A Weld:* A union between materials caused by heat,

and or pressure

A Joint:* A configuration of members

Butt welds:*

Fillet welds:*

Spot/Seam welds:*

Plug/Slot welds:*

Edge welds:*
Butt joints: *

T joints: *

Lap joints: *

Corner joints:* Closed Open

corner corner*
Remember, the purposes of a weld preparation is to allow access
for the welding process, penetration and fusion through the area
of the joint and its faces*

The basic rule is this:

The more you take out, then the more you must put back in*

This has major effects on economics and distortion control etc

The root face, root gap and angle of bevel values, the choice of
single, or double sided preparations, are dictated only by the type
of welding process, the position and accessibility of the joint*
Criteria For a Joint Design
Double bevel

Double V

Double J

Double U*
Angle of bevel*
Root face*

Included angle*

Root radius* Root gap*

Root landing*
Single bevel

Single V

Single J

Single U*
A butt welded butt joint*

A fillet welded butt joint*

A compound welded butt joint*

A fillet welded T joint*

A butt welded T joint*

A compound welded T joint*

A fillet welded Lap joint*

A spot welded Lap joint*

A compound welded Lap joint*

A fillet welded Closed Corner joint*

A butt welded Closed Corner joint*

A compound welded Closed Corner joint*

An inside fillet welded Open Corner joint*

An outside fillet welded Open Corner joint*

A double fillet welded Open Corner joint*

 Weld Face*
Actual Throat Thickness*
Weld Width*
1.2.3.4. Weld Toes* Design Throat Thickness*

1 2
A

B 3 4

HAZ* Fusion Boundary*

Weld Root* Fusion Zone*
A + B = Excess Weld Metal**
 Vertical Leg Length*

Weld face*

Horizontal Leg Length*

Excess weld metal **
Design throat*
Actual throat*
“a” = Nominal throat thickness “s” = Effective throat thickness

a s

Deep throat fillet welds from FCAW & SAW etc*

*
 6 mm

80°
Very Poor Weld Toe Blend Angle

3 mm*

20°
Improved Weld Toe Blend Angle
It is also possible that the height of excess weld metal is within
the accepted limit of an applied standard, but the toe blend is
unacceptable, as shown below*

90° 3 mm

Extremely poor toe blend, but excess weld metal is within limits*
Weld: A Union of materials
Joint: A Configuration of members
Weld Preparation: Preparing a joint to allow access and fusion.
Types of Weld: Butt. Fillet. Spot. Seam Plug. Slot. Edge.
Types of Joint: Butt. T. Lap. Corner (Open & Closed)
Types of Preparation: Bevel’s. V’s. J’s. U’s. Single & Double Sided.
Preparation Terms: Bevel/included angle. Root face/gap. Land/Radius
Weldment Terms: Weld face & root. Fusion zone & boundary. HAZ.
Weld toes.Weld width
Weld Sizing (Butts): DTT. ATT. Excess weld metal.
Weld Sizing (Fillets): DTT. ATT. Excess weld metal. Leg length *
 It is the duty of all welding inspectors:
To ensure that welding operations are carried out in
accordance with written, or agreed practices or
specifications

Before
*
During
After

Describe your duties to your code of practise. “CSWIP Exam”*

 Discuss the following
Before Welding:
1) Safety:
Legislation and safe working practices
2) Documentation:
Spec. Drawings. Procedures. Welder approvals. Certificates. Mill sheets

3) Welding Process and ancillaries: Equipme

Cables. Regulators. Ovens. Quivers etc

4) Incoming Consumables:
Materials/welding consumables (Size. Condition. Specification. Storage)
5) Marking out preparation & set up:
Method. Angles/Root face/gap values. Distortion control. Pre-heat prior to
tack welding if applicable*
 During Welding:

1) Pre-Heating. (Method and control)

2) In process distortion control (Balance or sequence welding)
3) Consumable control. (Correct baking and storage prior to use)
4) Welding process (Related parameters i.e. volts/amps. gas flow rate)
5) Welding run sequence and inter-pass cleaning
6) Minimum/maximum Inter-pass temperatures
7) Full compliance with all elements given on the WPS*
 After Welding:

1) Visual Inspection
2) Non Destructive testing
3) Repairs*
4) Repair procedures (NDT/Excavation/Welding/Welder approval)
5) PWHT
6) Hydro-static testing
7) Submission of all inspection reports to QC departments*
To Observe Activities &
Imperfections*

To Record Activities &

Imperfections*

Activities &
To Compare
Imperfections*
Some attributes/skills of an effective Welding Inspector:*

