Module 9

Weld and Base

Metal
Discontinuities
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9- 1

Discontinuity
Any interruption in the
uniform nature of an item

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9- 2

Discontinuities
Seams and laps
Laminations
Weld undercut
Weld cracks
Weld porosity
Many others

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9- 3

Defect
A non-conforming
discontinuity
All discontinuities are not
defects.
All defects are discontinuities.
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9- 4

Discontinuity Criticality
Linear - non-linear
End condition - sharpness
Surface - sub-surface
Loading - uniform, non-uniform

Fatigue
Impact

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9- 5

Crack
A fracture type discontinuity
characterized by a sharp tip and
high ratio of length and width
(depth) to opening displacement

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9- 6

Crack Types
Hot/cold
Delayed/underbead
Longitudinal
Transverse
Throat/toe/root
HAZ/base metal
and many more

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9- 7

Longitudinal Crack

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9- 8

Transverse Crack

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9- 9

Throat Crack

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9- 10

Toe Crack

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9- 11

Crater Cracks in Aluminum

Weld

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9- 12

Propagation of Crater Crack

in Aluminum Weld

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9- 13

Underbead Cracks

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9- 14

Underbead Cracking
Often delayed cracking
Caused by hydrogen
Difficult to detect
Avoid with low H2 process

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9- 15

Incomplete Fusion
A weld discontinuity in which fusion
did not occur between weld metal
and fusion faces or adjoining weld
beads

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9- 16

Locations of Incomplete
Fusion

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9- 17

Incomplete Fusion at Weld

Face

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9- 18

Incomplete Fusion Between

Weld Metal and Base Metal

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9- 19

Radiograph of Side-Wall
Incomplete Fusion

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9- 20

Incomplete Joint
Penetration
Weld metal does not extend
entirely through the joint
thickness. The term is used
only for groove welds.

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9- 21

Examples of Incomplete Joint

Penetration

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9- 22

Incomplete Joint Penetration

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9- 23

Radiograph of Penetration
Faults
at Bead Starts and Stops

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9- 24

Partial Joint Penetration

Penetration not required to
be complete by designer

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9- 25

Inclusions
Entrapped foreign solid
material such as slag, flux,
tungsten or oxide

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9- 26

Surface Slag Inclusion

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9- 27

Radiograph of
Elongated Slag
Inclusions

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9- 28

Radiograph of Tungsten
Inclusions

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9- 29

Porosity
Cavity type discontinuities formed by
gas entrapped during weld metal
solidification

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9- 30

Scattered Surface Porosity

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9- 31

Linear Surface Porosity with

Connecting Crack

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Isolated Surface Porosity

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Elongated Surface Porosity

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9- 34

Radiograph of Scattered
Porosity

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Radiograph of Cluster Porosity

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9- 36

Radiograph of Linear Porosity

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9- 37

Undercut
A groove melted into the base metal
adjacent to the weld toe or weld root
and left unfilled by weld metal

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9- 38

Typical Appearance of
Undercut

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9- 39

Undercut Adjacent to
Fillet Weld

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9- 40

Radiograph of Surface
Undercut

Surface undercut should be found with VT,

NOT RT !
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9- 41

Underfill
A condition in which the weld face or
the root surface is below the
adjacent surface of the base metal

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9- 42

Underfill in Groove Welds

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9- 43

Overlap
The protrusion of weld metal
beyond the weld toe or weld
root

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9- 44

Overlap Examples

Overla
p
Overla
p

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9- 45

Overlap in Fillet and Groove

Welds

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9- 46

Undercut & Overlap in Fillet

Weld
Undercut

Overlap
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9- 47

Fillet Weld Convexity

The maximum distance from the face
of a convex fillet weld perpendicular
to a line joining the weld toes

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9- 48

Fillet Weld Convexity

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9- 49

Weld Reinforcement
Weld metal in excess of the
quantity required to fill a
joint

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9- 50

Face and Root

Reinforcement

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9- 51

Face Reinforcement on both

sides when welded from
both sides

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9- 52

Effect of Weld
Reinforcemen
t angle on
Fatigue
Strength

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9- 53

Improper and Acceptable

Treatment of Weld
Reinforcement

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9- 54

Arc Strike
A discontinuity resulting from an arc,
consisting of any localized remelted
metal, heat-affected metal, or
change in the surface profile of any
metal object

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9- 55

Photomicrograph of Martensitic
Structure Produced by an Arc
Strike

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9- 56

Spatter
Metal particles expelled during fusion
welding that do not form part of the
weld

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9- 57

Crack Formed at Weld

Spatter

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9- 58

Lamination
A discontinuity with separation or
weakness generally aligned parallel
to the worked surface of a metal

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9- 59

Cracking and
Delamination Due to
Lamination

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9- 60

Delamination
Separation of a lamination under
stress

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9- 61

Lamellar Tear
A subsurface terrace- and step-like
separation in the base metal, parallel to
the surface, caused by tensile stresses
in the through-thickness direction.

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9- 62

Lamellar Tearing

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9- 63

Seams and Laps

Longitudinal base metal surface
discontinuities found in wrought
products

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9- 64

Deep Seam on Surface of

Semi-Finished Rolled
Product

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9- 65

Cluster Seams on Surface of

Semi-Finished Rolled
Product

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9- 66

Lap on Surface of Rolled Steel

Billet

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9- 67

Dimensional
Size irregularities
Shape imperfections
Distortion

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9- 68

Discontinuities in EBW and

LBW
Unique to the special attributes of the
high-energy beams and narrow weld
width
Beam deflection (missed joint)
Root Porosity
Shrinkage voids
Hot cracks
Lack of fusion (spiking)

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9- 69