Welding defects

The purpose of this training material is to tell

about various welding defects and their effects
to the strength of metal construction, and also
how to avoid welding defects.
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THE WELD : The weakest point of metal construction?

• Reasons why the welded seam is weakest point of metal construction:
– Welding defects
– Wrong sequence of welding F F
– Welding stresses
– Welding deformation
– Base material overheating
– Characteristic of material variation
• Damage usually starts from area of welded seam
• Weakness of welding seam is a result of Welding defects
A weld which is made the correct way is as strong and as hard as other
parts of the metal product
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• How to eliminate welding seam faults?

– Careful and faultless welding work
– Correct filler material selection
– Use the correct welding parameters and welding technique
– Work according to the WPS´s ( Welding Procedure Specification )
– Follow the manufacturers instructions and recommendations
– Follow the heat input recommendation
• For impact ductility and strength F F
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• What is welding defect?

– Discontinuity in the weld
– Difference in the form of the weld
• Welding defects are for example:
– Cracks in the weld
– Failure in penetration
– Undercutting
– Porosity in the weld
– Lack of fusion
– Spatter

• Welding defect means: Deviation from perfect weld

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• Welding defects are grouped to the following six main groups:

Cracks Lack of fusion
Cavity Wrong shape
Solid inclusion Dimensional error

• Welding defects can be divided roughly to the three groups:

– Wrong shapes
– Surface defects
– Internal weld defects
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Surface and internal weld defects are grouped to two and

three-dimensional:
• Two-dimensional defects are flat surface and known also as crack
type defects
• Two-dimensional defects are sharp-pointed:
– Very dangerous for joint durability
• Two-dimensional defects are:
– Various cracks
– Lack of fusion
– Short joint penetration
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• Three-dimensional defect also known as volumetric, ball-shaped

defect or cylindrical without sharp pointed shape
• Three-dimensional defects are:
– Pores and other cavities
– Inclusions, if they have not sharp-pointed shape
– Undercuts, if they have round bottom
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Cracks on the welding area: ( Cooling down and strength causes these cracks )
• Micro crack
• Longitudinal crack Weld metal
Welding zone
– In weld metal Base material
Base material
– On fusion line
– On heat affected zone
– In base material
• Cross crack Fusion line
– In weld metal HAZ
Fusion zone
– On heat affected zone Heat affected area
– In base material
HAZ = Heat affected zone
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Cracks on the welding area: ( Cooling down and strength?? causes these cracks )
• Radiation crack
Weld metal
– In weld metal
Welding zone
– On heat affected zone Base material
Base material
– In base material
• Crater crack
– To longitudinal direction
– Across Fusion line
– Radially HAZ
Fusion zone
Heat affected area
HAZ = Heat affected zone
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Cracks on the welding area: ( Cooling down and strength causes these cracks )
• Crack group
Weld metal
– In weld metal
Welding zone
– In heat affected zone Base material
Base material
– In base material
• Branch crack
– In weld metal
– In heat affected zone Fusion line
– In base material HAZ
Fusion zone
Heat affected area
HAZ = Heat affected zone
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• Some crack types which appear during or after welding

– Hot cracks
– Cold cracks
– Hydrogen cracks
– Seasoning crack

• Cracks are most dangerous welding defects

– A crack could be a signal of larger problems in welding
• Wrong selection of base material
• Failure in welding instructions
• One welding seam can include one or several cracks
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• Hot cracks in the weld

– Longitudinal solidified crack in weld metal
– Often, on the center line of welded seam or on fusion line
– Form in high temperature when weld pool starts to solidify
– Can also appear on fusion line or as a cross crack in heat effected zone
– Welding seam can be broken only from surface or through whole seam
• Hot cracks in the heat effected zone
– Hot cracks in heat effected zone are short, only 1 - 2 mm long
– Can also be called by name “melting cracks”

Hot crack on center line Hot crack inside welding seam Hot crack on fusion line Hot cracks in heat effected zone
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The causes of hot cracking

Width
• Metallurgic factors
– The solidification area and its width
– The chemical composition Depth
– The micro structure
Correct depth / width relationship
• Geometrical factors
Width
– The shape of welding groove ( length / width relationship )
• Strength factors
– The plate thickness Depth
– The steel construction and it´s stiffness
Wrong depth / width relationship
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Effect of weld profile to the cooling and appearance of hot cracks

