Inspection and Testing Welds

Reasons for inspecting welds

Most welds have flaws in them
A flaw is a part of a weld that is not perfect.
Some flaws are so small they can be found only under a microscope.
Other ones are easily seen, which include porosity and large cracks.

A defect is a flaw that makes

a weld unusable for the job it
is intended to perform (eg.
Cracks when welding on a
gas pipeline)

Inspecting welds
Welds must be inspected to detect flaws. Then, the
flaws must be evaluated to decide if they are
acceptable or if they are defects.
Most welding is done to requirements of a code or
specification. The code or specification determines
how large a flaw can be before it becomes a defect.
A visual inspection is useful to determine the size of
a weld, to check for undercut, overlap, and other
surface flaws, and to check travel speed, arc length,
and depth of penetration.

Weld Tests
Nondestructive

NON-destructive
Examinations (NDE),
does not damage the
weld or the base
metal.

Weld
tests

Destructive

Destructive test
results in at least some
damage to the weld.

Destructive Examinations (DE)

Tensile test,
Bend test,
Fillet test,
Hardness test,
Impact test,
Peel test (for spot welds),
Tensile shear test (for spot welds),
Pressure test.

Tensile test
A tensile test is a destructive test in which
a tensile (stretching or pulling) load is
applied to a prepared sample until the
sample breaks.

Tensile Strength and Ductility

Maximum force applied by machine
Tensile strength=
Cross-sectional area of sample

F
o

Ductility

Ductility=

Distance between
points after test
distance before test
distance before test

x 100

Bend test
Specimen is positioned between two supports, and a load is
applied at its center.
Bend tests are used to evaluate the quality and ductility of a
completed weld.

Bend test
In a guided bend test, the size or radius of
the bend is controlled.

Click on image to see the video clip

Bend test
In a free bend test, the sample is placed into a large,
strong vise and struck with a hammer until it bends to a
90 angle. It is then hammered in the opposite direction to
a 90 angle. This back and forth bending continues until
the weld sample breaks.

Fillet test
In a fillet test, force is applied to the
welded joint until it breaks or until the
vertical piece is bent flat against the
horizontal piece.
The weld
centerline.

should

A weld that breaks

along the toe may
indicate a lack of
fusion.

break

along

its

Hardness test
Hardness tests are used to measure a materials resistance to
scratching and indentation.
To determine the hardness of a metal, an indenter is pressed
into the metal by a known force. The depth of indentation
indicates the hardness of the metal.

Other destructive tests

Impact resistance test

Other destructive tests

Peel test (for spot welds)

Tensile shear test (for spot welds)

INTRODUCTION TO
NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

Definition of NDT
The use of noninvasive
techniques to determine
the integrity of a material,
component or structure
or
quantitatively measure
some characteristic of
an object.
i.e. Inspect or measure without doing harm.

Methods of NDT
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When are NDT Methods

Used?

There are NDT application at almost any stage

in the production or life cycle of a component.
To assist in product development
To screen or sort incoming materials
To monitor, improve or control
manufacturing processes
To verify proper processing such as heat
treating
To verify proper assembly
To inspect for in-service damage

Six Most Common NDT

Methods
Visual
Liquid Penetrant
Magnetic
Ultrasonic
Eddy Current
X-ray

Visual Inspection
Most basic and common
inspection method.
illuminate the test
specimen with light
examine the specimen
with the eye
Tools include
fiberscopes,
borescopes, magnifying
glasses and mirrors.
Robotic crawlers permit
observation in hazardous or
tight areas, such as air
ducts, reactors, pipelines.

Portable video inspection

unit with zoom allows
inspection of large tanks
and vessels, railroad tank
cars, sewer lines.

VISUAL INSPECTION EQUIPMENT:

VISUAL INSPECTION EQUIPMENT:
Magnifying Glass
Magnifying Mirror
Microscope
Borescope
endoscopes or endoprobes
Flexible Fiber Optic Borescope
working lengths are normally 60 to 365 cm with
diameters from 3 to 12.5 mm
Video Image scope

APPLICATIONS OF VISUAL
INSPECTION
Visual examination are carried out before

welding, during welding and after welding.

