WELDING INSPECTION

Prepared by: DSc Dževad Hadžihafizović (DEng)

Sarajevo 2023
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WELDING INSPECTION - STEELS

CONTENTS PAGE

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TERMINOLOGY 3

THE DUTIES OF A WELDING INSPECTOR 9

CODES AND STANDARDS 12

THE WELDING PROCEDURE 14

DESTRUCTIVE TESTING 20

SYMBOLS 27

MATERIALS 32

FOUR FACTORS FOR ESTABLISHING A WELD 37

WELDABILITY 38

RESIDUAL STRESS AND DISTORTION 44

HEAT TREATMENT 47

CALIBRATION 49

DEFECTS DETECTED BY SURFACE INSPECTION 50

INTERNAL DEFECTS 54

MACRO EXAMINATION 58

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING 61

REPAIR BY WELDING 66

CONSUMABLES 70

WELDING POSITIONS 75

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TERMINOLOGY

Use of the correct terminology is important. CSWIP uses BS 499 standard. Frequently the terms
‘weld’ and ‘joint’ are used incorrectly. Exact definitions are given in BS 499 PT 1 1983 -
‘Welding terminology’ and BS 499 Pt 2: 1980 ‘ Weld symbols’.

TYPES OF WELD

Butt Weld

Fillet Weld

Edge Weld

Small indentations
At each weld

Spot Weld
(Illustration depicts resistance weld.
Spot welds can be made with MIG
or TIG processes.)

The four basic welds can be used to join various types of joints.

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TYPES OF JOINT

The following are some typical joints:

BUTT

TEE

CORNER

LAP

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PLATE EDGE PREPARATION FOR BUTT WELDS

The illustrations show standard terminology for the various features of plate edge preparations.

Square edged closed butt Square edged open butt with backing strip
 3 mm – sheet,  3 mm - plate (considerations - penetration control, backing
strip of the same material and usually removed)

Backing bar - ceramic or copper Fusible insert - electric bolt (e.b)

(copper can cause loquation cracking) (Uses TIG process)

Single V Single bevel

Double V Double bevel

Single J Single U

Double J Double U

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Included angle

Bevel angle
Bevel angle width

Sidewall
Face radius

Root face
Root gap land

FEATURES OF A COMPLETED WELD

A butt weld in plate, made by welding from both sides, has two weld faces and four toes. In a full
penetration weld made from one side, the protruding weld on the underside is called the penetration
bead, which also has two toes. The root is defined (BS 499) as the zone on the side of the first run
farthest from the welder.

toe face toe

root

toe face toe

If a weld is sectioned, polished and etched, the fusion boundary can be established. Metal lying
between the two fusion boundaries is weld metal - a mixture of deposited metal and plate metal that
has been melted. The fusion zone is the area of highest dilution between filler metal and parent
plate. Adjacent to the fusion boundary is the heat affected zone (HAZ), in which the plate material
has had its metallurgical structure modified by the heat of welding.

Excess
Weld metal
Fusion zone

Throat fusion boundary / line

HAZ

Excess weld metal is the correct term, not ‘weld reinforcement’. Excess weld metal lying outside
the plane joining the toes of the weld.

Fillet welds have similar features.

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Toes
Face

Fusion boundary

Root HAZ

The shape of a fillet in cross-section is described in three terms.

Mitre fillet Convex fillet Concave fillet

A convex fillet has a poor toe blend - greater notch effect and sharper angle at toe, not used in
fatigue situations. A concave fillet has a better toe blend for fatigue situations, however a reduced
throat. The concave weld may be made by welding alone or by subsequent grinding.

SIZE OF WELDS

Full Penetration Butt Welds.

The general rules are: design throat thickness = thickness of the thinner part joined.
Cap width = prep width + 10% either side (for open prep, not specified in BS
499)

Partial Penetration Butt Welds.

The term partial penetration strictly implies butt welds that are designed to have less than full
penetration. Failure to achieve full penetration when it is wanted should be listed as the defect
incomplete penetration.
The design throat thickness of a partial penetration weld is t1 and the actual throat thickness is t2.
With a partial penetration weld made from both sides, the design throat thickness is t1 + t1 and the
actual throat thickness is t2 + t2. Note that the degree of penetration must be known.

t1 t2
t2
t1
t1 t2
t1 t2

t1 t2

t1
t2
Fillet Welds.
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Fillet weld sizes are calculated by reference to allowable shear stress on the throat area, i.e.
Throat area = design throat thickness x length of weld.
The size required is specified on drawings in terms of leg length (l).
For fillet welds with equal leg lengths l = 1.4 t1. This does not apply to concave fillet welds.

l t1 = t2 t1 t1 t1 t1
t2 t2

If an asymmetrical weld is required, both leg lengths are specified and t1 is taken as the minimum
throat dimension.

l1

l2
t1

Deep penetration fillet weld.

With high current density processes, e.g. submerged arc and MIG (spray), penetration along the
joint line can be produced. This gives an increase in throat thickness with no change in leg length.

t1 t1

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