Aws WJ 201506

JUNE 2015
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATION OF WELDING
AND ALLIED JOINING AND CUTTING PROCESSES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING BRAZING, SOLDERING, AND THERMAL SPRAYING
For Info, go to www.aws.org/adindex
June 2015 Volume 94 Number 6
CONTENTS
FEATURES
66
Keys to Success for a New Welding Engineer

An experienced engineer imparts some wise advice
to those just getting started in their careers
R. Holdren
72
How Composition Affects Weldability of Steels

There are many variables that affect weldability of
steels, but composition is one of the most
important M. Tumuluru
76
Performing Root Pass Welds on a Super Duplex

Stainless Steel Pipeline
Laying in the critical root pass is a tricky
proposition, but it can be successful with the right
procedure W. C. LAPlante
80
Understand the Building Blocks for a Quality Welding

Program
Developing a welding procedure specification is a
fundamental responsibility of the welding engineer
L. G. Kvidahl
84
Recent Advances in Weld Purge Dams

Proper purging of the root bead backside is
necessary in certain pipe welding applications
R. A. Sewell
76
84
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

189s Ultrasonic Soldering Aluminum at Low
Temperature
Tin-based solder with zinc additions improved the
properties of aluminum alloy joints
W. B. Guo et al.
203s Welding Metallurgy of Dissimilar AISI 430/DQSK

Steels Resistance Spot Welds
Research was conducted to evaluate the microstructural
and mechanical performance of resistance spots welds
of dissimilar metals M. Pouranvari et al.
196s Control of Keyhole Exit Position in Plasma Arc

Welding Process
Controllable parameters of keyhole behavior were
studied in the welding of stainless steel plate
Z. M. Liu et al.
JUNE 2015 / WELDING JOURNAL 3
DEPARTMENTS
6
10
12
14
20
22
24
30
34
38
Editorial
Press Time News
International Update
News of the Industry
Business Briefs
Letters to the Editor
Aluminum Q&A
Brazing Q&A
Technology
Product & Print Spotlight
44
88
92
94
95
96
115
116
122
124
AWS Financial Report

Coming Events
Certification Schedule
Welding Workbook
Society News
Tech Topics
Guide to AWS Services
Personnel
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
On the cover: The Lincoln Electric Co.s orbital
GMA welding system welds a largediameter
pipe. (Photo courtesy of The Lincoln Electric
Co., Cleveland, Ohio.)
OFFICERS
President David Landon
Vermeer Mfg. Co.
Vice President David L. McQuaid
D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc.
Vice President John R. Bray
Affiliated Machinery, Inc.
Vice President Dale Flood
Tri Tool, Inc.
Treasurer Robert G. Pali
J. P. Nissen Co.
M. Sebergandio (Dist. 3), CNH America

K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
M. Skiles (Dist. 9), Consultant
J. Stoll (Dist. 18), The Bohler Welding Group U.S.
H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), UL, Inc.
R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), Consultant
J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College
D. R. Wilson (Past President), Welldean Enterprises
WELDING JOURNAL
Publisher Andrew Cullison
Editorial
Editorial Director Andrew Cullison
Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen
Associate Editor Howard M. Woodward
Associate Editor Kristin Campbell
Assistant Editor Melissa Gomez
Peer Review Coord. Sonia Aleman
Publisher Emeritus Jeff Weber
Executive Director Ray W. Shook

American Welding Society
Design and Production
DIRECTORS
Production Manager Zaida Chavez

Sr. Production Coordinator Brenda Flores
Manager of International Periodicals and
Electronic Media Carlos Guzman
T. Anderson (At Large), ITW Welding North America

U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Subsea Global Solutions
R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc.
D. J. Burgess (Dist. 8), Alstom Power
N. C. Cole (Past President), NCC Engineering
D. L. Doench (At Large), Hobart Bros. Co.
T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Thermal Dynamics Automation
K. Fogleman (Dist. 16), Consultant
P. H. Gorman (Dist. 20), Sandia National Laboratories
S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries
K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards
J. Knapp (Dist. 17), Gas and Supply
M. Krupnicki (Dist. 6), Mahany Welding Supply
T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory
S. Lindsey (Dist. 21), City of San Diego
D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training
C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc.
S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
W. R. Polanin (At Large), Illinois Central College
R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Airgas USA, LLC,
NorthCentral Region
R. W. Roth (At Large), RoMan Manufacturing
4 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015
Advertising
Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Sandra Jorgensen
Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Annette Delagrange
Manager of Sales Operations Lea Paneca
Sr. Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson
Subscriptions
Subscriptions Representative Danielle Garcia
dgarcia@aws.org
PUBLICATIONS, EXPOSITIONS,
MARKETING COMMITTEE
D. L. Doench, Chair, Hobart Brothers Co.
S. Bartholomew, Vice Chair, ESAB Welding
& Cutting Prod.
Lorena Cora, Secretary, American Welding Society
D. Brown, Weiler Brush
T. Coco, Victor Technologies International
C. Coffey, Lincoln Electric
D. DeCorte, RoMan Manufacturing
S. Fyffe, Astaras, Inc.

D. Levin, Airgas
R. Madden, Hypertherm
D. Marquard, IBEDA Superflash
J. F. Saenger Jr., Consultant
S. Smith, WeldAid Products
D. Wilson, Welldean Enterprises
J. N. DuPont, Ex Off., Lehigh University
L. G. Kvidahl, Ex Off., Northrop Grumman
Ship Systems
D. J. Landon, Ex Off., Vermeer Mfg.
S. P. Moran, Ex Off., Weir American Hydro
E. Norman, Ex Off., Southwest Area Career Center
R. G. Pali, Ex Off., J. P. Nissen Co.
N. Scotchmer, Ex Off., Huys Industries
R. W. Shook, Ex Off., American Welding Society
8669 NW 36 St., # 130, Miami, FL 331666672
(305) 4439353 or (800) 4439353
Welding Journal (ISSN 00432296) is published monthly by
the American Welding Society for $120.00 per year in the United
States and possessions, $160 per year in foreign countries: $7.50
per single issue for domestic AWS members and $10.00 per single
issue for nonmembers and $14.00 single issue for international.
American Welding Society is located at 8669 NW 36th St., # 130,
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Readers of Welding Journal may make copies of articles for
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are not for sale or resale. Permission is granted to quote from arti
cles, provided customary acknowledgment of authors and sources
is made. Starred (*) items excluded from copyright.
Copyright 2015 by American Welding Society in both
printed and electronic formats. The Society is not responsible for
any statement made or opinion expressed herein. Data and infor
mation developed by the authors of specific articles are for infor
mational purposes only and are not intended for use without inde
pendent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.
EDITORIAL
Financial Gains Will Serve Our Members
Robert G. Pali
AWS Treasurer
Our continuing
growth and expan
sion will serve the
welding community
well, making AWS
membership more
valuable than ever.
Serendipity would be a poor descriptor

for the present state of AWS finances. Instead, intelligent planning, a search for ripe
business opportunities, the loyal support of
an informed membership, and a hard-working staff are more likely reasons for our
healthy financial status.
Once again, I am pleased to report some
very positive financial records achieved over
the past year. Following are just some of the
highlights:
In calendar 2014, American Welding Society revenues were up 7.5% from the previous year, at just over $36 million.
Surpluses were up 3.7%, at $9.8 million.
Net assets of the Society grew $13.8 million, reaching $104.9 million. (In fact, our
total assets have nearly tripled in the past
five years.)
Society reserves ended at $24.3 million.
AWS Foundation reserves reached $46 million totaling $70.3 million (and growing
to $80 million during the first quarter of
2015).
These results were realized through the
combined efforts of all the AWS business
units. The FABTECH show held in Atlanta
last November was our second best show
ever in terms of exhibit space sold, and the
Weldmex show in Mexico produced record
square footage. Also in 2014, we reorganized our sales force in North America and
the rest of the world. AWS Certification
grew both domestically and internationally,
and AWS membership passed the 70,000
mark for the second time in our history.
Several important business decisions
have helped fuel our growth. We made
sound investments in Information Technology (IT), hiring a new Chief Information Officer who is working hard to improve internal and external support for our members
and other customers. This involved significant improvements to our IT infrastructure
and in building an IT Roadmap, providing a
solid foundation as AWS continues to expand its operations throughout the world.
We also completed a database conversion,
upgraded our accounting software, and are
working on ways to provide better data intelligence to our business stakeholders.
We launched a new AWS Website earlier
this year to improve our marketing efforts,
as well as overall functionality for AWS
members and other site visitors. On the international scene, we purchased the Chinese
division of our order fulfillment partner,
WEX China, thus establishing our on-theground presence in the Far East. Now called
AWS Asia, this new entity will have offices
in Beijing and Hong Kong. At the same
time, we are working to collaborate with a
Chinese governmental agency to provide
welding training in China.
In the educational arena, we continue to
improve on-line training through our AWS
Learning program. Over the past three
years, we have developed an effective preseminar program for those seeking to become AWS Certified Welding Inspectors.
The Society has made a concerted and
continuing effort to help fund the AWS
Foundation, making it self-sufficient. Monetary transfers to the Foundation have enabled us to increase the District Scholarship
Funds from $7,500 to $10,000 each year, to
provide an additional two fellowships of
$50,000 annually, and to create a donationmatching program that amounted to $2.1
million through the end of 2014.
As exemplified by the above, the future
looks extremely bright for AWS. More important, our continuing growth and expansion will serve the welding community well,
making AWS membership more valuable
than ever. Many thanks to everyone in our
industry for helping us achieve these
results. WJ
PRESS TIME NEWS

AWS, WEMCO Seek Nominations for
2015 Excellence in Welding Awards
The American Welding Society (AWS), Miami, Fla., and
WEMCO, an association of welding manufacturers, and a
standing committee of AWS, have issued a call for nominations for the 2015 Excellence in Welding Awards.
Previously known as the Image of Welding Awards, these
honors recognize outstanding contributions to the welding industry. They are issued in the following categories:
Individual (you or other individual)
Educator (welding teacher at an institution, facility, etc.)
Educational Facility (organization that conducts welding
education or training)
Small Business (less than 200 employees)
Large Business (200 or more employees)
Distributor (welding products)
AWS Section (AWS local chapter)
Media (industry and business publications)
Veterans (all branches of the U.S. military), a new category
added in 2015.
All individuals, organizations, and groups may be nominated for multiple categories. Self-nominations are also acceptable. The deadline for submissions is June 30.
To learn more, visit www.aws.org/w/a/awards/image.html.
Winners will also receive a WEMCO-sponsored trip to the
2015 FABTECH Show in Chicago to receive their award.
ing 25 full-time jobs to Tooele County and strengthening the

manufacturing industry within the state.
By expanding our specialty gas footprint in Utah, we are
able to increase our capacity to serve our customers
throughout the Western states, while also investing in and
bringing jobs to the region, said Airgas CEO Michael L.
Molinini. Airgas is very proud to be joining the community
of Tooele, and we look forward to successful partnerships
with the residents, businesses, and civic associations of the
region for many years to come.
AMETEK Acquires Global Tubes

AMETEK, Inc., Berwyn, Pa., has acquired Global Tubes, a
manufacturer of high-precision, small-diameter metal tubing, for approximately $200 million. The business has annual sales of approximately $120 million.
Global Tubes is comprised of two companies Fine
Tubes, Plymouth, UK, and Superior Tube, Collegeville, Pa.
Global Tubes metallurgical capabilities, processing capabilities, and alloy ranges are complementary to our existing
Specialty Metal Products businesses and give us the opportunity to expand our offerings both internationally and in
attractive growth markets, said Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK chairman and CEO.
It joins AMETEK as part of its Electromechanical Group.
Weiler Corp. Expands Headquarters
Airgas Celebrates New Specialty Gas

Facility in Tooele, Utah
Airgas, Inc.,
Radnor, Pa., recently celebrated opening its
20,000-sq-ft
specialty gas facility in Tooele,
Utah, with a
ribbon cutting
ceremony and
Pictured (from left) are Andy Cichocki, presi
guided tours of
dent of Airgas USA, LLC; Tom Thoman, division
the building.
president, Gases Production; Patrick Dunlavy,
The facility
Tooele City mayor; Michael Molinini, president
will provide a
and CEO, Airgas, Inc.; and Jared Hamner, exec
link in the suputive director of the Tooele County Chamber
ply chain for
of Commerce, as they cut a ribbon at the facil
high-purity and
ity opening.
precisionblended specialty gases used in research and commercial laboratories, environmental monitoring, and manufacturing.
Patrick Dunlavy, Tooele City mayor, and representatives
from the Utah Governors Office of Economic Development,
joined Airgas associates, including President and CEO
Michael Molinini, and customers to celebrate.
Made possible in part by a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance incentive awarded by the
Utah Governors Office of Economic Development, the facility
will contribute to the economic vitality of the region by bring10 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015
The complete redesign and expansion of Weilers headquarters

is intended to create a more open and collaborative working
environment.
Weiler Corp., Cresco, Pa., a provider of abrasives, power

brushes, and maintenance products for surface conditioning,
has expanded its office space to accommodate increased
staffing in key business areas.
The office expansion is also part of a larger initiative focused on positioning Weiler as a collaborative partner, working
with customers to provide solutions to their unique challenges. This includes a redesigned website, investment in capital equipment, a new brand identity, and increased manufacturing capacity.
Additionally, Weiler has increased direct field sales support
by 60%, in an effort to provide greater market-based training
in key industry applications.
Our expansion and investment in growing our sales support allows us to be more consultative with customers, better
identifying their surface conditioning challenges, and working
together to find the right solution, said Chris Weiler, president/CEO, Weiler Corp. WJ
More than 187,500 holes.
80-foot long railroad girder with

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Call us at 800-782-2110 for a free quote.

