On-site service at short notice

Industrial Member companies often use TWI's rapid technical back-up service when unexpected problems occur and expert advice is needed for insurance purposes. Recently a pressure vessel manufacturing company required such an investigation at very short notice.

The company was fabricating stainless steel dished ends measuring 3-4m in diameter and formed from two plates welded together. Cracking had developed at the ends of the welds during the forming operation. What the manufacturer needed to know was whether local weld repair was permissible or whether the items needed complete re-welding.

TWI's Materials Department was briefed on the problem one afternoon and, in view of the circumstances, was happy to carry out a site visit the following morning. A small team from TWI visited the site, made a visual examination, and then took acetate replicas and hardness measurements. These were analysed at Abington the next day and the following conclusion was reached: local grinding-out of the cracked areas, followed by re-welding, would be suitable without jeopardising vessel integrity.

The fast turn around time of the project was particularly important both to the Industrial Member company concerned and its customer, and demonstrates the value and effectiveness of the on-site services available from Abington.

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