SPEC. No.

2009F
FUNCTIONAL
OFFSHORE Rev. No. 6
SPECIFICATION
DESIGN Discipline: QA/QC
FOR WELDING
SECTION Page 1 24
& NDT of

FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION FOR WELDING & NDT

24 10/01/2005 6
PDD / PNN SKS JSS
PREPARED / TOTAL No. OF
REVIEWED BY APPROVED BY DATE REV. No.
REVISED BY PAGES

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1.0 SCOPE

This specification modifies and/or supplements the referenced codes that apply
to all piping, pressure vessels, structural and pipeline welding. These
requirements cover welding done at supplier’s fabrication plant, Contractor’s
Yard, or field installation, either onshore or offshore.

2.0 CODE & STANDARDS

The following Codes shall be the minimum acceptable standards for welding and
inspection. The latest edition, addenda, and supplement available at the time of
bidding will be used. Any part of any other non-listed code referred to in these
listed codes as augmentation is to be considered applicable.

STRUCTURAL

AWS D 1.1
API RP 2A
API RP 2B
ASME Section V, VIII
ASTM E 92 and E 142
API RP 2X
ASME SEC IIC
SNT-TC-1A

PIPING & PRESSURE VESSELS

ASME Sec.IX
ANSI B 31.3
ANSI B31.4
ANSI B31.8
ASME Sec. VIII
ASME Sec. V
ASME Sec. II Part C
NACE-MR-01-75 / ISO 15156
SNT-TC-1A

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PIPELINES

DNV Code for Submarine Pipelines DNV-2000

NACE-MR-01-75 / ISO 15156
SNT-TC-1A

3.0 GENERAL TECHNICAL NOTES

1. Low hydrogen electrodes shall be used for structural and piping welding.

2. Consumables for material confirming to NACE requirements shall have

physical, chemical, fatigue and corrosion resistance properties comparable
to base metal.

3. Manufacturers batch test certificate shall be submitted for each batch of

consumables used. Test results shall include chemical, physical (including
impact), corrosion resistance (if welding material with NACE
Requirement) & fatigue resistance (if welding material or WPS with
CTOD Requirements).

4. Company shall approve all consumables including brands.

5. Consumables for main pipeline welding shall be E-7010. or equivalent.

6. Internal line up clamp shall be used for pipeline welding 6” and above.

7. For pipelines , low hydrogen electrodes with uphill technique shall be used
for all repairs, when external line up clamp is used, tie-in, special crossings
and fillet welds.

8. Welding shall be carried out as per approved WPS. For structural and
carbon steel piping, previously qualified WPS are acceptable subject to the
PQR’s have been qualified in the presence of reputed IIIrd party inspection
agency,
as mentioned in Contract. All certificates shall be submitted to company
for review & approval. For entire pipeline welding and for piping welding
involving Corrosion Resistant Alloys (CRA) including CS-NACE, Cu-Ni,
SS and DSS etc, previously qualified procedures are not acceptable. The
contractor shall qualify new procedures for entire pipeline welding and for
piping welding involving CRA materials.

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9. EXTENT ON NDT COVERAGE:

STRUCTURAL: API RP 2A. All girth / circumferential weld seams of

tubular joints shall be 100 % radiographed and longitudinal weld seams
shall be 10% radiographed.

PIPING: CS

9.1 Random radiography (10%) shall be performed covering on one weld in

each 10 welds for each welder on the following:

a) Water ( in case of carbon steel)

b) Air
c) Chemical
d) Diesel
e) Closed drain
f) Relief
g) Hydraulic Oil
h) Oily water
i) Sloop
j) Glycol & Thermoil
k) Vent gas
l) Lube oil & Seal oil

9.2 50% Radiography shall be performed on size 2” and above and

10% on below 2” for the following:

a) Crude oil

b) Jet fuel
c) Fuel gas / instrument gas
d) Process gas
e) Production flow lines ( well fluid)
f) Injection water
g) Hydrocarbon (process)
h) Water ( in case of 90/10 Cu-Ni)

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i) H.P. and L.P. Flare lines.