Molten weld pool Molten weld pool

Cooling direction Cooling direction

Crack

Wrong Pass form Correct Pass form

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Too fast welding speed

• Prevention of hot cracking

– Always select welding parameters so that depth / width ratio is >1
– Surface of the weld joint must be cleaned from impurities Weld pool Welding seam

– Welding with smaller parameters / penetration decrease the risk

– Use a smaller air gap
– Weld so that the welding stress is minimized Correct welding speed

– Weld so that the fillet weld becomes a little bit convex

– Decrease the welding speed Worse pass form
Good pass form

Narrow and deep

Depth / width ratio > 1
Worse pass form Good pass form
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Hydrogen crack
• Hydrogen creates cracks together with stresses to the area
of microstructure which is hardened
• Hydrogen cracks appear under 150°C temperature
• Hydrogen cracks have various names like:
– Cold cracking
– Hardening cracking
– Delayed cracking
• Hydrogen cracks appear in the hardenable steels
– If martensitic structure increases in the weld metal
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• Hydrogen cracks appear in places, which are:

– The heat effected zone of the base material
Edge crack
– In longitudinal direction, under the welding seam
– In the root, as a root crack
– In the fusion line, beside welding seam
Underbead crack
– Across or longitudinal, in the heat effected zone or welding seam
– Starts and stops of welding

Root and longitudinal

crack

Edge crack Underbead crack Root and longitudinal Cross crack Cross crack
crack
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• Reasons that can cause hydrogen cracking

– High carbon or blend components content in base material
– Too low or high welding energy / heat input
– Large plate thickness or construction stiffness Edge crack
– Too low preheating or too low temperature between two passes
– Too much hydrogen in the weld metal or in filler material
– A groove profile, which increases strength in root weld
– Too rapid cooling speed of weld metal ( frost etc )
– Impurities in the welding joint Underbead crack

– Humidity or moisture in the weld seam

– The wrong heat treatment

Cross crack Root and longitudinal

crack
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• Prevention of hydrogen cracking

– Select base materials which have a low content of carbon or alloying
component
– Use a welding process where the content of hydrogen is as low as possible
( MIG / MAG )
– Take care of the filler material storing and re-drying
– Clean the surfaces of welding joint before welding
– Use sufficiently big heat input which is suitable for welding requirements
– Use preheating with thick base materials
– Use post-heat treatment if possible
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Content of hydrogen in various welding process

Filler material Very low Low Medium Plenty

MMA rutile electrodes

FCW

SAW

MMA basic electrodes

MIG / MAG solid wire

5 10 15 20 25 30

Hydrogen contest in weld metal HD ( ml / 100 g )

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• Crater cracks
– Longitudinal crater crack
– Cross crater crack
– Star form crater crack Crater crack
• Grain structure change creates of crater crack
– Wrong ending technique of welding
• Prevention of crater crack
– Return movement in the end of welding and stop welding on the welding seam
– Use the crater filling function of the welding machine
– Decrease welding parameters / Energy with Minilog function
– Fill the end crater by short “spots” during end of weld metal cooling time
– Use ending plates which are cut away after welding
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Cavity and porosity inside the welded seam

• Cavity and porosity types
– Single cavity – Linear porosity
• Ball-shaped gas cavity • Longitudinal linear porosity in the weld
– Smooth porosity – Elongated Porosity
• Porosity group • Longitudinal big pore
– Localized porosity – Surface pore
• Formed group of various pores • Open to the surface of welded seam

Smooth porosity Linear porosity

Single crack Localised porosity
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• Reasons that can cause cavity and porosity

– Gas pores inside welding seam, can come from:
• Filler material moisture
• Rust, oil and other impurities
– Thick paint layer on the welding area
– Poor gas shielding in the MIG / MAG welding
• “Wind” in the welding environment
• Too low shielding gas flow
• Too big shielding gas flow
• High shielding gas flow in start Cavities insde of weld

– Water or oxygen in the shielding gas

– Too long welding arc or too high welding speed
– Too large oscillation or too long stick out length
– Too small welding power
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• Prevention of the cavity and porosity

