UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLOGICA DE ALTAMIRA
INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE ENGINEERING.
SUBJECT:
NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING.
TOPIC:
VISUAL TESTING.
TEAM MEMBERS:
DEL ANGEL SAUCEDO ISAIAS.
HERNÁNDEZ HERRERA GERARDO.
PONCE HERNÁNDEZ HECTOR EDUARDO.
DEGREE AND GROUP:
10° “A”
ALTAMIRA TAMPS, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
INDEX
INTRODUTION. ...................................................................................................... 1
TERMINOLOGY. ..................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION.
Visual Inspection, or Visual Testing (VT), is one of the most important methods of
inspection and is widely used for acceptance of welds. It requires no equipment
except the naked eye of a trained inspector.
Visual inspection can be used for internal and external surface inspection of a variety
of equipment types, including storage tanks, pressure vessels, piping, and other
equipment.
Visual inspection is simple and less technologically advanced compared to other
methods. Despite this, it still has several advantages over more high-tech methods.
Compared to other methods, it is far more cost effective. This is because there is no
equipment that is required to perform it. For similar reasons it also one of the easiest
inspection techniques to perform. It is also one of the most reliable techniques. A
well-trained inspector can detect most signs of damage.
Visual testing is used to locate surface anomalies in most materials and subsurface
discontinuities in translucent materials. Visual testing is performed either by a direct
technique or by a remote (that is, indirect) technique
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VISUAL TESTING DEFINED
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration, Visual Inspection Research Project Report on Benchmark
Inspections,
"Visual inspection is the process of examination and evaluation of systems and
components by use of human sensory systems aided only by mechanical
enhancements to sensory input such as magnifiers, dental picks, stethoscopes, and
the like. The inspection process may be done using such behaviors as looking,
listening, feeling, smelling, shaking, and twisting.
"It includes a cognitive component wherein observations are correlated with
knowledge of structure and with descriptions and diagrams from service literature.”
TERMINOLOGY.
Discontinuity: is defined as an interruption of the typical structure of a material,
such as a lack of homogeneity in its mechanical, metallurgical, or physical
characteristics. A discontinuity could be the result of a defect, but isn't necessarily a
defect.
Defect: A defect, on the other hand, is a discontinuity that by nature or accumulated
effect (for example, total crack length) renders a part or product unable to meet
minimum applicable acceptance standards or specifications. A defect results in
rejection of the part or product.
Relevant Condition: a condition that requires supplemental examination, corrective
measure, or analytical evaluation
Evaluation: the process of determining the significance of examination results
through the comparison of those results with applicable acceptance criteria.
– to determine whether an article is acceptable, salvageable (can be repaired).
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Porosity
Porosity is defined as a cavity-type discontinuity formed by gas entrapment during
solidification. These trapped gases in the molten weld may form bubbles or pockets
as the weld solidifies.
The four main reasons for the presence of gases that cause porosity are:
1. Dirty base material contaminated with hydrocarbons such as oil, grease, or
paint.
2. Moisture on the joint surface or electrode in the form of water or hydrated
oxides or water leaks from poorly maintained cooling systems that can
introduce hydrogen into the welding process.
3. Insufficient or improper shielding caused by an inadequate shielding gas flow
rate; gas that's contaminated from its source or from its delivery system; or
wind or draft that prevents the gas from adequately protecting the molten weld
metal.
4. Incorrect welding conditions or techniques.
5. Porosity often is classified by its shape and distribution within the weld, such
as uniformly or randomly scattered, cluster, or linear. Each of these porosity
distributions may have different levels of acceptance within a welding code or
standard.
The most practical methods for controlling or eliminating porosity are to use clean
base materials, properly store uncontaminated welding consumables, adequately
maintain welding equipment, use proven welding procedures, and weld in
acceptable environmental conditions.
Incomplete Fusion and Incomplete Joint Penetration
Because these terms are sometimes misused, it's important to understand the
difference between these two weld discontinuities.
Incomplete fusion is a weld discontinuity in which fusion doesn't occur between the
weld metal and fusion faces or adjoining weld beads. This absence of fusion can
occur at any location within the weld joint and be present in fillet welds or groove
welds.
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Incomplete fusion may result when the temperature of the base material or
previously deposited weld metal is not elevated to its melting point during the welding
process. Incomplete fusion often is found on one leg of a fillet weld and is caused by
an incorrect welding angle, which distributes heat non uniformly between both sides
of the joint.
