6.1 General
6.1.1 Welding in steel and aluminium hull construction of all types of Ship is to comply with the requirements of this section.
6.1.2 Connection details of the welded structural members including type and size of welds are to be clearly indicated on the plans submitted for approval. An explanation of all symbols or abbreviations used in detailing the weld connections should be included on the plans.
Details of proposed welding procedures is to be submitted indicating preheating temperature and any post-welding heat treatment, if employed. Extent to which automatic welding, including deep penetration welding, is to be employed should also be indicated.
6.1.3 Welders are to be proficient in the type of work on which they are to be engaged. The records of their tests and qualifications are to be kept by the builders and made available to the Surveyors. A sufficient number of skilled supervisors are to be employed to ensure effective control at all stags of assembly and welding operations.
6.1.4 Electrodes and welding consumables approved by IRS in accordance with the requirements of
‘Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Steel Ships’, Part 2, Chapter 11 and suitable for the type of joint and grade of steel or aluminium, are to be used.
6.1.5 For the connection of two different grades of the same tensile strength properties, electrodes suitable for the lower grade will be generally acceptable except at structural discontinuities or other points of stress concentration.
6.1.6 For the connection of steel or aluminium of different tensile strengths, the electrodes are to be suitable for the tensile strength of the component, on the basis of which the weld fillet size has been determined.
6.2 Preparation for welding
6.2.1 The parts to be welded are to be fitted in accordance with the approved joint detail. The edge preparation is to be accurate and uniform. Means are to be provided for maintaining the parts to be welded, in correct position during the welding operations. Excessive force is not to be employed in aligning the parts before welding and the means employed in maintaining the alignment are to be so arranged as to allow for expansion and contraction during the welding operation. All methods employed in correcting improper alignment are to be to the satisfaction of the Surveyor.
6.2.2 All surfaces to be welded are to be clean, dry and free from rust, scale and grease. The surface and boundaries of each run of deposit are to be thoroughly cleaned and freed from slag before the next run is applied. Before a manual sealing run is applied to the back of a weld, the original root material is to be gouged out to sound metal.
6.2.3 Tack welding is to be kept to a minimum, and where used, should be equal in quality to that of the finished welds. Any defective tack weld is to be cut out before completing the finished welds.
Care is to be taken in removing the tack welds to ensure that the structure is not damaged in doing so.
6.3 Weld procedures and their approval
6.3.1 Only approved welding procedures are to be used, as described in 6.3.5.
6.3.2 Structural arrangements are to be such as to allow adequate access for satisfactory completion of all welding operations. Welded joints are to be so arranged so as to facilitate downhand welding wherever possible.
6.3.3 The sequence of welding is to be so planned that any restraint during welding operations is reduced to a minimum. The ends of the frames and stiffeners should be left unattached to the plating at the subassembly stage until connecting welds are made, in the intersecting systems of plating, framing and stiffeners, at the erection stage.
Where a butt meets a seam, the welding of the seam should be interrupted well clear of the junction and not be continued until the butt is completed. Welding of the butt should continue past the open seam and the weld be chipped out for the seam to be welded straight through.
6.3.4 Adequate precautions are to be taken to ensure that the welding site is protected from the deleterious effects of high moisture, severe wind and extreme cold.
6.3.5 Unless previously approved, welding procedures are to be established by the yard and forwarded to IRS for approval. The welding procedure specifications are to include detailed description of the base material, primer, plate thickness range, joint/groove design, welding consumable, welding position, welding techniques, welding parameters, preheating / interpass temperature and post heat treatment if any.
The welding for procedure qualification and subsequent testing, are to be witnessed by the IRS Surveyor.
6.4 Inspection of welds
6.4.1 Effective arrangements are to be provided for the inspection of finished welds to ensure that all welding has been satisfactorily completed.
6.4.2 All finished welds are to be visually inspected and are to be sound, uniform and substantially free from slag inclusions, porosity, undercutting or other defects. Welds and adjacent base metal are to be free from injurious arc strikes.
6.4.3 For the examination of important structural welds, visual inspection is to be supplemented by radiography or other acceptable non- destructive crack or flaw detection methods. The extent of such examination is to be to the Surveyors' satisfaction, but particular attention is to be given to the following locations:
a) Junction and crossings of seams and butts in strength deck, sheer strake, side and bottom shell within 0.4L amidships.
b) Butts of keel plating and rounded sheerstrake within 0.4L amidships.
c) Insert plates in way of hatch openings on the strength deck.
d) Butts of longitudinal framing and longitudinal bulkhead stiffeners within 0.4L amidships.
6.4.4 Defective sections of welds as found by visual or non- destructive examination or leakages under hydrostatic tests, are to be gouged out as necessary and carefully rewelded.
6.5 Butt welds
6.5.1 Plates of equal thickness may be manually butt welded as per Fig. 6.5.1. For automatic welding procedures and special welding techniques, the welding procedure will be specially considered.
6.5.2 For joints of plates with difference in thickness of more than 4 [mm], the thicker plate is to be tapered. The taper is not to exceed 1:3. Edge preparation after the tapering is to be as indicated in 6.5.1 above.
6.5.3 All manual butt welds are normally to be welded from both sides. Where a back ceiling run is not practicable or in certain cases when the stress level in the members is very low, welding on one side may be permitted provided the welding process is found satisfactory.
6.5.4 Where stiffening members, attached by continuous fillet welds, cross the finished butt or seam welds, these welds are to be made flush in way of the faying surface. Similarly for butt welds in webs of stiffening members, the butt weld is to be first completed and made flush with the stiffening member before the stiffener is connected to the plating by fillet weld. The ends of the flush portion are to run out smoothly without notches or any sudden change of section. Where such conditions can not be complied with, a scallop is to be arranged in the web of the stiffening member. Scallops are to be of such size and in such a position, that a satisfactory weld can be made.
Fig.6.5.1 : Typical manually welded butt joints