REPAIR WELD

LO1. MARK/LOCATE WELD DEFECTS

Interpretation of weld repair procedures and
WPS
8 Steps to Develop a Repair Welding Procedure

Some repairs, whether it is repairing a failed
weldment or repairing a crack in a casting, may
easily be done by simply grinding out the crack and
applying more weld. Other repairs, however; are
more complicated. Or at least they should be.
1. Evaluate the failed component – It is essential that you
understand the root cause or at least potential causes for the failure.
If you do not know what caused the problem you may not have all
the information necessary to develop an adequate repair procedure.
2. Determine suitability for welding – You must know what base
material you are dealing with. Is it low carbon steel? Is it high
strength steel? Is it quenched and tempered (Q&T) steel? Is cast
iron? Is it stainless?
3. Understand the service conditions and weldment
requirements – If you are repairing a failed connection you must
know the type and magnitude of the stress in order to properly size
your weld. If dealing with a cracked frame as is the case with the
customer mentioned above, we are required to match the frame’s
properties including: hardness, ductility, yield strength and ultimate
tensile strength.
4. Follow the prescribed code or standard – Find out if the structure you are
repairing is governed by a specific welding code or customer supplied standard.
Most codes will have instructions on how to properly carry out repairs. Some
even limit the number of repairs that can be perform and indicate who is
responsible for authorizing these repairs.
5. Develop a repair welding procedure – Now that you have all the details
regarding the failure mechanism, understand the service requirements and know
which code or standard to follow, you can craft your welding procedure. Your
welding procedure shall include joint details including joint preparation, welding
process, filler metal, preheat and inter pass temperature, amperage, voltage, etc.
Make sure you cover all the essential variables.
6. Qualify your repair welding procedure specification – Again, depending on
the code or standard you are following you may be required to qualify your
procedure by testing. In some cases you may use a
prequalified welding procedure. Using prequalified welding procedures has its
advantages, but you must be careful not to abuse their use
7. Develop an inspection procedure – Using a qualified welding
procedure provides reasonable assurance that we will produce a
sound weld. However, unless we are using automation the human
element introduces a variable and the opportunity for error. An
adequate inspection procedure must be put in place to inspect the
repair. This can be as simple as visual inspection. Making sure the
weld is the right size, that there are no cracks, no surface porosity
and no undercut. Or it can also involve other types of non-
destructive testing such as ultrasonic or radiographic inspection.
8. Document everything – Once you have gone through the above
steps you will have a lot of documents. These documents must be
kept for record purposes. Material test records for the base material,
the WPS, the PQR and the inspection procedure. This is a lot of
work, make sure it is documented for traceability, in the event of an
audit and for future use.
Repair weld
Task Sheet 1.1.1
Question: What are the 8 steps to develop a
repair welding procedure?
Info Sheet 1.1.2
 Causes and identification of weld defects
 Major causes
 Hydrogen embrittlement.
 Residual stresses.
 Cracks.
 Distortion.
 Gas inclusion.
 Inclusions.
 Lack of fusion and incomplete penetration.
 Lamellar tearing.
 Welding defects can be classified into two types as external and internal defects:
External Welding Defects:
1. Weld Crack
2. Undercut
3. Spatter
4. Porosity
5. Overlap
6. Crater
Internal Welding Defects:
1. Slag Inclusion
2. Incomplete Fusion
3. Necklace cracking
4. Incompletely filled groove or
Incomplete penetration
External Welding Defects
The various types of external defects with their
causes and remedies are listed below:
1. Weld Crack
This is the most unwanted defect of all the
other welding defects. Welding cracks can be
present at the surface, inside of the weld
material or at the heat affected zones.
Crack can also appear at different temperatures:
2. Hot Crack – It is more prominent during
 External Welding Defects
 The various types of external defects with their
causes and remedies are listed below:
 1. Weld Crack
 This is the most unwanted defect of all the other
welding defects. Welding cracks can be present at the
surface, inside of the weld material or at the heat
affected zones.
 Crack can also appear at different temperatures:
 2. Hot Crack – It is more prominent during
crystallization of weld joints where the temperature can
rise more than 10,000-degree Celsius.
 3. Cold Crack – This type of crack occurs at the end of
the welding process where the temperature is quite
low. Sometimes cold crack is visible several hours after
welding or even after few days. Causes Of Weld Crack:
 1. Poor ductility of the given base metal.
2. The presence of residual stress can cause a crack on the
weld metal.
3. The rigidity of the joint which makes it difficult to
expand or contract the metals.
4. If there is high content on sulfur and carbon then also
the cracks may appear.
5. Using hydrogen as a shielding gas while welding
ferrous materials.
Remedies for Weld crack:
1. Using appropriate materials may decrease the
chances of crack.
2. Preheating the weld and reducing the cooling
speed joint helps in reducing crack.
3. Reduce the gap between the weld joints by
using reasonable weld joints.
4. While welding releases the clamping force
slowly which increases fill to capacity of
welding material
Task Sheet 1.1.2
Question: What are the causes of welding
defects?
