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

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)

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)

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

Design

Weld joint design and execution

Thickness, Restraint

location, access, environment

Weldment size, assembly sequence

Service stresses
Safety

factor for welds

Physical properties
Melting

and vaporisation temperatures Electrical and thermal properties

Conductivity, expansion coefficient, thermal capacity, latent heat

Ionisation

potential of electrode Magnetic susceptibility Reflectivity

Solidification of weld metal

Dendritic or cellular growth Segregation

Depends

on composition Cooling rate Can lead to solidification cracking

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

of a surface film on base metal

Susceptibility to porosity, embrittlement

Presence

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 0.06 v
Low arc energy
Small weld pool size Incomplete fusion High cooling rate Martensite and hydrogen cracking Q = arc energy in kJ/mm I = welding current E = arc voltage v = travel speed in mm/min

High arc energy

Large weld pool size Low cooling rate Increased solidification 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 Zone

HAZ Unmixed fused base metal

Fusion Line

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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 2G

Vertical 3G Up or Down

Overhead 4G

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Welding positions - pipe

Axis vertical 2G

Axis horizontal 5G

Axis inclined 45 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 can be single or double welded

Single bevel

Double vee

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

Weld face

Throat 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 fabricators 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 !! Most common complying weld defect Some allowed by most welding standards

Porosity

Incomplete fusion / Inclusions

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 Gas entrapment / ejection, poor shielding Sidewall, inter run, root pass, weld toes ( cold lap ) Electrode angle implicated or poor joint profile Slag, oxide, tungsten Usually operator induced

Porosity
Incomplete fusion

Inclusions

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 Differing between base material and weld material Clad materials Depth-to-width ratio Surface concavity Arc energy
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Expansion coefficient

Weld pool shape and size

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 ~ 100C

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 500C and 300C

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

> 150C lower risk diffusion of hydrogen < 150C to ambient - if susceptible, cracking will occour

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Methods of control

Preheat
Slow

down cooling rate between 800C and 500C

Remove hydrogen before weld cools below 150C

Stress

relief immediately after welding Low temp temperature heat treatment (150C to 250C, 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 steel microstructure expansion

Uneven solid phase change

Quenching

Heating a restrained bar

200

STRESS IN MIDDLE BAR MPa

150 100 50 0 -50 -100 -150 -200 0

Middle bar is heated to 600C and allowed to cool

Tension A D C Compression

B
100 200 300 400 500 TEMPERATURE IN MIDDLE BAR Deg C 600

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Residual stress in a butt weld

s sy
X s sx X
Compression
sy

s sx
0 Tension

Tension

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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