Rules & Guidelines



The Purposes of this competition are to:

• Advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes through poster length communication of investigative work undertaken to address a technical challenge.

• Promote the science, technology and application of welding to address technical and commercial challenges.

• Highlight quality investigative work in the field of welding allied joining and cutting processes along with recognizing the investigators and institutions that support these endeavors.

• Promote development of students’ communication skills.

• Promote development of students’ knowledge of welding and related technologies.



Poster Requirements and Selection Criteria

• Only those posters submitted online will be considered. Follow the guidelines and word limits indicated.

• Any technical topic relevant to the welding industry is acceptable (e.g. welding processes & controls, welding procedures, welding design, structural integrity related to welding, weld inspection, welding metallurgy, etc.).

• Posters accepted for competition will be judged based on technical content, clarity of communication, novelty/relevance of the subject & ideas conveyed and overall aesthetic impression.

• Submittals that are incomplete and that do not satisfy these basic guidelines will not be considered for competition.

Submission Deadline: September 6, 2019



Criteria by Category

HIGH SCHOOL – JUNIOR / SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Junior or Senior high school students enrolled in a welding concentration when the work was completed.
Presentation should represent technical concepts and application to the welding industry. Practical application and creativity are important and should be demonstrated.

View Suggested Topics (not limited to those listed) for High School, Certificate and 2 Year Students

  • SKILLS Competition participants may present their work in poster format per the guidelines of the poster competition.
  • Student Section Community Service projects (e.g., welded art sculptures, fabrication of grills or smokers)
  • Welding Safety
    • Hazards (electrical shock, burns, fumes)
    • PPE (helmets, gloves, leathers)
  • SMAW
    • Meaning of electrode designations
    • Flux ingredients and their purpose (cellulosic, rutile, low hydrogen)
    • Positions
    • Effects of polarity
    • Etc.
  • GMAW
    • Metal transfer modes
    • Effects of gas mixtures
    • Electrode designations
    • Etc.
  • GTAW
    • Types of electrodes
    • Effects of gas mixtures
    • Effects of polarity on penetration and cleaning

  • Mechanical Testing
    • Tensile Testing of Welds
    • Hardness Testing
    • Bend Testing of Welds
  • Non-Destructive Testing
  • Types of Weld Defects and Causes
    • Cracking
    • Porosity
  • Regions of a Fusion Weld
    • Fusion Zone
    • HAZ
  • Preheating of Steels
  • Types of Steels, their properties and weldability.
  • Types of Stainless Steel, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Aluminum, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Nickel Alloys, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Titanium Alloys, their properties and weldability



STUDENT – 2 YEAR COLLEGE / CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

For students enrolled in 2 yr. college and/or certificate programs when the work was completed.
Presentation need not represent actual experimental work. Rather, emphasis is placed on demonstrating a clear understanding of technical concepts and subject matter. Practical application is important and should be demonstrated.

View Suggested Topics (not limited to those listed) for High School, Certificate and 2 Year Students

  • SKILLS Competition participants may present their work in poster format per the guidelines of the poster competition.
  • Student Section Community Service projects (e.g., welded art sculptures, fabrication of grills or smokers)
  • Welding Safety
    • Hazards (electrical shock, burns, fumes)
    • PPE (helmets, gloves, leathers)
  • SMAW
    • Meaning of electrode designations
    • Flux ingredients and their purpose (cellulosic, rutile, low hydrogen)
    • Positions
    • Effects of polarity
    • Etc.
  • GMAW
    • Metal transfer modes
    • Effects of gas mixtures
    • Electrode designations
    • Etc.
  • GTAW
    • Types of electrodes
    • Effects of gas mixtures
    • Effects of polarity on penetration and cleaning

