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The fundamentals of destructive testing for welder qualification are outlined
Destructive weld testing
encompasses many different types of
tests to provide information on
anything from the toughness of a
welded joint to its ultimate tensile
strength. When performing welding
procedure qualification testing, you
will encounter these varied test
methods depending on the particular
Fig. 1 — An AWS D1.1 unlimited test
assembly ready for cutting in the
abrasive saw.

application of the welded joint. The
most common testing, however, would
be those methods used to determine a
welder’s proficiency with a particular
welding process; in other words,
welder performance qualification
testing.
Anyone involved with welder
qualification, whether as a testing
agency, a welding consultant, or a
quality control person, is familiar with
the following request: “I need to
become a certified welder.”
In responding to that question, the
first thing that would need to be asked
of the person would be “What code do
you need to qualify in accordance
with?” There are codes that need to be
followed based on the particular
industry, the organization, or perhaps
even the geographic location. The two
codes most people are familiar with are
AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code
— Steel, and ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX.
These codes share many similarities
when it comes to the destructive testing
portion of welder qualification. For this
article, any particular requirements are
in accordance with AWS D1.1.
While the following does not
pertain specifically to destructive
testing, it is worth mentioning. Once
the governing code is determined, you
are going to need a Welding Procedure Fig. 2 — An example of a macro etch sample.
Specification (WPS) to follow. It may
be a prequalified WPS, a WPS that has
been qualified by testing, or one that is from one side without backing you do destructive testing specimens. There
found in the AWS B2.1-X-XXX series. not want excessive concavity or melt- are particular tests associated with
The WPS will provide the welder with through. If you are welding with various types of weld tests to be
all pertinent information he or she backing, and you can pull the backer performed. These include bend (face,
needs to perform the qualification test. off with pliers or it falls off, you are root, or side), macro etch, and fillet
The WPS will include information such certainly having some issues with the weld break tests. The figures and tables
as the welding process, joint design, root pass. in the code will direct you on the
base and filler metals, preheat/interpass Undercut and cracking are also quantity and type of specimens, the
temperature, and the electrical and typical problems to look out for. D1.1 location for removal, and the required
travel speed ranges. has a thorough section on visual dimensions. Removal of the specimens
Now the welder has the examination criteria, complete with is often accomplished with band
information he or she needs to begin weld profile examples that address sawing, thermal, waterjet, or abrasive
testing. The actual preparation for and undercut and cracking more cutting. Keep in mind if you use
performance of the weld test would be thoroughly. thermal cutting for side bend specimen
topics worthy of another article, but removal, allow for at least 18 in. on each
today we will fast forward to  side of the sample to be removed to
destructive testing. avoid any heat-related issues. There is
After a successful visual an abrasive weld test cutting machine
 examination, it is time to remove the manufactured by Triangle Engineering,

Imagine that you have a welded

assembly ready for testing. It is now
time for the first step, a visual
examination (so much for jumping to
the cutting and the bending). Many of
the weld defects that can be observed
in the visual examination will lead to
subsequent failures in the destructive
testing.
A particular defect that is seen
consistently is underfill on the face of
the weld. Underfill is when the weld is
not filled to at least the top surface of
the base metal. While excessive
reinforcement (not to exceed 18 in.) is
also undesirable, many people could
avoid a visual failure if they just filled
up the joint. Likewise, the root is of
equal importance. If you are welding Fig. 3 — A fillet weld break specimen.

