WELDING DEFECTS & ANALYSIS

AS PER ISO 5817/2007

• ISO 5817 is the acceptance criteria for welded
joints of steel, nickel, titanium and its alloys.
• ISO 5817 is mandatory to control the quality
of welded joints.
• Earlier, ICF drawings does not specify any
standard to assess the weld quality.
• Hence, control of weld quality is difficult
• At present, especially for bogie frames, ISO
5817 is incorporated in the drawing.
• Difference between imperfection & defect

• ISO 5817 defines three quality levels B,C &D

• Choice of quality level depends on safety

category of the joint and stress calculation .
 Personnel qualification
• Visual testing of welds and the evaluation of
results for final acceptance shall be performed
by qualified and capable personnel. It is
recommended that personnel be qualified in
accordance with ISO 9712 or an equivalent
standard at an appropriate level in the
relevant industry sector.
 GUAGES FOR VT
• Magnifying lens 2X to 5X as per ISO 17637.
• Shall have a graduation as per ISO 3058.
Crack
 Reasons for weld cracking
• Hot cracking due to high sulphur and
phosphorus content
• Centreline cracking due to seggregation-
rejection of elements of low melting to the
centre of the boundary.
• Cold cracks due to faster cooling rate –
martensite formation
• Hydrogen embrittlement

• Or it can be due to joint restraint – poor fitup

• High load application
 Crater crack
• Crater cracks occur when a crater is not filled
before the arc is broken. This causes the outer
edges of the crater to cool more quickly than
the crater, which creates sufficient stresses to
form a crack. Longitudinal, transverse and/or
multiple radial cracks may form.
 SURFACE PORE
• Porosity is caused by the absorption of
nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen in the molten
weld pool which is then released on
solidification to become trapped in the weld
metal.
 END CRATER PIPE
• A crater pipe forms during the final solidified
weld pool and is often associated with some gas
porosity.
• This imperfection results from shrinkage on
weld pool solidification. Consequently,
conditions which exaggerate the liquid to solid
volume change will promote its formation.
Switching off the welding current will result in
the rapid solidification of a large weld pool.
 INCOMPLETE FUSION
• Incomplete root fusion is when the weld fails
to fuse one side of the joint in the root
• an excessively thick root face in a butt weld
(Fig. 1a)
• too small a root gap

• misplaced welds (Fig. 1c)

• incomplete root fusion when using too low an
arc energy (heat) input too small a bevel
angle,

• too large a diameter electrode in MMA

welding
INCOMPLETE PENETRATION
 UNDERCUT
• Undercutting is when the weld reduces the
cross-sectional thickness of the base metal,
which reduces the strength of the weld and
work pieces.
• One reason for this type of defect is excessive
current, causing the edges of the joint to melt
and drain into the weld; this leaves a drain-like
impression along the length of the weld.
• Another reason is if a poor technique is used
that does not deposit enough filler metalalong
the edges of the weld.
• A third reason is using an incorrect filler
metal, because it will create
greater temperature gradients between the
center of the weld and the edges.
• Other causes include too small of an electrode
angle, a dampened electrode, excessive arc
length, and slow speed.
SHRINKAGE GROOVE
EXCESS WELD METAL
• Caused by increased weld metal deposition
• Results in higher input resulting in destruction
of microstructure of weld and HAZ
• Also results in grain coarsening, hence, weak
weld joint.
EXCESS CONVEXITY (FOR FILLET)
EXCESS PENETRATION
INCORRECT WELD TOE
OVERLAP
BURN THROUGH
UNEQUAL LEG LENGTH
ROOT POROSITY
POOR RESTART
INSUFFICIENT THROAT THICKNESS
STRAY ARC
SPATTER