Twi 3.2 Training Spec 05-21 Rev.4 - Student

Document Number: TWI-WIS10 EX-MSR-001
Revision: 2
CSWIP 3.2 – Welding Inspector WIS10
Welding & Fabrication
Training Specification
Training & Examination Services

Granta Park, Great Abington
Cambridge CB21 6AL, UK
Copyright © TWI Ltd 2017
TWI WELDING & FABRICATION
TRAINING SPECIFICATION
Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021
Table of Contents
1 GENERAL 5
1.1 Scope 5
1.2 Reference Codes and Standards 5
2 DEFINITION OF TERMS 6
2.1 General 6
2.2 Definitions 6
3 QUALITY CONTROL 8
3.1 Contractor Requirements 8
3.2 Fabrication Requirements 8
4 JOINT PREPARATION DETAILS 8
4.1 Base Metal Preparation 8
4.2 Bevels 8
4.3 Alignment 9
4.4 Assembly for Welding 9
4.5 Temporary Attachments 10
4.6 Weather Conditions 10
5 WELDING DETAILS 10
5.1 General Requirements 10
5.2 Butt Welds 10
5.3 Fillet Welds 11
5.4 Preheating 11
5.5 Interpass Temperature 12
5.6 Arc Strikes 13
5.7 Weld Identification 13
5.8 Interruption of Welding 13
5.9 Tack Welding 13
5.10 Inter-run Cleaning 14
6 WELDING ACCEPTANCE LEVELS 14
6.1 General 14
6.2 Excess weld metal 14
6.3 Root Profile 14
6.4 Cracks 14
6.5 Porosity and Cavities 14
7 ELDING EQUIPMENT 15
7.1 General 15
7.2 Welding and Cutting Equipment 15
7.3 Equipment for Measuring 16
TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 1 of 52

8 WELDING CONSUMABLES 16
8.1 General 16
8.2 Storage and Handling 16
9 MATERIALS 17
9.1 General 17
9.2 Material Requirements 17
9.3 Material Marking 17
9.4 Material Storage and Handling 17
10 DEFECT REPAIR AND CUT-OUTS 18
10.1 General 18
10.2 Removal of Defects 18
10.3 Preparation for Re-Welding 18
10.4 Re-Welding 18
11 NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING 18
11.1 General 18
11.2 Equipment 19
11.3 Health and Safety Requirements 19
11.4 Documentation and Records 19
11.5 Magnetic Testing Details 19
11.5.1 General 19
11.5.2 Equipment and Consumables 19
11.5.3 Material Preparation 20
11.5.4 Techniques 20
11.6 Penetrant Testing Details 20

11.6.1 General 20
11.7 Ultrasonic Inspection Details 21

11.7.1 General 21
11.7.4 Scanning 22
11.8 Radiographic Inspection 22

11.8.1 General 22
11.8.3 Radiographic Sensitivity 23
11.8.5 Required image quality 24

12 INSPECTION PERSONNEL 24
12.1 General 24
12.2 Vision Requirements 24
13 RECORDS AND REPORTS 25
13.1 General 25
13.2 Frequency of Reports 25
14 SPECIFIC DETAILS FOR WELDING STAINLESS AND DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS 25
14.1 General 25
14.2 Material Details 25
14.3 Joint Preparation Details 26
14.4 Welding Details 26
14.5 Non-Destructive Testing Requirements 26
15 SPECIFIC WELDING DETAILS FOR ALUMINIUM AND ALUMINUM ALLOYS 27
15.1 General 27
15.2 Material Details 27
15.3 Joint Preparation Details 27
15.5 Process 131 28
15.6 Process 141 29
16 SPECIFIC WELDING DETAILS FOR QUENCHED AND TEMPERED STEELS 30
16.1 General 30
17 QUALIFICATION OF WELDING PROCEDURES 31
17.1 General 31
17.3 Essential Variables 32
17.4 Welding of Test Joint 33
17.5 Extent of Testing 33
17.6 Welding Positions 34
17.7 Joint Configuration 34
17.8 Location and Cutting of Test Specimens 34
17.9 Impact Testing (Charpy V-notch) 35
17.10 Tensile Testing 35
17.11 Macro-Examination 36
17.12 Hardness Testing 36
17.13 Fillet Fracture Test 36
17.14 Bend Test 37

18 Qualification of Welders 37
18.1 General 37
18.3 Examination and Testing 37
18.4 Essential Variables and Range of Approval. 38
18.5 Re Tests 40
18.6 Period of Validity 40
18.7 Welding Position Qualification Range. 40
18.8 Tests to be Conducted 41
19 Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) 41
19.1 General 41
19.2 Temperature Measurement 41
19.3 Temperatures and Heating/Cooling Rates 42
19.4 Reports and Records 42
20 Hydrostatic Testing 43
20.1 General 43
20.2 Test Preparation 43
20.3 Flushing 43
20.4 Conducting the Test 43
20.5 Inspection 44
21 Pneumatic Testing 44
21.1 General 44
21.2 Test Preparation 45
21.3 Conducting the Test 45
21.4 Inspection 45
22 Coatings for Structures and Piping 46
22.1 General 46
22.2 Surface Preparation 46
22.3 Coating Application 47
22.4 Inspection 47
22.5 Repair of Damaged Areas (touch-up) 48
23 Protection and Preservation 48
23.1 General 48

1 GENERAL
1.1 Scope
This document defines the technical requirements for the welding and fabrication of both
onshore and offshore structures.
This specification outlines the minimum quality and technical standards for materials,
fabrication and welding, testing, inspection and all personnel involved in the fabrication of
structures used for both the offshore and onshore environments. This document covers
the arc welding of fillet, butt and socket welds in carbon steels, low alloy steels, Austenitic
stainless steels, Austenitic-Ferritic stainless steels and Aluminium.
All the requirements of this document shall be strictly adhered too; no deviation shall be
permitted without a written approval from the Company.
All fabrication and welding activities shall be carried out in a safe manner in accordance
with the applicable codes and standards, to comply with the local government regulations.
1.2 Reference Codes and Standards
The following list of codes and standards are to be used in conjunction with this document,
if any conflicts exist between this document and the codes and standards listed; the
requirements of this document shall apply. The latest revision of all applicable codes and
standards shall be adopted.
BS 499-1 Welding Terms - Glossary for welding, brazing and thermal cutting
BS ENISO 17637 Non-destructive examination of fusion welds – visual examination
BS EN ISO 6520-1 Classification of geometric imperfections in metallic materials – fusion
welding
BS EN 10204 Metallic products - Types of inspection documents
BS EN ISO 2553 Welded, brazed and soldered joints – Symbolic representation on
drawings
BS EN ISO 4063 Welding and allied processes - Nomenclature of processes and
reference numbers
BS EN ISO 2560 Welding consumables - covered electrodes for manual metal arc
welding of non-alloy and fine grain steels - Classification
AWS A5.1 Specification for carbon steel electrodes
AWS A5.4 Specification for stainless steel electrodes for shielded metal arc
welding
AWS A5.5 Specification for low-alloy steel electrodes for shielded metal arc
welding
BS EN ISO 14341 Welding consumables - Wire electrodes and deposits for gas shielded
metal arc welding of non-alloy and fine grain steels - Classification
BS EN 1011 Welding - Recommendations for welding of metallic materials

2 DEFINITION OF TERMS
2.1 General
For the purpose of this document the following definitions shall apply. The terms used in
this documentation are in accordance with BS 499-1 and BS EN ISO 6520-1, other terms
may be encountered from other codes and standards not listed. Where terms encountered
in this document that are not clearly defined, common sense shall prevail.
2.2 Definitions
Company: TWI Ltd

Contractor: An entity performing specific work under contract of the company
Defect: An imperfection of sufficient magnitude to warrant rejection
Imperfection: A discontinuity or irregularity
Indication: Evidence obtained by Non-destructive testing
Welding: An operation in which two or more parts are to be united, by
means of heat or pressure or both.
Weld: A union of pieces of metal made by welding
Welder: The operator who performs the welding
Shop weld: A weld made within the premises of the manufacturer of the
welded assembly
Site weld: A weld made at the location where the assembly is to be installed
Parent metal: Metal to be joined or surfaced during welding
Filler metal: Metal added during welding
Heat affected zone: The part of the parent metal that is metallurgically affected by
the heat of welding
Joint: A connection where the individual components, suitably prepared
and assembled, are joined by welding
Manual welding: Welding in which the operator controls the welding parameters
and the means of making the weld are controlled by hand
Continuous welding: A weld extending along the entire length of the joint
Intermittent welding: A series of welds of the same type and dimension at intervals
along the joint
Arc welding current: Current passing through the electrode.
Are voltage: Electrical potential between contact tip or electrode holder and
work piece
Interpass temperature: Temperature in a multi-run and adjacent parent metal
immediately prior to the application of the next run
Heat input: Energy introduced into the weld region during welding per unit
run Length
Preheat temperature: Temperature of the work piece immediately prior to any welding
operations.
Shall: Denotes a mandatory action.
Should: Denotes a strongly recommended action.

Table 1 - Abbreviations and Symbols

Abbreviations and symbols Term
I Arc welding current
V Arc welding voltage
W Welding speed
k Thermal efficiency factor
Q Heat input
a Nominal throat thickness of a fillet weld
d Diameter of pore
h Height or width of imperfection
l Length of imperfection in longitudinal direction of the

weld
s
Nominal butt weld thickness
t
Parent material thickness
z
Leg length of a fillet weld
CE
Carbon Equivalent
MTC
Material Test Certificate
<
Less than
>
Greater than
≤
Less than and equal to
≥
Greater than and equal to
≈
Approximately

3 QUALITY CONTROL
3.1 Contractor Requirements
All contracting parties involved with the fabrication and welding of structures in accordance
with this document shall have in place a quality management system and quality control
manual. This document shall cover all construction activities.
3.2 Fabrication Requirements
All fabrication and welding activities shall be conducted in accordance with detailed
procedures for the control of quality. The following procedures shall be available and
approved prior to the commencement of fabrication and welding works, all welding and
fabrication works shall be 100% visually inspected.
 Welding and repairs

 Storage, control, and identification of welding consumables
 Welder qualification records
 Inspection/NDT
 Post weld heat treatments (where applicable)
 Parameter checks, and progress of welding
 Material traceability
 NDT traceability
 Inspection test plans (ITP's)
4 JOINT PREPARATION DETAILS
4.1 Base Metal Preparation
All surfaces to be welded shall be visually examined and shall be cleaned to bright metal
for a distance of not less than 30 mm from the edge of the weld bevel. All surface
contaminants including paints, oils, grease, or other foreign substances shall be removed
from the weld bevel. Surface cleaning should be carried out using power cleaning tools,
any cleaning on flame cut bevels shall be carried out using a disc grinder to a smooth finish
sufficiently as to remove the first 3 mm from the flame cut edge. Surface rusting shall be
removed with a rotary wire brush, where the area shows visible pitting, grinding and
ultrasonic thickness checking shall be carried out to ensure reduction of wall thickness has
not exceeded 2%
Note: for specific details on stainless, duplex, QT steels and aluminium, refer to the relevant
sections of this document
4.2 Bevels
The welded bevels shall be bevelled to the dimensions specified in the approved procedure.
In the case of manual welding in the PA, PB, PE, PF, PG, PH, PJ, H-LO 45, J-LO 45 positions,
the bevel angle should be 30° +5° , -0°. In the PC position the bottom bevel 15° +5° , -
0°, top bevel 45° +5° , -0°. For alternative welding processes such as automatic welding
alternative bevel angles may be considered providing they are in accordance with the
approved procedures.

