BRITISH STANDARD BS EN

22401:1994
ISO 2401:1972

Covered electrodes —
Determination of the
efficiency, metal
recovery and
deposition coefficient

The European Standard EN 22401:1994 has the status of a

British Standard
BS EN 22401:1994

Cooperating organizations

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN), under whose supervision

this European Standard was prepared, comprises the national standards
organizations of the following countries:

Austria Oesterreichisches Normungsinstitut

Belgium Institut belge de normalisation
Denmark Dansk Standardiseringsraad
Finland Suomen Standardisoimisliito, r.y.
France Association française de normalisation
Germany Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.
Greece Hellenic Organization for Standardization
Iceland Technological Institute of Iceland
Ireland National Standards Authority of Ireland
Italy Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione
Luxembourg Inspection du Travail et des Mines
Netherlands Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut
Norway Norges Standardiseringsforbund
Portugal Instituto Portuguès da Qualidade
Spain Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación
Sweden Standardiseringskommissionen i Sverige
Switzerland Association suisse de normalisation
United Kingdom British Standards Institution

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Welding
Standards Policy Committee,
was published under the
authority of the Standards
Board and comes into effect on
15 May 1994 Amendments issued since publication
© BSI 12-1999
Amd. No. Date Comments

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference WEE/39
Draft announced in BSI News,
May 1993

ISBN 0 580 22301 9

 BS EN 22401:1994

Contents

Page
Cooperating organizations Inside front cover
National foreword ii
Foreword 2
1 Scope and field of application 3
2 Terms and definitions 3
3 Test plates 3
4 Procedure 4
5 Calculation of efficiency and metal recovery 4
6 Calculation of deposition coefficient 5
National annex NA (informative) Committees responsible Inside back cover
Figure 3

© BSI 12-1999 i
BS EN 22401:1994

National foreword

This British Standard has been prepared under the direction of the Welding
Standards Policy Committee and is the English language version of
EN 22401:1994 Covered electrodes — Determination of the efficiency, metal
recovery and deposition coefficient, published by the European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardization (CEN) which endorses ISO 2401:1972 Covered
electrodes — Determination of the efficiency, metal recovery and deposition
coefficient published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
EN 22401:1993 was produced as a result of international discussion in which the
UK took an active part.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity

from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
the EN title page, pages 2 to 6, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the
inside front cover.

ii © BSI 12-1999
EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 22401
NORME EUROPÉENNE
February 1994
EUROPÄISCHE NORM

UDC 621.791.7

Descriptors: Welding electrodes, covered electrodes, efficiency, steels

English version

Covered electrodes — Determination of the efficiency,

metal recovery and deposition coefficient
(ISO 2401:1972)

Electrodes enrobées — Détermination des Umhüllte Stabelektroden — Bestimmung der

divers rendements et du coefficient de dépôt Ausbringung, der Abschmelzleistung und der
(ISO 2401:1972) Abschmelzkonstanten
(ISO 2401:1972)

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1994-02-04. CEN members

are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which
stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a
national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any
CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French,
German). A version in any other language made by translation under the
responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the
Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
and United Kingdom.

CEN
European Committee for Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation
Europäisches Komitee für Normung
Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 36, B-1050 Brussels

© 1994 Copyright reserved to CEN members

Ref. No. EN 22401:1994 E
EN 22401:1994

Foreword
This draft European Standard based on the
International Standard, Covered electrodes —
Determination of the efficiency, metal recovery and
deposition coefficient (ISO 2401:1972) submitted to
the Unique Acceptance Procedure in accordance
with Resolution BTS 2 C48/1992 taken by BTS 2
Engineering.
The result of the Unique Acceptance Procedure was
positive.
This European Standard shall be given the status of
a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by
August 1994, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by August 1994.
In accordance with the CEN/CENELEC Internal
Regulations, the following countries are bound to
implement this European Standard: Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and United Kingdom.

