The ABC's of Nondestructive Weld Examination

Reprinted courtesy of Welding Journal magazine.

An understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of each form of nondestructive

examination can help you choose the best method for your application

By Charles Hayes

The philosophy that often guides the fabrication of welded assemblies and structures is
"to assure weld quality." However, the term "weld quality" is relative. The application
determines what is good or bad. Generally, any weld is of good quality if it meets
appearance requirements and will continue indefinitely to do the job for which it is
intended. The first step in assuring weld quality is to determine the degree required by the
application. A standard should be established based on the service requirements.

Standards designed to impart weld quality may differ from job to job, but the use of
appropriate weld techniques can provide assurance that the applicable standards are being
met. Whatever the standard of quality, all welds should be inspected, even if the
inspection involves nothing more than the welder looking after his own work after each
weld pass. A good-looking weld surface appearance is many times considered indicative
of high weld quality. However, surface appearance alone does not assure good
workmanship or internal quality.

Nondestructive examination (NDE) methods of inspection make it possible to verify

compliance to the standards on an ongoing basis by examining the surface and subsurface
of the weld and surrounding base material. Five basic methods are commonly used to
examine finished welds: visual, liquid penetrant, magnetic particle, ultra-sonic and
radiographic (X-ray). The growing use of computerization with some methods provides
added image enhancement, and allows real-time or near real-time viewing, comparative
inspections and archival capabilities. A review of each method will help in deciding
which process or combination of processes to use for a specific job and in performing the
examination most effectively.

Visual Inspection (VT)

Visual inspection is often the most cost-effective method, but it must take place prior to,
during and after welding. Many standards require its use before other methods, because
there is no point in submitting an obviously bad weld to sophisticated inspection
techniques. The ANSI/AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code - Steel, states, "Welds
subject to nondestructive examination shall have been found acceptable by visual
inspection." Visual inspection requires little equipment. Aside from good eyesight and
sufficient light, all it takes is a pocket rule, a weld size gauge, a magnifying glass, and
possibly a straight edge and square for checking straightness, alignment and
perpendicularity.
Before the first welding arc is struck, materials should be examined to see if they meet
specifications for quality, type, size, cleanliness and freedom from defects. Grease, paint,
oil, oxide film or heavy scale should be removed. The pieces to be joined should be
checked for flatness, straightness and dimensional accuracy. Likewise, alignment, fit-up
and joint preparation should be examined. Finally, process and procedure variables
should be verified, including electrode size and type, equipment settings and provisions
for preheat or postheat. All of these precautions apply regardless of the inspection method
being used.

During fabrication, visual examination of a weld bead and the end crater may reveal
problems such as cracks, inadequate penetration, and gas or slag inclusions. Among the
weld defects that can be recognized visually are cracking, surface slag inclusions, surface
porosity and undercut.

On simple welds, inspecting at the beginning of each operation and periodically as work
progresses may be adequate. Where more than one layer of metal filler is being
deposited, however, it may be desirable to inspect each layer before depositing the next.
The root pass of a multipass is most critical to weld soundness. It is especially susceptible
to cracking, and because it solidifies quickly, it may trap gas and slag. On subsequent
passes, conditions caused by the shape of the weld bead or changes in the joint
configuration can cause further cracking, as well as undercut and slag trapping. Repair
costs can be minimized if visual inspection detects these flaws before welding progresses.

Visual inspection at an early stage of production can also prevent underwelding and
overwelding. Welds that are smaller than called for in the specifications cannot be
tolerated. Beads that are too large increase costs unnecessarily and can cause distortion
through added shrinkage stress.

After welding, visual inspection can detect a variety of surface flaws, including cracks,
porosity and unfilled craters, regardless of subsequent inspection procedures.
Dimensional variances, warpage and appearance flaws, as well as weld size
characteristics, can be evaluated.

Before checking for surface flaws, welds must be cleaned of slag. Shotblasting should not
be done before examination, because the peening action may seal fine cracks and make
them invisible. The AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code, for example, does not allow
peening "on the root or surface layer of the weld or the base metal at the edges of the
weld."

Visual inspection can only locate defects in the weld surface. Specifications or applicable
codes may require that the internal portion of the weld and adjoining metal zones also be
examined. Nondestructive examinations may be used to determine the presence of a flaw,
but they cannot measure its influence on the serviceability of the product unless they are
based on a correlation between the flaw and some characteristic that affects service.
Otherwise, destructive tests are the only sure way to determine weld serviceability.
 Radiographic Inspection
Radiography (X-ray) is one of the most important, versatile and widely
accepted of all the nondestructive examination methods - Fig. 1. X-ray
is used to determine internal soundness of the welds. The term "X-ray
quality," widely used to indicate high quality in welds, arises from this inspection
method.

