The Mechanisms of Formation of
W e l d Defects in High-Frequency
Electric Resistance W e l d i n g
The two kinds of defects associated with previously defined welding
phenomena are cold welds comprised of oxide colonies and
penetrators consisting of slag inclusions produced when molten slag
is drawn into a gapped zone
ABSTRACT. In order to clarify the
mechanisms by which weld defects
are formed, welding phenomena were
observed using high speed cameras,
and weld defects produced in relation
to corresponding phenomena were
examined. It is found that the possible
occurrence of certain kinds of weld
defects is determined by the types of
phenomena encountered during
welding: A possible weld defect
accompanied by the 1st type phenom-
enon is a cold weld; a penetrator is
accompanied by 2nd and 3rd types of
phenomena.
The cold weld is composed of a
colony of oxides which are formed on
the edge surfaces and remain because
they are not squeezed out from
between them. The penetrator by
nature is a slag inclusion produced
when molten slag is drawn into a
gapped zone by the action of surface
tension and capillary effects in a
returning process of the molten
bead.
Introduction
Weld defects of ERW are perpendic-
ular to the plate surface and have
planar shapes caused by upsetting in a
process of welding. It is reported that
these defects have occasionally caused
a burst accident in field tests of ERW
pipelines. Because of their shape and
orientation, it is very hard to find them
w i t h NDT, and many efforts have been
made to develop an effective NDT
method for locating such defects.
Very few investigations, however,
104-s I JUNE 1981
BY H. HAGA, K. AOKI A N D T. SATO
Table 1—Chemical Composition of the
Materials Used, Wt-%
C 0.11 P 0.01
Si 0.25 S 0.01
Mn 0.70 AI 0.015
Nb 0.013
have been reported in regard to the
cause of the weld defects in ERW; the
defects have been simply conceived as
certain oxides that form on the surface
of strip edges and remain without
being squeezed out between them.
Macro- and microscopic observa-
tions of the weld defects showed that
there are t w o kinds of the defects: a
cold w e l d and a penetrator. In most
cases the former is found over a wide
range along the weld line and the
latter only intermittently. It is difficult
to understand by the past simple
explanation why t w o different kinds of
defect are generated.
The welding phenomena encoun-
tered in ERW, as mentioned in a pre-
vious report, 1 can be classified into
three types according to the periodici-
ty of the welding process and the edge
profile between the V-convergency
Paper presented at the AWS 60th Annual
Meeting held in Detroit, Michigan, during
April 2-6, 1979.
H. HAGA, K. AOKI and T. SATO are asso-
ciated with the Products Research & Devel-
opment Laboratories of the Nippon Steel
Corporation, Sagamihara Kanagawa, lapan.
point and the weld point. It is inferred
that the type of welding phenomena
might determine which kind of the
defects will be generated.
Experimental results given below
show that the inference is almost true.
Moreover, observations through high
speed photography help identify a
phenomenon accompanying the for-
mation of a penetrator. This gives a
definite base for correlating the kind
of defects to the type of welding phe-
nomena.
Experimental Procedure
Materials
Materials welded in previous work 1
were examined. Chemical composi-
tions of the materials are given in
Table 1.
Identification of Actual Weld with
Photographed One
In order to find welding processes
accompanying weld defects, it is
essential to find how each point along
the weld was joined. Each external
bead on the weld was identified w i t h
the one observed in the high speed
photograph as shown in Fig. 7. This
method gave an accuracy w i t h i n 1 mm
(0.04 in.) to the corresponding posi-
tion.
Examination of Weld Defects
Welded pipes were cut into semi-
cylindrical shells and flattened. From
the flattened shell dynamic tear (DT)
test pieces were prepared. External
 (a) t e s t 17

(b> t e s t 15
r

:c) test 1

1'0 A 2'0 ' 3'0 4>0 ' 5'0 ' £fc 7'0 &Q A .8?0 ' POO
Fig. 1-DT fracture surfaces of the weld representative of (a) the 1st, (b) the 2nd and (c) the 3rd type phenomena; weld defects
are contoured

beads o n t h e test p i e c e s w e r e p h o t o -
graphed together w i t h measurements
before they were removed. Charpy
i m p a c t test p i e c e s w e r e also p r e p a r e d .
T h e D T test p i e c e s w e r e s u b j e c t e d t o
brittle fracture and Charpy testing.
W e l d defects were examined on
f r a c t u r e surfaces o f D T a n d C h a r p y test
? jr.-:?--L • • VA
p i e c e s by m i c r o s c o p e a n d s c a n n i n g
e l e c t r o n m i c r o s c o p e ( S E M ) , a n d clas- mm A.A-A^.-AA
sified according to their m o r p h o l o g y .