9.3 For fillet welds and brazed joints where carrying out radiography is not
possible , magnetic particle test or dye penetrant test shall be carried out .
The extent of inspection shall remain same as for radiography.

9.4 All the lines which are stress relieved or have design pressure more than 50
Kg/ cm2 shall be radiographed for 50% of weld joints even if not required
as per 9.1 to 9.3.

9.5 Radiographic Procedure shall be as per ANSI B 31.3.

9.6 Acceptance criteria based on visual , radiography and other types of

examination shall be as per ANSI B 31.3 with the following modifications:

a) The internal weld protrusion on ‘ pigged lines “ shall not exceed 1.6
mm ( 1/16 Inch)

b) Orifice flange butt-weld shall be internally ground smooth and flush.

c) For 90/10 Cu-Ni piping, radiograph examination of welds shall be as

per ASME section VIII, UW 51

9.7 Those field welded joints, which can not be leak tested due to unavoidable
reason shall always be 100% radio graphed.

PIPING CS NACE: Butt welds: 100% RT & Hardness testing

Fillet weld : 100 % MPI / DP & hardness testing.

PIPELINES: All Girth joint shall be 100% X- ray radiographed with

panoramic exposure along with the requirement as specified in DNV rules.
Gamma ray may be used in case of inaccessible joints with approval of
company.

10. NDT PROCEDURES:

a) Structural: RT, MPI, DP, ASME Sec V & AWS D 1.1

UT ( Butt & TKYX joints ) : API RP – 2X
UT ( long seam of factory manufactured)
Tubular : ASTM E –273 or ASTM E – 164

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b) Piping: ANSI B 31.3 / ASME Sec. V.

c) Pipelines : DNV Rules for Submarine Pipline Systems, 2000.

11. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR NDT

a) Structural: RT - AWS D 1.1

UT (butt & TKYX joints): API RP 2X level ‘C’
UT (Long Seam of factory manufacture tubular)
: API RP 2X level ‘ A’

b) Pipelines: Acceptance criteria shall be as per DNV

with the following modifications:
No amount of lack of fusion or lack of penetration is acceptable.

c) Piping RT CS : ANSI B 31.3

CS (NACE) & CuNi : ASME Sec VIII Div I ,
UW – 51.
UT / MPI / DP: ANSI B 31.3

12. NDT Personnel : All NDT personnel shall be currently qualified under
ASNT Level II (as per SNT-TC-1A) or client approved equivalent
certification scheme (like PCN, CSWIP) for the category of non-
destructive examination being undertaken.

13. Only two times repairs are allowed on any joint.

14. Welding shall not be performed when the ambient temperature is lower
than zero degree C, when surfaces are wet or exposed to rain, snow or high
wind velocities, when welders are exposed to inclement conditions, or
when conditions prevent required inspections.

15. Only welding equipment that is in good working condition and that is
properly grounded shall be used. All welding machines shall be calibrated
prior to commencement of fabrication and calibration certificates shall be
available for audits. Certification shall be valid for 6 month periods, or as
per manufacturer’s recommendation.

16. Grounding of Equipment

- Each welding machine shall be individually grounded to the platform

or portion of the platform being welded.

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- No machine shall be grounded to floating equipment during welding

on the structure.

17. Arc strikes should be made in weld groove. Arc strikes on the surface of
base metal shall be removed by grinding, including any hardened zone
beneath the strike. Any such repair shall be visually and magnetic particle
inspected.

18. CTOD Testing

1. Material subjected for CTOD Testing shall be tested and shall meet
or exceed CTOD value of 0.35mm.

2. Welding consumable subjected to CTOD Testing shall be tested and

shall meet or exceed CTOD value of 0.25mm.