Before Welding:
For detecting dents, burrs, scales, seams or
laps and also dirt grease rust and mill scale
on the fusion faces and edge preparation.
During Welding:
For checking the geometry of the edge and
joint preparation i.e. root face, bevel and
included angles etc.
After Welding:
For cleaning the weld and to remove
spatter, scale and slag

Welding Defect To Be Inspected

By Visual Inspection
By visual inspection finished welds are
inspected for following external defects:
1.Appearance of ripples on the weld
2.Lack of fusion at the root of the butt weld
3.Overlaps
4.Undercuts
5.Unfilled craters
6.External cracks
7.Improper size and shape of beads
8.Misalignment
9.Surface porosity
10.Excessive reinforcement and spatter
11.Arc strikes

Advantages And Disadvantages

of Visual Inspection
Advantages:
1.Economical
2.Expedient
3.Requires relatively little training
4.Relatively little and less costly equipment
5.Versatile
6.Most widely used of all the nondestructive
tests.
7. Simple, easy to apply, quickly carried out
and usually low in cost.
Disadvantages:
1.Limited to external defects or surface
conditions only
2.Limited to the visual acuity of the inspector

LIQUID PENETRANT
A liquid with high surface wetting characteristics is
INSPECTION
applied to the surface of the part and allowed time to
seep into surface breaking defects.
The excess liquid is removed from the surface of
the part.
A developer (powder) is applied to pull the
trapped penetrant out the defect and spread it on
the surface where it can be seen.
Visual inspection is the final step in the process.
The penetrant used is often loaded with a
fluorescent dye and the inspection is done under
UV light to increase test sensitivity.

Introduction of liquid penetrant

testing
LPT is based on the ability of a penetrating
liquid to wet the surface opening of a weld
defect and to be drawn into it.
LPT is used to detect the surface opening likes
cracks, surface porosity etc in stainless steel,
Al, magnesium, brass and other non porous
metals.
LPT is of two types:
1.Dye penetrant testing ( Uses red colour liquid
penetrant such as Dy check, Met L check)
2.Fluorescent penetrant testing( Uses
Fluorescent liquid such as Zyglo penetrex)

Steps In Liquid Penetrant Inspection

Liquid penetrant testing involves the
following basic steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Surface preparation
Penetrant application
Dwell time ( 3-20 min and 30 to 60 min)
Removal of excess penetrant
Application of developer
Surface inspection
Post cleaning

Penetrant Application

Penetrant is applied by brushing ,

flooding, spraying
It is good to heat the specimen to
widen the surface opening slightly

Application of Developer

Fine chalk like silicate developer is

applied after the removal of excess
penetrant to soak up the liquid
penetrant in order to make the
cracks visible by blotting paper
action

Surface Inspection
There are two types of indications: True and False indications.
True indications are caused by penetrant bleeding out from actual surface
as shown below

Large crack: A line of some width

Fatigue crack: A line of dots
Porosity : Dots

Actual result of liquid penetrant

testing

ADVANTAGES OF LIQUID PENETRANT INSPECTION

1.May be used on all non porous materials.

2.Versatile and portable
3.Relatively inexpensive
4.Expedient inspection results
5.Result are easily interpreted
6.Requires no electrical energy except for
light source
7.Indications may be further examined
visually

APPLICATIONS OF LIQUID
PENETRANT INSPECTION
1.Used to detect weld discontinuities open to
surface i.e. Cracks, porosity ,seams
2.Used on nonporous materials
3.Can be applied to welds, tubing, brazing,
castings, billets, forgings, aluminium parts,
turbine blades and disks, gears

LIMITATIONS LIQUID PENETRANT INSPECTION

1. Surface film such as coatings, scale hide

rejectable defects
2. Bleed out from porous surface can also mask
indications
3. Part must be cleaned before and after inspection
4. Defects must be surface breaking
5. Decontamination & precleaning of test surface
may be needed
6. Vapour hazard
7. It is difficult to find very tight and shallow
defects
8. Depth of flaw not indicated

Magnetic Particle Testing

MPT is used to detect surface or near surface defects in
magnetic materials.
MPT is based on the principle that magnetic lines of force,
when present in a ferromagnetic material, will be
distorted by an interruption in material continuity .
If a magnet is bent and the two poles are joined so as to
form a closed ring, no external poles exist and hence it
will have no attraction for magnetic material.
Thus as long as part to be inspected is free of cracks,
magnetic particle will not be attracted.
When a crack or other discontinuity is present , north and
south magnetic are set up at edges of the discontinuity
The magnetic particles will be attracted to the poles which
are the edges of the crack and will cluster to form an
indication directly over the discontinuity

Magnetic Particle
Inspection

The part is magnetized. Finely milled iron particles coated with a dye pigment
are then applied to the specimen. These particles are attracted to magnetic
flux leakage fields and will cluster to form an indication directly over the
discontinuity. This indication can be visually detected under proper lighting
conditions.

