Shielded active gas forge welding – from laboratory to field experiments

Shielded Active Gas Forge Welding is a fully automatic high speed welding process for metals. It was invented in the early 1980s, but has since then been significantly improved and commercialized for mainly casing and pipeline applications for the oil and gas industry. The method consists of three main steps: (1) localised heating of the mating surfaces, (2) forging and joining of the mating surfaces and (3) heat treatment of the weld. An entire welding cycle can be completed in two minutes, independent of dimension. The method has been used for welding a great range of alloys, and it produces a weld with properties similar to those of the base material.