Weld Repair of Shell Plates During Seagoing Operations

An algorithm to estimate the cooling rate of welding seams on the shell plating of a ship, below the waterline, while it is on voyage has been derived. The demand for this technique has arisen from the wish of ship operators to make it possible for the safe repair of ship structures without taking them out of operation. [1] The strength of the shell plating after welding is determined by its metallurgic structure, which is dependent on the cooling rate, its chemical composition and the original grain size of the base material. [2] The cooling rate for this type of welding seam depends on the velocity of the water flow, the distance from the bow, the thickness of the plate, and the heat from the heat input of the welding. The algorithm makes it possible to calculate the cooling rate for a base material affected by a forced flow of fluid by means of Rosenthal’s equation and thus enabling suitable welding parameters to be determined. As the welding parameters can be chosen to fit the specific repair to be made, it is now possible to determine the suitability of a welding procedure in advance. The algorithm is applicable when determining welding parameters at Hot-Tapping operations as well, where the base material is affected by a forced flow of fluid. A number of experiments have been performed and the results support the theoretical model. The research project continues with the aim of finding an algorithm to include the enhanced cooling rate due to the layer of boiling fluid on the back of the base material. A method to improve the measurements of the most important parameter in the algorithm has been developed and makes it possible to build up a quantitative database of typical values for various configurations.