2015‐08‐12

ASME Part UW – Requirements for

pressure vessels fabricated by welding

Dr. Michiel Heyns Pr.Eng.

T: +27 12 664-7604
C: +27 82 445-0510
mheyns@investmech.com

Typical weld joints

1: Nozzle (set in)
2: Flange
3: Nozzle (set on)
4: Reinforcing plate
5: Non-pressure part
6: Pad (set in)
7: Pad (set on)
Here the nozzle is set in the shell 8: Manhole frame
9: Flat plate

Here the nozzle is set on the head

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QW-420.1 P-Numbers
• To reduce number of welding & brazing procedure qualifications required
• Based on comparable base metal characteristics
– Composition, weldability, brazeability, mechanical properties, notch toughness

Base metal Welding Brazing

Steel & steel alloys
Aluminum & aluminum-base
alloys
Copper & copper-base alloys
P-No. 1 – P-No. 11 incl. P- P-No. 101 – P-No. 103
No. 5A, 5B & 5 C
P-No. 21 – P-No. 25 P-No. 104 & P-No. 105
P-No. 31 - P-No. 35 P-No. 107 & P-No. 108

Nickel & Nickel-base alloys P-No. 41 - P-No. 47 P-No. 110 - P-No. 112

Titanium & titanium-based P-No. 51 - P-No. 53 P-No. 115

alloys
Zirconium & zirconium-base P-No. 61 - P-No. 62 P-No. 117
alloys

Source: ASME IX, Section QW-420-1, QW 420.2, 69

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P-Numbers
Group is function of
composition

• The code provides several tables with material

data typical of the one above

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When shall a ferrous metal be

considered weldable?
• Maximum carbon equivalent for weldability
(Reference: SA-6/SA-6M, S74.2) Mn Cr  Mo  V Ni  Cu
CE  C   
6 5 15

Specified Maximum CE value

Minimum UTS
Thickness ≤ 50 Thickness > 50
[MPa]
mm mm
415 ≤ UTS < 485 0.45 0.46
485 ≤ UTS < 550 0.47 0.48A
Notes: UTS ≥ 550 0.48A, B
A If simulated PWHT of test coupons is specified, CE may increase to 0.50 upon agreement
B Applicable to quenched-and-tempered material. For other conditions, agree between purchaser &
supplier

Source: ASME II, SA-20/SA-20M, Table S20.1.

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UW: Scope

• Pressure vessels and vessel parts fabricated by

welding
• Use in conjunction with:
– Subsection A
– Subsection C – class of material used

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UW-2 Service restrictions

• Vessel containing lethal substances (liquid or

gaseous)
– Butt welded joints in vessels shall be fully
radiographed
– Fabricated from carbon of low alloy steel
• Vessel SHALL be post-weld heat treated

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UW-5 Materials

• Pressure parts
– Comply with requirements in UG-4 to UG-15
– Shall be of proven weldable quality
– Qualification of welding procedure shall be considered proof
• Non-pressure parts
– If welded to pressure vessel shall be proven of weldable quality:
• Materials under UG-10, UG-11, UG-15 or UG-93
– Qualification of welding procedure under Section IX proof of weldable
quality
• Materials not under UG-10, UG-11, UG-15 or UG-93
– Qualification of welding procedure under Section IX proof of weldable
quality
• Materials that cannot be identified
– Proof weldable quality be preparing butt-joint test coupon and subject to
guided bend tests specified in QW-451 of Section IX

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UW-5 Materials

• Materials joined by electroslag & electrogas welding

processes
– Shall be limited to ferritic steels & following austenitic
steels which are welded to produce a ferrite containing
weld metal:
• SA-240 Types 304, 304L, 316 and 316L
• SA-182 F304, F304L, F316, F316L
• SA-351 CF3, CF3A, CF3M, CF8, CF8A & CF8M
• Materials joined by inertia & continuous drive friction
welding process
– Limited to materials assigned P-numbers in Section IX
– Shall not include rimmed or semikilled steel
Rimmed Steel = Low‐carbon steel containing sufficient iron oxide to give a continuous evolution of 
carbon monoxide while ingot is solidifying, resulting in a case or rim of metal virtually free of 
voids. Sheet and strip products made from rimmed steel ingots have very good surface quality. 
8/12/2015 (http://metals.about.com/library/bldef‐Rimmed‐Steel.htm) 9