– Eliminate impurities from the base material surface
– Eliminate wind from the welding area
– Keep filler material dry from moisture and humidity
– Clean and dry surfaces of the welding joint
– Check the gas flow
– Check the gas flow hoses and flow meter
– Increase welding current sufficiently Weld seam without cavities
– Use correct the welding parameters ( U, I, Wfs )
– Use correct the arc length and travel speed
– Don’t use too wide oscillation ( max gas nozzle diameter )
– Use multi pass welding technique
– Preheating eliminates risks with thick base materials
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Solid inclusions
• Reasons that can influence slag and oxide inclusions
– Defective slag or oxide removal
– Insufficient root opening of the welded root seam
– Slag inclusions between two welding passes ( multi pass welding )
– Incorrect welding technique
– Slag is rolling to the front of weld pool during welding
– Wrong welding parameters ( Current, Voltage, Wfs )
– Too deep and narrow welding groove ( V- groove, X-groove, U-groove etc.)
– Wrong weld profile ( need of grinding in intermediate passes )

Slag inclusions between welding passes Defective slag or oxide removal

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• Prevention of slag and oxide inclusions

– Remove slag or oxide carefully from weld surface
– Make the root opening with a grinding machine until the pure part of the weld
is visible
– Weld seam so that the weld profile is not too high
– Point the welding arc correctly in to the welding groove, to the edges
– Make sure that the slag and weld metal are not mixed into the welding arc
– Use the correct welding parameters
– Use the correct travel speed
Critical point for slag inclusion

Smooth seam form decrease risk of

slag inclusion in multi pass welding

Wrong seam form

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• Reasons that can influence Tungsten inclusions ( TIG )

– Tungsten electrode touches the weld pool in the beginning or during TIG welding
– Head of Tungsten electrode is melts ( too small Tungsten diameter )
– Wrong type / alloy of Tungsten electrode
• Melted part of electrode goes to the weld pool
– Scratch ignition
• Broken electrode head inside weld pool
– Wrong shielding gas
• Oxygenous shielding gas
– Dirty base material
• Rust, oil, paint, humidity
– Air contamination of Tungsten electrode

Tungsten inclusion ( TIG )

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Copper inclusion ( MIG )

• Grain of crater crack
– Part of copper contact tip is melted to the weld pool
• Over heated contact tip ( Cooling disturbance )
• Too small MIG gun ( > 250 - 300 A use water cooled MIG gun )
• Too short stick out length
• Non original and Non genuine consumable parts
• Prevention of copper inclusion
– Use original consumable parts
– With spray arc welding use M 8 thread current tips
– Check the operation of water cooling Too long contact tip can cause copper
inclusion if it touch to the weld pool
– Increase stick out length ( max 25 mm )
– Clean spatter carefully from welding head to eliminate arc inside gas nozzle
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Lack of fusion
• Incomplete joining between the weld metal and the base
material or between intermediate welding passes
– Joint surface
– Between welding passes in multi pass welding
– Infusible root face in root seam ( lack of fusion in root pass )
– Sometimes also called, lack of side weld fusion or lack of side wall fusion

Lack of fusion in a root pass Lack of fusion in a joint surface

Lack of fusion between welding passes

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• Reasons that can cause lack of fusion

– Molten weld metal rolls in front of the welding arc on the cold base material
• Too low welding speed
• Too high wire feed speed to the selected welding voltage
• Too high welding current in relation to the welding speed
• Faulty MIG gun / electrode angle
• Too narrow groove angle
• Spray arc welding out of position is forbidden
• Too wide oscillation
– Too small welding power
– Too long arc length Molten weld metal rolls to the front
of welding arc and cause lack of
– Magnetic arc blow ( MMA ) fusion

– Impurities in fusion face

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• Prevention of lack of fusion

– Use correct welding technique
• Welding parameters
• Welding speed
• MIG gun angle and stick out
– Use correct recommended types and sizes of welding grooves
– Use correct welding power
– Use correct arc length
– Use correct groove angles and openings
– Change position of earth cable to the better place in work piece ( MMA )
– Clean surfaces of welding joint and passes
• Wire brush / Grinding machine
• Grinding disc / Grinding machine
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Incomplete penetration
• Separation between real and nominal penetration
• Appears, when fusion face or faces are not melted
• If requisite penetration is not reached

