Radiography

Defects/Processes
Course Reference : RI NDT2

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Weld Defects

Defects which may be detected by visual inspection

can be grouped under five headings

• Cracks
• Surface irregularities
• Contour defects
• Root defects
• Miscellaneous

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Weld Defects

Other associated defects

 Cavities
 Solid inclusions
 Set up irregularities
 Parent material defects

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Weld Defects

Cracks
Classified by Shape Classified by Position
 Longitudinal  HAZ
 Transverse  Centreline

 Branched  Crater

 Chevron  Fusion zone

 Parent metal

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 1. Cracks

Longitudinal parent metal crack Transverse weld metal crack

Longitudinal weld metal crack Lamellar tearing

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Cracks

Transverse Crack:
A fracture in the weld metal running
across the weld

Radiographic Image:
Feathery, twisting line of darker density
running across the width of the weld
image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Cracks

Longitudinal Crack:
A fracture in the weld metal running
lengthwise in the welding direction

Radiographic Image:
Feathery, twisting line of darker density
running lengthwise along the weld at any
location in the width of the weld image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Cracks

Crater / Star Crack:

Cracks which occur in the end crater of a
weld run due to incorrect welding technique
can be found either at the stop or start of a
weld run

Radiographic Image:
Fine dark wavy lines with a feathery
appearance usually emanating from the
centre of the weld crater in the shape of a
star. Sometimes as a single wavy line
longitudinal or transverse to the crater.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Cracks

HAZ Crack:
A crack which runs parallel to the edge of the
weld cap. It may be situated in the weld
metal, weld junction, heat affected zone or
the parent metal.

Radiographic Image:
Fine dark wavy lines (often discontinuous)
with a feathery appearance and situated
close together depending on the severity
of the crack.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Cracks

Longitudinal Root Crack:

A fracture in the weld metal at the edge
of the root pass.

Radiographic Image:
Feathery, twisting lines of darker
density along the edge of the image of
the root pass. The twisting features
helps to distinguish the root crack from
incomplete root penetration

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Root Defects
Lack of Root Penetration(LOP):
The edge of the pieces have not been
welded together, usually at the bottom of
single V-groove welds

Radiographic Image:
A darker density band, with very straight
line parallel edges, in the center of the
width of the weld image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Root Defects
Lack of Root Fusion:
Lack of union between weld metal and
parent metal at the root face of the weld
preparation.

Radiographic Image:
A very fine straight dark line running along
one edge of the lighter image of the root
penetration bead.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Root Defects
Internal Concavity (suck back):
A depression in the center of the surface of
the root pass.

Radiographic Image:
An elongated irregular darker density with
fuzzy edges, in the center of the width of
the weld image.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Root Defects
Excessive Penetration :
Extra metal at the bottom (root) of the
weld..

Radiographic Image:
A lighter density in the center of the width
of the weld image, either exrended along
the weld or in the isolated circular “drops”.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Root Defects

Burn Through:
A severe depression or a crater-type hole
at the bottom of the weld but usually not
elogated

Radiographic Image:
A localized darker density with fuzzy edges
in the center of the weld image. It may be
wider than the width of the root pass
image.

Burn
Through

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Lack of Fusion
Lack of Sidewall Fusion(LOF):
Elongated voids between weld beads and
the joint surfaces

Radiographic Image:
Elongated, parallel, or single, darker
density lines sometimes with darker
density spots dispersed along the LOF
lines which are very straight in the
lengthwise direction and not winding like
elongated slag lines

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Lack of Fusion
Interpass Cold Lap:
Lack of fusion areas along the top surface
and edge of lower passes.

