WELDING
Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials .By using high heat to melt
the parts together and allowing them to cool ,causing fusion b/w two materials.
Welding is distinct from lower temperature metal-joining techniques such as
brazing and soldering, which do not melt the base metal.
Most commonly used welding’s
1) TIG welding
2) ARC welding
TIG WELDING
Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)also known as tungsten inert gas.
(TIG)welding, is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten
electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected
from oxidation or other atmospheric contamination by an inert gas shielding
(argon or helium). A filler metal is normally used for TIG welding because
non consumable electrode. some welds GTAW is most commonly used for
weld thin sections of stainless steel and non – ferrous metals such as
Aluminum, Magnesium and copper alloys.
ARC WELDING
Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by
using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted
metals, when cool, result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of
welding that uses a welding power supply to create an electric arc
between a metal stick ("electrode") and the base material to melt the
metals at the point of contact. Arc welders can use either direct(DC) Or
alternating (AC)current, and consumable or non-consumable
electrodes.
IDEAL WELD MEASUREMENTS
Groove angle or included ingle -70 to 80degree
Bevel angle – 35 to 40degree
Root face gap – 1.2 to 2.4mm
Root gap – 2 to 4mm
Height of cap or reinforcement – 3mm or 20% in job thickness
up to 1” of area from the weld edge both sides is call as heat affected zone
What is heat affected zone?
The heat affected zone (HAZ) is that area of metal that has not been melted
and has undergone changes in properties as a result of being exposed to
relatively high temperatures during welding.
Difference between imperfections and defects
Imperfection -
Any deviation from ideal welding standards is called as imperfection.
Any deviation which is acceptable based on acceptance criteria is called as
‘imperfection’.
Imperfections are not going to leads to failure of job. So imperfections are not
requires any repair.
Defects:
An imperfection which not acceptable based on the acceptance criteria is
called as ‘defect’. OR
Reject able imperfections are called as ‘defects’.
Defects will leads to failure of material. so defects should be repair or
required re weld if possible.
Example :
If acceptable diameter of porosity is 3mm
Diameter 2mm dia 4mm
Imperfection Defect
Types of porosities
Pore (or) porosity (
dia<1mm)
Blow hole (dia >1.5mm)
Group or cluster porosity
Aligned porosity
Scattered or random porosity
Internal porosity Surface porosity
Root porosity
Porosity forms for various reasons. Some of the common causes
include:
• Failing to remove contamination from the base metal
• Improper shielding gas allowing the atmosphere into the weld pool
• Issues with the welding machine
• Incorrect welding technique
• Moisture or water containing by the electrode during welding
Prevention for porosities:
• Clean all contaminations from base metal before welding.
• Make sure working of welding machine before welding.
• Verify the passage of proper shielding gas during welding.
• Clean electrode before welding.
Types of cracks
Longitudinal crack
Transverse crack
Edge crack
Longitudinal branch
crack
Transverse branch
crack
Crater crack
HAZ crack
Base metal crack
Cracks forms for various reasons. Some of the common causes
include:
• Using hydrogen shielding gas in welding ferrous metals.
• Ductile base metal and the application of residual stress.
• Rigid joints that constrain the expansion and contraction of the metal.
• Use of high levels of Sulphur and carbon.
Prevention for cracks:
• Choose the Correct Filler Material.
• Preheat The Metal.
• Slow the Cooling Rate.
• Avoid Extreme Concave or Convex-shaped Beads.
• Use Quality Materials.
• Avoid High Travel Speed.
Lack of fusions
Lack of side wall fusion
Lack of root fusion
Lack of inter-run fusion
Causes for lack of fusions:
• Low current
• Low heat in put
• Too high travel speed
• In accurate bead placement
• Miss match of base metals
• Too large and too small root gap.
Prevention for lack of fusion:
• Increase voltage
• Increase current
• Reduce travel speed
• Reduce electrode size
• Decrease travel speed
• Retrain welder
Lack of root penetration
Causes for lack of root penetration:
• Large root face
• Small root gap
• Low heat in put
• Large electrode
Prevention for lack of root penetration:
• Increase current
• Reduce electrode size
• Decrease travel speed
• Increase root gap
Under cuts
Cap or external under cut
Root or internal under cut
Continuous undercut (top view) Intermittent undercut (top
view)
Causes for undercuts:
• High heat input
• High welding current
Prevention for undercut:
• Reduce heat input
Excess weld metal
Excess cap or excess reinforcement
Excess root penetration
Causes for excess weld metal:
• More heat in put
• Incorrect electrode size
• Too slow travel speed
Prevention for excess weld metal:
• Decrease heat in put
• Reduce electrode size
• Increase travel speed
Over lap
Causes for overlap:
• High heat input
• Low travel speed
• Wrong electrode position
Prevention for overlap:
• Decrease heat in put
• Increase travel speed
Linear miss alignment(or)missmatch(or)Hi-Lo:
Angular distortion
Miss alignments and distortions will occur due to preparation
mistakes of preparation mistakes of parent metal before
welding.
Make sure parent metals are properly aligned or not to
prevent miss matches and distortions.
Under fill (or) inadequate cap (or) incomplete filled groove:
Causes for under fill:
• In sufficient weld metal
• Irregular weld bead
Preventions for under fill:
• Increase no of weld runs
• Retrain welder
Root concavity (or) suck back
Causes for root concavity:
• Incomplete preparation of base metals
• Lack welder skills
• Sudden cooling
Preventions for root concavity:
• Increase arc energy
• Reduce inert gas pressure
• Retrain welder
Burn through
Causes for burn through:
• More rootgap
• Excessive weld current
• Low travel speed
Preventions for burn through
• Increase travel speed
• Decrease weld current
Weld spatters
Causes for weld spatters:
• High current
• Long arc length
Preventions for weld spatters:
• Decrease current
• Decrease arc length
Arc strikes
Arc strikes are the excess weld material on base metal caused due
unnecessary touching of electrode on the base metal by the
welder to check the heat of electrode.
Acceptance criteria for Visual Inspection
(Refer: UIG-97, Page – 345 of ASME BPVC Section VIII Division 1, 2017 Edition.)
(a) The surface shall be free of any visible laminations, spalling, or cracks. Cracks in tubes shall
not be repaired and shall be considered cause for rejection.
(b) For tubes, the depth of scratch shall not exceed 1/32 in. (0.8 mm). For all other material,
the scratch depth shall not exceed 1/8 in. (3 mm).
For an acceptable limit of thickness reduction, refer to UW-35 (sub-para b, page – 144) which
states that:
• The reduction in thickness shall not exceed 1mm (1/32 in.) or 10% of material nominal
thickness whichever is less, provided that the material of the adjoining surfaces below the
design thickness at any point.
For the allowable limit of Weld Reinforcement (excess weld metal), Refer to UW-35 (sub-
para d, Page – 144)
