1. Technology Letters, Vol.3 No.1(2016) 14-17
ISSN: 2348-8131
Available online at www.technologyletters.us
14
A Novel Apparatus for Imparting
Vibratory Weld Conditioning to
Mechanically Joined Weldments
Rijo K John*, Sen Lalu Alex, Subin P George, Vishnu Vijayan, Mathew J Joseph
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, M.G
University, Kerala, 686507, India
*E-mail: rijo2john@gmail.com, Ph: +919048917369
ABSTRACT
Vibratory weld conditioning (VWC) is a modification of arc welding in which specimen is vibrated
during welding to relieve the residual stresses. The aim of the work is to obtain an improvement in
mechanical properties and metallurgical properties of welded joints by introducing an auxiliary
vibration during the welding process. The auxiliary vibration produces disturbance in weld pool
during solidification [1]. Its main purpose is to refine the grains, relieve the residual stresses, reduce
welding deformation and improve the properties of the welded joint. An alternative method is used for
imparting vibratory weld condition using a rotating cam rather than using vibrator. Cam and motor
arrangement results in more uniform vibration and the vibrating frequency can be varied using a speed
regulator. In this study a method of cam-motor arrangement is designed and is analysed for effectively
imparting vibration of desired frequency during welding.
Keywords: Vibratory Weld Conditioning, Vibration, Residual Stress, mechanical properties,
metallurgical properties, frequency
1. Introduction
Vibratory weld conditioning (VWC) is the
process of vibrating work piece with
periodical force during welding to improve
the properties of welded joint. Vibratory
weld conditioning (VWC) is a
modification of arc welding or submerged
arc welding in which specimen is vibrated
during welding to relieve residual stresses.
The specimen were vibrated at different
frequencies and the result at each
frequency will be observed. Its main
purpose is to refine the grains, reduce the
residual stresses, reduce welding
deformation and hence improve the
properties of the welded joint. The yield
strength, as well as the tensile strength,
does not change distinctively in vibratory
arc welding when compared with that in
normal arc welding. The bend property has
been improved in vibratory arc welding.
The previous experimental results show
that vibration applied during welding
generally reduces the residual deformation
and stresses. Welding metals along with
mechanical vibrations, uniform and finer
grain structures can be produced. This
increases the toughness and hardness of
the metals. As the weld pool solidifies,
grains are not only limited in size, but
dendrites growing perpendicular to the
fusion line are restricted. While the
process is going on, dendrites can be

2. Technology Letters, Vol.3 No.1(2016) 14-17
ISSN: 2348-8131
Available online at www.technologyletters.us
15
broken up before they grow to become
large in size. Hence, the microstructure of
the weld metal is improved during the
solidification process [3]. The yield
strength and tensile strength is improved in
VWC when compared with ordinary
welding. The bend property has been
improved [2]. The vibration applied also
improves fracture resistance of the
material. Uniform and finer grain
structures can be produced, which
increases the toughness and hardness of
the metals. Mechanical properties of the
welds prepared under vibratory conditions
are dependent on the structural changes of
the welds. VWC vibrates work piece in the
whole welding process and it mainly
effects the welding solidification to
improve the quality. From the previous
studies it can be found that mechanical
properties are quite improved if the second
and third order resonant frequencies are
applied. So we have incorporated a
regulator setup to change the frequency of
vibration during welding and hence to
compare the change in properties for each
of the frequencies. The apparatus is made
arranged so as to remove the workpiece
safely after welding in order to compare
effect of VWC on different conditions. It
can also compare three kinds of welding,
i.e. Arc, MIG and TIG welding.
At present, there is some literature on
VWC which uses vibrator setup. However,
the subject investigated here was the
effective use of cam-motor arrangement to
impart vibration during welding. There is
no published literature about VWC which
uses any other setup than a vibrator. In this
study, a cam-motor setup is designed for
imparting vibration during welding and is
analysed.
2. Experimental Work and Discussion
2.1. Weld material
In VWC the key step was to select the
material to be welded using VWC. Among
the different materials considered, Mild
Steel have been selected considering its
vast range of applications, availability, and
cost factor. A Mild Steel plate of
dimension 50x25x5mm is selected. 6
pieces have been used, 3 for normal
welding (using arc, MIG and TIG) and
remaining pieces for Vibration assisted
welding (VWC). The work pieces are
cleaned thoroughly, dried and its surface is
prepared for welding.
Edge Preparation: The edge of the piece is
machined using a grinding cutter and a v-
joint is prepared for the mating edges in
order to provide satisfactory strength to the
given material of the particular dimension
range.
2.2 Design and Calculations:
= ;
Where:
=
Specification of Rectangular Plate:
80cmx50cmx0.4cm
= ∗
= 7.85 /
= 80 50 0.4 = 1600
= 1600
7.85
= 12560
= 12.56
∴ ℎ = 12.56 9.81
= 123