  • Mechanical Testing
    • Tensile Testing of Welds
    • Hardness Testing
    • Bend Testing of Welds
  • Non-Destructive Testing
  • Types of Weld Defects and Causes
    • Cracking
    • Porosity
  • Regions of a Fusion Weld
    • Fusion Zone
    • HAZ
  • Preheating of Steels
  • Types of Steels, their properties and weldability.
  • Types of Stainless Steel, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Aluminum, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Nickel Alloys, their properties and weldability
  • Types of Titanium Alloys, their properties and weldability



STUDENT – BACCALAUREATE ENGINEERING / ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

For students enrolled in baccalaureate engineering or engineering technology programs when the work was completed.
Poster should represent the student’s own experimental work. Emphasis is placed on demonstrating a clear understanding of technical concepts and subject matter. Practical application and/or potential relevance to the welding industry is important and should be demonstrated.


STUDENT – GRADUATE ENGINEERING / ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

For students enrolled in graduate degree programs in engineering or engineering technology when the work was completed. Poster should represent the student’s own experimental work. Poster must demonstrate technical or scientific concepts. Emphasis is placed on originality and novelty of ideas presented. Potential relevance to the welding industry is important and should be demonstrated.


PROFESSIONAL – WORKING IN WELDING INDUSTRY (Does Not Partake in the Prize Money)

For anyone working in the welding industry or related field.
Poster must demonstrate technical or scientific concepts. Emphasis is placed on original contributions and the novelty of the presentation. Potential relevance to the welding industry is important and should be demonstrated.

Design Guidelines

Basic Structure

The poster should contain the following sections:
• Title, Author(s), and affiliation(s)
• Problem Statement: Brief overview + concise statement of the problem
• Experimental Method: Brief description of the experimental procedures
• Results: Display the data from the experiments; limited text
• Discussion: What does the data mean? Explanation of the significance of the results
• Conclusion: Limit to three bullet points (a few easily remembered key conclusions), may note possible future research with additional bullet
• Acknowledgments: Acknowledge individuals, other than authors, who contributed to the project (especially sponsors)


Poster Size and Layout

• Use portrait orientation; do not use landscape orientation
• Size: 28 in. wide x 44 in. long
• Subject must be clearly readable from at least 10 feet away
• Format: PDF or PowerPoint
• Bright background colors should not compete with information and overwhelm the viewer
• LETTERING:

  • Title – at least 72 pt., bold Arial font
  • Section Headings – at least 48 pt., bold Arial font
  • Body Text – at least 24 pt., Arial font
  • Use bulleted lists where possible instead of paragraphs
  • Dark lettering on a light background is more readable than light colored lettering on a dark background

• FIGURES:

  • Figures should be at least 5” x 7”
  • All figures should have captions
  • All micrographs should have a scale marker
  • Photos at least 300 dpi in the final size; avoid web captures (low resolution); crop photos to highlight the important features
  • Use of thin black border around photos to help them stand out from the background is recommended

• GRAPHS:

  • Don’t necessarily use the default spreadsheet format; alter graph text size for readability on poster; consider matching your graph and poster color schemes
  • Avoid 3-D graphs (difficult to interpret)

NOTE: POSTERS THAT DO NOT CONFORM TO THE SIZE AND LAYOUT GUIDELINES WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARDS.

General Tips

• Your poster is a visual presentation of information; it should not simply reproduce a written paper at poster size.
• Poster should provide a clear flow of information from introduction to conclusion
• Text should be concise enough to be read in under 5 minutes
• Have a colleague or instructor proofread your poster to check for errors and to make sure it reads as smoothly as you think it does

Judging Criteria

Technical Content (40 points)

Demonstration of sound problem solving process and use of investigative techniques. Value added to the welding community.


Delivery (25 points)

Clear explanation of steps taken to address the welding challenge from problem statement through to conclusions.


Presentation (20 points)

Quality and clarity of poster layout.


Image and figure quality (15 points)

Clearly labeled and easily understood figures and tables, to include axes and captions. Scale bars must be used in photo/macro/micrographs, and proper use of units is required.

American Welding Society Learning
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