LITTLE TECHNICAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN PUBLISHED ON THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT WELD BRUSH DESIGNS AND MATERIALS ON WELD QUALITY.

LITTLE TECHNICAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN PUBLISHED ON THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT WELD BRUSH DESIGNS AND MATERIALS ON WELD QUALITY. A NEED THEREFORE EXISTS TO QUANTIFY THE EFFICIENCY OF VARIOUS BRUSH MATERIALS TO REMOVE SURFACE CONTAMINANTS AND THE EFFECT OF BRUSH DEBRIS ON THE QUALITY OF THE WELD. PHASE I OF THIS PROPOSAL CONSISTS OF CONTROLLED TEST PROCEDURES TO EVALUATE AND QUANTIFY ROTARY BRUSH MATERIALS ON SURFACE CLEANING, FIBER DURABILITY, AND WELD QUALITY. THE RESULTS OF THE PHASE I EFFORT WOULD BE A BEST-TO-WORST RANKING OF 10 TO 15 ROTARY BRUSHES AND DEVELOPMENT OF WELDING BRUSH TEST METHODS. PHASE II WOULD CONSIST OF EXPANDED TESTING OF BRUSH CONFIGURATIONS AND FIBER MATERIALS, AND PUBLICATION OF A PRODUCT (PURCHASING) SPECIFICATION FOR WELDING BRUSHES. THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK WOULD BE A RANKING OF BRUSHES BASED ON CONFIGURATION AND MANUFACTURER. PHASE II WOULD ALSO ESTABLISH STANDARDIZED TESTING PROCEDURES AND PERFORMANCE-BASED PURCHASE SPECIFICATIONS.