Digitalisation trends in the immigration context
In this article, we look at some examples of the UK's immigration and nationality digitalisation programme, focusing on the implications for migrant workers, their sponsors, and business visitors.
The Home Office's immigration and nationality services – digital by design
The Home Office's Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team is responsible for improving the overall business efficiency of the department through the development of digital technologies. It was set up in 2016 and currently has 3,800 staff associated with it across the UK.
Under the current DDaT strategy, the Home Office aims to 'become digital by design' in everything it does to deliver its policies. This includes using automation, investing in cyber capabilities and focusing on data to manage the department both strategically and operationally.
Digitalisation has been actively pursued the immigration and nationality sphere in recent years, ahead of other areas of the department. This is set to continue across the Home Office according to the following principles:
1.	Converging technologies where possible
2.	Creating shared technology products
3.	Being product-centric over programme-centric
4.	Becoming data-driven to improve the Home Office's decisions
5.	Delivering effectively at scale
6.	Embracing innovation
These principles can be seen in action in the Home Office's recent and planned innovations for how migrants make applications and have them assessed, and how they prove their status once granted.
Making and assessing applications
The digitalisation of immigration and nationality application processes is creating significant change in terms of data access, security and privacy. As a general trend, it should improve user experience. It will also provide the Home Office with a huge pool of data to store and analyse.
Applying to enter the UK
Currently visitors to the UK (including business visitors) must make a formal visa application abroad if they are a visa national, or seek entry at the border if they are a non-visa national. Certain non-visa nationals are eligible to use eGates and are not routinely formally examined by a Border Force official.
The Home Office plans to implement Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) for all non-visa nationals visiting or transiting the UK as an additional pre-arrival security measure, as well as replacing physical visitor visas with a digital status record, or 'e-visa'. Visa nationals who are currently eligible to obtain an Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) will continue to be able to use an EVW. British and Irish nationals, as well as those who have British citizenship in the Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories will remain outside the scope of pre-arrival arrangements.
To make these changes effective, substantial systems development work still needs to be undertaken. This will need to cover the ETA application process, as well as replacing or upgrading two old systems that flag individuals of interest for security reasons and that analyse passenger information from a security perspective. Some of this work falls under the Digital Services at the Border programme, which is due to be delivered by the end of March 2022. Communications and training will also be necessary for air, maritime and rail carriers, as they will need to administer pre-departure checks. The new arrangements will be trialled ahead of a full rollout, with initial testing scheduled to take place by autumn 2021.
Anticipated implications of these changes include:
More security and less likelihood of delays or refusal of entry for visitors at the border (although there will still be checks on visitors' intentions);
Additional administration and small fee charges for those who need to use the ETA system; and
The need for assurances on security of data and privacy, with the UK government collecting and retaining data for a much larger cohort of people than currently.
Online immigration and nationality application forms and sponsorship system
Online application forms have been a feature of UK immigration and nationality applications for some years now, however the post-Brexit immigration system is intended to become fully digital. This will include a roadmap to transform the Home Office IT systems used by sponsors of workers and students.
The Home Office is in the process of decommissioning legacy case working and other systems and is working on a shared form-building and hosting solution that it may produce within the department rather than through using an external provider. This latter change should enable the Home Office to design, prototype and deploy forms that meet their Accessibility Standard more quickly and cost-effectively than currently. Taking this work in-house would also allow small, iterative improvements to be made quickly to address identified issues.
Possible implications of having a fully digital application form set and IT system for sponsors include:
Pressure to minimise the number of Statements of Changes in Immigration Rules brought forward each year, as this will in turn minimise the cost of rework to online application forms and associated guidance;
The need to develop worldwide functionality, including mobile device-enabled functionality, to allow applicants to upload supporting information and documents securely and transparently (including eliminating the need to send supplementary documents by unsecured email);
Further movement towards verifying information relied on by applicants and sponsors using self-certification, direct verification with third parties (e.g. employers), and checking data from previous applications, data shared between government departments and data exchanged across governments;
Permanent movement away from submitting paper supporting documents (eg for sponsor licence applications);
The availability of a quicker, more environmentally-friendly system through avoiding the use of paper, and removing the need to submit applications by physically travelling or using couriers or postal services;
Greater capability for adopting decision-making tools and automating case working functions, subject to this meeting the Algorithmic Transparency Standard the Government is currently developing, and including careful consideration of factors such as avoiding potential unconscious bias and race discrimination in the design of these;
Better access for applicants to their data, through subject access requests that are generated through drawing on integrated case working systems and are not reliant on the retrieval of paper-based archived files;
The need to properly engage with and address issues such as digital poverty, lack of digital skills and language barriers through measures such as appropriate and easily-accessible assisted digital support worldwide (this is currently only available on a limited basis in the UK).
In late 2018, an identity verification app was used for the first time as part of the rollout of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). This enabled millions of EEA nationals and some of their non-EEA family members to enrol their biometric data using a smartphone rather than attending a government-authorised facility.
The availability of this technology assisted with re-starting in-country immigration application processing for routes other than EUSS, after biometric enrolment centres were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A separate identity verification app was made available to support the implementation of the post-Brexit Points-Based Immigration system. It is currently available for use by a limited range of nationals and only in certain immigration routes, but the Home Office's intention is to widen its use over time. Before 30 November 2021, individuals using the app could not access priority processing options, however this is now possible.
The Home Office is also considering how biometric data are enrolled and retained. The Identity section of the New plan for immigration: legal migration and border control strategy statement includes a proposal to require fingerprints to be captured once and then reused, with facial biometrics being recaptured periodically using an identity verification app. This potentially could mean applicants do not have to enrol their biometric data more than once, however longer data retention times raise potential data privacy concerns. Some of the concerns over data handling may be mitigated in the future through the Home Office using its own identity verification apps and controlling the data from the outset, rather than using third party commercial partners in visa application centres to collect and transfer it.
The net result of changes to identity verification is likely to be quicker application processing and movement through the border for migrant workers and business visitors. Other implications and outstanding issues to address include:
The need to consider how automated allocation of National Insurance numbers can be integrated into the process for work routes where an identity verification app is used;
Reduced need to use visa application centres and in-country biometric enrolment facilities;
Potential to link biometric records to processes required for immigration applications such as English language testing, verification of qualifications, health testing such as TB screening etc, which would reduce potential for impersonation and document fraud;
Increased need to ensure adequate governance around the collection, reuse and retention of biometric data (this may be addressed under planned reforms to the UK's data protection regime); and
Less risk of misidentification of an individual when the Home Office is carrying out enforcement activities.
Proving status
The general direction of travel in this area is toward the exclusive use of digital status, with plans to make this a reality by the end of 2024.
The technology used for people to be able to verify their status under the EUSS (the View and Prove service) is now being expanded to other routes. Although the EUSS system has been hailed as a success, initial case inception and finalisation may have been prioritised, with other aspects of the system yet to have been properly developed. Current problems include the possibility of one individual having multiple live immigration records, and their current immigration status not being verifiable by default on the online right to work checking system when they have an extension or settlement application in process. This can be corrected, but only by the individual making a request to the Home Office.
