FABRICATION, WELDING AND INSPECTION BASICS FOR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

Heat Treatment, Qualification Test and Mechanical Testing

of Weld Joints
By Mr. Kashyap Bhatt, ASNT Level III; Material Testing Training Institute

1.0

HEAT TREATMENT OF WELD JOINT:

1.1The piping system in modern petro-chemical, fertilizers and power plants
involve high alloy steel. These require preheating, interpass temperature and
post weld heat treatment for the weld joints.

2.0

PREHEATING OF WELD JOINTS:

2.1Preheating is heating the parent metal around the area to be welded to the
specified temperature before welding and holding the temperature until
completion of welding.
2.2Preheat is always specified as minimum temperature to which the parent
material must be heated before welding and maintained during welding.
2.3The purpose of preheating is to minimize the risk of cracking the weld and heat
affected zone of steel. This can be achieved by following ways:
2.3.1 Reduce the rate of cooling in weld and heat affected zone which in
turn reduce the formation hard phases (martensite) and reduce
brittleness.
2.3.2 Evoperate moisture from weld area and reduce the problem of
hydrogen.
2.4 Uniform preheating reduces the distortion of weld.
2.5 Preheating also makes it easier to weld metals having high thermal
conductivity like copper and aluminium by compensating for the heat that
dissipates rapidly.

3.0
Post heat is the heat applied to the joint design immediately after completion of
welding before the joint cods down to ambient temperature.

LOCALIZED POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT

1.0 The localized post weld heat treatment involves electrical induction or resistance
heating the weld and adjacent region by heating the weld at a controlled rate and
holding it at required temperature for certain time and cooling it down at a
controlled rate.
2.0 PARAMETERS FOR POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT:
2.1 Width of the heated zone:
2.1.1 The amount of heat generated is proportional to the width of heated
band on the surface.

FABRICATION, WELDING AND INSPECTION BASICS FOR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

2.1.2 The width of heated zone, i.e. the width of the pipe surface directly
under the heat source, should be atleast three times the thickness of
the pipe on either side of the weld joint.
2.2 Control of Heat Loss during Heating:
2.2.1 While heating is taking place outside the of the pipe, heat loss is
simultaneously taking place due to:
2.2.1.1
2.2.1.2

Conduction through the pipe wall on either side.

Convection by air movements inside the pipe.

2.2.1.3

Radiation losses.

2.2.2 To make the most efficient use of the heating source and to avoid
excessive cooling rate during heat treatment, the weld joint and
adjacent pipe is covered with insulation.
2.2.3 The commonly used insulation material are mineral wool and ceramic
fibre materials.
2.2.4 As a general rule the insulation cover width should be twice the width
of the heated band.
2.2.5 To avoid air circulation inside the pipe which can cause cooling of the
inside wall, all openings in the pipe must be closed with dummy
covers before start of the heating cycle.
2.3 Measurement of temperature:
2.3.1 During the heat treatment cycle the temperature is measured and
recorded with the help of the thermo couples and recorders.
2.3.1.1
Fixing of thermocouple on the spot is very important. If
the thermocouples are not properly fixed, serious errors in
measurement of temperature can exist.
2.4 Support of pipe during heating.
2.4.1 When pipes are heated to PWHT temperature, the material strength
is considerably lower than at room temperature.
2.4.2 With heavy wall piping, the weight of long span is sufficient to cause
permanent deformation the pipe of it is not supported externally.
2.4.3 Care should be taken to ensure that no load including the self-weight
is coming on the weld during heat treatment.

FABRICATION, WELDING AND INSPECTION BASICS FOR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

WELDING PROCEDURE QUALIFICATION & PROCEDURE QUALIFICATION

RECORDS:
1.0

The purpose of welding procedure specification (WPS) and procedure qualification

records (PQR) is to determine that the weldment proposed for construction is
capable of having the required proprieties for its intended application.

2.0

The welding procedure qualification therefore, strictly to establish the metallurgical

compatibility of the weld joint through mechanical tests and not the skill of the
welder or the welding operator.

3.0

The welding procedure is the list of all variables with the proper values for
achieving desirable proprieties. These variables are:
3.1
3.2

Welding process.
Base Metal.

3.3
3.4

Joint Design.
Filler metal.

3.5
3.6

Position.
Preheat / interpass / post heat.

3.7
3.8

Electrical characteristic.
Post weld heat treatment.

3.9
3.10

Gas(es)
Techniques (stringer/weave bead, transfer mode, orifice dia) etc.

