The performance qualification tests are intended to determine the

ability of welders to make sound welds.

The performance qualification test shall be welded in accordance with

qualified Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS)

Each qualified welder shall be assigned an identifying number, letter,

or symbol by the organization, which shall be used to identify the
work of that welder.
 QW-302 Type of Test Required

Mechanical Testing :
 The type and number of test specimens required for mechanical testing shall
be in accordance with QW-452 except special position. All mechanical tests
shall meet the requirements prescribed in QW-160 or QW-180, as applicable

Volumetric NDE :
 When the welder is qualified by volumetric NDE, the minimum length of
coupon(s) to be examined shall be 6 in. (150 mm) and shall include the
entire weld circumference for pipe(s), but for the small diameter pipes
number of the test coupons need not exceed four consecutively made test
coupons. The examination technique and acceptance criteria shall be in
accordance with QW-191.

Visual Examination :
 For plate coupons shall be visually examined as per QW-194 & Pipe coupons
shall be visually examined per QW-194 over the entire circumference, inside
and outside.
Type Of Test Required On Welded Coupon (QW-302)

• Visual Examination – Qw 302.4

Completed Coupon Shall be Subjected To Visual Inspection

• Mechanical Test - QW 452

Root Bend :- 1 No, Face Bend :-1 No (<19 mm Thick)
Or
Side Bend :- 2 Nos (≥19 mm Thick)
(For 5G / 6G – 2 Face & 2 Root Or 4 Side Bends)

• Alternate to Mechanical Tests, Radiograph the Coupon – 6 ” Minimum

Length
 QW-303 Limits of Qualified Positions & Diameters (See QW-461) :
A) Groove Welds : Generally Welders who pass the required tests for groove
welds in the test positions of Table QW-461 shall be qualified for the positions
of groove welds and fillet welds as shown in Table QW-461.9.

 .
B) Fillet Welds : Welders who pass the required tests for fillet welds in the
test positions shall be qualified for the positions of fillet welds shown in
Table QW461.9.
 Welders who pass the tests for fillet welds shall be qualified to make
fillet welds only in the thicknesses of material, sizes of fillet welds, and
diameters of pipe and tube 27/8 in. (73 mm) O.D. and over, as shown in
Table QW-452.5, within the applicable essential variables.
 Welders and welding operators who make fillet welds on pipe or tube
less than 27/8 in. (73 mm) O.D. must pass the pipe fillet weld test per
Table QW-452.4 or the required mechanical tests in QW-304 and QW-
305 as applicable.
 QW-304.1& 305 Examination
 Welds made in test coupons for WPQ may be examined by visual and
mechanical examinations (QW-302.1, QW-302.4) or by volumetric NDE (QW-
302.2) for the process(es). Alternatively, a minimum 6 in. (150 mm) length of
the first production weld(s) made by a welder using the process(es) specified
in QW-304 may be examined by volumetric NDE.

(a) For pipe(s) welded in the 5G, 6G, or special positions, the entire production
weld circumference made by the welder shall be examined.

(b) For small diameter pipe where the required minimum length of weld cannot
be obtained from a single production pipe circumference, additional
consecutive circumferences of the same pipe diameter made by the welder
shall be examined, except that the total number of circumferences need not
exceed four.

(c) The examination technique and acceptance criteria for production welds
shall be in accordance with QW-191.
 Failure to Meet Examination Standards: If a production weld is selected for
WPQ & the welder has failed the test. In this event, the entire production
weld made by this welder shall be examined and repaired by a qualified
welder. Alternatively, retests may be made as permitted in QW 320.

 QW-306 Combination of Welding Processes

 A welder may be qualified by making tests with each individual welding
process in separate test coupons, or with a combination of welding
processes in a single test coupon.

 Two or more welders who are using the same or a different welding
process, may be qualified in combination in a single test coupon.

 A welder who qualified in combination on a single test coupon is qualified

to weld in production using any of his processes individually or in different
combinations, provided he welds within his limits of qualification with each
specific process.

 Failure of any portion of a combination test in a single test coupon

constitutes failure of the entire combination.
 QW-320 Retests and Renewal qualification

 Retests A welder who fails the welder qualification may be retested under
the following provisions.

 Immediate Retest Using Visual Examination. : When an immediate retest is

made, the welder shall make two consecutive test coupons for each
position which he has failed, all of which shall pass the visual examination
requirements. The examiner may select one of the successful test coupons
from each set of retest coupons which pass the visual examination for
conducting the mechanical testing.

 Immediate Retest Using Mechanical Testing: When an immediate retest is

made, the welder shall make two consecutive test coupons for each
position which he has failed, all of which shall pass the test requirements.
 QW-321.3 Immediate Retest Using Volumetric NDE:

 (a) For welders retest shall be to examine two 6 in. (150 mm) plate
coupons; for pipe, to examine two or more pipe coupons of the same
diameter for a total of 12 in. (300 mm) of weld, which shall include the
entire weld circumference for pipe or pipes (for small diameter pipe the
total number of consecutively made test coupons need not exceed eight).