The replacement of physical immigration documents with digital status has many benefits, including eliminating the logistical and security issues that currently are associated with entry clearance vignettes and biometric identity documents.
Also, the planned automated capability to update an individual's digital status record every time they cross the UK the border will enable the Home Office to accurately pinpoint if they are inside or outside the UK and for how long (see para 66 of the Home Office's strategy statement). This could streamline the assessment of residence for settlement and nationality purposes, as well as enabling the sharing of residence information with other government departments when they are considering eligibility for services and benefits. Digital status could also facilitate contactless border crossing.
Some broader implications and issues relating to the adoption of digital status include:
The need to have a communications and education strategy to ensure UK digital immigration status is easy to access and is accepted in all cases where proof of status is required (e.g. at present, some individuals are not confident with using online systems, and foreign governments will not accept UK digital status as sufficient proof when considering visa applications for their country);
The need to build in safeguards to ensure migrant records are not duplicated and individuals can easily access their immigration history and current immigration status in one place;
The need for reminder or other mechanisms to prompt migrants to update their digital status record when their circumstances have changed (e.g. when they obtain a new identity document);
The need for a clear and quick process for migrants to have data inaccuracies addressed (e.g. where their digital status record does not accurately record an individual's work rights);
The need to ensure stability of the availability of information on digital status to minimise the risk that system crashes, data loss or corruption could result in real-world impacts on individuals' access to their rights and services; and
The need for robust processes to re-establish immigration status where digital status data is lost, corrupted or requires updating.
The future of digitalisation in the immigration and nationality sphere
Digitalisation of the immigration and nationality system is not without controversy and significant work still needs to be done to ensure it operates smoothly, as the examples highlighted above demonstrate.
We can expect to see further evolution as the Home Office pursues successive iterations of the DDaT strategy, with a view to providing better services to both to direct and indirect users of the system.
No doubt new challenges and solutions will emerge as digitalised processes and products become more embedded as the norm. The Home Office is clear that it is now a 'digital organisation', so an exploration of, and reliance on, digital technology appears to be high priority for the foreseeable future.
Supinder Singh Sian
I am a partner in the Immigration & Global Mobility team.
supinder.sian@lewissilkin.com
Andrew Osborne
I am the head of Lewis Silkin's Immigration practice and joined the firm as a Partner in January 2010.
andrew.osborne@lewissilkin.com
Kathryn Denyer
Managing Practice Development Lawyer
I ensure Lewis Silkin's immigration team is kept up-to-date with relevant law and policy developments and that they have the tools and ...
kathryn.denyer@lewissilkin.com


Trans woman forced to crowdfund for 'urgent' gender treatment
Joe Williams February 23, 2016
A trans woman is using crowdfunding to raise money for surgery because of long waits for NHS treatment.
Sarah O'Connell saw her GP in March last year – but has only just met for a consultation at a gender identity clinic.
The 35-year-old is now trying to raise £20,000 through online donations and has set up a GoFundMe page to aid her progress.
She says the money will cover all aspects of transitioning – including gender surgery, hormone treatment, laser treatment and voice coaching.
"Transitioning can be incredible expensive, this is a last resort. I haven't had NHS support yet. The waiting lists are very long," she told the BBC.
"It is a long process, it is like being in prison for something you didn't commit and I want to get it over as quickly as possible.
"I just want to get on with my life, I don't want to spend my whole life doing this."
Mrs O'Connell – who has a wife and five-year-old daughter – said her partner had known she was trans from early on in their relationship.
"I have known who I am since I was three years old, so it has been the biggest relief telling my family," she said.
The NHS acknowledged the "urgent need to bring down waiting times" and said that further funding is being made available.
"The NHS has put additional funding into gender identity services for the last two years and will continue to do so," said Will Huxter, chairman of NHS England's gender identity task and finish group.
"We recognise the urgent need to bring down waiting times, and to this end we have met with all the gender identity clinics to agree plans to increase capacity from April 2016."
In January, a report from the Women and Equality Select Committee called for radical reforms to the UK's gender laws – and strongly rebuked the government for failing to make progress.
After an inquiry on trans issues lasting several months, a report released last month called for drastic changes across a number of departments – from the healthcare system to gender laws to prison reforms.
In an exclusive interview with PinkNews, Mrs Miller said that transgender people were being "failed" by the law, health services and other public bodies – while the report itself directly accused the NHS of breaking "legal obligations" to trans patients.
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Sudan: "Russia in 1917 must have felt like Khartoum 2019"
Weizmann Hamilton, Workers' and Socialist Party (CWI South Africa)
The overthrow of Omar al Bashir by the Sudanese masses on 11 April is one of the most momentous events in the modern history of the Sudanese masses, on the continent and in the Middle East. It has simultaneously inspired the masses throughout Africa and instilled fear in despotic regimes in the region.
A Financial Times journalist observing these tumultuous events was moved to write: "One cannot know for sure what Russia felt like in 1917 as the tsar was being toppled, or France in 1871 in the heady, idealistic days of the short-lived Paris Commune. But it must have felt something like Khartoum in April 2019."
The London Guardian (5/05/2019) reports that "within days of the removal of Bashir, Saudi's purse strings loosened. Along with the UAE, it pledged a $3bn aid package to prop up Sudan's economy and thus the transitional military government…. Gulf News ran a profile of the current head of the transitional military council saying that "during the war in southern Sudan and the Darfur region, he served on [sic] important positions, largely due to his civic manners and professional demeanour".
"The editorial started with a panicked homage to Sudan as "one of Africa's and the Arab world's most strategic countries." A senior United Arab Emirates minister last week tried to frame the sudden interest and largesse towards Sudan as a wise precaution after the tumult of the Arab spring. "We have experienced all-out chaos in the region and, sensibly, don't need more of it," he lectured.
"But this newfound affection for oh so strategic Sudan and its civic-mannered military leaders has more to do with the Saudi royal family's heightened insecurity about its own fate than it does with maintaining stability. The danger of a Sudanese revolution is in its optics, in the sense of possibility that it suggests…regime change."
The fact that Bashir had been able to overcome several crises before had led to delusions of invulnerability. This uprising was different. Whereas brutality had preserved his regime before, this time, the widespread repression including the arrest of activists and a death toll of approximately, 60, the masses would not be deterred.
That courage and determination was reflected in the fact that the masses chose the 6th April to take the revolution directly to the seat of his dictatorship, the military complex that housed his residence where the masses have set up camp ever since. Within five days, Bashir's 30-year reign had ended.
The movement was precipitated by the Bashir regime's decision to follow the advice of the IMF by cancelling fuel and wheat subsidies. In a country where only 3% of the national budget is allocated to education and even less to health, and expenditure consumed by the cost of dealing with insurgencies in the South Kordofan, Darfur and the Blue Nile regions, the burden of these measures fell directly on the working class and the poor in city and countryside.
