Common Weld Discontinuities

Common Weld Discontinuities

Gas Pore

Gas pore
A cavity, generally formed by
trapped gas during the
solidification of molten metal

Cluster Porosity
A group of gas pores
Porosity
Crater Pipe (GTAW)

AMIT PAHUJA
QA QC NDE WELDING at
SADARA
Crater Pipe

Crater pipe
A depression due to shrinkage at the end of
a run where the source of heat was removed.
Crater pipes may also lead to micro-cracking

AMIT PAHUJA
Welding Engineering at SADARA
Porosity
 Causes of Porosity
 Insufficient Protection/wind/Tent
 Insufficient interpass cleaning
 Unsteady travel speed
 Welding weave too wide
 Allowing slag to run ahead of the arc
 Using too large and electrode
 Damp electrode
Slag Inclusions
 Causes of Slag Inclusions
 Base Metal contaminated
 Wet, unclean electrodes
 Insufficient or damp shielding gas
 Excessive arc length
 Welding current too high
 Weld speed too fast
Incomplete Penetration
Root Defects

Incomplete root penetration

Failure of weld metal to extend into the root of a joint

Lack of root fusion

Lack of union at the root of a joint

Excess penetration bead

Excess weld metal protruding through the root of
a fusion weld made from one side only
Causes of Incomplete Penetration
 Too small a root opening
 Too large a root face
 Excessive high low
 Travel speed too fast
 Welding current too low
 Electrode diameter too large
 Excessive arc length
 Causes of Excessive Penetration

 Too large a root opening

 Too small a root face
 Welding current too high
 Travel speed too low
 Arc length too short
Incomplete Fusion
Lack of Inter Run Fusion
Causes of Incomplete Fusion

 Improper electrode angle

 Travel speed too fast
 Welding current too low
 Faulty joint preparation
 Electrode diameter too large
Heat Affected Zone
 Causes of Cracks

 Base metal contaminated

 Excessive joint restraint
 Incorrect pre-heat
 Incorrect filler metal
 Too fast a cooling rate
 Causes of Undercut

 Incorrect electrode
manipulation
 Welding current too high
 Excessive arc length
 Travel speed too fast
Tungsten Inclusions
 Causes of Tungsten Inclusions
 Contact of electrode tip with weld pool
 Contact of filler metal with tip of electrode
 Contamination of electrode
 Exceeding current limit for the electrode
 Splits or cracks in tungsten electrode
Visual Inspection of Welds
Overlap Good Fillet Weld

Overlap
An imperfection at the toe or root of a weld
caused by metal flowing on to the surface of the
parent metal without fusing to it
 Arc Strike

Stray flash/arc burn/arc strike

(stray arcing)
1. The damage on the parent material resulting from the accidental striking of
. an arc away from the weld
2. The accidental striking of an arc away from the weld
Spatters
Effect of Current, Speed, Arc-length
Weld Width
Weld width and consistency of weld width

For butt welds and fillet welds,

consider:
Butt Weld Size
a) excess weld metal height

b) root penetration

c) weld width

d) root bead width

Shape (Butt Welds)
Consider:

Ideally, (a) is the most desirable

Bulbous Contour

Bulbous contour
poor appearance
Contour Defects

Incompletely filled groove

A continuous or intermittent
channel in the surface of a weld,
running along its length, due to
insufficient weld metal. The
channel may be along the centre or
along one or both edges of the weld
Root Defects
Root concavity (suck-back;)
A shallow groove which may occur in the root of
a butt weld, but full fusion is evident

Shrinkage groove
A shallow groove caused by contraction in the
metal along each side of a penetration bead or
along the weld centreline

Burnthrough
(melt through)
A localised collapse of the molten pool due
to excessive penetration, resulting in a hole in
the weld run
Toe Blend (Butt Welds)
For butt welds, consider:

In normal practice, (a) is the

most desirable but, again, in
many instances it is difficult to
achieve.

Depending on the service conditions

of the product, the toe blend may be
of greater importance than the size
and shape of the weld. A poor toe
blend may reduce service life by a
considerable margin if the product is
under a cyclic load.
Toe Blend (Fillet Welds)
For fillet welds, consider:

In normal practice, (a) is the

most desirable but, again, in
many instances it is difficult to
achieve. Acceptance levels,
therefore, allow tolerances on
weld shape.
Perfect Weld Bead Appearance SMAW/GTAW
Perfect Weld Bead Appearance Fillet Weld
Good Weld Bead Finish GTAW/SMAW
Thank You