Radiographic Image:
Small spots of darker densities, some with
slightly elongated tails, aligned in the
welding direction and not in the center of
the width of the weld image.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Lack of Fusion
Lack of Sidewall Fusion with
slags:
Elongated voids between weld beads and
the joint surfaces

Radiographic Image:
Elongated, parallel, or single, darker
density lines sometimes with darker
density spots dispersed along the LOF
lines which are very straight in the
lengthwise direction and not winding like
elongated slag lines

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Slags
Slag Inclusion:
Weld slag or the other foreign matter
trapped in the weld metal. Usually formed
by slag from a previous weld run that has
not re-melted

Radiographic Image:
Dark indications with irregular shapes
sometimes elongated with sharp pointed
ends, usually following the line of the weld
run.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Slags
Interpass Slag Inclusion:
Usually non-metallic impurities that
solidified on the weld surface and were not
removed between weld passes

Radiographic Image:
An irregular –shaped darker density spot,
usually slightly elongated and randomly
spaced

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Slags
Elongated Slag Lines
(wagon tracks):
Impurities that solidify on the surface after
welding and were not removed between
passes

Radiographic Image:
Elongated, parallel or single darker density
lines, irregular in width and slightly winding
in the lengthwise direction

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Inclusion
Tungsten Inclusion:
Random bits of tungsten fused into but not
melted into the weld metal

Radiographic Image:
Irregularly shaped lower density spots
randomly located in the weld image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Slags
Copper Inclusion:
An inclusion in the weld metal of small
particles of copper which are deposited
from the contact tip used in mig/mag and
submerged arc welding processes.

Radiographic Image:
It appears in the radiograph as light spots
of any shape with indistinct edges due to
partial alloying with the weld metal and can
be differentiated from tungsten inclusions
because of this.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Undercut
External Undercut (Cap):
A gouging out of the piece to be welded,
alongside the edge of the to or “external”
surface of the weld..

Radiographic Image:
An irregular darker density along the edge
of the weld image. The density will always
be darker than the density of the pieces
being welded
Measured in both
Length & Depth

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Undercut
Internal Undercut (Root):
A gouging out of the piece to be welded,
alongside the edge of the to or “internal”
surface of the weld..

Radiographic Image:
An irregular darker density near the center
of the width of the weld image and along
the edge of the root pass image.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Incomplete Filled Groove
Insufficient Fill
A depression in the top of the weld, or
cover pass, indicating a thinner than
normal section thickness..

Radiographic Image:
A weld density darker than the density of
the pieces being welded and extending
across the full width of the weld image.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Excessive Weld Cap
Excessive Reinforcement (cap):
A heavy deposit of the final weld run giving
a convex shape with an abrupt change in
thickness at the boundary between the
parent metal and the weld reinforcement.

Radiographic Image:
A high contrast between the density of the
image of the parent metal and the image of
the weld with little or no sign of the image
of the root run.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Cluster porosity
Rounded or slightly elongated voids
grouped together.

Radiographic Image:
Rounded or slightly elongated darker
density spots in clusters with the clusters
randomly spaced

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Gas Pore or Single porosity
A cavity generally under 1.5mm in
diameter, formed by gas trapped in the
weld metal during solidification.

Radiographic Image:
The image appears as a dark round spot
with sharp contours.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Scattered Porosity
Rounded voids random in size and
location.

Radiographic Image:
Rounded spots of darker densities random
in size and location

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Root Pass Aligned Porosity
Rounded and elongated voids in the
bottom of the weld aligned along the weld
centerline.

Radiographic Image:
Rounded and elongated darker density
spots, that may be connected, in a straight
line in the center of the width of the weld
image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Surface Porosity
Groups of gas pores formed by entrapped
gas during solidification of the weld metal.

Radiographic Image:
Gas inclusions form spherical blow holes
or bubbles, their images appear as dark
round spots with sharp contours randomly
distributed.
Surface breaking porosity usually appears
spread out to the extremities of the image
of the weld cap rather than more centrally
distributed as when found in the weld
body.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Porosity
Herring Bone Porosity:

Radiographic Image:

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Missalignment
Offset or Mismatch:
A missalignment of the pieces to be
weled.

Radiographic Image:
An abrupt change in film density
across the width of the weld image.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Missalignment
Offset or Mismatch with LOP:
A missalignment of the pieces to be weled
and insufficient filling of the bottom of the
weld or “root area”.

