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Heat treatment of welded joints

Job Knowledge
Heat treatment is an operation that is both time consuming and costly. It can affect the
strength and toughness of a welded joint, its corrosion resistance and the level of residual
stress but is also a mandatory operation specified in many application codes and
standards. In addition it is an essential variable in welding procedure qualification
specifications.
Before discussing the range of heat treatments that a metal may be subjected to, there is a
need to clearly define what is meant by the various terms used to describe the range of
heat treatments that may be applied to a welded joint. Such terms are often used
incorrectly, particularly by non-specialists; for a metallurgist they have very precise
meanings.

Fig. 1 Heat treatment of welded joints


Solution treatment
Carried out at a high temperature and designed to take into a solution elements and
compounds which are then retained in solution by cooling rapidly from the solution
treatment temperature. This may be done to reduce the strength of the joint or to improve
its corrosion resistance. With certain alloys it may be followed by a lower temperature
heat treatment to reform the precipitates in a controlled manner (age or precipitation
hardening).
Annealing
This consists of heating a metal to a high temperature, where recrystallisation and/or a
phase transformation take place, and then cooling slowly, often in the heat treatment
furnace. This is often carried out to soften the metal after it has been hardened, for
example by cold working; a full anneal giving the very softest of microstructures. It also

results in a reduction in both the yield and the tensile strength and, in the case of ferritic
steels, usually a reduction in toughness.
Normalising
This is a heat treatment that is carried out only on ferritic steels. It comprises heating the
steel to some 30-50C above the upper transformation temperature (for a 0.20% carbon
steel this would be around 910C) and cooling in still air. This results in a reduction in
grain size and improvements in both strength and toughness.
Quenching
This comprises a rapid cool from a high temperature. A ferritic steel would be heated to
above the upper transformation temperature and quenched in water, oil or air blast to
produce a very high strength, fine grained martensite. Steels are never used in the
quenched condition, they are always tempered following the quenching operation.
Tempering
A heat treatment carried out on ferritic steels at a relatively low temperature, below the
lower transformation temperature; in a conventional structural carbon steel this would be
in the region of 600-650C. It reduces hardness, lowers the tensile strength and improves
ductility and toughness. Most normalised steels are tempered before welding, all
quenched steels are used in the quenched and tempered condition.
Ageing or Precipitation hardening
A low temperature heat treatment designed to produce the correct size and distribution of
precipitates, thereby increasing the yield and tensile strength. It is generally preceded by
a solution heat treatment. For steel, the temperature may be somewhere between 450-740
degree C, an aluminium alloy would be aged at between 100-200C. Longer times and/or
higher temperatures result in an increase in size of the precipitate and a reduction in both
hardness and strength.
Stress relief
As the name suggests, this is a heat treatment designed to reduce the residual stresses
produced by weld shrinkage. It relies upon the fact that, as the temperature of the metal is
raised, the yield strength decreases, allowing the residual stresses to be redistributed by
creep of the weld and parent metal. Cooling from the stress relief temperature is
controlled in order that no harmful thermal gradients can occur.
Post heat

A low temperature heat treatment carried out immediately on completion of welding by


increasing the preheat by some 100C and maintaining this temperature for 3 or 4 hours.
This assists the diffusion of any hydrogen in the weld or heat affected zones out of the
joint and reduces the risk of hydrogen induced cold cracking. It is used only on ferritic
steels, where hydrogen cold cracking is a major concern i.e. very crack sensitive steels,
very thick joints etc.
Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT)
So what does the term 'post weld heat treatment' mean? To some engineers it is a rather
vague term that is used to describe any heat treatment that is carried out when welding is
complete. To others however, particularly those working in accordance with the pressure
vessel codes such as BS PD 5500, EN 13445 or ASME VIII, it has a very precise
meaning. When an engineer talks of post weld heat treatment, annealing, tempering or
stress relief it is therefore advisable.
Heat treatment following welding may be carried out for one or more of three
fundamental reasons:

to achieve dimensional stability in order to maintain tolerances during machining


operations or during shake-down in service
to produce specific metallurgical structures in order to achieve the required
mechanical properties
to reduce the risk of in-service problems such as stress corrosion or brittle fracture by
reducing the residual stress in the welded component
The range of heat treatments to achieve one or more of these three objectives in the range
of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys that may be welded is obviously far too
extensive to cover in great detail within these brief Job Knowledge articles. The emphasis
in the following section will be on the PWHT of carbon and low alloy steels as required
by the application standards although brief mention will be made of other forms of heat
treatment that the welding engineer may encounter in the ferrous alloys. There are two
basic mechanisms that are involved, firstly stress relief and secondly microstructural
modifications or tempering.
Stress Relief
Why is it necessary to perform stress relief? It is an expensive operation requiring part or
all of the welded item to be heated to a high temperature and it may cause undesirable
metallurgical changes in some alloys. As mentioned above there may be one or more
reasons. The high residual stresses locked into a welded joint may cause deformation
outside acceptable dimensions to occur when the item is machined or when it enters
service. High residual stresses in carbon and low alloy steels can increase the risk of
brittle fracture by providing a driving force for crack propagation. Residual stresses will

