Weld Defects

WELD DEFECTS
Weldability and defects in weldments
Subjects of Interest
• Reviews of weld design and weldability

• Residual stresses and weld distortion
• Weld metal in homogeneities(Porosities, poak marks etc.,)
• Cracks, Hydrogen Cracking
• Incomplete fusion/penetration
• Burn through
• Common weld defects and their remedies
ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

26th Nov’10 Page No 2
This session aims to :
Understand the causes of
• common weld defects
• Preventing these weld defects
• Repair of weld defects.

Weld design – joint type
•A Butt -A joint between two members aligned
approximately in the same plane.
•B Butt -A joint between two members located

approximately at right angles to each other in the
form of an L.
•C Butt -A joint between two members located

approximately at right angles to each
other in a form of a T.
•D Butt - A joint between two overlapping

members located in parallel
•E Butt -•A joint between the edges of two or

more
parallel or nearly parallel members.

Weld design – 8 Weld types
Fillet weld -On the joint
Groove weld - In the joint
Back weld -Made on the backside of the joint
Slot weld - Used with prepared holes
Spot weld - Weld at the interface of the members
Seam weld - Without prepared holes
Stud weld - Welding a metal stud
Surface weld - Weld beads deposited on the base

metal or broken surface

Weldability
The capability of a material to be welded under the imposed
fabrication conditions into a specific, suitably designed structure and
to perform satisfactorily in the intended service.
Weldability depends on
 Nature of metals
 Joint design
 Welding techniques
 Skills ………
All metals are weldable – only some are more difficult than others……
Steel is readily weldable than other metals like Al, Cu
• Cu is not easily weldable due to its high thermal conductivity –
requires pre heating to ~ 300 Deg C
• Al is not easily weldable – having oxide layer

Weldability …… Contd.
Steel
•Steel Weldability of steels is inversely proportional to its
hardenability, due to martensite formation during heat treatment
% Carbon Hardenability Weldability
• There is a trade-off bet’ materials strength and Weldablity

Defects in Weldments
• It is unusual for the weldments to be completely sound
• They normally contain small defects such as porosity, slag, oxide inclusions, lack
of fusion, undercut, crack, distortion etc.,
Understand the cause
Solve/Prevent the pbm
•Furthermore, diff metals

have diff weldability hence
understand the nature of
the metal to be welded


Residual stresses(internal) are

stresses that would exist in a body
after removing all external loads
(normally due to non uniform temp
change during welding in this case
•Weld metal and adjacent base

metal are restrained by the areas
further away from the weld metal
due to expansion and contraction.
•Weld metal and adj. base metal Residual tensile stress
•Areas away from weld metal Res. Compressive stress

Effect of temperature and time on stress relief of steel weld
Stress relief temperature % Relief of initial stress

Weld Distortion is due to solidification shrinkage and thermal
contraction of the weld metal during welding
Distortion in welded structure

Angular distortion
Thin plates
• Upward angular distortion

Thick plates usually occurs when the
weld is
made from the top of the
work piece
alone.
• The weld tends to be
wider at the
top than the bottom,
causing more
solidification shrinkage and
thermal contraction

Remedies for angular distortion
There are several techniques used to reduce angular distortion.
•• Reducing volume of weld metal
•• Using double-V joint and alternate welding
•• Placing welds around neutral axis
•• Controlling weld distortion
•Reducing volume of weld

metal and by using single-
•Placing weld around neutral axis pass deep penetration
welding

•Balancing the angular
weld distortion on either
side of double V joint
•Double V – Balance the shrinkage to almost same

amount on contraction on sides(a)
•Asymetrical double V – the first weld always
produces more angular distortion. The 2 nd side is
larger to pull back(b)
•Single U – uniform weld with through the section ‘c’

Methods for controlling weld distortion

 Presetting : by compensating the amount of distortion to occur in
welding
 Elastic pre springing can reduce angular changes after restraint is

removed
 Preheating and post weld heat treatment
 Mechanical methods : Straightening press, jacks, clamps
 Welding short lengths on a planned or random distribution

26th Nov 2010 Page No 17
WELD DEFECTS - Porosity
• Single pore – Separated by at least their own diameter along the axis
of the weld

Uniformly Scattered Porosity
• Typically judged by diameter and proximity to a start or stop

• Often caused by low amperage or short arc gap or an unshielded weld
start.

