UNIVERSITYOFWOLLONGONG

SCHOOLOFMECHANICAL,MATERIALSANDMECHATRONICENGINEERING

ASSIGNMENT1

Submissiondate:5September2014
Studentsareremindedthatthisassignmentisanindividualeffortandmustreflectthestudentsownwork.

QUESTION1:(15marks)
Draglineexcavatorsareusedintheopencastminingofcoaltoremoveandstacktopsoil.Theboomofsuchan
excavatorconsistsoflongtubularcarbonsteelpipes(withwallthicknessesofapproximately20mmforthemain
membersand10mmforthecrossmembers)weldedtoformalatticestructure(seeFigure1below).Thesewelds
are prone to fatigue failure due to flexing of the boom during service and require frequent repair welding to
ensure uninterrupted production. Major repairs are performed every three months during a scheduled outage
duringwhichtheboomisloweredtotheground(as showninFigure2),allowingeasyaccesstothecracksfor
rewelding. These major repairs cannot be performed more frequently due to the high production losses
experiencedandthedifficultandtimeconsumingriggingprocessrequiredtolifttheboom.Anycracksdetected
duringthefrequentnondestructiveinspectionsbetweenmajoroverhauloperationsaregroundoutandremoved
completely, before being rewelded using GTAW (for the root pass) and SMAW (to fill the remaining gap) with
E7018electrodes.Repairsareusuallydoneatnight(toreduceproductionlosses)andinsomecasesrequirethe
welderstobesuspendedinharnassesupto60maboveground.Windisamajorproblemduringwelding.Repair
weldsperformedunderthesedifficultconditionsoftenlastonly2weeks.Youareappointedasaconsultantto
reviewthecurrentweldingprocedureandrecommendchangesthatwillextendthelifeofthewelds.Answerthe
followingquestions:
1.1 Review the current repair welding procedure (i.e. GTAW root, SMAW filler passes with E7018 electrodes)
anddiscusswhetherthisproceduremaycontributetotherapidfailureoftherepairwelds.
1.2 Suggest an alternative process that will address some or all of these problems and extend the life of the
welds.Motivateyouranswer.

Fig.1

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Fig.2

QUESTION2:(35marks)
Fusionweldingprocessesresultintheformationofresidualstresseswithinthecomponentbeingwelded.These
stressesareoftenundesirableandcanhaveadverseeffectsontheabilityofthecomponenttoserveitsintended
purpose. Prepare a short literature review article (maximum of 2000 words) addressing the current theories
relatedtothefollowingaspectsofweldingandresidualstress:

Howdoresidualstressesdevelopduringthefusionweldingofmetals?

Whatadverseeffectscanresidualstresshaveontheperformanceoftheweldedcomponent?

Howmayresidualstressesassociatedwithfusionweldingbeavoidedduringtheweldingprocessorrectified
afterthecompletionofwelding?

You are expected to review and cite relevant reference material from a range of sources including reference
books,peerreviewedjournalsandonlineresources.

TOTAL:50marks

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