Joint Tolerances in

Capillary Copper Piping Joints

Excessive and non-uniform joint clearance
the major causes of poor solder flow

is one of

BY Ft. B. E D W A R D S

ABSTRACT. Solderless regions regarded as defects can be formed in

solder joints in copper piping during
fabrication. This study
examines
typical joints removed from field i n stallations. Principles of capillary
f l o w are presented to show how solder flow is related to joint clearance.
Recommendations are given to promote better filling of joints than is
s h o w n by the samples examined.
Introduction
Solder joints widely used in copper
piping applications consist of a close
fitting short sleeve soldered over a

short length at the end of a thin w a l l

copper tube. The soldering is accomplished by capillary filling of the
fluxed, assembled, and heated joint
opening w i t h a molten solder supplied to the joint edge by hand feeding. Fittings and tube are made to
special tolerances to provide the
capillary joint clearance suitable for
this method of soldering. The technology for these joints in piping w a s
standardized on the basis of investigations carried out at the National
Bureau of Standards and published
by A. Maupin and W . Swanger in
1940. 1 Subsequent experience has

shown these solder joints to have

broad success in meeting the requirements for piping systems.
In 1960, NIBCO began further extensive study of the capillary f l o w
solder joint. This continuing research
has contributed to further understanding of the joint itself and to the
soldering processes associated w i t h
it.
Actual Joints
W h a t is the quality of piping joints
MR. EDWARDS is director
NIBCO Inc., Elkhart. Indiana.

of research

for

Fig. 1Radiograph of 4-in. wrought

copper elbow, with tracing to show
location of regions void of solder in
the joint. Defect types are identified by
roman numerals I, II, III, and IV

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as they exist in actual installations?

Long experience has s h o w n that
field failures are not a common occurrence. But does this mean that all
joints are perfect? Speciment joints
(812 joints in 4 5 2 fittings) w e r e obtained from scrap yards in Cleveland,
Ohio, Islip, L.I., N.Y., a f e w from
Osterville, Mass., and a f e w from
various other areas of the United
States. Most of the fittings were Vz or
% inch size and were reportedly
from housing torn d o w n for new
building or roadway construction. All
joints were soldered w i t h lead-tin
solder.
As far as could be determined, all
the fittings had been giving satisfactory service prior to their removal.
The presence of regions void of solder is illustrated in Fig. 1 by a radiograph of a wrought copper ell. A
tracing showing the void regions is
given to clarify the x-ray interpretation. A l l 4 5 2 fittings w e r e x-rayed
and the relative filling of joint areas
was evaluated by viewing the x-ray
film.
Essentially four kinds of regions
unfilled w i t h solder w e r e found.
These defects, according to their
radiographic appearance, are identified here as: (I) small closed circular
spot, (II) irregular shaped isolated
closed area, (III) irregular area adjoining a joint edge or another defect region, (IV) large or extensive area
usually adjoining an edge of the
joint. The types are identified in Fig.
1 by their respective numbers. Frequencies for these types of defects
are listed in Table 1.
It is apparent that imperfect joints
are common. In joints that w e r e cut
and peeled apart, illustrated by Fig.
2, the closed solderless areas frequently contained solid or semi-solid
flux residues and the extensive void
areas were frequently
untinned.
Clearly, all of these defects w e r e
formed during soldering of the joint,
i.e., none are due to subsequent
action on the joint such as corrosion
or erosion. There were 550 cast
bronze fitting joints and 2 6 2 wrought
copper fitting joints in the collection.
No
significant
differences
with
respect to solder fill w e r e attributed
to the difference between bronze
and copper.
X-radiography was used as the primary means for assessing the solder
joint fill. It is a good nondestructive
inspection method for this purpose.
Ultasonic techniques are capable of
detecting unfilled solder areas, but
have
been
limited
by
manual
operation of the test probe to slow
examination rates. Cutting and peeling of the joints, w i t h visual or microscopic examination of the opened
surfaces, is the most reliable i n 322-s I J U N E

1972

spection technique for these defects,

but is, of course, destructive.
This miscellaneous collection of
fittings is intended to: (a) represent
some actual plumbing practice, (b) to
indicate at least some of the range of
joints actually accepted for use and
(c) to see w h a t kind of defects might
be present and common. No attempt
was made to select the fittings on
the basis of quality, brand, appearance, age, original source, size, or
specific use. No attempt w a s made
to trace or date the fittings. They certainly do not represent either all
good or all bad joint making practice.
The sampling of actual solder joining
practice represented by the collection is recognized to be limited and
suitable only as an indication of practice w i t h smaller piping sizes.

joint soldering tests made by many

different investigators, for example
Keyes. 2 Studies of soldering process
conditions have revealed many correlations w i t h joint defects. It is important to note that all of these defects are formed by peculiarities of
solder flow, or the lack of it, occurring during the soldering operation. Various types of causes for defects may be described, such as bad
cleaning, bad flux, and bad solder,
but they all act by influencing the solder flow behavior w i t h i n the joint to
generate a region void of solder. The
effects of joint dimensional tolerances are discussed here as causes
of defects.
Joint Tolerances