Results (a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2—Charpy fracture surfaces of the weld representative ot (a) the 1st, (b) the 2nd and (c)
Correlation between the Kind of Weld
the 3rd type phenomena; weld defects are contoured. Test pieces were prepared from the
Defects and the Type of W e l d i n g
same tests as those in Fig. 7
Phenomena

Figure 1 s h o w s D T f r a c t u r e surfaces
of t h e w e l d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e 1st, h a p p e n e d t o b e a c c o m p a n i e d also b y the gapped zone had developed long
2nd and 3rd types of w e l d i n g p h e n o m - the 2nd type p h e n o m e n o n . e n o u g h , large p e n e t r a t o r s t h a t w e r e
e n a . W e l d d e f e c t s are c o n t o u r e d in t h e Penetrators w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d by l o n g e r t h a n 5 m m (0.20 in.) w e r e o f t e n
p h o t o g r a p h s . E l o n g a t e d b l a c k parts 2 n d and 3rd t y p e p h e n o m e n a and nev- f o u n d . The frequency of the penetra-
o b s e r v e d near edges o f t h e f r a c t u r e er by t h e 1st t y p e . P e n e t r a t o r s w e r e t o r is h i g h e r i n t h e 3 r d t y p e t h a n in t h e
surface are cracks f o r m e d o n e x t e r n a l d i s t r i b u t e d n o t u n i f o r m l y , b u t in f r a g - 2nd type.
or internal bead, and not weld ments along the w e l d line. A penetra-
defects. t o r g e n e r a l l y e x t e n d s in t h e t h r o u g h -
In t h e case o f t h e 1st t y p e p h e n o m - thickness direction. Fractographic Observation of Weld
e n o n , no w e l d defect was observed o n Defects
In t h e 2 n d t y p e p h e n o m e n o n , t h e
a b r i t t l e f r a c t u r e surface as s h o w n in l e n g t h o f m o s t p e n e t r a t o r s is less t h a n Weld defects assume different
Fig. 1(a). Large w e l d d e f e c t s , h o w e v e r , 2 m m (0.08 in.) a n d t h e i r f r e q u e n c y is shapes, m i c r o s c o p i c a l l y as w e l l as
are r e v e a l e d o n a d u c t i l e f r a c t u r e sur- g e n e r a l l y l o w . In t h e 3 r d t y p e p h e n o m - macroscopically, according to the type
f a c e of t h e C h a r p y test p i e c e p r e p a r e d e n o n , p e n e t r a t o r s of v a r i o u s sizes w e r e of w e l d i n g phenomena. Figure 3
as s h o w n i n Fig. 2 ( a ) . T h e w e l d d e f e c t f o u n d . In tests 1 , 2, 4 a n d 5, in w h i c h shows a SEM image of cold w e l d on a
o f Fig. 2(a) is c o n s i d e r e d t o b e l o n g t o a
cold weld.
T h e w e l d d e f e c t s o f Figs. 1 ( b ) , 1 ( c ) ,
2 ( b ) a n d 2 ( c ) are c o n s i d e r e d t o b e l o n g Table 2—Results of the Examination of the Type and Frequency of Weld Defects
to a penetrator. The penetrators were
q u i t e s i m i l a r in a p p e a r a n c e b o t h o n Defect Frequency, %* Test
the brittle fracture surface and o n t h e
10 :£ F 11,17
ductile one.
Cold w e l d 1 S F < 10 14
T h e results o f e x a m i n a t i o n o f w e l d F< 1 15
d e f e c t s are s u m m a r i z e d in T a b l e 2. In
this e x p e r i m e n t t h e 1st t y p e p h e n o m e - 5 < F < 10 1,2,3,4,5,6
Penetrator 1 S F< 5 7,9,10,13,16
n o n always a c c o m p a n i e d a c o l d w e l d
F< 1 8,12,15
w h i c h is f o u n d o v e r a w i d e range
along the w e l d line. The c o l d w e l d *Percentage of w e l d defect area to total w e l d area.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1105-s