It also may be caused by oxides or other foreign material on the surface of the base
material.
Incomplete joint penetration is a discontinuity in a groove weld in which the weld
metal doesn't extend through the joint thickness. It's the failure of the filler metal or
base metal to fill the root of the weld completely.
Some common causes of incomplete joint penetration are a bad groove weld design
or a fit-up that is unsuitable for the welding conditions. Incomplete joint penetration
can occur if the root face dimensions are too large, the root opening is too small, or
the included angle of a V-groove weld is too narrow. All of these joint design
problems restrict the weld's ability to penetrate the joint's thickness.
Incomplete joint penetration can be prevented with the correct joint design and fit-up
in accordance with welding procedure requirements.
Understanding these weld discontinuities will help welding inspectors identify them
and, more important, prevent them from occurring in production. Using welding
inspection as a preventive tool within the quality system is more efficient than using
it only as an appraisal technique to sort bad welds from good welds.
Unacceptable Weld Profiles
The profile of a completed weld may have a considerable effect on the performance
of that weld in service. Welding inspectors must identify discontinuities through visual
inspection and evaluate their acceptance or rejection according to the applicable
welding code or standard acceptance criteria.
Unacceptable weld profiles can cause a reduction in base material thickness,
reduction in weld size, or stress concentrations on the weld or plate surface. These
types of weld discontinuities often seriously detract from the overall performance of
a welded component in service.
Some weld profile discontinuities are undercut, overlap, insufficient throat, and
excessive convexity. Undercut. Undercut is defined as a groove melted into the base
metal adjacent the weld toe, or weld root, and left unfilled by weld metal.
The term undercut describes two specific conditions. The first is the melting away
of the base material at the side wall of a groove weld at the edge of a bead, which
produces a sharp recess in the side wall in the area where the next bead is to be
deposited. This type of undercut can entrap inclusions within the recess, which then
may be covered by a subsequent weld bead.
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This condition usually can be corrected by grinding down the recess before
depositing the next bead. If the undercut is slight, however, an experienced welder
who knows how deep the arc will penetrate may not need to remove it. Undercut of
the side wall of a groove weld won't affect the completed weld if the condition is
corrected before the next bead is deposited.
The second condition is reduction of the base metal's thickness at the line where the
weld bead on the final layer of weld metal ties into the surface of the base metal.
This position is known as the toe of the weld. This condition can occur on a fillet weld
or a butt joint.
The amount of undercut permitted at the surface of the completed weld usually is
specified within the welding code or standard being used. The maximum permissible
undercut requirements for completed welds should be followed stringently, because
excessive undercut can seriously affect the performance of a weld, particularly if it's
subjected to fatigue loading in service.
Both types of undercut usually are caused by an incorrect welding technique,
incorrect electrode positioning, or incorrect travel speed. High currents and a long
arc increase the probability of undercut.
Overlap. Overlap is defined as a protrusion of weld metal beyond the weld toe, or
weld root. This condition occurs in fillet welds and butt joints and produces notches
at the toe of the weld that are undesirable because of their resultant stress
concentration under load. This discontinuity can be caused by incorrect welding
techniques or insufficient current.
Insufficient Throat. Insufficient throat usually occurs in fillet weld and butt joint
profiles that are concave. Excess concavity reduces throat thickness, which
considerably reduces weld strength. This condition usually is caused by excessive
welding current or arc lengths.
Excessive Convexity. Excessive convexity can produce a notch effect in the
welded area and, consequently, concentration of stress under load. For this reason,
some codes and standards specify the maximum permissible convexity of a weld
profile. Insufficient current or incorrect welding techniques typically cause this
condition.
Cracking
Cracks in a weldment are probably the most dreaded of all the weld discontinuities.
Because so many materials and applications are used in welding, cracking is a
complex subject.
The base material's crack sensitivity may be associated with its chemistry and its
susceptibility to the formation of elements that reduce its ductility. Excessive stresses
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in the weld joint, particularly if the material is in a crack-sensitive condition, can cause
cracking to occur.
The welding operation itself can produce stresses in and around the weld,
introducing extreme localized heating, expansion, and contraction.
Cracking often is caused by stress concentration near discontinuities in welds and
base metal and near mechanical notches in the weldment design. Hydrogen
embrittlement, a condition that causes a loss of ductility and exists in weld metal
because of hydrogen absorption, can contribute to crack formation in some
materials.
Hot and Cold Cracks. Cracks are classified as one of two types: hot or cold.
