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Gas Cavities

Gas pore

Cluster porosity

3.6

Causes:
Loss of gas shield
Damp electrodes
Contamination

Blow hole
Herringbone porosity

Arc length too large


Damaged electrode flux
Moisture on parent material
Welding current too low

Root piping

4/23/2007

Gas pore <1.5mm


Blow hole.>1.6mm

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Gas Cavities

3.7

Porosity

Root piping

4/23/2007

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Crater Pipe

3.9

Weld crater

Crater pipe

4/23/2007

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Crater Pipe

3.9

Crater pipe is a shrinkage defect and not a gas defect, it has


the appearance of a gas pore in the weld crater

Crater cracks
(Star cracks)

Causes:

Too fast a cooling


rate

Deoxidization
reactions and
liquid to solid
volume change

Contamination

Crater pipe

4/23/2007

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Solid Inclusions

3.10

Slag inclusions are defined as a non-metallic inclusion


caused by some welding process
Causes:

Slag originates from


welding flux
Slag inclusions

Lack of sidewall
fusion with
associated slag

MAG and TIG welding


process produce silica
inclusions
Slag is caused by
inadequate cleaning

Parallel slag lines

4/23/2007

Lack of interun
fusion + slag

Other inclusions include


tungsten and copper
inclusions from the TIG
and MAG welding process
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Welding Imperfections

3.13

Typical Causes of Lack of Fusion:


welding current too low
bevel angle too steep
root face too large (single-sided weld)
root gap too small (single-sided weld)
incorrect electrode angle
linear misalignment
welding speed too high
welding process related particularly dip-transfer GMAW
flooding the joint with too much weld metal (blocking Out)
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Lack of Fusion

3.13

Causes:
Poor welder skill
Incomplete filled groove +
Lack of sidewall fusion

Incorrect electrode
manipulation
Arc blow

1
2
1. Lack of sidewall fusion
2. Lack of inter-run fusion

4/23/2007

Incorrect welding
current/voltage
Incorrect travel speed
Incorrect inter-run cleaning

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Lack of Fusion

3.13

Lack of sidewall fusion + incomplete filled groove


4/23/2007

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Weld Root Imperfections

Lack of Root Fusion

4/23/2007

3.15

Lack of Root Penetration


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Surface and Profile

Incomplete filled groove


Poor cap profiles and
excessive cap reinforcements
may lead to stress
concentration points at the
weld toes and will also
contribute to overall poor toe
blend

4/23/2007

3.19

Poor cap profile

Excessive cap height


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Incomplete Groove

3.23

Lack of sidewall fusion + incomplete filled groove


4/23/2007

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Weld Root Imperfections

3.24

A shallow groove, which may occur in the root of a butt weld

Causes:
Excessive back purge

pressure during TIG welding

Concave Root

Excessive root bead grinding


before the application of the
second pass
welding current too high for
2nd pass overhead welding
root gap too large - excessive
weaving

4/23/2007

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Miscellaneous Imperfections

3.26

Causes:
Accidental striking of the
arc onto the parent
material
Faulty electrode holder
Poor cable insulation
Poor return lead
clamping

Arc strike
4/23/2007

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Miscellaneous Imperfections

3.27

Causes:

Spatter
4/23/2007

Excessive current

Damp electrodes

Contamination

Incorrect wire feed


speed when welding
with the MAG welding
process

Arc blow
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MMA welding parameters


Travel speed
Too low
wide weld bead contour
lack of penetration
burn-through

Travel
speed

Too high
lack of root fusion
incomplete root
penetration
undercut
poor bead profile,
difficult slag removal

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MMA welding parameters


Type of current:
voltage drop in welding cables is lower with AC
inductive looses can appear with AC if cables are coiled
cheaper power source for AC
no problems with arc blow with AC
DC provides a more stable and easy to strike arc,
especially with low current, better positional weld, thin
sheet applications
welding with a short arc length (low arc voltage) is easier
with DC, better mechanical properties
DC provides a smoother metal transfer, less spatter

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MMA welding parameters


Welding current

approx. 35 A/mm of diameter


governed by thickness, type of joint and welding

position
Too low
poor starting
slag inclusions
weld bead contour too
high
lack of
fusion/penetration
4/23/2007

Welding
current

Too high
spatter
excess
penetration
undercut
burn-through

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MMA welding parameters


Arc length = arc voltage
Too low
arc can be extinguished
stubbing

Arc
voltage

Too high
spatter
porosity
excess
penetration
undercut
burn-through

Polarity: DCEP generally gives deeper penetration


4/23/2007

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MMA - Troubleshooting

MMA quality (left to right)

4/23/2007

current, arc length and travel speed normal;


current too low;
current too high;
arc length too short;
arc length too long;
travel speed too slow;
travel speed too high

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