Visual Inspection Comparison of ISO and AWS

A. Hobbacher Cochabamba , 9th of July 2013

Basic Remarks
Both systems of quality assurance are so-called abstract qquality assurnce systems. They define a good workmanship, without a further consideration of the performance of the welded component. The legacy of ISO 5817 is from an old German standard DIN 8563. This standard was for communication between welders in shop and inspectors. The quality levels were from A to E. The criteria were mainly the difficulty to achieve and the efforts to inspect, not the performance of the joint. The connection between performance and imperfection is given e.g. in IIW doc. XIII-2323r4-10: Hobbacher A. and Kassner M.: On Relation between Fatigue Properties of Welded Joints and Quality Criteria and Groups in ISO 5817. The recent issue of ISO 5817 has an appendix which publishes the tables of the IIW document.

ISO 5817 - 1

ISO 5817 - 2

ISO 5817 - 3

ISO 5817 - 4

ISO 5817 - 5

Cracks

Surface Pores

End Crater Pipes

Lack of Fusion

Incomplete Root Penetration

Undercut

Shrinkage Groove

Excess Weld Metal

Excsss Penetration

Incorrect Weld Toe

Overlap

Sagging

Excessive Asymmetry

Root Concavity

Root Porosity

Poor Restart

Insufficient Throat Thickness

Excessive Throat Thickness

Arc Strikes

Spatter

The End