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The aim of this module is to provide you with a description of the physical principles, operating characteristics and practical applications of a variety of welding processes to enable selection of a suitable process for a particular application.

• - Physics of arc and GTAW/TIG welding.
• - Plasma arc welding.
• - Metal transfer in consumable electrode processes.
• - Metal Inert Gas (MIG) / Metal Active Gas (MAG).
• - Manual metal arc welding.
• - Flux cored arc welding.
• - Submerged arc welding.
• - Electron beam welding.
• - Power source design and principles.
• - Thermal cutting and other edge preparation processes.
• - Brazing.
• - Preheating and post weld heating/treatment.

1. 1. Appraise a variety of arc and non-arc welding, cutting and associated processes.
2. 2. Select and compare different processes for a particular application.
3. 3. Diagnose faults in these processes and its impact on the welded structure.
4. 4. Evaluate the safety issues associated with each process and propose appropriate control measures.

This module will enable you to gain an understanding of the physical principles and operating characteristics of selected welding processes, and of automated welding and welding sensors. The module is also intended to develop your skills in communication, project management, and research methods.

• Fundamentals of welding automation.
• Welding sensors and data acquisition.
• Welding process optimisation.
• Principles of robotic welding.
• Welding software.
• Critical evaluation of literature.
• Design and analysis of experiments.
• Evaluation and industrial implementation of research data.
• Welding laboratory.
• Economics of weld fabrication, costing of final products and return on investment Plant facilities, welding jigs and fixtures.
• Project Planning.
• Sustainable manufacturing.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

1. 1. Appraise the different methods for sensing a weld seam and the different robotic welding systems through critical review of academic and industrial literature.
2. 2. Design a programme of experiments for performing a fillet weld to test the effect of the main input parameters.
3. 3. Analyse data produced from these experiments so that the relationship between process inputs and outputs is understood.
4. 4. Design and plan a project to install a robotic welding cell within a factory that includes fixturing and sensing of the part, equipment for loading and unloading, labour requirements and an estimation of the time to manufacture.
5. 5. Calculate the cost of a typical robotic welding operation including labour costs, overhead costs, and consumable costs. Compare this with the cost of manually welding the part and determine the return on investment.

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the fundamentals of strength of materials and its application to weldments, and to appreciate the factors involved in design and performance of welded structures.

• Fundamentals of strength of materials
• Basics of weld design
• Design principles of welded structures
• Economic weld design and selection of joint preparation
• Joint design – tolerances, welding symbols and standards
• Residual Stress and Distortion
• Design of welded structures – static loading
• Design for thermodynamic loading – pressure vessels
• Fundamentals of fracture mechanics
• Fitness-for-purpose for fracture
• Fundamentals of fatigue and fracture
• Design for dynamic loading
• Design of lightweight structures – aluminium and its alloys

1. Appraise the fundamentals of strength of materials, behaviour of welded structures under static and dynamic loading conditions and principles of fracture mechanics applied to welded structures.
2. Evaluate basic weld design principles including edge preparation for economic manufacture and distinguish welding symbols on drawing.
3. Analyse the factors that affect weld cost.
4. Design joints that minimise the effects of residual stress and distortion.
5. Assess the behaviour of welded structures under static and dynamic loading conditions and evaluate the principles of fracture mechanics applied to welded structures.

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the microstructures and metallurgical characteristics of welded joints in ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, formation of weld defects and how the metal and heat source interaction affects microstructure and strengthening behaviour of different alloys.

Within this module the factors which lead to weld defects are explained alongside joining and repair of ferrous and non-ferrous cast alloys, repair and cladding of structures subjected to wear and joining of coated steel.

• • Principles of metallographic examinations.
• • Welding of Stainless Steels.
• • Joining materials for low and high temperature applications.
• • Welding of aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous alloys.
• • Joining of coated steels.
• • Welding of castings – cast steel and cast iron.
• • Joining of dissimilar metals.
• • Wear and Protective Layers.
• • Fundamentals of corrosion.
• • Industrial case study.

