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Defectslamellartearing
JobKnowledge47

BPFortiesplatformlamellartearswereproducedwhen
attemptingtherepairoflackofrootpenetrationinabraceweld

Lamellartearingcanoccurbeneaththeweldespeciallyinrolledsteelplatewhichhaspoorthroughthicknessductility.
Thecharacteristicfeatures,principalcausesandbestpracticeinminimisingtheriskoflamellartearingaredescribed.

Identification
Visualappearance
TheprincipaldistinguishingfeatureoflamellartearingisthatitoccursinTbuttandfilletweldsnormallyobservedin
theparentmetalparalleltotheweldfusionboundaryandtheplatesurface,(Fig1).Thecrackscanappearatthetoe
orrootoftheweldbutarealwaysassociatedwithpointsofhighstressconcentration.

Fractureface
Thesurfaceofthefractureisfibrousand'woody'withlongparallelsectionswhichareindicativeoflowparentmetal
ductilityinthethroughthicknessdirection,(Fig2).

Fig.1.LamellartearinginTbuttweld

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Fig.2.Appearanceof
fracturefaceoflamellartear

Metallography
Aslamellartearingisassociatedwithahighconcentrationofelongatedinclusionsorientedparalleltothesurfaceof
theplate,tearingwillbetransgranularwithasteppedappearance.

Causes
Itisgenerallyrecognisedthattherearethreeconditionswhichmustbesatisfiedforlamellartearingtooccur:
1.Transversestraintheshrinkagestrainsonweldingmustactintheshortdirectionoftheplateiethroughthe
platethickness
2.Weldorientationthefusionboundarywillberoughlyparalleltotheplaneoftheinclusions
3.Materialsusceptibilitytheplatemusthavepoorductilityinthethroughthicknessdirection
Thus,theriskoflamellartearingwillbegreaterifthestressesgeneratedonweldingactinthethroughthickness
direction.Theriskwillalsoincreasethehigherthelevelofweldmetalhydrogen

Factorstobeconsideredtoreducetheriskoftearing
Thechoiceofmaterial,jointdesign,weldingprocess,consumables,preheatingandbutteringcanallhelpreducethe
riskoftearing.

Material

Fig.3.Relationshipbetweenthe
STRAandsulphurcontentfor12.5
to50mmthickplate

Tearingisonlyencounteredinrolledsteelplateandnotforgingsandcastings.Thereisnoonegradeofsteelthatis
morepronetolamellartearingbutsteelswithalowShortTransverseReductioninArea(STRA),commonlyassociated
withahighconcentrationofrolledsulphideoroxideinclusions,willbesusceptible.Asageneralrule,steelswithSTRA
over20%areessentiallyresistanttotearingwhereassteelswithbelow10to15%STRAshouldonlybeusedinlightly
restrainedjoints(Fig.3).

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Steelswithahigherstrengthhaveagreaterriskespeciallywhenthethicknessisgreaterthan25mm.Aluminium
treatedsteelswithlowsulphurcontents(<0.005%)willhavealowrisk.
SteelsupplierscanprovideplatewhichhasbeenthroughthicknesstestedwithaguaranteedSTRAvalueofover20%.

JointDesign
Lamellartearingoccursinjointsproducinghighthroughthicknessstrain,egTjointsorcornerjoints.InTorcruciform
joints,fullpenetrationbuttweldswillbeparticularlysusceptible.Thecruciformstructuresinwhichthesusceptible
platecannotbendduringweldingwillalsogreatlyincreasetheriskoftearing.
Inbuttjoints,asthestressesonweldingdonotactthroughthethicknessoftheplate,thereislittleriskoflamellar
tearing.
Asangulardistortioncanincreasethestrainintheweldrootandortoe,tearingmayalsooccurinthicksectionjoints
wherethebendingrestraintishigh.
SeveralexamplesofgoodpracticeinthedesignofweldedjointsareillustratedinFig.4.
AstearingismorelikelytooccurinfullpenetrationTbuttjoints,ifpossible,usetwofilletwelds,Fig.4a.
Doublesidedweldsarelesssusceptiblethanlargesinglesidedweldsandbalancedweldingtoreducethestresses
willfurtherreducetheriskoftearingespeciallyintheroot,Fig.4b
Largesinglesidefilletweldsshouldbereplacedwithsmallerdoublesidedfilletwelds,Fig.4c
Redesigningthejointconfigurationsothatthefusionboundaryismorenormaltothesusceptibleplatesurface
willbeparticularlyeffectiveinreducingtherisk,Fig.4d

