19.4 Chapter Conclusion
David Colameco, M.Ed.
Summary
This chapter presented common weld defects and discontinuities along with the different nondestructive and destructive tests performed on welds as part of inspections. All welders who are manually welding visually inspect their welds while welding to ensure the weld puddle is the correct size and is being placed in the intended location. The visual inspection section displayed common weld defects and discontinuities that you will encounter during your welding career. As a welder it is important to know which inspection techniques are going to be used to inspect your welds so the proper preparation of the weldments can be made, such as removing spatter before ultrasonic testing and magnetic particle testing.
Inspectors can be limited in what they can discuss with you, such as not being able to give advice on how to weld, but they will usually answer your questions to the best of their ability. If you are interested in weld inspection, speak with the welding inspectors you encounter (including your welding instructors) about becoming an inspector. Welding tends to be a physically demanding profession and becoming an inspector later in your career may allow you to continue your career in welding but without all of the physical demands of actual welding.
Review Questions
- Who inspects welds? Select all that apply
- Welders
- Welding Inspectors
- Welding Supervisors
- Customers
- Why are arc strikes outside of the weld joint not acceptable?
- They don’t look professional
- They waste electrodes
- They create brittle martensite on mild steel
- Arc strikes are ok
- What is a Safety Data Sheet?
- A daily safety checklist for the job site
- A way that chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers communication with users about the hazards of their products
- A form needed to become a certified welder or welding operator
- A document that only government employees and government contractors use to identify safety hazards
- What is overlap?
- A cosmetic defect that can be painted over
- Molten weld bead that covers base material without fusing to it
- When one weld bead is welded to a bead underneath it
- What a welder does when tying one weld bead into another
- What is porosity?
- Empty round or elongated regions with rounded ends within a weld bead caused by trapped gas in the solidifying weld bead.
- The ability of weld bead to pour into the weld joint
- A cosmetic flaw only
- Typically long and relatively narrow openings compared to their length with sharp pointy ends
- What are slag inclusions?
- Time set aside during fabrication planning for the removal of slag
- The collection of impurities that float to the surface of a weld bead
- Slag that is not removed after a weld bead is deposited that is then covered up by the next weld bead in the weld joint.
- Slag always floats to the surface of a weld bead and is never included in the weld joint
- What are cracks?
- A cosmetic defect only that