced carbon footprint in their
financial statements, something that
is becoming increasingly important in

modern day business.
As environmental laws become
increasingly stringent, Holt is optimistic
that the Shielding Gas Economiser will
continue to gain ground in the local
market. A large number of our clients
have already realised substantial reductions in gas consumption by making use
of the system, he concludes.
www.shieldtechnologies.co.za
Left: Shield Technologies locally
manufactured Shielding Gas Economiser.
43
Welding and cutting
Enhanced personnel safety with strip curtain welding screens
ccupational health and safety

(OHS) regulations ensure that
people employed as welders are
safeguarded through the donning of
protective wear. However, the level of

protection afforded to other employees
in the vicinity of the welding operation
is often questionably low. Appropriate
ium thermal spray unit. Ai-TEC made

the investment in this new spray unit
because of the companys commitment
to the highest quality standards. Stringent in-house control measures and
adherence to pristine standards mean
we are now able to offer a guarantee
on the metal coatings of our extensive
product range, says Arnold Retief,
business development director, Ai-TEC.
This new machine will also enable
Macrotec to broaden its service in the
near future. Presently the coatings department specialises in the application
of metal coatings for Ai-TEC equipment
only, but with this new machine, the
company plans to offer corrosion preventative coatings services to all equipment
manufacturers.
Macrotecs new zinc flame spray
method is used mainly on the internal
surfaces of water storage vessels. This
application is preceded by thorough sand
blasting to ISO 8501 SA 2.5 specifications. Macrotec uses 99,5% zinc wire
in this coating process, which gives a
perfect bonding surface to two coats of
Jotun Penguard HB tank paint
measures are necessary to ensure that

all employees receive adequate shielding from UV rays and welding spatter.
In spite of health and safety regulations for welding, there are a large
number of welding-related injuries
every year. Such injuries include hot
metal slag burns, injuries from flying
particles, radiation exposure or exposure to fumes, vapours or chemicals.
A cost effective and highly efficient
way of eliminating exposure to ultraviolet (UV) and infrared radiation, as
well as spatter burns is to install a
high-quality welding curtain or safety
screen, says Wim Dessing, managing director at Apex Strip Curtains &
Doors.
Dessing says that welding curtains
can be installed at any place where
there is a need to use an arc welding
machine. This could be in an industrial scenario, in a car repair garage
or on a construction site. Extensive
research and development has resulted in Apex Strip Curtains & Doors
offering welding and safety screens
constructed from specially formulated
PVC, a material that incorporates a
heavy-duty ultraviolet light absorber
that ensures that dangerous radiation
is safely contained in the curtained
off area.
To assure customers of the legitimacy of our claims, we submitted the
products to undergo extensive testing
at the SABS. The first test measured
the level of ultra-violet transmittance.
Conventional materials provided readings of 0,0005%, 0,008% and 5,0%,
while the Apex product readings were
0,005%, 0,001% and 0,005%. In
another test, the SABS measured the
total visible light transmitted through
the material. The conventional material allowed 78% transmittance, while
the Apex material allowed only 15,5%
light transmittance, Dessing reports.
Another point that Dessing considered critical in the material used for
the Apex Welding and Safety Screens
was its ability to remain impervious
to burning should it come into contact
with welding spatter. These enclosures
not only confine weld spatter and
prevent fumes from migrating to other
work areas, but they are also ideal for
protecting the eyesight of any workers
in the immediate vicinity.
www.ai-tec.co.za
www.apexstrip.co.za
Apex Strip Curtains are made from heavy-duty, ultraviolet and light absorbing PVC that ensures that
dangerous radiation is safely contained in the curtained off area.
Zinc and aluminium thermal spray unit for vessels

and tanks
i-TECs manufacturing facility,

Macrotec, has extended its coatings technology offering with the recent
investment in a new zinc and alumin-
Ai-TECs manufacturing facility, Macrotec, has extended

its coatings technology with the recent investment in a
new zinc and aluminium flame or thermal spray unit.
44
Welding and cutting
Mobile technology for improved equipment control
obile technology can be used in

almost any industry with field
workers who need to be managed
more effectively and managers who
need to keep closer control over their
dispersed workforces activities.
Werner le Roux, MD of Flux, an
award-winning specialist digital solutions provider, says mobile technology
is not about doing your entire job on
a mobile device, but using mobile
technologies to improve productivity
and control.
Even in the welding industry,
or in companies that use welders as
part of their service offerings, mobility
can make a significant difference in
delivery, says Le Roux. He cites five
examples of its use.
Certifications: When specific jobs
need to be certified and signed off by
certain people, the welder can call the
certifier to the site as soon as he is
finished and the job can be signed-off
on the mobile device. Moreover, the
mobile device can contain a checklist
for the certifier to ensure everything

is done to specifications a list the
welder can also use to ensure the job
is done correctly.
Health and safety: A mobile device
can ensure that personnel are equipped
with the correct safety gear. A safety officer can also do a site safety inspection
on a mobile, and any discrepancies can
be immediately relayed to the appropriate people via the cellular network.
Production and operations: Mobility can be used to assist welders in
meeting their quotas. For example,
if a welder runs out of fuel or theres
a power outage, work stops and the
project falls behind schedule. With
a mobile device, problems can be
noted immediately and the appropriate
people can take corrective action.
Asset management: Every working
day starts with the welder collecting
equipment. Using a mobile device,
equipment marked with a barcode can
easily be scanned and checked out
to a specific employee. If equipment
is damaged, its easy to see who last

