Welding Research in India : Present Status and Future Directions

Welding Science and Technology is a continuously growing field thanks to its multi-disciplinary character. There is so much happening in the connected fields like Arc Physics, heat transfer, electronics of power sources, digitisation drive, low cost and robotic automation, materials science, Nano-technology, high energy beams, materials development, stress analysis and so on, that welding has blossomed in many directions. There is no dearth of challenge to the welding professional today and the opportunity is aplenty to learn and improve every day. Welding is also the heart and soul of the fabrication technology and so with the growth in the manufacturing sector, there is an irresistible pull on the welding industry to improve and meet the challenge of the day. Hence, it is no wonder the welding technology is growing, amply contributed by the academia, research centres and the industry in India. While there is great satisfaction that the research in this field in India has advanced to a certain level, there are still several areas, where India is looking up to the outside world for support, and very little of efforts is taking place within the country due to resource and other constraints. This paper is an attempt to look at the various areas, and a self-introspection on where all we in India should be. The areas of research in welding can be broadly categorised as material development, consumable development, establishment of weldability, development of new processes which will improve the quality and productivity while minimizing cycle time of welding, improved non-destructive testing, development of welding procedures to minimize any distortion, characterisation of weldments for their service behaviour etc. The research activities that are currently under progress are discussed in the paper. There is no doubt that the technology is well poised to take large strides in the years ahead, but the research in India should take some strong steps to be in the forefront of such strides.