 SEM
0.
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Al
Si
Fig. 3—SEM and characteristic X-ray images ol cold weld on a tracture surface
fracture surface. The cold weld con-
sists of a colony of numerous micro-
dimples, arranged on a flat plane, most
of them being less than 1/j in diameter.
Inclusions are found in most micro-
dimples. XMA results show that com-
paratively large inclusions are rich in
M n and Si, but most of them are too
small to analyze by XMA.
Micro-inclusions in the cold weld
are found on the cross section of the
weld as shown in Fig. 4. Their size is
extremely small compared with the
diameter of the grains that have grown
across the weld. In this case a cleavage
fracture is expected to propagate
legardless of the presence of cold
weld. A ductile fracture, on the other
hand, propagates by creating a dimple
around an inclusion; consequently, it
is considered that ductile fracture can
better reveal the cold weld.
Figure 5(a) shows a SEM image of
the penetrator generally accompanied
by the 2nd type phenomenon. D i m -
ples and inclusions associated with it
are much larger than those associated
with cold weld. Brittle fracture is
thought to propagate the tearing off of
inclusions from the base metal. XMA
results show that the inclusions are
106-sl JUNE 1981
Fe Mn
iSM ,
0
richer in M n , Si, Al and O and poorer
in Fe than is the base metal.
Figures 5(b) and (c) show other
types of the penetrator. They are
accompanied ordinarily by the 3rd
type phenomenon and occasionally by
the 2nd type. Inclusions associated
w i t h these penetrators are larger than
those found in Fig. 5(a). XMA results
show that the inclusions are also richer
in M n , Si, Al and O, and poorer in Fe,
than the base metal.
M e c h a n i s m of Formation of W e l d
Defects
Cold Weld
A cold weld occurs uniformly over a
wide range along the weld line, and
any accidental phenomena are not
considered to account for the cold
weld. Figure 6 shows the phenomenon
(of the 1st type) which accompanied
the cold weld. A number of extrusions
are observed to be formed on both the
edge surfaces approaching to the V-
convergency point. These extrusions
were sandwiched between the edges
when they were welded.
.
•;-y:?yyy?y::
V
.'AAA::
ifs m
t A
50 M
J
-*-',.„ ••'UAJ-' A,v-' ^ A
weld
Fig. 4—Optical micrograph oi cross section
of the cold weld region
In the 2nd and the 3rd type phenom-
ena, which did not accompany the
cold weld, such extrusions were not
observed between the V-convergency
point and the weld point. The extru-
sions disappeared when molten beads
were produced before both the edges
met.
It is considered that the extrusions
consist mostly of oxides. The reason
for this is that it should not be possible
to form such extrusions against strong
electromagnetic pressure if the extru-
sions consist of metal. Thus, the cold
weld is a colony of oxides formed on
the edge surfaces that remain because
they were not squeezed out from
between them; this has been con-
ceived to be a mechanism of produc-
ing all weld defects in ERW.2-3 If a
sufficient amount of molten metal is
removed from the edge surfaces by the
electromagnetic pressure, oxides
formed on the surfaces are also
removed and a cold weld will not be
produced. But such a condition leads
to the 2nd or the 3rd type phenome-
non in this experiment.*
Penetrators
A penetrator is accompanied by 2nd
and 3rd type phenomena. Particularly
with the 3rd type, a large amount of
molten metal is removed, so a penetra-
tor is not considered an oxide residual
but a defect different from the cold
*According to the theory given in the 1st
report, the 1st type phenomenon can be
realized depending on the welding rate and
V-apex angle even if sufficient molten met-
al is removed. Therefore, the 1st type phe-
nomenon is not always considered to
accompany a cold weld. Inversely, the 2nd
type phenomenon will accompany the cold
weld ii sufficient molten metal is not
removed.
 SEM Fe Mn Si Al

z
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Q.
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m& o
I
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a:
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Fig. 5-SEM and characteristic X-ray images of penetrator accompanied by (a) the 2nd and (b), (c) the 3rd type phenome