cause stress corrosion cracking to occur in the correct environment eg carbon and low
alloy steels in caustic service or stainless steel exposed to chlorides.
What causes these high residual stresses? Welding involves the deposition of molten
metal between two essentially cold parent metal faces. As the joint cools the weld metal
contracts but is restrained by the cold metal on either side; the residual stress in the joint
therefore increases as the temperature falls. When the stress has reached a sufficiently
high value (the yield point or proof strength at that temperature) the metal plastically
deforms by means of a creep mechanism so that the stress in the joint matches the yield
strength. As the temperature continues to fall the yield strength increases, impeding
deformation, so that at ambient temperature the residual stress is often equal to the proof
strength (Fig 1).
To reduce this high level of residual stress, the component is reheated to a sufficiently
high temperature. As the temperature is increased the proof strength falls, allowing
deformation to occur and residual stress to decrease until an acceptable level is reached.
The component would be held at this temperature (soaked) for a period of time until a
stable condition is reached and then cooled back to room temperature. The residual stress
remaining in the joint is equal to the proof strength at the soak temperature.
Figure 1 shows that residual stress in a carbon manganese steel falls reasonably steadily
from ambient to around 600 degree C but that the high strength creep resistant steels need
to be above 400 degree C before the residual stress begins to fall. Stainless steel is hardly
affected until the temperature exceeds 500 degree C. There is therefore a range of soak
temperatures for the various alloys to achieve an acceptable reduction in residual stress
without adversely affecting the mechanical properties of the joint. In carbon manganese
steels this temperature will be between 550-620 degree C, in creep resistant steels
somewhere between 650-750 degree C and for stainless steels between 800-850 degree
C.
The next article will cover tempering of ferritic steels and will be followed by further
information on other alloys and methods of applying and controlling heat treatment
activities.
Part 1 of this series of articles gave definitions of some of the heat treatments that may be
applied to a welded joint and dealt with the operation of stress relieving a ferritic steel
assembly. The temperature range within which stress relief takes place will also cause
tempering of those regions in the HAZs where hard structures may have formed.

Tempering
Tempering is a heat treatment that is only relevant to steels and is carried out to soften
any hard micro-structures that may have formed during previous heat treatments,

improving ductility and toughness. Tempering also enables precipitates to form and for
the size of these to be controlled to provide the required mechanical properties. This is
particularly important for the creep resistant chromium-molybdenum steels. Tempering
comprises heating the steel to a temperature below the lower critical temperature; this
temperature being affected by any alloying elements that have been added to the steel so
that for a carbon-manganese steel, the temperature is around 650C, for a 2CrMo steel,
760C . Quenched steels are always tempered. Normalised steels are also usually
supplied in the tempered condition although occasionally low carbon carbon-manganese
steel may be welded in the normalised condition only, the tempering being achieved
during PWHT. Annealed steels are not supplied in the tempered condition.
Tempering of tool steels may be performed at temperatures as low as 150 degrees C, but
with the constructional steels that are the concern of the welding engineer the tempering
temperature is generally somewhere between 550- 760C, depending on the composition
of the steel.
Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT)
As mentioned in Part 1, PWHT is a specific term that encompasses both stress relief and
tempering and is not to be confused with heat treatments after welding. Such treatments
may comprise ageing of aluminium alloys, solution treatment of austenitic stainless steel,
hydrogen release etc. PWHT is a mandatory requirement in many codes and
specifications when certain criteria are met. It reduces the risk of brittle fracture by
reducing the residual stress and improving toughness and reduces the risk of stress
corrosion cracking. It has, however, little beneficial effect on fatigue performance unless
the stresses are mostly compressive.
It is an essential variable in all of the welding procedure qualification specifications such
as ISO 15614 Part 1 and ASME IX. Addition or deletion of PWHT or heat treatment
outside the qualified time and/or temperature ranges require a requalification of the
welding procedures. PWHT temperatures for welds made in accordance with the
requirements of EN 13445, ASME VIII and BS PD 5500 are given below in Table 1.
Table 1: PWHT Temperatures from Pressure Vessel Specifications
Steel Grade BS EN 13445