All welded bevels shall be carried out by machining or by machine thermal cutting,
manually or mechanically operated. Manual thermal cutting shall not be used. The only
time that manual thermal cutting shall be considered is the cutting of pipes/plates for
attachment fittings, weldolets, sweepolets, etc., where machining or machine thermal
cutting is not practicable and only if the company gives approval.
Prior to fit-up all bevels shall be subjected to visual and Magnetic Particle (in the case of
ferritic materials) or Penetrant (in the case of non-ferritic materials) inspection.
Any indications found on the bevel faces, score marks, surface breaking laminations,
mechanical damage, lapping or any other imperfection shall be removed by grinding.
This shall be acceptable providing the thickness/depth of the repair area doesn’t exceed
3% of the material thickness. This shall be qualified by the use of UT or a suitable depth-
measuring gauge.
Where pipes/plates are to be cut back for the purpose of attachment fittings, a zone
extending 90 mm back from the proposed position shall be fully examined visually and by
ultrasonic inspection for material imperfections, laminations, laps, folds, segregations etc.
Visual acceptance is given in section 9 of this document.
4.3 Alignment
The alignment of abutting ends shall minimize the offset between surfaces, for pipe and
plate ends, linear misalignment is permissible if the maximum dimension does not exceed
1.5mm. Where parent materials of different thicknesses exist, the thinner of the two
materials shall be taken as the material thickness, in the case of plate welds angular
distortion shall not exceed 5mm.
In the case of longitudinal seamed pipes/vessels, the longitudinal seams shall be offset by
90°. Mitres of welded pipe joints shall not be permitted. Angular misalignment at the weld
toes of less than 3° is not to be classed as a mitre, and is acceptable providing that the
angular misalignment is equally distributed on both sides of the joint to a maximum of
1.5° per side.
In the case of fillet welds, unless otherwise specified, the fusion faces to be joined by fillet
welds shall be in as close contact as possible, maximum gap permitted shall not exceed 3
mm.
A fillet weld as deposited shall not be of less than the specified dimension, see section 5
for more details.
4.4 Assembly for Welding
Parts to be welded shall be assembled in such a way that adequate access is available to
all personnel involved with the welding, inspection and other related activities for
producing the welded joint. Jigs and fixtures may be used where applicable providing no
undue stress is applied to the joint during the welding operation. To minimize stress and
distortion it may be necessary to pre-set joints prior to welding and/or to specify the
welding sequence to assist in the control of stress and distortion, e.g. back step/back skip
welding.

4.5 Temporary Attachments
The use of temporary attachments may be used for the purpose of assembly where the
applicable procedures require them. They shall be used in such a way that they can be
easily removed without any damage occurring to the structure, all materials used for the
temporary attachments shall be compatible with the parent material. All temporary
attachments shall be carefully removed after use, where removal is carried out by air-arc
gouging, arc gouging or flame cutting; the cut shall be made clear of any parent material
such that 3.0 mm of the temporary attachment is left for final removal by grinding smooth.
After such an operation, 100% inspection on the affected area of the parent material shall
be carried out. If any imperfections are found e.g. undercut or under flushing these areas
shall be blended smooth, they shall be considered acceptable proving the depth doesn’t
exceed 2% of the parent materials thickness. This shall be verified by the used of ultrasonic
inspection or a suitable depth gauge.
Note: Removal of temporary attachments by hammering or bending is not permitted.
4.6 Weather Conditions
All areas of welding shall be adequately protected from wind, moisture, snow blizzards etc.
Maximum air velocity for welding processes shall be limited as follows:
 111. 20 mph (32 km/h)

 136. 15 mph (24 km/h
 141. 5.0 mph (8 km/h)
Note: The engineer shall state whether welding shall not be carried out because prevailing weather
conditions could impair the quality of the completed weld.
5 WELDING DETAILS
5.1 General Requirements
Only qualified welders shall carry out the welding in accordance with the applicable
qualified
welding procedures. The surface to be welded shall be free from any contaminants, grease,
paints, scale, rust and any other foreign materials that may adversely affect the quality of
the welded joint. The joint design, root gap, root face, bevel angles, alignments etc. shall
be in accordance with this document and the approved welding procedure specifications
applicable.
5.2 Butt Welds
All butt welds shall be welded in such a way that the entire groove is completely filled (at
no point shall the weld face be lower than the parent material). The ends of the butt weld
shall be welded in such a way as to allow the full length and thickness of the groove to be
filled; this may be achieved by the use of run-off/run-on plates. If required a suitable
backing material may be used to support the root during welding, this material shall be
metallurgically compatible with both the filler and parent plate/pipe material. No
permanent backing materials shall be used.

In all butt welds, no joints shall be completed with a single pass welding technique, i.e. a
minimum of two weld passes shall be applied. Excessive weaving techniques shall be
avoided with a maximum weave of 2 times that of the electrode diameter permitted.
In the case of full penetration butt welds, which are to be welded from both sides, the
back of the first run shall be cleaned out prior to the welding of the second side. This shall
be achieved by a suitable means to clean to sound metal, this shall be inspected before
commencement of welding on the second side by both visual and magnetic particle
inspection, in the case of non-ferrous materials both visual and dye penetrant inspection.
5.3 Fillet Welds
Welding shall not have start/stop near corners; the welding shall be continued around the
corners. All fillet welds shall be made with a minimum of two weld passes, in the case of
a two weld pass fillet weld, the second pass to be applied as close to the extremity of the
first pass without impinging onto the pipe. Slip on flanges ≤ 100 mm shall have one weld
run deposited on the inside providing any tack welds are positioned on the backside prior
to welding.
The deposited fillet weld dimensions shall be as follows:
Leg Length Throat Thickness
 Minimum = t  Minimum = t x 0.7

 Maximum = t + 3 mm  Maximum = t + 0.5 mm
Note: In the case of different thicknesses, welding is to be based on the minimum t
5.4 Preheating
For the welding of ferritic steels, the area of the joint that is subjected to preheat shall
extend around the entire periphery of the pipe or the parts to be welded. In each case the
area extending not less than 100 mm on each side of the joint shall be maintained at the
required temperature. Where practicable, the temperature shall be measured on the face
opposite to that on which the heat is applied. If this is not practicable, the temperature
shall be confirmed on the heated faces at a time after the removal of the heat source, this
shall be related to the parent material thickness, this is to allow for temperature
equalization. The time shall be 2 minutes for a thickness not greater than 25 mm, with an
additional 1 minute for each 12 mm above that thickness. Preheating shall be applied by
either gas or electrical means but under no circumstances shall preheating be carried out
using a gas flame cutter. Care should always be taken to avoid damage to the parent
material and any applicable coatings.
The Minimum shall be determined by temperature indicating crayons, the type which melt
or by suitably attached calibrated thermocouples or pyrometers.
Note: Crayons or paints, which indicate temperature by colour change, are not permitted.
The above only refers to the welding of ferritic steels, when welding stainless steels preheat
should be avoided. See section 14 for specific details on the welding of stainless steels
The pre-heats are based on weldability trials and the following factors:
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑥 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑠 𝑥 𝑘
 Heat Input:
𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑥 1000

 Hydrogen scale: A, B, C, D, E
 Combined material thickness
𝑀𝑛 𝐶𝑟+𝑀𝑜+𝑉 𝑁𝑖+𝐶𝑢
 Carbon equivalent: 𝐶𝐸% = 𝐶 + + +
5 5 15
Note: Thermal efficiency values to be applied.
Table 2 – Preheat Values
Hydrogen Scale A & B,
Heat Input Temperature °C Combined Carbon Equivalent (CE)

Value kJ/mm Thickness
< 0.5 175°C Any thickness < 0.45 %
≥ 0.5 < 2.0 150°C Any thickness < 0.45 %
≥ 2.0 < 4.0 100°C ≤ 80 mm < 0.45 %
≥ 4.0 < 5.0 125°C > 80 mm < 0.45 %
≥ 5.0 No Preheat required Any thickness < 0.45 %
Table 2a – Preheat Values
Hydrogen Scale C, D & D, E
Heat Input Temperature °C Combined Carbon Equivalent (CE)

Value kJ/mm Thickness
< 0.5 150°C Any thickness < 0.45 %
≥ 0.5 ≤2.0 125°C Any thickness < 0.45 %
≥ 2.0 < 4.0 75°C ≤ 80 mm < 0.45 %
≥ 3.0 < 4.2 50°C > 80 mm < 0.45 %
≥ 5.0 No Preheat required Any thickness < 0.4 %

Note: For CE values of 0.45% and above an additional 50°C preheat temperature is required from
the values shown in the above tables.
5.5 Interpass Temperature
The maximum interpass temperature or preheat temperature for ferritic steels shall not
exceed 250°C. The minimum interpass temperature shall not drop below the minimum
calculated preheat temperature. Temperatures shall be monitored by the same as for
preheat temperatures.
Note: The above only refers to the welding of ferritic steels, when welding stainless steels. See
section 14 for specific details on the welding of stainless steels.

5.6 Arc Strikes
Arc strikes outside the weld groove area shall be removed by grinding. All arc strikes
outside the groove area shall be subjected to magnetic particle inspection. (In the case of
non-ferritic steels Penetrant inspection shall be used). All indications of cracking shall be
again subjected to grinding and re-inspection to ensure complete removal.
Where arc strikes have been repaired by grinding confirmation that the thickness of the
parent material is within the permitted tolerances, this shall be a thickness reduction of
no more than 2% of the original material thickness, confirmation shall either be by
ultrasonic inspection or a suitable depth gauge.
5.7 Weld Identification
A weld number shall identify all welds; if the weld has been repaired the letter “R”
indicating a “repair weld” shall follow the weld number. If the weld has to be removed the
letters “RW”, indicating a re-weld, shall follow the weld number. If the re-weld has to be
repaired, the letters “RWR”, indicating re-weld repair, shall follow the weld number.
Note: Either a permanent paint stick marker or a low stress metal stamp shall only be used for
weld identifications.
5.8 Interruption of Welding
Whenever possible, welding of joints shall be completed in one continuous operation.

Where interruption is unavoidable the following shall apply:
 For material thicknesses ≤ 25 mm, a minimum of two weld passes shall be completed
over the full weld thickness and length (root and hot pass).
 For material thicknesses > 25 mm, a minimum of three weld passes shall be
completed over the full weld thickness and length.
In the case of all joints, when welding is interrupted the joint shall be protected from
contamination, moisture etc. and shall be cooled in a slow uniform manner.
Prior to the recommencement of welding, the joint shall be subjected to the same preheat
temperatures as specified.
Note: In all cases the company shall approve all interruption of welding.
5.9 Tack Welding
In all cases the use of clamps is preferred over tack welding. If tack welds are to be used,
tack welding shall only be carried out by qualified welders, these tack welds shall be
subjected to the same preheat and interpass temperatures as groove/fillet welding and
the following shall apply:
 All tack welds performed to hold members in alignment which will not be incorporated
into the completed weld (bridge tacking) shall be removed by grinding prior to the
welding approaching the tack area.
 All tack welds that will be incorporated into the completed weld, prior to the
continuation of welding, the tack weld shall be ground to a feather edge to permit
acceptable weld metal tie-in. The tack weld shall have a minimum length of 45 mm
or 20% of the total weld length whichever is the less.

5.10 Inter-run Cleaning
Each weld pass shall be thoroughly cleaned before the commencement of the next weld
pass. The cleaning may be performed by hand or power tools. All scale and slag shall be
removed. All stop/starts shall be blended smooth.
6 WELDING ACCEPTANCE LEVELS
6.1 General
All welds shall be subjected to visual inspection. Inspection of welds during welding shall
be carried out on the root pass where practicable. All weld caps shall be examined, all
inspected welds shall comply with the acceptance levels in this document, any imperfection
found which does not comply to the acceptance levels of the document shall be cause for
rejection.
6.2 Excess weld metal
Excess weld metal (reinforcement) shall be uniform and not greater than 2.0 mm in height.
The toes of the weld shall blend smoothly with the parent material with no sharp indications
visible. The weld toes shall not extend into the parent material by more than 2.5 mm on
either side of the weld. At no point shall the weld face be lower than the plate/pipe surface.
Note: Acceptance for fillet weld sizes shall comply with section 5 of this document.
6.3 Root Profile
The root pass shall blend smoothly with the parent material with no sharp indications
visible. The penetration bead shall not exceed 3 mm.
6.4 Cracks
Not permitted
If cracks are found in a weld the entire weld shall be cut out, under no circumstances shall
welds with positively identified cracks be repaired.
Note: With the approval of the company, crater cracks of no less than 5 mm maybe repaired.
6.5 Porosity and Cavities
Maximum permitted individual pore dimension
 Butt Welds: 1.5mm max

 Fillet Welds: 1.5mm max
In the case of elongated cavities (wormholes), the maximum length permitted shall not
exceed 15 mm in any continuous or intermittent length.
In the case of clustered porosity the area shall not exceed 50mm2.

