Training on

WELDABILITY OF METALS
Pakistan Welding Institute (PWI)
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

By: Hassan Sajjad Qureshi

 PAKISTAN WELDING INSTITUTE

To look after the needs and requirements of the entire

manufacturing industry in the country, "The Pakistan Welding
Institute" with its objectives of becoming a center of excellence
in welding, was established in 1995.

WELDING FACILITIES CUTTING FACILITIES

•Oxyfuel Gas Welding (OFW). •OXY FUEL GAS CUTTING

•Brazing.
•Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW).
•Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW).
•Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW).
•Stud Welding (SW).
•Submerged Arc Welding (SAW).
•Metal Active Gas Welding (MAG).
•Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG).
•Tube To Tube Sheet Welding.
•Strip Cladding.
•Plastic Joining.
•Precision TIG Welding (Thin Sheet
Welding).
•PWI has the capacity of welding almost all
commercially available engineering
materials ranging in thickness from O.1 mm
to 300mm.
•Manual Cutting Equipment.
•Semi Automatic Portable Machines.
•Cutting Capacity: 300 mm
AIR PLASMA ARC CUTTING
•Manual Cutting Equipment.
•Automatic Machine For Straight And Profile
Cutting.
•Cutting Capacity :
•Ferrous Materials: 80 mm
•Non ferrous Materials: 50 mm
HEAT TREATMENT FACILITIES
•Electrically operated programmable stress
relieving units for localized heat treatment of
weld joints and small components.
 CONTENTS

¾ WELDING TERMINOLOGY
¾ MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
¾ WELDING DISCONTINUTIES & DEFECTS
¾ WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS
¾ WELDABILITY OF STAINLESS STEELS
¾ INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS
¾ WELDING QUALIFICATION
 WELDING TERMINOLOGY

WELDING
Metal working process in which metals are joined by heating to melting point and
allowing the allowing the molten portions to fuse together.

ARC BLOW
The deflection of an electric arc from its normal path because of magnetic forces.

ARC GOUGING
Gouging is where the metal is removed using an arc from a carbon electrode.

ARC LENGTH
The distance between the tip of the electrode and the weld puddle.

BUTTERING
A form of surfacing in which one or more layers of weld are deposited on the face
of joint.

DIRECT CURRENT ELECTRODE NEGATIVE (Straight Polarity)

Work piece is the positive pole and the electrode is the negative pole of the
welding arc. About 1/3 of the heat is on the end of the rod and 2/3 on the work
piece. This is what you want to use for thin gauge metals.
 WELDING TERMINOLOGY

DIRECT CURRENT ELECTRODE POSITIVE (Reverse Polarity)

The arrangement of direct current arc welding leads in which the work is the
negative pole and the electrode is the positive pole of the welding arc. This
gives you 2/3 heat on the rod and 1/3 on the work piece, which gives greater
penetration for thick metals

BACKING STRIP
A piece of material used to retain molten metal at the root of the weld and/or
increase the thermal capacity of the joint so as to prevent excessive warping of
the base metal.

BRAZING & SOLDERING

Brazing and soldering are joining processes involving a filler metal with meting
temperature below the solidus temperature of the base metal. If temp is above
450 C it is brazing and below 450 C it soldering.

CRATER
A depression at the termination of an arc weld.
 WELDING TERMINOLOGY

HEAT AFFECTED ZONE

That portion of the base metal whose structure or properties have been
changed by the heat of welding or cutting.

HEAT TREATMENT
An operation or combination of operations involving the heating and cooling of a
metal or an alloy in the solid state for the purpose of obtaining certain desirable
conditions or properties. Heating and cooling for the sole purpose of mechanical
working are excluded from the meaning of the definition.

PEENING
The mechanical working of metals by means of hammer blows. Peening tends to
stretch the surface of the cold metal, thereby relieving contraction stresses.

POROSITY
The presence of gas pockets or inclusions in welding.

RESIDUAL STRESS
Stress remaining in a structure or member as a result of thermal and/or
mechanical treatment.
 WELDING TERMINOLOGY

PREHEATING
The application of heat to a base metal prior to a welding or cutting operation.

POSTHEATING
The application of heat to an assembly after a welding, brazing, soldering,
thermal spraying, or cutting operation.

