Al-Bronze welding to Mild Steel

[MitchYurko]

A little background: I have a cylinder approx 14.5" inside diameter by 7.5 inches long. Wall thickness is yet to be determined. I'm investigating problems that may arise when building up an aluminum bronze overlay on the inside of this mild steel cylinder. I'm looking at Crown's Royal ALB-30 wire for the welding wire, and the cylinder would be 1020 normalized steel. My biggest concern at the moment is warpage of the cylinder. This is where the thickness of the cylinder comes into play as I'm unsure of how thick to make the wall to minimize warpage. Farther down the production line after the overlay the OD of the cylinder would be machined down to achieve a mild steel wall thickness of only 3/16". There are other concerns in later stages, but right now I'm only curious if anyone else has attempted something similar, and any tips or comments you could pass on. Thank you in advance for any help offered!

Sincerely,

Mitch Yurkovich

 

[metengr]

MitchYurko;
If you are going to minimize distortion the key is to use circumferential stringer bead deposition and minimize start/stops. In other words use a spiral welding technique and once you start welding don’t stop mid length. If you can use an automatic welding machine this would be the preferred method. Regarding wall thickness, this will have less of an impact on reducing distortion.

 

[SnTMan]

MitchYurko, although dealing with larger diameters, a previous employer of mine generally wanted a 3/4" min thk for overlay. These were roll & weld cylinders w/ 3/16" overlay.

You could probably get by with less thickness, but some R&D may be needed.

Regards,

Mike

 

[SnTMan]

I should add these were for pressure vessel use, a high degree of roundness was not require, just "pretty round".

 

[unclesyd]

You might want to look at these systems. I think you cna buy, rent, or lease either one.

http://www.bortech.com/default.asp

http://www.borerepair.addr.com/Purchase.htm

 

[racookpe1978]

Wouldn' it be much, much less expensive (welding up the layers and then machining them back down to shape and depth takes a lot of money) to accept the added Al-Br metal thickness needed for the vessel strength and just make the whole thing from Al-Br?

Alt: If the Al-Br is for corrosion resistance/wear, and the steel is for strength, then machine both for an interference fit between outer and inner diameters and freeze the inner ring. Heat the outer ring slightly and slide them together.

Seems like that will be least expensive, least fab time and money.

 

[MitchYurko]

racookpe,

Thank you for recommending this option. The part is currently made of solid bronze. We are investigating options to minimize cost of material. The idea of shrink fitting a bronze "sleeve" into the cylinder has already been eliminated by the end customer for their reasons (cannot divulge more information than that).

Thank you to everyone who has posted already, you've been of more help than you realize!

Sincerely,

Mitch Yurkovich

 

[ornerynorsk]

Eutectic spray build up? Can be faster and more cost effective than weld build up, if done properly. Less secondary machining as well.