Table 3 - Acceptance Criteria for Welds
No Defect Type Acceptance Criteria
1 Slag/Silica inclusions The length of the slag/silica inclusion shall not exceed 50 mm in
any continuous or intermittent length. Accumulative total length
shall not exceed 50 mm.
2 Undercut No sharp undercut shall be permitted. The maximum length

shall not exceed 50mm in any continuous or intermittent length.
Accumulative total length shall not exceed 50 mm. The depth
shall not be greater than 1.0 mm. Root undercut not permitted
3 Lack of fusion Surface breaking lack of sidewall fusion shall not exceed 15 mm
in any continuous or intermittent length. Accumulative total
length shall not exceed 15 mm in any weld length
4 Lack of root penetration Not permitted
5 Lack of root fusion Accumulative 50 mm max, continuous or intermittent
6 Burn Through Not permitted
7 Root concavity 50 mm maximum length. 3mm maximum depth
8 Cold Lap/Overlap Not Permitted.
9 Oxidized Root Not Permitted.
10 Mechanical damage No stray tack welds permitted. All grinding/chipping/hard

stamping/hammer marks shall be blended smoothly
7 ELDING EQUIPMENT
7.1 General
The contracting parties carrying out the fabrication works shall be responsible for ensuring
that all the equipment required is in a good safe working order.
7.2 Welding and Cutting Equipment
All welding plant and cutting equipment shall have the capacity necessary to produce a
sound weld in accordance with the relevant procedures being adopted. All welding plant
and cutting equipment shall be calibrated every 3 months with maintenance records
available. Cabling must be sufficiently insulated and of a sufficient cross section to carry
the required value without overheating. Equipment not meeting these requirements shall
be replace
Note: All welding plant shall have an OCV not exceeding 90 volts.

7.3 Equipment for Measuring
All equipment required for measuring shall have a valid certificate of calibration, calibration
shall be carried out every 12 months, these dates shall be clearly visible either on the
measuring device itself or be available in the form of documentation, with a clear
traceability to the measuring device in question.
Adequate means of measuring welding parameters such as welding current, welding

voltage and travel speeds shall be available.
8 WELDING CONSUMABLES
8.1 General
Electrodes, filler wires, wire/flux combinations and flux types shall be such that they
produce a sound weld meeting the requirements of the applicable procedures being
adopted. The completed weld metal shall have a tensile strength value at least equal to
the minimum specified for the parent material. In the case of dissimilar joints, the weld
metal shall have a tensile strength at least equal to that of the higher strength material.
The chemical composition of the deposited weld metal shall be compatible to that of the
parent material. All welding consumable shall be free from damage, chips, contamination,
and used within the recommendations of the manufacturer.
8.2 Storage and Handling
All SAW fluxes shall be stored in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
SAW flux maybe recycled provided the reused flux is free from all contaminates, slag, mill
scale and another foreign matter. All recycled fluxes shall be mixed with an equal amount
of new flux before being used (50:50ratio)
All MMA welding consumable shall be treated in accordance with the manufacturer's
detailed recommendations. When it is necessary to dry and bake the consumable, the
consumables shall be removed from its original container prior to any applicable heat
treatments, after the heat treatment the consumables shall be stored in such a way as to
keep them free from moisture intake, i.e. drying ovens. In the case of consumables that
have been vacuum packed, these shall be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s
recommendations. In the case of hydrogen controlled consumables it is recommended that
the welders be issued with electrodes in a heated quiver.
Note: All drying and baking ovens for welding consumables shall be provided with the means of
measuring the oven temperatures.
Shielding gases shall be stored and kept in the original supplied containers and these shall
be stored in such a way as to avoid extreme temperatures. Gases shall only be used in the
containers supplied by the manufacturer with no mixing of gases to be conducted on site.
All gas containers shall be clearly marked without any signs of damage; containers, which
don’t comply, shall not be used.

9 MATERIALS
9.1 General
All materials to be used in fabrication shall be in a clean, corrosion free condition; no

evidence of surface pitting shall be visible. Materials with laminations shall not be used in
any fabrication,
C-Mn steel >25mm thickness must have a lamination check and this must be referenced
on the mill certificate. Materials not having a valid mill certificate shall not be used under
any circumstances. Both contractor and client inspectors shall inspect all materials arriving
on site; materials not complying with the requirements shall be quarantined until the
materials do comply with the requirements of this document. All materials arriving on site
shall only be purchased from company approved manufacturers list.
9.2 Material Requirements
 All structural steel shall be new stock.

 Spiral welded pipe shall not be used.
 Electric-resistance welded (ERW) pipes shall not be used.
 No materials with a CE% above 0.48 shall be used for fabrication purposes.
 Contractor shall maintain all material traceability, showing the material heat
numbers of all major load bearing structural members.
 Contractor shall mark each mill certificate with the contractor’s job number, item
number to be used, quantity to be used, e.g. number of meters and the area of
structure for the material.
Contractor shall maintain traceability maps showing the material heat numbers of all major
load-bearing structural members.
Note: for specific details on stainless, duplex, QT steels and aluminium, refer to the relevant
sections of this document
9.3 Material Marking
All steels shall be suitably marked upon delivery to the contractor’s fabrication yard. The
steel shall be marked in such a way that the type of steel, heat number and any applicable
special tests can be easily recognized.
All heat numbers or other identification markings shall be transferred from piece to piece
prior to cutting, cut pieces shall be remarked in the same way as the original markings.
All markings shall be stencilled with a suitable marker or a low stress concentration die on
both ends of each item.
9.4 Material Storage and Handling
All structural materials shall be stored above ground on flat surfaces or platform type skids.
Materials shall be stored in such a way that they are kept free from dirt, grease, paint
spray or any other foreign matter and kept free from corrosion. In the case of stainless
steel grades these shall be stored in a separate area from ferritic steels, covered over at
all times, and no contact to be made with ferritic materials at any time, e.g. fork lift trucks

shall be suitably protected against steel to steel contact, all lifting equipment shall be used
in such a way as to avoid ferritic contact with the stainless materials.
10 DEFECT REPAIR AND CUT-OUTS
10.1 General
All weld repairs shall be conducted in accordance with the weld repair procedures and only
conducted by qualified welders. No weld repair or cut-out shall be conducted without the
authorization of the company. All repairs shall be witnesses 100% by a qualified welding
Inspector. A weld may only be repaired once, if the weld still contains unacceptable defects
in accordance with this document the entire weld shall be removed. Cracks, see general
acceptance levels section 6.
10.2 Removal of Defects
All welds that fail to comply with the requirements of this document shall either be repaired
or the entire weld removed. Repairs shall not be carried out until full inspection has been
conducted.
Defects shall be removed by grinding or air-arc gouging. When arc-air gouging is

employed, the resultant removal cavity shall be ground to clean base metal before any
welding can commence. Entire weld removal may be carried out by thermal cutting.
When thermal gouging or thermal cutting is being used, the last 10% through the root of
the weld shall be removed by mechanical grinding.
10.3 Preparation for Re-Welding
In the case of a partial weld removal, the cut out portion shall be sufficiently deep and
long enough to remove the entire defect. At the ends and sides of the excavation area
there shall be a gradual taper from the base of the cut to the surface of the weld metal.
The width and profile of the excavation shall give adequate access for re-welding. The
repair groove shall be inspected by dye penetrant or magnetic particle inspection to ensure
that the defect has been entirely removed.
In the case of a cut-out, involving the entire defective weld to be removed, the weld
preparation shall be re-made in accordance with the requirements of this document.
10.4 Re-Welding
A repair weld shall be subjected to the same testing and inspection as the original weld,
with a pre-heat temperature 75°C above that of the original weld preheat temperature.
Repair welds shall be limited to 25% of the original weld length, defects that exceed this
value require the entire weld to be removed. All re-welding shall only be carried out under
full supervision from a qualified welding inspector; no vertical down welding is permitted
for weld repairs. Full records and reports of all repairs shall be maintained.
11 NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
11.1 General
Contractor shall propose specific procedures for all NDT methods to be used e.g. MT, PT,
UT and RT. Contractor shall only use NDT personnel qualified to EN ISO 9712 level II as a

minimum in the applicable discipline, this also includes any third party inspection services.
All third party inspection service companies can only be used with approval from the
company.
Whenever radiography is employed as the main NDT method, a percentage of welds shall
be inspected by ultrasonic testing. As a minimum 100% of the first 10 welds, after which
100% of one weld after every 25 welds completed.
Note: 100% of the weld shall be tested by the inspection method being used.
11.2 Equipment
All contracting and third parties conducting NDT shall provide a full list of all inspection
equipment to be used including all relevant calibration certificates; this shall also include
a comprehensive spare parts list.
11.3 Health and Safety Requirements
Contractor shall be solely responsible for all safety concerns associated with the NDT
methods being employed. When using radioactive materials these shall comply with the
government regulations and possess a permit from the relevant national atomic energy
agency.
11.4 Documentation and Records
All completed NDT reports shall be submitted to the company for approval and signature.
The NDT technician performing the inspection shall sign all reports.
All NDT reports shall have an original copy issued to the company and a soft and hard copy
retained in the job file.
All discontinuities detected shall have both the length and position from datum reported.
UT reports shall also include the discontinuities depth.
11.5 Magnetic Testing Details
11.5.1 General
MT is for the purpose of detecting surface discontinuities in ferrous butt welds, fillet welds
and ferromagnetic components. Wet continuous technique shall be used in all cases except
for the inspection of hot materials and components (>60°C).
11.5.2 Equipment and Consumables

Magnetization shall only be carried out using an AC Yoke (DC Yokes shall not be used).
Pole spacing’s shall be a minimum of 150mm and a maximum of 300mm. AC yolk lift test
with a weight of 4.5kg, Permanent magnets lift test with a weight of 18kg
Magnetizing method to be used shall show three indications on a Castrol Burma Strip
(Brass type). If this cannot be achieved then the magnetizing method must be changed or
adjusted.
Indicating medium shall be a water or solvent suspension of black ferromagnetic particles.

Only company-approved trade names may be used. Indicating medium shall be
periodically agitated to assure correct concentration of particles, only aerosol magnetic
inks supplied by the manufacturer shall be used. Where black ink particles are being used

a white contrast paint shall be applied prior to inspection, this shall be supplied by the
same manufacturer as the black ink particles i.e. no mixing of manufacturers shall be
permitted.
Note: The use of permanent magnets shall only be used on live plant as a safety precaution and
then only by prior Company approval.
Fluorescent methods shall not be considered.
11.5.3 Material Preparation

All surfaces at least 30 mm either side of the area to be tested shall be free from welding
slag, scale, grease, oil, excessive weld spatter and any other foreign material which may
interfere with inspection.
11.5.4 Techniques
 Apply white contrast paint where black particles are to be used.
 Magnetize the weld area or area to be inspected. Large weld areas may require
multiple inspections to cover the entire surface or test area to be inspected.
 While the component is magnetized, apply ink and inspect for indications. Black
particle inks shall be inspected in a well-lit area of no less than 500 Lux.
Evaluation of imperfections shall be assessed in accordance with section 6 of this
document.
11.6 Penetrant Testing Details
11.6.1 General
Penetrant testing shall only be used for the detection of surface breaking defects on non-
ferrous materials e.g. austenitic grade stainless steels, Duplex grade stainless steels and
copper, Aluminium based materials. Colour contrast solvent based penetrants shall be
used at all times, the use of any other penetrant technique e.g. water based or fluorescent
may only be used with company approval. PT shall only be used at a temperature between
10°C and 50°C.