 

The aim of this module is to enable you to to analyse the structure and properties of materials, to relate fabrication processes with structure and properties, assess how this determines materials properties, and apply this knowledge to materials in applications.

• - Introduction to materials: Atomic structure, crystal structure, imperfections, diffusion, mechanical properties, dislocations and strengthening mechanisms, phase diagrams, phase transformations, solidification, corrosion.
• - Basic and alloy steels, tensile behaviour of metals, work and precipitation hardening, recovery and recrystallisation.
• - Structural steels - C-Mn ferrite-pearlite structural steels, specifications and influence of composition, heat treatment and microstructure on mechanical properties. Fracture, weldability and the influence of welding on mechanical properties.
• - Corrosion Resistant Materials - Stainless steels - austenitic, ferritic, martensitic and duplex stainless steels- compositions, microstructures, properties. Materials for offshore structures.
• - Welding and joining processes, weld metal, heat affected zones and weld cracking.
• - Industrial case study

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

1. 1. Analyse material structures on a micro and macro scale, and be able to correlate microstructure to mechanical performance.
2. 2. Relate the chemical composition, microstructure and processing route with resulting mechanical properties for steels and aluminium as structural alloys.
3. 3. Evaluate and select specific materials (steels, stainless steels as corrosion resistant alloys) for different applications.
4. 4. Compare and contrast fracture, corrosion and welding behaviour for particular alloys.
5. 5. Assess the response of structural steels to thermal energy during fabrication and the resulting changes in metallurgical structure and mechanical property and assess their impact on structural integrity.

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the fundamentals of quality management related to welding fabrication, including quality systems and non-destructive examination, and to provide you with the knowledge to manage health and safety in welding.

• • Overview of Standards – ISO EN BS AWS ASME.
• • Introduction to quality assurance.
• • Weld quality standards – IS0 9000 and ISO 3834.
• • Quality control during manufacture – weld procedure specification and qualification.
• • Welder qualification.
• • Welding coordination.
• • Introduction to Non-destructive examination (NDE) and types of weld imperfections.
• • Fundamentals of NDE methods (dye penetrant, magnetic particle, eddy current, acoustic emission, radiographic inspection).
• • Ultrasonic Inspection.
• • Repair welding.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

1. 1. Evaluate the principles of quality management.
2. 2. Appraise the relationship between standards, and use standards to achieve required weld quality.
3. 3. Specify, qualify and operate weld procedures to appropriate standards including repair welding.
4. 4. Distinguish appropriate NDE techniques for welded fabrications and examine and interpret NDE examinations.
5. 5. Manage workplace practices to ensure adequate health and safety.

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the principles behind the most recent developments in welding processes. There is a strong emphasis on laser welding, as well as recent developments in arc, friction and resistance welding. The module will cover the operating principles, characteristics and practical applications of each process.

• Fundamentals of lasers, optics and fibre optics.
• Laser welding including micro-welding and hybrid processes.
• Introduction to laser processing.
• Laser material interactions.
• Laser powder melting.
• Laser wire melting.
• Laser sources, optics and fibre optics.
• Advanced arc welding processes.
• Solid state welding processes.
• Friction welding.
• Additive manufacture.
• Advanced resistance welding.
• Dissimilar material welding.
• Remote underwater welding.
• Weld metal engineering.
• Advanced electron beam welding.
• Advanced cladding.
• Process monitoring.
• Other laser processes (e.g. laser peening).
• Material characteristics and response to laser.
• Weld metal engineering.
• Laser safety.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

1. 1. Evaluate and compare the physical principles behind the operation of the advanced welding and processing methods e.g. laser, advanced gas metal arc processes, friction based techniques etc.
2. 2. Select the most appropriate welding system for a particular application and analyse the economic benefits.
3. 3. Examine physical and engineering principles behind selective applications for welding processes and critique methods for maximising process efficiency.
4. 4. Appraise recent developments in welding technology and identify where these new processes can be used.