Fig.4Recommendedjoint
configurationstoreducetheriskof
lamellartearingFig.4a

Fig.4b

Fig.4c

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Fig.4d

Weldsize
LamellartearingismorelikelytooccurinlargeweldstypicallywhentheleglengthinfilletandTbuttjointsisgreater
than20mm.Asrestraintwillcontributetotheproblem,thinnersectionplatewhichislesssusceptibletotearing,may
stillbeatriskinhighrestraintsituations.

Weldingprocess
Asthematerialandjointdesignaretheprimarycausesoftearing,thechoiceofweldingprocesshasonlyarelatively
smallinfluenceontherisk.However,higherheatinputprocesseswhichgeneratelowerstressesthroughthelarger
HAZanddeeperweldpenetrationcanbebeneficial.
Asweldmetalhydrogenwillincreasetheriskoftearing,alowhydrogenprocessshouldbeusedwhenwelding
susceptiblesteels.

Consumable
Wherepossible,thechoiceofalowerstrengthconsumablecanoftenreducetheriskbyaccommodatingmoreofthe
strainintheweldmetal.Asmallerdiameterelectrodewhichcanbeusedtoproduceasmallerleglength,hasbeen
usedtopreventtearing.
Alowhydrogenconsumablewillreducetheriskbyreducingthelevelofweldmetaldiffusiblehydrogen.The
consumablesmustbedriedinaccordancewiththemanufacturer'srecommendations.

Preheating
Preheatingwillhaveabeneficialeffectinreducingthelevelofweldmetaldiffusiblehydrogen.However,itshouldbe
notedthatinarestrainedjoint,excessivepreheatingcouldhaveadetrimentaleffectbyincreasingthelevelof
restraintproducedbythecontractionacrosstheweldoncooling.
Preheatingshould,therefore,beusedtoreducethehydrogenlevelbutitshouldbeappliedsothatitwillnotincrease
theamountofcontractionacrosstheweld.

Buttering
Butteringthesurfaceofthesusceptibleplatewithalowstrengthweldmetalhasbeenwidelyemployed.Asshownfor
theexampleofaTbuttweld(Fig.5)thesurfaceoftheplatemaybegroovedsothatthebutteredlayerwillextend15
to25mmbeyondeachweldtoeandbeabout5to10mmthick.

Fig.5.Butteringwithlowstrength
weldmetala)generaldepositonthe
surfaceofthesusceptibleplate

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b)insitubuttering

Insitubutteringiewherethelowstrengthweldmetalisdepositedfirstonthesusceptibleplatebeforefillingthejoint,
hasalsobeensuccessfullyapplied.However,beforeadoptingeitherbutteringtechnique,designcalculationsshouldbe
carriedouttoensurethattheoverallweldstrengthwillbeacceptable.

Acceptancestandards
Aslamellartearsarelinearimperfectionswhichhavesharpedges,theyarenotpermittedforweldsmeetingthe
qualitylevelsB,CandDinaccordancewiththerequirementsofBSENISO5817:2007.

Detectionandremedialaction
Ifsurfacebreaking,lamellartearscanbereadilydetectedusingvisualexamination,liquidpenetrantormagnetic
particletestingtechniques.Internalcracksrequireultrasonicexaminationtechniquesbuttheremaybeproblemsin
distinguishinglamellartearsfrominclusionbands.Theorientationofthetearsnormallymakesthemalmost
impossibletodetectbyradiography.
ThisJobKnowledgearticlewasoriginallypublishedinConnect,May/June2000.Ithasbeenupdatedsothewebpage
nolongerreflectsexactlytheprintedversion.

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