The WeldNet

Introduction to
Welding Technology

CONSULTANT ENGINEERS - METALLURGY AND WELDING

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Welding processes
 Fusion welding
 Involves melting & solidification
 Solid phase welding
 Explosive bonding
 Diffusion welding
 Friction welding

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Fusion welding
 Most commonly used processes
 Heat source – electric arc, gas flame, laser
 Filler metal
 From electrode, rod, wires, powder, fluxes
 Independently added filler
 No filler (autogenous welding)

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Weld
 The AWS definition for a welding process
is “A materials joining process which produces
coalescence of materials by heating them to
suitable temperatures with or without the
application of pressure or by the application of
pressure alone and with or without the use of
filler material".
 Filler (if used) has a melting temperature
similar to the parts being joined

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Weldability
 The capacity of a material to be welded
under the imposed fabrication
conditions into a specific, suitably
designed structure and to perform
satisfactorily in intended service.
 (ANSI / AWS A3.0)

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Factors affecting weldability
 Weldability is often considered to be a
material property.
 However the effect of other variables should not be
ignored.
 Weldability is also affected by:
 Design of a weld
 Service conditions

 Choice of welding process

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Design
 Weld joint design and execution
 Thickness, location, access, environment
 Restraint
 Weldment size, assembly sequence
 Service stresses
 Safety factor for welds

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Physical properties
 Melting and vaporisation temperatures
 Electrical and thermal properties
 Conductivity, expansion coefficient, thermal
capacity, latent heat
 Ionisation potential of electrode
 Magnetic susceptibility
 Reflectivity

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Solidification of weld metal
 Dendritic or cellular growth
 Segregation
 Depends on composition
 Cooling rate
 Can lead to solidification cracking

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Dilution
 Proportion of weld metal that comes from the
base material
 Must be considered for each weld run
 Affects composition, properties, risk of defects
 Greatest effect when filler composition is
different to either or both base metals
 100% for autogenous welds

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Chemical properties
 Affinity of weld metal for O, N and H
 Susceptibility to porosity, embrittlement
 Presence of a surface film on base metal
 Oxide films
 Paint or metallic surface coating

 Fluxing / De-oxidising properties of a slag

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Contaminant gases
 Nitrogen and oxygen from air
 Hydrogen from
 Moisture in air
 Moisture in consumables or surface
contaminants
 Organic materials (grease, oil, paint etc)

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Gas-metal reactions
 Liquid
metal may react with air or other gases
 Depends on
 Liquid metal composition
 Gas composition

 Consequences
 Porosity - gas released on solidification
 Formation of compounds
 Embrittlement

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Metallurgical properties
 Strengthening mechanism of base material
 Weld versus base material strength
 Freezing range
 Susceptibility to solidification cracking
 Susceptibility
to detrimental phases forming
during welding
 Embrittlement or corrosion

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Service environment
 Extreme environments
 Corrosive
 Low temperature (brittle failure)

 High temperature (oxidation, creep, embrittlement)

 Others (wear, fatigue, nuclear)

 The more extreme the environment

 The more difficult it is to find suitable materials
 The more restricted the welding procedure
becomes to avoid service failure (arc energy)

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Welding variables
 Arc energy (heat input)
 Preheat and interpass temperature
 Filler metal composition

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Arc energy
IxE Q = arc energy in kJ/mm

Q  0.06 I = welding current

E = arc voltage
v v = travel speed in mm/min

Low arc energy High arc energy

• Small weld pool size • Large weld pool size
• Incomplete fusion • Low cooling rate
• High cooling rate • Increased solidification
• Martensite and hydrogen cracking cracking risk
• Low ductility and strength
• Precipitation of unwanted particles
(corrosion and ductility)

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Preheat and interpass
 Preheat is applied independently
 Gas torches
 Gas radiant heaters

 Electric resistance heaters

 Interpass temperature
 Temperature before next pass is added
 Controlled by a cooling time, or air or water cooling

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Raising PH/IP temperature
 Slows cooling rate
 Reduces HICC in steels
 Can increase risk of solidification cracks
 Can increase tendency to embrittlement

 Improves fusion
 Reduces temperature gradient
 Minimises distortion and residual stress