The lifting of US sanctions in 1997 had failed to provide economic relief. The economic situation had deteriorated significantly since the independence of oil–rich South Sudan in 2011. It meant the loss of oil revenue, concentrated in South Soudan. Accelerated by the devaluation of the Sudanese pound on IMF advice, inflation soared to 72%, the second highest in the world after Venezuela. The economic crisis was aggravated by rampant looting which had placed Sudan at number 175 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. Suitcases loaded with more than $351,000, €6m ($6.7m; £5.2m) and five billion Sudanese pounds ($105m) were found at Mr Bashir's home.
In these circumstances, although the IMF-dictated measures serve as the straw that broke the camel's back this movement was not going to end as in so many other countries, as just another "IMF food riot". Starting in mid-December in Atbara, a city in River Nile state, about 180 miles from Khartoum, they spread across the country, swept along even marginalized peripheries like El-Gadarif in eastern Sudan and Nyala and El Fashir in Darfur, where thousands have been killed and hundreds of villages destroyed in counterinsurgency. This is the longest, most widespread and sustained movement of the Sudanese masses in the post-colonial period.
The intensity of the protests caused panic within the coalition of generals, security chiefs and Islamist politicians within the ruling National Congress Party. The hard-liners pressed for a brutal crackdown, but army commanders argued for restraint. These internal conflicts were reflected in the intervention by rank-and-file soldiers in the army to protect the crowds when militia forces and units of the feared National Intelligence and Security Services fired heavy tear gas and bullets at the protesters.
Under the hot breath of the revolution, the military was compelled within twenty four hours to replace al Bashir's replacement, Lieutenant General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, rejected by the masses as too close to al-Bashir's regime, with General Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
At the time of writing, the stalemate between the masses and the military that resulted from the revolutionary uprising that forced Omar al Bashir from office continues. Fearing that the overthrow of the former dictator by the direct action of the revolutionary movement would pose the question of the construction of a new order led by the masses themselves, the military took action to head off the movement, carried out a coup, forcing Omar al Bashir from office. This was as much a palace coup against Bashir, as it was a counter-revolutionary act by the army generals against the masses.
Posturing as sympathetic to the aims of the masses, the army is warning about "chaos and anarchy" in favour of an "orderly transition." The military has set up an interim Transitional Council, headed by lieutenant-general Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, who has promised to "uproot the regime,"vowed to restructure state institutions and end the night curfew. The army suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a three-month state of emergency, imposed a one-month curfew, and closed the country's borders and airspace. Lt. Gen. Burhan also announced the release of all political prisoners.
The stand-off between the organisation which called the masses into action, the Sudanese Professional Association, and the military is over the composition of the transitional Council. The SPA is demanding a 15 member council with 8 civilians and 7 from the military. The military's counter proposal is a 10 member council with 7 for the military.
Experience of 2011 Arab Spring
The experience of the 2011 Arab Spring, especially in Egypt, where a regime even more repressive than Mubarak's has now taken power after the military was able to posture as the "people's army", has left its imprint on the consciousness of the Sudanese masses. The Arab Spring has taught the masses to be completely distrustful of the posturing of the military. The military's immediate aim is to ride the revolutionary wave, portray itself as a neutral independent arbiter sympathetic to the democratic aspirations of the masses, wait for exhaustion to set in, and then to move decisively to reestablish "law and order".
Military council member, Lieutenant General Salah Abdelkhalik, responding to reports of army plans to disperse the protests, told reporters security forces "will never use violence against protesters". He also distanced the council from the former government of al-Bashir, saying: "We are part of the revolution and not part of the former regime as people view us." (Al Jazeera Online -- 30/04/2019)
The Sudanese incarnation of the Arab Spring of eight years ago is determined to avoid the fate of that magnificent uprising. Confronted with the same counter-revolutionary machinations of the military as in Egypt in 2011, the masses have met these measures with defiance. Protests have continued with the masses demanding that the military hand control back to the people. In a country in which more than 60 percent of the population is under 25 and around 20 percent is between 15 and 24 years old, it is the youth that has been to the fore in the movement. Most significantly an estimated 70% of demonstrators are women.
The massesare determined that there will be no repeat of a return of the old order or direct military rule.Reflecting the deep suspicions of the masses, theSudanese Professionals Association (SPA), thrust into the leadership of the movement against al-Bashir's regime has stepped up the pressure on the army. "The military council is a copy cat of the toppled regime. The army is trying to disperse the sit-in by removing the barricades," the SPA said." (Al Jazeera Online -- 30/04/2019)
Responding to threats by the army to put an end to the "chaos" the SPA called for a "million strong march" on 2nd May to break the deadlock over the composition of the Transitional Council. What in reality is playing itself out is a trial of strength between revolution and counter-revolution. This stalemate cannot endure indefinitely. It must be resolved in favour of the masses or in favour of the ruling elite.
The Sudanese uprising is a resounding confirmation of one of the foundations of Trotsky's Theory of Permanent Revolution – the complete incapacity of the colonial bourgeoisie to carry through even the most basic tasks of the bourgeois democratic revolution much less fulfill even the most modest aspirations of the masses. The post-independence elite has not only presided over economic dislocation, the failure to keep Sudan together as a single state, but also allowed the country to become the playground of competing regional powers in the Gulf and their imperialist masters.
In determining the way forward, the Sudanese masses will not only use the Arab Spring, the greatest achievement of which, the ousting of a dictator, they have already achieved , and whose limitations – the return of the old order under the military, they remain determined to prevent, as a point of reference. They will also reopen the pages of their own rich history of struggle.
This is the 6th military coup since independence. Importantly, from the standpoint of the way forward for the revolution, three of those coups were in fact carried out to cut across and suppress the mass uprisings. But the lessons of the October Revolution of 1964 and April Intifada of 1985 were that both succeeded against the military. The former ousted the Sudan's first military regime, the latter the second.
There can be no trust in the military. As well-known activist figure, Ali Elhasan, arrested in January, and taken to the so-called "refrigerator" at Shandi prison, but returned immediately to the protests the day before Bashir was ousted, points out: The old regime "is still represented in the security forces and in the economy. They have militias and they still have guns and they have money. We have a window of opportunity … We can't wait."
The organisation at the forefront of the movement, the Sudanese Professionals Association, is an umbrella association of 15 different trade unions first formed in October 2016. Under its umbrella are the Forces of National Consensus, the Sudan Call and other political parties including the Sudanese Communist Party. It campaigned for the introduction of a minimum wage and participated in protests against the rising cost of living in Sudan. Prominent in the SPA are lawyers, doctors and university lecturers.
The SPA proposals for a Transitional Council that will include the military suggests that it has not drawn the lessons of either the Arab Spring, the October Revolution of 1964 and the intifada of 1985. They reflect the middle class character of the SPA leadership and the inclination to find an imaginary middle way between the Bashir's dictatorship and a genuinely democratic regime based on the working class and the poor.
