Module 9

Weld and Base Metal

Discontinuities
 JOINT CONFIGURATION
Butt Weld
3
• 1= Groove Face
• 2= Root Opening 4
• 3= Groove Angle
• 4= Root Face 5
• 5=Plate thickness
• 6=Bevel Angle 1 2
 JOINT CONFIGURATION
• Root Opening – A separation at the joint root between the two
work pieces
• Root Face – The portion of the groove face adjacent to the joint root
• Groove Face – The surface of a joint member included in the
groove
• Groove Angle – The total included angle of the groove between
the two work places
• Bevel Angle – The angle formed between the prepared edge of a
member and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the member
• Groove weld size – The joint penetration of a groove weld
• Plate thickness – The thickness of the base metals to be welded
 JOINT CONFIGURATION
Parts of a butt weld
Weld Face Face or Weld
Toe of Weld Reinforcement
both side

Weld Root
 JOINT CONFIGURATION
• Parts of a butt weld Weld Metal
Cap
Groove Faces

Base
Metal

Heat Affected
Zone (HAZ)
Root
Discontinuity and Defect
 Discontinuity

“Any interruption in the uniform nature

of an item”
 Defect

“A non-conforming discontinuity”

All discontinuities are not defects.

All defects are discontinuities.
 Weld Joint Discontinuities
• Misalignment (hi-lo) • Slag Inclusion • Porosity
• Undercut • Spatter • lamination
• Concavity or Convexity • Crater Pipe
• Incomplete or Insufficient • Cracks
Penetration – Longitudinal
• Incomplete Fusion – Transverse
• Excessive reinforcement – Crater
• Improper reinforcement – Root
• Overlap – Hot
– Cold or delayed
• Burn-through
• Arc Strikes
 Misalignment (hi-lo)
• Definition: Amount a joint is out
of alignment at the root
• Cause: Carelessness. Also due to joining different
thicknesses (transition thickness)
• Prevention: Workmanship

• Repair: Grinding. Careful on surface finish and direction of

grind marks. Inside of Pipe /Tube difficult.
 Linear Misalignment

Highest point
of the cap
mm

Lowest plate
 Undercut
• Definition: An irregular groove at the
toe of a weld run in the parent metal

• Cause:1)Excessive welding speed

2) Inappropriate baking
3) Inappropriate welding current and voltage
4) Inappropriate aiming position of electrode
and electrode too large

• Prevention:1) Decrease the welding speed

2) Laying base metal 3) Appropriate welding current and voltage
4) Adjust the position of electrode
 Undercut
(cont......)

• Repair: Weld with smaller electrode, sometimes

must be low hydrogen with preheat. Sometimes
must gouge first.
 Cap Undercut

Measured in both Length & Depth

Root undercut Cap undercut
 Excessive Concavity or
Convexity
• Definition: Concavity or convexity of a fillet weld which
exceeds the specified allowable limits
• Cause: Amperage and travel speed

• Prevention: Observe proper parameters and techniques.

• Repair: Grind off or weld on. Must blend smoothly into the
base metal.
Concavity
Convexity
 Concave Root
• Definition: A shallow groove, which may occur
in the root of a butt weld
• Cause: 1)Root faces too large
2)Root gap too large
Concave root
3)Excessive root bead grinding before the
application of the second pass
Concave Root
 Excessive Root Penetration
• Definition: Root penetration bead in excess in
accordance with the relevant specification being
used
 Cause: 1)Root faces too small

2)Root gap too large

3)Excessive amps/volts
Excessive root penetration
4)Slow travel speed
Excessive Root Penetration
Concave root Excessive root penetration
 Incomplete or Insufficient
Penetration
• Definition: When the weld metal
does not extend to the required depth
into the joint root. Incomplete root fusion

• Cause: Low amperage, low preheat,

tight root opening, fast travel speed,
short arc length, Contamination
Incomplete root penetration
• Prevention: Correct the contributing factor(s).
• Repair: Back gouge and back weld or remove and reweld.