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Fusion weld structure

Composite Weld
metal

Partially
Melted HAZ
Zone Fusion Line
Unmixed fused
base metal

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 Thermal gradients in HAZ

Temperature Fusion line

Fusion line + 2mm
Fusion line + 5 mm

Time

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Thermal HAZ regions

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 HAZ Structure
Disturbed microstructure Weld Coarse grain region

Original base material Grain refining

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Weld positions and
joints

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Welding positions - plate

Flat 1G Horizontal Vertical Overhead

2G 3G 4G
Up or Down

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Welding positions - pipe

Axis vertical Axis horizontal Axis inclined 45°

2G 5G 6G

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Weld joints

Butt Tee

Lap
Corner

Cruciform
Weld Types

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Weld types
 Butt weld
 Between mating members
 Best quality

 High weld preparation cost

 Fillet weld
 Easy preparation
 Asymmetric loads, lower design loads

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Butt welds
 Joint types:
 Double welded butt
 Permanent or temporary backing
 Single welded butt

 Lower stress concentration

 Easier ultrasonic testing or radiography
 Expensive preparation

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Butt weld types

Single vee
Single bevel Double vee
can be single
or double welded

Backed butt (permanent or temporary)

Butt weld terms
Included angle
Fusion face Bevel angle

Cap / Reinforcement

Root face
Root
gap

Root run
“J” Preparations

Single “U” preparation

Root radius

Land

Double “U” butt

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Fillet welds
 Simple to assemble and weld
 Stress concentrations at toes and root
 Notch at root (fatigue, toughness)
 Critical dimension is throat thickness
 Root gap affects throat thickness
 Radiography and ultrasonic testing is of
limited use
 Large fillets are uneconomic

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Fillet weld terms
Toe Throat
Weld face thickness

Toe
Root
Leg length

Gaps shall be taken into account for minimum leg length

Weld preparation dimensions
 Standard preparations
 AS/NZS1554, AS/NZS:3992
 AWS D1.1, ASME B31.3
 Non Standard (Compromise at fabricator’s risk)
 Weld cross sectional area
 Cost
 Ease of welding (risk of defects)

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Weld Defects and
Discontinuities

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Welding discontinuities
Discontinuities are essentially defects that fall within the
limitations of the welding standard requirements

 Cracks
 Never a discontinuity !!
 Porosity
 Most common complying weld defect
 Incomplete fusion / Inclusions
 Some allowed by most welding standards
 Defective profile
 Under-weld, over-weld, lack of root bead, burn through, undercut,
spatter etc.
 Most client specifications limit these types

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Welding defects- Causes
 Cracks
 HACC / HICC, solidification, liquation causes
 Porosity
 Gas entrapment / ejection, poor shielding
 Incomplete fusion
 Sidewall, inter run, root pass, weld toes ( cold lap )
 Electrode angle implicated or poor joint profile
 Inclusions
 Slag, oxide, tungsten
 Usually operator induced
 Defective weld profile / finish
 Under-weld, over-weld, lack of root bead, burn through, undercut
 Usually operator induced

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Some weld defects
Undercut
Cold lap

Incomplete penetration
Slag inclusion

Incomplete sidewall fusion Incomplete root fusion

Solidification cracking
 Low melting point constituents
 Sulphur, Phosphorus, Tin, Lead, Niobium
 Undesirable eutectics
 Grain boundary segregation
 Segregation of sulphides etc.
 Lowering ductility and raising crack sensitivity
 Strains arising during solidification
 Solidification range
 Material types, contamination
 Base material dilution, lowering weld strength
 Expansion coefficient
 Differing between base material and weld material
 Clad materials
 Weld pool shape and size
 Depth-to-width ratio
 Surface concavity
 Arc energy

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Solidification cracks

Crater crack

Longitudinal crack Centreline Crack

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Weldability of structural steel
 Benchmark against which other materials
are judged
 Risk of hydrogen induced cold cracking.
 Only occurs in ferritic, bainitic or martensitic
steel

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Hydrogen induced cold cracks
 HACC – Hydrogen assisted
 Presence of hydrogen
 Susceptible microstructure
 Tensile Stress
 Temperature
 Below ~ 100°C