Fabrication

• Acceptable welding details

– All pressure vessel welds, including welds that attach
heads, nozzles, small fittings, and non-pressure
components to a shell, MUST conform to ASME Code
requirements
• ASME Code specifies
– Weld detail requirements for vessel fabrication (e.g.,
type & size of weld, weld locations, etc.)
– Welder & welding procedure qualification
requirements

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UW-9 Welding grooves

• Shape of edges to joined

– Permit complete fusion
– Ensure complete joint penetration
– Welding procedure as per UW-28 acceptable proof
that welding groove is satisfactory

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UW-9 Tapered Transitions

• For sections joined where thickness differ by more than
25% of thickness of thinner section, or 3.2 mm,
whichever is less: Form transition by any process. Remove material form thicker section as
per UG-23. Add weld metal as per UW-42.

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(ASME VIII Div. 1, 2001:118)

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UW-9 Design of Welded joints

• Except when longitudinal joints are radiographed 4 in.

each side of each circumferential welded intersection:
– Vessels made up of two or more courses shall have the centers
of welded longitudinal joints of adjacent coursed staggered or
separated by at least 5 x (thickness of thicker plate)
• Welded joints subject to bending stress
– Fillet welds shall be added where necessary to reduce stress
concentrations
– Corner joints, with fillet welds only, shall not be used or as per
UW-18
• Minimum weld sizes
– As per loading conditions specified in UG-22
– Not be less than minimum sizes for the plates

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UW-10 Post-weld heat treatment

• Shall be post-weld heat treated as per UW-40

when required in applicable part of Subsection C

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UW-11 Radiographic & Ultrasonic

examination
• Full radiography
– Do over full lengths for almost all butt welds in the
shell, head, communicating chambers, etc.
• Spot radiography
– May be used as advised by joint efficiency tables in
the standard
• No radiography
– Only when designed for external pressure only or
when joint complies with requirements in UW-12(c)

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UW-12 Joint efficiencies

• From Table UW-12

• Depends on
– Type of joint
– Degree of examination of the joint
• Does not depend on degree of examination of
any other joint
• E shall not be greater than 0.8 for joints
completed by any of the pressure welding
processes

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UW-13: Head to shell transition

Source: ASME VIII, Division 1, Part UW, UW-13

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Source: ASME VIII, Division 1, Part UW, UW-13

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UW-13 Fillet lap welds (heads to shells)

Source: ASME VIII, Division 1,

Part UW, UW-13

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UW-13 Attachment details

• Definitions
th Nominal thickness of head [mm]

tp Minimum distance from outside surface of flat head to edge of weld preparation [mm]

ts Nominal thickness of shell [mm]

8/12/2015 (ASME VIII Div. 1, 2001:123) 20

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UW-13 – Joints that are not permissible

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UW-14 Openings in or adjacent to

welds
• The code prescribes minimum requirements for
reinforcement for openings in a welded joint
– Relative position of welds are also given
• Done to control stress concentration at notches

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UW-15 Welded connections

• May be attached by arc or gas welding
• Provide sufficient welding to ensure sufficient strength in
shear and tension of the weld
– Groove welds: Based on weld area subjected to shear or to tension
– Fillet welds: Based on the weld area subjected to shear (base on
minimum leg dimension)
• The code have sets of pre-defined configurations on which it
is not necessary to do calculations as long as the geometry is
designed as prescribed
• Allowable stress values as % of stress values for the vessel
material
– Groove weld in tension = 74%
– Groove weld in shear = 60%
– Fillet weld in shear = 49%
Factored strengths used as defined by the code

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UW-15 Telltale holes

• Use at least one at reinforcing plates, saddles of

nozzles attached to the outside of a vessel
• Maximum size = NPS ¼ tap
• Telltale holes may be left open or may be
plugged
– Plugging material may not sustain pressure between
the reinforcing plate and the vessel wall

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UW-16 Attachment welds at openings

• Code prescribes
– Location, and, The ASME code,
– Minimum size of attachment welds as the other,
provides lists of
acceptable types
of small and large
fittings with
minimum mounting
requirements

8/12/2015 (ASME VIII Div. 1, 2001:135) 25

UW-17 Plug Welds

• Code indicates:
– Where plug welds may be used
– How they shall be spaced
– The amount of total load to be transmitted to the plug
welds (limited to 30%)
– Minimum diameter = t + 6 mm
– Maximum diameter = 2t + 6 mm
• Where t is thickness of plate in which hole is made
– The filling level, thickness dependant and can be
between 50% and 100%
– Allowable working load on a plug weld