3. WPS subjected for CTOD testing shall be tested and shall meet or
exceed CTOD value of 0.20 mm.

4.0 TECHNICAL NOTES FOR PIPING WELDING

1. The quality of welding shall be such that a weld efficiency factor as

defined in ASME B 31.3 of 1.0 is achieved.

2. The deposited filler metal shall match the chemistry, corrosion resistance
(if required) and minimum physical properties of the parent metal when
similar metals are welded.

3. Circumferential welds on pipes shall be staggered at least four times the

pipe wall thickness or 25 mm, whichever is greater, apart.

4. Branch connections shall be joined to their headers with full penetration

welds.

5. Backing rings, back-up rings or chill rings shall not be used.

6. Back or seal welding of screwed fittings is prohibited unless specified in

the drawing or is part of the approved welding procedure.

7. Oxy-acetylene torches shall not be used for pre-heating.

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8. Pipes of dissimilar materials shall not be welded to each other but shall be
flanged unless otherwise approved.

9. Compressor and turbine piping, including lube and seal oil piping, and
other piping requiring special cleaning as shown in the drawings provided
by the supplier shall have the root pass deposited by the gas tungsten arc
process. The backside of the root pass shall be purged with inert gas.

10. If the bore of the pipe is different from the bore of fittings or flanges, to
which it is welded, by more than 3mm (total bore diameter), the thicker
member shall be bored, taper bored or ground smooth to match the
specified bore. Figure 328.4.3 of ASME B 31.3 will governs the geometry
of all taper boring and beveling.

11. Coupling or other weld-on type branch connection shall be located at least
80 mm away from any weld joint.

12. When socket weld fittings or valves are used, pipe shall be spaced
approximately 1/16 inch to avoid “bottoming” which could result in
excessive welds stress.

13. The inside of the brazed fitting and outside of the tube shall be cleaned
with sand Paper. Flux paste to be evenly applied to the joint.

14. Reinforcing pads shall be added only after external and internal visual
inspection the attachment. Reinforcing pads shall be provided with ¼”
tapped weep hole. Weep holes should be plugged after welding of pads is
over.

15. Exposed machined and threaded surfaces shall be protected from oxidation
during heat treatment.

16. Flange bolt holes shall straddle the established horizontal and vertical
centerlines of the pipe except where connection to equipment dictates
otherwise.

17. Cleaning of the piping after fabrication and heat treatment shall be
performed externally and internally to remove all loose scale, weld spatter,
sand and other foreign materials.

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18. Welding shall not be done when quality of completed weld would be
impaired by prevailing weather conditions, air borne moisture, blowing
sand or high winds. Windshields may be used when practical.

19. All welders working on the project shall wear identification cards made at
contractor’s cost which shall contains photograph, welders name, welder
no. Procedure qualified and Company’s/Engineer’s representative’s
signature.

20. Welder shall be supplied with tempil stick – thermal crayons or pendox
gauges so that welders and inspector can check and control the temperature
of weldment.
21. No weld shall be coated, painted, hydrotested before it has been
inspected and accepted.

22. No weld is to be cooled by quenching or by any means other than air.

23. SOUR SERVICE WELDING:

Welding procedures to be used in sour service shall be qualified with

Vickers Hardness Testing. The maximum Vickers Hardness Number shall
be 248 Hv10.

24. FIELD WELDING:

1. Where field welds are designated, the prefabricated pipe shall be cut
off 150 mm longer than the dimensions shown on the pipe fabrication
drawings to allow for modification then precise fit-up in place.

2. Additional field fit welds may be included in a spool by the

Contractor for those spots which may have restricted site access or
which may be cumbersome for transportation.

3. The location of field welds, where not indicated on the drawings, will
be the responsibility of the Contractor.

25. WELD PROCEDURES & DOCUMENTATION:

1. Weld procedures shall be qualified as per ASME B31.3 (except 90-10

Cu-Ni) or ASME Code Section IX (for Cu-Ni piping). NDT shall be
performed as per ASME B31.3/ ASME BPV Code Section-V.