Lack of root fusion Lack of root Penetration

 Incomplete Fusion
• Definition: Where weld metal does not form a cohesive
bond with the base metal.
• Cause: Low amperage, steep electrode angles, fast travel
speed, short arc gap, lack of preheat, electrode too small,
unclean base metal, arc off seam.
• Prevention: Eliminate the potential causes.

• Repair: remove and reweld, being careful to completely

remove the defective area. This is sometimes extremely
difficult to find.
Lack of root penetration Lack of root fusion
 Profile Defects

Incomplete filled groove Poor cap profile

Poor cap profiles and excessive

cap reinforcements may lead to
stress concentration points at
the weld toes and will also
contribute to overall poor toe
blend Excessive cap height
Excess cap reinforcement Incomplete filled groove
 Reinforcement
The amount of a groove weld which extends beyond the surface
of the plate

• Excessive
Face Reinforcement
• Insufficient
• Improper contour

Root Reinforcement
 Excessive Reinforcement
• Definition: Specifically defined by the standard. Typically,
Reinforcement should be flush to 1/16”(pipe) or flush to
1/8” (plate or structural shapes).
• Cause: Travel speed too slow, amperage too low

• Prevention: Set amperage and travel speed on scrap plate.

• Repair: Remove excessive reinforcement and feather the

weld toes to a smooth transition to the base plate.
 Insufficient Reinforcement
• Definition: Specifically defined by the standard. Typically,
Underfill may be up to 5% of metal thickness not to exceed
1/32” as long as the thickness is made up in the opposite
reinforcement. Not applied to fillet welds.
• Cause: On root reinforcement - Too little filler metal will
cause thinning of the filler metal. In OH position, too hot or
too wide will cause drooping of the open root puddle.
• Prevention: Use proper welding technique. Use backing or
consumable inserts. Use back weld or backing.
• Repair: Possibly simply increase the face reinforcement. If
back welding is not possible, must remove and reweld.
 Improper Weld Contour
• Definition: When the weld exhibits less than a 1350
transition angle at the weld toe. 1350

• Cause: Poor welding technique

• Prevention: Use proper techniques. A weave motion can

often eliminate the problem.
• Repair: Grinding and Reweld with proper techniques.
 Overlap
• Definition: When the face of the weld extends beyond the
toe of the weld
 Cause: 1)Contamination
2)Slow travel speed
3)Incorrect welding technique
4)Excessive welding current
 Overlap
• Prevention: Overlap is a contour problem. Proper welding
technique will prevent this problem.
• Repair: Overlap must be removed to blend smoothly
into the base metal. Be careful of deep grind marks that run
transverse to the load. Also be careful of fusion
discontinuities hidden by grinding. Use NDT to be sure.
Overlap

Toe Overlap
 Arc Strike
• Definition: A localized coalescence outside the weld zone.

 Cause: 1) Carelessness
2) Accidental striking of the arc
onto the parent material
3) Faulty electrode holder

Arc strike
• Repair: If found, they must be remove and repaired using a
qualified repair procedure and inspected as any other weld.
 Slag Inclusion
Definition: nonmetallic solids trapped in the weld deposit, or between
the weld metal and base metal
• Cause: Low amperage, improper technique, Trying to weld in an area
that is too tight. Slow travel in Vertical Down , Slag is caused by
inadequate cleaning
• Prevention: Increase amperage or
preheat, grind out tight areas to
gain access to bottom of joint and
Slag inclusions Lack of sidewall
clean the slag carefully fusion with
associated slag
• Repair: Remove by grinding and Re-weld.
Interpass slag inclusions Elongated slag lines
 Spatter
• Definition: Small particles of weld metal expelled from the
welding operation which adhere to the base metal surface.

• Cause: Long arc length, severe

electrode angles, high amperages.

Spatter
• Prevention: Correct the cause. Base metal can be protected
with coverings.