 LO2. Prepare Tools and Equipment
Materials and consumables
WELDING CONSUMABLES
In Welding, substances called filler materials or consumables are
used. As the name implies, these substances provide a filler or a body
of molten materials that provides a strong bond to be formed between
the base metals used. Most welding processes will also require some
form of shielding to protect both the main components and filler from
being oxidized during the process.
TYPES OF WELDING CONSUMABLES
The type of consumable used during welding depends on the nature
of the job intended. Electrodes draw the necessary energy in order to
perform welding applications. Consumables includes;
 Stick electrode:
Stick welding requires a lot of skill and also some
know-how about stick electrodes (also called welding
rods). There are different types of stick electrode, some
of them includes (According to the American Welding
Society); The E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013, E7014,
E7024 and E7018 electrodes. Variables such as storage
techniques, electrode diameter and flux composition all
contribute to stick rod selection and performance, with
basic knowledge one can minimize difficulty which
will ensure better outcome in the welding processes.
 Repair weld
 Task Sheet 2.2.1
 Question: What is consumable arc
welding?
 Info Sheet 2.2.2
 Welding Equipment and Tools
 Welding Tools And Their Uses
 Personal Safety Equipment
 Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet
 An auto-darkening welding helmet is the most important part of the
welding safety gear. The purpose of the helmet, first of all, is to
protect your eyes from the flash of the arc. However, when the arc of
the torch is not active, the helmet’s lens maintains a light shade, so
you can still see your work. This eliminates the need to take the
helmet on and off each time before welds. Another purpose of the
welding helmet is to protect your face and neck from welding
radiation and sparks.
Jacket Or a Welding Apron With a Long Sleeve Shirt
Welding usually involves sparks and molten metal
shooting in all different directions. So it’s important to
protect from them not only your face but also the rest of
the body. So you should wear either a heat-resistant
leather jacket or if you find wearing one of them, you
can opt for a welding apron and a long sleeve cotton
shirt. It’s important to remember, that the protective
clothing should be made from natural fiber and not
synthetic materials. You don’t want it to burn and
damage your skin.
Welding Shoes
You’ll also need a good pair of work shoes to protect
your feet during the welding process. Again, make
sure that they are not made from synthetic materials,
which can burn. The leather is the best choice.
Gloves
While welding, your hands will be in the closest
proximity of the arc. So it’s important to protect
them as well. For example, you can get MIG gloves,
which will comfortably sit on your hands.
 Safety Glasses
 You can also wear safety glasses under the helmet for extra
protection. Make sure to wear them also when grinding metal.
Choose glasses that will also give you some UV protection.
 Ear Plugs
 The welding process produces a lot of noise. If you’ll be
working long hours, this exposure can cause pain. so protect
your ears by wearing earmuffs or earplugs.
 Mask Or a Respirator
 As welding produces a lot of fumes that can have dangerous
outcomes if you breathe them in, also get a mask or a
respirator.
 Welding Tools
 Measuring
 The success of a project greatly depends on making proper prior
measurements, so invest in measuring and marking devices. You
will need a tape measure, calipers, metal T-squares and some sort
of marking tool.
 Welding Clamps
 Welding Magnets
 Sheet Metal Gauge
 Electrode
 Angle Grinder
 Metal Brush
Task Sheet 2.2.2
Question: Enumerate the welding tools
LO3 Remove Defects
Repair Techniques
Repair welding is a commonly used technique in which
the cracked material is removed by arc gouging and the
element is welded to re-join the material on either side of
the crack.
Preparation for Welding
A large number of factors should be considered and
decisions made before starting to weld.
Safety. The repair welding location or area must be
surveyed and all safety considerations satisfied.
 This can include the posting of the area required by certain
regulations, removal of all combustible materials from the
area, the draining of fuel tanks of construction equipment,
aircraft, boats, trucks, etc.
 Cleaning. The immediate work area must be clean from all
contaminants and this includes removal of dirt, grease, oil,
rust, paint, plastic coverings, etc., from the surface of the
parts being welded. The method of cleaning depends on the
material to be removed and the location of the work piece.
For most construction and production equipment, steam
cleaning is recommended. When this is not possible solvent
cleaning can be used. Blast cleaning with abrasives is also
used.
 Disassembly. Except for the simplest repair jobs disassembly may
be required. This can be related to items mentioned above but also
applies to lubrication lines, instrument tubing, wiring, etc.
Sometimes it is necessary to disassemble major components such
as machinery from machinery frames, etc.
 Protection of adjacent machinery and machined
surfaces. When repair welding is done on machinery many parts
that are not removed should be protected from weld spatter, flame
cutting sparks, and other foreign material generated by the repair
process. Sheet metal guards or baffles are used to protect adjacent
machinery. For machined surfaces, asbestos cloth can be employed.
It is wise to secure protective material with wire, clamps, or other
temporary bracing. Machined surfaces within five feet of the
welding operation should be protected.
Bracing and clamping. On complex repair
jobs bracing or clamping may be required. This