 HICC – Hydrogen induced

 Hydrogen embrittlement
 Susceptible microstructure / stress not always
required

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Susceptible microstructure
 Weld metal or HAZ
 Martensite or upper bainite
 Composition
 Hardenability and hardness - carbon equivalent
 TTT diagrams – Cooling rates

 Cooling time between 500°C and 300°C

 Section thickness
 Preheat temperature

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Sources of tensile stress
 Residual stress
 Restraint
 Through thickness in thick sections

 Applied stress
 Excessive peening
 Lifting

 Presetting

 Fairing and straightening operations

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Hydrogen
 From consumables
 Moisture absorption
 Potential hydrogen test
 “Basic” consumables have lower potential hydrogen
 From joint contamination
 Fabrication practices
 Environment
 Machinery
 Temperature and time dependent
 > 150°C lower risk – diffusion of hydrogen
 < 150°C to ambient - if susceptible, cracking will occour

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Methods of control
 Preheat
 Slow down cooling rate between 800°C and
500°C
 Remove hydrogen before weld cools
below 150°C
 Stress relief immediately after welding
 Low temp temperature heat treatment (150°C
to 250°C, known as out-gassing)

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HAZ Cracking

 All these approaches are based on studies of the risk of

HAZ cracking.
 Weld metal cracking is less understood.
 Weld metal cracking is more likely in
 Alloy steel weld metals of over 500 MPa yield
strength
 Submerged arc welds (Chevron cracks)

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Lamellar tearing

Pull-out crack (obsolete)

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Lamellar tearing
 Separation or cracking along planes
parallel to the principal plane of
deformation.
 Occurs in rolled sections mainly but can
also occur in extrusions and forgings.
 Does not occur in castings
 Not to be confused with plate lamination.

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Lamellar tearing

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Appearance
 “Woody looking” or stepped crack
 Parallel to rolling direction (in rolled
sections)
 Sometimes associated with HACC / HICC
in the HAZ.

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Factors affecting risk
 Material
 Through-thickness properties
 Design
 Through thickness strains and restraint
 Fabricator
 Over-welding

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Design approach
 Consider corner, tee and cruciform joints a
risk
 Thicker members are at risk (more
restrained)
 Consider joint details with lower risk
 Specify material with adequate through
thickness ductility (tested – Z grade)

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Joint details with lower risk
 Reduce weld size
 Diffuse through thickness strains with joint
design
 Minimise restraint
 Balance weld detail
 Avoid welds intersecting in a corner

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Joint detail comparison
Poor details Improved details
Fabrication practices
 Carefully sequence fabrication to minimise
restraint
 Choose rolling direction perpendicular to
weld axis
 Test cold formed materials for tearing
 Ultrasonically inspect weld areas for
laminations before fit-up

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Welding practices
 Do not over weld
 Follow practices that minimise stress and
distortion
 Buttering can be used to avoid lamellar
tearing but is expensive.

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Residual stress and
distortion

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Residual stress sources
 Uneven plastic deformation
 Hot or cold forming (rolling, pressing, bending,
shot blasting)
 Cutting (machining, shearing)

 Uneven heating and cooling

 Welding, flame cutting, flame straightening
 Uneven solid phase change
 Quenching steel – microstructure expansion
Heating a restrained bar
Middle bar
is heated to
200 600°C and
E allowed to
150 F cool
STRESS IN MIDDLE BAR MPa

100

50 Tension
0
A
D
-50
C
-100 Compression
-150
B
-200
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
TEMPERATURE IN MIDDLE BAR Deg C

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Residual stress in a butt weld
s
sy
s
sx
X X s
sx

Compression 0 Tension

sy Tension
X X
Compression

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Possible consequences
 Distortion
 Weld cracking
 Brittle failure
 Fatigue
 Stress corrosion cracking

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Distortion

Longitudinal Transverse

Angular
Minimising distortion
 Avoid over-welding
 Use a planned welding sequence
 Restrain the weldment
 Preset to allow for distortion
 Welding techniques
 Fast high power techniques, back-stepping,
preheat
 Preheat – to maximise area of shrinkage
End of presentation
 Questions ??

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