Underwater welding

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Underwater welding is performed while the welder is submerged, often at the increased pressure associated with deep water. This brings with it a variety of challenges that require special skills and training. It must not be confused with submerged arc welding .

Welding work under water

Areas of application

Decay and the associated need for maintenance on underwater structures that cannot be brought to the surface, such as u. a. Sheet piling , well pipes or pipelines make welding work under water necessary. Places of use can be:

Underwater welding techniques

Different variants and techniques of underwater welding can be used depending on the requirements of the area of ​​application, cost and time frame.

Dry / hyperbaric welding

A dry environment in which hyperbaric pressures are generated is created around the point to be welded with the aid of a suitable chamber. Such work can usually be carried out by welders who are trained to work in the atmosphere.

Moist welding

Wet welding requires a special welding wire and certain requirements are placed on the specially trained and tested workforce.

History of underwater welding

At the end of the 18th century, helmet diving equipment massively expanded the possibilities for divers, while after the discovery of acetylene in 1836 and air liquefaction at the beginning of the 20th century, fusion welding with a powerful flame became possible.

Welding combined with seafaring in the 1930s: Professor Viktor Petrovich Vologdin had experiments on underwater welding carried out in Dalzavod in Vladivostok in 1930. Konstantin Khrenov then developed the first fully functional underwater welding device .

General requirements for underwater welders

This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

Resilience , strength of character and a resilient body are fundamentally important for professional divers , as panic attacks in the water can quickly lead to life-threatening situations.

The advanced training to become a “certified diver”, which is to be carried out at a diving training company with a permanently employed master diver, is a formal basic requirement in order to be approved for underwater welding.

To participate in this advanced training, the following requirements must be met:

  • You must have reached the age of 21.
  • A completed training in a craft profession or a comparable professional practice must be proven.
  • The physical suitability for diving must be certified by a medical certificate from a diving doctor.
  • The applicant must have acquired the German lifeguard badge of the DLRG at least in bronze.

As a rule, training to become an underwater welder takes two years. It comprises at least 200 diving hours as well as four external courses at recognized institutes.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Commercial Diver Program: Underwater Welding , accessed November 17, 2014
  2. ↑ a b Brochure DVS-Unterwasser ( Memento of the original from 23 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file), accessed November 17, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.die-verbindungs-spezialisten.de
  3. ↑ Russian Navy: The Rise of the Soviet Navy , accessed November 17, 2014
  4. ↑ When the arc burns in the water , accessed November 17, 2014