WELD DEFECT & IMAGE ON RT FILM

Weld defects

Weld defects can greatly affect

weld performance & life/strength of
weldments.
WELD DEFECTS:
COLD LAP
POROSITY:
SLAG INCLUSION
INCOMPLETE PENETRATION
LACK OF PENETRATION
INCOMPLETE FUSION
WELD DEFECTS:
INTERNAL CONCAVITY
UNDERCUT
OFFSET OR MISS MATCH
INADEQUATE WELD REINFORCEMENT
EXCESS WELD REINFORCEMENT
CRACK
WELD DEFECTS:
INCLUSIONS
BURN THROUGH
OVERLAP
CONCAVITY / CONVEXITY
ARC STRIKE / HAMMER MARK
CRATER
SPATTER
 Geometric imperfections
Geometric imperfections refer to certain weld
characteristics such as fit-up and weld bead shape as
determined by visual inspection.
They are an indication of poor workmanship.
Cold lap is a condition where the weld filler
metal does not properly fuse with the base
metal

OR

The previous weld pass material (interpass

cold lap). The arc does not melt the base metal
sufficiently and causes the slightly molten
puddle to flow into the base material without
bonding
COLD LAP
 Inclusions
Inclusions are generated by extraneous
material such as slag, tungsten, sulfide
and oxide inclusions becoming part of the
weld.
 POROSITY

Porosity is a collective name describing

cavities or pores caused by gas and non-
metallic material entrapment in molten
metal during solidification
Porosity can take many shapes on a radiograph but
often appears as dark round or irregular spots or
specks appearing singularly, in clusters, or in rows.

Sometimes, porosity is elongated and may appear to

have a tail. This is the result of gas attempting to escape
while the metal is still in a liquid state and is called
wormhole porosity.
All porosity is a void in the material and it will have a
higher radiographic density than the surrounding area.
POROSITY
Cluster porosity is caused when flux coated
electrodes are contaminated with moisture.

The moisture turns into a gas when heated and

becomes trapped in the weld during the welding
process.

Cluster porosity appear just like regular porosity

in the radiograph but the indications will be
grouped close together.
CLUSTER POROSITY
 SLAG INCLUSION

ROOT CAUSE: Insufficient cleaning between

multi-pass welds and incorrect current and
electrode manipulation can leave slag and
unfused sections along the weld joint.
Slag inclusions not only reduce cross sectional
area strength of the joint but may serve as an
initiation point for serious cracking.
Slag inclusions are nonmetallic solid
material entrapped in weld metal or
between weld and base metal.

In a radiograph, dark, jagged asymmetrical

shapes within the weld or along the weld
joint areas are indicative of slag inclusions.
SLAG INCLUSION
Incomplete penetration (IP) or lack of penetration
(LOP) occurs when the weld metal fails to penetrate
the joint.

It is one of the most objectionable weld

discontinuities.
Lack of penetration allows a natural stress riser
from which a crack may propagate.

The appearance on a radiograph is a dark area with

well-defined, straight edges that follows the land or
root face down the center of the weldment.
Incomplete penetration (IP) or lack of penetration (LOP)
Incomplete fusion is a condition where the
weld filler metal does not properly fuse with
the base metal.

Appearance on radiograph: usually appears

as a dark line or lines oriented in the direction
of the weld seam along the weld preparation
or joining area.
Incomplete fusion
Internal concavity or suck back is a
condition where the weld metal has
contracted as it cools and has been
drawn up into the root of the weld.

On a radiograph it looks similar to a lack

of penetration but the line has irregular
edges and it is often quite wide in the
center of the weld image.
Internal concavity or suck back
 Undercutting
Undercutting is one of the more severe welding defects.
It is essentially an unfilled groove along the edge of the
Weld.
The causes are usually associated with incorrect
electrode angles, incorrect weaving technique,
excessive current and travel speed.
Undercutting can be avoided with careful
attention to detail during preparation of the weld
and by improving the welding process.

It can be repaired in most cases by welding up

the resultant groove with a smaller electrode.
Internal or root undercut is an erosion of
the base metal next to the root of the weld.

In the radiographic image it appears as a

dark irregular line offset from the centerline
of the weldment.