is because of the heavy weight of parts or the
fact that loads may be exerted on the part being
weld repaired. If main structural members are
to be cut the load must be carried by temporary
braces. The braces can be temporarily welded
to the structure being repaired.
Lay out repair work. In most repair jobs it is
necessary to remove metal so that a full-penetration
weld can be made. A layout should be made to show
the metal that is to be removed by cutting or
gouging to prepare the part for welding. The
minimum amount of metal should be removed to
obtain a full-penetration weld. The layout should be
selected so that welding can be balanced, if
possible, and that the bulk of the welding can be
made from the more comfortable welding position.
Preheating. The preheating and flame cutting or
gouging are parts of the preparation for welding but
can be considered part of the welding operation.
When flame cutting or gouging is required,
preheating should be the same as when welding. It
might not be quite as important since stresses are
much smaller; however, the thermal shock on the
metal can occur in gouging as well as in welding.
 Cutting and gouging. The oxygen fuel gas-cutting torch is most often
used for this application. Special gouging tips are available and they
should be selected based on the particular geometry of the joint
preparation. It is possible, by closely watching the cut surface, to find and
follow cracks during the flame gouging operation. The edges of the cracks
will show since they become slightly hotter.
 Grinding and cleaning. The resulting surfaces may not be as smooth as
desired and may include burned areas, oxide, etc. Grind the surfaces to
clean bright metal prior to starting to weld. For critical work or where
there is a suspicion of additional cracks it is wise to check the surface by
magnetic particle inspection to make sure that all cracks and defects have
been removed.
Repair Welding
Successful repair welding also involves following a
logical sequence to make sure that all factors are
considered and adequately provided.
Welding procedure. The welding procedure must be
available for the use of the welders. It must include the
process to be used, the specific filler metals, the preheat
required, and any other specific information concerning
the welding joint technique.
 Welding equipment. Sufficient welding equipment should be
available so that there will be no delays. Standby equipment
might also be required. This not only includes welding
equipment but includes sufficient electrode holders, grinders,
wire feeders if required, cables, etc.
 Materials. Sufficient materials must also be available for the
entire job. This includes the filler metals stored properly for use
on the repair. It also includes materials such as insert pieces,
reinforcing pieces, etc. Materials also include fuel for
maintaining preheat and inter pass temperature, shielding gases if
used, and fuel for engine powered welding machines.
 Alignment markers. Prior to making the weld alignment
markers are sometimes used. These can be nothing more than
center punch marks made across the joint in various locations.
 Welding sequences. The welding sequence should be well
described in the welding procedure and can include block
welding, back-step sequence welding, wandering sequence
welding, and peeling.
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Safety. Finally, safety cannot be overlooked
throughout the welding operation. For example,
ventilation must be provided when fuel gases are
used for preheating, etc.
Weld Quality. The quality of the weld should be
continually checked. The final weld should be
smooth, there should be no notches, and reinforcing,
if used, should fair smoothly into the existing
structure. If necessary, grinding should be done to
maintain smooth flowing contours.
Task Sheet 3.3.1
Question: What is the importance in repairing
weld materials?
 Info Sheet 3.3.2
 Operating weld defect removal tools and equipment
 11 Common Welding Defects and How to Prevent
 Porosity
 Inclusions
 Undercutting
 Poor Joint Penetration
 Burn-Through
 Overlap
 Craters
 Spatter
 Incomplete Fusion
Arc Strike Discontinuities
Excessive Reinforcement
What causes it
Slag is formed when flux melts in or on top of weld beads
by wrong electrode technique. It is not uncommon for
some areas to become embedded within the solidified
metal if for some reason it did not float to the top of the
molten metal where they will be visible and not affect the
structural integrity of the weld.
 How to repair it
 Removal is usually done with manual or power tools. Manual
tools usually include a chipping hammer.
 We recommend using our TFT Milling Discs to clean the
surface for weld preparation. All milling discs, whether for
aluminum or steel, can be attached to most angle grinders.
 Their benefits include no abrasive residues, no smearing, no
kickbacks, no stress in the metal through overheating and a very
long life. They are considered to be perfect for weld preparation.
Porosity
What it looks like
Porosity is the presence of cavities within the
weld metal. The forms it takes can be:
distributed porosity
surface-breaking pores
wormhole
crater pipes
 What it can cause
 Porosity causes reduced strength and failures in some cases due
to fatigue.
 What causes it
 Among the possible causes of porosity in welding we can
include:
 Substances in the surface including moisture, grease, oil and
surface contamination in general.
 Poor gas shielding originated from Nitrogen and oxygen
absorption in the weld pool.
 Surface coatings. As the welding process takes place, large
amounts of fumes may get trapped.
How to repair it
Remove porosity with an angle
grinder, using the right wheel attached.
For explosive environments, we
recommend using a non-sparking disc,
such as the TFT Milling Disc.