Radiographic Image:
An abrupt change in film density across the
width of the weld image with a straight
longitudinal darker density line at the center
of the width of the weld image along the
edge of the density change.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Spot Weld
Spot weld crack
Spot Weld Gas & Crack:

Radiographic Image:

Spot weld gas

Course Ref: RI NDT 2
 Arc Strike
Arc Strike:
A localized coalescence outside the weld
zone

Radiographic Image:
Irregularly shaped lower density spots
located in the parent metal image

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Miscellaneous Defects
Spatter
Spatter:
Small droplets of weld metal deposited on
the surface of the parent metal and
sometimes on the surface of the weld.

Radiographic Image:
Small round light spots on the image of the
parent metal and on the image of the weld.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Debris

Debris:

Radiographic Image:

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts
In less severe cases such artefacts may not be a cause for rejection of the
radiograph but darkroom procedures should be reviewed in order to prevent
a recurrence or a further deterioration in radiographic quality.

Solarisation
• A phenomenon in photography in which the image
recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is
wholly or partially reversed in tone.
• Dark areas appear light and vice versa.
• It is due to white light whilst the film is in the
developer
Course Ref: RI NDT 2
 Artifacts

Film Scratch:
• Improper handling the film (finger
nail or abrasive material)

• Film scratches can usually be

identified using reflected light.

Radiographic Image:
Very fine straight line usually dark
appearance

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts
Chemical Marks:

STREAKINESS OR MOTTLING: POOR DEVELOPMENT

This is usually caused by insufficient agitation in the early stages of
development and is due a process known as ‘bromide streaming’.
Under or over development usually leads to a mottled effect on the
finished radiograph. A similar effect will be produced by developer
which has passed the end of its service life.

DEVELOPER SPLASHES
These will appear as dark spots on the film and indicate poor dark
room practice. Such marks are usually visible in reflected light.

FIXER SPLASHES
These will appear as light spots on the film and again indicate poor
dark room practice. Such marks are usually visible in reflected light.
Course Ref: RI NDT 2
 Artifacts

Light Leaks:

Radiographic Image:

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Static Discharge:

Radiographic Image:
Dark branched and jiggered fine lines
or lightning like but it also mottled

Causes:
Due to electric discharge on the surface of
the emulsion when the film is pulled quickly
from the intensifying screen in a dry
atmosphere.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts
Reticulation:

Radiographic Image:
Has the appearance net like (honey
comb) structure in the emulsion due to
rupture
Very rare nowadays to the
flexible/plastic nature of modern day
emulsions.

Causes
Great differences in temperature
between successive processing solution
or tanks.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Diffraction Mottle:

Radiographic Image:
A dark line appearance of fine porosity
(herringbone pattern) throughout the weld area.
It can be rectified by
•Increase the kV
•Changing the radiation angle by apprx. 5º
•Rise the lead screen

Causes
Grain structure and grain orientation of certain
materials matching the wavelength of the
radiation.
Austenitic SS and Al are susceptible
Below 50kV/ low kV without lead screen.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Dust, Lint and Grime Marks:

Radiographic Image:

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Water marks:

Radiographic Image:
These are easily seen on the radiograph in
both transmitted and reflected light and are
due to uneven drying.
They commonly occur where a dry or
partially dry film is wetted locally either by
splashing or by excess water running down
from a film clip.
The appearance of water marks can be
reduced or eliminated by the use of a
squeegee to remove excess water or by the
use of a final wash that contains a small
amount of detergent (i.e. a wetting agent).

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Crimping Marks:

Radiographic Image:
• Light marks indicate crimping before
exposure.
• Dark marks indicate crimping after
exposure but before film processing.

Course Ref: RI NDT 2

 Artifacts

Unknown Artifacts:

Radiographic Image:
Unknown image, can be lighter or darker

Course Ref: RI NDT 2