F
ASME B31.4-2016
the operating company and nondestructively inspected.
The inspection of girth welds shall be by radiographic
or other accepted volumetric methods. Nonvolumetric
methods, such as dye penetrant or magnetic particle,
may be used for other welds. Each weld inspected shall
be inspected completely with the selected method. In
the following locations or conditions, all welds in the
pipe shall be completely inspected; however, if some of
the welds are inaccessible, a minimum of 90% of the
welds are to be inspected:
(-a) within populated areas such as residential
subdivisions, shopping centers, and designated com-
mercial and industrial areas
(-b) river, lake, and stream crossings within the
area subject to frequent inundation; and river, lake, and
stream crossings on bridges
(-c) railroad or public highway rights-of-way,
including tunnels, bridges, and overhead railroad and
road crossings
(-d) offshore and inland coastal waters
(-e) old girth welds in used pipe
(-f) tie-in girth welds not hydrostatically tested
in accordance with para. 437.4.1
(b) Inspection Methods and Acceptance Standards
(1) Nondestructive inspection shall consist of
visual inspection and radiographic examination or other
acceptable nondestructive methods, and shall be in
accordance with API 1104. The methods used shall be
capable of producing indications of potential defects
that can be accurately interpreted and evaluated. Welds
shall meet the acceptance standards for discontinuities
contained in API 1104, or the alternate acceptance stan-
dards for girth welds in Mandatory Appendix I of
API 1104.
(2) Completed welds that have been removed for
destructive examination shall meet the requirements of
API 1104 for Welder Qualification by Destructive
Testing. Trepanning methods of testing shall not be used.
434.8.6 Types of Welds, Joint Designs, and Transition
Nipples
(a) Butt Welds. Butt welded joints may be of the single
vee, double vee, or other suitable type of groove. Joint
designs shown in Fig. 434.8.6-1 or applicable combina-
tions of these joint design details are recommended for
ends of equal thickness. The transition between ends of
unequal thickness may be accomplished by taper or
welding as shown in Fig. 434.8.6-2, or by means of a
prefabricated transition nipple not less than one-half
pipe diameter in length with acceptable joint designs as
illustrated in Fig. 434.8.6-2.
(b) Fillet Welds. Fillet welds may be concave to
slightly convex. The size of a fillet weld is stated as a
leg length of the largest inscribed right isosceles triangle
as shown in Fig. 434.8.6-3 covering recommended
attachment details of flanges.
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(c) Tack Welds. Tack welding shall be done by quali-
fied welders, the same as all other welds.
434.8.7 Removal or Repair of Defects
(a) Arc Burns. Arc burns can cause serious stress con-
centrations in pipelines and shall be prevented,
removed, or repaired. The metallurgical notch caused
by arc burns shall be removed by grinding, provided the
grinding does not reduce the remaining wall thickness
to less than the minimum permitted by the material
specifications. Complete removal of the metallurgical
notch created by an arc burn can be determined as fol-
lows. After visible evidence of the arc burn has been
removed by grinding, swab the ground area with a mini-
mum 10% solution of ammonium persulfate or a
5% solution of nital. A darkened spot is evidence of a
metallurgical notch and indicates that additional grind-
ing is necessary. If the resulting wall thickness after
grinding is less than that permitted by the material speci-
fication, the portion of pipe containing the arc burn shall
be removed or repaired in accordance with para. 451.6.
Insert patching is prohibited.
(b) Weld Defects. Authorization for repair of welds,
removal and repair of weld defects, and testing of weld
repairs shall be in accordance with API 1104.
(c) Pipe Defects. Laminations, split ends, or other
defects in the pipe shall be repaired or removed in accor-
dance with para. 434.5(b).
434.8.8 Preheating and Interpass Temperature
(a) The welding procedure specification shall specify
the minimum preheat temperature. When the welding
procedure specification specifies preheating above
ambient temperatures, the method of heating shall be
specified. For heat-treated and other high-strength mate-
rials and impact-tested materials, control of interpass
temperatures may be necessary. The operating company
shall determine when interpass temperature limits are
necessary, and, when required, the interpass tempera-
tures shall be provided in the welding procedure
specification.
(b) When welding dissimilar materials having differ-
ent preheating requirements, the material requiring the
higher preheat shall govern.
(c) The preheating temperature shall be checked by
the use of temperature-indicating crayons, thermocou-
ple pyrometers, or other suitable method to ensure that
the required temperature is attained prior to and main-
tained during the welding operation.
434.8.9 Stress Relieving
(a) Welds shall be stress relieved when the effective
weld throat (see Fig. 434.8.6-2) exceeds 11⁄4 in. (32 mm),
unless it can be demonstrated by welding procedure
qualification tests, using materials of the same specifica-
tion, type, and grade with an effective weld throat that
is equal to or greater than the production weld, that
stress relieving is not necessary.