Development of Double-sided Arc Welding for Shipbuilding

The current procedure for ship hull joining requires joint preparation and multiple weld passes on both sides of the hull joint. Associated with this welding is significant distortion resulting from non-uniform weld shrinkage.Weld distortion becomes increasingly significant with thinner hull dimensions and becomes a major cost driver.Double-sided Arc Welding (DSAW), a new process, minimizes plate distortion, as welds are made in a single pass for plate material up to 1/2".The objectives of this Phase II proposal are to develop a commercialized DSAW system which is ready to be deployed in shipyards;to further improve control algorithms, travel speed, and back-side shielding;create a demonstration center to handle large plates for parameter development; develop and test procedures for two standard hull materials DH-36 and HSLA-80/100; Demonstrate and train Bath Iron Works personnel, and have them repeat these welding procedures; subcontract BIW to perform welds for submission and approval of the DSAW process by NAVSEAS; seek approval of the DSAW process for use in the DD(X) program.