For colour contrast inspections the test area shall be illuminated by daylight or artificial
light not less than 500 Lux.
When company permits fluorescent inspections the UV-A irradiance at the surface under
inspection shall not be less than 10 W/m2 (1000 µW/cm2) with a maximum background
light of 20 Lux.
Only company approved trade names shall be used, all consumables used shall be from
the same manufacturer i.e. no mixing of manufacturers shall be permitted.

All surfaces at least 30 mm either side of the area to be tested shall be free from welding
slag, scale, grease, oil, excessive weld spatter and any other foreign material which may
interfere with inspection. All surfaces to be inspected by PT shall be cleaned thoroughly
using a solvent based cleaner.

11.6.4 Techniques
 Cleaning, all cleaning shall be carried out as above
 Application, the entire area to be tested shall have a uniform coating of penetrant
applied by spraying or brushing. Penetrant shall be left in contact with the component
under test for a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes; at no time
shall the penetrant be allowed to dry. If this does occur the penetrant process must
be started again.
 Penetrant removal, all excess penetrant shall be removed initially by wiping with a
lint free cloth. If further traces of penetrant are still present, this may be removed
by a solvent dampened cloth; under no circumstances shall solvent remover be
applied directly to the component. Before the application of the developer it is
essential that all surfaces are completely dry.
 Application of Developer, a non-aqueous developer shall be applied uniformly in a
thin layer across the entire test surface
 Inspection, inspection of the test surface shall start immediately the developer is
applied, any signs of penetrant bleed-out may indicate the presence of
discontinuities.
Evaluation of imperfections shall be assessed in accordance with section 6 of this
document.
11.7 Ultrasonic Inspection Details
11.7.1 General
UT shall be used for the detection of sub-surface discontinuities; UT shall not be carried
out on any Austenitic grade stainless steels. Duplex stainless steels and Aluminium may
be considered providing sufficient attenuation checks have been conducted and then only
by company approval. All UT technicians supplied by either contractor or third party NDT
companies shall be subjected to company UT cross checking. UT shall only be considered
as a primary NDT method for the following:
 Material thicknesses > 80 mm

 Tee butt welds
 Cruciform Butt welds
 Set-through Butt welds (including nozzles)
 Set-on Butt welds (including nozzles)

Couplant used shall be a gel or grease (water based couplants shall not be considered)
suitable for transmission of sound waves into the material under test. Couplant used for
calibration shall be identical to that used for testing.
Reference blocks shall be V1 (A2) and or V2 (A4), IOW Black (used for beam profiles) and
RC Block (used for resolution checks).
Probes to be used for weld body scanning (cap as welded) are 45°, 60° and 70° refraction
angles, 4MHz to 5MHz frequency with a single crystal area approximately 80 mm2. Parent
material scanning and weld cap dressed flush, 0° 4MHz to 5MHz with a twin crystal area
approximately 80 mm2.

The detection unit used shall be calibrated and shall be capable of operating with a
frequency range of 1.5 MHz to 6 MHz.
Note: For materials < 15mm, the omission of a 450 probe shall apply

Before ultrasonic inspection is carried out a zone of sufficient size (no less than 90 mm)
shall be thoroughly cleaned with all spatter, scale, slag removed, either side of the weld.
Any paint or other surface coatings, which interfere with the weld scanning, shall be
removed. The surface profile shall be sufficiently regular as to permit a uniform contact
between probe and parent material throughout the test. When echoes from the
reinforcement are likely to interfere with the test, the reinforcement shall be dressed to a
smooth profile. Prior to inspection the area adjacent to the weld is to be inspected by a 0o
compression probe to confirm the material thickness under test and to detect the presence
of any laminations, which may interfere with the ultrasonic inspection.
11.7.4 Scanning
Test sensitivity for angle probes shall be set so that the echo from a 1.5 mm side drilled
hole (V1 (A2) or V2(A4) block) is 80% full screen height. Test sensitivity for compression
probes shall be set so the 2nd back wall echo from test depth is 80% full screen height. In
both cases, when scanning an addition 6 dB shall be added. The weld shall be scanned in
a zig zag manner, the probe being moved between the weld reinforcement and skip
distance/full skip distance. The beam shall be directed at the weld length normally. The
weld shall be scanned from both sides. Evaluation of imperfections shall be conducted in
accordance with section 6 of this document.
The methods which shall be used for the sizing of any imperfection found.
 20 dB drop method:
For imperfections with dimensions smaller than the probe beam spread at the
discontinuity beam path.
 6 dB drop method:
For imperfection with dimensions larger than the probe beam spread at the
discontinuity beam path.
Note: Automatic Ultrasonic Inspection may be considered but only with the approval of the
company.
11.8 Radiographic Inspection
11.8.1 General
RT shall be used for the detection of sub-surface discontinuities (surface discontinuities
may also be detected with RT which may have been missed by a surface detection NDT
method) RT shall be considered as the primary NDT method unless the conditions of 11.7.1
exist. RT (X and/or Gamma) shall be conducted on Butt Welded Joints (including the HAZ
area) for pipes, plate, vessels and structures of both ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
Radiography shall only be conducted by personnel holding a current national radiation
safety certificate.

Radiation sources Ir 192 shall have a maximum source dimension of 3 x 3 mm; no sources
shall be used for the purpose of weld inspection that have an intensity less than 444 GBq.

For the purposes of safety a maximum of 60 Ci isotopes are permitted for use on site. The
use of Se 75 is preferable for the inspection of welds with a penetrated thickness from 14
up to 40 mm.
X-Ray units shall be capable of an output not less than 250 kV, with a focal spot size no
greater than 4 mm; any radiation source used shall be subject of annual stability check.
Radiographic film for industrial purpose shall be used, film class C4, C5 or C6. For all
gamma radiography and X radiography above 120 kV, lead screens shall be used. All
unexposed film shall be stored in a clean dry area where surrounding conditions will not
deteriorate the condition of the film
All chemicals used for the processing of films shall be in accordance with the
manufacturer’s recommendations.
The following equipment shall be available in the viewing area:
 Densitometer with a certified density strip

 Film viewer capable of viewing exposed films of optical densities up to 4.
 Magnifying glass (10x magnification)
 All applicable codes and standards
Film Identification, films shall be identified as to the company requirements with lead
letters. A number belt with numbers at regular intervals shall be used to ensure complete
coverage. The minimum identification to be provided on the radiograph shall be:
 Date
 Job Number and Weld Identification number
 Datum point
 Image Quality Indicator (IQI)
11.8.3 Radiographic Sensitivity

Exposed radiographs shall have an optical density within region of interest of a minimum
of 2.0 and a maximum of 3.5, the density shall be assessed by a calibrated densitometer.
11.8.4 Techniques
The following radiographic techniques (where possible and practicable) shall be used as
required to ensure full radiographic coverage.
 Double wall Double Image (DWDI perpendicular arrangement) for pipe diameter up
to 100 mm, minimum of three exposures.
 Double wall Double Image (DWDI elliptical arrangement) for pipe diameter up to 100
mm and wall thickness up to 8 mm, minimum of two exposures
 Double Wall Single Image (DWSI) for pipe diameters above 100 mm up to 660 mm,
a minimum of four exposures are required. Pipe diameters above 660 mm to 1100
mm, a minimum of 5 exposures are required. Pipe diameters above 1100 mm require
a minimum of 6 exposures; more may be required as to the Company requirements.
 Single Wall Single Image (panoramic technique) is preferable for all pipe diameters
above 300 mm up to 2000 mm.

 Single Wall Single Image (source outside film inside) is preferable for all pipe
diameters above 660, mm maximum length of inspected area is 160 mm.
Note: Minimum SFD/FFD shall be calculated using the material thickness and the maximum Ug
value (0.25 mm) permitted.
Evaluation of imperfections shall be conducted in accordance with section 6 of this

document.
Note: Only an BS EN ISO 9712 Radiographic level II qualified person shall be permitted to sign off
viewed radiographs.
11.8.5 Required image quality
IQI position (on the…)

Penetrated thickness
source side film side
Over 1.8 mm through 3.2 mm W16 W17
Over 3.2 mm through 5 mm W15 W16
Over 5 mm through 7 mm W14 W15
12 INSPECTION PERSONNEL
12.1 General
All personnel involved with the inspection of welds and related activities shall be qualified
to a minimum of level II and certified by an approved certification body, which meet the
current requirements of BS EN ISO 9712
12.2 Vision Requirements
 All inspection personnel shall have satisfactory vision as determined by an oculist,

optometrist or medically recognized person in accordance with the following
requirements
 Near vision acuity shall permit reading a minimum of Jaeger number 1 or Times
Roman N4.5 at not less than 30 cm with one or both eye, either corrected or
uncorrected.
 Colour vision shall be sufficient that they can distinguish and differentiate contrast
between colours used in the NDT method concerned as specified by the company.
Note: A documented vision test shall be carried out at least once a year.

13 RECORDS AND REPORTS
13.1 General
Contractor shall provide Company's welding inspector with a daily report of all welding and
related activities. The report shall show as a minimum, weld number, radiograph number
(if applicable), All UT, MPI, DPI report numbers (If applicable), status of each welded joint
(accepted, repaired and accepted, rejected or cut-out), welder(s) ID numbers, heat
treatment reports and any other applicable details. The reports shall be presented on a
format approved by the Company; no other report formats shall be permitted.
13.2 Frequency of Reports
The time between inspection date and report shall not exceed 48 hours for all inspection
methods.
14 SPECIFIC DETAILS FOR WELDING STAINLESS AND DUPLEX STAINLESS

STEELS
14.1 General
All fabrication of stainless steel and duplex grades shall be segregated from all other works
and kept free from any possible contaminating materials such as copper, carbon steels,
zinc etc.
All tools used in the fabrication of stainless steels shall be kept separate from other tools
and clearly marked with a colour code. This includes grinding wheels; wire brushes
(stainless wire only) etc. and should be kept in thoroughly cleaned condition. All
workbenches shall be either stainless steel or suitably covered with a covering material of
sufficient thickness as to avoid carbon to stainless contact.
All stainless steels shall be stored under cover and on wooded blocks of sufficient thickness
for the material to be stored a minimum of 320 mm off the ground.
14.2 Material Details
All Austenitic Stainless steels for fabrication welding shall be of the grade 316L, with a
maximum carbon content of 0.03%. All Austenitic Stainless Steels shall be supplied in a
solution-annealed condition, de-scaled, pickled and passivated. Any cold working should
be carried out before final heat treatment. All Austenitic Stainless Steels shall be subjected
to positive material identification (PMI) before being issued for site use for alloy content
verification.
All Duplex Stainless Steels for fabrication and welding shall have a Nitrogen content not
less than 0.14% and a ferrite content between 40% and 60% for the base material and
30% to 55% for the weld metal. All Duplex Stainless Steels shall be supplied in a solution-
annealed condition, de-scaled, pickled and passivated, after welding the weld shall
undergo the same treatment. Any cold working should be carried out before final heat
treatment. All Duplex Stainless Steels shall be subjected to a ferrite check after welding
and positive material identification (PMI) before being issued for site use for alloy content
verification.