WEAVING
A technique of depositing weld metal in which the electrode is oscillated.

FOREHAND WELDING
A welding technique in which welding torch is directed towards the progress of
welding. Used for thin sheets.

BACKHAND WELDING
A welding technique in which the welding torch is directed opposite to the
progress of welding. Used for thickness greater than 3mm.

INTERPASS TEMPERATURE
In a multipass weld, the lowest temperature of the deposited weld meal before
the next pass is started.
WELDING TERMINOLOGY
Nomenclature of Welding
WELDING TERMINOLOGY
Welding Positions
WELDING TERMINOLOGY
Filler Metal Designators
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

METALLURGY
Metallurgy is the science which deals with the internal structure of metals and
relationship between those structures and the properties exhibited by the metals.

CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF METALS

BCC (Body Centered Cubic) FCC (Face Centered Cubic) BCT (Body Centered
metal are Fe, C.S, Cr, Mo & metal are Al, Cu, Ni, & Tetragonal)
Ferrite Austenite Marten site
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF METALS

An element which can exist in more than one crystalline forms is known as
allotropic.

Cooling curve for pure iron. (Allotropic behavior of pure iron)

MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

Iron Carbide Phase Diagram

 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

Types of Steel
Steel

•Low carbon steel (mild steel)

•Medium carbon steel
•High carbon steel (tool steels)
•Cast iron

Alloy Steels

•Stainless steel
•High speed steel
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Low Carbon Steel
Also known as mild steel
Contain 0.05% -0.32% carbon

Tough, ductile and malleable

Easily joined and welded
Poor resistance to corrosion
Often used a general purpose material
Nails, screws, car bodies,
Structural Steel used in the construction industry
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Medium Carbon Steel
Contains 0.35% - 0.5% of carbon
Offer more strength and hardness BUT
less ductile and malleable

Structural steel, rails and garden tools

 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
High Carbon Steel
Also known as ‘tool steel’
Contain 0.55%-1.5% carbon

Very hard but offers Higher

Strength Less ductile
and less malleable

Hand tools (chisels, punches)

Saw blades
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Cast Iron
Contains 2%-4% of carbon

Very hard and brittle

Strong under compression
Suitable for casting [can be pour at a relatively
low temperature]

Engine block, engineer vices, machine parts

 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Stainless Steel
Steel alloyed with
chromium (18%), nickel (8%), magnesium (8%)
Hard and tough
Corrosion resistance
Comes in different grades
Sinks, cooking utensils, surgical instruments
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

High Speed Steel

Medium Carbon steel alloyed with
Tungsten, chromium, vanadium

Very hard
Resistant to frictional heat even at high temperature
Can only be ground

Machine cutting tools (lathe and milling)

Drills
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
WELDMENT ZONES

Three zones of weldment

starting at the left edge of
sketch: weld metal having a
cast dendritic structure, HAZ
showing a wrought structure
with grain growth and
uneffected base metal
 MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
HAZ STRUCTURE

Region 1: Extremely
coarse grained,
potentially most
dangerous area of
HAZ, readily
transformale to
martensite

Region 2: Fine
grained and likely to
transform to
martensite

Region 3 & 4: Heated

less
 Defects & Discontinuities

Defect
• A flaw or flaws that by nature or accumulated effect render a part or
product unable to meet minimum applicable acceptance standards
or specifications. The term designates reject ability.

Discontinuity
• An interruption of the typical structure of a material, such as a lack of
homogeneity in its mechanical, metallurgical, or physical characteristics.
A discontinuity is not necessarily a defect.
 Welding Defects & Discontinuities

The major discontinuities that affect weld quality are:

1. Cracks
2. Lack of fusion
3. Incomplete Penetration
4. Profile & Lack of Filling
5. Gas Pores & Porosity
6. Solid Inclusions
7. Mechanical or Surface damage
8. Misalignment
9. Residual stresses
10. Distortion after welding
Welding Defects & Discontinuities

A HAZ hydrogen crack, initiated at the weld toe

Most cracks are initiated from stress concentrations *
Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Lack of sidewall fusion &

incompletely filled grove*
Overlap (Causing cold laps)

Lack of inter-run fusion Lack of sidewall fusion

Lack of root fusion

Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Spatter An Incompletely filled groove