The activist Elhasan is among a group that began pushing early in the protests for daily demonstrations, in opposition to the SPA, which wanted a more incremental approach."I have been sleeping here since I got out," he said at a pavement cafe at the sit-in. "We won't allow decisions to be made away from people. It has to be transparent. We're here to keep up pressure on the [opposition coalition] so that they understand that their negotiations with the Transitional Military Council are on behalf of the protesters."
The military includes General Auf who is a graduate of the Cairo Military Academy and maintains close links with Egyptian strong man president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It is led by Durhan, responsible for Sudan's operations alongside the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The deputy leader Mohammad Hamdan aka Himeidti, is the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, a private military force which was partially integrated into the military and security services. The unit is regarded by many as a re-branded version of the Janjaweed militias of which Himeidti was himself a part, which carried out massacres in Darfur in 2003. He has 7,000 troops stationed in Yemen on the Saudi Arabian payroll. It also includes the ruthless and ambitious chief of the intelligence services, Salah Abdalla Gosh, who controls powerful forces in the capital, and has close links to intelligence services, including the C.I.A., and has recently been particularly associated with the United Arab Emirates.
Class collaborationist policies
It is enough to set out these facts to recognise the grievously mistaken approach of the SPA. Nor does the Sudanese Communist Party offer a way forward. It calls for "Freedom, peace, justice" and goes on, "Revolution is the people's choice. The Sudanese Communist Party and all the opposition forces are adamant in their resolve to continue the fight until the establishment of a civilian government that represents the masses and implements the democratic alternativeprogram accepted by all the forces, the Professionals Alliance, and the armed groups."
This position unfortunately is drawn directly from the class collaborationist policies of Stalinism that have aided the counter-revolution in many countries. It is the direct opposite of the policy of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks in the 1917 revolution who opposed joining any government committed to working with capitalism and campaigned to win majority support for a workers' and peasants' government that would break with capitalism.
Until now the unity and resolve of the masses remains unbroken. Attempts by religious leaders to discredit the movement were repulsed. Claims that the movement was inspired by the Sudanese Liberation Army in Darfur were met with the defiant chant: "We are all Darfur."
Reflecting the close cultural ties between the SPA leadership and the Sudanese elite, it issued a call for a cleaning campaign in which women should be in the forefront because: "because you care more about it." It was met with outrage and an apology from the SPA. Amongst the repressive measures against women are compulsory dress codes for the violation of which they are flogged. There is no gender equality in the mainly Muslim country, where female genital mutilation is still practised - almost 90% of Sudanese women have been cut. The SPA was forced to retract that insult.
The energy of the movement has been sufficient to bring the uprising to its present conjuncture. But, in the absence of a mass workers party, the SPA has stepped into the vacuum. However the SPA, while opposing military rule, is attempting to form a civilian led capitalist government. But such a government, even if called "transitional", would by its very nature not break the grip of the ruling class and imperialism, something that would, sooner or later, pose the threat of counter-revolution, something seen before in Sudan and in other revolutions.
The masses need to establish their own power, counterposed to that of the same regime that continues without Bashir and even to the SPA upon which pressure must be exerted to break completely with the military. The fraternization between the rank-and file soldiers that occurred when the hardliners were preparing to crackdown in April shows the potential power of the masses themselves.
What is now urgently needed is the consolidation of the unity that has propelled the movement forward till now. The action committees in areas such as in Atbera where the uprising began, must be replicated throughout the country as a step towards laying the groundwork for the independent power of the masses. The basic steps of organisation that have been taken at the mass occupation outside the military headquarters, Sudan's Tahrir Square, including the establishment of committees to feed people, for security, to control traffic, even a clinic, must be taken into the rest of the country, to take control of workplaces and production.
Linked together these committees, including local unions, workers, and other forces of the revolution, a local, state-wide and national level, workers' committees can provide the basis for an alternative state structure that can seize power from the military and form a government led by representatives of the workers and poor.
Sudanese society can overcome the impasse of capitalism only through a socialist revolution. This requires a mass party of the working class on a socialist programme. Such a programme must include the idea of a planned economy, democratically controlled by the working class and the poor.To win affordable prices for food and fuel, wage rises and a shorter working week, it is necessary to fight for nationalisation of the major industries and the land of the big landowners, under working class democratic control and management. On the basis of a socialist plan it would be possible to invest in job creation, decent housing, health care and education.
It must call for:
• the immediate scrapping of all discriminatory laws oppressing women
• freedom of religion and a separation of church and state
• defence of democratic rights
• the repudiation of foreign debt
• the withdrawal of troops from Yemen and the cessation of military repression of oppressed nationalities and the recognition of the right to self determination
• a government led by democratically elected representatives of the workers' and poor
• for a socialist Sudan united on a federal basis
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Joshua Crutchfield
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FIRST-PERSON: Heaven on earth
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted August 16, 2018 in
Heaven can be seen on earth, Joshua Crutchfield writes, through "the supernatural awe-inspiring power of God" among His people.
EASTER: The resurrection — a fatal blow to death
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 28, 2018 in
Preaching, evangelism and every other aspect of life is affected by what we believe about the resurrection, Joshua Crutchfield writes, noting, "The chief victory of Jesus is not that He died, but that even though He died, He lives."
FIRST-PERSON: If it is good for kids …
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 2, 2018 in Discipleship
Apart from children in the church, Joshua Crutchfield laments, so few Christians memorize Scripture. One possible reason, he writes, is, "We don't esteem the Bible like we say we do."
500 YEARS: 'Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise'
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted October 26, 2017 in
Martin Luther's battleground "also is our battleground -- the authority of Scripture," Joshua Crutchfield writes, underscoring the Bible "not as a book of suggestions or good advice, but as words spoken from the very mouth of God."
FIRST-PERSON: 'His glory is our reward'
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted June 7, 2017 in Evangelism
Christians are not "heavenly real estate brokers," Joshua Crutchfield writes, noting that the focus of the Gospel is far more than an eternal destination; it is God Himself. "Fortunately, we do not have to wait for death to enjoy God," he notes.
FIRST-PERSON: United by truth
Joshua Crutchfield notes that the truth -- Jesus is Lord -- can unite Southern Baptists so that "all people might hear His name and have the opportunity to receive new life .... If we must fight, let it be against the darkness of this world."
FIRST-PERSON: Standing with cooperation
By Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 3, 2017 in Cooperative Program, SBC News
Cooperation among Southern Baptists, as noted by Joshua Crutchfield, is based on the theological beliefs in the SBC's Baptist Faith and Message and, all the more "on the one of whom the document speaks -- Jesus."


X-O MANOWAR #15 preview
by First Comics News on February 8, 2018 X-O MANOWAR #15 preview2018-02-08T12:42:48-08:00 - News
Valiant is proud to present X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – the FIRST ISSUE of "BARBARIANS," an ALL-NEW ARC and FEROCIOUS NEW JUMPING-ON POINT from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (HARBINGER WARS 2, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (DIVINITY)! On May 23rd, the best-selling creative team behind Valiant's groundbreaking DIVINITY series reunites to reveal a battle-scarred mission from Aric of Dacia's youth… As HARBINGER WARS 2 readies it fire, prepare to witness the ;andmark episode that forged the heir to the Visigoth nation into the world-smashing, interstellar champion now known as X-O Manowar!
