The Paton Welding Journal, 2014, №09



2014 №09 (05)

DOI of Article 10.15407/tpwj2014.09.06

2014 №09 (07)

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The Paton Welding Journal, 2014, #9, 39-44 pages  

AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR WET UNDERWATER WELDING IN CONFINED SPACES

V.A. LEBEDEV¹, S.Yu. MAKSIMOV¹, V.G. PICHAK¹ and D.I. ZAJNULIN²

¹E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute, NASU. 11 Bozhenko Str., 03680, Kiev, Ukraine. E-mail: office@paton.kiev.ua
²Greenfield Energy Ltd, Great Britain
 
 
Abstract
PWI developed technology and equipment allowing performance of automatic flux-cored wire wet underwater welding of structural elements, reliably insulating the lower part of heat exchanger column. The unique aspect of the work consists in development of an automatic welding machine, capable of operating when immersed into a pipe of 119 mm inner diameter into liquid heat carrier medium at 200 m depth. The semiautomatic machine was designed with application of special torque electric drives for electrode wire feed and welding displacement mechanisms. A special cable with welding and control wires was developed, capable of operating at a large distance from the arc power sources and control system. Cable uncoiler design was also developed, with digital recording of automatic machine position along the pipe length. Approbation results showed that application of special automatic machine allows increasing heat exchanger reliability, reducing time loss during performance of work on its sealing, rational use of site area and reducing financial expenses. 5 Ref., 8 Figures.
 
 
Keywords: wet arc welding, geothermal heat exchangers, sealing, automatic machine, power source, cable uncoiler, control system
 
 
Received:                02.04.14
Published:                28.09.14
 
 
References
1. Savich, I.M., Smolyarko, V.B., Kamyshev, M.A. (1976) Technology and equipment for semiautomatic underwater welding of metal structures. Neftepromysl. Stroitelstvo, 1, 10-11.
2. Kononenko, V.Ya., Rybchenkov, A.G. (1994) Experience of wet mechanized welding with self-shielded flux-cored wires in underwater repair of gas-and-oil pipelines. Avtomatich. Svarka, 9/10, 29-32.
3. Kononenko, V.Ya., Gritsaj, P.M. (1994) Mechanized wet welding in repair of ship hulls. Morskoj Flot, 11/12, 21-22.
4. Lebedev, V.K., Uzilevsky, Yu.A., Savich, I.M. et al. (1980) Analysis of possibility of self-adjustment system compensating typical disturbances of arc length in mechanized underwater welding. In: Underwater welding and cutting of metals, 10-23. Kiev: PWI.
5. Martinovich, V.N., Martinovich, N.P., Lebedev, V.A. et al. (2010) High-quality hose packs for underwater welding and cutting. The Paton Welding J., 9, 33-35.

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