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Structural Steel Fabrication

Steel Plate & Sheet Metal
Fabrication
Miscellaneous Metals
Machining
Rolling & Forming Services
Cutting Services
Industrial Coatings
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Crane Rental & Trucking Services
Heat-Bending & Cold
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(AISC Certied for Advanced
Major Steel Bridge Fabrication)
INTERNATIONAL UPDATE
Mayan Families Opens Welding School
in Guatemala
Mario Cota Bocel is
pictured here with
some of the welding
machines donated by
Mark Vorobik, presi
dent of EDCO, Inc.,
Mount Vernon, Wash.,
a metal fabrication
company.
Mayan Families is lo
cated in Panajachel,
Guatemala, by Lake
Atitlan, an area rich in
Mayan culture and
history.
Mayan Families, a nongovernmental organization, has

opened a welding school at its vocational center in
Panajachel, Guatemala. The new school will partner well
with the carpentry school that opened a year ago. The
school will train residents in the skills needed to build doors,
windows, boat docks, and other welding projects.
In addition to the welding school and carpentry school,
Mayan Families has a sewing school, embroidery center,
massage and spa training, various nutrition programs,
health and medical services, and basic childhood education.
If anyone is interested in making a donation, purchasing one
of its wood-working projects, helping as a volunteer, or if
youd just like to learn more about this organization, visit
www.mayanfamilies.org.
Walter Surface Technologies Receives Best

Supplier Award
Walter Mexico received

the Best Supplier with
the Greatest Commit
ment award from
Grainger for the fourth
consecutive year.
Pablo Rivero accepted the award

on behalf of Walter Surface Tech
nologies from (from left) Cristo
pher Chacon, product and
marketing director, Grainger, Rosa
Fajardo, operations director,
Grainger, and Monica Ortegon,
senior manager of product group.
Walter Surface Technologies recently announced it has

been recognized by W.W. Grainger, Inc., with the Best Supplier with the Greatest Commitment award during Grainger
Mexicos presentation gala in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

Grainger, a global broad-line supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products, selected Walter for excellent
customer service, support, and product. Grainger Mexico
distributes a wide range of Walter products geared to the
metal working industry, including the line of Bio-Circle nontoxic industrial parts cleaning products.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Walter has won
the award from Grainger Mexico. Accepting the award was
Pablo Rivero, general manager, Mexico. Walter Surface
Technologies Mexico is commited to delivering the industrys best products, service, and support to Grainger Mexico, said Rivero. The Grainger organization is exceptional in
their ability to deliver our products to a wide range of customers with varying needs. Grainger is undoubtedly committed to their customers and we will remain committed to
helping Grainger expand their business.
Fine Tubes and Superior Tube Partner with Fusoh

Aviation in Japan
Fine Tubes and Superior Tube have entered into a formal two
year partnership with Fusoh Aviation to expand operations in
the Far East.
United Kingdom-based Fine Tubes and U.S.-based Superior Tube, manufacturers and global suppliers of precision
tubes for critical applications, have signed a two-year contract with Fusoh Aviation Co., Ltd., to act as its distribution
partner in Japan for the aerospace and space sectors.
The companies see significant growth potential in the
Japanese aerospace and space markets and, having worked
successfully with Fusoh on an ad-hoc basis in recent years,
were keen to establish a formal partnership. Fusoh Aviations client base features a number of global aerospace manufacturers, including IHI Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries, and the
Japan MOD and Coast Guard.
Fine Tubes and Superior Tube have a long record of manufacturing high-performance titanium, stainless steel, and
nickel alloy tubes for advanced civil and military aerospace
projects. Designed for airframes, engines, and flight surface
actuation, the tubing supplied by the two companies withstands extreme conditions, including high pressures and
temperatures. While the initial agreement is limited to aerospace and space applications, it may be extended to cover
other markets, including nuclear, in the future. WJ
NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY

IBSC 2015 Brings Together Hundreds of Brazing
and Soldering Professionals
More than 220 attendees, representing 22 countries, assembled for the International Brazing and Soldering Conference (IBSC) 2015 at the Hilton Long Beach in California.
Organized by the American Welding Society (AWS), the
event not only attracted students and professors but also researchers and technical experts from around the world eager
to gain new knowledge.
The professional education seminars started April 19,
while the technical program took place April 20 to 22.
Welcome speeches were given by General Chairman
Stephen L. Feldbauer, director, research and development,
Abbott Furnace Co., St. Marys, Pa., and General Cochairman
Creed Darling, plant manager, Lucas-Milhaupt, Inc.,
Muskego, Wis. They thanked members of the AWS C3 Brazing and Soldering Committee; individuals who spent more
than 100 hours to ensure strong technical presentations, including the dedicated efforts by Technical Program Chairman Hui Zhao, senior research engineer at Creative Thermal
Solutions, Inc., Urbana, Ill.; and numerous sponsors.
This is the one opportunity for people to gather in
North America and share ideas and technology as it relates
to brazing and soldering, Feldbauer said. Its one of only
two conferences in the world on brazing and soldering [the
other, LT, is next set for June 2016 in Aachen, Germany],
and because of that, it attracts the worlds experts in the
field, gives you direct access to the field, and provides an op-
At IBSC 2015, Paul T. Vianco of Sandia National Laboratories, Al

buquerque, N.Mex. (left), coauthor of the manuscripts that won
Best Brazing Paper and Best Soldering Paper, accepted two tro
phies. Thomas Uhlig of Technische Universitaet Chemnitz, Insti
tute of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemnitz, Germany
(right), represented his team, which earned the Best Interna
tional Paper.
portunity to learn. A lot of overseas students were also here,

which speaks volumes of the support from universities.
The three plenary sessions consisted of Wetting in Brazing by Fiqiri Hodaj with the Grenoble Institute of Technology/France, Brazing Technology Advances and Challenges
For info, go to www.aws.org/adindex
by Guntram Wagner on behalf of Bernhard Wielage of the

Chemnitz University of Technology/Germany, and Soldering
vs. Brazing Bridging the Gap by Ronald Smith of S-Bond
Technologies/USA and chair of the C3 Committee.
Afterward, and on the following days, parallel sessions
covered solder joining technologies, materials and process
design, special/advanced process, corrosion, joint reliability,
lead-free solders, nano materials, ceramic, composite, glass
joining, filler metal properties, furnace brazing and fixtures,
modeling and simulation for brazing, aluminum and aluminum matrix composites, and brazed joint properties.
Overall, 78 papers were presented at IBSC 2015.
Three awards were given out at a networking dinner. For
fifteen years, every three years, this event has been held. Its
one of the worlds premiere events in the field, Smith said
before the winners were announced.
The Best Brazing Paper went to Understanding the RunOut Behavior of a Ag-Cu-Zr Braze Alloy when Used to Join
Alumina to an Fe-Ni-Co Alloy by P. T. Vianco, C. A. Walker,
D. De Smet, A. Kilgo, B. M. McKenzie, P. M. Kotula, and R. L.
Grant.
The Best Soldering Paper was Reliability Analysis of Pinin-Hole Solder Joints by Computational Modeling by P. T.
Vianco and M. K. Neilsen.
High-Temperature Resistant Co-Based Brazing Fillers
by T. Uhlig, S. Weis, B. Wielage, G. Wagner, and S. Schuberth
captured the Best International Paper title.
In addition, the event included 28 tabletop exhibits
where companies displayed their offerings and services.
Kristin Campbell (kcampbell@aws.org), associate editor
Nature Serves as Inspiration for Florence

Darlington Technical College Competition
For the sixth consecutive

year, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products, Florence, S.C.,
sponsored the Florence-Darlington Technical College
Welding Sculpture Competition to fund its welding education and student scholarship programs.
This years event, held
April 11 at the Francis Marion University Arts International Festival, saw 10 teams
of professional welders and
welding students from
across the region compete to
create welded sculptures
Ten teams of professional and
from scrap metal to fit the
student welders competed in
theme of nature. The artthe sixth annual Florence
work was auctioned off to
Darlington Technical College
raise $10,000 for welding
Welding Sculpture Competi
scholarships at the college.
tion. This lily pad, the work of
the Singleton Steel Co. team,
From the four professional
was the thirdplace winner in
teams competing, Nucor
the professional category.
Steel of Darlington, S.C., won
first place for their sculpture
of a hammerhead shark. Second place winner was the General Electric team. Singleton
Steel Co., Sumter, S.C., took third place. ESAB welding and cut-
ting equipment, along with personal protection products, were

awarded to these winners.
The amateur team of Dillon ATECH won first place with
their welded sculpture of a functional garden chair and was
awarded four ESAB autodarkening welding helmets and a certificate for $5000 worth of ESAB equipment of their choice.
Other amateur division winners included the Florence
Career Center taking second place and Darlington County
Institute of Technology coming in third. They won ESAB
welding helmets and up to $2500 in products.
Butte Colleges Welding Program

Honored with National Award
The welding program at Butte College, Oroville, Calif.,
was among nine programs recognized nationally as Excellence in Action award winners.
It received this distinction from the National Association
of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium
(NASDCTEc) as a result of exemplary business partnerships,
extensive job placement opportunities, and detailed alignment with secondary education and certification programs,
providing students with the skills needed to enter a living
wage career within the manufacturing career cluster.
Representatives accepted the honor as part of the
NASDCTEc Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Don Robinson, the Welding Technology Department
chair/instructor at Butte College, added that the program attracts 55 students annually and has had a good jobplacement track record, but last year it hit 100%, due in part
to the economy and local industry partners.
Colorado Governor Tours Wolf Robotics
Wolf Robotics CEO Doug Rhoda (left) poses with Colorado

Governor John Hickenlooper.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper recently toured

Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, Colo., a supplier of robots for
welding, cutting, press brakes, and material removal.
During the tour, employees explained the automated
manufacturing systems being built on the production floor
and how the company is contributing to job growth in the
state. Employees also shared current supply chain practices
that utilize the front range of Colorado.
The governor was accompanied by Fort Collins Mayor
Karen Weitkunat, City Manager Darin Atteberry, Executive
Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development
and International Trade Fiona Arnold, and Industry Development Manager of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Sam Bailey.
I really appreciated Governor Hickenlooper taking time
out of his busy schedule to see what we do and meet a lot of
the great Colorado talent we have on our team here, said
Wolf Robotics CEO Doug Rhoda. WJ
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For all of your rolling, forming

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BUSINESS BRIEFS
GM Reveals $5.4 Billion in U.S. Plant Investments
awarded the top position in the metals category in the magazines annual ranking on corporate reputations.
Top scores were received in the following areas: use of
corporate assets, financial soundness, long-term investment
value, quality of products and services, and global
competitiveness.
Daihen Opens New MidWest Office and

Demonstration Center
Posing for a group shot at the General Motors (GM) Pontiac

Metal Center are (from left) GM Vice President North American
Manufacturing Cathy Clegg, UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada,
and GM Executive Vice President and President North America
Alan Batey. (Photo General Motors.)
General Motors (GM) recently announced it will invest

$5.4 billion in U.S. plant improvements during the next
three years, including details of $783.5 million for three
Michigan facilities.
These investments are evidence of a company on the
move, strategically investing in the people, tools, and equipment to produce cars, trucks, and crossovers that are built
to win in the marketplace with stunning design, quality, and
breakthrough technologies, said GM North America President Alan Batey at the Pontiac Metal Center, where $124
million will be invested.
Two other investments are as follows: $520 million for
tooling and equipment for future new vehicle programs at
the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, retaining 1900
jobs, and $139.5 million for a new body shop and stamping
facility upgrades at Pre-Production Operations in Warren.
GM will address the remaining $4.6 billion and identify
plants involved over the next several months.
Alcoa Achieves Strong FirstQuarter Profits

Lightweight metals provider Alcoa, New York, N.Y., recently reported its first-quarter 2015 net income of $195
million, or $0.14 per share, including $158 million in
restructuring-related charges. Year-over-year, first-quarter
2015 results compare to a net loss of $178 million, or $0.16
per share.
Excluding the impact of all special items, a first-quarter
2015 net income jumped to $363 million, or $0.28 per
share, from $98 million, or $0.09 per share, in the year-ago
period.
First-quarter 2015 revenues rose 7% to $5.8 billion from
$5.5 billion in the first-quarter of 2014.
Alcoa is also holding firm in its 2015 growth projections
for the aerospace, automotive, building and construction,
industrial gas turbine, and packaging end markets.
Additionally, the company has again been named the
most admired metals company in the world by Fortune magazine. This is the fourth year in a row that it has been
During a recent open house for the companys facility in Daven

port, Iowa, cutting the ceremonial ribbon are (from left) Mayor
of Davenport Bill Gluba, OTC Daihen President/CEO Masahiko
Sakida, and OTC Daihen Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Bill Guest.
Daihen, Inc., a subsidiary of Daihen Corp., manufacturers

of advanced arc welding equipment including robots, has
opened a new office and demonstration center in Davenport, Iowa. Sales, service, and training activities in the surrounding Quad Cities area are set to be accommodated
there.
Plans to develop these operations were initiated by demand for OTC-Daihen products in the region. The office includes a live demonstration area and will be the companys
sixth facility in North America. This location will also allow
the company to feature its manual arc welding and seamless
robotic arc welding technologies.
The company has also announced plans to open a similar
office in Leon, Mexico, as an extension of service and support efforts offered from its Monterrey office.
ACT and Manufacturing Skill Standards

