WELDING DEFECTS

WELDING DEFECTS
OBJECTIVE
DEFINITON
CAUSES
REMEDIES

WELDING DEFECTS
DEFINITION OF A DEFECT
A defect is one which does not allow
the finished joint to withstand the
required strength.

WELDING DEFECTS

TERMINOLOGIES

MACRO ETCH TEST

WELDING DEFECTS
DEFINITION OF A DEFECT
A defect is one which does not allow
the finished joint to withstand the
required strength.

WELDING DEFECTS
TYPES OF DEFECT:
Crack
Undercut
Blow hole and porosity
Overlap
spatter
Lack of Fusion and Penetration
Excessive convexity
Slag inclusion

WELDING DEFECTS
CRACK:
A hairline separation exhibits in the
root or middle or surface and inside
of the weld metal or parent metal.

WELDING DEFECTS
crack
CAUSES:
Wrong selection of electrode.
Presence of localized stress.
A restrained joint.
Fast cooling.
Improper welding technique/sequence.
Poor ductility.
Absence of preheating and post heating
of the joint.
Excessive sulphur in base metal.

WELDING DEFECTS
crack
There are various types of weld
cracking
Solidification cracking (hot cracking)
Hydrogen cracking (cold cracking)
Liquid cracking

WELDING DEFECTS
Solidification cracking (Hot cracking)
Similar to casting, solidification cracking can
also occur in welding.
It happens at the terminal stage of
solidification due to contraction of solidifying
metal and thermal contraction. (Intergranular
crack)
The less ductile the weld metal is, the more
likely solidification cracking to occur.

WELDING DEFECTS
cracking
Residual stresses in weldment
Residual stresses (internal stresses) are
stresses that would exist in a body after
removing all external loads (normally
due to non uniform temperature
change during welding in this case).

WELDING DEFECTS
Residual stresses in weldment
Weld metal and
adjacent base
metal
Areas further
away
from weld metal

Residual tensile
stresses

Residual
compressive
stresses

WELDING DEFECTS
Residual stresses in weldment

WELDING DEFECTS
Solidification cracking (Hot
cracking)

Restraining
The weldment is restrained after the
first weld, causing solidification
cracking in the second weld in T
joints .

WELDING DEFECTS
Solidification cracking (Hot
cracking)
REMEDY
Controlling composition of the metal to
be welded.
Using filler metal with proper
composition.
Controlling Mn and S content in carbon
and low alloy steels.
Controlling solidification structure: grain
refining, arc oscillation, arc pulsation, etc.

WELDING DEFECTS
Solidification cracking (Hot
cracking)
Controlling weld geometry: concave
fillet weld suffers higher tensile
stress on the face than the convex
fillet weld, deep weld is more
susceptible to solidification cracking.

WELDING DEFECTS
Hydrogen cracking (Cold
cracking)

WELDING DEFECTS
Hydrogen cracking (Cold
cracking)
Hydrogen cracking occurs when
Hydrogen in the weld metal sources moisture from
metal surface, tools, atmosphere, flux,
High stresses
Susceptible microstructure : martensite (HAZ of carbon
steels due to lower diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in
austenite than in ferrite)
combination of hydrogen + martensite promotes
hydrogen cracking.
Relatively low temperature. (-100/-200oC) cold cracking
or delayed cracking.

WELDING DEFECTS
Hydrogen cracking (Cold
cracking)

Remedies for hydrogen cracking

Controlling welding parameters:
proper preheat and interpass
temperature
Postweld treatment: stress relief.
Use proper welding processes and
Materials (consumables), Low
hydrogen electrodes.