14.3 Joint Preparation Details
Generally no special joint preparations are required for the welding of Austenitic Stainless
steels and Duplex stainless steels. Any thermally cut bevels for welding shall be
mechanically ground or machined back from the cut edge by at least 5 mm to eliminate
any contamination from the thermal cutting process. Hard stamping should be avoided;
when this is unavoidable the hard stampings shall be of the rounded type and not applied
in any high stress concentration areas.
14.4 Welding Details
The use of preheat should be avoided and may only be considered when approved by the
Company. All welding of stainless steels and duplex grades shall be monitored 100% by
an approved welding inspector with amps, volts, travel speed and heat input being
recorded at all times, these records shall be made available to the company upon request.
Only welding process 141 shall be used for the root pass and second pass on all Austenitic
and Duplex stainless steels, other welding processes may be considered for the filler and
capping passes with Company approval. In all cases stringer beads only shall be applied.
Shielding gasses for both Austenitic and Duplex stainless steels shall be of a purity of
99.99% Ar with oxygen content for backing gasses prior to welding 500ppm maximum.
The following variables shall be strictly adhered to at all times:
 Heat Input: 18 to 22Cr 0.5 to 1.75 kJ/mm

 Heat Input: 23 to 25Cr 0.5 to 1.50 kJ/mm
 Interpass Temperature: 18 to 22Cr 175°C Maximum
 Interpass Temperature: 23 to 25Cr 150°C Maximum
After welding it is essential that all surface slag, scale and any other contaminations are
removed this may be conducted by mechanical means or by wire brushing (stainless steel
only).
Post weld heat treatments are generally not necessary for both Austenitic and Duplex
stainless steels. Heat treatments however may be required for the purpose of stress
reliving after extensive cold working, cold deformation etc. These heat treatments may
only be carried out if approved by Company at a maximum temperature of 450°C
14.5 Non-Destructive Testing Requirements
For both Austenitic and Duplex stainless steels the following shall be applied
 100% Visual Inspection on all welds

 100% Penetrant testing on all welds
 100% Radiography on all butt welds
document.
Note: Ultrasonic Inspection may be considered as a back-up only on Duplex stainless steel and
only with prior Company approval.

15 SPECIFIC WELDING DETAILS FOR ALUMINIUM AND ALUMINUM ALLOYS
15.1 General
All fabrication of Aluminium and Aluminium alloys shall be segregated from all other works
and kept free from any possible contaminating materials such as copper, carbon steels,
zinc etc.
All tools used in the fabrication of Aluminium and Aluminium alloys shall be kept separate
from other tools and clearly marked with a colour code. This includes grinding wheels; wire
brushes (stainless wire only) etc. and should be kept in thoroughly cleaned condition. All
workbenches shall be free from any ferritic base material or suitably covered with a
covering material of sufficient thickness as to avoid ferrite to aluminium contact.
All aluminium and aluminium alloys shall be stored under cover, Plates are to be stored in
the vertical position as to minimize moisture condensation and long term moisture
collection between layers. All aluminium and aluminium shall be stored on wooded blocks
of sufficient thickness for the material to be stored a minimum of 320 mm off the ground.
Note: All filler materials and base materials shall be brought into the welding area no less than 24
hours before the commencement of all welding operations, to ensure they are at room
temperature.
15.2 Material Details
Series 1XXX, 3XXX and 7XXX aluminium and aluminium alloys shall not be used for the
purpose of fabrication and welding. All aluminium and aluminium alloys shall be free from
all cutting oils and other contaminations.
15.3 Joint Preparation Details
All cutting of Aluminium and aluminium alloys shall be conducted using either; plasma arc,
laser or by suitable mechanical means (the use of cutting lubricants shall be avoided). The
use of oxy-fuel gas cutting, carbon arc cutting or gouging shall not be used. When plasma
and laser cutting is used on series 2XXX and 6XXX, a minimum of 3 mm shall be removed
by mechanical means from the cut edge, after removal the cut edge shall be inspected by
DPI to ensure no cracking is present on the cut edge.
Note: when cutting Aluminium by thermal methods on series 2XXX and 6XXX the cut edge my
contain solidification cracking and detrimental parent material conditions.
Before the commencement of welding all fusion faces shall be cleaned and degreased by
solvents and the oxide layer removed by mechanical means. The period between cleaning
and welding shall not exceed 30 minutes to avoid recontamination.
Note: Degreasing by chemical etching will remove the surface oxide; this method can be considered
but only by Company approval. If chemical etching is to be used, stainless steel wire brushing
shall be carried out on all etched surfaces to remove the by-product residuals which may
have a detrimental effect on the weld quality.
In all cases after cleaning the fusion faces shall be free from moisture, compressed air
blowing should be avoided as compressed air my contain moisture and oil contaminates.

Table 4 – Joint details for Aluminium Butt Welds
Welding Material Thick Root Gap Root Face Included Bevel

Position Angle
< 12.5 mm 0 to 0.5 mm 0 to 0.5 mm 0°to 70°
PA 12.5 to 25 mm 0.5 to 1.25 mm 1.6 to 3.2 mm 70°
> 25 mm 0.5 to 1.5 mm 2.0 to 4.5 mm 70°
< 12.5 mm 0.5 to 1.25 mm 0 to 1.6 mm 0°to 70°

PC, PE
≥ 12.5 mm 1.0 to 1.5 mm 1.6 to 3.2 mm 70°
PF, PH, < 12.5 mm 0 to 1.0 mm 0 to 1.6 mm 0° to 70°
H-LO45 ≥ 12.5 mm 1.0 to 1.5 mm 1.6 to 3.2 mm 70°
Fillet weld dimensions shall be in accordance with section 5.3 of this document.
Note: PG, PJ and J-LO45 welding positions shall not be considered for the welding of Aluminium
and aluminium alloys.
Only welding processes 141 and 131 shall be considered for the welding of aluminium and
aluminium alloys. In both argon (99.997% pure) shall be used as a shielding gas. All pipe
butt joints to be welded using process 141
Note: argon/helium mixes may be considered but only by Company approval and only by using
fully approved WPS’s
During the welding duration for both 131 and 141 welding processes, interpass
temperatures shall not exceed 110°C; series 6XXX aluminium shall not exceed 90°C.
Pre-heating shall not be applied to heat treatable base materials and series 5XXX base
materials containing Mg contents above 3%. All other base materials shall be subjected to
a pre-heat temperature as to the approved WPS, but no greater than 120°C.
15.5 Process 131
 Leading arc (push) technique to be used for increased cleaning action.

 Spray transfer mode (pulse transfer mode may be considered for positional welding
and on thinner materials < 3.5 mm)
 Filler wire to match the melting point as close as possible to the base materials
melting point.
 Constant voltage characteristic welding plant.
 Travel speeds shall not be less than 6.5 mm/s
 Welding current DC EP
 Heat Inputs

Table 5– Process 131 Heat Input Values
Material Thickness Minimum Heat Input Maximum Heat Input

(kJ/mm) (kJ/mm)
< 3.5 mm 0.24 0.32
≥ 3.5 mm < 6.5 mm 0.35 0.41
≥ 6.5 mm 0.57 0.85
15.6 Process 141
 Filler wire to match the melting point as close as possible to the base materials
melting point.
 Constant current characteristic welding plant.
 Zirconiated or Lanthanated tungsten electrode (smooth hemisphere electrode tip)
 Electrode diameter as to the approved WPS, min diameter 1.6mm, max diameter
4.5mm
 Welding current AC
 Heat Inputs
Table 5a – Process 141 Heat Input Values
Material Thickness Minimum Heat Input (kJ/mm) Maximum Heat Input (kJ/mm)
< 3.5 mm 0.42 0.57
≥ 3.5 mm < 6.5 mm 0.89 1.2
≥ 6.5 mm 1.98 3.2
For aluminium and aluminium alloys, the following shall be applied
 100% Visual Inspection on all welds

 100% Penetrant testing on all welds
 100% Radiography on all butt welds
document.
Note: Ultrasonic Inspection may be considered as a back-up only on Duplex stainless steel and
only with prior Company approval.

16 SPECIFIC WELDING DETAILS FOR QUENCHED AND TEMPERED STEELS (QT

Steels)
16.1 General
No special joint requirements are required for QT steels, material preparations, joint
configurations, bevel angles etc. shall be carried out in accordance with section 4 of this
document. Only Grade A514/QT-100 steels shall be considered, specified minimum yield
100,000 psi (689 N/mm2), maximum 110,000 psi (758 N/mm2) UTS, for thicknesses up
to 63 mm. QT steel Plate thicknesses > 63 mm shall not be considered for fabrication and
welding unless specifically approved by Company
All welding operations shall be conducted using a welding process/welding consumable

capable of depositing hydrogen levels < 10 ml of hydrogen per 100 g of weld metal
deposited (scale B). If the MMA welding process is being used for the welding
operations the use of a basic (Low hydrogen) electrode only may be considered.
The electrode shall be baked/dried in accordance with the manufacturers
recommendations and the approved consumable procedure (refer to section 8 of this
document)
Note: All basic electrodes shall be issued in quivers (hot boxes) at a temperature between 70°C to
90°C; all returned electrodes shall not be re-baked.
If the SAW welding process is being used only agglomerated-high basic fluxes shall be
considered. All flux treatments shall be carried out in accordance with the manufacturers
recommendations and the approved consumable control procedure (refer to section 8 of
this document)
Note: When using SAW on QT steels the flux recycling shall only be permitted to a ratio of 50%
new to 50% old.
When welding QT steels with the MMA welding process the electrode must match the
materials UTS value as close as possible, only electrodes depositing between 110,000 psi
UTS (AWS A5.5 E110 1 8 M) to 120,000 psi UTS (AWS A5.5 E120 1 8 M) values shall be
considered.
Note: Welding processes 131, 135 and 136 shall not be considered for the welding of QT steels.
Minimum preheat values and interpass temperatures shall be as follows:
Table 6 – Minimum Preheat and Interpass Temperatures for QT Steels
Plate Thickness Minimum Preheat Temperature Minimum Interpass Temperature
< 12.5 mm 25°C 20°C
≥ 12.5 to 25 mm 50°C 50°C
≥ 25 to ≤ 50 mm 75°C 80°C
≤ 50 mm 100°C 100°C

Note: Preheat temperature shall not exceed 110oC
Table 6a – Minimum Heat Input Values for QT Steels
Plate Thickness
Preheat
Temperature
< 12.5 mm ≥ 12.5 to 25 mm ≥ 25 to ≤50mm >50 mm
25°C 0.9 kJ/mm 2.24 kJ/mm 4.7 kJ/mm 6.06 kJ/mm
150oC 0.62 kJ/mm 1.2 kJ/mm 2.55 kJ/mm 3.7 kJ/mm
No special inspection requirements are required for QT steels. All NDT requirements shall
comply with section 11 of this document. Evaluation of imperfections shall be conducted
in accordance with section 6 of this document.
17 QUALIFICATION OF WELDING PROCEDURES
17.1 General
For all new welding procedure qualification tests, contractor shall submit to Company a
Preliminary Welding Procedure Specification (pWPS) for approval before the
commencement of the qualification test. Contractor shall also submit to Company a repair
pWPS for all main welding procedures. In the case of Stainless steels and Duplex stainless
steels pre-qualified WPS's shall under no circumstances be used. In the case of carbon
steels generally, unless approved by Company pre-qualified WPS, shall not be permitted
for use. WPS's previously used by a Contractor and meeting all the requirements of this
document may be submitted to Company for approval. Only WPS's approved by Company
shall be used.
Approval and testing of welding procedure specifications shall consist of the following
stages
I. The Contractor shall submit to the Company a detailed pWPS for all welding and
repair welding procedure specifications
II. The Company shall provide approval before any testing can commence
III. Before any production welding can commence, test welds shall be made using
these procedures under simulated site conditions.
IV. The quality of the test welds shall be determined by non-destructive and
destructive testing after the specimens have been allowed to cool to ambient
temperature for no less than 48 hours.
V. For the WPS's to be approved for use in production the test results shall meet the
requirements of this document.
Note: If the test piece fails to comply with the requirements of this document, one further test
piece may be welded and subjected to the same test conditions. If the second test piece fails

the pWPS it is to be considered as rejected and a new pWPS shall be submitted to Company
for approval.
All welding procedures shall be submitted and approved by Company prior to their use.
This shall include a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS), Welding Procedure Approval
Record (WPAR), with all supporting documents for materials, NDT and destructive testing.
All Company approved WPS's used for production welding shall be clearly displayed at all
work locations.
17.3 Essential Variables
When any of the changes given in table 7 are made to the WPS, the WPS shall be re-
qualified and fully approved under the same conditions as the original.
Table 7 - Changes Affecting Approval - Essential Variables
Welding process 1. From one process to another.