Council Form Collaboration
The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC),
Alexandria, Va., and ACT, Iowa City, Iowa, recently announced a collaboration to accelerate the use of stackable
credentials from the two organizations the ACT National
Career Readiness Certificate and MSSCs Certified Production Technician along with Certified Logistics Technician
credentials.
They will begin working together on marketing initiatives, including additional case study development, advertising, public relations, research, and event marketing to communicate the benefits of stackable credentials in workforce
development, education, and policy. WJ
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Defining LowHydrogen
Filler Metals
The article, Benefits Gained with
Low-Hydrogen Filler Metals by Derick Railling (April 2015, page 66), contains a technical error that can be misleading to welding professionals who
are trying to learn and understand
more about low-hydrogen welding
processes and hydrogen-induced
cracking.
The article states in the third paragraph, Low-hydrogen filler metals are
those classified with less than 4 mL of
diffusible hydrogen per 100 g of weldment. I find that this definition of
what classifies as low hydrogen is incorrect and misleading.
Per the American Welding Societys
(AWS) A5.1:2012, Specification for Carbon Steel Electrodes for Shielded Metal
Arc Welding, on page 27, Figure 10, the
second optional supplemental designator allows that the diffusible hydrogen levels allowed for low-hydrogen be
values of 4, 8, or even as much as 16

mL per 100 g of deposited weld metal.
I do not argue that it is not a good
practice to use low-hydrogen consumables with the H4 designator to help
mitigate hydrogen-induced cracking.
However, I feel that this article can be
misleading as to the definition of lowhydrogen filler metals.
Further evidence to this error
would be again in AWS A5.1:2012, Annex A, A7.6, and my understanding
that any electrode for the shielded
metal arc welding process with a XXXC
where C is 5, 6, or 8, is considered to
be of low-hydrogen status.
David Finch, CWI
Mechanical Welding Engineer
Specialist 2, Energy Division
Black & Veatch, Overland Park, Kansas
The authors response is as follows:
Thank you for your feedback. You are
correct. Optional filler metal designators
per AWS can allow for higher levels of dif

fusible hydrogen than stated in the article.
Our intention was not to mislead readers,
but rather to offer our suggestion for best
practices in selecting a lowhydrogen filler
metal.
Dear Readers:
The Welding Journal encourages an
exchange of ideas through letters to
the editor. Please send your letters
to the Welding Journal Dept.,
8669 NW 36th St., #130, Miami, FL
33166-6672. You can also reach us
by FAX at (305) 443-7404 or by
sending an e-mail to Kristin
Campbell at kcampbell@aws.org.
ALUMINUM Q&A
Q: I have a small welding fabrica
tion business that has worked with
carbon steel for a considerable
time. I have very limited experience
with aluminum fabrication, but I
am thinking of expanding into the
welding fabrication of aluminum
structures. Could you please give
me some insight into the most im
portant things I should consider
when making this change?
A: There are some significant differences between welding fabrication of
carbon steel and aluminum. I will
identify some of the most obvious differences and talk a little about each. I
also believe that a good start would be
to consider the following: material
preparation, welding equipment, filler
metal selection, welder training, and
codes along with standards.
Material Preparation
Good material preparation practices prior to welding are important
for all materials if you want to produce
BY TONY ANDERSON
sound welds and avoid weld discontinuities. For aluminum, the level of
cleanliness during metal preparation is
directly related to the quality of the
completed weld. Stringent preparation
procedures prior to welding are most
important when fabrications are required to meet prescribed weld quality
requirements, particularly when the
welds are subjected to radiographic
inspection.
When we consider the difference
between material preparation for
welding steel and aluminum, we need
to understand two issues: aluminum
oxide and sources of hydrogen that
can cause porosity issues. The primary
purpose of preweld preparation for
aluminum is to remove hydrocarbons,
moisture, and contaminated aluminum oxide prior to welding.
Removal of Hydrocarbons. The
high solubility of hydrogen in molten
aluminum substantially increases the
potential for porosity from moisture
and hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons
within the weld area such as lubricants, grease, or oil, even in extremely
small quantities, produce hydrogen
during the welding process and cause

porosity in the completed weld. As the
first step in preweld cleaning, solvent
cleaners are possibly the most popular
method used to remove hydrocarbons.
A hydrocarbon solvent suitable for
preweld cleaning must dissolve oil and
grease readily, evaporate quickly, and
not leave a residue. A thorough cleaning of plate surfaces is necessary to remove contamination prior to welding.
Removal of Aluminum Oxide.
This should be the second step in the
preweld cleaning process. Aluminum
oxide is a tough surface film on aluminum that, if not controlled, can prevent fusion or become hydrated and
create porosity. Potential problems can
arise when aluminum oxide has been
exposed to moisture. The oxide layer is
porous and can absorb moisture, grow
in thickness, and become a major obstacle when attempting to produce
high-quality welds that are required to
have low porosity levels. For highquality welds, it is usually necessary to
mechanically remove the aluminum
oxide in the area to be welded just prior to welding. Remove the oxide layer
Fig. 1 The GTA process can produce highquality welds in aluminum but is generally
not recognized as a highproductivity process. (All photos courtesy of ITW Welding North
America.)
by brushing with a stainless steel wire

brush, or by scraping, filing, machining, or grinding. Be careful to use only
tools that are clean and free of contaminants such as oil and grease, and
avoid grinding disks that leave residue
on the material surface.
Welding Equipment
When choosing equipment for aluminum welding, there are many con-
siderations. While aluminum can be

welded with a number of resistance
welding and solid-state welding
processes, one of the most popular being friction stir welding, it is most
commonly welded, in general fabrication applications, with one of the arc
welding processes.
The two most common arc welding
processes used for aluminum welding
are gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)
and gas metal arc welding (GMAW). In
both, the type of welding equipment

will usually be different than equipment used for steel.
GTAW. In the case of GTAW, alternating current (AC) is the most commonly used polarity for welding aluminum Fig. 1.
The oxide on the surface of the aluminum is removed by the cleaning action provided by the positive portion
of the AC waveform, and the negative
portion provides most of the depth of
fusion during welding. Technology advances in power sources for GTAW
have resulted in different AC waveforms, including sine, square, and true
square waves. The true square wave is
associated with inverter power source
technology. It is regarded as true
square wave because when the peak
portion of the positive or negative
part of the cycle occurs, the corners
are truly square; also, more time is
spent at the peak portion than that
provided by previous, transformerbased square-wave designs. The transition time from electrode positive to
electrode negative also happens much
faster and allows the arc to remain responsive as it passes through the zero
crossover point of the cycle without
the aid of high frequency.

In addition, the inverter design provides operators with greater control
over balance (i.e., the ratio of electrode positive to
electrode negative) and
output frequency. With
conventional square-wave
design, the output frequency is limited to 60
Hz; with the inverters advanced square-wave design, the frequency can be
selected from a range of
20 to 400 Hz, dependent
on the capacity provided
by the power source manufacturer. The advantages
of this technology are increased travel speeds and
better directional control
Fig. 2 Using a pushpull feeding system with GMAW
of the arc through the use
can provide highquality welds in aluminum as well as
of a pointed tungsten
good productivity.
electrode, which in turn
provides more heat to the
weld and allows less heat
excessive problems with feedability, it
back to the tungsten electrode. The
is important to understand the entire
GTAW process is usually used for
feeding system and its effect on aluwelding thinner sections and applicaminum welding wire. If we start with
tions that require precise control over
the spool end of the feeding system,
heat input and weld size, such as
we must first consider the brake setcomplete-joint-penetration groove
tings. Brake setting tension must be
welds from one side in plate or piping.
backed off to a minimum. Only suffiThis process is generally accepted as
cient brake pressure to prevent the
being best utilized in applications
spool from free-wheeling when stopthat require high quality but not necping welding is required. Any pressure
essarily high productivity.
over and above this will increase the
GMAW. Perhaps the most signifipotential for feeding problems and
cant difference between GMAW equipburnbacks. Electronic braking sysment for aluminum and steel is the
tems, and electronic and mechanical
feeding system Figs. 2, 3.
combinations, have been developed to
Feedability is a far more significant
provide more sensitivity within the
issue with aluminum than steel. This
braking system and are particularly
is primarily due to the differences in
useful for improved feeding of aluthe materials mechanical properties.
minum wire.
Steel welding wire can be fed more easInlet and outlet guides, as well as
ily over a greater distance, and can
liners, which are typically made from
withstand far more mechanical abuse
metallic material for steel welding,
when compared to aluminum. Alumust be made from a nonmetallic maminum is softer, more susceptible to
terial such as Teflon or nylon to prebeing deformed or shaved during the
vent abrasion and shaving of the alufeeding operation, and, consequently,
minum wire.
requires far more attention when seDrive rolls designed specifically for
lecting and setting up a feeding system
feeding aluminum should be used.
for GMAW. Feedability problems can
These often have U-type contours with
be increased when using the smalleredges that are chamfered and not
diameter wires and softer aluminum
sharp. They should be smooth,
alloys such as 1100 and 4043 instead
aligned, and provide correct drive roll
of the harder alloys such as 5356.
pressure. Drive rolls that have sharp
Feedability problems often show up
edges can shave the soft aluminum
as irregular wire feed or burnbacks
wire. These shavings can collect within
(the fusion of the welding wire to the
the feeding system and cause burninside of the contact tip). To prevent
backs from blockages within the liner.
tion drag through

the liner and contact tip.
Contact tip ID
measurement and
quality are very
important. You
should only use
contact tips that
are made specifically for aluminum wire welding, with smooth
internal bores
and no sharp
burrs on the inlet
and outlet ends
of the tips, which
can easily shave
the softer aluminum alloys.
Contact tip bore
Fig. 3 The GMAW process is shown here being used with a 1lb
diameter should
spool gun as its feeding system. This is an option sometimes used
be approximately
that can prove to be economical and effective for certain applica
10 to 15% larger
tions.
than the electrode diameter.
Excessive drive roll pressure and/or
Many aluminum-dedicated GMAW
drive roll misalignment can deform
systems have push-pull feeding systhe aluminum wire and increase frictems that typically provide a very posi-
tive method of feeding aluminum

wire. The GMAW process is generally
recognized as the most popular arc
welding process for welding aluminum, and it is capable of providing
high productivity and excellent weld
quality when set up and used correctly.
Filler Metal Selection

The principles behind filler metal
selection for aluminum welding are
perhaps the most significant difference between welding aluminum and
other metals. Not only the base material chemistry but also the application
of the completed weldment strongly
influences the choice in selecting the
most appropriate filler metal for a given base metal in a specific application.
Fortunately, there are a number of
excellent filler metal selection charts
available to help you choose the most
appropriate filler metal for your particular applications. Many of these
charts provide ratings for filler metals
on such characteristics as strength,
crack sensitivity, ductility, color match
after anodizing, corrosion resistance,
elevated-temperature service, toughness, and postweld heat treatment.

Contact me if you would like a filler
metal selection chart, and I will send
you one for free.
Welder Training and

Qualification
The techniques used for welding
aluminum are different than those for
welding steel, whether the GTAW or
GMAW process is used. Good steel
welders may not necessarily be good
aluminum welders without the necessary training.
Welders should be trained to weld
aluminum and then qualified. Qualification may be conducted in accordance
with requirements of the American
Welding Societys (AWS) B2.1, Specification for Welding Procedure and
Performance Qualification, or to some
other relevant manufacturing code or
standard.
Codes and Standards for

Welding Aluminum
If we compare the AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code Steel, and the
AWS D1.2, Structural Welding Code
Aluminum, there are some differences
between the welding procedure qualification requirements. These differences
are to be expected as they address the
procedure qualification of two substantially different materials. It has
been my experience that the two most
common areas of difficulty experienced during the welding procedure
development process for aluminum
are associated with bend testing and
tension tests.
Guided Bend Testing of Aluminum. There are some significant
differences between the procedures
used within these codes for guided
bend testing. The particular differences
are the special bending conditions required when qualifying procedures in
accordance with AWS D1.2 (aluminum
code). Because of the physical characteristics of some aluminum alloys,
there are some very specific differences
in how some alloys are bend tested.
Reduced Section Tension Tests.
Obtaining the minimum tensile
strength requirements when conducting reduced section tension tests is another item to consider. Minimum tensile strength requirements for alu28 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015
minum are based on the annealed or

overaged condition of the weld heataffected zone (HAZ), dependent on
whether the nonheat-treatable or
heat-treatable aluminum alloys are being welded. Be aware that when welding the heat-treatable aluminum alloys, particularly the 6xxx series, care
should be exercised to prevent the
overheating of the base alloy during
the welding process. Careful adherence
to interpass temperature should be
maintained and preheating limits
should be observed to prevent excessive welding temperatures. Consideration should be given to welding parameters, amps, volts, and travel
speeds, which govern heat input during the welding process. These parameters may need to be adjusted to lower
the overall heat input during welding.
The tensile strength of the HAZ of the
heat-treatable alloys can be substantially lowered (to levels lower than
that acceptable to the code) if welded
with excessive heat input.
Conclusion
I have provided some items that I
consider to be important considerations when moving from steel welding
to welding aluminum, but there are
obviously many more.
One other consideration would be
to work with a good equipment supplier who has designated equipment for
aluminum welding and application engineers who can give guidance relating
to equipment procurement, filler metal selection, and training. WJ
TONY ANDERSON is director of aluminum

technology, ITW Welding North America. He
is a Fellow of the British Welding Institute
(TWI), a Registered Chartered Engineer with
the British Engineering Council, and holds
numerous positions on AWS technical com
mittees. He is chairman of the Aluminum As
sociation Technical Advisory Committee for
Welding and author of the book Welding
Aluminum Questions and Answers currently
available from the AWS. Questions may be
sent to Mr. Anderson c/o Welding Journal,
8669 NW 36th St., #130, Miami, FL 33166
6672; tony.anderson@millerwelds.com.
BRAZING Q&A
BY TIM HIRTHE
Q: We are brazing carbon steel tubes to fittings using several induction heat
ing units. I have included two photos to show typical examples of what we are
doing. There are many different sizes and configurations of fittings and tube
styles. We use a number of induction coils depending on the fitting size and
configuration. We have large, complex jigs to hold the components during
brazing. The braze alloy is BAg7 and is in the form of rings. These rings are
placed inside the joint on a counterbore between the fitting and the end of
the tube. We use a black flux that we thin with water. The assemblies range in
size from quite small and simple to very large with many complex tube config
urations. Some of our heating times can be quite long. Due to the large variety
of what we do and the complex fixtures we employ, we find some joints are
better brazed in the horizontal position and some in the vertical. We have is
sues with both conditions.
In the horizontal position, we find that the braze alloy flows out and tear
drops at the bottom of the joint and is starved at the top. This is more common
on the larger fitting sizes. When we braze the assemblies in the vertical posi
tion, we find the joint on the bottom has difficulty achieving a full fillet even
though we have gravity helping us. We find this more common on the larger as
semblies also. The parts normally leakcheck okay, but are unacceptable in ap
pearance to our customer. What can we do to correct these conditions?
A: You dont explicitly state it, but the

assumption I will make is that you are
brazing both joints at the same time.
You are expecting the braze alloy to
flow in a variety of ways in this appli-
cation. Understanding and utilizing

capillary attraction is an important
factor in what you are trying to accomplish. For each joint configuration the
heating required is going to be a little
bit different so balancing the heat is a

