By 803056
Date 03-12-2008 12:41
Edited 03-12-2008 12:48
I would expect any metal with a high CE, that are not austenitic, or heat treatable to be difficult to weld with water or any other quenchant on the opposite side of any material that requires substantial preheat.
Any means of preheating will only boil the water on the opposite side of the weld and be replaced by cooler water. Convection is going to create a flow of water that will continually cool the area being heated.
Pipelines that allow for hot taps, steel used for ship hulls, etc. usually have relatively low CE or are relatively thin and don't usually require preheat. When that isn't the case, the welding involved is typically a temporary repair. In wet welding, austenitic filler metals are often used with carbon steels to accommodate any hydrogen which has higher solubility in face centered cubic crystalline structures than in body centered cubic structures.
Wet welding has inherent problems that are well recognized by industries that use the technique.
best regards - Al