FILLET WELDING

Rhishikesh Kulkarni

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OBJECTIVES
Understanding Importance of Fillet , Its Aesthetics and Cost. To Create consumable wastage awareness due to excessive fillet sizes. Understanding & Control of fillet size variations in various positions.

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CONTENTS
A. INTRODUCTION TO FILLET B.FILLET NOMENCLATURE C.FILLET WELD DESIGN - BASICS D.FILLETS USED TO MAKE FIVE BASIC JOINTS E. FAULTY WELD FILLET SIZES & PROFILES F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES G. VARIOUS FILLET PROFILES & WELDING SYMBLOLS H. TEST PAPER
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A. INTRODUCTION TO FILLET

Symbol Of Fillet weld

Definition : Weld of Approximately triangular cross section joining two surfaces nearly at right angles to each other. Fillet welds are used to join corner, T and Lap joints . Fillet Joints are economical and requires no edge preparation.
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B. FILLET WELD NOMENCLATURE

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B. FILLET WELD NOMENCLATURE ( Contd..) Base Metal : Metal to be welded.

Bond Line: Junction of Weld Metal and Base Metal. Depth of Fusion: Distance that fusion extends into base metal. Face of Weld: Exposed surface of weld on the side from which the welding was done. Leg of a Fillet weld: Distance from a root of a joint to the toe of the fillet weld. Root of Weld: Point at which the bottom of the weld intersects the base metal surface. Throat of Fillet weld: Shortest distance from the root of the fillet weld to its face. Toe of a weld: Junction between the face of the weld and the base metal.
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C. FILLET WELD DESIGN - BASICS Fillet welds are least expensive than groove weld as edge
preparation cost is less. Fillet welds are expected to have equal leg lengths i.e ideally face of the fillet should be at 45 degrees angle. In normal type of fillets , strength of fillet depends on throat Size. Throat Size = 0.707 x leg length.

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C. FILLET WELD DESIGN - BASICS Doubling the Fillet Size ( Leg length ) doubles the throat dimensions also doubles the strength of the fillet . But it increases the cross sectional area weight by four times . Single fillet welds are extremely prone to cracking , root of weld is subjected to cracking specifically for T, corner & Lap joints. Remedy for this is to make double fillets which prohibits the tensile load from being applied to the root of the fillet. Please refer the F ( FORCE) arrowhead in Figure 19.25. (Fillet used to make five basic joints)

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C. FILLET WELD DESIGN - BASICS ( contd)

A
10

20
10

20

Diagram A Shows Leg Length = 10 mm Diagram B shows leg length = 20 mm. Area of Fillet A = 50 mm2 Area of Fillet B = 200 mm2 Suppose welding to be carried out on 1 meter Length. I.e Welding Length ( L) = 1000 mm
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C. FILLET WELD DESIGN - BASICS ( contd)

Welding Volume = Fillet A = 50 Cm3 Fillet B = 200 Cm3 Weld Deposit = Fillet A = 390 gms. Fillet B = 1560 gms. Thus, Doubling the Fillet Size ( Leg length ) doubles the throat dimensions But increases the cross sectional area weight and electrode Consumption by four times .

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D. FILLETS USED TO MAKE FIVE BASIC JOINTS

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E. FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE Faulty weld sizes refers to undersize weld or variable leg lengths than
required. Faulty profiles refers to excessive concavity, excessive convexity, unequal leg lengths & irregular weld face.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd)

1.

Excessive Convexity

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd)

1. Excessive Convexity : It is the weld metal lying outside the plane joining the weld toes. Normally Called as Reinforcement. Causes: A.Deposition of excess volume of a cold metal. B.Use of Incorrect ( Low) welding current. C.Improper welding technique. NOTE :Excessive Convexity is also associated with overlapping toes of the weld giving rise to notch effect & stress Concentration affecting fatigue life of a component seriously.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 1.

Acceptance: As per AWS D 1.1 limits for this imperfection relate the height of the excess metal to the width of bead with maximum values ranging from 3 mm for a stringent quality and 5 mm for a moderate quality levels.

Excessive Convexity ( Contd..):

Width of weld Face W <= 8 mm W < 8 to W <25 mm W>= 25 mm

Maximum Convexity 2 mm 3 mm 5 mm

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 2. Excessive Concavity

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 2. Excessive Concavity ( Contd)

Its the failure to achieve the size requirements Upto the plane joining weld toes. Causes: A. Use of incorrect ( High) welding current. B. Improper welding Technique. NOTE: Excessive concavity reduce the throat thickness of fillet weld and also reduce the ultimate strength of the welded joint. Excessive concavity in fillet welds can be rectified by adding further weld metal.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 3. Oversize Fillet Welds (Welds with throat larger than required by design)