challenge. This is particularly true
with induction heating.
Attractive features of induction
heating are that it is fast and consistent. This is particularly true on ferrous parts more so if the parts are
massive. Braze alloy, when molten,
flows toward the hottest section of a
braze joint. You have a number of
things going on with each assembly
version that need to take this into account. If you are brazing with a torch
manually, you can readily vary the
heat during the braze cycle. You can
vary the location and intensity in an
attempt to draw the alloy where you
want it to go. This is more difficult
with induction heating when you try
to heat a fitting with a large mass to
thinner tubing with relatively less
mass with the need to influence
molten alloy flow. While induction
typically provides much faster and
consistent heating than alternative
methods, it is not always the most
flexible.
There is a clue as to what is happen-
Fig. 1 Joint brazed in the horizontal

position.
ing when you indicate the problem occurs more often on the large-size assemblies. From your comments, it
seems the larger fittings require longer
heating times. This extra time to heat
the fittings will affect the growth of
the parts, the clearance between them,
the ability of the flux to do its job, and
the amount of time the braze alloy has
to flow.
Lets consider the horizontal version. Figure 1 shows the effect you described, more alloy at the bottom than
at the top. Typically, on these kinds of
joints, due to the larger mass of the
fitting, most of the heat is applied to
the fitting. The tubes pick up heat
through conduction from the fitting.
If you place the parts centered in the
induction coil, you will get good uniform heating of the fitting and conduction of heat to the tubes. The parts
are steel so, given its thermal conductivity, there is not a lot of heat conducted away from the joints during the
heating cycle. A couple of things are
going on that you need to consider.
Because the heat is concentrated on
the fitting, it is growing in size at a
faster rate than the tube. This causes
the joint clearance to increase. As this
clearance grows, the capillary action
decreases and the ability to hold
molten braze alloy in the joint lessens.
The effect of gravity is greater for this
increased joint clearance condition.
That said, you cannot heat the tube directly as you would the fitting as it will
be overheated. The longer you heat the
parts with this decreased capillary
pull, the more the effect of filler metal
run-out.
The main thing you need to know
in your effort to keep molten braze
alloy at the top of the joint is that the
molten alloy will flow toward the
hottest section of the joint. The optimum process for these assemblies
would be to bring the entire joint area
uniformly up to a temperature just
below the melt range of the filler
metal. With the BAg-7, this would be
in the vicinity of 600C (1112F) as
the melt range of this alloy is 615 to
650C (1145 to 1205F). As you increase the temperature through the
melt range, I would then try to focus
the majority of the additional heat on
the top of the joint, making sure the
tube is being heated also. It accomplishes two things: keeping the clearance between tube and fitting as small
as possible and causing a temperature
gradient, at the time the filler metal is
molten, that makes the filler metal
tend to flow to the top of the joint.
Additionally, the induction unit must
have adequate power to heat quickly.
On the vertical version of brazing
these assemblies, it would seem that
we once again have a heating-related
issue. On the top joint, you want to
provide uniform heating to the tube
and fitting until the filler metal melts.
Then, apply heat to the tube to pull
the alloy up to the top of the joint. On
the bottom joint, you have gravity as
Fig. 2 Joint brazed in the vertical

position.
your friend so getting the filler metal

to flow down would not seem to be
difficult. You simply need to make sure
tube and fitting are hot enough to get
good bonding.
On the bottom joint, however, the
problem is not one of getting flow but
rather making a complete fillet. The

photo (Fig. 2) looks like the section of
the fillet not filled is heavily oxidized.
Being on the underside of a vertical
joint, the flux appears to be depleted.
When heated, a flux with a large water
content can boil off the part, particularly when induction heating is rapidly
applied. It looks like the flux has
boiled away from this part of the joint.
It may be at the point where the
induction coil was closest to the
assembly.
You mention that you thin the flux
with water. Try using the flux straight
from the container as-received rather

than thinning it. Make sure it is mixed
well prior to use but add no water. Try
this at least on this joint. You may
want to do it on all joints so as to have
only one source of flux at each work
station. By using a thicker version of
the flux, you may be able to modify
the amount used on a particular joint.
I have described methods of heating that I would recommend. They utilize the concept of uniform preheating
of the assembly followed by heating at
specific locations with specific intensity when the braze filler metal melts.
This is to utilize capillary attraction in

order to draw the molten alloy where
you want it to go. This may require a
variety of changes, singly or in combination with what you are doing now.
These include the following:
1. You may want to evaluate different placement of the assemblies in the
coil. Areas of the joint closer to the induction coil will heat faster than areas
less closely coupled.
2. You may want to move the assembly or the coil within the induction
field at some point during the heating
cycle to achieve heating in a different
area of the joint at different times during the process. Take care to not move
the assemblies after heating has
ceased so that the braze joint is not
disturbed.
3. Your process may require a
higher power induction unit to heat
faster.
4. You may need to modify existing
coils or design new coils to achieve a
better heating cycle.
5. You may need to employ a technique of pulsing the power to let heat
soak at certain areas of the joint at certain times during the heating cycle.
Induction is a fast and effective way
to perform brazing. Harnessing it for
your application may require some
changes. Remember that molten braze
filler metal flows toward the hottest
section of the joint, and design your
processes to take advantage of it. WJ
This column is written sequentially by

TIM P. HIRTHE, ALEXANDER E.
SHAPIRO, and DAN KAY. Hirthe and
Shapiro are members of and Kay is an advisor to the C3 Committee on Brazing and
Soldering. All three have contributed to the
5th edition of AWS Brazing Handbook.
Hirthe (timhirthe@aol.com), with
Kru-Mar Manufacturing Services, Inc.,
currently serves as a Brazing & Soldering
Manufacturers Committee (BSMC) vice
chair and owns his own consulting business.
Shapiro (ashapiro@titanium-brazing.com) is brazing products manager at
Titanium Brazing, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
Kay (dan.kay@kaybrazing.com), has
more than 40 years of experience in the industry, and operates his own brazing training and consulting business.
Post your questions for use in this column on the Brazing Forum section of the
BSMC website www.brazingandsoldering.com.
TECHNOLOGY
BY SCOTT FUNDERBURK
SpinArc Welding System Explained

Rotating arc welding, called
SpinArc by Weld Revolution, Spring,
Tex., is a technology that utilizes a
unique welding gun and control system.
The welding electrode processes in a
circular motion at a high rate of speed
Fig. 1. Centrifugal force propels
small molten droplets angularly, creating a consistent and sound weld bead.
The high-speed rotation enables
productivity gains in a variety of applications. The associated physics of the
process allows welding out of position
with metal core wire in the spray
transfer mode. The rotation enables
the use of high wire feed speeds, and
associated deposition rates, in all positions. Additionally, because of enhanced sidewall fusion, a narrow
groove weld can be made to reduce the
volume of filler metal and associated
welding time. The weld joint can be
modified to reduce or eliminate beveling altogether. Also, the stirring effect
of the arc agitates the molten weld
pool, producing outgassing for a

cleaner weld.
droplets are propelled from the wire to

the base metal in a circular pattern.
Like other arc welding processes,
the molten droplets experience the
same electromagnetic and gravitational forces, but with this process, the
centrifugal force created by rotation
cleanly detaches each droplet from the
wire and angularly propels it into the
joint. This directs the arc into the sidewall of the bevel, providing thorough
fusion and a consistent penetration
profile into the base metal. This effectively minimizes incomplete fusion,
porosity, and undercut.
Fig. 1 Highspeed rotating arc.
The Technology
Setup
The process is simple to understand.

The electrode is fed from the wire feeder into the welding cable and welding
gun. As the wire passes through the
gun body, the contact tip, tip holder,
and end of the wire spin in a conical
shape. During welding, the molten
The SpinArc process works with

both a standard constant voltage (CV)
power source and in the pulse gas metal arc (GMAW-P) mode. This system
can be plugged into any existing welding equipment for an upgrade using either robotic, mechanized, or manual
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2015
welding guns. Three variables, specific

to rotating arc, are set prior to welding: spin speed, diameter, and
direction.
The spin diameter is set on the
welding gun, while the other variables
are dialed in on a small control box included with the gun. The spin diameter is adjustable from 0 to 8 mm, with
adjustments every 1 mm.
The required spin diameter depends on the application. In a narrow
and deep welding groove, a small spin
diameter may be required. As welding
progresses from root to cap, the spin
diameter can be easily adjusted as
needed. For example, pipeline contractors have multiple welding stations,
each of which is responsible for depositing a specific pass, or in some cases, multiple passes. The spin diameter
is adjusted and remains fixed at each
of the welding stations in accordance
with the qualified welding procedure.
In other cases, such as depositing
corrosion-resistant alloys, it is advantageous to increase the spin diameter.
As the wire spins, the system controls
the rotational speed through a feedback circuit to ensure the set speed is
maintained. As with all arc-welding
processes, the welding operator also
sets the typical welding parameters,
such as wire feed speed, travel speed,
and voltage.
Quality is equally important for

these applications. For example, in the
building of subsea flowlines and steel
catenary risers, the flaw acceptance
criteria for these welds are often less
than a millimeter, and every weld is
100% inspected with automatic ultrasonic testing. This high-resolution inspection leaves no room for error.
Figure 2 shows a weld cross section
from an X65 grade pipe, with an out-
side diameter of 10 in. (254 mm),

and a wall thickness of 1.25 in.
(31.75 mm). In this project, the focus
was on fill and cap pass development
using a 1.0 mm (0.040 in.) ER80Ni-1
solid wire. For this case, the wire feed
speed was 585 in./min (23 m/min), resulting in a deposition rate of 12 lb/h
(5.5 kg/h), and the travel speed was
19 in./min (48 cm/min).
When 0.045-in. (1.1-mm) metal
Welding Procedure
This process can be used with solid,
metal core, and flux core welding
wires. For welding procedures, the
process has similar variables as a welding procedure with oscillation. Instead
of oscillation width, stroke speed, and
dwell time, the welding procedure
would include spin diameter and
speed.
NarrowGroove Welds
One application where this technology fits exceptionally well is in narrow
groove welds. These types of weld
joints are commonly used today in offshore and cross-country pipeline construction with mechanized welding
systems. Other industries are also beginning to utilize narrow groove welds
for increased productivity.
Applications
WORK
W
ORK
SSMART
MART
RT
core electrodes were used in a similar

joint, the deposition rate increased to
15 lb/h (6.8 kg/h) with a wire feed
speed of 550 in./min (14 m/min). The
same wire feed speed was utilized
throughout the weld, even in the overhead position. There was sound fusion
with a consistent bead profile both
into the previous pass as well as into
the sidewall.
Model 200 Positioner
clad surface. With standard arc welding processes, achieving this may require multiple weld passes, and two or
three weld layers might be needed.
With rotating arc, a consistent and
shallow penetration is possible. This
minimizes the amount of base material chemistry that is pulled into the
weld pool. Additionally, the rotating
arc flattens the weld bead and provides for a gradual taper at the weld
toes even with alloys that are typically
sluggish, like 625 and other nickelbased alloys. This increases the quality
and enables good fusion between
beads.
Figure 3 shows an example of a
weld cladding with a 1.2-mm 625 metal core electrode. Solid wire 625 alloys
(ERNiCrMo-3) can also be used with
equally beneficial results.
The welds were made with a pulse
waveform at 18.5 in./min (47 cm/min)
travel speed and 500 in./min (12.7
m/min) wire feed speed. Each weld
bead is approximately 0.625 in. (16
mm) wide, and the penetration into
the base metal is approximately 0.5
mm. This process can be utilized for
cladding both plate and pipe.
Fig. 2 ER80Ni1 on X65 pipe deposited

with rotating arc.
Joining CladLined Pipe
Model 1200 Pipemate
One of the biggest challenges for

offshore pipeline welding is with joining clad-lined pipe. Most offshore
pipeline contractors prefer to use a
narrow J-bevel weld joint to connect
the pipe sections on the lay barge firing line. To maintain corrosion-resistant properties, nickel-based welding
alloys such as 625 (ERNiCrMo-3) are
typically used. The challenge is that
these alloys are sluggish and difficult
to weld. Sidewall incomplete fusion is
the biggest struggle with these alloys
in narrow grooves. Rotating arc forces
the droplets into the sidewall and provides a clean, high-alloy weld deposit
with a consistent and narrow heataffected zone.
Cladding
Weld cladding with corrosion-resistant alloys, such as 625, is a common
requirement in the oil and gas industry. For sour service environments,
specifications typically require a maximum iron content of 10% on the weld
Fig. 3 Iron dilution levels <2% with

one pass, deposited with rotating arc.
Square Butt Joints

The process has been used to
fabricate complete-joint-penetration
groove welds made from one side with
a square-edge butt joint. These weld
joints require little to no beveling.
Plates from 316 in. (4.8 mm) up to 2 in.
(50 mm) have been welded successfully within a zero- to three-degree bevel
prep.
Steel plates, 316 in. thick, fit tight
with no root opening and no edge
bevel, were succesfully welded. The
process was able to achieve 30 in./min
(76 cm/min) travel speed at 15 lb/h
deposition rate with a nice back bead
profile and complete penetration in a
single pass.
Dual Welding Guns