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2. Mechanical testing of WPQT coupons for CS piping shall confirm to

the requirements of ASME Sec.IX / ANSI B31.3. In addition to the
above requirement, hardness testing shall be performed on each test
coupon. Maximum hardness value shall be 325 HV10 for normal
service piping. For piping in Sour Service, a maximum permitted
hardness of 22 HRC (248 HV10) shall apply. Charpy Impact Testing
of Carbon Steel Pipe work shall be performed in accordance with
ASME B31.3 Table 323.2.2.

3. The Contractor shall not commence welding until appropriately

qualified welding procedures have been accepted by the Company
representative.

4. For each welding process, the welding procedures shall specify all
equipment settings. The Contractor’s Welding Supervisor shall check
daily and record machine settings for each weld procedure used
during welding activities. This record shall be available for audit by
the Company representative.

5. A welding procedures record shall be prepared by the Contractor

prior to start of welding and shall be available or review by the
Company representative. A welding summary recording progress of
all welding shall be prepared by the Contractor daily.

26. WELDERS’ QUALIFICATION:

1. Welders and welding procedures shall be qualified as ASME Boiler

and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX.

2. Qualification on production welds is not permitted.

3. A welder shall not be permitted to weld on pipe work or attachments

to pipe work unless they are qualified to the procedure in use and the
documentary evidence has been sighted by the Company
representative.
4. Tack welds shall be made by a qualified welder using the same type
of electrode as is used for the root pass.

5. The Company representative shall be advised in advance that the

Contractor’s conducting welder qualification to enable auditing of

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test facilities. Qualification test welds shall be made on test coupons

prepared in accordance with the relevant standard. A test certified
amp/volt tong tester shall be available at the Contractor’s
establishment at all times.

6. The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs, including labor and
laboratory testing, associated with welder qualification tests and
retests.

7. The Company may request a retest of any welder at any time and
from time to time during the work. If a welder fails to qualify, then at
the discretion of the company representative, all non-installed welds
completed by that welder shall be examined by additional
radiographic tests, over and above that which would normally be
required or specified in the drawings for that pipe work and the same
shall be charged to the Contractor’s account.

8. Welds not identified and recorded, or welded by unqualified welders,

shall automatically be rejected. It will be the Contractor’s
responsibility to prove that the welds conform to the applicable
Specification. This may require 100% radiography.

27. REPAIRS:

1. If the company representative considers a weld to be grossly

defective, it shall be cut out and the joint re-welded and all costs
associated therewith shall be the Contractor’s responsibility.

2. Repair of weld defects shall be made using the approved welding

procedure.

3. Mechanical defects such as scratches and gouges may be ground

smooth provided the depth of the defect does not exceed 10% of the
nominal wall thickness of the pipe.

4. Dents or grooves who’s depth is greater than 10% of the nominal

pipe wall thickness shall be removed by cutting out and replacing that
length of pipe in which the defect occurs. The minimum length of a
cutout shall be four times the nominal diameter or 150 mm,
whichever is the lesser.

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5. Internal weld metal projecting into the pipe on weld neck orifice
flanges shall be removed and ground smooth with the pipe.

28. HEAT TREATMENT:

1. Preheat and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) shall be in accordance

with ASME B 31.3. ASME B31.4 or ASME B31.8 as applicable.

2. The method and equipment used in heat treatment shall be acceptable

to the Company and its Inspector.

3. All threaded connections shall be protected from oxidation during

heat treatment and be chased or gauge checked after heat treatment.

4. Exposed machined and threaded surfaces shall be protected from

oxidation during heat treatment.

5. Cleaning of pipe work after fabrication and heat treatment shall be

performed, externally and internally to remove all loose scale, weld
spatter, sand and other foreign materials.