Causes : A.High welding currents. B.Slow travel speed. C.Improper welding technique. D.Improper supervision.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 3. Oversize Fillet Welds ( Contd) (Welds with throat larger than required by design)

Acceptance: Throat thickness greater than the required one may not be a reason for rejection. Generally for stringent quality levels the actual throat (a) may exceed the nominal design throat (h) by 1+0.15a ( refer previous Dig.). With this rule maximum 3 mm for stringent levels & 5 mm for moderate Quality levels is recommended. Avoidance : Adhere to specified welding parameters. Do not add welding to specified weld size.
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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 4. Undersize Fillet Welds ( Contd) (Welds with throat smaller than required by design)

Causes: A. Low welding currents. B. High welding speeds.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 4. Undersize Fillet Welds ( Contd) (Welds with throat smaller than required by design)

Acceptance: Fillet weld with throat thickness smaller than prescribed should not be treated imperfect if actual throat thickness is having greater depth of penetration which complies with nominal throat value. ( Please refer pervious diagram). But penetration is weld characteristic which is difficult to measure , Hence this should be discussed with the designer. Stringent control over both welding process and welder are required. Avoidance: A. Adhere to specified welding procedure and parameters. B. Use sufficient current & appropriate travel speed.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 5. Asymmetric Fillet Welds (Fillet Welds with unequal leg lengths)

Causes: A. Due to incorrect electrode Positioning or due to gravity pulling the molten pool towards one face of the joint. B. Problem specially lies with fillet welds in Horizontal and Vertical position.

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E.FAULTY FILLET WELD SIZES & PROFILE ( Contd) 5. Asymmetric Fillet Welds ( Contd..) (Fillet Welds with unequal leg lengths)

Acceptance: Acceptance is related to throat thickness. E.g. For a 10 mm leg length fillet( 7.1 mm Throat) allows a difference in leg lengths of about 2.5 mm at stringent quality levels & 3.4 mm at moderate quality levels. But these imperfections give significant increase in weld volume and consumable deposition. Unequal leg lengths reduces the throat thickness & thus ultimate strength of weld also reduces.

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES 1. Flat Position ( 1F)

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES 1.

Procedure: A.First pass to be deposited with minimum weaving. B.The arc should be concentrated at the root as Shown in the figure to ensure good fusion. C.Optimum travel speed to be established. Too low speed causes overlapping & Too high speed causes undercut. D. Subsequent passes can be Carried out with weaving.

Flat Position ( 1F)

(Contd..)

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES ( Contd..) 2. Horizontal Position ( 2F)

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES ( Contd..) 2. Horizontal Position ( 2F) ( Contd..)

Procedure: A.First pass to be deposited with minimum weaving. B.The arc should be concentrated at the root as Shown in the figure to ensure good fusion. C.subsequent passes are also carried out with minimum weaving and in the sequence shown in the figure.

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES ( Contd..) 3. Vertical Position ( 3F)

Weaving technique for First pass

Weaving technique for 2nd & 3rd Pass

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F. FILLET WELDING TECHNIQUES ( Contd..) 3. Vertical Position ( 3F) ( Contd..)

Procedure: A.Carry out welding from bottom to top to achieve high efficiency joints. B. Weaving to be carried out for all the passes including first pass. C. Technique of weaving for all passes is shown in the figure.

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G. VARIOUS FILLET PROFILES & WELDING SYMBOLS

Desirable fillet Profiles

Unacceptable fillet Profiles

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SUMMARY Fillet is a Triangular Cross sectional Area joining two surfaces at right angles to each other. Used for joining T, Lap and corner Joint. Throat is the shortest distance from root of the fillet to weld face. Strength of the fillet depends upon Throat dimensions. Leg length of fillet is the shortest distance from root of the joint to the toe of the fillet weld. Also referred as Fillet size. Throat size = 0.707 x Leg Length ( Fillet size). Doubling the leg length doubles the throat dimensions , increases the weld cross sectional area and electrode consumption by approximately four times. Main reasons for Excessive Convexity are too low welding current & improper welding technique.Excessive Convexity gives a notch effect & acts as a stress raiser adversely affecting fatigue life of a component.

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SUMMARY ( Contd) Excessive Concavity occurs because of too high welding current & improper welding technique.Excessive Concavity reduces the throat size & also causes reduction in Ultimate Strength of the component. Main reasons for oversize fillet welds are : a. High welding currents. b. Slow travel Speed. c. Improper welding technique. Remedies to avoid oversize fillet welding are : a. Adhere to specified welding procedures and parameters. b. welding Upto specified weld size as per requirements. c. Close supervision is required.

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SUMMARY ( Contd) Main reasons for undersize fillet welds are: a. Low Welding Current. b. High welding Speed. c. Improper Electrode Positioning. Remedial measures are: a. Adhere to specified welding procedures and parameters. b. Use of sufficient current and appropriate travel speed.

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THANK YOU

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