Figure 4 is a 12-in.- (12-mm-) thick
complete-penetration groove weld
made from one side on DH/EH36
plate with an 0.045-in. E80C-Ni1 H4
metal-cored electrode and 90 Ar/10
CO2 shielding, using Miller Electric Accupulse waveform power source. A 316
in. root opening with a square-edge
butt joint and ceramic backing were
used for this example. Two passes
were deposited, both at 18.5 in./min
(47 cm/min), which opens up the option to run dual welding guns, for a
single run, two-pass weld.
available when utilizing SpinArc. Increased productivity is the first benefit. This is made possible by the
physics of the rotating arc. The centrifugal droplet transfer enables increased wire feed speeds in all positions, which opens up new options for
fabricators.
It is normally impossible to weld
out of position in spray transfer mode.
Metal core electrodes are typically limited to flat position welding. With the
rotating arc process, welding in all positions, with metal-core electrodes, is
straightforward, even on standard CV
power supplies.
Wire feed speeds for 0.045- in. metal core wires in the 500600 in./min
(1215 m/min) range are typical with
rotating arc technology. The corresponding deposition rates are between
13 and 16 lb/h (5.97.3 kg/h), which
are similar to submerged arc welding.
adds to the productivity gains. In some

cases, square-edged butt joints, which
require little to no preparation, can be
used in place of a beveled joint. Eliminating the plate preparation significantly reduces labor costs while minimizing safety risks associated with
handling large plates and beveling
equipment.
With a narrow opening, distortion
of the fabricated pieces is significantly
reduced along with the associated
residual stresses. Using fewer passes
and narrow opening joint geometry results in less longitudinal and angular
distortion. WJ
Acknowledgments
Contributions by Eric M. Christofferson, president; Mike Wall Jr., vice

president; and Garrett Atkins, welding
& metallurgy technical advisor, Weld
Revolution LLC, are appreciated.
Enhanced Quality
This process enhances the quality
of the weld by the centrifugal arc directing the energy into the sidewall of
the joint. Changing from a standard
weld joint to a narrow root opening
Fig. 4 Square groove butt joint welded

from one side with two passes.
Education That Works
Fillet Welds
Benefits
Increased Productivity
There are a number of benefits
COMMERCIAL
DIVE TRAINING
AIM HIGH. DIVE DEEP. Call Today!
The welding gun can be used to produce fillet welds by hand, mechanized
systems, or robots. The spin diameter,
speed, and direction can be tailored to
the specific weld requirements. With a
tight spin diameter, high-speed fillet
welds are possible. Increasing the spin
diameter and speed can deliver large fillet welds with equal leg sizes.
Dual welding guns are used to produce a multiple-pass fillet weld in one
run. The first gun, with a tighter rotation, hits the root and establishes a flat
face for the second gun. The trailing gun
has a much wider rotation, which penetrates the toes and finishes off the fillet
weld with a flat face and smooth toes.
SCOTT FUNDERBURK is COO, Weld

Revolution LLC., Spring, Tex.
1.800.238.DIVE (3483)
www.diversacademy.edu
Near Atlantic City, New Jersey
PRODUCT & PRINT SPOTLIGHT

Orbital GMA System Improves
Quality for Orbital Welds
The company recently introduced
an orbital GMA welding system, useful
for industries where orbital welds are
subject to exceptionally high standards, such as pipeline, construction,
or process piping. The system is driven
by the Apex 3000 mechanized con-
troller, and it pairs with the Helix

M85 weld head and track ring. Each
Pipe and Tube Focus

component in the system has the ability to operate together, while the Power
Wave advanced process welding machine can function independently. The
weld head, as a digital system, calculates and controls travel time, weld
speed, and other variables. The track
ring design allows the operator to install or remove the track in seconds. It
also eliminates binding and compensates for work surface heat expansion.
The Lincoln Electric Co.
www.arcproducts.com
(800) 7700063
Pipe Stand Provides Cutting

Support Wherever Needed
The lightweight and portable

PipeBench 170 provides proper support for pipe cutting where it is needed. Useful for renovation sites, as well
as a variety of other applications, the
pipe stand is equipped with a chain
vise and holds the pipe firmly when
creating a thread or welding. The
stand has a versatile worktable, a chip
tray to catch sawing or threading
chips, and comes with a shoulder bag
for easy carrying. It weighs 22.5 lb and
can be used on 0.6- to 6.7-in.-diameter
pipes, with a maximum load capacity
of 441 lb.
Exact Pipe Tools, Inc.
www.exacttools.com
(844) 3922800
Deburring Machines Address

Finishing Challenges
The Slugger GXE deburring machine is versatile when equipped with
its range of brushes and puts the finishing touches on tubes, profiles, and
flat stock. The product has an eye
shield, integrated circuit breaker for
motor protection, and emergency safety stop switch. It has a tool-free ad38 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015
justment of the opening between the

wire wheel and workpiece table in addition to a height-adjustable workpiece support. The deburring machine
has a 3-hp motor that operates at
1800 rev/min. Its maximum wheel diameter is 10 238 in. and weight is 71
lb. The GIXBE base has a dust extraction feature. It has a spark-resistant
collection box for metal chips or can
be hooked to an external collection
system.
purging the space between the dams

where the weld joint is located. The
sleeve between the dams reduces the
volume to be purged by two thirds, en-
suring a purge time down to 10 ppm

of oxygen. Sleeve lengths for each size
have been calculated so that the pipe
purging system can be pulled around
90-deg elbows for the purging of connecting joints. The system is available
for each API pipe diameter, with an extension range to cover all internal diameters from Schedule 10 to 160 and
even thicker pipe-wall standards.
Huntingdon Fusion Techniques
www.huntingdonfusion.com
+44 (0) 1554 836 836
FEIN Power Tools, Inc.

www.feinus.com
(412) 9228886
Pipeline Curriculum
Customizable
Pipeline Maintenance Series One is a
covered task-focused curriculum for
threaded pipe, flange bolting, mud
plugging, and tubing, as well as covered tasks based on American Petroleum Institutes Recommended Practice
API 1161. Available in color and with
updated content as printed modules or
e-text from the companys online
store, the series can be customized on
the Pearson Custom Library to include
modules from other titles such as gas
pipeline operations to meet the specific needs of operators and contractors.
This option allows customers to
choose only those modules that align
to the covered tasks they need for operator qualification.
NCCER
www.nccer.org
(888) 6223720
HighSpeed Pipe Purging

System Safely Inflates Dams
QuickPurge III, an upgraded pipe
purging system for high-speed pipe
joint welding, uses Intacal II and an
integrated PurgeGate device, making
it possible to safely inflate the dams
with argon gas prior to releasing it for
Tube Beveling Tool with New

Motor Doubles Cutting Torque
operates at 125 rev/min and produces

41 ft-lb torque at the cutting head.
Suitable for tubes from 12-in. inside diameter to 214-in. outside diameter, the
product is designed to machine tubes
that are highly alloyed, or have high
chrome content, using TiN-coated cutting blades and no cutting fluids.
ESCO Tool
www.escotool.com
(800) 3436926
Coating Provides Corrosion

and Heat Resistance
The Ground Millhog is an inside

diameter clamping tube beveling tool
that requires only 112-in. clearance, fits
into water wall boiler tube panels, and
includes all attached wrenches. Featuring a 1-hp pneumatic motor that is
easy to disassemble and clean in the
field, plus a gear train with a proprietary gear reduction design, this tool
The Protexior chemical-resistant

epoxy top coat and primer kit combines a corrosion- and heat-resistant
coating up to 450F into one specification that meets both ISO 20340 and
ASTM B-117. Featuring Novolac epoxy
protection integrated with silicone
resin technology, this low-VOC coating protects insulated and uninsulated
steel and concrete surfaces. The kit
also conforms to ASTM G 85-02 modified salt spray, ASTM D-543 boiling
water resistance, the ASTM D-3359
adhesion tape test, and ISO 20340 An-
nex A aging resistance. Applied by

roller or spray, uses include piping,
vessels, valves, ducts, and plenums.
Its offered in 1- and 5-gal kits.
Dampney Co., Inc.
www.dampney.com
(617) 3892805
Tube Kit Allows Creation of

90Deg Bends
The CrossBow ratchet tube bender
enables making bends up to 90 deg with
PIPE WELDERS... PURGE PROBLEMS?

INTERPURGE... IS YOUR SOLUTION!
WHY SETTLE FOR THIS?
316L Stainless w/ Argon Purge @ 250ppm Oxygen Level
NOTE: 1% Oxygen in Atmosphere is 2,094.6 ppm!
WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THIS!
PURGE 2-3 MINUTES!

DAMS FOR ALL SIZES
ASSORTED PURGE
KITS AVAILABLE
PURGE MONITORS
(OXYGEN TO 1PPM)
QUICK & ACCURATE

PIPE ALIGNMENT
316L Stainless w/ Argon Purge @ 12ppm Oxygen Level
PERFECT PURGING = HIGH QUALITY WELDS
soft copper and

aluminum tubing. The low
friction mandrels and rotating side support
blocks provide
bending in restricted spaces.
Bend tubing
sizes are as follows: 38 , 12 , 58 , 34 , 78 , and 118 in. outside diameters. Users can produce bends with
minimum distortion for optimal flow.
Repeated alternate angled bends are
also possible with the product, which is
housed in a plastic carrying case. It includes the following: six interchangeable
mandrels, three rotating side support
block bars, and one ratchet bender.
Uniweld Products, Inc.
uniweld.com
(800) 3232111
Mobile App Makes Account

Information Easily Accessible
The supplier of stainless steels, nickel, cobalt, and titanium alloys has re-
leased a new mobile

app, raMobileConnect. Available for
Apple and Android
devices, the app gives
customers access to
their account information from wherever they are. Customers can get the
status of their open
orders, download material test reports, track shipments,
manage min/max programs, and chat
real time with a sales representative.
Rolled Alloys
www.rolledalloys.com
(800) 5210332
Upgraded Site Provides

Important Industry Resources
The upgraded Manufacturing Day
website, www.MFGDAY.com, provides
resources for sponsors, companies, supporters, and volunteers, making it easy
to participate in this years annual celebration of manufacturing, scheduled for
Friday, October 2, 2015. Users can sign
up to host events, find MFG Day

events in their areas, and learn more
about sponsorship opportunities. With
links to social media channels, scholarships, and success stories, potential participants, manufacturers, educators,
and students can better collaborate and
access important industry resources.
Fabricators and Manufacturers
Association, Intl.
www.fmanet.org
(888) 3944362
Milling Disc Offers High

Material Removal Rate
The companys new milling discs are
designed for fast, efficient beveling,
weld preparation, and weld repair. They
offer a high material removal rate, providing cost savings and eliminating the
fine dust associated with grinding, contributing to worker safety and improving the quality of the final product.
Each disc provides a minimum of
300500 h of service before resharpening is required and can be resharpened
up to seven times. They are available in
3, 4.5, and 5 in. diameters, and are use-
In.Motion Technology Distribution Co., LLC

www.inmotion.global
(312) 5479253
Respiratory System Keeps Away

Vapors, Particulates
ful for nonferrous materials such as

aluminum, titanium, copper, and brass.
Separate discs are also available for use
on carbon, fiberglass, plastic, or wood.
AirPlus, a motorized, batteryoperated respiratory system, blows a

constant supply of fresh, filtered air
over the face. It creates a protective
pressure inside the respirator head top,
keeping away harmful gases, vapors,
and particulates. The system features
extended battery life, multiple alarm

systems, and lightweight comfort.
ArcOne
www.arc1weldsafe.com
(800) 2234685
Application Useful for

Pressure Piping Manufacturers
Smart Welding Manager is a cloudbased production welding management
application for weld mapping and full
traceability. The online software application allows users to plan welds, allocate work to qualified welders by creating work packs as well as having an easy
interface to manage WPSs, drawings,
welder qualifications, materials, welding
consumables, and test requests. Tablet
computers can be used to record activities in the field. It works with any standard web-browser and on any internetenabled device. Industries include small,
medium, and large fabricators manufacturing pressure piping or vessels.
Smart Welding Manager
www.smartweldingmanager.com
+61 407 435 973
Stainless Steel Product

Withstands Temperature
Changes
CHROMESHIELD 22 is a nickelfree stainless steel product for manufacturers of tubing, appliance and food
service equipment, cookware, automotive exhaust components, and heat exchangers. Similar to nickel-bearing
stainless steels, this new product is rust
and stain resistant, and in many applications, its corrosion resistance will
meet or exceed the performance of conventional nickel-bearing stainless steels.
It offers enhanced protection against
both oxidation and temperature-related
stress and fatigue fractures, and has
been approved by NSF International as
safe for food contact.
AK Steel
www.aksteel.com
(513) 4254200
AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY, INC., AND AWS FOUNDATION FINANCIAL REPORT
Fiscal 2014 year in review