ASME VIII

BS PD 5500

Temp range Normal holding temp Temp range


C

C
C
C Steel
C 1/2 Mo
1Cr 1/2 Mo
2 1/4 Cr/Mo

550-600
550-620
630-680
670-720

593
593
593
677

580-620
630-670
630-700
630-750

Steel Grade BS EN 13445


ASME VIII
BS PD 5500
5CrMo
700-750
677
710-750
3 1/2 Ni
530-580
593
580-620
Note from Table 1 that ASME VIII specifies a minimum holding temperature and not a
temperature range as in the BS and EN specifications.
As mentioned above, PWHT is a mandatory requirement when certain criteria are met,
the main one being the thickness. BS EN 13445 and BSPD 5500 require that joints over
35mm thick are PWHTd, ASME VII above 19mm. If, however, the vessel is to enter
service where stress corrosion is a possibility, PWHT is mandatory, irrespective of
thickness. The soak time is also dependant on thickness. As a very general rule this is one
hour per 25mm of thickness; for accuracy, reference must be made to the relevant
specification.
These different requirements within the specifications mean that great care needs to be
taken if a procedure qualification test is to be carried out that is intended to comply with
more than one specification. A further important point is that the PWHT temperature
should not be above that of the original tempering temperature as there is a risk of
reducing the strength below the specified minimum for the steel. It is possible to PWHT
above the tempering temperature only if mechanical testing is carried out to show that the
steel has adequate mechanical properties. The testing should, obviously, be on the actual
material in the new heat treatment condition.
Maximum and minimum heating and cooling rates above 350-400C are also specified in
the application codes. Too fast a heating or cooling rate can result in unacceptable
distortion due to unequal heating or cooling and, in very highly restrained components,
may cause stress cracks to form during heating.
Application of PWHT
The method of PWHT depends on a number of factors; what equipment is available, what
is the size and configuration of the component, what soaking temperature needs to be
achieved, can the equipment provide uniform heating at the required heating rate? The
best method is by using a furnace. This could be a permanent fixed furnace or a
temporary furnace erected around the component, this latter being particularly useful for
large unwieldy structures or to PWHT a large component on site. Permanent furnaces
may be bogie loaded with a wheeled furnace bed on to which the component is placed or
a top hat furnace that uses a fixed hearth and a removable cover. Typically, a furnace
capable of heat treating a 150tonne pressure vessel would have dimensions of around
20m long, a door 5x5m and would consume around 900cu/metres of gas per hour.
Furnaces can be heated using electricity, either resistance or induction heating, natural
gas or oil. If using fossil fuels care should be taken to ensure that the fuel does not
contain elements such as sulphur that may cause cracking problems with some alloys,

particularly if these are austenitic steels or are nickel based corrosion resistant cladding
for example. Whichever fuel is used the furnace atmosphere should be closely controlled
such that there is not excessive oxidation and scaling or carburisation due to unburnt
carbon in the furnace atmosphere. If the furnace is gas or oil fired the flame must not be
allowed to touch the component or the temperature monitoring thermocouples; this will
result in either local overheating or a failure to reach PWHT temperature.
Monitoring the temperature of the component during PWHT is essential. Most modern
furnaces use zone control with thermocouples measuring and controlling the temperature
of regions within the furnace, control being exercised automatically via computer
software. Zone control is particularly useful to control the heating rates when PWHTing
a component with different thicknesses of steel. It is not, however, recommended to use
monitoring of the furnace temperature as proving the correct temperatures have been
achieved in the component. Thermocouples are therefore generally attached to the surface
of the component at specified intervals and it is these that are used to control the heating
and cooling rates and the soak temperature automatically so that a uniform temperature is
reached. There are no hard and fast rules concerning the number and disposition of
thermocouples, each item needs to be separately assessed.
As mentioned earlier, the yield strength reduces as the temperature rises and the
component may be unable to support its own weight at the PWHT temperature. Excessive
distortion is therefore a real possibility. It is essential that the component is adequately
supported during heat treatment and trestles shaped to fit the component should be placed
at regular intervals. The spacing of these will depend on the shape, diameter and
thickness of the item. Internal supports may be required inside a cylinder such as a
pressure vessel; if so, the supports should be of a similar material so that the coefficients
of thermal expansion are matched.
Whilst heat treating a pressure vessel in one operation in a furnace large enough to
accommodate the entire vessel is the preferred method this is not always possible. In this
case the pressure vessel application codes permit a completed vessel to be heat treated in
sections in the furnace. It is necessary to overlap the heated regions the width of the
overlap is generally related to the vessel thickness. BS EN 13445 for instance specifies an
overlap of 5Re where R = inside diameter and e = thickness; ASME VIII specifies an
overlap of 1.5 metres. It should be remembered that if this is done there will be a region
in the vessel (which may contain welds) that will have experienced two cycles of PWHT
and this needs to be taken into account in welding procedure qualification testing. There
is also an area of concern, this being the region between the heated area within the
furnace and the cold section outside the furnace. The temperature gradient must be
controlled by adequately lagging the vessel with thermally insulating blankets and the
requirements are given in the application codes.