Incomplete penetration in V- groove root pass

Incomplete penetration in fillet weld Requisite penetration

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• Reasons that can cause incomplete penetration

– Incorrect joint shape
• Too high root face
• Too small air gap
• Too small groove angle
• Wrong MIG gun / MMA electrode angle
• Misalignment Wrong location of the seams
• Wrong MIG gun angle
– Too small welding current / welding energy
– Too thick filler material
– Wrong location of the seams in butt joint welding
• Especially when welded from both sides Misalignment in the joint
– Perpendicularity
– Slag or oxide is rolling to the front of welding arc
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• Prevention of incomplete penetration

– Correct joint type and size
– Correct welding current / welding energy
– Correct MIG gun / MMA electrode angle
– Correct travel speed
– Correct arc length and stick out
– Use thinner filler material, especially in root pass
– Correct location of the weld seams Correct location of the seams

• Perpendicular
– Correct welding technique
– Use the correct oscillation amount
– Use multi pass welding technique
No misalignment in the joint
– Use pre heat with thicker base materials
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Wrong weld shape and dimensions

• Incorrect shape of the weld seam
– Means incorrect surface profile of welded seam ( top and root side )
– Incomplete geometry of welded seam
• Correct parameters, travel speed and welding technique together
with the correct weld groove dimensions guarantee good weld
results b

h =  0,1 x b + 1,5 ( mm )

h h1=  0,1 x c + 1,5 ( mm )

h1 c
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Undercut
• Appears in the base material, beside the welding seam
• Longitudinal or discontinuous cavity, which the molten weld
metal has not filled
• Different types of undercutting
– Continuous undercut
– Discontinuous undercut
– Root side undercut
– Undercut between welding passes Continuous undercut Discontinuous undercut

– Local undercut

Continuous undercut Undercut between welding passes

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45°

• Reasons that can cause undercut 30°

– Too high welding current / energy

– Too high / low / variations in travel speed
– Wrong electrode / MIG gun angle
– Unstable welders hand
Tendency of welding arc
– Tendency of welding arc
• Welding arc is pointed to the vertical plate in fillet weld
– Too large oscillation in fillet joint
• Large fillet joints are recommended to weld with
multi pass technique with out oscillation
– Opening between plates
– Welder has no proper visual contact to weld seam
Too large oscillation
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• Prevention of undercut
– Use correct welding current / energy
– Use correct and constant stick out length
– Use correct MIG gun / MMA electrode angle
– Use correct arc length
– Use correct and constant travel speed
– Correct tendency of welding arc
1 - 2 mm
• Point arc to the lower plate in fillet weld
Correct tendency of welding arc
– Use only small oscillation if it´s needed 1.0 mm from corner of the fillet weld

– Use multi pass technique in fillet joint

– In case of openings don’t try to fill large gaps with single pass
• In large openings, fill gaps with root pass before top pass
– Better welders location to improve visual contact
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Unsymmetrical fillet weld

• What is a unsymmetrical fillet weld
– A fillet weld that has been welded uneven or irregularly to 1 plate
• The welding seam lays too much on the lower plate side
– Unsymmetrical weld causes typically undercut and lack of fusion to vertical plate
• Reasons that cause unsymmetrical fillet weld
– Wrong welding gun angle
Correct profile
– Too high welding parameters
Unsymmetrical profile
– Too low travel speed
• Prevention of unsymmetrical fillet weld
– Use correct welding gun angle
Correct / Unsymmetrical
– Decrease productivity or increase welding speed fillet weld profile
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Undercut in root of welding seam

• Appears in one side or on both side of root pass
• Reasons that can cause undercut in root pass
– High root face of the welding groove
– Too small / large air gap
– Too small / big welding current / energy
– Wrong welding technique
– High pressure of backing gas ( TIG )
• Prevention Undercut on both side of root pass
– Use the correct size air gap and root face
– Use the correct welding energy and backing gas pressure
– Use the correct oscillation and delay time in both groove edges
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• Too much weld metal in a welding seam