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UW-18 Fillet Welds

• May be used as strength welds for pressure parts as per limitations
given in diagrams
– Layout of the joints shall be such to assure complete fusion at the root of
the fillet
• Corner or tee joints may be made with fillet under limitations
provided
• Design all with joint efficiency of 55% and use minimum leg
dimension for area estimation

(ASME VIII Div. 1, 2001:140)

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The code follow same fashion for the

rest
• UW-19 Welded stayed construction
• UW-20 Tube-to-tubesheet welds
• UW-21 Flange to nozzle neck welds

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UW-26 Fabrication: General

• Manufacturer shall be responsible for the quality

of welding, shall conduct tests (welding
procedure & welders and welding operators)
• NO production welding shall be undertaken until
after welding procedures have been qualified
– Use only welders & operators qualified as per Section
IX
• Welders may be sub-contracted under code
specified requirements to ensure quality control

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UW-27 Welding processes

• Allowable
– Arc welding
• Atomic hydrogen, electrogas (only for butt welds in ferritic steels
& austenitic stainless steels), gas metal arc, gas tungsten arc,
plasma arc, shielded metal arc, stud and submerged arc
– Other than arc welding
• Electron beam, flash, electroslag (only butt welds in ferritic
steels & austenitic stainless steels), explosive, induction, inertia
and continuous drive friction, laser beam, oxyfuel gas,
resistance and thermit
• Code prescribes restrictions in terms of process and
geometry as well as single pass size dependant
grain refining (austenitizing) heat treatments

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UW-28 Qualification of welding

procedure
• Each procedure shall be recorded in detail by
manufacturer
– Qualify in accordance with Section IX
• Welding of non-pressure bearing attachments that have
no load-carrying function
– For manual, machine or semi-automatic welding
• As per Section IX
– Automatic in compliance with Section IX
• Procedure qualification testing not required
• Test coupons
– Shall be welded and tested by manufacturer
– Qualification of welding procedure by one manufacturer shall not
qualify that procedure for any other manufacturer except as per
requirements of Section IX

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Other important quality controls in the

code
• UW-29 Tests of welders and welding operators
– Section IX
– Manufacturer shall keep records and samples to prove
quality control
• UW-30 Lowest temperatures for welding
– TBase Metal ≤ -18 °C
• No welding of any kind
– -18 °C < TBase Metal ≤ 0 °C
• Heat areas within 76 mm of weld to 16 °C
– Surface wet/covered with ice/snow is falling on surfaces
• No welding except proper protection is provided

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Important weld quality control

• UW-31 Cutting, fitting & alignment

– This section also prescribe criteria for the use of tack
welds
• UW-32 Cleaning of surfaces to be welded
– Remove scale, rust, oil, grease, slag, detrimental
oxides, foundry scale (for cast surfaces), etc
– For welding over previous weld remove slag by
• Roughing tool, chisel, chipping hammer
• To prevent inclusion of impurities in the weld
• UW-33 Alignment tolerance
– At edges, offsets, etc

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Important weld quality control

• UW-35 Finished longitudinal and circumferential
joints
– Complete penetration & full fusion
– Surface free form course ripples, grooves, overlaps, abrupt
ridges and valleys
– Allowable reduction in thickness specified
– Allowable thickness of weld reinforcement to ensure
surface of weld does not fall below surface of adjoining
base metals is specified
• UW-36 Fillet welds
– Ensure adequate penetration into base metal at the root of
the weld
– Slight reduction in thickness due to welding process at
edges of fillet weld allowed as specified

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Important weld quality control

• UW-37 Miscellaneous welding requirements
• UW-38 Repair of weld defects
• UW-39 Peening
• UW-40 Procedures for post-weld heat treatment
• UW-41 Sectioning of welded joints
• UW-42 Surface weld metal buildup
• Inspection and Test
– UW-47 Check for welding procedure
– UW-48 Check welder and welding operator qualifications
– UW-49 Check post-weld heat treatment practice
– UW-50 Non-destructive examination of welds on pneumatically tested vessels
– UW-51 Radiographic and radioscopic examination of welded joints
• Allowable imperfections and defect sizes are specified
– UW-52 Spot examination of welded joints
– UW-53 Technique for ultrasonic examination of welded joints
– UW-60 Markings and reports
– UW-65 Pressure relief devices

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References

• ASME VIII. Division 1. 2002. Rules for

construction of pressure vessels. The American
Society of Mechanical Engineers. New York.

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