4.0

Depending on their influence on obtaining a desired weldment, the welding

variables are then classified and listed. Some of them are listed as Essential
variables, some of them listed as Supplementary Essentail Variables and the
others as Non Essential Variables.
4.1
Essential variables are the variables, when changed beyond the allowable
limits, the physical proprieties of weld joint may altered. Hence production
welds with such altered variables should not be continued without
requalification and certification.
4.2
Supplementary Essential variables are the variables, when changed beyond
the allowable limits, the notch toughness proprieties of weld joint may
altered. Hence production welds with such altered variables should not be
continued without requalification and certification.
4.3
Those variables which when changed during welding do not cause to alter
the desired weld properties are known as non essential variables. They are
just altered in WPS with revision. Production welds with such altered
parameters could be continued without any requalification of the welding
procedure.

5.0

WELDER PERFORMANCE QUALIFICATION:

5.1

In welder performance qualification, the basic attempts are to establish the

ability of the welder to deposit sound metal.

5.2

In case of welding operator qualifications it is his mechanical ability to

operate the welding machine that is tested and acknowledge.

FABRICATION, WELDING AND INSPECTION BASICS FOR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

MECHANICAL TESTING OF WELDS:

Tensile tests, bend tests, hardness tests, impact tests
1.0 Mechanical testing is concerned with the determination of measures of mechanical
properties. These are translated in terms of stress and strain through consideration
of dimension of the test piece.
1.0 Hardness Test:
1.1 The hardness of the material is defined as the resistance offered by material
to penetration under external load.
1.2 Various types of hardness tests are employed for different material.
SN
1.0

Type of Hardness Test

Brinnel Hardness Test

2.0

Rockwell Hardness Test

Principle
1.1 Brinnel Hardness Test measures hardness in
terms of BHN (Brinnel Hardness Number).
1.2 Brinnel hardness number relates to the
applied load and surface area of the
permanent indentation made by a ball
indentor.
2.1 Rockwell hardness is expressed in terms of
RA, RB or RC depending on types of
load and indentors.
2.2 In Rockwell hardness also the hardness
number is a function of the degree of
indentation of the test piece by the action
of an indentor under given static load.

3.0

VICKERS HARDNESS
TESTS

2.3 In Rockwell hardness tests, the indentors

and load are smaller than Brinnel Hardness
Test and hence the indentations in
Rockwell hardness test are smaller and
shallower than Brinnel Hardness Test.
3.1The Vickers Hardness Number is
determined by the applied load v/s
area of indentation.

2.0 TENSILE TESTS:

2.1 The tensile test is carried out on machine called Universal Testing Machine.
2.2 The tensile test specimen may be either round or flat (rectangular) shape.
The dimension of the specimen shall be as per the reference standards e.g.
ASTM A 370.
2.3 In tensile testing, the initial dimension of the specimen is measured and then
the specimen is gradually loaded under tensile force. A corresponding graph
between stress v/s strain is automatically plotted on plotter.
2.4 From stress strain curver, following informations are obtained:
2.4.1 Yield Strength:
Load at with Yield condition occurred / cross section area of the
specimen.

FABRICATION, WELDING AND INSPECTION BASICS FOR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

2.4.2 Tensile Strength:

Load at which the specimen fails / cross section area of the

specimen.
2.4.3 Elongation:
% Change in the gauge length ( (Final Gauge Length original gauge
length)/original gauge length).
2.4.4 % Reduction in Area of specimen.
3.0 IMPACT TEST
3.1 The impact test involves the testing of ability of material to withstand sudden
applied load under notch condition.
3.2 The impact test specimen shall be notched at required position. (In weld, HAZ
or in parent metal).
3.3 Te specimen must be cooled at required test temperature and soaked for
required period of time.
3.4 Two type of impact test are available:
3.4.1 Charpy impact test
3.4.2 Izod Impact test.
3.5 In charpy impact test the specimen is put horizontally by facing the notch
towards hammer.
3.6 In Izod impact test, the specimen is put vertically by facing the notch towards
hammer.
3.7 The hammer will strike the notched portion of the specimen. The kinetic
energy of the hammer will be applied the specimen at notched location.
3.8 The dial will indicate the energy absorb by the specimen before failure.
4.0 BEND TEST
4.1 The bend test involves bending of test specimen with the help of mandrel at
an appropriate angle.
4.2 The band test gives the ductility of the specimen.
4.3 The main parameters in bend test are the angle of bend, the inside radius to
which the specimen is bend (outer diameter of mandrel) and cross section of
specimen.
4.4 Different

types of bend tests are:

4.4.1 Root Bend: Root is on outer edge and getting bend.

4.4.2 Face Bend: Weld face is on outer edge and getting bend.
4.4.3 Side Bend:

Weld side is on outer edge and getting bend.