8 WELDING

General safety precautions:

To prevent personal injury caution shall be exercised when using any type of welding
equipment. Injury can result from fire, explosion, electric shock, or harmful agents.
Approximately 10% of industrial fires are caused by cutting and welding. The precautions
listed below shall be observed by workers who weld or cut metals.

· Do not allow unauthorized personnel to use welding or cutting equipment,

· Remove all flammable material from the vicinity of welding. If they cannot be removed
they shall be suitable protected from sparks and molten spatter,

· Protect wooden scaffolding boards and any other equipment or components which can be
damaged by hot sparks of hot metal by means of fire resistant fabric,

· Do not leave hot rejected electrode stubs, steel scrap, or tools on the floor or around the
welding equipment. Accidents or fires may occur,

· Keep a suitable extinguisher nearby,

· Ensure those involved in welding operations are suitably protected ,

· Screen the area so the welding arc cannot be seen by others in the vicinity all welding and
cutting in confined spaces shall be adequately ventilated to prevent the accumulation of toxic
materials, combustible gasses or possible oxygen deficiency.

· Provide good working access at reasonable working height for the welding process being
used.

The site welds of the downcomer shell should be made by SMAW (shielded metal arc
welding) or FCAW (flux cored arc welding). SAW (submerged arc welding) and the use of
fully automatic welding equipment are not recommended.

All welding procedure specifications (WPS), weld procedure approval records (WPAR) and
welder qualifications (WQ) shall be in accordance with the requirements of BS EN

BS EN 288-3. All erection contractors weld procedures should be submitted to Primetals

Technologies for review.

All butt welds designated as full penetration shall be arc air back gouged and ground, with
100% visual and MPI or dye-penetrant inspection prior to welding the second side.

Distortion during welding

The high temperature of the welding process is responsible for much of the welding distortion
and stresses that occur. It is important that the welding sequence and procedures used control
the distortion of the downcomer during welding. A combination of balanced welding and
back-step technique should be used. Balanced welding is used to control the peaking of the
weld; back-step technique is used to counter the plate edges being drawn together.

NDT (ultrasonic examination)

Minimum NDT requirements upon completion of site welds should be by ultrasonic

examination and shall include at least 10% of the length of the weld seams including all tee
junctions. A distance of 200 mm either side of the tee junction shall be tested.

The minimum acceptance standard shall be to BS EN 25817, acceptance criteria

Classification ‘C’.

In the event that defects are highlighted in the 10% examination the testing shall be increased
to 30% and subsequently to 100% if defects are detected in the 30% examination. (Per seam /
per welder basis). A minimum of 10% magnetic particle inspection shall be applied to each
weld seam.

The full length of all lifting lug welds shall be crack detected by magnetic particle
examination.