WELDING DEFECTS: THEIR

CAUSES AND PREVENTION

Discontinuity
In welding the main objective is to obtain sound, defect-free
welded joints. Normal welds may contain imperfections which
cause some variation in the normal average properties of the weld
metal. These are called as discontinues.

Defects
Whenever such discontinuities exceeds the limit specified by
engineering design, those are called as defects.
Defects are caused by the following reasons :
•1) Use of wrong welding consumables.
•2) Improper welding parameter.
3) Poor workmanship.
•4) Lack of cleanliness of the welding joint.
•5) Extraneous properties such as low ambient temperature or
humid atmosphere etc.

Some of the common welding defects are as follows :

1) Cracks, 2) Distortion 3) Incomplete penetration 4)
Inclusions 5) Porosity and blow holes 6) Poor fusion 7) Poor
weld bead appearance 8) Spatter 9) Undercut 10) Overlapping
CRACKS:
Crack is defined as a discontinuity caused by the tearing of the
metal while in a plastic condition (hot crack) or by fracturing of
the metal when cold (cold crack). It represents a failure under
stress of a metal when it is behaving in a brittle manner, i.e. it is
inclined to fracture without deformation.
Crack can occur in the weld metal, at the fusion line or in the
base metal. Cracks may be classified according to location and
direction of line and they may range in size from large cracks
which can be seen by naked eye (called macrocracks), to
extremely small fissures which are detected with the aid of a
microscope (called microcracks). There are other types of cracks
such as 1) Hot cracks 2) Cold cracks 3) Crater crack 4) Lamellar
Tearing etc.
The main causes of crack :
•1) Rigidity of the joint, i.e. joint members are not free to
expand or contract when subjected to welding heat and subsequent
cooling (localized stress).
•2) Poor ductility of the base metal.
•3) Hardenability, high S and C % of base metal.
•4) Improper preheating
•5) Fast arc travel speed.
6) Electrode with high H2 content. (Hydrogen Induced
Cracking)
Prevention of Crack by :
1) Using a steel of lower carbon equivalent
•2) Higher heat input during welding.
•3) Preheating.
•4) Low-hydrogen welding consumables.
DISTORTION:
Distortion is a serious problem in welding. It creates difficulties
in maintaining correct shape, dimensions and tolerances of a
finished fabrication.
CAUSES:
Distortion is caused by the unequal heating and cooling of a
metallic body during welding.
It is also caused by the contraction of the weld-metal during
solidification and cooling to room temperature and the
contraction of the surrounding parent metal as it cools from high
welding temperature. When these portions contract, they try to
pull the parts together and the result is distortion.
Distortion of all kinds increases with the increase in the volume
of metal deposited.
EFFECT OF METAL PROPERTIES ON WELDING
DISTORTION:
Higher coefficients of thermal expansion mean greater amounts
of expansion, therefore greater subsequent contraction and
increased possibility for weldment distortion.
A metal with relatively low thermal conductivity will allow
heat to flow out from a source at a low rate. When welding, this
results in a steep temperature gradient, increase the shrinkage
effect of the weld and plate adjacent to it and increases distortion.
RREMEDIES:
1. Use as few weld passes as possible.
2. Use skip method of welding.
3. Balance shrinkage forces with opposing forces imposed by
clamps, jigs and fixtures.
4. Removal of shrinkage forces during or after welding through
peening etc.
INCOMPLETE PENETRATION :
This defect occurs at the root of the joint when the weld metal fails
to reach it or the weld-metal fails to fuse completely with the
root faces of the joint. As a result a void remains at the root zone,
which may contain slag inclusions. In a fillet weld, poor
penetration at the root zone can give rise to cracking.
CAUSES OF INCOMPLETE PENETRATION:
1. Too large root face.
2. Root gap too small.
3. Too small bevel angle.
4. Less arc current.
5. Faster arc travel speed.
6. Too large electrode diameter.
REMEDIES:
Proper fit-up of welds with proper root gap, root face\
Selection of proper welding process and size of
electrode/filler wire.
Use of skilled welder
INCLUSIONS:
Inclusions may be in the form of slag or any other foreign
material which doesn’t get a chance to float on the surface
of the solidifying weld metal and thus get entrapped inside
the same. Inclusions lower the strength of the joint and
make it weaker.
CAUSES:
1. Too high or too low arc current.
2. Too large electrode diameter.
3. Insufficient chipping and cleaning of previous passes in
multipass welding.
4. Undercut (it can entrap slag particles)
5. Too small included angle of the joint.
REMEDIES:
Use proper welding consumables
Keep joint surfaces especially gas cut surfaces and bare filler
wires perfectly clean.
Avoid undercut and gaps between deposited passes.
POROSITY, BLOW HOLES OR GAS POCKETS:
The presence of a group of gas pores in a weld caused by the
entrapment of gas during solidification is termed as porosity. The
pores are in the form of small spherical cavities, either clustered
locally or scattered throughout the weld deposit. Sometimes the
entrapped gases give rise to a single large cavity, which is termed as
a blowhole. In some rarer cases, elongated or tubular gas cavities are
presented. These are referred to as piping or wormholes.
Gases are evolved by the chemical reaction in the welding arc.
These gases may have high solubility in the molten weld metal, but
as the metal solidifies and cools, their solubility decreases rapidly
and they are evolved from the metal. Sometimes if the weld-metal
solidification and cooling is too rapid, the gas gets entrapped in the
form of porosity.
CAUSES:
Improper welding consumables, i.e. deficient in de-oxidizers.
Oil, grease, moisture and mill scale on the joint surface.
Inadequate gas shielding or impure gas in a gas-shielded
process.
Low welding current or too long an arc.
 REMEDIES:
1. Use dry, clean filler rods/electrodes.
2. Base plate should be thoroughly cleaned of oil, grease, paint
etc.
3. Do not overheat the welding zone.
4. Remove all flux and slag between multipass weld.
5. Keep a weld puddle of sufficient size that slows down the
cooling rate of the weld metal.
6. Creating the inert gas atmosphere in the vicinity of the welding
zone.
UNDERCUT:
In undercutting a groove gets formed in the parent metal along
the sides of the weld bead. Groove reduces the thickness of
the plate and thus the area along the bead, which in turn
weakens the weld.
CAUSES OF UNDERCUT:
1. Wrong manipulation and inclination of electrode and
excessive weaving.
2. Too large electrode diameter.
3. Higher current.
4. Faster arc travel speed.
5. Longer arcs.
REMEDIES:
1. Proper control of welding current.
2. Clean surfaces.
3. Shorter arc.
4. Proper selection of welding electrodes.