weld; the cause producing the pene- small part of the weld is filled by a may be found in the weld filled with
trator must be found in a certain pro- molten metal bridge produced at the molten metal, observation showed
cess peculiar to the 2nd and 3rd V-convergency point in stage 3.1 that the reverse is not true—that is, the
types. In the 2nd type of phenomenon, filling of the gap does not always
In the 3rd type phenomenon, a gap- molten metal bridges fill most of the accompany a penetrator. Some acci-
ped zone develops, removing molten weld. But occasionally the returning of dental process accompanied by the
metal out of the gap. The removed molten beads also occurs. A penetrator filling process is considered to be the
molten metal takes the shape of a was found in such a place. cause of producing the penetrator.
raindrop resulting from a balance In the 1st type phenomenon molten
between electromagnetic force and Surface Tension Acting on Molten Bead
beads cannot return, because the w e l d
surface tension of molten metal. point coincides with the V-convergen- There remains a question to be
When both the edges contact at the cy point and the electromagnetic force answered: Is it not surface tension but
V-convergency point in stage 3 men- does not vanish until both the edges gravity that forces the molten bead to
tioned previously, 1 all of the welding are welded; this is the reason why 1st return to the gapped zone? Gravity,
current flows through the contacted type phenomena are not accompanied however, is not considered to take any
V-convergency point. Naturally, the by a penetrator. Although a penetrator part in the returning process. This is
electromagnetic force suddenly van-
ishes in the gapped zone. Only the
surface tension acts on the molten
bead, and the balance of force is lost.
The molten bead then is expected to
begin to return to the gapped zone by
the action of surface tension.
High speed photography revealed
that the molten bead in fact returns
and fills the gapped zone as shown
typically in Fig. 7. Furthermore, it was
made clear that the penetrator is pro-
duced in such a zone as that filled by
the molten beads.
In the 3rd type phenomenon, mol-
ten beads fill most of the weld. Only a Fig. 6-Phenomenon accompanying cold weld

W E L D I N G RESEARCH S U P P L E M E N T 1107-s
 time
(msec)

I- 0
zUJ
s
Q.
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—1
UJ 2
>
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X
ce 1
<
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</>
Ui
cc

10

12
Fig. 7—High speed photographs of molten bead action: (a)
returning process of molten beads observed in test 1,
showing: V-the V-convergency point, M-the molten metal
14 bridge and R-returning bead; A and B of (a) correspond to
the A and B of (b), external beads of DT test piece, and to
those of (c), DT fracture surface, in which the penetrators
(a) are contoured

because the process finishes within 10

msec at most, and the gravity-induced
falling distance during that time is 0.5
mm (0.02 in.), which is much smaller
than the plate thickness.
It is possible to estimate the time
necessary to fill the gapped zone by
capillary effect, if viscosity and internal
pressure of the molten bead can be
neglected. Let the surface tension be
denoted by y and the angle of contact
be 0 deg; then the force (per unit
length) which draws molten metal is
2y. The equation of motion for the
filling process is expressed as follows:
2y (pbss)
dt
where p is the density of molten metal,
b the w i d t h of the gapped zone and s
the height (or the depth) of drawn
molten metal, as illustrated in Fig. 8.
Equation (1) reduces to:
1 d2
2Y = - P b - ( S 2 ) (2)
Solving equation (2) under the ini-
tial condition s = S and s = 0 at t = 0,
let S approach to 0. Then the solution
is given by:
2y
(D • t
pb
The values of v and p are respective-
ly about 1500 d y n / c m and 7.3 g / c m 3
for molten steel. W h e n b is 0.2 mm.:
s(mm) = 1.4t(msec)
This calculation shows that molten
metal fills the gapped zone through-
thickness w i t h i n few milliseconds.
As is evident from the above, inter-
nal as well as external molten beads
should be able to return and fill the
gapped zone. In fact, occasionally it is
possible to observe the trace of return-

Molten bead Table 3—Chemical Compositi on of Penetrator Analyzed by XMA

Base Metal Penetrator, wt-%

Test Mn Si MnO SiO, FeO ALO,

15 46 43 7 4
1 0.7 0.25 44 41 4 3
1 44 42 5 3
-Edge s u r f a c e 3 41 40 5 4
3 42 40 4 3
Yokoyama, et a/.4 1.4 0.17 55 33 6 6
1.5 0.41 51 41 4 4
Fig. 8—Cross-sectional view of the returning 1.1 0.06 82 3 13 2
process of molten bead