It is, of course, possible to assemble and PWHT a vessel in sections and then to carry out
a local PWHT on the final closure seam. Local PWHT will be discussed in the next part
of this series on heat treatment.
The next article will cover further information on other alloys and methods of applying
and controlling heat treatment activities.
When it is not possible to place the entire component in a furnace for heat treatment
(because of the size of the fabrication, circumferential welds in a pipework system or
when installing equipment on site, for example), then a local PWHT may be the only
option. Local PWHT needs careful planning to ensure that heating and cooling rates are
controlled and that an even and correct temperature is achieved. Uneven and/or rapid
heating can give rise to harmful temperature gradients producing thermally induced
stresses that exceed the yield stress. This may result in the development of new residual
stresses when the component is cooled.
Local PWHT may be carried out using high velocity gas burners, infra red burners,
induction heating and high or low resistance heating elements. Electrical equipment is
more easily installed and controlled than heating using natural gas or propane,
particularly on site. High voltage resistance heating is rarely used on site due to the need
for the radiant heaters to be positioned a set distance from the surface and, more
significantly perhaps, the health and safety risks involved with the use of high voltage
current. Low voltage electrical resistance heating and induction heating are the two most
commonly used methods.
High velocity gas burners are more advantageous when large areas need to be heat
treated, particularly if, for example, firing can take place within a pressure vessel which
then becomes its own furnace. For local PWHT of vessel circumferential seams internal
insulating barriers can be used to localise the heat source. Motorised valves and microprocessor control of the combustion conditions enabled precise management of the
heating cycle to be achieved.
Low voltage electrical resistance heating uses flexible ceramic heating elements,
colloquially known as corsets, an appropriate number being assembled to cover the area
to be heat treated. Induction heating uses insulated cables that can be wrapped around the
joint or shaped to fit the area to be heated or specially designed fitting for repetitive
PWHT operations as illustrated in Fig 1. To perform the PWHT, temperature control
thermocouples are firstly attached, often by capacitor discharge welding, the elements
placed in position and the area then lagged with thermal insulating blankets to reduce
heat loss and to maintain an acceptable temperature gradient.
There are no standard terms used to describe the various regions within the locally
PWHT'd area. In this article the terms 'soak band', 'heated band', 'gradient control band',

'temperature gradient', which may be axial and through thickness, and 'control zone' as
suggested by the ASME will be used (see Fig 2).
The soak band is the area that is heated to, within the specified PWHT temperature and
time range. It comprises the weld, the two HAZs and part of the surrounding parent
metal. The heated band is the area covered by the heating elements, the temperature at the
edge of the heated band generally being required to be at least half that of the soak
temperature. The temperature gradient control band is the region where thermal
insulation, perhaps supplemented by additional heating elements, is applied to ensure that
an acceptable axial temperature gradient is achieved from PWHT temperature to ambient.
A control zone is the region where a number of heating elements are grouped together
and controlled by a single thermocouple, enabling different regions to be heated
independently; particularly useful with large diameter items or where there are variations
in thickness.
Temperature gradients may be axial (along the length of a pipe or vessel) and through
thickness. The through thickness temperature gradient is caused by heat losses from the
internal surface and is a function of both thickness and internal diameter, the larger the
diameter, the greater the effect of radiation and convection losses. Both the width of the
soak band and the temperature achieved can be substantially less than that on the outside
of the pipe or tube. Insulation on the inner surface will reduce the temperature/width
differential but may not be possible on small diameter tubes or pipework systems. This
through thickness gradient is one of the reasons that specifications and codes require the
soak or heated band to be a minimum width, generally related in some way to the
thickness of the component.
As mentioned above, there are rules in the application codes concerning the size of the
heated area, normally related to the thickness. In a circular component such as a pipe butt
weld or a pressure vessel circumferential seam the width of the band is easy to calculate.
ASME VIII for instance requires the soak band width to be twice the thickness of the
weld or 50.8mm either side of the weld, whichever is the lesser.
ASME B31.3 requires the soak band width to be the weld width plus 25.4mm either side
of the weld. BS EN 13445 does not specify a soak band width but instead specifies a
heated band width of 5Rt centred on the weld and where R = component inside radius
and t = component thickness. There are no requirements in the ASME codes regarding
heated band width. A very approximate rule of thumb for flat plate is that the heated band
should be a minimum of twice the length of the weld although practical considerations
may prevent achieving this ideal.
There are no requirements, in any code or specification, on the width of the thermally
insulated band although BS EN 13445 recommends 10Re. It is essential that the
relevant specification is referred to for specific guidance on what is required and it is
worth remembering that the specification requirements on soak or heated band widths are

minima and very little is lost by ensuring the specified dimensions are comfortably
exceeded.
What is an acceptable axial temperature gradient? Again, there is little advice in the
codes and specifications. It is generally assumed that if the temperature at the edge of the
heated band is above half that of the soak temperature then the temperature gradient will
not be harmful. During heating and cooling BS EN 13445 specifies a maximum
temperature difference of 150C in 4500mm below 450C (1C in 3mm) and 1000C in
4500mm above 4500C (1C in 4.5mm).
To ensure that gradients and temperatures are controlled within acceptable limits
sufficient thermocouples need to be attached to provide both temperature control and
recording. For small diameter tubes, eg less than 100mm diameter, one control zone and
one recording thermocouple are regarded as sufficient; between 100-200mm one control
zone and one recording thermocouple at each of the 12 oclock and 6 oclock positions;
above 250mm diameter one control zone and one recording thermocouple at each 900
quadrant, 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock, are suggested.
These thermocouples should be placed on the centre line of the weld. Thermocouples will
also be needed at the edge of the soak band and the edge of the heated band. Ideally,
thermocouples should also be placed on the opposite surface to the heating elements to
ensure that the correct through thickness temperature has been achieved although this is
rarely possible on pipe systems. It is advisable to double up on the thermocouples to
cope with the possibility of a thermocouple failure.
Thermocouples use a hot and a cold junction to measure the temperature, the hot junction
being attached to the component, the cold junction within the temperature recorder. For
accurate temperature measurement the hot junction must obviously be at the temperature
of the component. Errors can be introduced if the junction is not firmly attached, either
by capacitor discharge (CD) welding, by mechanically fixing the wires to the component
or by overheating of the thermocouple junction.
CD welding of the thermocouple wires gives the most accurate results, particularly if the
two wires are separated by 3-4mm. Mechanically attached wires will probably need to be
insulated by covering the junction with heat resistant putty to prevent overheating of the
thermocouple by the overlying heater. If the wire covering is stripped back then the bare
wires also need to be insulated. It is advisable to specify the positions of the
thermocouples on a drawing and to include these within a formal written heat treatment
procedure document that covers both the specification and best practice requirements.
For more information, please contact us.