Gesana Villegas, Chief Financial Officer
The Society had another remarkable year in 2014. We
achieved great financial results and were able to accomplish many initiatives to distinguish ourselves as the
leader in welding knowledge.
Our positive financial results give us the flexibility to
invest and expand our operations. They facilitate the realization of objectives set forth in our global strategic
plan. We are very fortunate to be in a financial position
where we can readily acquire, merge and partner with
other organizations where strategically feasible. Our financial results also allow us to offer ongoing support to
our charity arm, the AWS Foundation, as it continues its
quest to alleviate the shortage of welders by deploying
funds for workforce development.
Our operating revenues reached a record high of
$36.1 million, growing by 7.5% over 2013. Our surplus
came in at $9.8 million, increasing by 3.7% over the
prior year, a new historical high for the Society. Our average surplus over a five-year period is $8.7 million. We
have managed to keep on average 28 cents out of every
dollar received.
Our total assets were $110.1 million, increasing by
$14.3 million or 15%. Total net assets (net worth) were
at an all-time high of $104.9 million, an increase of
$13.4 million or 15%. Contributing factors to our
increase in net assets are our operating surplus, the market gains in our investment portfolio, and donations received for programs under our Foundation.
Our operating results enabled us to replenish our Reserves after utilizing funds to purchase our HQ facility
and funding the AWS Foundation to make it selfsufficient, a combined impact of $34.1 million. The majority of our initiatives, whether they benefit the Society
or the AWS Foundation, have come purely from operating dollars rather than our Reserves. Our Reserves,
which are 100% invested in the marketplace in fixed income and equity funds, totaled $24.3 million at December 31, 2014. We have enjoyed favorable returns over the
past couple of years attributed to judicious investment
choices and investment companies, a process validated
every three years. Even though our operations allow us
to enjoy healthy reserves, the question of accumulation
of funds does come to mind. We feel over the years we
have significantly invested and will continue to invest in
initiatives that will make an impact on the industry. Of
utmost importance to us is always making sure we
remain true to our mission. We strive to move the industry forward in both thought and action, as well as inspire
OFFICERS
President David Landon
Vermeer Mfg. Co.
Vice President David L. McQuaid
D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc.
Vice President John R. Bray
Affiliated Machinery, Inc.
Vice President Dale Flood
Tri Tool, Inc.
Treasurer Robert G. Pali
J. P. Nissen Co.
Executive Director Ray W. Shook
DIRECTORS
T. Anderson (At Large), ITW Welding North America
U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Subsea Global Solutions
R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc.
D. J. Burgess (Dist. 8), Alstom Power
N. C. Cole (Past President), NCC Engineering
D. L. Doench (At Large), Hobart Bros. Co.
T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Thermal Dynamics Automation
K. Fogleman (Dist. 16), Consultant
P. H. Gorman (Dist. 20), Sandia National Laboratories
S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries
K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards
J. Knapp (Dist. 17), Gas and Supply
M. Krupnicki (Dist. 6), Mahany Welding Supply
T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory
S. Lindsey (Dist. 21), City of San Diego
D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training
C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc.
S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
W. R. Polanin (At Large), Illinois Central College
R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Airgas USA, LLC,
NorthCentral Region
R. W. Roth (At Large), RoMan Manufacturing
M. Sebergandio (Dist. 3), CNH America
K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
M. Skiles (Dist. 9), Consultant
J. Stoll (Dist. 18), The Bohler Welding Group U.S.
H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), UL, Inc.
R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), Consultant
J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College
D. R. Wilson (Past President), Welldean Enterprises
new generations to see the exciting career opportunities available today. Our business is bringing higher standards and
enhanced learning.
In 2014, we spent a considerable amount of time improving our IT infrastructure and building our IT Roadmap. With
the growth of the Society it was imperative for us to move away from our legacy system into a modern system that can
support us as we continue to expand our operations. We migrated to a new industry standard database, rolled out a
new financial accounting system, and are gearing up to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution to
provide data intelligence and empower our business stakeholders. With the help of our CIO, who joined us in June 2014,
we are transforming our IT system into a modern system that will enable us to provide better internal and external customer support. We were very careful implementing such a revolutionary change. The key is involvement of all business
stakeholders and making sure the IT tools are aligned with strategic business objectives. Coupled with our IT
transformation we also worked on our new website, refreshing our look and organizing data into a friendlier
environment to enhance the user experience. Please visit us at www.aws.org.
In 2014, we surveyed our membership, and their feedback was used to establish a set of performance metrics to use
in driving an internal culture at the Society of exceeding customer expectations. We are also looking at human capital, a
recent strategic initiative we took on to attract and retain not only internal candidates but volunteers to serve on the
various committees. Our committed staff and passionate volunteers are critical to our success.
We now have a physical presence in Asia. During 2014, we made an acquisition and we now have offices in Beijing
and Hong Kong and a team of three nationals to expand our presence in China. We are working on collaborating with a
Chinese governmental agency to provide welding training in China. We created a salesforce team with responsibilities in
North America and the Rest of the World (ROW). One of our main goals continues to revolve around growing our international sales. We have been able to bring on board high-performing Agents to cover different regions around the world.
One important initiative usually not in the spotlight is our constant endeavor to enhance our materials in order to
provide the utmost quality and experience when it comes to our offerings. Look for our new redesigned examination
specimens and tool kits and comprehensive questions geared to improve the quality of our practical exam and to ascertain knowledge. Look for training specimens and tools to compliment the new examination kits. These new training kits
will improve the learning experience preparing candidates for the new practical exam. Much effort is continuously being
devoted to revamping our textbooks and updating materials to meet the needs of today. The SENSE guidelines are also
being updated. All of these revisions will help us position ourselves as a leader in welding education.
We are certain you can benefit from one of the many programs and services we offer. Visit our website at
www.aws.org or call us at 1-800-443-9353.
AWS Foundation Highlights for 2014

The AWS Foundation is in its ninth year of the Welding for the Strength of America and the AWS Welder Workforce
Development Program Capital Campaign, raising $9.7 million. The AWS Foundation focuses its efforts on recruitment to
the welding workforce and enhancing the image of welding as a career.
Our 53-foot mobile Careers-in-Welding trailer containing virtual welding machines continues to give us visibility and
attract younger people to the field. The exhibit will continue through 2017. Data collection studies performed in collaboration with the National Center for Welding Education and Training (d/b/a Weld-Ed) housed at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) on secondary and postsecondary welding schools continue to show we are making an impact on enrollees. More and more students are completing the curricula.
The scholarship matching program brought in $320,000 in additional contributions in 2014. Since the program
inception, dollars matched by AWS through December 31, 2014, under the program were approximately $2.1 million.
We continue to transfer to our AWS Foundation dollars for different initiatives. The largest transfer made by the Society
to the AWS Foundation was in 2013 when the AWS Board of Directors approved the transfer of $20 million from the Reserves into the AWS Foundation so it can become self-supporting. Earnings from this transfer are being used to cover
operational costs of the Foundation, including personnel compensation and benefits and the annual operating costs to
run the mobile tour exhibit, which were previously covered by the Society. In 2014, the Society also transferred $1.1
million to the Foundation to increase our annual District Scholarships from $7,500 to $10,000 and $2 million for future
matching opportunities.
The Careers in Welding (CIW) Committee formed in 2013 within the AWS Foundation to serve as a catalyst and
thought leader in driving industry efforts to raise the overall profile of welding as a career, and to communicate the numerous opportunities that exist for potential candidates is in the process of identifying relevant and sustainable programs the AWS Foundation should pursue.
Since 1991, when the AWS Foundation began offering scholarships, more than $6.4 million has been awarded. In
2014, the AWS Foundation awarded $484,000 in scholarships to more than 520 students. Our Scholarship Wall with
named bricks is filling up with bricks. You can get your individualized brick, and the proceeds from the sale will go
towards scholarships for future welding students. Your name can be added to this monumental wall.
To find out how you can help in the mission of alleviating the welder workforce shortage, please contact Sam Gentry
at sgentry@aws.org.
AWS Highlights for 2014

Convention
FABTECH Atlanta surpassed our expectations in terms of square footage and revenues. The welding portion of the
show had 557 welding exhibitors. Exhibit space for the entire show was 573,986 NSF with 30,830 attendees and 1,477
exhibitors, including welding, forming/fabrication, tube and pipe, finishing and stamping. Our show in Mexico (WELDMEX) has shown steady growth, and attendance was close to 11,500. Total overall square footage for WELDMEX was
92,400 NSF in comparison to 76,845 NSF in 2013.
Educational Services
CWI seminar revenues, decreased by 1.1% over the prior year. We are committed to investing in educational
products. Great efforts continue to be devoted to online development as well as revisions and updates to our existing
educational materials. Our task at hand is to teach and provide the body of knowledge while delivering the experience.
Look for our Learning Library containing 126 modules of content for use by companies and educational organizations
wishing to augment their weld training curricula. Also look for WeldLink, an online welding community tool capable of
storing credentials digitally, managing rsums, assessing readiness, mapping career paths, and connecting job seekers
to employers and vice-versa, among other features. You will soon be able to tap into this resource.
Membership
Member dues revenues increased by 5.8% over the prior year. We continue to work on recruiting individual members
worldwide. Our core emphasis is to add value to our membership. Our overall membership count was 70,750.
International and student membership represents 15.9% and 14.9% of the Societys member base, respectively.
Certification
This operating unit once again is our top revenue-producing business unit, generating $13 million in revenues, an increase of 11.2% when compared to 2013. Exam revenues were up 6.7% when compared to 2013 and CWI renewal
revenues were up 14% when compared to 2013. Welder certification and ATF Accreditation revenues were ahead by
20.8% and 66.5% over last year, respectively. Exam and renewal revenues generated by international Agents
approximated $3.4 million. We have 43 international Agents. We continue to expand our global presence through new
Agents. We are looking to increase activities in Brazil, Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, Vietnam & Qatar. We
have an in-country person in India and we are looking at Saudi Arabia. International growth remains our key driver.
Technical
The D1.1 Structural Welding Code Steel is now on a five-year cycle as opposed to a two-year cycle. In its last year of
the cycle, technical hard copy book sales and electronic/subscription sales of document revenues ended up with an
increase of 3.6% in comparison to 2013. This is very encouraging to see, since a decrease was anticipated from our core
book. Technical revenues for 2015 should pick up due to the release of several new book editions.
Publications
Total departmental revenues were $3.9 million, an increase of 5.3% when compared to 2013. We experienced an
increase in Welding Journal advertising, up 5.6% when compared to 2013. Spanish and digital ad sales increases were
34.5% and 42.1%, respectively.
In Summary
There are indeed many exciting initiatives we are undertaking, and coming from financial strength gives us the ability to invest in initiatives that would fuel additional growth. Diversification of our product lines is always on our radar
without deviating too much from our core competency. Positive financial results allow us to be productive and focus-driven without the distraction caused when an organization is experiencing a shortage of funds. We are very fortunate to
be able to continuously add significantly to our financial strength allowing us to fully devote our focus to our mission
and deliver the best value to our constituents.
Over the past years, we have been able to build a healthy reserve and at the same time we have been able to provide,
invest, and participate in initiatives that have helped us advance our position in the marketplace. It also allows us to
give back to the industry in the form of scholarships, programs and partnerships via our AWS Foundation. We continue
to focus on global expansion to satisfy our mission and grow world presence.
We are cautiously optimistic that fiscal year 2015 will achieve positive financial results. With our prudent practices,
we will ensure that we are fiscally responsible and that we continue to make sound financial decisions.
The AWS Board of Directors and AWS Foundation Trustees would like to express their appreciation to all of our
members, volunteers, industry leaders, and cooperating organizations that share our goals in helping us make this
another successful year. Appreciation is also extended to our capable staff, who helped make 2014 a success.
Fiveyear comparisons
Fiveyear comparisons
Operating Revenue
Total Assets
Net Assets
Membership
Convention (sq. ft.)
International
Atlanta
Chicago
Dec10
Dec11
Dec12
Dec13
Dec14
26,446,348
56,415,395
52,290,944
66,847
151,700
3,118,100
27,774,105
64,622,045
60,250,495
69,566
169,100
3,142,800
31,683,943
79,391,335
74,944,155
68,438
174,300
3,701,300
33,548,915
95,709,601
91,181,054
69,607
217,400
3,979,400
36,053,591
110,055,485
104,933,365
70,750
211,100
4,366,500
Las Vegas Chicago
Atlanta
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT
To the Board of Directors

American Welding Society, Inc. and AWS Foundation
Report on the Combined Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying combined financial statements of American Welding Society, Inc. and AWS Foundation,
which comprise the combined statement of financial position as of December 31, 2014, and the related combined statements
of activities and cash flows for the year then ended and the related notes to the combined financial statements.
Managements Responsibility for the Combined Financial Statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these combined financial statements in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; this includes the design, implementation, and
maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of combined financial statements that are
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Auditors Responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these combined financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our
audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the combined financial statements are free
from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the combined
financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditors judgment, including the assessment of the risks of
material misstatement of the combined financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk
assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entitys preparation and fair presentation of the combined
financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entitys internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit
also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the combined financial statements.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Opinion
In our opinion, the combined financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the combined
financial position of American Welding Society, Inc. and AWS Foundation as of December 31, 2014, and the changes in their
net assets and their cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America.
Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC

Certified Public Accountants
Miami, Florida
March 31, 2015
8669 NW 36 th St., # 130

Miami, Florida 33166
8669 NW 36 th St., # 130

Miami, Florida 33166
800-443-9353
305-443-9353
305-443-7559 FAX
e-mail: info@aws.org
www.aws.org
800-443-9353, ext. 293

305-445-6628
305-443-7559 FAX
e-mail: found@aws.org
www.aws.org/foundation/index.html
AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY, INC., AND AWS FOUNDATION

COMBINED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION DECEMBER 31, 2014
(WITH COMPARATIVE TOTALS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013)
ASSETS
2014
Cash and cash equivalents

Accounts and other receivables, net of allowance for
doubtful accounts of approximately $244,000
and $249,000 respectively
Pledges receivable, net
Inventory
Prepaid expenses
Deposits
Note receivable
Other assets
Investments
Goodwill
Property and equipment, net
TOTAL ASSETS
1,556,424
4,296,804
685
10,316
640,424
750,108
3,680,000
2,394,000
69,076,042
250,000
27,400,682
110,055,485
2013
$
3,224,596
4,785,894
5,886
11,263
529,792
452,684
3,680,000
2,394,000
54,147,846
_
26,477,640
95,709,601
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

LIABILITIES
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities
Deferred membership, subscription and seminar income
TOTAL LIABILITIES
1,581,172
3,540,948
5,122,120
1,264,483
3,264,064
4,528,547
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NET ASSETS
Unrestricted
Temporarily restricted
Permanently restricted
TOTAL NET ASSETS
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
86,685,988
10,299,591
7,947,786
104,933,365
110,055,485
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.
74,657,080
9,695,766
6,828,208
91,181,054
95,709,601

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014
OPERATING:
Convention
Educational services
Marketing and corporate
communications
International activities
AWS Foundation
WEMCO
RWMA
ITSA
Membership
Certification
Technical
Publications
Administration
Building operations
Board approved programs
TOTAL CHANGE IN
OPERATING FUND BEFORE
TRANSFER
INTER-FUND TRANSFERS
TOTAL CHANGE IN
OPERATING FUND AFTER
TRANSFER
RESERVE:
Interest and dividends
Gain on investments, net
TOTAL CHANGE IN
RESERVE FUND
BEFORE TRANSFERS
TOTAL CHANGE IN
RESERVE FUND
AFTER TRANSFERS
Unrestricted
Revenues
Unrestricted
Expenses
Net Change in
Unrestricted
Net Assets
Temporarily
Restricted
Net Assets
Permanently
Restricted
Net Assets
$ 3,812,209
6,211,618
700,151
5,114,069
3,112,058
1,097,549
Total
2014
$ 3,112,058
1,097,549
Total
2013
2,808,073
1,181,832
56,883
101,745
100,390
283,667
3,515,592
13,030,862
4,863,215
942,797
313,832
1,029,376
141,309
144,378
312,484
1,745,631
3,662,572
1,835,319
(942,797)
(256,949)
(1,029,376)
(39,564)
(43,988)
(28,817)
1,769,961
9,368,290
3,027,896
(942,797)
(256,949)
(1,029,376)
(39,564)
(43,988)
(28,817)
1,769,961
9,368,290
3,027,896
(717,588)
(223,694)
(999,302)
(33,985)
(43,938)
(19,650)
1,541,018
8,468,931
3,170,120
3,879,209
198,201
-
3,195,537
6,335,860
687,843
66,759
683,672
(6,137,659)
(687,843)
(66,759)
683,672
(6,137,659)
(687,843)
(66,759)
645,341
(5,488,844)
(725,241)
(91,501)
36,053,591
26,227,917
9,825,674
9,825,674
9,471,572
10,368,476
(10,368,476)
(10,368,476)
(7,420,129)
36,053,591
36,596,393
(542,802)
(542,802)
2,051,443
999,818
423,723
999,818
423,723
999,818
423,723
745,245
3,269,987
1,423,541
1,423,541
1,423,541
4,015,232
6,704,941
6,704,941
6,704,941
(15,000,000)
$ 8,128,482
$(10,984,768)
$ 8,128,482
8,128,482