Methods of operation
To achieve best results in MPT magnetic flux lines should be
oriented in a direction perpendicular to the discontinuity or defect
Circular Magnetization

It is used to detect longitudinal

defects in the conductor

Longitudinal Magnetization

It is used to detect circumferential

defects in the conductor

The Apparatus
Prod method is used to magnetized localized area by passing current
Through the components by means of hand held contact ort prod

Applications of MPT
MPT is used to detect following defects:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Surface and sub surface cracks

Incomplete fusion
Slag inclusion
Porosity
Inadequate joint penetration
Lamination
Seams undercut

In magnetic steels, cast irons, nickel

and cobalt alloys

Magnetic Particle Crack

Indications

Advantages:

1. Inexpensive and portable apparatus

2. Reliable results
3. Can detect subsurface defects
Disadvantages:

Advantages
&
Disadvantages
of
1. limited to only ferromagnetic materials
MPT
2. Parts must be cleaned before and after
inspection
3. Need to demagnetize parts after
inspection

Eddy Current Testing

Eddy current testing is particularly well suited for
detecting surface cracks but can also be used to
make electrical conductivity and coating thickness
measurements. Here a small surface probe is
scanned over the part surface in an attempt to
detect a crack.

Eddy Current Principle

When an energized coil is brought near to the surface of a metal or

conducting component, eddy currents are induced into the specimen by
electromagnetic induction.
These currents set-up magnetic field that tend to oppose the original
magnetic field.
The impedance of coil in close proximity to the specimen is affected by
the presence of the induced eddy currents in the specimen.
When the eddy currents in the specimen are distorted by the presence of
the flaws or material variations, the impedance in the coil is altered.
This change is measured and displayed in a manner that indicates
the type of flaw or material condition.

Eddy Current Testing

Coil

Coil's
magnetic field

Eddy current's
magnetic field
Eddy
currents
Conductive
material

Advantages & Disadvantages of

Advantages:
1.
Relatively expedient
2.
Low cost
3.
Automation is possible for symmetrical parts
4.
No couplant is required
5.
Probe does not have to be in intimate
contact with the test piece.

Disadvantages:
1.Limited to conductive
materials
2.Shallow depth of
penetration
3.Some indications may
be masked by part
geometry due to
sensitivity variation
4.Reference standard are
required

Applications of ECT

Following are the main applications of ECT:

1.Weld discontinuities open to the surface i.e.
cracks, porosity etc
2.Sub surface defects
3.Alloy content
4.Heat treatment variation
5.Wall thickness
6.Range from crack detection, to the rapid
sorting of small components for either flaws, size
variations, or material variation.
7.Commonly used in aerospace, automotive,
marine, and manufacturing industries.

Radiography
The radiation used in radiography
testing is a higher energy (shorter
wavelength) version of the
electromagnetic waves that we
see as visible light. The radiation can
come from an X-ray generator or a
radioactive source.

High Electrical Potential

Electrons
+

X-ray Generator
or Radioactive
Source Creates
Radiation

Radiation
Penetrate
the Sample
Exposure Recording Device

Principle of Radiography
When a test piece or a welded joint is exposed
to a penetrating radiation like X rays or
rays variations in amount of radiation
transmitted through it depends upon:
The relative densities of the metal and any inclusion
Thru thickness variation

Non metallic inclusions, pores, aligned cracks

and other defects results in less or more
radiation reaching the recording film.
The variations in transmitted radiation
produce optically contrasting areas on the
recording film

X RAY TUBE

The source of electrons for Coolidge X ray tube is a heated tungsten

wire filament, operating in the range of 6 to 15 V with a current of 3 to
5 amp.
The power requirement for the x ray machine range from 50 to 24000
KV.
A 24000KV X ray machine is capable of photographing
approximately 500 mm thick steel plate

Film Radiography
The part is placed between the
radiation source and a piece of film.
The part will stop some of the
radiation. Thicker and more dense
area will stop more of the radiation.