 Weld Crack
 What it looks like
 Separation of the filler weld metal or discontinuity in the and between the base metal
and filler metal. Types may include longitudinal, transverse, crater, throat, toe, root,
underbead, hot and cold
 What it can cause
 Failure and crater crack propagation.
 What causes it
 Some of the causes are port parts fit-up, rapid cooling, contamination. Most
longitudinal and centerline cracks are caused by improper width-to-depth ratio, a low
melting point of tramp elements in the base, and concave surfaces or even using the
wrong electrode.
 How to repair it
 There are 2 options: Carbon arc gouging or mechanical removal by means of an angle
grinder.
Task Sheet 3.3.2
Question: How do you check for welding defects?
Info Sheet 3.3.3
 Applying correct weld techniques
 Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW): Techniques & Tips
 SMAW Operation Set-Up
 Before starting make sure that you are using a good helmet for SMAW welding as well as protective
clothing.
 Clean the work piece
 Clamp the work close to the weld
 Insert the electrode into the insulated holder. Set amperage at levels recommended by the electrode
manufacturer.
 Determine the best arc length. As a guideline the arc for a 1/16″ to 3/32″ diameter electrode is 1/16″
(1.6mm). The arc length for a 1/8″ and 5/32″ electrode is 1/8″ (3.2mm).
 Have a chipping hammer available to remove any slag and before doing a 2nd pass with the weld.
 Scratch Start Technique:
 To strike the electric arc when starting a SMAW operation, the
electrode is brought into contact with the work piece, dragged
like lighting a match, and then pulled away slightly. If the arc
lights and then goes out, that means the electrode was pulled too
far away from the base metal. If the electrode sticks to the metal,
give a twist and it should come free.
 Tapping Technique:
 Move the electrode straight down to the base metal. Then lift
slightly. The arc should start. If the arc goes out, that means it
was lifted too high off the work piece.
 Operating The Electrode Holder
 This initiates the melting of the work piece and the consumable
electrode and causes droplets of the electrode to be passed from
the electrode to the weld pool.
 As the electrode melts, the flux covering disintegrates, giving off
a vapors that protect the weld area from oxygen and other
atmospheric gases.
 In addition, the flux provides molten slag which covers the filler
metal as it is travels from the electrode to the weld pool.
 Once part of the weld pool, the slag floats to the surface and
protects the weld from contamination as it solidifies.
 Tack weld the two pieces of metal to hold them in place. This
will reduce joint distortion, which is caused by the expansion and
contraction of metal as it is heated and cooled.
 Double V-Groove, Single V-Groove & Square Groove Welds
 When performing a groove weld, hold the electrode
perpendicular to the weld. Lean the electrode in the direction of
the weld.
 A single string bead is all that is needed for a narrow groove
weld joint. For wider groove weld, then a weave bead or many
stringer beads is a better option.
 Square Groove Weld

 Square Groove Weld

 If thickness of materials are 3/16″ (5MM) they can usually be
welded with a square groove weld and no prep.
 Single and Double V-Groove Welds

 Single and Double V-Groove Welds

 V-Groove
 For SMAW operation welds that require thicker metals it may require that edges are
prepared (v-groove) of butt joints for good welds.
 V-groove is recommended for metal thickness of 3/16″ to 3/4″ (5 to 19mm). It is also
used for any thickness when welding can only be done from one side.
Task Sheet 3.3.3
Question: How can I improve my welding
quality?