Hot cracks develop at elevated temperatures, propagate between the grains of a
material, and commonly form during solidification of weld metal.
Cold cracks develop after solidification of the weld, as a result of stresses, and
propagate both between grains and through grains. Cold cracks in steel sometimes
are called delayed cracks and often are associated with hydrogen embrittlement.
Hot cracks and cold cracks can be further categorized as base material cracks and
weld metal cracks.
Base Material Cracks. Heat-affected zone (HAZ) cracking most often occurs with
base material that can be hardened. High hardness and low ductility in a HAZ often
are the result of a metallurgical response to welding thermal cycles. In ferritic steels,
hardness increases and ductility decreases with an increase in carbon content and
a faster cooling rate.
The HAZ hardness depends on the base material's ability to be hardened, which in
turn depends on the base material's chemical composition. Carbon has a
predominant effect on steel's hardenability. For instance, cast iron contains between
2 and 4.5 percent carbon, which gives the alloy high hardness and low ductility.
Welding this material without seriously considering cooling rates and residual stress
invariably will result in base material cracking.
Weld Metal Cracks. Weld metal cracks can be divided into three types:
1. Transverse, which are perpendicular to the direction of the weld.
2. Longitudinal, which travel in the same direction as the weld and often are
confined to the center of the weld. This type of crack may be an extension of
a crack that originally initiated at the end of a weld.
3. Crater, which can be formed by an abrupt weld termination if a crater is left
unfilled with weld metal. These cracks usually are star-shaped and initially
extend only to the edge of the crater. However, they can propagate into
longitudinal Weld cracks.
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Dealing With Cracks. Cracks are unacceptable discontinuities and are detrimental
to weld performance. A crack, by its nature, is sharp at its extremities, so it acts as
a stress concentration. The stress concentration effect of a crack is greater than that
of most other discontinuities.
Cracks have a tendency to propagate, contributing to weld failure under stress.
Regardless of their size, cracks aren't permitted in weldments governed by most
fabrication codes. They must be removed by grinding or gouging, and the excavation
filled with sound weld metal.
Successful welding procedures incorporate the controls that are necessary to
overcome the tendency for crack formation. Such controls are preheating
temperature, interpass temperature, consumable type and preparation, and
postweld heat treatment.
Welding inspectors are responsible for evaluating these procedural controls during
inspections to ensure welding is performed to minimize the possibility of weld
cracking.
Detecting and Evaluating Discontinuities
Weld discontinuities often are detected through visual inspection. Some are detected
with inspection methods, such as radiography, ultrasonics, liquid penetrant, and
magnetic particle inspection.
The maximum acceptable limitations for these discontinuities depend on the
performance requirements of the welded component and are specified in the
appropriate welding code, standard, or specification. The welding inspector often is
required to determine the extent of discontinuities and to establish their acceptance
or rejection based on the relevant acceptance criteria.
APPLICATIONS OF VISUAL TESTING
Applications of visual and optical tests in electrical power
industries
The electrical power industry, including the nuclear industry is one of the largest
users of sophisticated remote visual inspection (RVI) systems. The use of RVI
confers major benefits when inspecting in hostile environments. Typical structures
to be inspected could include Fuel rods, Lifting equipment and Containment vessel
structure.
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Joining processes
The five most commonly used basic metallurgical joint types include the butt, corner,
edge, tee and lap joints (Fig 9.1). They are designed to produce either complete joint
penetration or partial penetration joints depending on the particular application. The
selection of a particular joint preparation depends on the load conditions (static,
dynamic, impact etc.), material used, joint geometry and environmental factors
surrounding the joint. Welded joints with complete penetration and fusion through
the thickness of the base metal are equivalent or greater in strength than that of the
base metal. Partial penetration, not fusing completely through the base metal
generally does not offer an equivalent strength to the base metal. Metal joints are
formed through the processes i) Soldering, ii) Brazing, iii) Oxy-fuel gas welding, iv)
Resistance welding, and v) Arc welding. Some other processes, including diffusion
bonding and electron beam welding are also widely used in the industry. A brief
description of the metallurgical preparing processes is given here.
Soldering
The soldering process involves joining materials by heating and using filler metal
with a liquid state below 450°C (840°F) and below the solid state threshold, or solidus
of the base metals. Solder is normally a non-ferrous alloy used to accelerate wetting
and remove oxides.
Brazing
Brazing joins materials by heating them to suitable temperature and by using a filler-
metal with liquids above 450°C (840°F) and below the solidus of the base metal.