Undercutting is not as straight edged as

LOP because it does not follow a ground
edge.
Internal or root undercut
External or crown undercut is an erosion of
the base metal next to the crown of the
weld.

In the radiograph, it appears as a dark

irregular line along the outside edge of the
weld area.
External or crown undercut
 Misalignment
This type of geometric defect is
generally caused by a setup/fit up
problem, or trying to join plates of
different thickness
Offset or mismatch are terms associated with
a condition where two pieces being welded
together are not properly aligned.
The radiographic image shows a noticeable
difference in density between the two pieces.
The difference in density is caused by the
difference in material thickness.
The dark, straight line is caused by the failure
of the weld metal to fuse with the land area.
Offset or mismatch
Inadequate weld reinforcement is an area of a
weld where the thickness of weld metal
deposited is less than the thickness of the base
material.

It is very easy to determine by radiograph if the

weld has inadequate reinforcement, because
the image density in the area of suspected
inadequacy will be higher (darker) than the
image density of the surrounding base material.
Inadequate weld reinforcement
Excess weld reinforcement is an area of a weld
that has weld metal added in excess of that
specified by engineering drawings and codes.

The appearance on a radiograph is a localized,

lighter area in the weld.

A visual inspection will easily determine if the weld

reinforcement is in excess of that specified by the
engineering requirements.
 Cracking
Cracks and planar discontinuities are some
of the most dangerous, especially if they
are subject to fatigue loading conditions.
There are several different types of cracks
and none are desired.
 Cracking
Crack must be removed by grinding back
(if superficial) or repaired by welding.
Cracks can occur in the weld itself, the base metal,
or the heat affected zone (HAZ)
Longitudinal cracks run along the direction of the
weld and are usually caused by a weld metal
hardness problem.
 Cracking
Cracking is commonly caused by a cooling
problem, the elements in the weld cooling at
different rates.
Cracks can also be caused by;
The weld bead being too wide,
Current or welding speed too high
Having the root gap too large
and also by
shrinkage stresses in high constraint areas.
Longitudinal & Transverse Crack
Tungsten inclusions. Tungsten is a brittle and
inherently dense material used in the electrode
in tungsten inert gas welding.

If improper welding procedures are used,

tungsten may be entrapped in the weld.

Radio graphically, tungsten is more dense than

aluminum or steel, therefore it shows up as a
lighter area with a distinct outline on the
radiograph.
Tungsten inclusions.
Inclusions are usually visible on the surface of material
being welded (especially aluminum).

Oxide inclusions are less dense than the surrounding

material and, therefore, appear as dark irregularly
shaped discontinuities in the radiograph.
Inclusions
Burn-Through results when too much heat
causes excessive weld metal to penetrate the
weld zone.

Often lumps of metal sag through the weld,

creating a thick globular condition on the back of
the weld. These globs of metal are referred to as
icicles.

On a radiograph, burn-through appears as dark

spots, which are often surrounded by light
globular areas.
Burn-Through
Overlap
The protrusion of weld metal beyond the weld toe or weld
root. It is caused by poor welding techniques and can generally
be overcome by an improved weld procedure.
The overlap can be repaired by grinding off excess weld metal
and surface grinding smoothly to the base metal.
Concave and convex welds
Misshaped welds are caused
by a combination of incorrect
electrode current and speed.
Excessive concavity (lack of reinforcement)
results in insufficient throat thickness in relation
to the nominated weld size

Excessive convexity results in poor weld contour.

In multilayer welds this can give rise to
slag inclusions, while in the finished weld it
provides a poor stress pattern and a local notch
effect at the toe of the weld
Concavity & Convexity can be avoided by using an
appropriate electrode size, current and weaving pattern.
Repair by either filling with further weld material or by
grinding back to the base metal on each side of the weld
and re-welding.
 Hammer marks and arc strikes
Arc strikes appear as localized spots of re-
melted metal.
Hammer strikes are small dints or nicks.
They are caused by excessive force when
using a chipping hammer, careless
handling of the welding electrode holder
and from careless arc manipulation
 Craters
Craters are visually inspectable
depressions that indicate improper
weld terminations, usually with the
presence of radial cracks.
 Spatter
Metal drops expelled from the weld that
stick to surrounding surfaces.
 THANK YOU

Haridas Kaiprath