2 © BSI 12-1999
 EN 22401:1994

1 Scope and field of application these suffixes shall be used as follows:

This International Standard specifies a method for DC positive RN +
the determination of the efficiency, weld metal DC negative RN –
recovery and deposition coefficient of carbon steel AC RN *
and low alloy high tensile steel covered electrodes in
the sizes 3.15 to 6.3 mm1).
3 Test plates
For the practical use of this International Standard,
the precision of measurement specified is sufficient 3.1 Number
because of the inherent variation in characteristics For each diameter of electrode to be tested, one test
of individual electrodes. plate shall be welded.
Section 4 specifies the measurement of a number of 3.2 Specification
different values. It is, however, necessary to
measure only those values required for the The test plate shall be of carbon steel
calculation of the particular factors being (up to 0.25 % C) and shall have approximately the
determined. following dimensions:
— width 75 mm
2 Terms and definitions — length 300 mm
2.1 — thickness 12 mm
nominal electrode efficiency, RN In most cases a single test piece will be long enough;
the ratio of the mass of weld metal deposited under if this is not the case, a second test piece having a
standard conditions to the mass of nominal length of 150 mm or, if necessary, 300 mm shall be
diameter core wire consumed for a given electrode placed end to end with the first test piece
2.2 (see Figure).
effective electrode efficiency, RE
the ratio of the mass of weld metal deposited under
standard conditions to the actual mass of core wire
consumed
2.3
overall weld metal recovery, RG
the ratio of the mass of weld metal deposited under
standard conditions to the total mass of a given
electrode tested Figure
2.4
deposition efficiency, RD In order to facilitate weighing after welding, the test
plate may, where two plates have been used, be
the ratio of the mass of weld metal deposited under broken into two parts.
standard conditions to the total mass of a given
electrode consumed, exclusive of stub ends The surface of the plate on which the deposit is to be
made shall be cleaned, if necessary, by light
2.5 grinding or other suitable means so that it is free
deposition coefficient, D from scale, rust, paint, oil, etc. After cleaning and
the mass of weld metal deposited under standard before welding, the plate shall be weighed with a
conditions per ampere minute for a given electrode precision of ± 1 g.
when reporting the results of tests, a further suffix
shall be added to the above abbreviations RN, RE,
RG, RD and D to indicate the type of current used to
establish the values

1)
The method described can be applied to other sizes of electrodes.

© BSI 12-1999 3
EN 22401:1994

4 Procedure 4.7 The arcing time of each electrode shall be

2)
4.1 Three or five electrodes of the diameter to be
tested shall be used on the test plate. Before
welding, the electrodes shall be weighed to ± 1 g.
The total mass of three or five electrodes is called
mE. The mass of three or five core wires, obtained by
carefully removing the covering from another three
or five electrodes of the same batch, is called mw.
The mass of three or five core wires mw can also be
obtained by calculation after measuring the
diameter and the total length Lw of the core wire of
the electrodes to be tested, assuming the density of
steel to be 7.85 g/cm3.
4.2 The welding current I shall be equal to
about 90 % of the maximum value of the range for
the flat position indicated by the electrode
manufacturer on the packet. Its value shall be
measured by means of a damped ammeter of Class 2
precision for electrical measuring apparatus. For
AC, the root mean square (RMS) value of the
current shall be measured. The machine setting
shall not be changed during the whole test. For the
calculation of the deposition coefficient, the average
value Im of the root mean square values of the
current measured during the test shall be used.
4.3 The arc length and welding procedure shall be
typical for the electrode being used and the
deposited bead shall be free from major defects.
4.4 Electrodes suitable for welding on DC only, or
those for which the manufacturer specified that DC
is preferable, shall be tested on DC with the polarity
recommended by the manufacturer.
4.5 Electrodes suitable for welding on either DC or
AC shall be tested on alternating current and, in
this case, the following provisions regarding the
welding transformer are recommended:
a) the transformer should have an open circuit
voltage not more than 10 V higher than the
minimum value indicated by the electrode
marking;
b) for the setting used for welding, the current
waveform supplied by the transformer in
short-circuit conditions should have a form
factor F3) included within the following limits:
1.11 < F < 1.2
4.6 Each electrode shall be deposited in the flat
position and used without interruption until a stub
length of 50 mm remains. (It is recommended that
the required length of stub end be marked on the
electrode before starting to weld.)
measured with a precision of ± 0.2 s, and the total
time t for the three or five electrodes calculated in
minutes.
4.8 After each run, the test plate may be cooled in
water, but the test plate shall be dry before welding
is resumed. The slag and spatter adhering to the
test plate shall be carefully removed before
depositing subsequent runs. The interpass
temperature shall not exceed 100 °C.
4.9 After welding each run, the stub ends shall be
retained, avoiding any loss of unfused covering, and,
when cooled down, the three or five stub ends can be
1) weighed with a precision of ± 1 g and their
total mass ms determined;
2) weighed after careful removal of all the
remaining covering and their total mass mws
determined;
3) measured for the length of the core wire
(to ± 1 mm) to determine the measured total
length of the stub ends Ls.
4.10 After completion of welding, the test plate shall
be cooled to room temperature and, after removal of
any slag and spatter adhering to the test plate (and
also after drying if water cooling has been applied),
it shall be weighed with a precision of ± 1 g.
The total mass of the deposit mD can be determined
from the difference with the original mass of the
plate as found in 4.1.
4.11 The total length of stub ends shall be
between 240 and 260 mm for five electrodes and
between 144 and 156 mm for three electrodes. If the
total stub end length is outside these limits, the test
shall be repeated.
5 Calculation of efficiency and metal
recovery
5.1 The total nominal mass of the consumed lengths
of the core wire of the three or five electrodes mCN
shall be calculated, taking as a basis the nominal
diameter and the nominal length less the measured
length (to ± 1 mm) of core wire in the three or five
stub ends (Ls). The density of steel is assumed to
be 7.85 g/cm3.