Fig 1. Induction PWHT of Pipework

Fig 2 Schematic of Temperature bands within a local PWHT (Reproduced with


permission of the American Welding Society (AWS), Miami, Florida, USA)

Ultrasonic Examination Part 1


Job Knowledge
Ultrasonic examination uses the same principles as the sonar used for the detection of
submarines a sound wave is emitted from a transmitter, bounces off any objects in its
path and is reflected back to a receiver, somewhat similar to shining the beam of a torch
at a mirror. Knowing the speed of sound in the material enables the distance of an object
to be determined by measuring the time that elapses between the transmission of the
sound pulse and detection of the echo. In welded components the examination is
generally performed by moving a small probe containing both a transmitter and receiver
over the item and displaying the echo on an oscilloscope screen. This is shown in Fig. 1
which illustrates a simple pulse-echo angle probe examination.
The oscillator sends pulses of electricity to a piezo-electric crystal, the pulse generator,
embedded in the ultrasonic probe which causes it to vibrate at a very high (ultrasonic)

frequency, well above any audible frequency and typically between 1Mega Hertz(MHz)
and 15MHz. Ultrasonic probes used for weld examination have frequencies generally
between 2MHz and 5Mhz, the lower frequency probes being used for the examination of
coarse grained material or on rough surfaces, the higher frequency probes for the
detection of fine defects such as cracks or lack of fusion. The ultrasonic vibrations are
transmitted into the material to be tested using a couplant such as grease, paste or water
which helps transmission of the vibrations. The better the surface finish then the better is
the coupling and the more searching the examination hence there is sometimes a
requirement to grind smooth the weld cap and remove the root penetration bead on
welded joints.
Once in the material the vibrations travel in a predictable path as a beam of sound pulses
until they encounter an obstruction or interface such as a line of slag, porosity or a crack
when most of the sound will be reflected - remember the analogy of the torch and mirror.
Depending on the angle at which the beam strikes the obstruction some or all of the
sound beam will be reflected back to the receiver in the probe. Here it vibrates a piezoelectric crystal; the electric signal that is generated is amplified, rectified and displayed
on an oscilloscope screen.
The sound beam when it enters the object being scanned has a cross section
approximately that of the transmitter but, like the beam of a torch, will diverge as shown
in Fig. 1. As the beam travels through the material it also loses energy it becomes
attenuated. These effects need to be taken into account when the position and size of a
defect is to be accurately determined.

Fig 1. Schematic of Angle Probe Ultrasonic examination.


The oscilloscope screen in Fig. 1 shows on the vertical axis the signal height or amplitude
and on the horizontal axis the time taken for the signal to return to the receiver and

therefore distance from the transmitter. This method of examination is known as an A


scan and is the most common method in use in industry for the examination of welded
joints. In Fig 1 three signal peaks can be seen on the oscilloscope screen one where the
signal enters the sample, one reflected from the back face of the sample - the back wall
echo - and, between the two, a reflection from some feature a reflector such as a
welding defect. The distance of this signal on the screen from the transmission pulse will
give the distance of the reflector from the probe so a little simple geometry can be used to
calculate the position and depth of the reflector within the block of material. Comparing
the height of the signal with the signal from a known size of reflector enables the size of
the feature to be determined.
There are two main types or modes of sound waves longitudinal or compression waves
which alternately compress and decompress the material in the direction of propagation
and shear waves which vibrate the material at right angles to the direction of propagation.
Which mode is produced depends upon the angle at which the sound beam enters the
material. Probes that project the beam into the test piece at an angle normal (90degs) to
the plate surface are known as compression probes and are ideally suited to the detection
of defects such as plate laminations or for the measurement of plate/pipe thickness as
shown in Fig 2.