•Honest •Knowledgeable
•Literate •Experienced
•Respected •Record keeping skills
•Dedicated •Communication skills
•Impartial •Safety conscious
•Observant •Inquisitive
•Decisive •Responsible
•Analytical* •Diplomatic skills*
A Welding Inspectors toolbox should contain*
A welding gauge (Cambridge style, or high low gauges etc)
A tape measure and scale
A wire brush
A magnifying glass
A torch and mirror
A specification, pen and report, or note paper
Any other aids to visual inspection*
Inspection may utilise the following specialised equipment:*

Boroscopes (For assessing root runs in small Ø pipes)

Flow-meter (For measuring gas flow rates in MIG/MAG/TIG)
Simple NDT equipment (Penetrants and MPI)
Complex NDT equipment (Radiography or Ultrasonics)
Note: Both simple and complex NDT methods requires the
specialised skills of qualified operators/technicians*
Welding imperfections can be categorized into groups:

1) Cracks
2) Gas Pores & Porosity
3) Solid Inclusions
4) Lack of fusion
5) Profile & Lack of Filling
6) Mechanical or Surface damage
7) Misalignment*
 A HAZ hydrogen crack, initiated at the weld toe
Most cracks are initiated from stress concentrations *
 Surface breaking porosity
Shrinkage cavity*
Coarse cluster porosity
Fine cluster porosity
Blow hole > 1.6 mm Ø

Hollow root bead An isolated internal porosity

 Surface breaking solid inclusion
Internal solid inclusion causing
a lack of inter-run fusion* Internal solid inclusion causing
a lack of sidewall fusion

Internal solid inclusion Solid inclusions caused by

undercut in the previous weld run
 Lack of sidewall fusion &
incompletely filled grove*
Overlap (Causing cold laps)

Lack of inter-run fusion Lack of sidewall fusion

Lack of root fusion

 Spatter An Incompletely filled groove

Lack of root fusion

Bulbous, or irregular contour
Arc Strikes
Poor toe blend

Incomplete root penetration

*
 Shrinkage grooves

Crater pipe Root concavity

*
Root oxidation in Stainless Steel
Excess penetration, and burn through
Root Run or “Hot pass” undercut

Parent metal, surface undercut

Weld metal, surface undercut*

Weld metal, surface undercut Parent metal, “top toe” undercut*
 Any surface damage caused by:
Grinding
Hammering/chisel marks
Slag chipping hammer marks
Torn cleats (Hammered off attachments)
Arc strikes

All of the above may cause serious weakness to the weld area*
 Linear
Excess weld metal height
Lowest plate to highest point

3 mm
Linear misalignment measured in mm

Angular

15

Angular misalignment measured in degrees*

Why ?* To establish the level of mechanical properties*

Which properties ?*
1) Hardness*
2) Toughness*
3) Tensile strength*
4) Ductility*
Mechanical:* Describes the actions of “force & motion”

Properties:* Something that makes one material useful for a

job. These include the properties of:

Hardness:* The ability of a material to resist indentation

Toughness:* The ability of a material to absorb impact energy

Tensile strength:* The ability to resist the action of a pulling force

Ductility:* The ability to deform plastically under tension*

We test welds to establish minimum levels of mechanical
properties, and soundness of the welded joint*

We divide tests into Quantitative & Qualitative methods:*

1) Quantitative tests: (Have units)*

2) Qualitative tests: (Have no units)*

Types of tests include:

1) Quantitative tests:
Hardness tests
Toughness tests
Tensile strength tests*

2) Qualitative tests:
Macro tests
Bend tests
Fracture tests*
The test weld is usually cut into sections as follows:
The location of specimens will depend upon the standard

Charpy V test Bend test*

Tensile test Macro/Hardness test

Start/ Stop
 The specimen below has been polished and is
ready to be hardness tested

= Hardness Survey

Thickness

Base metal HAZ Fusion boundary Weld metal

Further hardness surveys may be taken as the thickness
of the specimen increases*
Generally we use a diamond or steel ball to form an indentation

We measure the width of the indentation to gauge the hardness*

1) Vickers Diamond Pyramid: Always uses a diamond*

2) Brinell hardness test: Always uses a steel ball*

3) Rockwell hardness test: Uses a ball, or diamond

depending on the scale*
Machined notch 10 x 10 mm

The specimen may be tested from different areas of the weld.*

Graduated scale Pendulum Hammer

of absorbed
energy in Joules*

Location of specimen
1) Charpy V test: 10 x 10 (Specimen horizontal) Joules*

2) Izod test: 10 x 10 (Specimen vertical) Ft.lbs*

3) CTOD test: Specimen used is actual design size.