2. From manual to semi-automatic or mechanized welding
process or vice-versa
Material specification Any significant change in grade and condition
Material thickness Any change in thickness of ± 20% of the minimum t
Joint configuration Any change in joint configuration outside the tolerances

of this document.
Filler metal type Any change from trade name and classification type
Filler metal diameter Any change in diameter used for the root pass and second
pass. Any changes for the other runs to a larger diameter.
Shielding gas and flow Any change

rate
Shielding flux Any change in flux type and trade name
Electrical characteristics Any change in current type or polarity
Welding Position See 17.9
Direction of welding Any change in direction
Time lapse between Any increase in time between completion of weld pass and
commencement of next pass
Partially completed joint Any changes from the requirements of this document
Preheating Any changes from the requirements of this document
Interpass temperature Any changes in temperature

Post weld heat treatment Any changes form the approved procedure
Welding parameter Any changes by 15% in the specified values of current,

voltage, wire feed speed, run out length or travel speed.
17.4 Welding of Test Joint
Preparation and welding shall be carried out in accordance with the pWPS, and under the
simulated production conditions. If tack welds are to be fused in to the final joint they shall
be included in the test piece. All weld passes shall be cleaned until free from slag and
visible defects prior to the deposition of the next run. All welding shall be
inspected/monitored 100% throughout the test piece welding by both Contractor and
Company inspectors
Note: All completed procedure welds shall be left in the as welded condition; surface dressing on
the cap may be permitted but only after visual inspection has been carried out by Company
inspector.
17.5 Extent of Testing
The testing to be carried out on the test pieces are both non-destructive and destructive
test methods. The tests required shall be in accordance with Table 8 and Table 8a.
Table 8 - Examination and Testing of Test Pieces Non-Destructive Requirements
Test Piece Type of Test Extent of Test Note
Butt Welds Visual 100 % Please refer to

Figures 4 for joint
Radiographic or Ultrasonic 100 %
configurations for
Magnetic Particle or Dye Penetrant 100 % UT
T-Butt Joints Visual 100 % Please refer to

Figures 4 for joint
Ultrasonic 100 %
configurations for
Fillet Welds Visual 100 %

Magnetic Particle or Dye Penetrant 100 %
Other Welds Visual 100 % Please refer to

Figures 4 for joint
Radiographic or Ultrasonic 100 %
configurations for

Table 8a - Examination and Testing of Test Pieces Destructive Test Requirements
Butt Welds Transverse Tensile Test 2 specimens Impact tests are only
required in the root
Transverse Bend Test 1 Root and 1 Face
area for all material
specimens
thicknesses more than
1 Set of 3 12 mm and side bends
Impact Test (Charpy) to be performed
1 specimen
Hardness Test (Vickers)
1 specimen
Macro-examination
T-Butt Joints Hardness Test (Vickers) 1 specimen

Macro-examination 1 specimen
Fillet Welds Hardness Test (Vickers) 1 specimen

Fracture Fillet Test 1 specimen
Other Welds Hardness Test (Vickers) 1 specimen Other tests may be

required by Company,
Note: All destructive testing shall only be carried out in a Company approved testing laboratory. A
Company representative shall witness all destructive testing at all times. Both plate and pipe
require separate weld qualifications, except for plate to pipe fillet welds which are covered
by a fillet weld qualification as per Table 10.
17.6 Welding Positions
In all cases when impact tests are not required the position of the test weld qualifies for
all welding positions (both pipe and plate). When impact tests are required; a test piece
carried out in the vertical up position will only be qualified for vertical up welding. All other
positions can be qualified in one welding position (both pipe and plate).
17.7 Joint Configuration
For test pieces welded from one side only, this also qualifies joints to be welded from both
sides. Test pieces welded from both sides does not qualify joints to be welded from one
side only. (both plate and pipe).
For test pieces welded without backing, this also qualifies joints to be welded with backing.
Test pieces welded with backing does not qualify joints to be made without backing.
Butt, T-Butt, fillet and any other joint configurations require separate qualifications.
T Butts also qualify fillet welds within the range.
17.8 Location and Cutting of Test Specimens
All test specimens shall be either thermally or mechanically cut; if thermal cutting is to be
used at least 3 mm from the cut edge must be removed by mechanical means. The location
of test specimens shall be in accordance with the company requirements. The dimensions
of the test specimens shall be in accordance with this document.

Test specimens shall only be taken after NDT has been conducted and accepted, it is
permitted to take a test specimen in an area free from any known acceptable imperfections
detected by NDT, but these areas must be kept as close as possible to the Company
requirements.
17.9 Impact Testing (Charpy V-notch)
When impact tests are required, the minimum average value of impact energy and
minimum individual values of impact energy for each group of three impact tests shall not
be less than the values given in table 9; this is applicable for both welding procedure and
repair welding procedure approval. The test temperature shall be the minimum design
temperature. This is normally 0°C for any structure to be installed underground, and -10°C
for all structures operating in an outdoor environment. High strength materials and
materials with a greater thickness than 50 mm may require lower temperatures, if required
these temperatures will be specified by Company. The number of sets of impact tests shall
be in accordance with table 4 as of this document, the impact specimens shall be machined
transverse to the weld and positioned within 2 mm of the root and 2 mm of the cap surface
with the notch located in the vertical centre of the weld.
The dimensions of the test specimens shall be as in accordance with table.
Note: V-notch 2 mm in depth, notch radius 0.25 mm, 45° included angle.
Table 9 - Impact Energy Values
Material Thickness Charpy V-Notch Charpy energy (Joules)

mm specimen size mm
Min. average Min. individual value
value
> 6.5 to < 10 10 x 5 29 17
> 10 to < 12.5 10 x 8 33 20
> 12.5 10 x 10 40 30
17.10 Tensile Testing
When tensile testing is required, the tensile strength of the weld zone of each specimen
shall be equal to or not greater than 20% of that specified for the minimum tensile strength
of the parent material. If the specimen breaks in the weld metal it shall be considered
acceptable providing it meets the requirements as stated above.
If the specimen breaks in the parent material (outside the weld zone) it shall be considered
acceptable providing the tensile strength is not less than 90% of the specified tensile
strength of the parent material. If none of the above can be achieved the specimen shall
be considered a failure.
 For parent material thicknesses < 12 mm the tensile test specimen shall be ground
smooth (excess weld metal removed).
 For material thicknesses ≥ 25 mm, excess weld metal may be left undressed.
 Test specimen dimensions: length 240 mm, width 25 mm, full material thickness.

17.11 Macro-Examination
When required, macro specimens shall be cut transvers to the weld and shall be free from
cracks and lack of fusion; all other defects shall be in accordance with section 6 of this
document. Macro specimens shall be full thickness and cut in such a way as to include
weld metal, HAZ and shall include unaffected parent material. The macro specimen shall
be cut, polished to P 400 grit paper, etched and viewed under x5 magnification.
Note: Mirco specimens shall be required on certain Aluminium grades
17.12 Hardness Testing
Marco specimens shall be used for the hardness testing, the hardness specimens shall be
tested under a 10 Kg load, unless a load less is required for test welds with a narrow HAZ,
a change in load will require company approval. The hardness impressions in the hardness
test specimen shall be made in accordance with figure 1. The hardness test shall be
acceptable providing it meets the requirements of table 6.
Figure 1 - Locations for Hardness Testing
17.13 Fillet Fracture Test
When required fillet weld fracture tests shall be made with a minimum fillet weld size to
be used in construction (minimum of two passes), fillet weld sizes to be in accordance with
this document see section 5 for more details. Acceptance of the fracture fillet test shall be
in accordance with section 6 of this document.
Test specimen dimensions: Two plates in a Tee configuration 150 mm x 70 mm.

17.14 Bend Test
When required a face bend and root bend shall be carried out, for materials over 10 mm
thickness, a side bend test shall be carried out. Both the cap and root pass shall be as
welded. Any indication/rupture on the surface under tension exceeding 2 mm shall be
considered unacceptable.
Test specimens shall be a minimum of 300 mm in length, 25 mm width.
Note: The bending machine former diameter shall be 4 x material thickness.
18 Qualification of Welders
18.1 General
All welders shall be qualified by conducting a Company approved welder qualification test.
Welder qualification tests shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable approved
WPS and witnessed by Company inspector, Contractors inspector and third party inspector
is applicable. The welder qualification test shall meet the requirements of this document.
Contractor may submit evidence of a welder’s previous qualification for Company approval;
no previously qualified welders are permitted to conduct any production welding without
Company approval.
Contractor shall have qualification certificates for each qualified welder on file available for
Company review. An up to date register shall be maintained of all qualified piping and
structural welders.
The register shall include the following:
 Welders name and identifying number

 Welding process and position for which each welder is qualified
 Date of qualification (Test date)
 WPS for which each welder is qualified.
18.3 Examination and Testing
Each test piece shall be marked with a permanent marker (paint stick), the welder’s
identification number and test date; if the testing is to be done independently the
examination body shall be included.
All qualification tests shall undergo visual and none destructive testing in accordance with
this document. Destructive tests shall only be carried out on fillet welds in accordance with
this document.
Note: A welder who conducted the WPQR shall automatically qualify in the process, position and
material qualified in the WPQR( assuming all the requirements are met)

18.4 Essential Variables and Range of Approval.
The qualification range of approval for each welder shall be in accordance with this
document, and any changes in the WPS, which is considered harder to weld than the
welder is qualified for, shall undergo a new qualification test, the welder shall only be
qualified on the product type of the test piece (plate or pipe).
The qualification range of each welder shall be as follows:
Table 10 – Essential Variables
Variables-Essential Changes affecting approval
Welding process 1. Welder is qualified only in the process, which was used in the
qualification tests. However 136 qualifies 135 also within the
same range of approval
2. Separate qualifications in various processes, qualifies for their
combinations also.
Material specification 1. Any change in material group except that

a. Qualification in group 3 qualifies group 1
b. Qualification in group 5 (Q&T steel) qualifies group 1
Material thickness 1. T≤5mm qualifies T to 2T in mm

2. T>5mm but ≤15mm qualifies 5mm to 2T in mm
3. T>15mm qualifies all thicknesses
Plate-Pipe-others 1. Plate qualifies only plate

2. Pipe qualifies plate, pipe and also plate to pipe joints
3. For all other components, joints separate qualification is
necessary
Joint configuration 1. Change from fillet to butt

2. Deletion of a backing strip
Filler metal type 1. Change from rutile to LH type electrode

2. Change from cellulosic to other types or vice versa
3. Change from fused flux to agglomerated flux or vice versa
4. Cellulosic electrode qualifies only that type
5. Low hydrogen electrode qualifies rutile electrodes also
6. Solid wire qualifies metal cored but not flux cored
7. Flux cored qualifies only flux cored
Filler metal diameter 1. Any change in diameter of the electrode, filler wire by more than
50% for the root run
Shielding gas and flow 1. Change from active gas to inert gas or vice versa
rate 2. Any increase or decrease in gas flow rate by more than 50%
Shielding flux 1. Change from fused flux to agglomerated flux or vice versa

Electrical 1. Any change in type of current or polarity

characteristics
Welding position 1. Any change in position beyond that permitted by Table 11
Direction of welding 1. Change from PF to PG

2. Change from HLO45 to JLO45
3. Qualification in PF,PG, HL045, JL045 qualifies to that position
only
Time lapse between 1. Beyond that is permitted by the WPS
Preheating 1. Changes beyond that is permitted by WPS

4. Change in the method of preheating
Interpass 1. Any change beyond that is permitted by the WPS

temperature
Post Weld heat 1. Any change beyond that is permitted by WPS

treatment
Welding parameters 1. Any change beyond that is permitted by the WPS
Pipe diameter 1. Test pipe diameter (d) less than 10 mm qualifies only (d)
5. Test pipe diameter (d) more than 10mm but less than 75 mm
qualifies from (d) to (2d)
6. Test pipe diameter (d) more than 75 mm qualifies all pipe
diameters above 75 mm.
7.
Techniques 1. Change from one of the following modes to another

a. Manual
b. Semi-automatic
c. Automatic
d. Mechanized
e. Robotic
Each mode qualifies to that mode only.
8. Addition or deletion of any sequencing techniques like back-step,

skip etc.
9. Change in the metal transfer mode in MIG/MAG process
10. Single wire to multi wire and vice versa in SAW process
11. Change to autogenous welding or vice versa in TIG
12. Change to pulsing and vice versa in MIG/MAG/FCAW/TIG process
13. Change from single layer to multi-layer welding; Multi-layer
qualifies single layer but not vice versa.