As HARBINGER WARS 2 besieges the Valiant Universe – and X-O Manowar along with it – Aric of Dacia cannot escape the flames that now threaten his future…or the shadows that cloud his past. Before space… Before the armor… Return to the apex of Visigoth conquest as a younger, brasher Aric and a sword-wielding grifter set off on a continent-spanning quest for fortune, glory, and power! From the bloodstained sands of the gladiatorial arena to the dunes of the Arabian Desert, meet the man who would become the warrior-king of an alien civilization – and our own world's most powerful hero – as he sets out to seize his destiny once upon a time in a land of faraway kings and unrepentant conquerors!
"I wanted to try to do something a little different than we've seen in past 'event' books that crossover with other books and become these massive unwieldy narratives," writer Matt Kindt. "So instead of getting a double-dose of X-O Manowar during HARBINGER WARS 2 and in his own book, I thought it would be more interesting to have him take on a larger role in the HARBINGER WARS book and then have a contrasting tale taking place in his own title – one that tells a story of him as a Visigoth in Rome – that would both inform his past self and also serve to work in harmony with HARBINGER WARS 2… Two stories that can be read independently of one another, but also work together in this crazy harmonic way if you're reading both. Both storylines are standalone and also…not."
On May 23rd, jump on board one of the most acclaimed series in comics today as visionary creators Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine reunite for a thrilling, four-part melee of blood and steely-eyed daring at the height of the barbarian age with X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – featuring covers by Lewis LaRosa (BLOODSHOT SALVATION), Jim Mahfood (Grrl Scouts), Veronica Fish (Spider-Woman), and Viktor Kalachev (Blue Estate)!
PLUS: Valiant is rewarding fans who reserve "BARBARIANS", the next staggering arc of Valiant's best-selling epic series, with specially expanded, limited editions of each issue in the X-O MANOWAR #15-18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE – available only as a pre-order set! Released monthly from May 2018 through August 2018, each PRE-ORDER EDITION comes packed with trade paperback-style extras and bonus content, including creator commentary, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the comics, process character designs and artwork, and first looks at upcoming issues – plus exclusive covers by Shane Davis (Superman: Earth One) that can't be found anywhere else!
Fans and retailers, take note: The only way to obtain these exclusive items is to pre-order all four issues with your local comic shop by the initial order date (IOD) of March 29th, 2018! No more copies will be made available beyond that date and subsequent issues will not be offered in later solicitations!
THEN, ALSO BEGINNING IN MAY: From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, DIVINITY, Mind MGMT), Academy Award nominee Eric Heisserer (SECRET WEAPONS), and superstar artists Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR), Raúl Allén (SECRET WEAPONS), and Patricia Martín (BLOODSHOT REBORN), the most powerful Valiant event ever attempted erupts in full force as X-O Manowar, Livewire, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, the Secret Weapons, Ninjak, and a cast of thousands draw their battle lines in HARBINGER WARS 2!
For the rare and immensely powerful subset of humanity known as psiots, their unique abilities have come with an enormous cost. Once, their existence was known only to a select few. Now, the revelation that thousands of these latent telekinetic "harbingers" secretly live among us…with the potential to become active at any moment…has led the American government to a dramatic tipping point…
Armed with new extra-governmental authority, the deep-black military contractor known as Omen has been authorized to identify, evaluate, and, if need be, eliminate all super-normal threats to the homeland. H.A.R.D. Corps units have been deployed into cities and towns across the United States to enforce their orders.
In the East, one of the most powerful minds on Earth, Peter Stanchek, is leading his band of Renegades across the country, activating any potential psiots willing to join them, and building an insurrection force of ultra-powerful and unwieldy new abilities that will soon bring war to Omen's doorstep…and the unstoppable force known as X-O Manowar raging back to Earth…
In the West, Livewire – the telekinetic technopath with the ability to bend machines and computers to her will – will be forced to choose between her former allies…or her newfound team of Secret Weapons. As the situation escalates beyond human control, the United States will be plunged into darkness from coast to coast, launching Bloodshot and Ninjak into a dangerous mission to neutralize their one-time teammate – and setting the stage for the most shocking, most violent, and most consequential clash of powers ever witnessed in the history of the Valiant Universe!
Stay tuned for more massive developments related to HARBINGER WARS 2 in the weeks to come!
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 (NEW ARC! "BARBARIANS" – PART 1)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by TREVOR HAIRSINE
Cover A by LEWIS LAROSA
Cover B by JIM MAHFOOD
Variant Cover by VERONICA FISH
X-O Manowar Icon Variant by VIKTOR KALACHEV
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On Sale MAY 23rd (FOC – 4/30/18)
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15-18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE
Covers by SHANE DAVIS
$3.99 each [4 issues]| 40 pgs. each | T+ | Issue #15 on Sale MAY 23rd (IOD – 3/29/18)
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – Cover A by Lewis LaRosa
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – Cover B by Jim Mahfood
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – Variant Cover by Veronica Fish
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – X-O Manowar Icon Variant by Viktor Kalachev
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15-#18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE COUPON
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Valiant is proud to present X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 – the FIRST ISSUE of "BARBARIANS," an ALL-NEW ARC and FEROCIOUS NEW JUMPING-ON POINT from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (HARBINGER WARS 2, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (DIVINITY)! On May 23rd, the best-selling creative team behind...
The Krampus Kickstarter is now LIVE!
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Yb Fibre Laser and MAG Hybrid Processing in Pipeline Welding
Yb Fibre Laser/MAG Hybrid Processing for Welding of Pipelines
David S. Howse, Robert J. Scudamore, Geoff S. Booth
Paper presented at the Commission IV (Power Beam Processes) Document at 58th IIW Annual Assembly in Prague, 11-15 July 2005.
TWI has been processing materials with high power (4kW and above) Nd:YAG lasers since 1997 and has a history of welding structures with lasers extending back some thirty years. The work carried out at TWI for the pipeline industry using lasers has moved from early autogenous work with high power (9kW) fibre delivered Nd:YAG laser to hybrid procedures with Nd:YAG and MAG through to recent work carried out with a 7kW Yb fibre/MAG procedure capable of delivering deep penetration girth welding procedures at 1.8m/min travel speed. The paper describes the technical progress made throughout this work in terms of process developments to meet the exacting productivity requirements along with those necessary to meet technical requirements such as impact toughness and other pipeline code acceptance criteria.