used it and in which situation, and send
them for training if required.
Management: Perhaps one of the
biggest benefits of mobility applies to
management. Le Roux explains that
in traditional operations, workers and
supervisors fill in forms and send these
back to the office to be captured, collated and then sent to management in
the form of reports. This means that
managements view of the project is a
week or more out of date. Entering all
the information into a mobile device
allows for real-time synchronising to
head office, or a daily sync, when the
worker comes off shift. This means
the information is available almost
immediately to management who can
quickly resolve any issues before long
delays occur.
Using a mobile is not about being
trendy or modern; its simply a case of
good business practices for improving
performance and reducing costs, he
concludes.
www.flux.co.za
Advanced cables for robots and handling systems
mart manufacturing is the order of

the day with companies increasingly choosing to automate processes
to derive maximum productivity and
eliminate errors from their production lines. As a result, the call for
specialised cabling solutions, which
are suitable for robotic automation,
is becoming increasingly important to
ensure that expensive precision equipment continues to operate at optimal
levels under all conditions for years
to come.
Cable manufacturer, Helukabel is a
leader in the field of robotics worldwide.
It has developed a wide range of preassembled cable protection systems for
robots and handling systems across a
wide range of industries. In addition
to its physical products, the company
also provides solutions to the industry
that include systems analysis, consulting, planning, installation, service and
warranty across all its cable protection
systems for robotic automation.
In South Africa, the requirement for
automation has become increasingly
important, fuelled by skills shortages
and rising labour costs. As a result lo-
cal subsidiary, Helukabel South Africa,

is also seeing a marked increase in
demand for robotic and automation
related products.
According to managing director,
Doug Gunnewegh, complete systems
and routing solutions can be tailored to
meet the requirements of a wide range
of applications across many different
industry types. The product range available includes dress package systems
and associated systems for automation,
handling, and spot welding, as well as
gas-shielded welding and laser welding.
With over 30 years of global experience relating to cables and lines, we
know the right answers, and can offer
the right solutions for just about any
applications on robots. Our specialists
can assist in the selection of the correct
cables, lines, supplemental systems and
cable protection systems to be used
with specific applications.
It is inconceivable that companies
spend millions on automation systems
and robotics and then choose cheap
cable solutions. Our solutions are specially developed for modern automation
applications by some of the best techni-
cal experts from Germany and across

the globe, and are optimised according to the required performance. We
encourage system designers to speak
to us to specify cabling solutions before
the final sign-off of any new automation
systems, Gunnewegh adds.
www.helukabel.co.za
Helukabel provides robotics and automation cabling

solutions throughout the world.
45
Today's technology
Operating range extended for CMT welding

A wider process window for Fronius cold metal transfer
(CMT) process makes the process suitable use with 1,2 mm
G3Si1 steel wire using 18% CO2 shielding gas.
ronius has evolved its Cold Metal

Transfer (CMT) welding process
a stage further. A new algorithm
now makes it possible to use this
advanced process in application that
have been the preserve of globular and
A wider process window has been achieved for the CMT

process by developing a new algorithm and re-engineered
the current profiles.
pulsed metal transfer GMAW. A number

of newly developed characteristics make
for ease of operation and help users
achieve excellent welding results. And
previously supplied CMT systems can all
be upgraded at no extra cost.
By developing the new algorithm,
the Fronius developers have revisited
the feed-and-retract motion of the wire
electrode that typifies the CMT process,
and boosted the frequency of this motion
to up to 130 Hz. Besides this, the welding specialists have also re-engineered
the current profile of the power sources
characteristics. Depending on the filler
metal and wire diameter, this enables
the operating limit of the CMT process
to be raised by up to 40%.
One of the new characteristics is
called Universal. It has been designed
for all standard applications, and stands
out for its good gap-bridging ability. For

applications requiring greater penetration and welding speed, Fronius has
developed the Dynamic characteristic.
As its name suggests, the new characteristic Root is especially suitable for
root welding, making it ideal for use
in pipeline construction, for example.
These redrawn performance boundaries give CMT users a huge number of
characteristics for many different filler
metals and areas of application.
The higher deposition rate and
energy density in the arc phases of the
new CMT characteristics increase the
penetration depth and permit higher
welding speeds, but with the same
process stability that has always been
associated with CMT. Thanks to the
higher welding speed, the energy input
per unit length drops to a level that is
considerably below that of a globular
or pulsed arc. This means that even
fillet-welded joints on thicker sheets, for
example, can now be welded without
difficulty.
A large number of companies in the
automobile industry, in mechanical engineering, plant construction and many
other industries are already profiting
from the advantages of the CMT process
in both one-off and series production.
Recent and future advances in the CMT
welding process will encourage even
more widespread adoption of CMT.
www.fronius.com
Schweissen & Schneiden
A micrograph of an A3 fillet, seam welded with a wire feed speed of 10,5 m/min showing optimum root
fusion. Material, S235; base and web plate, 2,0 mm; welding speed, 110 cm/min; I, 270 A; U, 19 V;
wire, 1,2 mm G3Si1 steel wire; and shielding gas, M21, 18% CO2, 82% Ar.
The international trade world of joining, cutting and surfacing will meet
once again in Essen from 16 to 21
September, 2013 at Schweissen &
Schneiden, Essen, were an entire
spectrum of welding products, processes, services and machines will
be on show.
Index to advertisers
Afrox.............................................................................IFC, 26
Air Liquide.........................................................................14
Air Products........................................................................23
Cosmo Industrial................................................................18
Crown Publications..............................................................IBC
ESAB Africa.....................................................................OFC
General Profiling..................................................................32
46
Lincoln Electric.................................................................OBC
Probraze Metals..................................................................41
Riocarb.............................................................................37
Robor................................................................................20
SAIW..................................................................................2
Steinmller Africa................................................................8
Thermaspray......................................................................33
47
48

African Fusion August 2013

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African Fusion August 2013

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AFRICAN FUSION AUGUST 2013