Weldability Tests

By : Nikita Patil , Pragati Mohan & Sanket Patil

WELDABILITY

The American Welding Society defines

weldability as “The capacity of a metal to be
welded under the fabrication conditions imposed
into a specific, suitably designed structure and to
perform satisfactorily in the intended service”.

Weldability is an important consideration in

welding because it can affect the strength,
durability, and performance of the final product.
Significance of Weldability Theoretical Tests
Weldability tests are employed for
getting a quantitative measurement of
weldability for a material or combination
of materials.Weldability is an important Simulates Tests
consideration in welding because it can
affect the strength, durability, and
performance of the final product. Poor
weldability can lead to cracking, Visual Examination
porosity, and other defects in the weld.

Component Sampling Tests

Actual Welding Tests

Theoretical Tests

Theoretical weldability tests include,

(i) Jominy Hardness-Bend Ductility test:series of notched be.ndspecimens are austenised at 1150°C
and cooled at the calculated rates to duplicate the expected hardness of the HAZ. If the specimens
can be bent through 10°-20° they are considered sufficiently ductile for most applications.
(ii) Prediction of HAZ Hardness from Carbon Equivalent, etc:

Limitation:
• The theoretical approaches, obviously, do not take the effects of weld metal into account and
since cellulosic welding electrodes have a much greater tendency to cause HAZ cracking than
low hydrogen electrodes, the 10 0 bend criterion may not be applicable in many cases.
• Calculated weldability formulae may not take into account all of the welding variables involved.
Simulated Tests

To simulate the heat effects of welding, and thus create a synthetic weldability tests, two general
types of equipments are available, viz.,
(i) a unit which heats and cools a metal specimen over a thermal cycle exactly like that found in a
particular weld,
(ii) a unit which not only heats and cools the test specimen over the weld thermal cycle, but which
can also apply a controlled tension load to the specimen at any time during the cycle.

Limitation:

While the simulated tests provide very useful information regarding the mechanical properties of
various areas within the HAZ, during as well as after the weld cycle, they cannot account for residual
and reaction stresses, H2 pick-up, and other conditions which may be imposed on production welds.
Visual Examination

Visual examination for assessing wddability of a material includes the following observations to be
made.
(i) Checking the weld size, shape, appearance, and freedom from performance defects-to ensure
that the technique is of acceptable standard.
(ii) The weld will be examined for signs of cracking or other defects such as porosity that can be
considered to be due to deficiency in weldability.
Of course it is difficult to separate these two tests completely.
Limitation:

Examination ofthis kind does no more than give a preliminary guide to weldability, since weldability
defects are often difficult to see, even if artificial aids are used, e.g., crack detecting methods using
magnetic particles or fluorescent ink. Also, microcracks or even large internal cracks are not likely to
be readily detected from outside the weld.
Component Sampling Tests

Welding tests made by component sampling are usually 'suck-it-and-see' tests. The welder
makes an actual component which is first examined visually and then, perhaps physically
to destruction, the actual approach depends to a large extent on the available facilities. For
example, if facilities are available, macrostructures might be studied and mechanical tests
made; but more likely welds would simply be broken up to see the degree of penetration,
etc. Small organisations, rather than large, are more likely to use this form of weldability
tests ; but even some of the larger organisations have been known to use it.
Actual Welding Tests

An extensive variety of actual welding tests have been devised to measure the weldability
characteristics of steels and other materials. In general these tests serve one or both ofthe following
purposes.
(i) They are used to calibrate the weldability of particular grades of individual heats of metals and
alloys. For this purpose the specimen dimensions and welding condi_x0002_tions are prescribed
and fixed to make the material sample the only variable.
(ii) They are used to establish a compatible combination of base material, filler metal, and welding
conditions that will produce welded joints satisfactory for the application

In effect these two types of tests fall into two groups viz.,
1. Fabrication Weldability Tests:
These tests are used to assess fabrication weldability to evaluate whether a particular material
and process can be used to produce a joint acceptably free of defects.
2. Service Weldability Tests_x0002_
These tests measure whether the properties ofthe welded joint are satisfactory for the intended
service or not.
 Fabrication Weldability Tests
The tests in this category determine the susceptibility of the welded joint to cracking and can be grouped under three
headings according to the type of cracking that they produce, viz.
(i) Hot cracking tests: A number of tests have been devised to check the hot cracking tendency of weldments ; some of
them are:
 Murex tests
 Houldcraft test
 Varestraint test
 Ring weldability test
 Hot ductility test
(ii) Cold cracking test: Weldability is also assessed by the cold cracking susceptibility of a weldment; some of them
are:
 Controlled thermal severity (CTS) test,
 Tekken test
 Lehigh restraint test
 Longitudinal bead-weld test,
 Implant test.
(iii) Tests related to cracks associated with specific fabrication: In this section tests employed to assess weldability
with
regard to the following types of cracks are described.
 Lamellar Cracking
 Service Weldability Tests
This class of tests is designed to measure mechanical properties that are considered vital to the satisfactory
performance of the welded joint in service. These tests include:

 Tensile Tests
 Nick-break test
 Pillow test
 Bend tests
 Impact tests
 Hardness Tests
 Fracture toughness tests
 Fatigue tests
 Corrosion Tests
 Creep Tests.

For all the mechanical tests the specimen should be taken so that the welded joint is in the middle, and the
reinforcement is removed flush with the parent metal. The specimens are then prepared for various tests.
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