Accelerating Routine Maintenance Timelines with WAAM Parts from Lincoln Electric

Stress Engineering Services (SES), a leader in qualification and testing, partners with industry leaders across aerospace, defense, medical, energy, nuclear, and automotive sectors. When a domestic oil refinery operator faced a significant halt in production due to equipment failure, they looked at 3D printed additively manufactured (AM) parts as an alternative option for replacing the component. After designing the replacement themselves, the operator partnered with Lincoln Electric to quickly produce the part using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). To further expedite the maintenance period, the operator and Lincoln Electric connected with SES to perform full-scale product validation tests to qualify the replacement component.

Challenge

During routine inspection, a critical component at the refinery was found to have several relevant indications warranting replacement prior to continued service. The OEM part, a casting originally made from high grade nickel alloy, was challenging to replace due to its unique composition and the long lead times associated with traditional manufacturing methods. Ongoing supply chain issues and a lack of skilled labor resulted in a lead time of at least 3-months for the internationally manufactured replacement component. As part of the manufacturing and inspection process, the part is subjected to a rigorous qualification process that can take months. The urgency of the situation was compounded by the potential downtime, which threatened significant production losses.

Our role was to perform full-scale product validation testing to confirm that the replacement part was suitable for its intended application, based upon the specified engineering requirements. The collaborative effort was streamlined through our development of a comprehensive test strategy based on the functional specification for the component, enabling parallel progress in manufacturing and test planning phases. While Lincoln Electric was 3D printing the new component, we designed and manufactured the carbon steel end cap test fixtures, using the dimensions provided by the operator and Lincoln Electric. Through our knowledge of the pressure and other critical factors to the application and qualification test requirements, we were able to quickly produce these fixtures and qualify the required welding procedure to ASME with our in-house test engineering design team, welding engineering support staff, welders, and machinists.

This approach was instrumental in expediting the qualification process, ensuring the part adhered to stringent industry standards; American Petroleum Institute (API) 20S and ASME Section IX QW-600. Once we received the manufactured component, we performed a comprehensive inspection according to standard engineering design requirements, as well as the operator’s requirements. Conventional dimensional inspection methods were supplemented with SES’s 3D metrology scanner to capture the as-built dimensions on the outer diameter, while a SES laser scanner captured the inner diameter dimensions. Next, we completed a nondestructive examination of the new header to verify its integrity with a traditional liquid penetrant surface test and a volumetric ultrasonic examination of critical locations on the part body. Then, we installed the end plug test fixturing for functional qualification.

In addition to pressure testing, we employed digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) testing to further verify the integrity of the nickel alloy component. DIC, is a 3D, full-field, optical technique used to measure deformation and strain on material via tracking of grey value patterns in neighboring subsets (facets) found on the supplemental coating applied at SES.

When the full-scale component was subjected to the loads during the pressure loading validation test. DIC is a nonintrusive test that helps to confirm the finite element analysis (FEA) model and anisotropy of the component. Our AE testing similarly confirmed the integrity of the material using probes to monitor any release of energy that warns of potential failure. AE can detect and locate changes in the material during the test program and validate the stability in a given condition.

Results

The collaboration between the operator, Lincoln Electric, and SES drastically reduced the anticipated downtime from four months to just four weeks. This achievement not only demonstrated the practical benefits of WAAM technology but also highlighted SES’s ability to accelerate the testing and qualification process through efficient parallel development. The successful implementation and operation of the part underscored SES’s commitment to delivering high-quality solutions under urgent timelines.

Transform Your Manufacturing Process

This case study underscores SES’s expertise in leveraging additive manufacturing technologies to provide timely, cost-effective solutions for critical engineering challenges. It highlights our capacity to navigate complex regulatory environments and deliver qualified components that meet precise industry and client standards.

Explore how SES’s 3D printed additive manufacturing testing services can benefit your operations. Contact us to discover more about our capabilities and how we can assist in transforming your manufacturing processes with innovative solutions.