Hydrogen Cracking
Hydrogen causes general embrittlment and in
welds may lead directly to cracking,
Location:
a) HAZ, longitudinal.
b) Weld metal, Transverse or longitudinal
Steel Type:
a) All hardenable steels
b) HSLA steels
Susceptible Microstructure:
Martensite
The four essential factors for cracking to
occur
 Susceptible grain structure:
hardness >350 VPN
 Hydrogen >15 ml/100 gm of
deposited weld metal
 Temperature <300˚C
 Stress >0.5 of the yield stress
Precautions for controlling hydrogen
cracking
 Pre heat, removes moisture from
the joint preparations, and slows down the
cooling rate
 Ensure joint preparations are clean
and free from contamination
 The use of a low hydrogen
welding process and correct arc length
 Ensure all welding is carried out is
carried out under controlled environmental
conditions
 Ensure good fit-up as to reduced
stress
 The use of a PWHT
 Avoid poor weld profiles
Solidification Cracking / Weld Centerline
Location:
Weld centre line
Steel Type:
All
Susceptible Microstructure:
Columnar grains (in the direction of
solidification)
Essential factors for solidification cracking
 This type of cracking is referred to
as Hot Cracking
 Susceptible microstructure:
Columnar grain growth
 Impurities, sulphur, phosphorous
and carbon
 The amount of stress/restraint
 Most commonly occurs in sub-arc
welded joints
 Joint design depth to width ratios,
 Combinations of both stress, deep
narrow welds and sulphur
 During welding, sulphur in or on
the parent material may be re-melted.
 The sulphur will join with iron to
form iron sulphides, they will seek the last
place of solidification, weld centerline
 It is here that they form a liquid
film around the solidifying grains, which are
themselves under great stress.
 The bonding between the grains
may now be very poor to maintain cohesion
and a crack will result, weld centerline
Precautions for controlling solidification
cracking
 Low dilution welding process
 The use of high manganese and  Minimize the amount of stress /
low carbon content fillers restraint acting on the joint during welding
 Maintain a low carbon content  Hydrogen precautions
 Minimize the amount of stress /
restraint acting on the joint during welding
 The use of high quality parent
materials, low levels of impurities
 Remove laminations
 Clean joint preparations, free from
oil, paints and any other sulphur containing
product.
 Joint design selection depth to
width ratios
Solidification cracking in Austenitic
Stainless Steel
 Austenitic stainless steel is
particularly prone to solidification cracking
 This is due to the large grain size,
which gives rise to a reduction in grain
boundary area
 High coefficient of thermal
expansion, with high resultant stress
 A structure that is very intolerant
to contaminations, sulphur, phosphorous
and other impurities.
 The precautions against cracking
is the same as for plain carbon steels with
extra emphasis on thorough cleaning and
high dilution controls.
Lamellar Tearing
Location:
Parent metal
Steel Type:
Any steel type possible
Susceptible Microstructure:
Poor through thickness ductility
 Lamellar tearing has a step like
appearance due to the solid inclusions such
as sulphides and silicates linking up under
the influences of welding stresses
 It forms when the welding
stresses act in the short transverse direction
of the material (through thickness direction)
 Low ductile materials in the short
transverse direction containing high levels
of impurities are very susceptible
 The short tensile test or through
thickness test is a test to determine a
materials susceptibility to lamellar tearing
Factors for lamellar tearing to occur
 Low quality parent materials, high
levels of impurities
 Joint design, direction of stress
 The amount of stress acting
across the joint during welding
 Hydrogen levels in the parent
material
Note: very susceptible joints may form
lamellar tearing under very low levels of stress
Precautions for controlling lamellar tearing
 The use of high quality parent
materials, low levels of impurities
 The use of buttering runs
 A gap can be left between the
horizontal and vertical members enabling
the constructional movement to take place
 Joint design selection

Weld Decay
Location:
Weld HAZ. (longitudinal)
Steel Type:
Austenitic stainless steels
Susceptible Microstructure:
Sensitised grain boundaries
 Weld decay may occurs in
austenitic stainless steels
 Also know as knife line attack
 Chromium carbide precipitation
takes place at the critical range of 600-
850˚C
 At this temperature range carbon
is absorbed by the chromium, which causes
a local reduction in chromium content
 Loss of chromium content results
in lowering the materials resistance to
corrosion attack allowing rusting to occur
 The use of a low carbon grade
stainless steel e.g. 304L, 316, 316L
 The use of a stabilized grade
stainless steel e.g. 321, 347, 348
recommended for severe corrosive
conditions and high temperature operating
conditions
 Standard grades may require
PWHT, this involves heating the material to