Lack of root fusion

Bulbous, or irregular contour
Arc Strikes
Poor toe blend

Incomplete root penetration

*
Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Surface breaking porosity

Shrinkage cavity*
Coarse cluster porosity
Fine cluster porosity
Blow hole > 1.6 mm Ø

Hollow root bead An isolated internal porosity

 Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Surface breaking solid inclusion

Internal solid inclusion causing
a lack of inter-run fusion* Internal solid inclusion causing
a lack of sidewall fusion

Internal solid inclusion Solid inclusions caused by

undercut in the previous weld run
 Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Shrinkage grooves

Crater pipe Root concavity

*
Root oxidation in Stainless Steel
Excess penetration, and burn through
Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Root Run or “Hot pass” undercut

Parent metal, surface undercut

Weld metal, surface undercut*

Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Weld metal, surface undercut Parent metal, “top toe” undercut*

 Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Any surface damage caused by:

Grinding
Hammering/chisel marks
Slag chipping hammer marks
Torn cleats (Hammered off attachments)
Arc strikes

All of the above may cause serious weakness to the weld area*
Welding Defects & Discontinuities

Linear
Excess weld metal height
Lowest plate to highest point

3 mm
Linear misalignment measured in mm

Angular

15°

Angular misalignment measured in degrees*

 Welding Discontinuities

Residual Stresses
• Caused because of localized heating and cooling during
welding, expansion and contraction of the weld area causes
residual stresses in the work piece.
 Welding Discontinuities
Distortion after Welding

Fig : Distortion of parts after welding : (a) butt joints; (b) fillet welds. Distortion is caused by differential
thermal expansion and contraction of different parts of the welded assembly.
 Heat Treatments

All heat treatments applied to metals are cycles of 3 elements.

1) Heating
2) Soaking
3) Cooling
Temp
2

1 3

Time
 Heat Treatments

Annealing: Used to make metals soft and ductile

For steels, the component is heated above its UCT, or
upper critical temperature, soaked for 1 hour/25mm of
thickness and left in the furnace to cool
Produces a coarse grain structure & low toughness*

Normalising: Used to make steels tough

As for annealing, but the steel is removed from the

furnace after soaking to cool in still air
Produces a fine grain structure with good toughness*
 Heat Treatments

Hardening: Used to make some steels harder

Used to increase the hardness of some plain carbon &
alloy steels. Plain carbon > 0.3%
The cycle is the same as previously but the cooling is
rapid i.e. Quenched in water, oil, but sometimes air*

Tempering: Used after hardening to balance the

properties of Toughness & Hardness
The temperature range is from 220 – 723 °C
The cooling part of the cycle should not be too rapid,
but over heating will over temper the steel*
 Heat Treatments

PWHT:
PWHT: Used after welding to release residual stresses,
caused by welding operations*

Force/Stress required to
induce plastic strain*
Stress
Yσ

The effect of heat

on the position of
the yield point*
Strain
By heating the steel, the yield point is suppressed/reduced relieving
residual stresses as plastic strain at a much lower level of stress*
 Heat Treatments

Pre-Heating:
Pre-Heating: Used mainly on steels to retard the cooling
rate of a hardenable steel and reduce the
hardening effect (Martensite formation)
Is also used to help diffusion of Hydrogen
from the HAZ of hardenable steels to avoid
hydrogen cracking. Typically < 350 °C
Is also used to produce a more uniform rate
of cooling, and control distortion, or effects
of high contractional strains*
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

Classification of Carbon &

Low Alloy Steels

1. Carbon Steels

2. High Strength Low Alloy Steels

3. Quenched & Tempered Steels

4. Heat-Treatable Low Alloy Steels

5. Chromium Molybdenum Steels

(0.5 to 9 % Cr & 0.5 to 1% Mo)
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

EFFECTS OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS

Carbon
The basic metal, iron, is alloyed with carbon to make steel and has the effect of
increasing the hardness and strength by heat treatment but the addition of carbon
enables a wide range of hardness and strength.

Manganese
Manganese is added to steel to improve hot working properties and increase strength,
toughness and harden ability.

Chromium
Chromium is added to the steel to increase resistance to oxidation. This resistance
increases as more chromium is added.