X-ray film

The film darkness

(density) will vary with
the amount of radiation
reaching the film
through the test object.
= less exposure
= more exposure

Top view of developed film

Radiographic Images

Advantages & Disadvantages of

Radiography
Advantages:
1.Permanent record
enables review by parties
at later dates
2.Gamma source may be
positioned inside of the
accessible object
3.Energy efficient

Disadvantages:
1.Radiation is a safety &requires
special facilities, monitoring of
exposure levels and dosage to
personnel
2.Source decay over their half
lives and must be periodically
replaced
3.Gamma source have constant
wavelength and cannot be
adjusted
4.It requires highly skilled
operating and interpretive
personnel
5.High initial cost of x ray
equipment

Applications of
Radiography
It is used to detect most of the sub surface
weld defects such as
1.cracks,
2.porosity,
3. lack of fusion,
4.incomplete penetration,
5.Slag and corrosion entrapment
6. wall thickness
7. dimensional evaluations

Radioscopy
Radioscopy or real time radiography is the x ray radiography in which the
component are inspected for subsurface defects and the image is obtained on
the screen and on the recorder while at the it is analyzed with the of computers

Ultrasonic Inspection
(Pulse-Echo)
High frequency (20000 Hz) sound
waves are introduced

into a material and they are reflected back from surfaces

or flaws.
Reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, and
f
inspector can visualize a cross section of the specimen
showing the depth of features that reflect sound.
initial
pulse

crack
echo

back surface
echo

crack
0

Oscilloscope, or flaw
detector screen

10

plate

Types of wave form

Operating
system
Ultrasonic testing uses
following OS:
Pulse echo system
Through Transmission
system
Resonance system

Through Transmission
system

Ultrasonic Imaging

High resolution images can be produced by plotting

signal strength or time-of-flight using a computercontrolled scanning system.

Gray scale image produced using

the sound reflected from the front
surface of the coin

Gray scale image produced using the

sound reflected from the back surface
of the coin (inspected from heads side)

Common Application of
NDT
Inspection of Raw Products
Inspection Following Secondary
Processing
In-Services Damage Inspection

Inspection of Raw
Products
Forgings,
Castings,
Extrusions,
etc.

Inspection Following
Secondary Processing
Machining
Welding
Grinding
Heat treating
Plating
etc.

Inspection For
In-Service Damage
Cracking
Corrosion
Erosion/Wear
Heat Damage
etc.

Power Plant Inspection

Periodically, power plants are
shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy current
probes into heat exchanger
tubes to check for corrosion
damage.

Pipe with damage

Probe
Signals
produced by
various amounts
of corrosion
thinning.

Wire Rope Inspection

Electromagnetic devices and
visual inspections are used to
find broken wires and other
damage to the wire rope that
is used in chairlifts, cranes and
other lifting devices.

Storage Tank Inspection

Robotic crawlers use
ultrasound to inspect
the walls of large
above ground tanks
for signs of thinning
due to corrosion.

Cameras on
long
articulating
arms are used
to inspect
underground
storage tanks
for damage.

Aircraft Inspection
Nondestructive testing is
used extensively during the
manufacturing of aircraft.
NDT is also used to find
cracks and corrosion
damage during operation of
the aircraft.
A fatigue crack that started
at the site of a lightning
strike is shown below.

Jet Engine Inspection

Aircraft engines are overhauled
after being in service for a period
of time.
They are completely disassembled,
cleaned, inspected and then
reassembled.
Fluorescent penetrant inspection
is used to check many of the parts
for cracking.

Crash of United Flight

232

A defect that went

undetected in an
engine disk was
responsible for
the crash of
United Flight 232.

Pressure Vessel Inspection

The failure of a pressure vessel
can result in the rapid release of
a large amount of energy. To
protect against this dangerous
event, the tanks are inspected
using radiography and
ultrasonic testing.

Rail Inspection
Special cars are used to
inspect thousands of miles
of rail to find cracks that
could lead to a derailment.

Bridge Inspection
The US has 578,000
highway bridges.
Corrosion, cracking and
other damage can all
affect a bridges
performance.
The collapse of the Silver
Bridge in 1967 resulted in
loss of 47 lives.
Bridges get a visual
inspection about every 2
years.
Some bridges are fitted
with acoustic emission
sensors that listen for
sounds of cracks
growing.

Pipeline Inspection
NDT is used to inspect pipelines
to prevent leaks that could
damage the environment. Visual
inspection, radiography and
electromagnetic testing are some
of the NDT methods used.

Remote visual inspection using

a robotic crawler.

Magnetic flux leakage inspection.

This device, known as a pig, is
placed in the pipeline and collects
data on the condition of the pipe as it
is pushed along by whatever is being
transported.

Radiography of weld joints.

Special Measurements
Boeing employees in Philadelphia were given the privilege of
evaluating the Liberty Bell for damage using NDT
techniques. Eddy current methods were used to measure
the electrical conductivity of the Bell's bronze casing at
various points to evaluate its uniformity.