Environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are getting stricter, and the demand for replacing the fuel of ships with eco-friendly fuels instead of heavy oil in the shipbuilding and marine industries is increasing. Among eco-friendly fuels, LNG (liquefied natural gas) is currently the most popular fuel. This is because it is an alternative that can avoid the IMO's environmental regulations by replacing fuel. In PART 1, as a basic study of laser welding of high manganese steel materials, a fiber laser bead-on-plate experiment was conducted using nitrogen protective gas, and the effect of each factor on the penetration shape was analyzed through cross-sectional observation. In PART II, argon and helium shielding gases, not the nitrogen shielding gas used in PART I, were tested under the same experimental conditions and the effect of the shielding gas on penetration during laser welding was conducted.

Environmental regulations of the IMO (International Maritime Organization) are becoming more and more conservative. In order to respond to IMO, the demand for replacing the fuel of ships with eco-friendly fuels instead of conventional heavy oil is increasing in the shipbuilding and offshore industries. Among eco-friendly fuels, LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is currently the most popular fuel. LNG is characteristically liquefied at -163 degrees, and at this time, its volume is reduced to 1/600, so it is transported in a cryogenic liquefied state for transport efficiency. A tank for storing this should have sufficient mechanical/thermal performance at cryogenic temperatures, and among them, high manganese steel is known as a material with high price competitiveness and satisfying these performance. However, high manganese steel has a limitation in that the mechanical performance of the filler metal is lower than that of the base metal called ‘under matching’. In this study, to overcome this limitation, a basic study was conducted to apply the fiber laser welding method without filler metal to high manganese steel. To obtain efficient welding conditions, in this study, bead-on-plate welding was performed by changing the fiber laser welding speed and output using helium shielding gas, and the effect of each factor on the penetration shape was analyzed through cross-sectional observation.

Due to environmental pollution, regulations on existing petroleum-based fuels are increasing day by day. LNG is in the spotlight as an eco-friendly fuel that does not emit NOx or SOx, but its boiling point is -163°C, so it needs to be handled with care. Materials that can be used at the above temperature are defined by IMO through the IGC Code. Among them, 9% nickel steel has great advantages in yield strength and tensile strength under cryogenic conditions, but it is difficult to use in arc welding such as FCAW for various reasons. This study is a study to apply fiber laser welding to solve this problem. As a previous study, this study conducted a study to find a welding heat source. After performing bead on plate welding, the optimal heat source was derived by analyzing the shape of the bead and adjusting the parameters of the heat source model. In this case, by applying the multi-island genetic algorithm, which is a global optimization algorithm, not the intuition of the researcher, accurate results could be derived in a wide range.

Due to stricter environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the number of ships fueled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is rapidly increasing. The International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code) limits the material of tanks that can store cryogenic substances such as LNG. Among the materials listed in the IGC Code, ASTM A553M-17 has been recently adopted as a material for LNG fuel tank projects because of its excellent mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. In shipyards, this material is being used to build tanks through Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW). However, there is a problem that magnetization occurs during welding and there is a big difference in welding quality depending on the welding position. In order to overcome this problem, this study intends to conduct basic research to apply laser welding to ASTM A553M-17 material. As a result of analyzing the bead shape according to laser BOP speed and Energy density performed in this study, it was confirmed that the penetration and energy density are proportional but the penetration and BOP speed are inverse proportional to some extent. In addition, a range of suitable welding speed and energy density were proposed for the 6.1mm thickness material performed in this study.

Due to stricter environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the number of ships fueled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is rapidly increasing. The International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code) limits the material of tanks that can store cryogenic substances such as LNG. Among the materials listed in the IGC Code, ASTM A553M-17 has been recently adopted as a material for LNG fuel tank projects because of its excellent mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. In shipyards, this material is being used to build tanks through Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW). However, there is a problem that magnetization occurs during welding and there is a big difference in welding quality depending on the welding position. In order to overcome this problem, this study intends to conduct basic research to apply laser welding to ASTM A553M-17 material. In Part I, the bead shape according to the welding output was analyzed and in PART II, ​​the penetration phenomenon according to the welding speed was analyzed after Bead on Plate (BOP) test. As a result of analyzing the bead shape according to laser power performed in this study, it was confirmed that the laser power and penetration depth are proportional to some extent. In addition, a range of suitable welding power was proposed for the 6.1mm thickness material performed in this study.

Natural gas is the most realistic fuel among eco-friendly fuels. Natural gas production is limited, and in Korea, it is supplied and utilized in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In the case of LNG, the vaporization point is 163 degrees below zero, so ordinary metal cannot be used due to its brittleness. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) defines metals that can be used in the IGC Code, and is used for storage containers, transportation containers, etc. based on the metals. Welding is essential in the manufacture of large structures such as LNG storage tanks. In this study, weldability studies related to cryogenic materials were conducted. In Part I of this study, high-manganese steel and part II were studied for two types of stainless steel (STS304L, STS316L), and in Part III, aluminum (AL5083). During laser welding, the shape of the Bead on Plate (BOP) was analyzed, and a total of nine cases were analyzed using laser power and welding speed as variables. It was confirmed that the penetration and the width of the welding width were linearly proportional to the amount of heat input. Based on this study, it is possible to conduct a follow-up study to find the optimal welding conditions for butt welding and fillet welding.

As the part of efforts to respond to the environmental pollution, the demand for clean energy is increasing. Natural gas is one of the most realistic alternatives, and interest in the storage and transportation containers to utilize the natural gas is growing. The production area of ​​natural gas is limited, and in Korea, it is imported in the form of liquefied natural gas. LNG is a cryogenic state with a vaporization point of -163°C, so the ordinary metal cannot be used due to its brittleness. The international maritime organization (IMO) defines the metals that can handle LNG in the IGC Code, and the research is ongoing. This study was a preliminary study to check the weldability of related metals and confirmed the shape of bead on plate (BOP) during the laser welding for each material. In part I, a study was conducted on the high manganese steel, and in part II, a study was conducted on the materials of STS304L and STS316L among the stainless steel. Based on this study, it can be used as an optimal welding condition for the butt and fillet welding.

As demand for eco-friendly energy increases, demand for natural gas and Liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage technologies continues to increase. LNG is a cryogenic environment with a temperature of -163°C, so ordinary metals cannot be used due to brittleness. Accordingly, IGC Code designates the cryogenic materials such as Invar, STS304L, Al5083-0, and High Manganese Steel. For fabricating those materials, research on welding possibility is the most important. Thus this study focused on the possibility of laser welding of the cryogenic materials. The weldability of High Manganese Steel was researched in this paper, the shape and the dimensions of the beads after bead on plate (BOP) welding were observed. The experiment was conducted on a total of 25 cases with laser power and welding speed of 5 cases each, and the width, height, and penetration of the beads were confirmed. It was confirmed that the paramenter of bead increased linearly with the laser power, and the paramenters of bead increased linearly with decreasing welding speed. Based on this study, high manganese steel can be applied in various industries by applying it to butt welding.