 (b) At the option of the organization, the welder who has failed the
production weld alternative test may be retested by examining additional
weld areas equal to twice the required length or number of pipe
circumferences of the same or consecutively made production weld(s)
specified in QW-304.1 & QW 305.1.

 If this length of weld passes the test, the welder is qualified and the area
of weld on which he had previously failed the test shall be repaired by him
or another qualified welder.
 If this length does not meet the examination standards, the welder has
failed the retest and all of the production welds made by this welder shall
be examined completely and repaired by a qualified welder.
 QW-322 Expiration & Renewal of Qualification QW-322.1:

Expiration of Qualification. The performance qualification of a welder shall

be affected when one of the following occurs:

a) When he has not welded with a process during a period of 6 months or

more, his qualifications for that process shall expire; unless, within the 6
month period, prior to his expiration of qualification.

 The welder has welded with that process using manual or semiautomatic
welding/ Machine or automatic welding, under the supervision and
control of the qualifying organization(s) that will extend his qualification
for an additional 6 months.

(b) When there is a specific reason to question his ability to make welds that
meet the specification, the qualifications that support the welding he is
doing shall be revoked. All other qualifications not questioned remain in
effect.
 QW-322.2 Renewal of Qualification.
(a) Renewal of qualification expired under QW-322.1(a) may be made for any
process by welding a single test coupon of either plate or pipe, of any
material, thickness or diameter, in any position, and by testing of that
coupon as required by QW-301 and QW-302. A successful test renews the
welder previous qualifications for that process for those materials,
thicknesses, diameters, positions, and other variables for which he was
previously qualified. Providing the requirements of QW-304 and QW-305 are
satisfied, renewal of qualification under QW-322.1(a) may be done on
production work.

(b) Welders whose qualifications have been revoked under QW-322.1(b)

above shall requalify. Qualification shall utilize a test coupon appropriate to
the planned production work. The coupon shall be welded and tested as
required by QW-301 and QW-302. Successful test restores the qualification.
 QW-310 QUALIFICATION TEST COUPONS
 QW-350 WELDING VARIABLES FOR WELDERS : A change in a welding
condition which will affect the ability of a welder to deposit sound
weld metal (such as a change in welding process, deletion of
backing, electrode, F‐Number, technique, etc.
QW-351 Generally a welder shall be requalified whenever a change is
made in one or more of the essential variables listed for each
welding process. Essential Variable (Performance).
 Welding Engineer writes a WPS for WQT.

•The welder will make the test weld in accordance with the WPS
•A welding inspector monitors the welding to ensure that the welder is
working in accordance with the WPS.

An independent examiner/examining body/third party inspector may be

requested to monitor the test.

• The test coupon is subjected to NDT in accordance with the methods

specified by the Standard (visual inspection, RT,MT)
•For certain materials, and welding processes, some destructive testing
may be required (bends or macros).

A welder’s Qualification Certificate is prepared showing the welding

conditions used for the test piece and the range of qualification allowed by
the Standard for production welding.
• If a third party is involved, the Qualification Certificate would be endorsed
as a true record of the test.
 Explanation:

 Project : The name of the project to be filled for which welder is going to be
qualified.
 Client /Job No. : Client name or Job No. need to fill in this box.
 Contractor : Name of the Contactor/Company/Organization to be filled here
who is going to qualify their welders for the job.
 WPS no./Rev. No./Date : WPS no. With date & Rev. No. If done to be filled in
this box & on the basis of this WPS welder performance will be done.
 Date of Testing : Date of WPQ to be filled in this block.
 Type : Manual/Semi-Auto/Auto : Method of the welding to be filled here like
if a welder is going to be qualify by Manual welding then Manual & if by Auto
the Auto.
 Welder Name: Name of the welder to be qualified will be filled here.
 Welder ID No. : Welder ID no. To be filled here later if he cleared the NDE
/MT for Welder qualification
 Welder Photo : Passport size photograph to be sticked here.
Actual Values /Parameters during welder qualification to
be filled in the Column of Actual Vales & Range
Qualified will be as per ASME sec. IX clauses.

Welding Process: Welding process like SMAW,GTAW ,SAW etc to be filled in

this block for which welder is going to be qualified, process may be single
process as SMAW only or may be combination of two like GTAW + SMAW
as in Argon welding.

Backing (Metal, Weld Metal,Double welded etc.) QW-402 :

 Backing is a material or device placed against the back side of the joint
adjacent to the joint root to support and shield molten weld metal.

 If a welder is going to be Qualified with GTAW + SMAW process then actual

value will be for GTAW – without but for SMAW – with (because Root with
GTAW will work as a backing for SMAW process).

 Now the qualified range for the welder will be as follows : GTAW – With or
without backing and for SMAW – with only.
 Base Material : a) Specification & type/grade :- In Table no. QW/QB-422
FERROUS/NONFERROUS P-NUMBERS Material have been arranged by
Specification No’s, Type or grade , UNS no., P. no. Group No., Nominal
Composition & product form for the understanding of the Material perfectly.
E.g : if we are going to qualify welder for pressure parts IBR T-91 Specification
& type/grade will be SA 213 T91 as per code.
b) Spec to P No. To P.No. QW-403 : P.No. (Parent Metal No’s) & Group No’s:
Materials are grouped in certain P No’s. The material which having similar
base metal characteristics, such as composition, weld ability, braze ability &
Mechanical properties are grouped in to one P.No:s. , but the base metal may
be unassigned . E.g :P.No for SA213 T91 is 15E as per QW/QB-422.
 If Actual Value was 15E+15 E then qualified range will be as per QW-420.