Detailed fracture report. mm*
Mn < 1.6 % increases Joules absorbed
toughness in steels*

Transition Ductile Fracture

47 Joules
Zone
Three specimens are normally
tested at each temperature.
28 Joules

Transition Temperature Range

Brittle Fracture
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 +10 +20 +30 + 40
Testing temperature
A Section of weld is cut, or machined out across the test piece
and tested in tension to failure. The units are usually in N/mm²

Transverse reduced test piece*

 Radius
(For radius reduced test specimens only)

Weld
Test gripping area HAZ

Direction of test

Plate material Reduced Section

Used to assess the tensile strength of the weld metal

 BS 709 / BS En 10002
All Weld Metal Tensile Testing

Direction of the test *

Tensile test piece cut

along weld specimen.
Firstly, before the tensile test 2 marks are made 50mm apart

50 mm

During the test, Yield point & Tensile strength are measured
The specimen is put together and the marks are re-measured

75 mm

A new measurement of 75mm will indicate Elongation E50 %*

1) Excess Weld Metal Height 8) Poor Toe Blend*
7) Laminations

6)Porosity

2) Lack of Sidewall Fusion

5) Root Penetration
3) Lack of Root Fusion

4) Slag inclusion & Lack of inter-run fusion

Bend tests are used to establish fusion in the area under test
Guide A Guided root bend test*
Lack of root fusion shown here*

Former
Test Piece
Force

Further tests include face, side and longitudinal bend tests*

For material over 12 mm thickness, side bend test may be used*
Specimen prior to test* Specimen after test*
 Saw cut 1 2 3

Hammer blow
X Line of fusion
1 3

Fracture line

Full fracture
X
2 3

1 2
Y Any strait line indicates a
Inspect both surfaces
“Lack of root fusion”*
 Saw Cuts Hammer blow

A
Fracture line

B Inspect both surfaces

Lack of root penetration Inclusions on fracture line*

or fusion
 We test welds to establish minimum levels of mechanical
properties, and soundness of the welded joint

We divide tests into Qualitative & Quantitative methods:*

Quantitative: (Have units) Qualitative: (Have no units)

Hardness (VPN & BHN) Macro tests
Toughness (Joules & ft.lbs) Bend tests
Strength (N/mm2 & PSI) Fillet weld fracture tests
Ductility/Elongation (E%) Butt Nick break tests*
The main difference between Macro & Micro is that Micro is
the study of the micro-structure at much higher magnification
The limit of Macro inspection is magnification < X 10

The specimen is usually cut from a stop/start in the test piece

The cut specimen is polished to a fine finish (400 grit)

The specimen must be inspected, before etching*

Remember! The process of inspection is to first:
Observe, then Report, then Compare!*
A definition of the term “Procedure”?*
A systematic method of producing an aim*

Therefore, a “Welding procedure” is?*

A systematic method of producing a sound weld*
A Welding Procedure is a recipe of variable parameters, which
will produce the same results of certain quality & properties if
carried out in the same way each time*

To evaluate a Provisional Welding Procedure we need to

check if all the parameters set will work together to produce
the desired results*

.*
Once the weld has been completed it is usually visually
inspected, then Radiography or Ultrasonic testing is usually
applied*
Finally, and most importantly, Mechanically tested to ensure
that the desired level of mechanical properties have been met*
If all the desired properties have been met, then a procedure
qualification record (WPQR or WPAR) is completed with all
the test results, and the procedure then becomes qualified*
From this data, a workable document for production welding is
prepared and called a Welding Procedure Specification. (WPS)*
Examples of “Essential Veriables” include:*

a) Diameter of pipe, or thickness of plate

b) Welding position, amperage range, or number of runs
c) Process (On multi process procedures only)
d) Certain material groups
e) Change of consumable to one of the same classification
Only if the class is given in the original procedure
f) Heat input range (kJ/mm)*
Once the procedure has been approved it is then important to
test each welder, to ensure that he has the skill to reach the
minimum level of quality in the weld, as laid down in the
application standard*

There is no need to carry out the mechanical tests of the

procedure, although bend tests are often used to ensure good
side wall fusion
Normally; visual, x ray, bends, fractures and macro’s are used
in welder approval tests*
 When supervising a welder test the welding inspector should:*

1) Check the welding process, condition of equipment and test area for suitability.
2) Check that extraction systems, goggles and all safety equipment are available.
3) Check grinders, chipping hammers, wire brush and all hand tools are available.
4) Check materials to be welded are correct and stamped correctly for the test.
5) Check welding consumables specification, diameter, and treatment with WPS.
6) Check the welder’s name and stamp details are correct.
7) Check that the joint has been correctly prepared and tacked, or jigged.
8) Check that the joint and seam is in the correct position for the test.
9) Explain the nature of the test and check that the welder understands the WPS.
10) Check that the welder carries out the root run, fill and cap as per the WPS.
11) Ensure welders identity and stop start location are clearly marked.
12) Supervise or carry out the required tests and submit results to Q/C department.*