With my career being in heavy industry factories, manufacturing workshops and
construction sites, I have only been able to take a few pictures.
In general, no photos in these high hazard working environments.
The environment builds a certain type of personality, who has to do
things very absolutely. Otherwise people get hurt or killed. I'm the
genuine type in manufacturing and contruction.
I have obtained a few pictures along the way and they do convey the story. I hope you enjoy looking. All but one link, noted, is content on this website.
The start of my technical career.
I worked in two steelworks -
Hadfields Ltd
and Stocksbridge Works (often known as "Samuel Fox's").
Some idea of my Doctoral research on the weldability (and sour-oil resistance) of plate steels.
[Off-site link to the Brunel University academic archive]
(full thesis
- all 260pages (it is reckoned to be quite readable and is used as a
reference by some engineers))
Computer-modelling the fiery castings processes I also operated and
developed.
Portfolio - developing high-quality castings
for high-strength aircraft-grade components in aluminium / aluminum.
An ad-hoc external-client job for which I produced this solution:
best "in air" casting of stainless steel
Actually 2000 and 2003-2008, plus 2009, 2012, etc.
Taking it very seriously -
sketch of a weld condition
so I could ask advice.
TIG-welding of stainless steel
On-the-tools 2007/2008 and to 2010: site-welder, welder-fabricator, welding-gang foreman in a boatyard.
Steel-erecting on construction sites. No photos permitted.
Rigging while steel-erecting - some illustrations of
techniques I used
, and
testing knots and splices I use
proving safety-margin is typically 20:1
(Career significance : my engineering knowledge increased about 2000-fold in this time)
Back as a technologist in a factory.
Great variety of work and application of skills -
portfolio of 6 examples
.
Real shop-floor work in a
hot environment
.
Typical practical solution -
sleeve on a die-grinder catching oil mist
stops your clothing getting covered in oil.
Bonus while getting my welding engineer qualification:
cyclic-fatigue-resistant weld development
.
Playing with different approaches and building an invaluable portfolio
of experience:
-
vastly higher cyclic-stress fatigue resistance
for weldments - seeing it, though barely economically feasible.
-
seeing what fatigue initiation looks like
.
More opportunity to develop skills - datalogging (the manufacturer of the "weld-monitor" I used came to find me and ask how I'd done this!).
Welding engineer and metallurgist working for the oil&gas industry:
-
paperwork - lots of it!
- to subcontractor site as "the Client's representative"
trouble-shooting manufacturing
- extent of my skills - designing
radiographic (X-ray) testing
of a complex critical welded component.
As NDE technician's mate doing ACFM (Alternating Current Field Measurement) - an eddy-current inspection.
Representing Hyundai on all welded steelwork issues on the 3rd
Bosphorus Bridge project, near Istanbul, Turkey:
-
huge International bridge project
,
seen also from inside
looking from Europe to Asia
- me in my natural setting, at the Altinova
weld fabrication yard
for the bridge-deck sections
- into the construction detail -
inside the bridge-deck
inside the bridge-deck
- making
radiographic testing of welds
what it should be, complimenting the ultrasonic testing
- ultrasonic testing - example task demonstrating a UT technique
would not detect the defects of concern
At last Finite Element Analysis software has become readily available.
Here is finite element modelling added to my welding engineer skills:
- effect of adding stiffener-plates
to a weldment in line with my instinct as a welder and welding engineer.
- stiffened bridge-deck panel
(inspired by 3rd Bosphorus Bridge but thicknesses and dimensions
different).
- earlier FEA models:
truss bridges - "Warren" and "Vierendeel"
, and
hemispherical-ended pressure-vessel
.
(R. Smith, 24Oct2016, 04Nov2016)