Thickness(plate)/Diameter(Pipe):
 Test piece dia to be mention if we are qualifying welder with pipe

 Test plate thickness to be mentioned if we are qualifying welder with plate.

 The qualified ranges will be as per QW-452 for dia and thickness limits.
SFA No.,AWS No.,F. No. (Filler Metal No.) QW404 :
 In Table QW 432 Grouping of Electrodes and Welding Rods for Qualification Filler
metals / Electrode have designated separately in F No’s, ASME specification, AWS
Specification.
 SFA,AWS No. & F.No’s for the Filler wires and the electrodes to be filled in this block as per
QW432.
 Details of the Filler type to be mentioned in this block i.e it may be solid/metal or flux cored.

 Deposited thickness for each process:

 E.g : If the thickness of the test piece is 7.6mm & we are qualifying welder with
GTAW+SMAW & if the actual value come as GTAW – 3mm (root) , SMAW – 4.6mm (hot
pass & final) then the qualified range will be as per QW452.1(b) i.e 2t means qualified range
for GTAW will be – 6mm & for SMAW – 9.2mm.

 Position QW-405: Test Position in which welder is performing test to be mentioned in this
block & qualified range will be as per QW-461.9.
 Inert gas Backing/Purging for GTAW QW-408 : Shielding gases are inert
or semi-insert gases that are commonly used in several welding
processes, most notably gas metal arc welding and Gas tungsten arc
welding (GMAW and GTAW, more popularly known as MIG and TIG,
respectively).

 Their purpose is to protect the weld area from oxygen and water vapour.
Depending on the materials being welded, these atmospheric gases can
reduce the quality of the weld or make the welding more difficult.

 The shielding gas flow rate should be high enough to maintain adequate
shielding for the arc but not so high that it causes turbulence in the weld
pool. The gas flow rate to be used depends on a number of factors such as
the process, welding position, shielding gas, electrode extension and
operating parameters.

 Backing/Purging: This method is used for the prevention of the oxidation.

 Welding current : Type & Polarity QW-409 Enter the current and polarity
for the electrode, electrode-gas or electrode- flux combination being
used. also Tungsten electrode size with type of electrode will be
mentioned here.
 Vertical Progression Vertical/Horizontal QW-410 : Details of the
welding technique to me mentioned here.

 Pre heat(QW-406) & PWHT (QW-407):

1) Preheating ---> To Slow down the cooling rate.

2) PWHT --> It is necessary to remove the residual stresses left in the
joint , which can cause brittle fracture.
3) Post heating ---> To maintain the homogeneous structure.

Preheating /Post heating /Interpass temperature & PWHT requirements

will be full filled as per the approved WPS & need to be filled.
 Now during welding of test piece the welding details to be entered pass after
pass . i.e for each pass all the details to be filled as shown in the table, but
all the parameters must be as per approved WPS on the basis of which we
are doing WPQ.
 Weld passes means Root, Hot pass, Fill up Pass, Final etc.
 Weld process means SMAW may be combination of GTAW + SMAW.
 Filler metal details like Dia & class.
 Current polarity means DCEP or DECN, Ampere & Voltage for each pass all
the details to be filled .
 Travel speed.

 Test results to be filled in the table as if WPQ is done by Mechanical Testing

/Volumetric NDT.

 Then finally it will be submitted by the contractor to EPC and after the
clearance of EPC will submitted it to TPI / Client Engineer
 Things to be remembered:
 When two metals of different thickness is welded, Heat treatment for the
higher thickness shall be applied.

 When the joint is of 2 different P no: , Heat treatment for higher P no: will
be applied.

 Heating Band --> Width = 3times of the base metal thickness from the
centre of the joint on each side.

 Insulation --> Width = 6 times of the base metal thickness from the
centre of the joint on each side, Thickness = Minimum 25mm with
insulating material.

 Thermo couple shall be placed at a distance of 1.5 times of the base metal
thickness from the centre, it should be welded by Spot welding,
 K,S,B,R types thermocouples --> K type ( Chromel - Alumel )

 Tolerances --> For Rate of heating & Cooling ±10°C & for Soaking temp. -
-> ± 15°C

 Thermocouple: Up to 4"OD---> 1 (Top of Bottom), 4-10"OD --->2 (T/B),

10-16"OD ---> 3(120°apart), >16" OD (90° apart)
 RECORDS

 A record of the welder performance qualification shall be prepared for

each welder who successfully qualified.

 Separate ID will be given for each qualified welders which will reflect
welding process, position qualified and other limitations.

 The record of WPQ will be retained by welding supervisor for his record
and review of customer representative.

 The welding supervisor will maintain separate log for welders who
successfully passed WPQ . The log shall indicate welder’s Identity ,
process, position and other limitations.
THANKS