**5. Closure and value of welding technical knowledge**

Field repairs are frequently needed and often encountered by many technical professionals. Certified welders in manufacturing, pipeline, industrial, and fabrication shops gain a large amount of theoretical and application-based welding knowledge during their skilled-trade education. On the other hand, engineers and technologists are typically provided with very basic knowledge of welding processes and applications and have minimal field experience. These career areas may experience the need

## *Engineering Challenges Associated with Welding Field Repairs DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104263*

for welding repairs, especially when prototyping and testing. Gaining additional knowledge to further understand the theoretical process and mathematics behind welding techniques will increase the ability to execute, facilitate, and manage repairs of this nature. Management professionals will likely encounter the need to retain welding services, and they need to be able to competently specify the work to be done and be able to inspect it.

Challenges are present in all welding repairs. Critical considerations of these challenges are often not made, due to a lack of knowledge surrounding some of the more advanced topics. It can be difficult to evaluate all the factors in-field repair environments when time is constrained. Material properties, hardness of the material, and stress characteristics should really be thoroughly investigated when the repair is critical. Welding processes, equipment, and weldment preparation can provide the basis for conducting a proper field repair or general welding task, and it is incumbent upon a good equipment manager to understand the basics of welding. A breakdown of fundamental welding positions and types of welds has been shown. It has been demonstrated that the repairman's physical position in relation to the weld is important to constructing a proper joint and executing a sufficient weldment. It was shown that the calculation for the correct weld size in relation to the base material is a simple field calculation. In more advanced major repairs, where stress-induced members are present, further field calculations for structural analysis of the weldment can be performed without excessive computation. These calculations provide quantitative metrics to determine the integrity of the repair weldment design if it were to be applied properly. The repairman can then judge whether the proposed weldment is adequate and sufficient for the repair.

The identification of welding defects, imperfections, and allowable tolerances for each is imperative in evaluating welds and managing quality repairs. The difference between an acceptable weld and an unacceptable weld can be minimal depending on the defect, and it is critical to be able to differentiate between the two. Finally, knowledge regarding the repairs and the correction of welding defects is perhaps the most valuable skill an equipment manager can have, as the correction of these deficiencies is frequently among the most commonly needed field repairs.