Weld defects - Porosity
• Cluster porosity -Typically viewed as a single large

discontinuity
• Linear Porosity - Being linear greatly affects the

severity of this discontinuity

Porosity - Remedies
• Preheat will help eliminate
• May need an electrode with more deoxidizers
• Cleaning the joint before weld(free from oil/greasy)
• Restart on top of previous weld and grind off lump

Weld Defects - Incomplete Fusion
Definition : Where weld metal does not form a cohesive bond with the base
metal
Cause : Low amperage, improper electrode angles, fast travel speed, lack
of preheat, unclean base metal, short arc gap
Prevention: Eliminate the above said potential causes
Repair. Remove and re weld

Weld Defects - Incomplete Fusion

Weld Defects – Incomplete inter-run
fusion/penetration

Weld defects
Definition : When the weld metal does not extend

to the required depth into the joint root
Cause : Low Amp, Low preheat, tight root

opening, fast travel speed, short arc
Prevention : Correct the contributing factors
Repair: back gouge and back weld

Weld Defects – Cracks
Longitudinal
Transverse
Crater
Throat
Toe
Root
Under bead and HAZ
HOT
Cold or delayed

Weld Defects – Longitudinal Cracks
Definition : A crack running in the direction of the weld axis either in weld
or metal
Cause : Preheat or fast cooling. Stresses(shrinkage) in high constraint

areas
Prevention : Preheat to even out cooling rates. Weld toward areas of less
constraint
Repair : Remove and re weld.

Weld Defects

Weld defects - Transverse
Transverse Crack
A crack running into or inside a weld, transverse to
the weld axis direction
This happens basically due to weld metal hardness.

Weld Defects – Crater
Definition: A crack, generally in the shape of an “X” which is found

in the crater. These are normally hot cracks
Cause: The centre of the weld pool becomes solid before the
outside of the weld pool, pulling the centre apart during
cooling
Prevention: Use crater fill, fill the crater at the weld termination. Also
even out the cooling of the puddle

Weld defects

Weld defects – Toe crack
Definition: A crack in the base metal beginning at the toe of the weld
Cause : Transverse shrinkage stresses. Indicates a HAZ

brittleness problem
Prevention: Increase preheat if possible, or use a more ductile filler

material.

Weld defects – Throat crack
Definition:A longitudinal crack located in the weld throat area
Cause : Transverse stresses, probably from shrinkage, indicates

inadequate filler metal selection or welding procedure. May be due to
crater crack propagation.
Prevention: Correct initial cause. Increasing preheat may prevent it but

crater should not be left. Use more ductile filler material
Repair : Remove and re weld.

Hydrogen cracking (cold cracking)
• Hydrogen in the weld metal sources: moisture from metal surface, tools,
atmosphere, flux,
• High stresses
• Susceptible microstructure : martensite (HAZ of carbon steels due to lower
diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in austenite than in ferrite), combination of
hydrogen + martensite promotes hydrogen cracking.
• Relatively low temperature. (-100-200oC) cold cracking or delayed cracking.

Remedies for hydrogen cracking
• Controlling welding parameters: proper preheat and interpass

Temperature
• Use consumables with low hydrogen(H2R)
• Post weld treatment: stress relief.
• Use proper welding processes and Materials (consumables),

Weld Defects – Burn Through
Definition: An undesirable open hole has been completely melted

through the base metal. The hole may or may not be open
Cause : Excessive heat input
Prevention: Reduce heat input by increasing speed, use of a heat sink or

welding parameters.
Repair : Will be defined by standards. Some standard may require

special filler metal and/or PWHT

Ready Reckoner on weld defects

Ready Reckoner on weld defects

Thank You.


Weld Defects

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WELD DEFECTS

Weldability and defects in weldments

• Reviews of weld design and weldability

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Understand the causes of

• common weld defects

• Preventing these weld defects

• Repair of weld defects.

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

•B Butt -A joint between two members located

•C Butt -A joint between two members located

•D Butt - A joint between two overlapping

•E Butt -•A joint between the edges of two or

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Groove weld - In the joint

Back weld -Made on the backside of the joint

Slot weld - Used with prepared holes

Spot weld - Weld at the interface of the members

Seam weld - Without prepared holes

Stud weld - Welding a metal stud

Surface weld - Weld beads deposited on the base

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

% Carbon Hardenability Weldability

• There is a trade-off bet’ materials strength and Weldablity

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Understand the cause

Solve/Prevent the pbm

•Furthermore, diff metals

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Residual stresses(internal) are

•Weld metal and adjacent base

•Weld metal and adj. base metal Residual tensile stress

•Areas away from weld metal Res. Compressive stress

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Stress relief temperature % Relief of initial stress

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Distortion in welded structure

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

• Upward angular distortion

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

•Reducing volume of weld

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

•Double V – Balance the shrinkage to almost same

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

Methods for controlling weld distortion

 Elastic pre springing can reduce angular changes after restraint is

 Preheating and post weld heat treatment

 Mechanical methods : Straightening press, jacks, clamps

 Welding short lengths on a planned or random distribution

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

• Typically judged by diameter and proximity to a start or stop

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

• Cluster porosity -Typically viewed as a single large

• Linear Porosity - Being linear greatly affects the

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant

• Preheat will help eliminate

• May need an electrode with more deoxidizers

• Cleaning the joint before weld(free from oil/greasy)

• Restart on top of previous weld and grind off lump

ESAB India Ltd, Ambattur Plant