Fig. 2. Compression Wave Probe


To obtain the strongest reflected signal the beam should ideally strike the feature at 90O
flaws that lie parallel to the beam may be missed. This means that to examine a weld
that may contain flaws laying in any number of orientations within the weld a range of
different angle probes and scanning patterns must be used. To do this both compression
and shear wave probes may be used, shear wave probes projecting the beam into the test
piece at an angle, as shown in Fig. 1. Probes with angles of 30o, 45o, 60o and 70o are
commercially available. Examples of standard probes are illustrated in Fig. 3.The angle

of the probe is often selected to give the strongest signal from the defect of interest and
for very high integrity welds all five probe angles may be used.

Fig 3. A 2.5MHz 70 degrees shear wave probe and a compression wave probe.
As shown in Fig. 4 the sound beam can be made to scan the full depth of a weld by
moving the probe back and forth. At the half skip distance the beam would readily detect
lack of side wall fusion along the left hand fusion line but may miss lack of side wall on
the right hand fusion line. Moving the probe to the full skip distance so that the beam
reflects off the back face enables the right hand fusion line to be scanned with the beam
at the optimum angle to detect lack of side wall fusion.

Fig 4. Schematic of skip distances


To examine completely the weld there needs to be a number of such scanning patterns
longitudinal and transverse to the weld, from both sides of the weld, from both plate
surfaces and from half to full skip distance. If all of these scans are carried out

using all five probe types and two frequencies then it becomes a very lengthy and costly
exercise! Such detailed examinations tend to be confined to items such as primary circuit
nuclear components and highly critical offshore applications.
Whilst many ultrasonic examinations are carried out with a manual operative moving the
probe, viewing the results on the oscilloscope screen and manually recording the results
the process can be mechanised with the probes mounted on a carriage and the results
recorded electronically. This has become more prevalent as computing power has
increased since the carriage may carry several probes and provides information on the
carriage position and orientation. This data is then analysed and compared with an
acceptance standard, enabling a weld to be sentenced automatically .
There are a number of advantages to ultrasonic testing:1. It is very good and better than radiography - for the detection of planar defects
such a lack of fusion and cracks
2. It can determine both the depth and position of defects.
3. It is readily portable and easy to use on site and in areas of restricted access.
4. Access is required to one side only.
5. There are none of the health and safety problems associated with radiography.
6. The result is immediately available.
But, as with any industrial process there are some disadvantages:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Very skilled and conscientious operatives are required .


The manual examination process is slow, laborious and tiring for the operative.
Surface breaking defects are difficult to detect.
Accurate sizing of small (<3mm) defects is difficult if not impossible.
The root region in a single sided full penetration weld is difficult to interpret.
The geometry of the joint can restrict the scanning pattern and impede accurate
interpretation.
7. Interpretation is subjective and depends upon the operatives skill and experience.
8. With manual scanning no permanent and objective record is produced.
The A-scan mentioned above is one method for reporting the results of the scan there
are in fact four methods identified as A-, B-, C- and D-scan. The A-scan method is the
conventional way of presenting the results signal amplitude vs distance; B-scan is a
view looking along the length of the weld; C-scan is a plan view and D-scan a view from
the side of the weld. These are illustrated in Fig.5

Fig 5 Schematic of A-, B-, C- and D- scan results


The previous article (127) explained the basic principles of ultrasonic examination. As to
determine accurately the size and position of a feature it is necessary, with any measuring
equipment, to calibrate the ultrasonic examination system.
The type of calibration blocks (there are varying shapes and sizes to be used), depend on
the application and the form and shape of the subject being tested. The calibration block
should be made the same as the material being inspected and the artificially-induced flaw
should closely resemble the actual flaw of concern. The best calibration block for
calibrating ultrasonic testing equipment is one in the same grade of material and heat
treatment condition as the production items and with a weld containing genuine flaws
such as slag entrapment, porosity, lack of fusion, cracks etc. Techniques developed
enable flaws of known sizes to be introduced into a welded joint. Such calibration blocks
can be produced to validate the ultrasonic test method but are expensive and tend to be
used only in applications such as nuclear vessel manufacture and critical offshore/process
plant fabrication.
A number of standard calibration blocks are available with the shape and dimensions

being specified in international standards such as ISO 2400, ISO 7963, ASME V and
ASTM E164. Calibration of a compression wave probe used to measure thickness is
simple and carried out using a stepped wedge calibration block. These calibration blocks
have smooth, machined features and are not therefore truly representative of flaws in a
welded component.
For calibrating equipment to be used to interrogate welded joints the calibration block
needs to be more complex than a simple step wedge, with probably the two most
common types illustrated in Fig. 1, the ISO 2400 Number 1 block and the ISO 7963
Number 2 block. These are machined from steel to very closely controlled tolerances and
contain a number of features that can be used to calibrate the ultrasonic equipment. The
standard Number 1 block is 300mm long and 25 or 50mm thickness with a 100mm radius
machined on one end. The test block also contains two drilled holes, 50 and 1.5mm in
diameter and a flat bottomed machined notch.

