Blodgetts Basics
Dec 27, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettEditors Note: Omer W. Blodgett turns 90 on November 27, 2007. To celebrate, a few of his many friends and colleagues have taken over his customary space...
Make it stiffermake it weaker
Oct 19, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettCan it be that by making an assembly stiffer, the designer can simultaneously make it weaker? In an example from my experience, the challenge the designer...
Controlling Distortion in Design, Part 3: Distortion control moves onto the shop floor
Sep 21, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettIn parts one and two of this series, we considered distortion control principles that can be implemented on the drawing board. In this final installment,...
Controlling Distortion in Design, Part 2: Distortion control continues on the drawing board
Aug 21, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettIn the first part of this series, we examined five basic principles of distortion control that can be managed by the designer. Now, I will add three more...
Controlling Distortion In Design,
Jul 20, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettDistortion is a potential problem when metals are joined by arc welding processes. The intense heat of welding causes localized expansion of both the...
Codes Often Lag Practice
May 15, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettFigure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 For most of my professional career, I have had the opportunity to serve on various code committees. For example, I became a...
Don't Design with Your Heart
Apr 26, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettFigure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 All too often, engineers assume something must be true without analyzing the underlying principles involved. Deep down in their...
Ductility, Part 3: Factors That Inhibit Ductility
Mar 19, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettFigure 1: Picture of specimen from Welding Journal Article. In the previous parts of this series, we examined the fundamentals of ductility and shear...
Ductility, Part 2: Factors That Encourage Ductility
Feb 28, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettIn Part 1, Mohr's circle of stress was used to illustrate how multiaxial tensile stresses can reduce or even eliminate shear stresses that are essential...
Ductility, Part 1: Fundamentals
Jan 17, 2007, Omer W. BlodgettBy OMER W. BLODGETT, ScD., P.E. Whenever an arc weld is made, the hot weld metal as well as the surrounding hot base metal must shrink as the metal cools....
Use Physics to Solve Your Weld Design Problems
Dec 7, 2006When addressing a weld design problem, the designer often will rifle through various engineering texts or handbooks, looking for an applicable equation...
Remember Your Roots
Oct 26, 2006By OMER W. BLODGETT, ScD., P.E. Paying attention to your groove weld root details is important. When a butt joint requires a full strength connection,...
Advice to Young Welding Professionals
Sep 27, 2006, ,Omer Blodgett teaches, and says he also learns in seminars. This month, I would like to depart from my usual technical format to offer some principles...
Circular Reasoning
Aug 27, 2006, Omer W. BlodgettFigure 5 Many weldments are composed of material cut from sheet, plate, shapes or hollow box sections. In other words, most of the metals we use come...
Another Advantage of Stiffeners
Jul 19, 2006, Omer W. BlodgettAll too often, a designer will add stiffeners to a weldment haphazardly. This may give the designer a warm and fuzzy feeling while adding little or nothing...