Radiography is based on the ability of X-rays and gamma rays to pass through metal and
other materials opaque to ordinary light, and produce photographic records of the
transmitted radiant energy. All materials will absorb known amounts of this radiant
energy and, therefore, X-rays and gamma rays can be used to show discontinuities and
inclusions within the opaque material. The permanent film record of the internal
conditions will show the basic information by which weld soundness and be determined.

X-rays are produced by high-voltage generators. As the high voltage applied to an X-ray
tube is increased, the wavelength of the emitted X-ray becomes shorter , providing more
penetrating power. Gamma rays are produced by the atomic disintegration of
radioisotopes. The radioactive isotopes most widely used in industrial radiography are
Cobalt 60 and Iridium 192. Gamma rays emitted from these isotopes are similar to X-
rays, except their wavelengths are usually shorter. This allows them to penetrate to
greater depths than X-rays of the same power, however, exposure times are considerably
longer due to the longer intensity.

When X-rays or gamma rays are directed at a section of weldment , not all of the
radiation passes are through the metal. Different materials, depending on their density,
thickness and atomic number, will absorb different wavelengths of radiant energy.

The degree to which the different materials absorb these rays determines the intensity of
the rays penetrating through the material. When variations of these rays are recorded, a
means of seeing inside the material is available. The image on a developed photo-
sensitized film is known as a radiograph. Thicker areas of the specimen or higher density
material (tungsten inclusion), will absorb more radiation and their corresponding areas on
the radiograph will be lighter - Fig 2.

Whether in the shop or in the field, the reliability and interpretive value of radiographic
images are a function of their sharpness and contrast. The ability of an observer to detect
a flaw depends on the sharpness of its image and its contrast with the background. To be
sure that a radiographic exposure produces acceptable results, a gauge known as an
Image Quality Indicator (IQI) is placed on the part so that its image will be produced on
the radiograph.

IQI's used to determine radiographic quality are also called penetrameters. A standard
hole-type penetrameter is a rectangular piece of metal with three drilled holes of set
diameters. The thickness of the piece of metal is a percentage of the thickness of the
specimen being radiographed. The diameter of each hole is different and is a given
multiple of the penetrameter thickness. Wire-type penetrameters are also widely used,
especially outside the United States. They consist of several pieces of wire, each of a
different diameter. Sensitivity is determined by the smallest diameter of wire that can be
clearly seen on the radiograph.

A penetrameter is not an indicator or gauge to measure the size of a discontinuity or the

minimum detectable flaw size. It is an indicator of the quality of the radiographic
technique.

Radiographic images are not always easy to interpret. Film handling marks and streaks,
fog and spots caused by developing errors may make it difficult to identify defects. Such
film artifacts may mask weld discontinuities.

Surface defects will show up on the film and must be recognized. Because the angle of
exposure will also influence the radiograph, it is difficult or impossible to analyze fillet
welds by this method. Because a radiograph compresses all the defects that occur
throughout the thickness of the weld into one plane, it tends to give an exaggerated
impression of scattered type defects such as porosity or inclusions.

An X-ray image of the interior of the weld may be viewed on a fluorescent screen, as
well as on developed film. This makes it possible to inspect parts faster and at a lower
cost, but the image definition is poorer. Computerization has made it possible to
overcome many of the shortcomings of radiographic imaging by linking the fluorescent
screen with a video camera. Instead of waiting for film to be developed, the images can
be viewed in real time. This can improve quality and reduce costs on production
applications such as pipe welding, where a problem can be identified and corrected
quickly.

By digitizing the image and loading it into a computer, the image can be enhanced and
analyzed to a degree never before possible. Multiple images can be superimposed. Pixel
values can be adjusted to change shading and contrast, bringing out small flaws and
discontinuities that would not show up on film. Colors can be assigned to the various
shades of gray to further enhance the image and make flaws stand out better. The process
of digitizing an image taken from the fluorescent screen - having that image computer
enhanced and transferred to a viewing monitor - takes only a few seconds. However,
because there is a time delay, we can no longer consider this "real time." It is called
"radioscopy imagery."

Existing films can be digitized to achieve the same results and improve the analysis
process. Another advantage is the ability to archive images on laser optical disks, which
take up far less space than vaults of old films and are much easier to recall when needed.

Industrial radiography, then, is an inspection method using X-rays and gamma rays as a
penetrating medium, and densitized film as a recording medium, to obtain a photographic
record of internal quality. Generally, defects in welds consist either of a void in the weld
metal itself or an inclusion that differs in density from the surrounding weld metal.
Radiographic equipment produces radiation that can be harmful to body tissue in
excessive amounts, so all safety precautions should be followed closely. All instructions
should be followed carefully to achieve satisfactory results. Only personnel who are
trained in radiation safety and qualified as industrial radiographers should be permitted to
do radiographic testing.