Fig 1: Number 1 and Number 2 calibration blocks


Smaller lighter blocks are useful for site use, and may be used to calibrate both
compression and shear-wave probes for beam angle, time base, resolution and sensitivity.
Sensitivity and resolution are terms frequently used sensitivity is the ability to detect
small flaws within the weld, resolution the ability to locate and separate individual flaws.
Weld discontinuity acceptance criteria are initially based on the height of the signal
displayed on the oscilloscope screen. This is not as simple as it may appear since the
ultrasonic beam is influenced by the microstructure of the metal through which it is
propagating, becoming scattered and diffused - similar to car headlights in fog! As a
general rule the larger the grain size the greater the scattering effect, the reflected beam
becomes attenuated or decreased in strength the further away the reflector is from the
ultrasonic probe. This must be taken into account when accepting or rejecting flaws
within the weld a 4MHz signal would lose some 0.020.03db per mm in steel. Fig 2

illustrates this decrease in amplitude or signal height with distance.


Before calibrating the operator must select the frequency of the transducer as this
determines the wavelength of the sound. The frequency has a significant effect on the
ability to detect a flaw a rule of thumb is that a flaw must be larger than one half the
wavelength to be readily detectable.
The ultrasonic operator will select a calibration block with some feature of known
dimensions, often a 3mm diameter flat bottomed hole and the appropriate ultrasonic
probe, these generally being specified in the relevant application code or standard. The
height of the reflection at known distances from the probe would be determined and from
this data would be drawn a distance amplitude correction (DAC) curve by joining the tips
of the signals that can be seen in Fig 2. This provides a means of establishing a reference
level sensitivity as a function of distance from the ultrasonic probe and allows the
signals from similar reflectors to be evaluated.
The characteristics of an ultrasonic probe vary according to the size of the piezo-electric
transducer and its frequency. It is therefore essential that each probe to be used to
examine a welded component is individually calibrated and a DAC curve established for
each different situation.
The contract specification, application code or acceptance standard specifies the relevant
ultrasonic acceptance standard of height, length, position etc of the reflector. It is unwise
to refer to a visual or radiographic acceptance standard in the absence of a relevant
ultrasonic acceptance standard. An ultrasonic acceptance standard will state which
reflectors are acceptable or unacceptable based on the amplitude of the signal compared
with a DAC curve or other ultrasonic specific acceptance criteria. One such specification
that refers to the DAC curve is ISO 11666 NDT of welds Ultrasonic testing
Acceptance levels which defines four levels:

the reference level ie the amplitude of the DAC curve at the relevant distance
the evaluation level ie the amplitude at which the reflector must be examined more
closely to determine through thickness height and length of the discontinuity
the recording level ie amplitude at which the size and position of the discontinuity
must be recorded
the acceptance level above which the discontinuity must be rejected this may be
above or below the DAC curve. Any reflector with a signal below the evaluation level
would be ignored

Fig. 2 The reduction in amplitude with distance


If, as the ultrasonic testing (U/T) probe is scanned across the surface of the component,
and the amplitude of the signal exceeds the specified evaluation level, the U/T operator
would need to investigate the reflector in detail to determine its size, orientation and
position within the component. If the probe is moved transverse and parallel to the weld
and rotated slightly, a skilled and experienced operator can often identify the flaw type
crack, lack of fusion, etc by observing the changes in the shape of the pulse-echo on the
oscilloscope screen.
To enable the operator to identify the position of a flaw it must be possible for the path
and width of the beam to be visualised. Accurately dimensioned diagrams of the weldcross section superimposed on what would be the beam path are required. This may be
unnecessary in many situations but provides additional confidence in critical applications
and may be a mandatory part of a written U/T procedure.
The size of a reflector is generally determined by the 6db drop method, as illustrated in
Fig. 3.

The previous article dealt with the manual scanning method of ultrasonic examination
stating that accurate determination of weld flaw size and position - to within 2mm - was
difficult, if not impossible, in most circumstances. Methods developed now enable flaw
sizes to be determined with accuracy better than 1mm. This article will look at two of
these techniques; time of flight diffraction (TOFD) and phased array ultrasonic testing
(PAUT).
Conventional manually scanned ultrasonic testing normally uses a single fixed angle and
frequency probe; the position and size of a flaw being determined by the amplitude of the
signal reflected from the flaw and presented on an oscilloscope screen (Fig 3 in Job
Knowledge 128). This is a somewhat unreliable method as the amplitude of the signal
and therefore an estimate of its size depends on the orientation of the flaw. TOFD uses
two angled compression wave probes mounted on a frame so that they are a fixed
distance apart; one a transmitter, the other a receiver. The probes are positioned either
side of a weld as shown in Fig 1. In a flaw-free weld two sound waves will be detected by
the receiver one that travels along the surface of the weld, the lateral wave, and one
reflected from the back wall. When a flaw is present (for example a crack as shown in Fig
1) the pulse emitted by the transmitter is diffracted or scattered from the tip of a flaw and
this diffracted signal is picked up by the receiver. The time of flight of the signal is
measured and compared with that of the lateral wave, a simple calculation enables the
position of the tip of the flaw to be determined. Moving the probes in a predetermined
scanning pattern enables the other end of the flaw to be detected so the flaw size can be
established in both the trough thickness and longitudinal directions. The calculations are
performed automatically by the software program within the equipment and the flaws
displayed as a black and white A scan image.