There is continual emphasis on reducing the costs associated with new pipeline development, particularly for large diameter gas transmission lines. In particular, Markland [1] noted that BP expects to be involved in building over 10,000km of onshore pipelines for transporting oil and gas with capital expenditure estimated as exceeding £11 billion. Over half of the world's undeveloped hydrocarbon reserves are remote from potential users and very large pipelines, up to 1.42m (56") diameter are required to transport the fuel to market. The welding process used to make the site girth welds has a significant bearing on the total cost per kilometre of pipeline and is one of the areas that TWI has been involved with over the last few years. Current practice is to use either mechanised or automated MAG and in the short term there are probably further cost reduction opportunities offered by incremental improvements to this operation. The multipass MAG process, however, requires a high manning level and the costs of providing this and the necessary support in fairly remote regions are a significant component of the overall costs.
Laser welding, and in particular fibre delivered laser welding, has now been developed to the stage where it presents opportunities for cost savings, which arise from reductions in labour content, despite perceived high capital costs. Yb fibre lasers are now commercially available with power levels of up to 10kW. These lasers are particularly suitable for pipe girth welds because the beam is delivered to the workstation through a single optical fibre and their efficiency is high enabling the development of more portable welding systems. It has also been demonstrated [2,3] by TWI that the concept of high power laser welding of land pipelines is entirely feasible. Welding procedures have been developed that produce good quality welds with satisfactory tolerance to joint fit-up. Additionally techniques have been developed for welding around 360° and for ensuring a good weld at the start/stop weld overlap position. With the Yb fibre lasers currently available, a procedure involving laser and MAG offers an attractive commercialisation route.
2. Laser technology
Until quite recently, there have been two main types of industrial laser used at high powers for deep penetration keyhole welding. These were CO 2 gas lasers and Neodymium doped Yttrium, Aluminium Garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers. Ireland [4] , noted that, historically, CO 2 lasers were the first to be developed capable of delivering higher powers needed to process relatively thick structural steels (>6mm thickness) while Nd:YAG lasers have been more limited in terms of power. However, over recent years, developments in Nd:YAG laser technology have resulted in higher power systems, up to 6kW, becoming commercially available. In terms of materials processing, the principal difference between Nd:YAG lasers andCO 2 lasers is the difference in wavelength of the light emitted. Nd:YAG lasers produce light of 1.06µm wavelength that can be transmitted to the workpiece by a fibre optic cable. This is a much more flexible system of beam delivery than for CO 2 lasers (10.64µm wavelength) that must be transmitted to the workpiece by more cumbersome reflective or transmissive optical systems. This makes Nd:YAG lasers much more attractive as flexible manufacturing tools compared to CO 2 lasers. Certainly for orbital welding of land pipelines, fibre delivered lasers would be the preferred choice.
Larson [5] has shown that lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers have established themselves as reliable processing tools capable of delivering a precise heat source in high volume, flexible manufacturing environments such as the automotive industry in Europe. Kincade and Anderson [6] have also shown that the trend is for the world market to grow for solid state lasers generally. Forecast worldwide sales for 2005 are $520M, this compares with $602M for CO 2 lasers in an expanding materials processing market worth an estimated $1.5 billion.
Although Nd:YAG lasers compare favourably to CO 2 lasers in terms of reliability and ease of processing, they have a significant drawback for some manufacturing applications in that although they are relatively compact they are inefficient, only converting around 3% of the input energy to produce the laser beam power. This is not a major issue for most manufacturing applications, but the use of lasers for welding cross-country pipelines relies on the portability of the process. Although the Nd:YAG laser process can be containerised, the low efficiency and high capital cost of the process make it very difficult to justify economically. One of the major advances in laser technology in recent times is the introduction ofytterbium (Yb) fibre lasers. The lasing medium for these lasers is contained within the fibre itself and individual units generating 2-300W can be combined to produce single lasers with up to 10kW power and beyond. Alternatively, higher power single mode fibre lasers are also commercially available at powers up to 1kW. These lasers have a similar wavelength to Nd:YAG lasers and the laser light can be transmitted to the workpiece via a flexible optical fibre. Ybfibre lasers are approximately 20% wall plug efficient and are much more compact than Nd:YAG lasers. This makes them very attractive for applications such as pipelay where they need to be portable. Although these lasers are just becoming commercially available, at powers in excess of those available for lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers, there has been very little practical work carried out to investigate their suitability for keyhole welding and their performance. Also, although having enormous potential, they need to be thoroughly evaluated for reliable and economic industrial use. To this end, TWI has recently added a 7kW fibre bundled Yb fibre system to its laser processing facilities. The laser is capable of delivering any power up to 7kW via a 0.3mm diameter, 20m length, optical fibre cable and has the capability of producing a focused spot with a power density of 5.6 x 10 6 W/cm 2 .
3. Laser processing for pipeline applications
3.1 CO 2 laser processing
Bonigon and Geertsen [7] reported development work carried out in this area by Bouygues Offshore, looking at the application of CO 2 laser welding for S-lay of offshore pipelines. This system used a CO 2 laser delivering power up to 20kW and was designed to weld up to 20mm wall thickness in a single pass. Not all the results from this work have been made public, but those that have show that although the processing tolerances are acceptable for producing welds in the 5G position (pipe axis horizontal and welding direction vertical up or down). It was concluded that it was not possible to use all commercially available pipeline compositions and product forms to satisfy existing code requirements, particularly in meeting hardness requirements for sour service and toughness requirements at the same time. Similarly, work was also carried out by Gain and Y. et al(2000) at AXAL/ITP to develop a fully automatic laser welding system to improve the speed of offshore pipeline welding. This system also used a CO 2 laser delivering power up to 20kW and was designed to weld up to 20mm wall thickness in a single pass. Welds have been made in wall thickness up to 15.9mm but although the weld met non destructive tolerances toAPI 1104, detailed mechanical property data is not available.
3.2 Lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser processing
For a number of years TWI has also been involved in initiatives looking at girth welding of pipelines with high power Nd:YAG lasers. Initially a review project was carried out by TWI for BP to identify potential options for reducing welding costs associated with land lay of pipelines. This work identified improvements to existing arc welding technology and also highlighted the potential of high power Nd:YAG lasers in reducing the cost of pipeline fabrication. Very early studies investigated autogenous laser welding in the 2G position ( Fig.1). Although these welds demonstrated that welding was possible in wall thicknesses up to 12.7mm, the welding speeds were still relatively slow. Higher speeds of around 1.0m/min, needed for the process to maintain productivity, were used but the process was not tolerant to variation in joint gap. In addition, the autogenous process produced welds with very low impact toughness. In order to solve the problems with poor tolerance to fit up at high speeds and the low toughness, the development of the process concentrated on procedures using hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG welding reported by both Howse [2] and Booth [3] .
Fig.1. Macrosection of BOP weld made on X52 pipe steel, 324mm outside diameter and 12.7mm wall thickness. Power at the workpiece 8.2kW, travel speed 500mm/min. The laser source was three combined lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers
3.3 Hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG processing
For this work, the initial proposed fabrication sequence was for the MAG pass fill stations in an land based pipelay spread to be replaced by a hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG welding station, whilst still retaining the MAG root. An example of this type of joint, but made autogenously with 9kW of Nd:YAG laser power, is shown in Fig.2.