Nickel
Nickel is added in large amounts, over about 8%, to high chromium stainless steel to
form the most important class of corrosion and heat resistant steels.

Molybdenum
Molybdenum, when added to chromium-nickel austenitic steels, improves resistance
to pitting corrosion especially by chlorides and sulphur chemicals.
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

EFFECTS OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS

Titanium
The main use of titanium as an alloying element in steel is for carbide stabilisation.
It combines with carbon to for titanium carbides, which are quite stable and hard to
dissolve.

Phosphorus
Phosphorus is usually added with sulphur to improve machinability in low alloy
steels.

Sulphur
When added in small amounts sulphur improves machinability but does not cause
hot shortness.

Silicon
Silicon is used as a deoxidising (killing) agent in the melting of steel, as a result,
most steels contain a small percentage of silicon.
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

General Considerations for Welding

Carbon Equivalent

Carbon Equivalent (CE) is an empirical value in weight percent, relating the

combined effects of different alloying elements. Higher concentrations of carbon
and other alloying elements such as manganese, chromium, silicon, molybdenum,
vanadium, copper, and nickel tend to increase hardness and decrease weld ability.

CE = C + Mn/6 + (Cr + Mo + V)/5 + (Ni + Cu)/15

Carbon equivalent
Weldability
(CE)
Up to 0.35 Excellent
0.36–0.40 Very good
0.41–0.45 Good
0.46–0.50 Fair
Over 0.50 Poor
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

General Considerations for Welding

Hydrogen Induced Cracking

Molten steel has high solubility for atomic hydrogen which may be present due to
dissociation of water vapors in welding arc. Hydrogen cracking or cold cracking
results from the diffusion of hydrogen into the HAZ from weld metal during welding.

Solidification Cracking

This is a type of hot cracking that can occur in carbon and low alloy steels when
solidifying weld metal. This is usually caused by the segregation of low melting
elements such as sulphur, phosphorous, carbon, nickel and boron,
 WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS

Classification and Weld ability of

Carbon Steel
Common Carbon % Typical Typical Use Weldability
Name Hardness
Low Carbon 0.15 max 60 HRB Special plates & Excellent
Steel sheets, strips, welding
electrodes
Mild Steel 0.15-0.30 90HRB Structural Shapes, Good
plate and bar
Medium 0.30-0.50 25 HRC Machine parts and Fair (preheat and post heat
carbon steel tools normally required: low
hydrogen welding process
normally required)
High Carbon 050-1.00 40 HRC Spring, dies, railroad Poor ((preheat and post
Steel rail heat normally required: low
hydrogen welding process
normally required preheat
and post heat normally
required: low hydrogen
welding process normally
required
WELDABILITY OF CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS
Welding Filler Metal Selection Chart
 WELDABILITY OF STAINLESS STEELS

Types of Stainless Steel

Metallurgically stainless steels are grouped into three basic

classes:

Martensitic Stainless Steel

11.5 to 17 % Cr
Martensitic steel has BCT structure. 410, 414, 416, & 420 are martensitic. Martensitic
SS are highly magnetic.

Weldability

Weldability is improved when an austenitic type (stainless or nickel base alloy) filler
metal is used. Application of pre heat and good interpass temperature control are the
best means of avoiding cracking in welds.
 WELDABILITY OF STAINLESS STEELS

Ferritic Stainless Steel

17 to 27 % Cr
Ferritic steel has BCC structure. 430, 442 & 446 SS are ferritic.

Weldability
Precautions during welding to prevent martensetic formation are not necessary
because they are not hardened by quenching.

Austenitic Stainless Steel

18 % Cr
8% Ni
Austenitic steel has FCC structure. All 300 series SS are austenitic. Austenitic SS is
non-magnetic.

