UNDER-

WATER
WELDING
Prepared by
Prof. P.A.Nadgouda
Assistant Professor
DYPCET
UNDERWATER
WELDING
NEED FOR UNDERWATER WELDING

 Torepair the cracks in ships ,bridge and

submarine.
 For quick process in under water
welding.
 To construction of pipe line in under
sea.
 To weld any cracks in oil pipe line.
Requirement of underwater
welding
Power supply requirements 400 Amp or
larger. DC generators, motor generators and
rectifiers are acceptable power supplies.
 Power converters.
 Welding Generator, Pre-Setup.
 Diesel Driven Welding Generator
Amperage and Voltage settings.
 Gas Manifolds.
 Underwater Oxygen-Arc Welding Torches.
1.Collet or grip
2.Oxygen valve
3.Flash arrester
 Waterproofing Surface Electrodes.
1.Epoxy 152
2.Lee lac 30-
l2093
3.Polyurethane
 Difference between normal
welding and underwater
welding
Under water welding
1 . Underwater Welding & Burning: 6,500 – 10,000° F Under
the Sea.
2. Under the water, metal sounds different. It’s high pitched but
muffled like a siren entering a tunnel. It dissipates quickly out
into the waves .
 Ground welding
1.In the electric arc, the temperature is very high of the order
of 6,000-8,000 °C for the GTAW, GMAW, FCAW and SAW
processes.
2.It up to 10,000 20,000 °C for the PAW process and well
above the boiling point of the base and filler materials
Sea driver equipment
 Fully insulated electrode holder.
 Oxygen cylinder.
HOFR cable for power supply
(double insulated cable).
 Dry suit, helmet and head
light.
Electrode core wire with heavy
coating.
Classification of under water
welding
Wet welding:
 In this process it is directly exposed to the
environment.
 And special water proof electrode is used
in this type of welding.

Dry welding:
 In this process it is seal by closed chamber
filled with gas to elevated pressure.
 Gas tungsten arc welding is most
commonly used.
 Wet welding
 It is carried out directly at ambient water pressure with the
welder/driver in water
 By using water proof stick electrode and without any
physical barrier between water and welding
 Mostly used Gas metal arc welding.
Wet welding process
Advantage of wet welding
 Minimal amount of equipment is needed.
 Operating speed is high.
 No seal chamber is required.
Disadvantage of wet welding
 Repaid quenching of the weld metal by surrounding
water.
 Decreases impact strength and losses.
 Hydrogen embattlement causes cracks.
 Poor visibility in water.
 Electric shock will occurred.
Application of wet welding
It is key technology for repairing
marine structure .
Welding is directly performed under water
is directly exposed to the wet environment.
Increased freedom movement makes
more effective , efficient and
economical.
Supply is connected to the welder / driver
via cables or hoses.
Dry welding
Hyperbaric welding is the process in which a chamber
is sealed around the structure to be welded and is
filled with a gas ( He and 0.5 bar of Oxygen) at the
prevailing pressure.
Hyperbaric welding process
Advantages of Dry welding
More safety then wet welding.
Good Quality weld.
Surface monitoring.
Non destructive testing possible.
Disadvantages of Dry welding

Higher cost of process, training, etc.

Large quantity of costly and
complex equipment.
More deep, more energy requirement.
It should be weld only reachable
place.
Application of underwater dry welding
 To Maintain the oil pipe lines in under water.
 Construction of pipe line under sea.
Advance in under water
welding
LASER BEAM WELDING
Risk involved in under water
welding
 Electric shock explosion.
 Risk is to the life of the welder.
 High pressure is formed.
 Shark attack under deep sea
welding.
Dangerous and difficulties
 Hydrogen and oxygen are dissociated from the water
and will travel separately as bubbles
 Oxygen cutting is about 60 percent efficient
 Above river beds, especially in mud, because trapped
methane gas in the proper concentrations can explode.
 There is a risk to the welder/diver of electric shock.
 There is a risk that defects may remain undetected
 The other main area of risk is to the life or health of the
welder/diver from nitrogen introduced into the blood
steam during exposure to air at increased pressure
Future scope and developments
Present trend is towards automation. THOR – 1 (TIG
Hyperbaric Orbital Robot) is developed where diver
performs pipefitting, installs the track and orbital head
on the pipe and the rest process is automated.