108-s I JUNE 1981


Fig. 9—End portion of weld showing the trace of returning of
internal bead
Fig. 10 (right)—Ternary equilibrium system FeO-MnO-Si02
ing of the internal bead as shown in
Fig. 9.
Metallurgical Considerations in Penetrator
Formation
The molten bead contains the oxide
removed from the edge surface. New
oxide is further produced on the sur-
face of the molten bead exposed to
the air. At the interface between the
oxide layer and the molten bead, the
following reactions should occur:
(FeO) + [ M n ] ^ ± [Fe] + ( M n O )
2(FeO) + [Si] ^ ± 2[Fe] + (Si0 2 )
where [ ] is the concentration in the
molten iron and ( ) the free oxide
content of the slag. A part of M n O ,
Si0 2 and FeO is free or forms silicate,
and exists as a liquid phase. The rest
exist as a solid phase. The proportion
of free oxides depends on the solubili-
ty of the oxides.
In order to examine w h i c h phase of
slag becomes a penetrator, the chemi-
cal composition of the penetrator is
analyzed quantitatively by XMA. Re-
sults of the present analysis are given
in Table 3 together w i t h results of
available past analyses.4 In this experi-
ment, the contents of M n O , S i 0 2 and
FeO in penetrators are 35 ~ 50%,
35 ~ 50% and 3 ~ 10%, respectively,
regardless of the type of welding phe-
nomena. A ternary phase diagram (Fig.
10) shows this component of M n O -
Si0 2 -FeO exists as a liquid phase at
1500°C (2732°F). Other results also
show that most of the penetrators exist
as a liquid phase at 1500°C (2732°F).
The temperature of the molten bead
cannot exceed the melting point of
FeO
steel too far; this is because most of
welding current flows along the edge
surfaces due to a high frequency-
induced proximity effect. Therefore, it
is considered that a part of the molten
slag on the molten bead changes into a
penetrator. The molten slag covers the
surface of the molten bead, because
the density of the former is about half
that of the latter.
It is concluded that the penetrators
are produced when molten slag is drawn
into the gapped zone in the returning
process of the molten bead.
Conclusions
1. There are two kinds of weld
defects in ERW: the cold weld and the
penetrator.
2. The type of welding phenomena
determine which kinds of weld defects
are produced. A possible weld defect
accompanied by the 1st type phenom-
enon is the cold weld. The 2nd type
phenomena accompanies a small pen-
etrator, or the cold weld if sufficient
molten metal is not removed from the
edge surfaces. The 3rd type phenome-
non frequently accompanies the pene-
trator.
3. The cold weld is composed of a
colony of oxides which are formed on
the edge surfaces and remain because
they are not squeezed out from
between them.
4. In 2nd and 3rd type phenomena,
molten beads, which have been
removed from the edge surfaces,
return and fill the gapped zone when
both the edges contact at the V-
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1109-s
SIO,
MnO
convergency point and the electro-
magnetic force vanishes in the gapped
zone.
5. It is the surface tension and the
resultant capillary effect that force the
molten beads to return into the gap-
ped zone. The internal bead as well as
the external one is able to return.
6. The penetrator by nature is a slag
inclusion that is produced when mol-
ten slag is drawn into the gapped zone
in the returning process of the molten
beads.
Ac/cnow/ec/gmen(
The authors wish to express their
appreciation to Dr. T. Ikeno, the direc-
tor, and Dr. S. Kanazawa, the deputy
director of the laboratories, for their
proposal of these successive studies,
and to Mr. H. Imai, Dr. H. Mimura and
Mr. M. lino for their helpful discus-
sions. The contributions of Mr. K.
Sakurai and Mr. M. Yamada are also
appreciated.
References
1. Haga, H., Aoki, K„ and Sato, T. 1980.
Welding phenomena and welding mecha-
nisms in high-frequency electric resistance
welding—1st report. Welding lournal 59(7):
pp. 208-s to 212-s.
2. Martin, D.C. High-frequency
resistance welding. Welding Research
Council Bulletin 160.
3. Hasebe, S., Kyogoku, T., Takahashi, S.,
Yamura, T. and Okazawa, T. 1972. Develop-
ment of ERW high-test line pipe for arctic
O
service. Sumitomo Metals 24(2): pp. 67-90. tx
4. Yokoyama, E., Yamagata, M., Kanou, T. <
Ul
and Watanabe, S. 1977. ). Iron & Steel Inst. CO
lapan 63(11): p. S650. Ul
cc