WELDING DEFECTS
Liquation cracking form if weld metal
develops sufficient strength to pull
away while Grain Boundary is still
liquid

WELDING DEFECTS
liquation cracking
Remedies for liquation cracking
Use proper filler metal.
Reducing the heat input to lower the
size of PMZ (partially melted zone).
Reducing the degree of restraint,
lowering the level of tensile stresses.
Controlling impurities, suppressing
micro segregation at grain boundaries.
Smaller grain size is better

WELDING DEFECTS
UNDERCUT
UNDERCUT:
A groove or channel formed in the
parent metal at the toe of the weld

WELDING DEFECTS
UNDERCUT
CAUSES OF UNDERCUT:
Current too high
Use of a very short arc length
Welding speed too fast
Overheating of job due to continuous
welding
Faulty electrode manipulation
Wrong electrode angle

WELDING DEFECTS
UNDERCUT
UNDERCUT
Preventive action:
Ensure:
Proper current is set
Correct welding speed is used
Correct arc length is used
Correct manipulation of electrode is followed
Corrective actions:
Deposit a thin stringer bead at the top of the end
using a 2 mm
diameter electrode to fill up the undercut.

WELDING DEFECTS
BLOW HOLE AND POROSITY
BLOW HOLE AND POROSITY:
Blow hole or gas pocket is a large diameter hole inside a bead or
on the surface of the weld caused by gas entrapment .
porosity is a group of fine holes on the surface of the weld
caused by gas
entrapment.
CAUSES:
Presence of contaminants/impurities on the job surface or on the
electrode flux, presence of high sulphur in the job or electrode.
Trapped moisture between joining surface
fast freezing of weld metal.
Improper cleaning of the edges.

WELDING DEFECTS
BLOW HOLES AND POROSITY:

WELDING DEFECTS
BLOW HOLE AND POROSITY
PREVENTIVE ACTION:
Remove oil, grease, rust, paint, moisture
etc. from the surface
use fresh and dried electrodes. Use good
flux coated electrodes
avoid long arcs.
CORRECTIVE ACTION:
If the blow hole or porosity is inside the
weld then gouge the area and re-weld .
If it is on the surface then grind it and reweld

WELDING DEFECTS
OVERLAP
OVERLAP:
An overlap occurs when the molten
metal from the electrode flows
over the parent metal surface
without fusing into it.

WELDING DEFECTS
OVERLAP
CAUSES:
Low current
Slow arc travel speed
Long arc
Too large a diameter electrode
REMEDIES:
Correct current setting
Correct arc travel speed
Correct arc length
Correct diameter electrode as per metal thickness
Proper manipulation of electrode.

WELDING DEFECTS
SPATTERS
SPATTERS:
Small metal particles which are
thrown out of the arc during welding
along the weld.
CAUSES
Welding current too high.
wrong polarity ( in DC ).
use of long arc
uneven flux coated electrode.

WELDING DEFECTS
SPATTERS
REMEDIES:
Use correct current
Use correct polarity
Use correct arc length
Use good flux coated electrode.

WELDING DEFECTS
Lack of Penetration and Fusion
Lack of Penetration

:
Failure of weld metal to reach the root of the joint.
This type of defect tends to be sub surface and is therefore
detectable only by ultrasonics or X-ray methods

Lack of Fusion
Lack of side wall fusion which penetrates the surface may be
detected using magnetic particle, dye or fluorescent penetrant
inspection.
CAUSES:
Edge preparation too narrow
Welding speed is too much
Less current
Use of larger diameter electrode.
Wrong angle of electrode.
Insufficient root gap.

WELDING DEFECTS
Lack of Fusion and Penetration
REMEDIES:
Correct edge preparation is required.
Ensure correct angle of bevel and
required root gap.
Use correct size of electrode.
Correct welding speed is required.
Correct current setting required

Defects due to wrong fit ups

Misalingment
1.thickness misalignment
2.length & width wise misaligment
3.un-even root gap

 Proper seating of items

flat surface
un-even surface should be ground

What to ensure:
Proper clamping
Edge preparation
types of joints
bevel angle
root face
in case of fillet leveling of thickness
machining / gas cutting & grinding
Avoid arc cutting

Some best practices

checking the diagonal

 Proper tacking 150 mm (depending

on the thicness
Use Air plasma cutting / gas cutting
instead of arc cutting
Use proper bridging piece / rod
incase of excess gaps in the fitment.
Use of tie rods

 Use of tie rods

Thank you all