– Too high cap form in the welded seam
• Reasons that can cause excess weld metal
– Too slow welding speed compared to the productivity of filler material
– Too low capacity of groove or joint without groove ( V,X and Y etc.)
– Too thick diameter of filler material ( TIG welding )
• Prevention
– Correct welding parameters
– Correct groove type and size
– Correct filler material diameter Too high cap form in butt weld
– Correct welding technique
– Less full weld groove before top pass
Too high cap form in fillet weld
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• Too much weld metal in a welding seam

– Too high cap form in the welded seam
• Reasons that can cause excess weld metal For top pass in MIG must
leave space 1,0 - 2,0 mm
– Too slow welding speed compared to the welding productivity
– Too high filling or too small grinding of the filling pass
– Too thick diameter of the filler material ( MMA / TIG welding )
– Too short delay times in the weld edges
• Prevention
– Correct welding parameters
– Correct groove type / size and grinding
– Correct filler material diameter ( MMA / TIG )
– Correct welding technique ( oscillation / delay time )
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Excessive root profile

• Excessive root profile
– Protrusion of root is too large from the base material
surface
– Also known with the name excessive penetration
• Various types of excessive root profile
– Local high root reinforcement
– Constant high root reinforcement
– Through excessive penetration

High root reinforcement

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• Reasons that can cause excessive root profile

– Too large air gap
– Too small root face
– Wrong welding parameters
– Too short arc length
– Too low welding speed
– Too big MIG wire / MMA electrode diameter > 10 mm
• Prevention
min 60°
– Correct the air gap and root face 2 - 6 mm
– Correct the welding speed and energy
– Correct the oscillation movement
– Correct the stick out length 0 - 4 mm
– More delay time in the weld edges
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Root concavity
• What is a root concavity?
– Groove in a root cap which is created contraction and the root edges are melted
• Reasons that can cause root concavity
– Too large root face in a welding groove
– Too small air gap or variations of air gap
– Too high welding speed
– Too small welding energy
– If backing gas pressure is too high ( TIG )
• Prevention of root concavity
– Use the correct size of root face and air gap
Root concavity in root cap
– Use the correct welding energy
– Decrease the pressure of the backing gas ( TIG )
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Steep joining
• Steep joining of the welded seam means
– Joint between the welding seam and the base material is too steep

Steep joining in the edge of welding seam

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Steep joining on a weld edge

• Appears on the edge of a welded seam
– Weld metal has flowed to the surface of base material with out fusion
– On the top of welding seam or on root side
– Is normally caused by too high wire feed speed
– Wrong use of backing bars cause steep joining on root side
– Wrong MIG gun angle Excessive penetration on root side
– Too low arc Voltage ( MIG )

Excessive penetration on the top of welding seam

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Welding spatter
• What is welding spatter
– Molten drops which fly out from the welding arc or molten weld pool and stick
to the surface of base material
• Reasons that can cause spatter
– Wrong welding parameters
• Voltage, wire feed speed and arc length are not in balance
• Too low or too high welding power
• Variations of stick out length
• Wrong MIG gun angle
• Changes in openings between base materials
• Impurities on base material surface
– paint, rust, oil and humidity
• Often steel spatter starts corrosion on the base material ( thin paint layer )
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Welding spatter
• Prevention of welding spatter
– Use the correct welding parameters for each welding case
• Joint type ( butt joint, V-groove, X- groove etc. )
• Out of position welding ( horizontal, vertical up / down , over head )
– Use the correct welding power for each welding case
– Keep stick out length constant
– Weld with the correct MIG gun angle
– Remove impurities from the base material surface
– Use anti spatter spray ( MIG )
– Keep the MIG gun welding head and liner clean
– Use the correct size MIG gun
– Argon based mix gases produce less spatter than CO2
– Use correct current in MMA welding
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Cleaning of spatter
• Spatter removal
– Sand or glass ball blasting
– Manual or machine wire brushing
– Grinding with discs or with special grinding wheels
– Mechanical cleaning with a file / chisel
• Minimizing spatter
– Thin primary paint decreases sticking of spatter to base material ( FCW )
– Anti spatter spray layer over base material decreases the spatter sticking
– Spray arc welding with Ar + CO2 decreases spatter
– Use of FCW wire decrease spatter
– Use of Synergic Pulse-MIG decrease spatter
– Mechanized welding decrease spatter