• Repair: Remove by grinding or sanding. Sometimes must be

tested as if it were a weld.
 Crater Pipe
Definition: Crater pipe is a shrinkage defect and not a gas
defect, it has the appearance of a gas pore in the weld crater
 Cause: 1) Too fast a cooling rate

2) Contamination

• Repair: If no cracks exist, simply fill in the crater. Generally

welding from beyond the crater back into the crater.
Crater Pipe

Weld crater

Crater pipe
 Cracks
• Longitudinal
• Transverse
• Crater
• Root
• Hot
• Cold or delayed
 Longitudinal Crack
• Definition: Cracks appear as linear openings at the metal
surface and it running in the direction of the weld axis. May
be found in the weld or base metal.
• Cause: Preheat or fast cooling problem. H2 in weld metal

Longitudinal parent metal crack Longitudinal weld metal crack

 Longitudinal Crack
• Prevention: preheat to even out the cooling rates.

• Repair: Remove and reweld

• Location: HAZ & weld metal
H2

Transverse Crack
• Definition: A crack running into or inside a weld, transverse
to the weld axis direction.
• Cause: Weld metal hardness problem and H2 in weld metal

Transverse weld metal crack

 Transverse Crack
• Prevention:preheat to even out the cooling
rates.
• Repair: Remove and re-weld
• Location: HAZ & weld metal
Transverse crack Longitudinal crack
 Crater Crack
• Definition: A crack, generally in the shape of an “X” which
is found in a crater. Crater cracks are hot cracks.
• Cause: The center of the weld pool becomes solid before the
outside of the weld pool, pulling the center apart during
cooling
• Prevention: Use crater fill, fill the crater at weld termination
and/or preheat to even out the cooling of the puddle

• Repair: Remove and reweld using appropriate procedure.

Be sure to correct initial problem first.
Crater Pipe/Cracks

Crater Cracks

Crater pipe
 Root Crack
• Definition: A crack in the weld at the weld root.

• Cause: 1)Transverse shrinkage stresses. 2) Concentrated

stress 3) H2 in weld metal
• Prevention: Increasing preheat may prevent it

• Repair: Remove and reweld using appropriate procedure.

Be sure to correct initial problem first.
 Hot Crack
• Definition: A crack in the weld that occurs during
solidification.
• Cause: Micro stresses from weld metal shrinkage pulling
apart weld metal as it cools from liquid to solid temp.
• Prevention: Preheat or use a low tensile filler material.

• Repair: Remove and reweld using appropriate procedure.

Be sure to correct initial problem first.
 Cold Crack
• Definition: A crack that occurs after the metal has
completely solidified
• Cause: Shrinkage, Discontinuities

• Prevention: Preheat, use a more ductile weld metal

• Repair: Remove and reweld, correct problem first, preheat

may be necessary.
 Prevention of Cracks
• If cracking occurs, the following steps may
prevent recurrence:
1. Decrease weld travel speed.
2. Preheat area to be welded, especially on thick sections.
3. Use low-hydrogen electrodes.
4. Use correct and dry electrodes.
5. Avoid conditions that cause rapid cooling.
6. Improve heat-input control.
 Repairs to Cracks
• Determine the cause
• Correct the problem
• Take precautions to prevent reoccurrence
• Generally required to repair using a smaller
electrode
 Porosity
• Definition: Porosity refers to the entrapment of
gas bubbles in the weld metal
 Cause: 1)Loss of gas shield 2)Humidty
electrodes 3)Contamination 4)Arc length too
large 5)Damaged electrode flux 6)Moisture on
parent material 7)Welding current too low
 Porosity
• Prevention: Porosity can
Gas pore Cluster porosity
be limited by using clean,
dry materials, and by maintaining
proper weld current and arc length.
Blow hole
Herringbone porosity

Root piping
 Porosity

Root piping
Cluster porosity Herring bone porosity
 Laminations
•Base Metal Discontinuity
•May require repair prior to welding
•Formed during the milling process
Lamination effects can be reduced by joint design:
Plate Lamination
 Lamellar Tear

“A subsurface terrace- and step-like separation in

the base metal, parallel to the surface, caused by
tensile stresses in the through-thickness direction”
Lamellar Tearing
 Seams and Laps

“Longitudinal base metal surface discontinuities

found in wrought products”
Deep Seam on Surface of Semi-
Finished Rolled Product