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014
AWS FOUNDATION:
Donations
Net assets released from
restrictions by satisfaction
of purpose restrictions
Operating expenses
Scholarships
Fellowships
Fundraising and other
Unrestricted
Revenues
Unrestricted
Expenses
Net Change in
Unrestricted
Net Assets
Temporarily
Restricted
Net Assets
Permanently
Restricted
Net Assets
365,446
1,780,877
570,654
365,446
1,780,877
570,654
633,309
(278,615)
(418,252)
(50,000)
(280,907)
418,423
74,787
381,032
(633,309)
-
19,578
-
Total
2014
803,447
1,855,664
951,686
(278,615)
(418,252)
(50,000)
(280,907)
Total
2013
$ 1,305,405
764,590
1,918,846
633,309
-
278,615
418,252
50,000
280,907
(187,538)
(356,304)
(50,000)
(79,340)
3,350,286
1,027,774
2,322,512
240,933
19,578
2,583,023
3,315,659
1,840,037
1,840,037
362,892
1,100,000
3,302,929
21,878,681
5,190,323
1,027,774
4,162,549
603,825
1,119,578
5,885,952
25,194,340
662,911
742,838
(79,927)
(79,927)
(565,564)
TOTAL CHANGE IN
PROPERTY FUND
BEFORE TRANSFERS
662,911
742,838
(79,927)
(79,927)
(565,564)
360,606
360,606
360,606
541,448
1,023,517
742,838
280,679
280,679
(24,116)
12,028,908
603,825
1,119,578
13,752,311
16,236,899
74,657,080
$ 86,685,988
9,695,766
$ 10,299,591
6,828,208
$ 7,947,786
91,181,054
$104,933,365
74,944,155
$91,181,054
TOTAL CHANGE IN AWS

FOUNDATION FUND
BEFORE TRANSFERS
TOTAL CHANGE IN AWS
FOUNDATION FUND
AFTER TRANSFERS
PROPERTY FUND:
Building operations
TOTAL CHANGE IN
PROPERTY FUND
AFTER TRANSFERS
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS
NET ASSETS, BEGINNING
NET ASSETS, ENDING

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014
2014
2013
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Change in net assets
Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to

net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Decrease (increase) in accounts and other receivables
Decrease in pledges receivable, net
Decrease in inventory
(Increase) decrease in prepaid expenses
Increase in deposits
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable,
accrued expenses and other liabilities
Increase in deferred membership, subscription
and seminar income
13,752,311
16,236,899
1,397,443
(1,375,409)
1,130,351
(5,188,832)
489,090
5,201
947
(110,632)
(297,424)
(1,813,250)
186,814
13,733
57,947
(240,795)
316,689
(317,067)
276,884
398,434
14,455,100
10,464,234
(2,320,485)
(13,802,787)
(1,518,093)
(8,910,776)
(16,123,272)
(10,428,869)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
(1,668,172)
35,365
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF YEAR
3,224,596
3,189,231
NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of property and equipment
Purchase of investments, net of sales
NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF YEAR
1,556,424
3,224,596

NOTES TO COMBINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DECEMBER 31, 2014
1. NATURE OF ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Organization and Purpose
American Welding Society, Inc. (AWS) and AWS Foundation (Foundation) (collectively, the Organizations) are not-forprofit entities, exempt from income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are primarily engaged in
welding technology, education and research activities.
The financial statements of AWS include the accounts of Weldmex, LLC, 8669 Doral, LLC and International Excellence, LLC.
On October 16, 2012, AWS acquired a 100% interest in Weldmex, LLC (NOTE 3). In connection with the purchase of the
Organizations new headquarters, AWS created 8669 Doral, LLC. In 2014, AWS created International Excellence, LLC
to establish its China operations (NOTE 6). On April 7, 2014, AWS established Weldmex AWS, S. De R.L. De C.V.
(Weldmex Mexico), a limited liability company in Mexico for bank purposes. Weldmex Mexico was established
through Weldmex, LLC and 8669 Doral, LLC, both disregarded entities of AWS and formed in the United States. All material
intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Basis of Accounting
The combined financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). The accounts of the Organizations are
maintained for internal reporting purposes in accordance with the principles of fund accounting.
Principles of Combination
The accompanying combined financial statements include the accounts of American Welding Society, Inc. and its affiliate,
AWS Foundation. All material inter-organization accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the combination.
Basis of Presentation
Net assets and revenues, gains and losses are classified into three classes of net assets based on the existence or
absence of donor-imposed restrictions. The three classes of net asset categories are as follows:
Unrestricted Net assets which are free of donor-imposed restrictions; all revenues, gains, and losses that are not
changes in permanently or temporarily restricted net assets.
Temporarily Restricted Net assets where the use by the Organizations is limited by donor-imposed stipulations
that either expire by the passage of time or that can be fulfilled or removed by actions of the Organizations pursuant
to those stipulations.
Permanently Restricted Net assets where the use by the Organizations is limited by donor-imposed stipulations
that neither expire with the passage of time nor can be fulfilled or otherwise removed by actions of the Organizations.
The transactions of the Organizations are categorized into separate funds. The purpose and net asset classification are as
follows:
Operating This fund is used to account for all unrestricted net assets of AWS, except for those accounted for in
the reserve and property funds. The operating fund also provides administrative support to the Foundation.
Reserve This fund is used to account for Board designated reserve funds which are to be used to supplement the
cash needs of AWS.
AWS Foundation The Foundations temporarily restricted net assets consists of donor-restricted contributions to
be used for awards and scholarships. Permanently restricted net assets consist solely of an endowment fund.

1. NATURE OF ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Basis of Presentation (Continued)
Property Fund This fund is used to account for the net assets of AWS associated with its new headquarter facility
located in Doral, Florida.
Management Estimates
The preparation of combined financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities
at the date of the combined financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting
period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Risks and Uncertainties
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Organizations to a concentration of credit risk are cash, investments and
accounts receivable. The Organizations place their temporary cash and cash equivalents with high quality financial
institutions. At times, cash deposits may be in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations insured limits. The
Organizations customer base is relatively stable; management closely monitors outstanding balances and relationships with
customers; collection losses have historically been immaterial.
The Organizations have investments in mutual funds that are exposed to various risks, such as interest rate, market and
credit risk. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities and the level of uncertainty related to
changes in the value of investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in risks in the near term could
materially affect the Combined Statement of Activities. To minimize risks, the Organizations, through their investment
advisor and investment committee, monitor these investments and the associated risks on a regular basis.
Cash Equivalents
The Organizations consider all highly liquid investments with a purchase date maturity of three months or less to be cash
equivalents.
Accounts and Other Receivables, Net
Accounts and other receivables consist of balances related to convention, certification exams, royalties and other
miscellaneous programs and are stated at the amount management expects to collect from outstanding balances at yearend. Management provides for probable uncollectible amounts through a provision for bad debt expense based upon a review
of outstanding balances, historical collection information and current economic conditions. Balances that are still
outstanding after management has used reasonable collection efforts are written off through a charge to the allowance.
Management believes the allowance for doubtful accounts is adequate to absorb reasonably foreseeable losses.
Inventory
Inventory consists primarily of work-in-process relating to various publications and is valued at lower cost or market. Cost
is determined by the actual expenditures incurred in the production process.
Prepaid Expenses
Prepaid expenses consist primarily of work-in-process costs relating to various publications that have not yet been released
for distribution. Once publications are complete and ready for their intended use, the costs are amortized over the life of
the publications, usually between two to three years. Additionally, expenditures which relate to programs for the next fiscal
year are reported as a prepaid asset and are expensed during the next year as the related program function takes place.

Investments
The Organizations reports investments in marketable securities with readily determinable fair values and all investments
in debt securities at fair value. Purchased securities are stated at fair market value based on the most recently traded price
of the security at the financial statement date. Donated securities are recorded at fair value and sold immediately. Investment
gains and losses, including realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments, interest and dividends, are included in
the accompanying Combined Statement of Activities.
Other Asset
In connection with the purchase of Weldmex, LLC in 2012, AWS fully allocated the purchase price to an indefinite-lived
intangible asset identified as the rights to the Weldmex show (NOTE 3).
Indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment at least annually and more often when events indicate that
impairment exists. AWS follows an accounting standard which permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether
it is more likely than not that an assets fair value is less than its carrying value before applying the two-step impairment
model. If it is determined through the qualitative assessment that the assets fair value is more likely than not greater than
its carrying value, the two-step impairment test would be unnecessary. The qualitative assessment is optional, allowing
entities to proceed directly to the quantitative assessment using the two-step approach.
In the two-step approach, the first step identifies potential impairments by comparing the fair value of an asset with its
book value. If the fair value of the asset exceeds the carrying amount, the asset is not impaired and the second step is not
necessary. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, the second step calculates the possible impairment loss by comparing
the implied fair value of the asset with the carrying amount. If the implied fair value is less than the carrying amount, an
impairment is recorded. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2014.
Goodwill
Goodwill, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset, represents the excess of costs over fair value of assets of businesses
acquired. Goodwill is evaluated at least annually, and more often when events indicate that an impairment exists. In
connection with the purchase of WEX Asia in 2014 (NOTE 6), AWS fully allocated the purchase price to goodwill. There
were no assets or liabilities acquired. AWS does not amortize goodwill but opts to test for impairment annually based on
the accounting standards described above.
Property and Equipment, Net
Property and equipment, net, are defined by the Organizations as assets with an initial, individual cost of more than $1,000
and an estimated useful life in excess of one year. Property and equipment including building improvements are stated at
cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives of the respective assets:
Building and improvements

Furniture and equipment
Software
Estimated Useful Lives (Years)

14 39
57
3
Impairment of LongLived Assets

The carrying value of long-lived assets is reviewed if the facts and circumstances, such as significant declines in revenues,
earnings or cash flows, or material adverse changes in the business climate indicate that they may be impaired. The
Organizations perform their review by comparing the carrying amounts of long-lived assets to the estimated undiscounted
cash flows relating to such assets. If any impairment in the value of the long-lived assets is indicated, the carrying value of
the long-lived assets is adjusted to reflect such impairment.

Deferred Membership Fees and Services
Membership, subscription and seminar revenues are deferred when received and recognized as revenue over the life of the
membership and subscription or when the seminar occurs.
Interfund Payable/Receivable
Amounts represents advances received by the Property Fund and the Foundation from the Operating Fund for operating
expenses. Such funds totaled $2,052,646 at December 31, 2014.
Contributions and Promises to Give
Contributions received or made, including promises to give or pledges, are recognized at fair value in the period in which
they are received or made.
Support that is restricted by the donor is reported as an increase in unrestricted net assets if the restriction expires in the
reporting period in which the support is recognized. All other donor-restricted support is reported as an increase in
temporarily or permanently restricted net assets, depending on the nature of the restriction. When a donor restriction
expires (that is, when a stipulated time restriction ends or purpose restriction is accomplished), temporarily restricted net
assets are reclassified to unrestricted net assets and reported in the Combined Statement of Activities as Net assets released
from restrictions.
Contributions are recognized when the donor makes a promise to give to the Organizations, that is, in substance,
unconditional. All other donor-restricted contributions are reported as increases in temporarily or permanently restricted
net assets depending on the nature of the restrictions. The Organizations have $685 of pledges receivable at December 31,
2014. The pledges receivables are due in 2015.
The Organizations use the allowance method to determine the estimated unconditional promises to give that are doubtful
of collection. Management reviews outstanding promises to give on an ongoing basis. The allowance is based on prior years
experience and managements analysis of specific promises made. Account balances are charged off against the allowance
after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.
Revenues from Operating Activities
AWS generates revenues from operating activities including holding conventions, providing educational services, selling
memberships and issuing certifications. Revenues are recorded as related expenditures are incurred, services are performed,
products are delivered or once an event takes place.
Volunteer Services
A large number of people have contributed significant amounts of time to the activities of the Organizations. Since these
contributions do not meet the criteria for revenue recognition, they are not reflected in the Combined Statement of
Activities.
Allocation of Expenses
The cost of performing the Organizations various activities have been summarized on a functional basis in the accompanying
Combined Statement of Activities. Accordingly, certain costs have been allocated among the activities benefited.

Income Taxes
American Welding Society, Inc. and AWS Foundation are not-for-profit corporations and are exempt from federal income
taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Accordingly, no provision for federal or state income tax is
required for revenues derived from its tax-exempt function.
For income tax purposes, publication advertising revenue and rental income are considered "unrelated business income
and are subject to income tax. The Organizations are taxed on unrelated business income less the related expenses.
International Excellence, LLC and Weldmex, LLC are disregarded entities for tax purposes. The Organizations recognize
and measure tax positions based on their technical merit and assess the likelihood that the positions will be sustained upon
examination based on the facts, circumstances and information available at the end of each period. Interest and penalties
on tax liabilities, if any, would be recorded in interest expense and other non-interest expense, respectively.
The U.S. Federal and State of Florida jurisdictions are the major tax jurisdictions where the Organizations file informational
tax returns. The Organizations are generally no longer subject to U.S. Federal or State examinations by tax authorities for
years before 2011.
Recent Accounting Pronouncement
Accounting Alternative for Goodwill
In January 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standard update which allows
all entities except public business entities and not-for-profit entities to elect an accounting alternative for the subsequent
measurement of goodwill. The update requires such entities to amortize goodwill over 10 years or a shorter period if
appropriate, requires an accounting election in regards to impairment testing, and also modifies impairment testing. The
update is to be applied prospectively to existing goodwill and new goodwill recognized in annual periods beginning after
December 15, 2014 and interim periods in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The Organizations are
currently evaluating the effect the update will have on its combined financial statements.
Subsequent Events
The Organizations have evaluated subsequent events through March 31, 2015, which is the date the combined financial
statements were available to be issued.
Reclassifications
Certain amounts in the 2013 combined financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the 2014 presentation.
2. NOTE RECEIVABLE
During the year ended December 31, 2012, AWS entered into a secured first mortgage note receivable with 550 Lejeune,
LLC, the buyer of AWSs former headquarters. AWS received a 20% down payment of $920,000 and the remaining balance
of the purchase price was financed by AWS. The note is in the principal amount of $3,680,000 and requires a balloon payment
prior to its maturity ten years from the closing date. The note bears interest at 0% from the closing date until the move out
date, September 30, 2012, and from the move out date until the date that is 10 years from the closing date at 5.25% annual
interest. Monthly interest installments in the amount of $16,100 began November 15, 2012. A personal unconditional
guaranty of collection in favor of AWS was received from one of the principals of the holding company acquiring the office
facility at the time of closing. For the year ended December 31, 2014, interest earned on the note receivable was
approximately $193,000. Management routinely monitors the financial condition of the borrower in order to assess the
collectability of the note receivable. In January 2015, the note receivable was fully collected.