Figure 1: TOFD

Various scanning patterns may be used so that the results can be presented as A-scan, Bscan, looking along the weld length or D-scan, a side view. (For a description of A, B, C
and D scans see Job Knowledge No. 127).
TOFD is regarded as the best method for the detection and sizing of planar, throughthickness flaws. One limitation is the detection of small surface breaking flaws on the
scanning surface as these tend to be lost in the lateral wave response, although this may
be not too significant as most surface breaking defects can be readily detected using MPI
or liquid penetrant methods.
The rapid progress of electronics and computing power has enabled complex methods of
scanning and data processing to be developed. This has culminated in phased array
ultrasonic testing (PAUT) which, as the name suggests, uses an array of small transducers
unlike the conventional manual A-scan probe with only one transducer. A single PAUT
probe may contain between several tens and several hundreds of transducers. These small
transducers are computer controlled and can be pulsed independently in a set sequence or
phase; the pulses of sound interfering with each other to produce a sound beam of a
certain angle, see Fig. 2. By varying the time and pattern of the pulses, the angle and
shape of the beam can be varied so that the beam can be steered electronically, sectorial
scanning or S-scan.

Figure 2: Illustration of the sector scan composed of many A-scans from the beams being
steered through a range of angles. Note that, in addition to steering the beam, the focal
law may also be focusing the sound field to improve defect detection and resolution
The benefits of this technology compared with conventional single transducer scanning
are that the beam can be steered and focused with a single probe. Beam steering enables
the beam to be swept through an object without moving the probe, the reflected data
being processed to provide a visual image of a cone shaped slice through the object.
Moving the probe enables a large number of slices to be assembled to provide a three
dimensional image a good example is the use in medical diagnostics to examine the
functioning of the heart in real time.
For the non-destructive examination of welds this ability to inspect a weld with multiple
angle beams from a single probe means that the probability of detecting flaws is greatly
increased. It is also possible to focus the beam electronically at multiple depths to
improve the ability to accurately determine the size and position of weld flaws.

Figure 3: Phased array results showing A-scan, B-scan and S-scan of a nozzle to shell
weld
The small probe size and the ability to manipulate the beam without moving the probe
enables inspections in limited access or of components of a complex shape. Cost is also a
factor although the probes and the processing/display units are more expensive than the
single transducer equipment, the time to perform a scan can be substantially reduced.
Work carried out by TWI suggests that a phased array scan can take 20% of the time for a
conventional scan with better coverage although the off-line interpretation of the results
may take longer.
The results may be presented as S-, A-, B- or C-scans, enabling better interpretation. The
results of a phased array examination of a single sided nozzle to shell weld is given in
Fig. 3. The weld shape is given by the red lines superimposed on the S-scan display. This
is a single sided weld, the lower half of the image being a mirror of the weld. Whilst the
scanning operation may be performed automatically by mechanised manipulating
equipment and the accuracy may be better than 1mm, the interpretation must be carried
out by experienced and skilled personnel trained specifically in the interpretation of
phased array scanning results. An investigation by TWI showed that the skill of the
individual carrying out the interpretation was by far the most important factor in
producing reproducible and accurate results.
Scanning can be performed manually or with the probe attached to a carriage. A typical
application is the examination of pipe butt welds using orbiting crawler tractors
Such dedicated and robust mechanised equipment is readily available for site use,
replacing radiography and giving benefits in terms of cost, flaw detection and health and

safety issues.
An excellent example of the capabilities of PAUT is given in the article Measuring the
crack growth rate (da/dt) of a fatigue crack using phased array ultrasonics by Channa
Nageswaran, Principal Project Leader at TWI.

The operator moves the probe backwards and forwards at right angles to the axis of the
reflector until the maximum amplitude response is found. This point is noted and the
scanning continued until the amplitude of the signal has dropped by 6dB, this point also
being recorded. From this the length or height of the reflector can be determined (Fig 3).
If above the recording level this would be recorded on the U/T report before being
compared with the acceptance standard for either acceptance or rejection.
It is impossible to measure accurately the size of a reflector using a manual scanning
technique for a number of reasons. The speed of the sound within the component may
vary due to changes in the microstructure and the cleanliness of the parent metal; the
probe will be made to within dimensional tolerances, as will the calibration block and
these will affect the accuracy of calibration; the beam width may vary; the couplant and
surface condition of the component will affect the coupling and hence sound

transmission; the surface of flaws within the weld are generally not flat, smooth reflective
surfaces oriented at 90 degrees to the beam; the probe movement is measured manually
with a rule or tape measure. The most important factors in achieving accurate, consistent
and reproducible results are the skill, competence and integrity of the operator.
The accuracy of conventional manually-scanned pulse-echo ultrasonic examination
carefully performed by a competent operator is around 2mm. Such inaccuracy can be
important when carrying out a fitness for service analysis, where the through thickness of
a flaw is of critical importance. Some methods of achieving greater accuracy will be dealt
with in the next article.

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