Joint clearance between the tube

and the sleeve is specified by current
standards
B 1 6 . 1 8 - 1 9 6 3 for
cast
fittings
and
B16.22-1963
for
wrought fittings. Diametral clearance is supposed to be no less than

Experimental Joints
The types of defects found in the
collection have also been found to
occur frequently in
experimental

TABLE 1Types of Defects Present in Sample of Used Joints and Their Distribution
by Number and Percent
Type of defect
I
II
III
IV
only
II only
III only
IV only
I, II III
I, II IV
I. II III, IV
I, III, IV

Fig. 2Cut and peeled joints

Number of joints
A L L (812)
328
194
232
183
227
87
129
33

29
39
35

showing

some typical

defects

Percentage of sample
100%
40.3
23.9
28.5
22.4
34.1
10.7
15.8
4.1
3.5
4.8
4.3

TABLE 2Diametral Clearances from Standards B16.18-1963 and B16.22-1963

and the Half Maximum Clearance between faying surfaces (Vi Maximum)
Standard watertube
size, in.
Vs
1

"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"

/4

3/8

Vi
Ve

%
1
114
Vh
2
TA
3

"
"
"
"
"
"
"

31/2

4
5
6
8

TABLE 3

Minimum
0.002

Diametral clearances, in
Maximum
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.007
0.007
0.0085
0.0085
0.0085
0.0085
0.009
0.009
0.009
0.009
0.011

Vi Maximum
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.0035
0.0035
0.00425
0.00425
0.00425
0.00425
0.0045
0.0045
0.0045
0.0045
0.0055

Solder Flow
Properly cleaned, fluxed, assembled,
and heated joints are normally soldered by melting Vs-in. w i r e solder
against the entrance edge of the
sleeve member. The solder melts to
form a puddle w h i c h bridges the capillary gap between the tube and the
sleeve. The behavior of the initial
liquid solder bridge in the capillary
space can be visualized as being s i m ilar to the behavior of India ink in a
drafting pen. The liquid drawing power of a drafting pen is a function of
the adjusted space between the pen
nibs. If the nibs are adjusted too far
apart, both of t h e m w i l l become w e t
w i t h ink, but a liquid bridge w i l l not
form. The beginning of capillary f l o w
can be observed at the time this
bridge is formed if the pen nibs are
adjusted to a reasonable spacing.

Maximum Static Heights for Molten Solder in Capillary Gaps*

Parallel plate gap thickness,

d, in.
0.001
.002
.003
.004
.005
.006
.007
.008
.009
.010
.011
.012
.013
.014

Maximum molten solder height

h, in.
13.5
6.75

4.5
3.37
2.7
2.25
1.93

1.68
1.5
1.35
1.23
1.13
1.04

0.97

"Computed using a value of 378 dynes/cm for the interfacial tension of 50-50
solder in contact with flux, 8.89 g/cc for the density of solder, and zero contact
angle.

TABLE 4Capillary Liquid Solder Heights for Maximum Clearance Gaps

Standard water tube
size, in.
Vs
V4
Va
V2

Va
3

/4

VA
Vh
2
Vh
3
3 1 /2

4
5
6
8

Diametral clearance,
max., in.
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.006
0.007
0.007
0.0085
0.0085
0.0085
0.0085
0.009
0.009
0.009
0.009
0.011

0.002 in. and not more than 0.006

in. for VA in. tubes and varies up to
0.011 in. for the 8 in. size piping.
The m i n i m u m and maximum diametral clearances for each piping size
are given in Table 2. If the joint parts
were geometrically perfect cylindrical shapes and w e r e assembled centered and aligned, joint clearance
would be a concentric uniform gap
between tube and sleeve. Clearance
between faying surfaces would thus
be one-half the diametral clearance
value. The values for half the m a x i mum diametral clearances are also
listed in Table 2. Real joint openings
usually vary from zero to the maximum diametral clearance because of
imperfect shape and assembly.

Liquid capillary
solder height, in.
2.25
2.25
2.25
2.25
2.25
2.25
1.93
1.93
1.59
1.59
1.59
1.59
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.23

From this liquid bridge an extensive solder meniscus can develop as

more solder is fed and melted. It is
this meniscus as it w e t s the capillary
gap walls that pulls liquid solder into
the joint. This meniscus is the source
of the capillary force that fills the
joint.
The liquid solder meniscus is a
free liquid surface and exhibits
surface tension. Because the liquid
solder has cohesive and adhesive
forces, it w e t s the capillary w a l l s ,
spreads and pulls solder liquid w i t h it
(this wetting is assumed to be ideal
here as if the joint were pretinned). The limiting force tending to
d r a w solder into the joint is the
meniscus force or pressure difference. A free liquid surface becomes
curved w h e n a pressure difference
exists across it. The general description of the pressure difference w i t h
respect to curvature for surface t e n sion phenomena
is ascribed to
Laplace:

Ap = o
\

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R,

R2 )

