Destructive Testing Definitions
What is Destructive Testing ?
The destruction of a welded unit, or of selected specimens
cut out from the weld, in order to check the mechanical
properties of the joint materials. They can be used to:
• Approve welding procedures (ISO 15614).
• Approve welders (BS EN 287).
• Production quality control.
Destructive Mechanical Tests
Destructive mechanical tests include:
•Tensile •Hardness test.
test. •Metallographic examination.
•Bend test.
•Impact
test.
Qualitative and Quantitative Tests
The following mechanical tests have units and are termed
quantitative tests to measure mechanical properties and can provide data
for design purposes.
• Tensile tests (Transverse Welded Joint, All Weld Metal).
• Toughness testing (Charpy, Izod, CTOD).
The following mechanical tests have units (quantitative), but are qualitative
as the results are for comparison only.
• Charpy Impact tests.
• Hardness tests (Vickers, Brinell).
• Corrosion tests.
The following mechanical tests have no units and are termed
qualitative tests for assessing joint quality.
• Macro testing.
• Bend testing.
Hardness Testing
usually the hardest region
1.5 to 3mm
fusion line or
fusion
boundary HAZ
Hardness Test Methods Typical Designations
Vickers 300-325 HV for structural
<250 HV for sour
Rockwell < 22 Rc for sour
Brinell <200 BHN-W for sour refinery
Hardness Impression Size (250HV)
• Measurement
affected by
material 1
diameter
away.
Vickers Hardness Test
Typical location of the indentations:
Butt weld from one side
only
Butt weld from both side
Charpy V-Notch Impact Test
Objectives:
• Measuring impact strength in different
weld joint areas.
• Assessing resistance to brittle fracture.
Information on test report:
• Material type.
• Notch type.
• Specimen size.
• Test temperature.
• Notch location.
• Impact strength value.
Ductile/Brittle Transition Curve
Ductile fracture
Temperature range
47 Joules
Transition range Ductile/Brittle
transition point
28 Joules
Energy absorbed
Brittle fracture
- 50 - 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 0
Testing temperature, ºC
Charpy Impact Test
22.5o 10 mm
100% Brittle
2 mm
Machined
notch
Fracture surface
8 mm
100% bright
crystalline brittle
fracture
100% Ductile
Machined
notch
Large reduction in
area, shear lips
Randomly torn,
dull gray fracture
surface
Tensile Testing
Tensile Tests
Types of tensile test:
• Parent metal tensile test.
• Transverse (cross-weld)
tensile.
• All-weld metal tensile test.
• Cruciform tensile test.
• Short-transverse tensile test
(through thickness test).
Cross-weld Tensile Test
Objective:
Measure the overall strength of the weld
joint.
Include in the results report:
• Material type.
• Specimen type (weld re-enforcement
removed? Reduced section specimen?).
• Specimen size.
• UTS.
• Location of final fracture.
• Whether any flaws are present.
Macro/Micro Examination
Objective: Will Reveal:
Give a visual evaluation of a • Weld soundness.
cross-section of a welded joint.
• Distribution of inclusions.
Note:
• Number of weld passes.
• Carried out on full thickness
specimens. • Metallurgical structure of weld,
• The width of the specimen fusion zone and HAZ.
should include weld, HAZ and • Location and depth of
parent plate. penetration of weld.
• May be cut from a stop/start • Fillet weld leg and throat
area on a welder’s approval dimensions.
test.
Macro Preparation
Objective:
Examine the weld cross-section to give assurance that:
• The weld has been made in accordance with the WPS.
• The weld is free from defects.
Specimen Preparation:
• Full thickness slice taken from the weld (typically ~10mm thick).
• Width of slice sufficient to show all the weld and HAZ on both sides plus some
unaffected base material.
• One face is ground to a progressively fine finish (grit sizes 120 to ~ 400).
• Prepared face heavily etched to show all weld runs and all HAZ.
• Prepared face examined at up to x10 (and usually photographed for records).
• Prepared face may also be used for a hardness survey.
Micro Preparation
Objective:
Examine a particular region of the weld or HAZ in order to:
• Determine the microstructure.
• Identify the nature of a crack or other imperfection.
Specimen Preparation:
• Small piece cut from region of interest (~ 20mm x 20mm) .
• Piece is mounted in Bakelite or a polymer, and surface of interest
prepared by progressive grinding (to grit size 600 or 800).
• Surface polished on diamond-impregnated cloths to a mirror finish.
• Prepared face may be examined in as-polished condition and / or
lightly etched.
• Prepared face examined at up to ~ x 600.
Bend Tests
• Bend tests determine the
soundness of the weld zone.
• Bend testing can also be used
to give an assessment of weld
zone ductility.
• There are three possible
configurations of bend test, face
bend, root bend or side bend.
• Side bend tests are normally
carried out on welds over 12mm
in thickness.
Bending Test Methods
Guided bend test Wrap around bend test
Bend Tests
Reporting results:
• Thickness and dimensions of specimen.
• Specimen configuration (root, face or side).
• Angle of bend (90o, 120o, 180o).
• Diameter of former. (typically 4T).
• Appearance of joint after bending eg type and
location of any flaws.
Fatigue Testing
• Apply a cyclic stress range to a
specimen, and count the number
of cycles to failure.
• Similar specimens can be used
to plot a S-N (stress versus no.
of cycles) curve.
• Parent metals spend a lot of life-
time initiating a fatigue crack.
• Intrusions at weld toes mean
most of life is in propagation for
welds.
Creep Testing
• Constant stress is applied to a tensile specimen.
• Test done at elevated temperature.
• Measure strain over time.
• Creep failure occurs in three distinct phases:
– Primary creep: rapid increase in length, creep
rate decreases as the metal work hardens.
– Secondary creep: constant creep rate, forms
bulk of the creep life of a component.
– Tertiary creep: when the creep life is almost
exhausted, voids have formed, and the
effective cross sectional area has been
reduced.
– The creep rate then accelerates until the
specimen finally fails.
Corrosion Testing
• Welds are frequently areas most susceptible to corrosion.
• Need to understand how the parent and weld perform in a
particular environment.
• Immerse a standard size specimen in an environment
(temperature, salt solution and possibly gas).
• Sometimes under loading.
• After immersion for a given time, the specimen is visually
examined for signs of corrosion damage, eg pitting or stress
corrosion cracking.
• And/or weighed to quantify any mass lost due to corrosion.
• There is a wide range of corrosion testing standards with
standardised (severe) environments.