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Fig. 4 — Examples of a plunger and die bend (left) and a wraparound bend (right).
Inc., that is designed to remove
specimens. This machine uses holding
fixtures designed to clamp welded
assemblies while a 20-in. abrasive
blade is hydraulically pushed through
the cut — Fig. 1. Indexing features
allow you to remove appropriate
specimen sizes with the push of a
button and rapid cut rates make it
useful for high-volume testing.
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
With the specimens removed, it is
now time to prepare them for testing.
Correct preparation is important to
ensure that an accurate and reliable
destructive test can be performed.
Macro Etch Test. This test
requires only a belt sander (or other
polishing means) and some nitric acid.
Cross sections of the welded joint are
removed, then polished and etched
with the acid — Fig. 2. This will
provide a detailed view of the base
metal, heat-affected zone (HAZ), and
weld metal layers. The samples should
be belt sanded or polished; start with a
low grit, then work your way up to a
higher grit to achieve a suitable finish.
For the purposes of welder
qualification in D1.1, you may only
need to take the finish to 100 or 180
grit. This should provide an adequate
finish to check for weld sizes,
incomplete fusion, inadequate
penetration, cracks, and undercut.
Once the sample is polished, you
only need a 25% nitric acid solution to
etch the sample. This is typically one
part nitric acid and three parts water.
Carbon- and low-alloy steels require
very little exposure to this solution to
present a good macro etch. Quite often,
Fig. 5 — A wraparound style bend
machine.
10 s or less will be sufficient.
Fillet Weld Break Test. This is
the simplest of the three basic welder
qualification destructive tests. The test
involves placing a load on the fillet
weld so that it places the root of the
weld in tension — Fig. 3. The load is
removed once the joint fractures or the
specimen has been folded flat onto
itself. Depending on the size of the
weld and the base material, you may be
able to accomplish this in a vise or
even with a sledge hammer. Heavier
specimens will require a press or
tension testing machine. If the
specimen does fold flat onto itself, you
have a satisfactory test result. If it
fractures, you need to confirm there is
complete fusion to the root and there
are not excessive inclusions or
porosity. The sum of all inclusions and
porosity cannot be greater than 38 in.
Bend Tests. The final and most
involved method of destructive testing
is bend testing. Bend tests for welder
qualification are predominantly
associated with groove welds, but there
is one fillet weld test that employs
bend tests as well. There are three
types of bend tests: side, face, and root
bends. The face and root bends are
used in some cases and the side bends
in others. Face and root bends are
usually used on 38 in. and less plate and
wall thicknesses, while side bends are
used on 38 in. and greater plate and wall
thicknesses. However, there are some
instances when face and root bends are
made on thicknesses greater than 38 in.
As you can see, for 38 in. thickness you
may use either side bends or face and
root bends. Arguments could and have
been made for either method. A face
bend or root bend, as the names imply,
puts either the face or the root of the
weld in tension, and that is the surface
that will be examined. A side bend will
put the entire cross section of the weld
in tension.
Your side bends are going to be 38
in. wide and as thick as the base metal
used for testing. In some cases where
the base metal is greater than 112 in.
thick, the sample may be cut into equal
strips and both strips would be tested to
represent one side bend. The face and
root bends would be 112 in. wide and as
thick as the base metal. A 1-in.-wide
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sample may be used for pipe or tube
equal to or less than 4 in. in diameter.
Preparing the bend samples for
testing involves grinding, belt sanding,
or machining the samples. The weld
reinforcement and backing should be
removed flush with the surface of the
specimen for all bends. When
removing heavy backing bars, you
should try to remove the bulk of the
material with a heavy grinder or
through mechanical cutting if
available. For face bends on
thicknesses greater than 38 in., remove
material from the root side to bring the
specimen to 38 in. thickness; for root
bends, remove material from the face.
Don’t get too aggressive with the finish
on your bends; gouges and heavy grind
marks could form a crack starter on a
weld that otherwise may have been
sound. Grind marks should always be
parallel to the specimen. Edges of the
specimen should have a 18-in.
maximum radius.
To bend the specimens there are
two basic styles of guided bend testing
equipment, the plunger and die style
and the wraparound style. Figure 4
shows a plunger and die bend on the
left and a wraparound bend on the
right. The wraparound style allows a
full 180 deg of specimen bending with
minimized stresses on the sample.
Different die post diameters can be
changed out in a couple minutes and a
typical bend takes about a minute to set
up and test. Figure 5 shows a
wraparound style bender from Triangle
Engineering. Regardless of which style
you use, you are going to need to
determine what bend radius to use. The
majority of side, face, and root bends
on 38 in. thicknesses will be tested at a
¾ in. radius. The only exception to this
would be when qualifying on base
metals with yield strength greater than
50 ksi.
When examining the bend tests for
defects and discontinuities, whether
they are side, face, or root bends, you
should look at the convex surface, the
outside circumference of the bend. Any
incomplete fusion, slag inclusion, or
discontinuity measuring greater than 18
in. is a rejection. Even if you keep the
discontinuities 18 in. and under, you
may still be in trouble because you
may also have a rejection based on the
cumulative length of smaller
discontinuities. Add up every
discontinuity greater than a 132 in. but
1
8 in. If the total is greater than 38 in.,
that is a failure. Corner cracks are
allowed provided they do not exceed ¼
in., unless they look to be the result of
slag or fusion problems, then they
cannot exceed 18 in. On the bright side,
it is permissible to have many
discontinuities, provided they are
smaller than a 132 in.
J. R. COULSTRING III
(jr@trieng.com) is quality control
manager, Triangle Engineering, Inc.,
Hanover, Mass.
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