Weldability
Precautions during welding to prevent martensetic formation are not necessary
because they are not hardened by quenching.
WELDABILITY OF STAINLESS STEELS
Welding Filler Metal Selection Chart
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS
Inspection & Testing Procedures
Visual Inspection & measurement
1. Torches
2. Magnifying Glasses
3. Viewing Devices
4. Gauges

Destructive Testing for mechanical strength and toughness

1. Metallographic Tests
2. Mechanical Tests

Non Destructive Testing

1. Liquid Penetration Testing (PT)
2. Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)
3. Radiography Testing (RT)
4. Ultrasonic Testing (UT)

Tightness Testing
1. Pressure Testing
2. Pneumatic Testing
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

To establish the level of mechanical properties

Which properties ?
1) Hardness
2) Toughness
3) Tensile strength
4) Ductility
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Hardness: The ability of a material to resist indentation

Toughness: The ability of a material to absorb impact energy

Tensile strength: The ability to resist the action of a pulling force

Ductility: The ability to deform plastically under tension

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Types of tests include:

1) Quantitative
1) Quantitativetests:
tests:
Hardnesstests
Hardness tests
Toughnesstests
Toughness tests
Tensilestrength
Tensile strengthtests
tests

2) Qualitative
2) Qualitativetests:
tests:
Macrotests
Macro tests
Bendtests
Bend tests
Fracturetests
Fracture tests
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

The specimen below has been polished and is

ready to be hardness tested
= Hardness Survey

Thickness

Base metal HAZ Fusion boundary Weld metal

Further hardness surveys may be taken as the thickness

of the specimen increases
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Generally we use a diamond or steel ball to form an indentation

We measure the width of the indentation to gauge the hardness

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

1) Charpy V test: 10 x 10 (Specimen horizontal) Joules*

2) Izod test: 10 x 10 (Specimen vertical) Ft.lbs*

3) CTOD test: Specimen used is actual design size.

Detailed fracture report. mm*
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Machined notch 10 x 10 mm

The specimen may be tested from different areas of the weld.

Graduated scale Pendulum Hammer

of absorbed
energy in Joules

Location of specimen
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

A Section of weld is cut, or machined out across the test piece

and tested in tension to failure. The units are usually in N/mm²

Transverse reduced test piece*

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Radius
(For radius reduced test specimens only)

Weld
Test gripping area HAZ

Direction of test

Plate material Reduced Section

Used to assess the tensile strength of the weld metal

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Firstly, before the tensile test 2 marks are made 50mm apart

50 mm

During the test, Yield point & Tensile strength are measured

The specimen is put together and the marks are re-measured

75 mm

A new measurement of 75mm will indicate Elongation E50 %*

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Bend tests are used to establish fusion in the area under test
Guide A Guided root bend test*
Lack of root fusion shown here*

Former
Test Piece
Force

Further tests include face, side and longitudinal bend tests*

For material over 12 mm thickness, side bend test may be used*

INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Specimen prior to test* Specimen after test*

 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Saw cut 1 2 3

Hammer blow X Line of fusion

1 3

Fracture line

Full fracture
X
2 3

1 2
Y Any strait line indicates a
Inspect both surfaces
“Lack of root fusion”*
 INSPECTION & TESTING OF WELDS

Saw Cuts Hammer blow

A
Fracture line

B Inspect both surfaces

Lack of root penetration Inclusions on fracture line*

or fusion
 WELDING QUALIFICATIONS
Welding procedure Specification (WPS)
A WPS is a document that provides in detail required welding conditions for a
specification application to assess repeatability by properly trained welders.

Welding Variables

Essential Variables

A change in a welding condition which will affect the mechanical properties of

weldment. e.g: change in base material, welding process, filler metal, electrode, pre
or post weld heat treatment

Non essential Variables

A change in a welding condition which will not affect the mechanical properties of a
weldment. e.g; joint design, method of cleaning etc.

Supplementary Essential Variables

A change in a welding condition which will affect the notch toughness properties of a
weldment. e.g: change in welding process, heat input etc
 WELDING QUALIFICATIONS
Procedure Qualification Record (PQR)
A PQR is a document in which the actual welding conditions used to produce an
acceptable test joint. The PQR is a record of variables recorded during the welding
of test coupon.
Welder Performance Qualification (WPQ)
A WPQ is a document that includes the essential variables the type of test and
test results and the ranges qualified for each welder.

Comparison of PQR & WPQ

PQR WPQ
Purpose Weld Test Skill Test
Type of Test Only Mechanical Alternate Available
Testing
Requirement of Mandatory Alternate Available
Test Coupon
Shape Any shape Conditions apply
Weld Position Any position Conditions apply
Validity No validity Conditions apply
No. of Attempts No limits Only two attempts for welder
Thank you !