Filler metals normally used for low carbon and alloy steels are silver alloys and
copper zinc alloys.
Oxyfuel gas welding
Oxyfuel gas welding joins materials by heating with an oxy-fuel gas flame with or
without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal. The
process normally uses acetylene gas as the fuel gas and pure oxygen instead of air.
The oxyfuel gas welding is ideally used for thin sheets, tubes and small diameter
pipes, as well as repair operations.
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Resistance welding
The process includes two processes, namely, resistance spot welding and
resistance seam welding. In resistance spot welding an electric current is passed
through the metal. Resistance to flow of electrical current heats the metal to welding
temperature. The process is used to weld together two or more overlapping pieces.
The current, electrode pressure and length of time the current flows controls the
quality of a resistance weld. Resistance seam welding is a special application of spot
welding involving a continuously rolling electrode.
Arc welding
Arc welding joins metals by heating with an electric current, with or without pressure
and with or without filler metal. All forms of welds require a means of shielding the
arc to block out harmful elements found in the atmosphere. The work piece serves
as a circuit element. The other electrode can be a consumable or non-consumable
material. An electric arc is generated between these two electrodes. Welding
processes that use a non-consumable electrodes include carbon arc welding (CAW),
plasma arc welding (PAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Consumable
electrodes melt in the arc and are transferred across the arc to become deposited
filler metal. Welding processes using consumable electrodes are shielded metal arc
welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux cored arc welding and
submerged arc welding (SAW).
Visual tests of metal joints
The visual inspector performing weld inspection and is required to perform tasks in
accordance with the relevant codes & standards at all stages of welding i.e. before
welding, during welding and after welding. The respective test procedure plan
against the respective weld preparation stages should be in accordance with the
relevant codes & standards.
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Advantages
1. Visual inspection is used before, during, and after fabrication of any weldment.
2. Visual inspection will show most large discontinuities and will generally point to
other discontinuities that must be detected by another method.
3. Visual inspection can detect and aid in eliminating discontinuities that might
become defects in the completed weldment.
4. Visual inspection costs less than any other nondestructive inspection method.
Limitations
1. The value of visual inspection depends largely on the experience and welding
knowledge of the inspector. The inspector should be familiar with design and weld
requirements.
2. Visual inspection is limited to detection of surface discontinuities.
3. Visual inspection started too late in the sequence of welding operations cannot
detect improper joint fit-up or other costly deviations from best welding practice.
VISUAL TESTING REQUIREMENTS
In its paper on visual testing, the American Welding Society (AWS) said that requirements
for visual testing typically pertain to three areas:
The inspector's vision;
The amount of light falling on the specimen, which is measured using a light meter;
and
Whether the area being inspected is obstructed from view
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MATERIALS, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
A visual test is one of the most important methods of inspection and is widely used
for acceptance of welds. VT is also used to identify bad welds before other more
expensive or time-consuming forms of inspection are performed.
Visual inspection is easy to apply, quick, and relatively inexpensive. Visual testing
equipment includes rulers, fillet weld gauges, squares, magnifying glasses, and
reference weld samples.
Visual Test Tools
• Optical Comparator. Magnifies, illuminates, and precisely measures weld
discontinuities.
• Magnification lenses. Pocket-sized magnification lenses.
• Extension mirrors. Used for root pass inspection of pipe welds.
• Fillet weld gauge. Measures the size of fillet welds.
• V-WAC gauge. Used for measuring height and depth. The gauge checks undercut
depth, porosity comparison, amount of porosity per linear inch and crown height.
• Automatic weld size gauge. Measures several aspects of a weld, including the
height.
• Bridge cam gauge. Used for measuring several aspects of welds, such as depth of
undercut, depth of pitting, and fillet weld throat size and leg length.
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Visual tests provide very important information about a weld’s general conformity to
specifications. The following weld features are measured and compared to
specifications to ensure that the weld meets expectations:
- crown height
- crown profile
- weld size
- weld length
- dimensional variation
- root side profile - root side penetration
- surface color (titanium welds) Visual Test
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In addition, a visual test may reveal discontinuities in the weld. A discontinuity is any
disruption in the consistency of a weld. A flaw in the weld is a discontinuity that is
small enough that it does not render the weld unacceptable. A defect is a
discontinuity that is serious enough to make the weld unacceptable.
The following common problems can be detected by visual tests:
- Undercut
- Overlap
- Surface cracks
- Crater cracks
- Surface porosity
- Joint mismatch
- Warpage Visual test
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