2) If the mass of the deposit from each electrode is more than 100 g, it is permissible to use only three electrodes.
3) For an alternating current, the “form factor” F is the ratio of its RMS value to its mean value. The limits given
above
correspond to those observed on common welding transformers in short-circuit conditions. The form factor F can be determined
either by oscillographic recording or using simultaneously two ammeters in series, one having a scale in RMS values of the
current and not very sensitive to the wave shape (for example, ferromagnetic or thermal type), the other having a scale in mean
values of the current (for example, magneto-electric with rectifier type).

4 © BSI 12-1999
 EN 22401:1994

5.2 The total effective mass of the consumed length 5.6 The deposition efficiency is given by the ratio
of the core wire of the three or five electrodes mCE is mD
given by the formula - × 100
R D % = ----------------------
mE – mS
LS 
m CE = m W  1 – -------- where ms is the total mass of the stub ends.
 L  W
The values of the efficiencies and recoveries
where calculated according to 5.3 to 5.6 shall be expressed
mw is the total mass of the core wires; as rounded whole numbers, i.e. without decimals
Ls is the measured total length of the stub ends; (for example, 93.4 % would become 93 %, 93.5 %
would become 94 %).
Lw is the measured total length of the core wires;
or, alternatively, by the formula 6 Calculation of deposition coefficient
mCE = mw – mws The deposition coefficient, expressed in grams per
where mws is the total mass of the core wires in the ampere minute, is given by the ratio
stub ends. mD
5.3 The nominal electrode efficiency is given by the D = --------------
-
Im × t
ratio
where
mD
R N % = ------------ × 100 mD is the mass of deposited metal, in grams;
m CN
Im is the welding current, in amperes;
where t is the arcing time, in minutes.
mD is the mass of deposited weld metal;
The values calculated as above shall be expressed
mCN is the nominal mass of consumed core wire. with two places of decimals
5.4 The effective electrode efficiency is given by the [for example, 0.16 g/(A·min) for 0.164 g/(A·min)
ratio and 0.17 g/(A·min) for 0.165 g/(A·min)].
mD
- × 100
R E % = -----------
m CE
5.5 The overall weld metal recovery is given by the
ratio
mD
- × 100
R G % = --------
mE
where mE is the total mass of electrodes tested.

© BSI 12-1999 5
6 blank
 BS EN 22401:1994

National annex NA (informative)

Committees responsible
The United Kingdom participation in the preparation of this European Standard was entrusted by the
Welding Standards Policy Committee (WEE/-) to Technical Committee WEE/39 upon which the following
bodies were represented:

Aluminium Federation
Associated Offices Technical Committee
Association of Welding Distributors
British Association for Brazing and Soldering
British Compressed Gases Association
British Constructional Steelwork Association Ltd.
British Steel Industry
Electricity Association
Engineering Equipment and Materials Users’ Association
Lloyds Register of Shipping
Magnesium Industry Council
Power Generation Contractors’ Association (BEAMA Ltd.)
Process Plant Association
Stainless Steel Wire Industry Association
Welding Institute
Welding Manufacturers’ Association (BEAMA Ltd.)
Coopted member

© BSI 12-1999
BS EN
22401:1994
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