a temperature over 1100˚C and
quench the material, this restores the
chromium content at the grain boundary, a
major disadvantage of this heat treatment is
the high amount of distortion
MECHANICAL TESTING:
Quantitative Tests:
 Tensile test
 Toughness testing (Charpy, Izod)
 Hardness Test (Brinell, Rockwell, Vicker,
Knoop)
Qualitative Tests:
 Macro/Micro testing
 Bend Testing
 Fillet weld fracture testing
 Butt weld nick break testing
Tensile Test:
Different tensile test include:
 Transverse tensile, all weld metal tensile
test
 Cruciform tensile test
 Short tensile test
Reporting Result:
 Type of specimen e.g. reduced section
 Dimension of test specimen
 The u.t.s, yield strength in N/mm2, p.s.i or
Mpa
 Elongation
Charpy impact test:
Object test: To determine the amount of energy
absorbed in fracturing a standardized test piece:
 Specimens are usually taken in groups of
three to allow for scatter result
 Test temperature should be specified
 Test results are give in joules
 Tough specimens absorb more energy than
brittle specimens
Reporting Result:
 Location and orientation of notch
 Testing temperature and soaking time
 Energy absorbed in joules
 Description of fracture (brittle or ductile)
 Lateral expansion
 Dimensions of specimen
Hardness tests:
Measurement made by indenting the metal
with a penetrator under a known load
Determined by: load applied, how load is
applied, configuration of penetrator
Various methods:
Brinell hardness Testing

Hardened steel ball of given diameter is
subjected for a given time to a given load
  Visual inspection under 100X-1000X
Load devided by area of indentation gives
brinell hardness in kg/mm2
  Report on result
More suitable for on site hardness testing
Rockwell Hardness Testing
 Measure the hardness by the depth on
indentation made by a constant load
impressed upon the indentor
 Most common indenter is a diamond,
ground to 120 degree cone with spherical
apex that has 0.2 mm radius (hard
materials)
 For soft steel and non ferrous, a hardened
steel ball is used with sizes of 1.6 mm, 3.2
mm, 5.0 mm and 12.5 mm
Vicker Hardness Testing
 Square based pyramid
 Indenter pressed into specimen with a load
of between 1 and 100 kg for 15 seconds
 Length of diagonals measured using
adjustable shutters and a built in
microscope
Knoop Micro hardness Testing
 This test is similar principal to brinell and
Vickers
 Utilized low load that less than 1 kg
 Indentor is rhombic shape of base pyramid
diamond
 The hardness is determine by measuring the
size of indentation with a microscope and
then it dimension in formula or conversion
table
Macro/Micro
Object:
 Macro/microscopic examination are used to
give a visual elevation of a cross-section of
a welded joint
 Carried out on full thickness specimens
 The width of the specimen should included
HAZ, weld and parent plate
 They may be cut from a stop/start area on a
welders approval test
Will reveal:
 Weld soundness
 Distribution of inclusions
 Number of weld passes
 Metallurgical structure of weld, fusion zone  Appearance of joint after fracture
and HAZ  Depth of penetration
 Location and depth of penetration of weld  Defects present on fracture surfaces
Macro
 Visual examination for defects
 Cut transversely from the weld
 Ground and polished P400 grit paper
 Etched using 2 - 5% nitric acid solution
 Wash and dry
 Visual inspection under 10 X magnification
 Report on result
Micro
 Visual examination for defects & grain
structure
 Cut transversely from the weld
 Ground and polished P1200 grit paper
 Etched using 2 - 5% nitric acid solution
 Wash and dry
magnification
Bend Test
Object of test: To determine the soundness of
the weld zone. Bend testing can also be used to
give an assessment of weld zone ductility.
There are three ways to perform a bend test
Face bend, root bend, side bend (generally for
materials above 12 mm thickness)
Reporting result:
 Thickness and dimension of specimen
 Direction of bend (root, face or side)
 Angle of bend (90°, 120°, 180°)
 Diameter of former (typical 47)
 Appearance of joint after bending e.g. type
and location of any flaws
Fillet Weld Fracture Test
 Object of test: to break open the joint
through the weld to permit examination of
the fracture surfaces:
 Specimens are cut to the required length
 A saw cut approximately 2 mm in depth is
applied along the fillet welds length
 Fracture is usually made by striking the
specimen with a single hammer blow
 Visual inspection for defects
Reporting Result:
 Thickness of parent material
 Throat thickness and leg lengths
 Location of fracture
 Appearance of joint after fracture
 Depth of penetration
 Defects present on fracture surfaces
Nick Break Test
 Object Test: to permit evaluation of any
weld defects across the fracture surface of a
butt weld:
 Specimens are cut transverse to the weld
 A saw cut approximately 2 mm in depth is
applied along the welds root and cap
 Fracture is usually made by striking the
specimen with a single hammer blow
 Visual inspection for defects
Reporting result:
 Thickness of parent material
 Width of specimen