6. For all welds requiring PWHT, the specified inspection and NDT
shall be performed after completion of PWHT process but not before
the welds have cooled to ambient temperature. NDT prior to PWHT,
performed in addition to mandatory NDT following PWHT, shall be
at the discretion of the Contractor. However, where defects requiring
repair are located by this inspection, it shall be brought to the notice
of Company.

7. Machined surfaces shall be protected by a suitable paint or compound

to prevent damage from scaling during PWHT.

8. After final heat treatment, the Contractor shall identify the piping as
having received PWHT. The method of identification shall be
recorded on the as-built isometric and P&ID together with the other
recorded information.

9. A legible heat treatment chart shall be provided to the Company. This

chart must show the rate of increase of temperature, the holding
temperature and time and the rate of decrease of temperature.

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29. INSPECTION, EXAMINATION & TESTING

Destructive tests required by this Specification shall be performed by an

accepted third-party laboratory.

Radiographic Examination:

1. Radiography will be performed for every pipe thickness and material

grouping and for each welding process and procedure, progressively
through out entire job. At least one of each type and position of weld
made by each welder will be examined. A record shall be kept by the
Contractor of the quality and extent of each welder’s work.

2. Because of the limited sensitivity of gamma radiography when used

with heavy wall pipe, all welds in material over 19 mm thick shall, in
addition to radiographic requirements, be 100% ultrasonically tested.
If a single wall single image radiography technique is used the
material thickness limit of 19 mm can be extended to 30mm.

3. Welds, which cannot be radiographed because of their location, will

be examined by ultrasonic, liquid penetrant or magnetic particle
method as applicable. The extent of inspection shall be the same as
for radiography.

4. Radiography is not required for the welds on slip-on flanges or socket

welds or seal welds.

5. Fluorescent intensifying screens such as calcium tungsten shall not be

used.

6. For each weld found to be defective two additional welds made by

the same welder who produced the defective weld will be subjected
to radiographic examination. These additional examinations will be
made immediately after the defective welds is found and are in
addition to the minimum examination requirements for the line class
as specified in the drawings or specifications.

7. Weld repairs shall be re-examined by the same method used to detect

the original defect.

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Ultrasonic Examination:

Ultrasonic examination may be employed where the material thickness and

degree of defect are such that determination is not possible by any of the
other methods. The procedure used and criteria of acceptance shall be
based on the recommendations of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Section V.

5.0 TECHNICAL NOTES FOR STRUCTURAL WELDING

1. Chill rings and backing strips can provide improved root beads on single
sides welds. Their use, however is prohibited as they may cause fatigue
crack initiation.

2. All faying surfaces shall be seal welded.

3. PRE-HEAT REQUIREMENT

Welding pre-heat shall be as specified in the Qualified Welding Procedure,

but shall not be less than as specified in AWS D1.1 (Table 3.2). The
guidelines given in Appendix XI of AWS D1.1 shall also be taken into
account and adopted as appropriate. If any metal is damp or less than
10oC, a minimum preheat of 38oC shall be required regardless of thickness.

4. INTER-PASS TEMPERATURE

The temperature of previously deposited weld metal and surrounding base

metal within 75 mm of each side of the weld and through out the wall
thickness shall meet the following requirements prior to depositing
subsequent beads

* Minimum – Not less than the specified pre heat.

* Maximum - 200ºC or the maximum sustained and documented during

procedure qualification, not to exceed 260ºC.

5. WELDING PROCESS

Only gas metal arc ( GMAW), gas tungsten arc (GTAW), automatic
submerged arc (SAW), manual shielded metal arc (SMAW), or flux cored

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arc (FCAW) welding process shall be used. Other welding processes shall
not be used.