18.5 Re Tests
If the qualification test piece fails in accordance with the requirements of this document,
the welder shall conduct a new test piece, if the welder fails a second time the welder shall
be regarded as incapable of welding in accordance with the approved WPS. In both cases
if the failure is due to faulty welding equipment or any other reason other than welder skill
a retest shall be permitted.
18.6 Period of Validity
A qualified welder shall remain qualified within the range of approval for the duration of
the project/contract providing, the welder has been working in accordance with the
qualification WPS for within every six months.
If the welder hasn’t been working in accordance with the qualification WPS for over six
months, the welder is required to conduct a new qualification test weld.
18.7 Welding Position Qualification Range.
All welding qualification ranges shall be in accordance with Table 11 of this document. All
fillet welds require a separate qualification test.
Table 11 - Welding Position Qualification Range
Welding position of test Positions qualified for butt welds only Positions qualified for
piece fillet welds only
PA PA only PA only
PB N/A PA, PB
PC PA, PB, PC PA, PB, PC
PD N/A PA, PB, PC, PD
PE PA, PC, PE N/A
PF PA, PC, PE, PF PA, PB, PC, PD, PF
PG PG only PG only
H-LO45 (pipe only) PA, PC, PE, PF, H-LO45 N/A
J-LO45 (pipe only) PG, J-LO45 N/A

18.8 Tests to be Conducted
The following tests shall be conducted for welder qualification
Table 12 - Welding Qualification Tests
Type of test Butt welds Pipe and Plate Fillet welds Other welds
Bend test- BS EN 2 side bends for T>12mm Not required As per requirement
ISO 5173
1 Face and 1 Root for T,12mm
Radiography- BS Yes. But not required if bend Not required --do--

EN ISO 17636-1 tests are done
Macro Not required except in case of One sample to be --do--

examination welds made with combination taken from start
under 10X- of processes stop position and
examined
Fillet fracture Not applicable One sample to be --do--

test- BS EN ISO taken from start
9017 stop position
19 Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT)
19.1 General
PWHT shall be carried out for the purpose of stress relieving and hydrogen release. PWHT
shall only be carried in accordance with the approved procedures and only when approved
by the Company. All PWHT treatments shall be carried out in a controlled manner either
by the use of a furnace or as an alternative by the use of heating blankets. When PWHT is
to be carried out by the use of a furnace, the component shall be placed centrally in the
furnace as to ensure a uniform heating throughout the components thickness (at the time
the component is placed into the furnace, the furnace temperature shall be no less than
50°C and no greater than 280°C).
When heating blankets are to be used, the heating blankets shall be placed in such a way
as to ensure a uniform heating of the component and the temperature variation throughout
the component is no greater than 75°C.
Note: Localised PWHT shall not be carried out under any circumstances. In all cases the PWHT
temperature shall be maintained throughout the components thickness.
19.2 Temperature Measurement
All temperature measurements shall be monitored by the use of thermocouples and

multipoint temperature recorder’s. A minimum of three thermocouples shall be used and
placed in such a way as to ensure uniform heating throughout the component, no
thermocouple reading shall be more than 30°C apart throughout the PWHT heating cycle.
All measuring devices being used shall have a valid certificate of calibration (all calibration

certificates shall be checked by the Company Inspector before the PWHT process is carried
out). All temperature recorders shall be checked by the Company’s inspector to ensure the
speed of the chart being used matches that of the temperature recorder.
Note: The method of thermocouple attachment shall be approved by the Company prior to the
commencement of PWHT.
19.3 Temperatures and Heating/Cooling Rates
Where dissimilar thicknesses exist, the thicker member shall be taken as the material
thickness).
C/Mn steels
 Maximum PWHT temperature 650oC, minimum PWHT temperature 580°C

 Material thicknesses > 25 mm, soaking time 1 hour per 25 mm of material thickness.
 ≤ 25 mm, soaking time 45 minutes per 25 mm material thickness.
 Heating rates; above 320°C (controlled heating) the heating rate shall be 5000°C
divided by the maximum material thickness, but no greater than 220°C per hour.
 Cooling rates shall be the same as the heating rates to a temperature of 320°C
(controlled cooling rate).
Quenched and Tempered Steels
 When required the PWHT temperatures shall be the same as for C/Mn steels except
the maximum PWHT temperature shall not exceed 600°C, heating rates shall be
controlled from 300°C, cooling rates shall be controlled to 300°C
 Insulation and thermocouples shall not be removed until the component’s
temperature has dropped to below 110°C
Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels
 When require the PWHT shall be the same as for QT Steels except the maximum
PWHT temperature shall not exceed 450oC.
Note: In all cases thermocouples and insulation shall not be removed until the component’s
temperature has dropped below 110oC
19.4 Reports and Records
All PWHT charts shall be reviewed by all parties, Company, Contractor and where
applicable third party QC. The PWHT charts shall be filed in the Contractors QA/QC
department and shall be made available for review at any time if required.
Note: No stress reliving shall be carried out until all welding has been completed (including any
repairs).
Note: Full Inspection to be carried out after all PWHT has been conducted in accordance with the
initial inspection requirements of this document.

20 Hydrostatic Testing
20.1 General
All process piping shall be subjected to a hydrostatic testing in accordance with the
approved procedure. Test pressure shall be in accordance with the approved procedure
and Company requirement’s, the test pressures shall be based on operating pressure,
material type and service conditions of the pipe to be tested, the test pressures shall not
be less than 1.5 times that of the systems operating pressure (design pressure). The
Contractor shall be responsible for all safety and environmental requirements. All
temperature and pressure measuring devices shall have a current/valid certificate of
calibration, all pressure and temperatures shall be plotted on a temperature/pressure
chart.
Note: All hydrostatic testing operations shall be witnessed by Company Inspectors.
20.2 Test Preparation
All water used for hydro testing shall be clean, non-corrosive and free from dissolved
solids, water temperature shall be no less than 10oC. The Contractor shall add a non-
hazardous, non-corrosive corrosion inhibitor to the water to be used for hydro testing. In
the case of Austenitic and Duplex stainless steels, the water used shall not have chloride
contents greater than 45 PPM. Hydrostatic testing shall be carried out with installed valves
in the half open position, under no circumstances shall hydrostatic testing be carried out
with valves in the fully closed position in the isolation system.
20.3 Flushing
All piping to be hydrostatic tested shall be thoroughly cleaned by water flushing, the piping
shall be flushed from the high point to the low point where applicable. Where multiple high
point exist multiple flushing points shall be used, the flushing pressure shall be sufficient
as to remove all sediments and debris. All instruments (not required for the hydrostatic
testing) shall be removed before the commencement of testing as to avoid damage to the
instruments. All valves during the flushing operation shall be in the fully open position and
flushing shall continue until clean flushing medium appears at all discharge points.
Note: The Contractor shall be responsible for the disposal of all flushing media in accordance with
the local environmental regulations.
20.4 Conducting the Test
 Examine all connections in the system prior to the test as to ensure correct tightness.
 Isolate any equipment that may be damaged by the test, these isolation points shall
be recorded on the test report.
 All valves shall be in the half open position and against flanged or plugged
connections.
 The piping shall be slowly filled with water until all air is excluded. Once all air is
excluded the hydrostatic vents shall be closed.
 The piping shall be slowly pressurized until 50% of the test pressure is reached; once
this pressure is reached the pressure shall be held at this point for no less than 15
minutes. During this hold time the pipe system shall be checked for any leaks, if
leaks are detected the pressure shall be dropped to half this pressure before any
leaks can be rectified.

 After the hold time at 50% of the test pressure has elapsed the pressure shall then
be raised to the test pressure in increments until the test pressure is reached (the
number of increments and the test pressure increases to be approved by Company.
If any leaks are detected, the pressure shall be dropped to a pressure no greater
than the pressure at the last increment before any leaks are rectified.
 Once the test pressure has been reached the test shall not start until temperatures
have equalized through the piping system under test and transit strains have
dissipated. A test start time shall be approved by Company Inspector and recorded
 The test duration shall be no less than 2 hours (greater test durations may be
required as to Company requirements).
Note: No testing shall be conducted during periods of rain, unless the entire piping system is
protected from the weather. No testing shall be carried out at temperatures below 10oC
Note: Disposal of all hydrostatic testing medium shall be the responsibility of the contractor and
shall be in accordance with local environmental regulations.
20.5 Inspection
The piping system under test shall be inspected for any leaks and other problems during
and at the end of the test duration. For the test to be considered acceptable, no leaks shall
be detected.
The piping pressurization steps, test temperature at the start time, hold periods and finish
time shall be recorded on a chart recorder. All test reports shall be submitted to the
Company for approval.
Each pressure test shall be given a unique test number; the number shall be referenced
on the front sheet of the pressure test pack. A pressure test pack shall be produced for
each pressure test. If the hydrostatic test fails then no test chart shall be signed off. The
Contractor shall be responsible for all remedial work, repairs and retesting. No piping shall
be accepted unless covered by a fully signed off hydrostatic test chart.
21 Pneumatic Testing
21.1 General
Only low pressure piping systems shall be considered for pneumatic testing and each test
shall only be carried out with written approval from the Company and in accordance with
the approved procedure. Test pressure shall be in accordance with the approved procedure
and Company requirement’s, the test pressures shall be based on operating pressure,
material type and service conditions of the pipe to be tested. The Contractor shall be
responsible for all safety requirements. An area of at least 4 meters away from the test
area shall enclosed as to prevent any unauthorized personnel from entering the test area,
this shall be done as to Company requirements. All temperature and pressure measuring
devices shall have a current/valid certificate of calibration, all pressure and temperatures
shall be plotted on a temperature/pressure chart.
Note: All safety precautions shall be approved by the Company’s safety representative before any
pneumatic testing is carried out.

21.2 Test Preparation
All instruments, equipment shall be prepared the same as for hydrostatic testing. The
exception to this is that all flanges, plugged ends shall be wrapped in duck-tape, with a
hole punched in the top of either the flange or plugged end. The piping shall be pressurized
to a pressure of 25 psi with clean dry air, any gross leaks shall be rectified.
21.3 Conducting the Test
 The piping shall be slowly pressurized to 50% of the test pressure and held for a
minimum of 20 minutes at this pressure, a check shall be made for any leaks using
a soap solution swabbed on all joints, connections and welds. Any leaks detected
shall be rectified at a pressure less than 10% of the test pressure.
 After any possible leaks have been rectified the pressure shall then be increased in
increments of 10% until the test pressure is reached. When leaks are found during
this period, the pressure shall be reduced to below 50% of the test pressure before
and rectification of the leaks can be conducted. Where the leaks cannot be rectified,
this may require the piping system to be depressurized and stripped down.
 Once the test pressure has been reached the test shall not start until temperatures
have equalized through the piping system under test and transit strains have
dissipated. A test start time shall be approved by Company Inspector and recorded
 The piping system under test shall be carefully inspected for any leaks and/or other
problems at the end of the test period and at the test pressure. All joints, connections
and welds shall be swabbed with a soup solution. Test duration at the test pressure
shall be a minimum period of two hours.
Note: No testing shall be conducted during periods of rain, unless the entire piping system is
protected from the weather. No testing shall be carried out at temperatures below 30oC
21.4 Inspection
The piping system under test shall be carefully inspected for any leaks and/or other
problems at the end of the test period and at the test pressure. All joints, connections and
welds shall be swabbed with a soap solution. Test duration at the test pressure shall be a
minimum period of two hours. The test shall be considered acceptable if no leaks are
detected.
The piping pressurization steps, test temperature at the start time, hold periods and finish
time shall be recorded on a chart recorder. All test reports shall be submitted to the
Company for approval.
Each pressure test shall be given a unique test number; the number shall be referenced
on the front sheet of the pressure test pack. A pressure test pack shall be produced for
each pressure test. If the pneumatic test fails then no test chart shall be signed off. The
Contractor shall be responsible for all remedial work, repairs and retesting. No piping shall
be accepted unless covered by a fully signed off hydrostatic test chart.

