Underwater welding in hyperbaric conditions

A study was conducted to demonstrate the significance of gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW) procedure, also called tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, in deep water under hyperbaric conditions. The use GTAW offers several advantages, including high reproducibility of weld-seam qualities, suitability for automation of the procedure, and concentrated heat transfer. The study showed that selection of a suitable parameter combination, clean joint flanks, less burnt electrode point, and the use of remote controlled welding devices can help perform error-free joining weld seams under hyperbaric conditions in deep water, even in constant positions. The results of the study further show that the use of the hyperbaric GTAW is also applicable for filler and finish pass welds, who performance present no special problems in hyperbaric conditions. The weld heat transfer also was found to be a significant conversion factor in the transfer of processing parameters from normal atmospheric conditions into hyperbaric welding conditions