Use of GMAW process shall be limited to the following:

a) GMAW welding shall not be exposed to air drafts greater than 8 Km/h.

b) GMAW-S grove welds in materials 10 mm or less using a procedure

qualified by the contractor.

c) GMAW-S fillet welds of 20 mm or less, however fillet welds shall be

limited to 10 mm in size for a single pass, using a procedure qualified by
the contractor.

d) GMAW-S may be used for the root pass only in combination with SAW
welding, and for the root pass in non-critical joint applications.

e) Spray transfer mode of metal deposition for GMAW is limited to the flat
position.
f) Weld areas shall be blasted or ground to white metal prior to welding when
GMAW or GMAW-S is used.

Use of FCAW process shall be limited to the following:

a) FCAW welding with external gas shielding shall not be exposed to air
drafts greater than 8 Km/h.

b) Electrode diameters greater than 3 mm are not acceptable.

c) Self – shielded flux core shall not be used as root or fill pass beneath other
processes.

6. QUALIFICATION OF WELDING PROCEDURES AND

PERSONNEL

WPS QUALIFICATION

All structural welding shall be done in accordance with AWS D1.1. Draft
WPS shall be agreed with client prior to the commencement of procedure
qualification testing.

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All welding procedures shall be qualified in accordance with AWS D1.1

except as modified by this specification: The essential variable list of all
welding processes shall be increased to include any change in the
manufacturing process for the base metal, i..e. separate procedures are
required for As Rolled, Controlled Rolled, Normalized, Quench &
Tempered or TMCP steel.

- Hardness Testing

Welding procedure qualification shall include a hardness traverse of the

HAZ, Weld Metal and base metal. Hardness testing shall be done
according to Appendix A.

- Impact Testing

All groove welding procedure qualifications for Class A ad Class B steels

shall include Charpy V-notch impact testing of the deposited weld metal
and the heat affected zone (HAZ). Locations for the weld and HAZ
specimens shall be generally as shown in AWS D1.1, except that three sets
of HAZ specimens shall be located at: (1) the fusion line, (2); a position 2.0
mm into the HAZ from the fusion line; and (3) a position 5.0 mm into the
HAZ from the fusion line . An additional set of specimens shall also be
taken from the location centred within the root pass of the weld. For
acceptance the average impact energy shall meet the minimum requirement
of the relevant Specification with no single value more than 6.5J lower
than the average requirement. When different classes of material are to be
joined the required energy level is equal to that of the lower class joined.
Testing temperature shall be -10ºC.

- CTOD Testing
CTOD testing may be used to justify an increase in the maximum thickness
of material that can be welded without the application of PWHT as defined
elsewhere in this Spec. CTOD testing shall be carried out as per BS 7448.
Each set of CTOD tests shall comprise a minimum of three valid
specimens. CTOD testing is required on full penetration test welds
representing the maximum thickness of materials that are to be welded by
any single process or combination of processes. Separate tests are required
to qualify single and double sided preparation. The steel selected for
performance of the test programme shall have minimum Carbon
Equivalent not less than 0.02 of the maximum CE value to be used on the

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project. All test plates shall be welded using heat inputs representative of
the highest to be used during production welding.

For each test the least values of δc, δu or δm shall be greater than or equal
to 0.20mm when tested at 0oC unless specified otherwise in the relevant
drawings.

- Heat Input

Charpy qualification of weld deposit and HAZ is valid only for welding
procedures with heat inputs maintained with in ±25% of the tested weld.
This may require more stringent tolerance on travel, speed, voltage and
amperage.

In similar fashion the inter pass temperature is limited to that actually

achieved and sustained in the procedure test.

WELDER & WELDING OPERATOR QUALIFICATION

Welders and welding operators shall be qualified in accordance with the

requirements of AWS D1.1. All welder qualification must have been performed
on the entire weld thickness. ‘Tack Welders’ or ‘Fillet Welders’ partial
qualification is not allowed. Qualification on production welds shall not be
allowed.

7. POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT (PWHT)

PWHT shall be required in the following circumstances or when shown on the

design drawings:

a) When fabricating tubulars with d/t ratios less than 20.

b) For nodal joints where the minimum throat thickness exceeds 40mm.
c) For other areas where the minimum throat thickness exceeds 50mm.