22 Coatings for Structures and Piping
22.1 General
Contractor shall be responsible for the correct storage of all materials required for surface
preparation and coating materials, all storage of coating materials shall be in accordance
with the manufactures and Company requirements. The Contractor shall be responsible
for the disposal of all waste materials; the disposal shall be conducted in accordance with
local environmental regulations. Surface preparation and the application of all coatings
shall be conducted in adequate ventilation areas, if this can’t be achieved then all personnel
conducting these operations shall be issued with suitable PPE as to comply with local safety
regulations. All coatings and surface abrasives shall be free from lead, chromate and
crystal silica. In addition all coating materials shall comply with the latest guidelines with
respect to VOC’s. All surface preparation, mixing, application and curing of the coating
system shall comply with the requirements of the manufacturer’s data sheets and the
requirements of this document.
22.2 Surface Preparation
Unless otherwise approved by the Company, all stages of fabrication and welding, any
applicable PWHT and inspection (including NDT) shall be completed before surface
preparation begins.
All gaskets, flanges, valves, nameplates, instrumentation, gauges, electrical components

etc. shall be suitably protected; Company shall approve all protection. All sharp edges,
surface pitting, surface imperfections etc. shall be ground smooth in accordance with the
Company requirements. All oil and grease contaminations shall be removed by solvent
cleaning prior to abrasive blasting. All blasting shall be performed using a dry blasting
technique. The blasting material shall be either garnet or copper slag; no recycling of
copper slag shall be permitted. The recycling of garnet may be permitted up to a maximum
of two times, but only by written approval of the Company.
The surface preparation shall be blasted to Sa 2 ½ unless otherwise specified by the

coatings manufacturer or approved by the Company. All surface profiles shall be in
accordance with the manufacturers date sheets and shall be measured by the use of a dial
micrometre type gauges with the testex tape attached to the final paint report, the final
anchor pattern shall be typically 1.5 to 2.0 mils peak to peak.
No blasting operations shall be conducted if any of the conditions below exist.
 90% RH value
 When the steel temperature is less than 3ºC above the dew point (dew points shall
be measured by the use of a whirling psychrometer)
 During night time hours, dusk to dawn. If blasting is allowed by Company approval
during night-time hours, the surface shall be swept clean the next morning to provide
a near white blast surface.
After blasting all abrasives, dust etc. shall be removed from all surfaces to be coated.
Note: No acid washes or other cleaning solutions or solvents shall be carried out after blasting has
been carried out
Note: No silica (sand) based materials or materials containing impurities shall be used for blasting.

22.3 Coating Application
All coatings application shall be conducted in accordance with this document and the
coating manufacturer’s recommendation. No coatings application is to be conducted until
Company representative has approved the surface preparation.
All coating materials shall not exceed the manufacturer’s pot life and only sufficient
volumes for the appropriate pot life of the application mixed at one time. All mixing of the
paint shall be conducted in accordance with the coatings recommendations, mixing shall
be conducted in clean containers free from grease other paints and any other
contaminations, all containers shall be covered to prevent contamination from dust, dirt
and rain. When zinc-coating systems are to be applied, the zinc coating shall be continually
agitated during application.
No coatings application shall be conducted if the following exist.
 In fog or rain or when the steel substrate is damp or wet.

 When the steel surface temperature is less than 3°C above the dew point
temperature as measured by a sling psychrometer.
 RH% > 90%.
 The temperature is < 10°C and greater than 45°C.
 At night time hours (24 hour coatings application is permitted providing it is
conducted in doors and with written Company approval).
 In direct wind speeds > 15 miles per hour (unless written approved by Company
representative).
 Inorganic zinc coatings require a minimum RH value of 50%.
All blasted cleaned surfaces shall be coated with a primer during the same day as the
blasting occurs or before any visible signs of rusting occurs. Material surfaces shall be
clean, dry and free from dust before any coating application can be conducted. All coatings
applications shall be applied by spray methods and in accordance with the manufactures
recommendations and by company approval, all atomizing air and paint pot pressures shall
be in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations and by company approval. An
adequate moisture trap shall be placed between the air supply and the pressure feed gun.
Separate regulators shall be used to adjust the paint pressure and atomization pressure;
all regulators shall be calibrated and shall be fully functional at all times. WFT, DFT, curing
times shall be in accordance with the manufactures data sheets, no application of the next
coat shall be applied until the correct WFT, DFT and curing times have been established.
A brushed stipe coat shall be applied to all welds prior to the application of each coat of
the paint system.
Note: Coatings may be applied by brush application in areas which can’t be properly spray coated
(shadow areas)
Note: Inorganic zinc coatings shall not be applied by brush in any circumstances.
Note: All coats applied of the coating system shall be from the same manufacturer.
22.4 Inspection
Company inspector shall inspect all coatings. All coated surfaces shall be free from
pinholes, sagging (excessive coating build-up), wrinkling, blistering, bittiness (dust or dirt
inclusions), inadequate coating thicknesses, insufficient curing times and any other coating

defect which is considered detrimental to the coating systems effectiveness. All rejected
work shall be fully removed by blasting and reapplied. All repaired areas shall be feather
edged up to the adjacent edges of the original coating system and repaired in accordance
with the requirements of this document and in accordance with the manufactures
recommendation. All accepted work must be free from abrasions and uniform in colour
and appearance. Both the Company and manufacturers’ representatives can only make
final acceptance of the coating system.
22.5 Repair of Damaged Areas (touch-up)
All external surfaces where coating is damaged during fabrication, erection or

transportation shall be repaired. Care shall be taken to avoid damaging the coating of the
surrounding areas of the repaired and to ensure complete tie-in of the repaired coating
with the coating of the surrounding area.
Top coat damage, base coat undamaged:
Damaged coating to be removed by sand paper or other alternative means (wire brushing
shall not be used), at least 50 mm from the edge and chamfered back on to the top coats
adjacent surfaces (feather edge). Apply by spray method the layer of finish coat (top coat)
to obtain the required coating thickness.
Coating damage to base metal
Repair the area by blasting, Sa 2 ½ near white metal over a distance of no less than 100
mm from the damaged area, feather edge all adjoining paint surfaces with sand paper to
provide a smooth surface transition and apply the same coating system in accordance with
this document until the required coating thickness is obtained.
A report shall be produced by the Contractor and submitted to the Company for all coating
systems applied. The coating report shall include as a minimum the following:
 Paint system number

 Items coated
 All environmental conditions: Steel temperature, RH%, Dew point temperatures,
prior to blasting
 Surface preparation: blasting grade, surface profile (measured by profile dial
micrometre, textest tape allied to the report for permanent record), abrasive used
(any applicable re-cycling)
 Painting application: WFT, DFT, method of application.
 Visual inspection: any coating defects
 If applicable repairs
23 Protection and Preservation
23.1 General
Protection on site of all materials, equipment, structures and piping shall be the
responsibility of the Contractor

Either end caps, or redundant valves shall blank off all open-ended spool pieces. Any open-
ended threaded connections shall be plugged or capped after coating with a grease base
rust preventive. All process piping and vessels shall be preserved internally by purging
with Nitrogen, after purging the piping or vessels shall be left pressurized with Nitrogen at
5 to 10 psi, the pressure shall be monitored and topped up with Nitrogen if required. All
other uncoated structural materials shall be protected against corrosion by fogging (light
spray coating of grease based rust inhibitor. All piping, equipment and other structures
shall only be stored off the ground on a suitable material, e.g. wooded blocks of a suitable
thickness
FIGURE 2 - Detail for Weld Preparation
Root Gap and Root Faces May Vary Depending on Welding Process, Material Type and
Thickness, refer to the WPS for further details.
Weld Preparation for Joints in the Flat (PA), Vertical (PF/PG) and Overhead (PD/H-LO 45)
Welding Positions for both single and double sided bevels. Other joint preparations may
be considered for mechanized welding processes.

FIGURE 3 - Detail for Weld Preparation
Weld Preparation for Joints in the Horizontal/Vertical (PC) Welding Position for both single
and double sided bevels. Other joint preparations may be considered for mechanized
welding processes.
Root Gap and Root Faces May Vary Depending on Welding Process, Material Type and
Thickness, refer to the WPS for further details.
FIGURE 4 – Ultrasonic Joint Configuration
(a) T Butt Weld - Full Penetration (b) T Butt Weld - Partial Penetration

(c) Cruciform Butt Weld - Full Penetration (d) Cruciform Butt Weld - Partial
Penetration
(e) Butt Weld - Set-Through (Including (f) Butt Weld - Set-On (Including Nozzles)
Nozzles)

Copyright
TWI UK Ltd holds and reserves the rights for all copying of this document. No unauthorized
copying of this document in any form or by any means – electronic, photocopying, and
recording or by any other processes without prior documented permission from TWI UK
Ltd or any TWI subsidiary Companies.
This document is intended to be used in conjunction with the CSWIP examinations, under
no circumstances shall this document be used for any other purpose other than
examinations.
TWI Training & Examination Services
TWI Ltd, Granta Park
Great Abington, Cambridge
CB21 6AL
United Kingdom
Copyright: ©2014 TWI Ltd. All rights reserved

Twi 3.2 Training Spec 05-21 Rev.4 - Student

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Document Number: TWI-WIS10 EX-MSR-001

CSWIP 3.2 – Welding Inspector WIS10

Welding & Fabrication

Training & Examination Services

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 1 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

11.5.2 Equipment and Consumables 19

11.5.3 Material Preparation 20

11.6 Penetrant Testing Details 20

11.6.2 Equipment and Consumables 20

11.6.3 Material Preparation 20

11.7 Ultrasonic Inspection Details 21

11.7.2 Equipment and Consumables 21

11.7.3 Material Preparation 22

11.8 Radiographic Inspection 22

11.8.2 Equipment and Consumables 22

11.8.3 Radiographic Sensitivity 23

11.8.5 Required image quality 24

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 2 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 3 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 4 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

1.2 Reference Codes and Standards

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 5 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

Company: TWI Ltd

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 6 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

Table 1 - Abbreviations and Symbols

I Arc welding current

V Arc welding voltage

k Thermal efficiency factor

a Nominal throat thickness of a fillet weld

h Height or width of imperfection

l Length of imperfection in longitudinal direction of the

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 7 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

3.1 Contractor Requirements

3.2 Fabrication Requirements

 Welding and repairs

4 JOINT PREPARATION DETAILS

4.1 Base Metal Preparation

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 8 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

4.4 Assembly for Welding

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 9 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

4.5 Temporary Attachments

Note: Removal of temporary attachments by hammering or bending is not permitted.

4.6 Weather Conditions

 111. 20 mph (32 km/h)

5.1 General Requirements

5.2 Butt Welds

TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 (rev. 2) Page 10 of 52

Document Number: TWI-WIS10-EX-MSR-001 Revision: 2 Date: May 2021

5.3 Fillet Welds

The deposited fillet weld dimensions shall be as follows:

Leg Length Throat Thickness

 Minimum = t  Minimum = t x 0.7

Note: In the case of different thicknesses, welding is to be based on the minimum t