Two separate laser power sources/hybrid welding heads or a single Nd:YAG laser system with the beam switched between two heads positioned on either side of the pipe, may potentially be used to produce this weld. The intention was to use the laser in conjunction with a MAG wire fed consumable to increase the processing speed, tolerance to fit-up and generate appropriate microstructures with acceptable impact toughness.
Fig.2. Section through pipe wall, showing internal MAG root run and 9.0kW autogenous laser fill made at 0.7 m/min. Pipe grade API 1104 X70 14.3mm wall thickness (mm scale shown). The laser source was three combined lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers
The laser apparatus used to make these welds comprised two 3kW Trumpf HL3006D Nd:YAG lasers and one 4kW Trumpf HL4006D Nd:YAG laser combined in an optical beam combining unit to deliver 9kW at the workpiece. The output from the lasers was transmitted into the beam combining unit using a step index fibre optic of core diameter 0.6mm and length 30m. A single fibre optic of core diameter 1mm and length 15m transmitted the combined laser power from the beam combining unit to the laser output housing. A Lincoln Electric Powerwave 455 MAG power source was also used. A synergic pulsed welding programme appropriate for 1mm diameter wire and Ar-CO 2 shielding gas mixtures was selected for the welding trials.
A purpose built fixture was used to hold both the laser focusing head and MAG torch. The fixture permitted accurate and repeatable control of the relative position and orientation of the two heat sources. Figure 3 shows the laser output head and MAG torch attached to the hybrid fixture, with the laser co-axial gas nozzle and MAG shroud removed.
Fig.3. Laboratory demonstration of hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG welding for pipelines
If the welding conditions used were carefully chosen to give fully penetrating welds, the weld was clear of solidification defects. It was evident that if full penetration was achieved, defect free welds above 8mm penetration were possible at processing speeds of 1m/min ( Fig.4).
Fig.4. Macrograph of a hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG weld in X60 pipeline steel showing an acceptable weld with 11mm full penetration. Laser power at the workpiece 8.0kW, travel speed 1.0 m/min. The laser source was three combined Nd:YAG lasers
In summary, this work showed that it was possible to use high power Nd:YAG laser welding combined with the MAG process to produce deep penetration welding passes in commercially available pipeline steels that met the requirements of pipeline specifications such as BS 4515 and API 1104 in terms of acceptance criteria for imperfection limits. The welds also showed acceptable hardness values and good, low temperature toughness ( Tables 1 and 2). The acceptance criteria used for was for a minimum average vale of 40J and minimum individual value of 30J impact energy at -10°C using full sized (10mm x 10mm) Charpy specimens and a maximum permitted hardness of 275HV10 in the weld metal. It can be seen that although the samples met the minimum requirements, there was some scatter in the Charpy results with a single lower value in the heat affected zone. One disadvantage of using asingle pass welding process is that the heat affected zone does not undergo microstructural refinement in the same way that a multipass weld will. It is possible that the scatter is due to sampling of a region of unrefined grain coarsened microstructure. Subsequently, much more Charpy testing was carried out within this programme of work and values in the weld and heat affected zones consistently met acceptance criteria. It would be recommended however, that afull qualification of the process for pipeline applications should include heat affected zone CTOD testing.
Table 1 Hardness values for a hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG weld in API 5L X60 pipeline steel.
Weld Metal Hardness
(HV10)
Heat Affected Zone
Hardness (HV10)
Average Peak Average Peak
Table 2 Charpy impact results for a hybrid Nd:YAG laser/MAG weld in API 5L X60 pipeline steel. Charpy values quoted are values for full size (10x10mm) tested at -10°C.
Charpy Impact Energy
at -10°C (J)
Weld metal centreline 106, 130, 91 (average 109)
Heat affected zone 43, 140, 90 (average 91)
Although the results of this project work showed that fibre delivered lasers were capable of producing orbital welds in pipe materials that would meet productivity targets, give acceptable mechanical properties and low defect levels, the economic performance could not be justified. One of the main drawbacks in the proposed use of lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser technology for the site welding of pipelines was the process' poor efficiency and lack of portability. To achieve these welds would require two separate laser power sources being combined and operating together. The poor efficiency and high capital cost of the process effectively prohibited their use compared to existing arc technologies.
Fig.5. The IPG YLR7000 Yb fibre laser installed at TWI (Yorkshire)
3.4 Hybrid Yb fibre laser/MAG processing
In late 2003, TWI took delivery of a 7kW Yb fibre laser. The 7kW laser at TWI delivers the power to the workpiece through a 0.3mm diameter optical fibre. In addition, the wallplug efficiency of the laser at this power has been measured as 20%, much higher than competing lamp pumped Nd:YAG technology. The wavelength that the laser operates at for these powers is 1070nm, with similar, good material interaction to Nd:YAG lasers. The laser is also relatively compact with length, width and height dimensions of 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6m respectively. Figure 5 is a photograph of the laser with one of the front panels open. The 200W modules, the outputs of which are combined to provide 7kW, are clearly visible. In this laser we have a single power source with high efficiency, which is capable of being containerised and used for pipeline applications.
With this in mind, TWI carried out some initial trials welding API 5L X80 linepipe material to investigate the potential of this technology. Fig.6 is a photograph of the processing cell. The laser processing head is mounted on a Kawasaki ZX130L 6 axis robot. Hybrid laser-arc welding capability is achieved using the Yb fibre laser in combination with an ESABAristoMIG 450 programmable arc power source, AristoFeed 30 and an MA6 controller. A 0.3mm fibre delivers the laser beam to the workpiece. The processing heads used in the trials held a 250mm length focusing lens, producing a 0.6mmdiameter focused spot and a power density of 2.5x10 4 W/mm 2 at 7kW.
Fig.6. The Yb fibre laser processing cell at TWI (Yorkshire)
The X80 linepipe material was prepared with a compound preparation angle with a 6mm root face and welds were made on pipe girth section in three positions; flat (1G), vertical up (3G) and overhead (4G) to simulate the quadrants inpipe girth welding 5G vertical up ( Fig.7).
Fig.7. ASME 9 welding positions
The procedure used for all three positions is as follows:
Travel speed = 1.8m/min.
Wire = 1mm diameter BS 2901 pt1:1983 A18.
Wire feed speed = 10m/min.
Source on synergic setting.
Average pulsed current = 215A.
Arc voltage = 25V.
Arc power = 5375W.
Laser Power = 7kW.
Spot size = 0.6mm.
Position of the focal plane at the surface of the preparation.
Cross sections of the welds are shown in Figs.8-10.
