📖Program Curriculum
Course modules
Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
Welding Processes and Equipment
Aim
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.
Syllabus
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
Power source design and principles.
Thermal cutting and other edge preparation processes
Brazing
Preheating
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
Appraise a variety of arc and non-arc welding processes.
Select and compare different processes for a particular application.
Diagnose faults in these processes and its impact on the welded structure.
Evaluate the safety issues associated with each process and propose appropriate control measures.
Welding Systems and Research Methods
Aim
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.
Syllabus
• 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
• Plant facilities, welding jigs and fixtures
• Project Planning
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
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. Design a programme of experiments for performing a fillet weld to test the effect of the main input parameters.
3. Analyse data produced from these experiments so that the relationship between process inputs and outputs is understood.
4. Design 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. Construct a project plan for the installation of robotic welding system and 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.
Design of Welded Structures
Aim
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.
Syllabus
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
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
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.
Evaluate basic weld design principles including edge preparation for economic manufacture and distinguish welding symbols on drawing.
Analyse the factors that affect weld cost.
Design joints that minimise the effects of residual stress and distortion.
Assess the behaviour of welded structures under static and dynamic loading conditions and evaluate the principles of fracture mechanics applied to welded structures.
Welding Metallurgy
Aim
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.
Syllabus
• 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
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Appraise the evolution of microstructure and principles of formation of metallurgical phases due to welding of a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.
2. Evaluate the metallurgical characteristics of a wide range of structural ferrous and non-ferrous alloys and techniques and processes suitable for welding of them.
3. Appraise physical metallurgy principles to assess the response of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys and their dissimilar combinations to welding and assess how to take necessary precautions during welding to avoid formation of unwanted phases.
4. Evaluate the physical principles and types of wear and describe how cladding and other surface coating processes can be a useful tool to retard wear.
5. Evaluate the principles of metal corrosion, cladding and joining principles of cladded structures.
Introduction to Materials for Welding Engineering
Aim
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.
Syllabus
• 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.
• Non-metallic Materials - Polymers and composites manufacturing issues, physical properties and mechanical behaviour.
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Understand the basic principles of material structures on a micro and macro scale, and be able to relate microstructure to mechanical performance.
2. Explain how the chemical composition, microstructure and processing route for steels and non-ferrous alloys influence the resulting mechanical properties.
3. Identify and apply methodologies for the selection of specific materials (steels, stainless steels, polymers, composites, and corrosion resistant alloys) for different applications.
4. Be able to relate fracture, corrosion and welding behaviour to particular alloys.
5. Be able to select appropriate manufacturing processes for composites and ceramics.
6. Be able to understand the response of structural steels to heat during fabrication and the resulting changes in metallurgical structure and mechanical property.
Management of Weld Quality
Aim
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.
Syllabus
• 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
• 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
Intended learning outcomes On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
1. Evaluate the principles of quality management.
2. Appraise the relationship between standards, and use standards to achieve required weld quality.
3. Specify, qualify and operate weld procedures to appropriate standards.
4. Distinguish appropriate NDE techniques for welded fabrications and examine and interpret NDE examinations.
5. Manage workplace practices to ensure adequate health and safety.
Advanced Welding Processes