Fracture Mechanics Tests and assessment (CTOD, as per BS 7448) may be used
to obviate the requirement for PWHT (as per b & c), if approval in writing is
given by the Company. In this case CTOD test shall be carried out during the
WPS qualification.

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Criteria for PWHT

All PWHT shall be performed in accordance with AWS D1.1 and the welding
procedure qualification.

a) The CONTRACTOR shall inform the COMPANY prior to any PWHT

operation.

b) No welding shall be performed on fabrications subsequent to PWHT.

c) PWHT requirements shall be stipulated on the relevant WPS and shall

comply with AWS D1.1, Section 5.8. The temperature for PWHT shall be
600oC + 20oC unless recommended otherwise by the steel manufacturer.

d) For all welds requiring PWHT, the specified inspection and NDT shall be
performed after completion of PWHT process but not before the welds
have cooled to ambient temperature. NDT prior to PWHT, performed in
addition to mandatory NDT following PWHT, shall be at the discretion of
the Contractor. However, where defects requiring repair are located by this
inspection, it shall be brought to the notice of Company.

e) The contractor shall submit a heat treatment procedure for approval by the
Company. This procedure shall define heat and cooling rate, holding time
at temperature and details of temperature measurement and control
methods.

f) PWHT temperature/time charts shall be clearly identified and retained for

inclusion in the project records.

8. NDT WAITING PERIOD

NDT of FCAW welds shall require a minimum of 24 hrs waiting period to allow
for potential delayed cracking.

9. REPAIR OF GENERAL WELDING DEFECTS

Removal of Defects

Removal of defects for repair may be by any of the following methods:

machining, grinding, chipping, or air carbon arc gouging. The method shall
produce a clean uncontaminated surface for installation of the repair weld.

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Gouging

Oxygen gouging shall not be used in quenched and tempered, normalized or

TMCP steels. All gouges shall be ground, power wire brushed, or grit blasted to
remove all traces of residual carbon and oxidation.

10. REPAIR WELDING

Repair welding shall be performed strictly in accordance with the qualified

repair welding procedure.

Only two times repairs are allowed on any joint.

11. INSPECTION OF LOW FATIGUE JOINTS

All low fatigue joints shall be inspected for acceptance to required profile and
toe grinding shall be performed, if required.

Disk test shall be performed as mentioned in AWS D1.1.

12. WELD THROUGH PRIMERS

Weld through primers to be used during fabrication are subject to the approval
by the Company and shall be included in the weld procedure qualification.
During Weld Procedure Qualification, the thickness of weld through primer shall
be measured. Any increase in thickness of primer in production shall necessitate
re-qualification of the affected WPS.

6.0 QUALITY CONTROL, MATERIALS AND STORAGE

Quality Control

Quality Control Procedures for welding operations shall include the following -

6.1 Storage of Welding Electrodes

Electrodes shall be stored and handled in accordance with the recommendations

of the electrode manufacturer, AWS D1.1 and the following. Electrodes that
have been removed from their sealed containers, and exposed to atmospheric
conditions, shall be returned to heating ovens for drying in accordance with the
electrode manufacturer recommendations, and AWS D1.1 requirements. A

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positive means of identification of the electrodes held in the drying ovens, the
drying cycle, temperature and time held, shall be established.

6.2 Flux

The flux conditioning procedure shall detail methods of assuring dryness before
use, recovery of flux after use, screening of foreign materials and flux, and the
storage of flux to prevent contamination.

6.3 Welder Identification

a) Each welder shall be issued with an identification card or badge after

qualifying the welding test, which will be carried on his person and be
visible at all times during working hours. The COMPANY shall have the
right to inspect welder identification at any time to insure that all welders
as qualified.

b) The CONTRACTOR shall assign identifying letters or numbers to each

welder employed, shall require each welder to stamp all welds he makes
with his identification mark. The stamping of welds shall be done with a
low stress stamp and shall be made adjacent to the weld. Alternatively, a
resilient paint stamp may be used.