3. Technology Letters, Vol.3 No.1(2016) 14-17
ISSN: 2348-8131
Available online at www.technologyletters.us
16
= ℎ = 123
= 16
=
12.56
16
= 0.78 /
Motor Specification: 0.25 HP, 3600rpm, 1
ɸ AC motor
Fig 1: Line Diagram of VWC Apparatus
2.3 Description of Major Parts
1. Supporting Table: The main part of the
work comprises of the table which is used
to support parts such as the plate, motor,
springs etc. It is made using angle plates of
80x2.5cm.
2. Helical Spring: A helical spring of
stiffness of around 0.8kg/cm is used in the
apparatus. The outside diameter of the
spring is 3.6cm and coil diameter is 0.4cm.
The spring is used to create uniform
vibration and to absorb jerks during
welding. The spring is provided on 4
corners supported on a long bolt welded to
the table.
3. MS Rectangular Plate: A Mild Steel
plate of 80x50cm area and 0.4cm thickness
is employed. The work piece is held on
this plate during welding .A work holding
device is also attached to it. The work is
held on this clamp during welding.
4. Cylindrical shaft: A cylindrical shaft of
diameter 0.3cm and length 60cm is used to
drive the cam. It is attached to the motor
by means of flange coupling. The shaft is
provided with an eccentricity which acts to
provide vibration to the bed.
5. Ball Bearings: The shaft is held in its
position by means of two ball bearings on
either side and is attached to the bed with
the help of a collar.
6. Motor: A Single Phase AC motor of
0.25HP and 3600RPM is used for driving
the cam .It is connected to the shaft by a
flange coupling. It is also provided with a
speed regulator which can be used to
adjust the frequency of vibration during
the welding operation.
Fig 2: Vibratory Welding Apparatus
Fig 3: Eccentric Shaft and Ball Bearing

4. Technology Letters, Vol.3 No.1(2016) 14-17
ISSN: 2348-8131
Available online at www.technologyletters.us
17
Fig 4: Work Holding Clamp
4. Conclusion
(1) Vibration applied during welding have
significant improvement in microstructure
and mechanical properties of welded
joints.
(2) The application of an eccentric cam
instead of a vibrator helps to uniformly
transfer the vibration to the table and also
is cost effective. It also reduces the power
consumption.
1. References
[1] Jyothi Prakash et.al. “A Review on
Solidification and Change in Mechanical
Properties under Vibratory Welding
Condition.” International Journal of
Engineering Science and Technology, Vol.
2(4), 2010, pp-462-467
[2] Alaa Raad Hussein et.al.
“Improvement of Mechanical Welding
Properties by using Induced Harmonic
Vibration.” Journal of Applied Sciences
11(2), 2011, pp-348-353
[3] Govindarao P et.al. “Effect of
Vibratory Welding Process to Improve the
Mechanical Properties of Butt Welded
Joints”. International Journal of Modern
Engineering Research (IJMER) Vol.2,
Issue.4, July-Aug 2012 pp-2766-2770
[4] Jijin Xu et.al “Effect of vibratory weld
conditioning on the residual stresses and
distortion in multi pass girth-butt welded
pipes”. International Journal of Pressure
Vessels and Piping 84 (2007) 298–303
[5] Lu Qinghua et.al “Effect of vibratory
weld conditioning on welded valve
properties”. Mechanics of Materials 40
(2008) 565–574
[6] Lu Qinghua et.al “Improving welded
valve quality by vibratory weld
conditioning”. Materials Science and
Engineering A 457 (2007) 246–253
[7] Vivek Kumar Sharma et.al “Effect of
Auxiliary Mechanical Vibrations on
Mechanical and Metallurgical properties of
Stainless Steel”. IJME, Vol. 1, Issue 1
(Jan-Feb 2014)
[8] K Balasubramanian et.al “Studies on
the Effect of Mechanical Vibration on the
Microstructure of the Weld Metal”. Int J
Engg Techsci Vol 2(3) 2011,253-256
[9] Jaskirat Singh et.al “Influence of
Vibrations in Arc Welding over
Mechanical Properties and Microstructure
of Butt-Welded-Joints”. International
Journal of Science & Technology, Vol. 2
Issue 1, February 2012.