Fig.8. Macrosection of weld W70 transverse girth Yb fibre/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m/min welded in the overhead (PE/4G) position
Fig.9. Macrosection of weld W69, transverse girth Yb fibre/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m/min welded in the vertical up(PF/3G) position
Fig.10. Macrosection of weld W71, transverse girth Yb fibre/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m/min welded in the flat (PA/1G) position
These welds were inspected both visually and by radiography and were found to be of good quality with no internal defects. Samples were also taken from these welds and used for hardness, tensile and Charpy impact testing. The results of this testing are shown in Table 3. It can be seen that the samples produced acceptable toughness and that tensile failure occurred in the parent material in all cases. The hardness of these welds is high and the use of this technology for sour service applications would need further consideration.
Table 3. Mechanical testing results for Yb fibre laser/MAG hybrid welds made in X80 C-Mn line-pipe steel at a travel speed of 1.8m/min. Charpy values quoted are actual values for sub size (7.5x10mm) specimens tested at-10°C.
Charpy impact
values at -10°C (J)
Maximum hardness
Cross-weld tensile
tests (N/mm 2 )
Parent/weld failure
Over-head (4G) 73 64 380 380 700, 686, 696 Parent
Vertical up (3G) 78 70 394 387 732, 726, 728 Parent
Flat (1G) 69 65 357 413 722, 732, 689 Parent
The developments within high power laser materials processing have been extremely rapid within the last ten years and the potential for welding pipelines with lasers has improved with each new product that has come onto the market. CO 2 laser technology, although reliable and available at high powers has disadvantages in terms of its delivery. The relatively long wavelength of CO 2 generated laser light (10.64µm) means that the light cannot be transmitted through silica based optics and hence glass fibre optical delivery systems. Although the beam quality of these lasers is good and high power densities and deep penetration welds can be achieved, the manipulation of the beam around a pipe to make a girth weld is not easy. Lamp pumped Nd:YAG technology however with shorter wavelength light (1.06µm) and power delivered to the workpiece via optical fibres has much more flexibility. Initial trials with this technology have demonstrated the potential of fibre delivered lasers to produce deep penetration orbital girth welds. However, both the CO 2 and lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser have significant drawbacks. The first being that the wallplug efficiency is relatively low at much less than 10%. This means that the systems not only require large amounts of energy to operate them but that they also require chiller equipment to extract waste heat. These characteristics mean that the lasers are not readily portable.
Another issue highlighted relatively early in the work with both CO 2 and Nd:YAG lasers for the welding of steel pipeline material is that the autogenous microstructures generated within the welds are brittle and have poor impact performance. Pipeline application standards require that the welded joints have adequate impact toughness at the appropriate ambient temperature, which can be low for cross country pipelines in cold regions. The work carried out has shown that this can be overcome by using laser-archybrid technology which allows filler wire additions with higher oxygen content to be added to the molten pool, which generates more favourable microstructures with better impact resistance. Using hybrid technology, acceptable weld metal impact values have been consistently been achieved at test temperatures of -10°C. The use of hybrid laser arc processes has further benefits in that the arc acts to bridge joint preparation gaps and gives stability to the process at high welding speeds.
The introduction of high power Yb fibre laser technology to the marketplace has further widened the scope for materials processing and particularly for application of hybrid laser-arc processing in pipeline welding applications. These lasers are capable of delivering high powers from a single source with good beam quality, resulting in high power densities and, therefore, fast processing speeds. The trials reported here demonstrate that these lasers arecapable of producing 9mm depth welds at speeds of 1.8m/mmin. These procedures have been demonstrated in fixed positions capable of being translated to circumferential girth welds in pipeline demonstrators. Another relevant characteristic of these lasers is the relatively high efficiency of the process, measured by TWI at 20%. This means that, per kW, there is less input power required and less waste heat generated that has to be removed by some chilling capacity. One of the major unknowns of the process is its reliability in industrial applications. Although the laser at TWI appears to be a relatively robust design and has shown itself to deliver a very high availability for processing in its first year, this is the first commercial system of this size under evaluation and more data will be needed before industry is fully convinced of its capabilities. Similarly, although the technical results of these initial trials are extremely encouraging, further development work needs to be carried out to fully develop an integrated pipe welding system capable of being used in a production environment.
The following conclusions can be made:
Over the past ten years laser technology has developed to the stage where reliable, high power and efficient Yb fibre laser power sources are now available capable of offering productivity benefits for pipelay.
The hybrid Yb fibre/MAG process can be used at high processing speed (1.8m/min) to weld a 9mm ligament in a single welding pass with low and acceptable flaw levels.
Welded deposits have been tested for strength and the impact toughness and have been shown to be acceptable to current pipeline application standards.
The developed procedure has been demonstrated in the overhead, vertical up and flat welding positions capable of being translated to a 5G vertical up girth welding procedure in linepipe.
The authors would like to acknowledge the help and assistance of Anthony Elliot and Tom Woolhouse in making the welds with the 7kW Yb fibre laser facility and also to thank BP Exploration for funding the initial work at TWI with high power Nd:YAG lasers.
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Howse, DS, Scudamore, RJ, Booth GS, Woloszyn AC, and Howard, RD (2002). 'Development of the Laser/MAG Hybrid Welding Process for Land Pipeline Construction', Proc. Application and evaluation of high-grade pipelines in hostile environments, Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, 7-8 November, pp763-783.
Booth, GS, Howse, DS, Woloszyn, AC, and Howard RD (2002). 'Hybrid Nd:YAG Laser/Gas Metal Arc Welding for New Land Pipelines', Proc. Conf. International Conference on Pipeline Technology, Wollongong, Australia, March 2002.
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Larson, JK (1999). 'Lasers for various materials processing. A review of the latest applications in automotive manufacturing', Proc. Conf. 7th Nordic Conference in Laser Processing of Materials, Lappeenranta, Finland, August, pp.26-37.
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» Home / Games / Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse (1994) - Game details
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse
Worldwide 1994 by Viacom New Media
Unfold a classic ghost story in this unique storytelling game. You are a brother and sister team trapped inside a haunted theatre. You discover Orpheo, the Mad Magician, has put an evil curse on it… or so you think. Dare to explore this ghoulish theatre as you search for clues to unlock the mystery. Remember… surprises await you at every turn.
3.5 stars: "A solid adventure that is generally enjoyable, though it lacks enough polish or ambition to recommend without caution."
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Are you afraid of the dark? review
Read the review » May 19, 2002
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Adventure Games by Viacom New Media
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse
Full game details
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Adventure Games DB
Perspective First-Person
Control Point-and-click
Gameplay Interactive movie
Genre Horror
Theme Children, Licensed properties
Graphic Style Illustrated realism, Live Action
Presentation -
Action (Compulsory) -
Red Flags -
Media CD
DOS 5.0 and higher
386/33 MHz processor (486/50 MHz recommended)
4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended)
SVGA compatible video card
Double speed CD-ROM drive recommended
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse by Viacom New Media - A Point and Click Adventure Game
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse is an adventure game, released in 1994 by Viacom New Media. Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse has a Illustrated realism, Live Action style and uses a Point-and-click control scheme. Adventure Gamers have published a review of Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse and rate it as Good, at this time the community has not provided a rating for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse.
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