The e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing - ISSN 1435-4934 - www.ndt.

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Phased Array Testing and Analysis of

Common Defects in Butt Welding

Application Lab, SIUI, siui@siui.com

More info about this article: http://www.ndt.net/?id=26692

1. Common defects in butt welding

1.1 Crack

The cracks that occur in the weld can be roughly divided into two types of cracks that occur in the
deposited metal part and the heat-affected zone. The former includes weld bead cracks, weld joint
cracks, root cracks, brittle cracks and micro cracks; the latter includes root cracks, penetration cracks,
under-weld cracks and interlayer cracks. The reasons could be poor toughness of the deposited metal,
excessive sulfur content of the base metal or welding rod, improper welding specifications, poor welding
joint treatment, and excessive oxygen content of the deposited metal.

1.2 Slag inclusion

Defects caused by poor welding technique such as improper selection of welding rod diameter and
current, unskilled manipulation of electrode, and the un-cleaned slag of previous welds.

1.3 Gas pore

Defects caused by non-dry welding rod, un-cleaned groove with corrosion, grease or paint, improper
welding rod, or the molten deposited metal not isolated from the air outside.
1.4 Incomplete fusion

Incomplete groove fusion Incomplete interlayer fusion Incomplete root fusion

Defects caused by insufficient fusion of the welding interface. The reasons are improper manipulation of
electrode, un-cleaned surface layer and inadequate preheating.

1.5 Incomplete penetration

未焊透
Incomplete penetration
It is a defect in which the arc cannot reach the bottom of the groove due to the thick welding rod or the
low welding current in grooved welding and T-joint welding.

1.6 Undercut

Undercut

Depression produced at the interface between the base material and the deposited metal. It is caused by
defects such as excessively fast manipulation of electrode, excessive welding current, excessively long
arc, and improper welding specifications.

2. PA (Phased Array) Testing

2.1 Detection of incomplete penetration

The incomplete penetration defect is a serious defect in butt welding, which occurs at the root of the
weld.

Primary wave

Secondary wave
2.2 Detection of incomplete fusion
Incomplete fusion refers to the incomplete fused and bonded part between the weld bead and the base
metal, or between weld beads.

Primary wave

Left scan
Secondary wave

Right scan

Primary wave

Left scan
Secondary wave

Primary wave
Right scan

2.3 Detection of gas pores

The gas pores exist in the middle of the weld bead, resulting in diverged reflection surface of ultrasonic
waves and low echoes.
2.4 Detection of cracks
Welding crack refers to the gap created by the new interface formed by the destruction of the bonding
force of the metal atoms in the local area of the welded joint under the combined action of welding stress
and other brittle factors. It has a sharp concavity and a large aspect ratio. Ultrasonic testing of crack
defects is greatly affected by the reflection surface of the crack and the angle of reflection.

Primary wave

Secondary wave

2.5 Detection of Inclusion

Inclusions are welding slag remaining in the weld after welding.

3. Analysis of common defect maps

As mentioned above, the common defects of butt welding are incomplete penetration, incomplete fusion,
gas pores, cracks and slag inclusions. Due to the wide range of quality of butt welding tested on site,
such as different weld heights, internal and external corrosion on the surface and misalignment of the
butt-joint pipes lead to various reflected signals in the test results, which mainly include the root height of
the weld, the bottom height of the weld, the deformed wave generated by the incident transverse wave
after multiple reflections, and the reflected wave of the concave and convex inner wall.
When evaluating the image, it is necessary to comprehensively analyze the A/S/C views. A view is for
judging the instrument accuracy of gain and probe central distance setting, C view is for judging the
accuracy of scanning length, central distance change, coupling and data integrity; S view is for angle
setting, weld coverage, calibration and scan depth coverage. The figure below shows the position of
common typical signals in the S view.
In the figure: ① Root distance ② Incomplete penetration ③ Internal defect ④ Incomplete fusion of
groove ⑤ Upper distance ⑥ Deformed wave