6.4 Materials and Storage

6.4.1 Welding Materials

Welding materials (electrodes, fluxes, shielding) and storage of welding supplies

shall meet the provisions of AWS D1.1, and the following provisions:

a) Coated welding electrodes shall be of the low hydrogen type.

b) SAW flux shall be supplied in clearly identified moisture-proof containers.

c) SAW flux, not fused in welding, may be recycled, but shall be free from
fused flux, mill scale, dirt and other foreign matter.

d) All welding wires shall be clearly identified by manufacturer, grade and

batch number.

e) Manufacturer’s batch test certificates.

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6.4.2 Storage of Welding Supplies

a) All welding materials shall be stored in a clean dry area until used, as
described in AWS D1.1.

b) Wet or damaged electrodes, contaminated flux and rusted filler wire shall
be rejected and removed from the fabrication site.

c) Welding wire and SAW flux shall be stored in a dry location at a minimum
temperature of 21ºC.

7.0 PROTECTION FROM WEATHER

The welder and weld area shall be provided with protection during periods of
inclement weather and/or excessive wind conditions. The procedures shall
include means of protecting electrodes, wires, fluxes, etc.

Suitable windshields must be provided when the wind velocity exceeds 32 km/h
or 8 km/h in case of GMAW and gas shields FCAW.

8.0 DOCUMENTATION

The CONTRACTOR shall establish and maintain procedures for identifying full
details of welding, welding procedures, records of inspection, non destructive
testing and compliance with the Specification for each welded joint and repair in
the completed works. The following documents shall also be generated:

1.NDT Plan
2.NDT Drawings
3.Certification Package for each NDT drawing.

The weld number shall be marked against all welds on the works. The weld
number shall be in accordance with a scheme of numbers shown on the shop
drawings. Welds shall mark their welds with their identifying number.

Tractability records shall correlate weld number with:-

a) Welder Identity Number

b) Date Welded

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c) Material Piece and Heat Numbers

d) Qualified Welding Procedure Specification Identity
e) Non-Destructive Test Records
f) Fit Up Inspection Record
g) Repair Records where applicable

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APPENDIX-A
HARDNESS TESTING

1. Hardness testing shall be performed along the transverse shown in Fig. 1.

2. The required hardness survey shall be tested on a suitable macro section

machined from the same welded test assembly made to determine other weld
joint properties. However, an additional bead-on-plate weld pass shall be made
on the original weld test assembly for the purpose of determining maximum
hardness at the toe of the weld. This pass shall be made wit the lowest
permissible heat input and lowest interpass temperature applicable to the cap
passes of that procedure.

3. The hardness surveys shall be prepared and tested in accordance with ASTM E
92, Standard Test Method for Vickers Hardness (Hv) of Metallic Materials,
using an applied load of 10 kgf.

4. Indentations shall be made along all of the transverses shown for each type of
weld tested, approximately 1 mm below the surface of the base metal. In the
weld metal, a minimum of three equally spaced indentations along the traverse
shall be made. In the heat-affected zone, the indentations shall start as close to
the fusion line as practicable. A minimum of three readings shall be taken at
each weld toe. One additional reading shall be taken at least 20 mm from the
fusion line at each traverse to represent unaffected base metal.

5. The maximum hardness value obtained from any indentation shall not exceed
350 Hv. If any single value exceeds 350 Hv and a retest adjacent to the failed
test also produces one or more values exceeding 350 Hv, the procedure
qualification test has failed these requirements and a new test weld shall be made
with some planned modifications of essential variables or techniques (change
heat input, increase preheat, later bead sequence, etc.) and retest.

6. A photomacrograph of the hardness test section shall be included in the PQR

clearly showing the hardness impressions.

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Fig.1

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