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Where:
AP = pressure difference
a = surface tension
R, = radius in one principal
direction
R 2 = radius in the other principal
direction
The radii of curvature in t w o principal directions describe the net curvature of a meniscus over the area of
interest. The solder joint clearance
approximates the gap between parallel flat plates, in that curvature of a
meniscus w i t h i n the gap w i l l have a
low value in one principal direction.
This
is
approximatelyAp~,(r(2/d),
w h e r e d is the distance across the
gap.
W h e n the w a l l s are wetted to
some degree, but the gap is not full
of solder, the internal pressure in the
solder liquid is reduced and a net
force A p x A, w h e r e A is the gap
area, is exerted by the meniscus
climbing the w a l l s trying to pull l i quid after it through the action of t e n sile forces. The maximum force in
one direction is achieved w h e n the
contact angle is zero (complete w e t ting) and the radius of curvature is
minimized. The meniscus supports,
or fails to support, the pressure difference.
The maximum static height to
w h i c h a meniscus w i l l hold a liquid
in a parallel plate capillary of a given
size is given by:
h = 2 g cos 8
d p g
Where:
h = capillary head height
a = surface tension
0 = contact angle
d = capillary gap dimension
p = density of solder
g = gravity acceleration
Some values for the m a x i m u m
static parallel plate capillary height
for liquid 5 0 - 5 0 tin-lead solder are
given in Table 3 and illustrated in Figure 3. These are computed using a
value of 3 7 8 d y n e s / c m . for the
surface tension of the solder in contact w i t h flux in the capillary gap. 3
The values represent the heights
molten solder can climb w h e n it is
not limited by w e t t i n g or spreading
or other related problems. These
values also represent pressure head
forces available to cause solder f l o w
into the joint space.
Table 4 now
from Tables 2
solder heights
maximum joint

combines information
and 3 to show liquid
possible for standard
clearances. This is an

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1210-

co
LiJ

o
2

4-

.002
Fig. 3Maximum
with flux present

.004

head height

006

.008 .010
d INCHES

(h) versus

interesting comparison, particularly

for the larger joint sizes. It is clear
tnat capillary filling alone cannot be
depended on for these standard joints
in the larger sizes.
As noted earlier, the joint space is
almost always of nonuniform thickness due to geometrical imperfections of the tube and sleeve and due
to misaligned assembly. The pulling
force exerted by the meniscus is a
function of gap thickness and w i l l
therefore be nonuniform as w e l l . Solder viscosity effect on f l o w is relatively small until the gap size becomes appreciably less than 0.001
in. This means that f l o w of liquid solder w i l l be nonuniform. In fact, n o n uniform f l o w is a general characteristic for capillary piping joints as evidenced by x-ray motion picture observations. This is supported by evidence from many other types of experimental soldering situations. Of
course, nonuniform f l o w may also be
due to a number of things other t h a n
uneven capillary gap, but uneven gap
is a major direct cause.
W h e n the liquid solder meniscus
advances unevenly through the joint
it may engulf flux, entrap bubbles, or
it may advance rapidly to the narrow
gap region of the tube-stop and seal
off the joint entirely from any further
inflow of solder at all. These mechanisms of engulfment, entrapment, and
seal off are the mechanisms by
w h i c h defects solderless areas or
voids are commonly formed in
smaller sized joints.
Thus it may be seen that keeping

capillary

.012

gap dimension

T" i

014

.016

(d) for 50-50

solder

the m i n i m u m standard joint clearance by tight control of size tolerances offers t w o major aids t o w a r d
freedom f r o m joint defects: (a) the
gap has less variation in thickness
and therefore the f l o w can advance
more evenly (the smaller clearance
limits both the maximum gap size
and the misalignment angle) and (b)
the smaller gap gives higher capillary drive forces to fill the joint.
Conclusions
Common defects of solder joints
are generated by nonuniform solder
f l o w w h e n the joints are made. A n
important cause for nonuniform f l o w
can be nonuniform joint clearance.
Good geometry and good sizing of
tube and sleeve help this problem.
Other causes of nonuniform solder
flow, such as insufficient joint cleaning, dirty or inactive flux, poor solder
feeding and uneven heating are very
important but w i l l certainly not c o m pensate for uneven joint space.
Portions of this and related w o r k
have been reported earlier in a
paper 4 w h i c h contains further references on solder f l o w behavior.
References
1. Maupin. A. R. and Swanger, W. H., "Strength of
Soft-Soldered Joints in Copper Tubing," National Bureau of Standards Report BMSS8. 1940.
2. Keyes, J. M., "Factors Affecting Quality of Soft Soldered Joints in Copper Water Tube," ASTM Special
Technical Publication No. 319. 1963, Papers on Soldering, 1962 pp. 39-82.
3. Bailey, G. L. J. and Watkins, H. C, "The Flow of Liquid Metals on Solid Metal Surfaces and Its Relation to
Soldering, Brazing, and Hot-Dip Coating," Journal of
the Institute tor Metals, Vol. 80, 1951, p. 57.
4. Jayne, T. D. and Martin, L., "Improving Control of
Soft Soldering in Copper Piping Joints," ASME Publication No. 70-PVP-21. Sept., 1970.
,A.