3. OTHER ASSET
On October 16, 2012, AWS completed the purchase of Weldmex, LLC (Weldmex), a limited liability company, from Trade
Show Consulting, LLC (TSC). Weldmex owns and operates the Weldmex Trade Show. In consideration for the sale, transfer
and assignment of TSCs ownership in the Weldmex Trade Show, between 2008 and 2009, TSC was paid a total of $644,000.
As a result, AWS acquired 55% ownership in Weldmex. The existence of Weldmex continued through October 16, 2012
when Weldmex purchased the entire percentage interest of TSC for $1,750,000.
Total payments made to TSC to purchase the Weldmex Trade Show amounted to $2,394,000 and is included under the caption
"Other asset," in the Combined Statement of Financial Position. The acquisition of Weldmex was recorded as a business
combination. The purchase price has been fully allocated to one asset, identified as the rights to the Weldmex show (Rights).
Since there is not an active market for this purchase, the cost of the purchase was determined to approximate the fair value
of the asset acquired. There were no other assets or liabilities in Weldmex at the time of acquisition. This intangible assets
useful life is not limited to legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors. Therefore, management
has determined the Rights to have an indefinite life as the use of the asset extends beyond a foreseeable horizon and there
is no time limit on the period of time over which it is expected to contribute to the cash flows of AWS. AWS reviews the
Rights annually for impairment and will evaluate the remaining useful life if the Rights are determined to be no longer
indefinite. Management has determined that an impairment of the intangible asset does not exist at December 31, 2014.
4. INVESTMENTS
Investments, which are comprised entirely of mutual funds, are presented in the combined financial statements at their fair
market values and consist of the following at December 31, 2014:
Reserve Fund
AWS Foundation
Total
Vanguard Investments
Stock Market Index Fund
Bond Market Index Fund
Intermediate-Term Investment Grade Bond
International Stock Index Fund
Windsor II Fund
Short-Term Investment Grade Fund
U.S. Growth Fund
Morgan Growth Fund
Explorer Fund
Strategic Equity Fund
Prime Money Market Fund
AWS Section Investments
Total investments
6,602,760
3,409,586
2,044,630
3,269,550
2,311,252
1,363,538
1,143,296
1,145,329
998,119
997,548
1,000,000
-
$ 24,285,608
11,457,015
9,040,840
5,415,958
5,198,756
3,974,602
3,510,506
2,017,925
1,993,811
1,665,396
1,735,677
(1,220,052)
$ 44,790,434
$ 18,059,775
12,450,426
7,460,588
8,468,306
6,285,854
4,874,044
3,161,221
3,139,140
2,663,515
2,733,225
1,000,000
(1,220,052)
$ 69,076,042
AWS Foundation administers investments on behalf of certain affiliated sections. The investments aggregated to
approximately $1,220,000 at December 31, 2014 and are not included in the combined financial statements.
Investment income consisted of the following for the year ended December 31, 2014:

Net realized and unrealized gains on
investments, net of fees of approximately
$24,000 and $56,000 respectively
Total investments income
Reserve Fund
AWS Foundation
Total
999,818
1,855,664
2,855,482
423,723
$ 1,423,541
951,686
2,807,350
1,375,409
4,230,891

5. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The FASB establishes a framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes
the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted
prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable
inputs (Level 3 measurements).
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described as follows:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active
markets that the Organizations have the ability to access.
Inputs to the valuation methodology include:
quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets;
quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets;
inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability;
inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or
other means.
If the asset or liability has a specified (contractual) term, the Level 2 input must be observable for substantially
the full term of the asset or liability.
Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.
The assets or liabilitys fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input
that is significant to the fair value measurement. Valuation techniques used need to maximize the use of observable inputs
and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.
Following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for assets measured at fair value. There have been no changes
in the methodologies used at December 31, 2014.
Mutual funds: Valued at the net asset value (NAV) of shares held by the Organizations at year end.
The preceding methods described may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or
reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, although the Organizations believe the valuation methods are appropriate and
consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of
certain financial instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date. The values assigned to
certain investments are based upon currently available information and do not necessarily represent amounts that may
ultimately be realized. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, those estimated fair values may differ significantly
from the values that would have been used had a ready market for the investments existed and the differences could be material.
The following table represents the Organizations' financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis at
December 31, 2014 for each of the fair value hierarchy levels:
Fair Value Measurement at Reporting Date Using:
Description
Assets:
Money Market
Mutual Funds:
Equity U.S. Large
Equity U.S. Mid/Small
Equity - International
Short-Term Bonds
Intermediate Bonds
Quoted Prices in Active

Markets for Identical Assets
(Level 1)
Total
1,000,000
30,645,990
5,396,740
8,468,306
4,874,044
18,690,962
69,076,042
1,000,000
30,645,990
5,396,740
8,468,306
4,874,044
18,690,962
69,076,042
Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
Significant Other
Unobservable Inputs
(Level 3)
The carrying amounts for cash, cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and certain other assets and liabilities
approximate fair value due to the short-term maturity of these financial instruments.

6. GOODWILL
In February 2014, the board approved the purchase of WEXs Asia Division for $250,000. The acquisition was finalized on
May 1, 2014. The entity had three employees and locations in Hong Kong and Beijing. There were no significant tangible
assets being acquired, as such, AWS fully allocated the purchase price to goodwill. Management believes this opportunity
gives AWS ground access in China allowing AWS to work closer with existing international agents as well as adding new
agents for wider regions coverage. AWS is currently collaborating with governmental agencies interested in certifying welders
and providing other programs. The financial statements of AWS include the activities of AWS Asia Ltd.
In order to purchase WEX Asia, AWS created a separate legal entity called International Excellence, LLC. International
Excellence, LLC is owned by two individuals designated with the responsibility for Asia operations. AWS gave the two
individuals complete indemnification as the legal structure of the entity was only created as a result of the legal requirements
in Asia.
7. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET
Property and equipment, net consist of the following as of December 31, 2014:
Land
Building and improvements
Furniture, software and equipment
Property Fund
Foundation and
Operating Fund
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization

$
6,191,574
19,506,767
25,698,341
1,315,526
24,382,815
134,827
8,017,276
8,152,103
5,134,236
3,017,867
Total
$
6,191,574
19,641,594
8,017,276
33,850,444
6,449,762
$ 27,400,682
Depreciation expense was approximately $1,397,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014.
During 2010, AWS purchased a five story 120,000 square foot office building in the City of Doral, Florida for $19,000,000.
The purchase was made with operating cash as well as AWS reserves, hence no financing was involved. In connection with
the purchase of the new facility, the seller agreed at its sole cost and expense, to complete certain repairs, refurbishment,
and replacement at the facility. AWS completed its move to the new headquarters office in September 2012. As of December
31, 2014, AWS occupied 69.8% of the office building and 25.7% was leased out to tenants. Depreciation expense relating to
AWS operations amounted to approximately $1,097,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014 and is reflected under the
Operating Fund. Depreciation expense relating to the tenant portion at the new facility amounted to approximately $197,000
for the year ended December 31, 2014 and is reflected under the Property Fund. Other depreciation of approximately
$103,000 is reflected under the Foundation.
AWS utilizes the services of a property management and leasing company for the Doral facility. The term of the contract
was initially for six months and renewable for like periods of time unless terminated in writing by either party by providing
written notice 30 days prior to the date for such renewal. Under the terms of the agreement, AWS is to pay the management
company an amount equal to 4% of the gross income of the building, but in no event less than $2,500 per month. AWS is
to also pay commissions for all units leased by the manager in an amount equal to 2% of the total lease term. Outside brokers
also involved in selling leasing space are paid commissions up to 4% of the total lease term. AWS pays supervisory fees for
tenant improvements at 3.5% of the contractors price to build out. Effective January 1, 2015, supervisory fees have been
increased to 6% and the minimum property management fee is $3,500.
8. TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
At December 31, 2014, net assets of the Foundation in the amount of $10,299,591 are restricted for awards, scholarships
and specific programs. Net assets of $633,309 were released from donor restrictions by granting awards, scholarships and
funding specific programs for the year ended December 31, 2014.

9. PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
At December 31, 2014, net assets in the amount of $7,947,786 are permanently restricted endowments to provide a source
of funds predominantly for educational, research and other charitable purposes.
10. INTERFUND TRANSFERS
Funds are periodically transferred from the Operating Fund to the Reserve Fund and AWS Foundation. For the year ended
December 31, 2014, the Operating Fund transferred $6,500,000 to the Reserve Fund, due to positive financial results and
cash flows. The Operating Fund also transferred $3,302,929 to AWS Foundation mainly to increase the annual District
Scholarship amount from $7,500 to $10,000 and to provide for future scholarship matching.
For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Operating Fund transferred $360,606 to the Property Fund for capital
improvements and other related items.
During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Board of Directors of AWS approved a transfer of $204,941 from the
Operating Fund to the Reserve Fund. The transfer was approved in order to create a SERP plan for AWSs Executive Director.
11. LEASING ACTIVITIES
As of December 31, 2014, AWS, as lessor, has entered into twelve operating leases with third parties. The operating leases
have various terms expiring through 2021. Rental income from leasing activities is recorded as earned over the terms of the
leases. Rental income of approximately $663,000 was earned for the year ended December 31, 2014, and is within the
Combined Statement of Activities Property Fund.
Minimum future rentals to be received on leases, subsequent to the year ending December 31, 2014 are as follows:
For the years ending December 31,
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Thereafter
Total
691,000
600,000
329,000
284,000
230,000
386,000
2,520,000
12. ENDOWMENT
The Foundations endowment consists of two separate investment funds established for welding education, research and
other charitable purposes. Its endowment includes donor restricted and board designated endowment funds. As required
by U.S. GAAP, net assets associated with endowment funds are classified and reported based on the existence or absence of
donor-imposed restrictions.
In 2011, the State of Florida adopted the Florida Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (FUPMIFA).
The Foundation has interpreted the FUPMIFA as requiring the preservation of the fair value of the original gift as of the
gift date of the donor-restricted endowment funds, absent explicit donor stipulations to the contrary. As a result of this
interpretation, the Foundation classifies as permanently restricted net assets (a) the original value of gifts donated to the
permanent endowment, (b) the original value of subsequent gifts to the permanent endowment and (c) accumulations to
the permanent endowment made in accordance with the direction of the applicable donor gift instrument at the time the
accumulation is added to the fund. The remaining portion of the donor-restricted endowment fund that is not classified in
permanently restricted net assets is classified as temporarily restricted net assets until those amounts are appropriated for
expenditure by the Foundation in a manner consistent with the standard of prudence prescribed by FUPMIFA.

12. ENDOWMENT (CONTINUED)
In accordance with the FUPMIFA, the Foundation considers the following factors in making a determination to appropriate
or accumulate donor-restricted endowment funds:
(1) The duration and preservation of the fund
(2) The purposes of the Foundation and the donor-restricted endowment fund
(3) General economic conditions
(4) The possible effect of inflation and deflation
(5) The expected total return from income and the appreciation of investments
(6) Other resources of the Foundation
(7) The investment policies of the Foundation.
For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Foundation has elected not to add appreciation for cost of living or other spending
policies to its permanently restricted endowment for inflation and other economic conditions.
Summary of endowment net assets at December 31, 2014:
Temporarily
Restricted
Unrestricted
Donor restricted
endowment funds
Board restricted
endowment funds
Total endowment net assets
2,908,490
8,401,333
Permanently
Restricted
$
2,047,786
Total
$
13,357,609
23,821,448
1,898,258
5,900,000
31,619,706
$ 26,729,938
$ 10,299,591
$ 7,947,786
$ 44,977,315
Change in endowment net assets at December 31, 2014:

Temporarily
Restricted
Unrestricted
Endowment net assets,
beginning
Contributions and transfers
Net investment income
Released from restriction and
appropriated for expenditure
Endowment net assets,
ending
22,567,389
2,205,483
1,780,877
570,654
(394,465)
$ 26,729,938
9,695,766
781,315
74,787
381,032
Permanently
Restricted
$
(633,309)
6,828,208
1,119,578
-
Total
$
$ 10,299,591
$ 7,947,786
Restricted
Restricted
39,091,363
4,106,376
1,855,664
951,686
(1,027,774)
$ 44,977,315
Summary of endowment assets at December 31, 2014:

Unrestricted
Cash
Pledges receivable, net
Investments
Property and equipment, net
Prepaid expenses
Liabilities
64,390
26,543,742
227,683
24,481
(130,358)
Total endowment assets
$ 26,729,938
685
10,298,906
-
$ 10,299,591
7,947,786
-
$ 7,947,786
Total
$
64,390
685
44,790,434
227,683
24,481
(130,358)
$ 44,977,315

12. ENDOWMENT (CONTINUED)
Funds with Deficiencies
From time to time, the fair value of assets associated with individual donor restricted endowment funds may fall below the
level that the donor requires the Foundation to retain as a fund of perpetual duration. There were no such deficiencies in
the endowment funds as of December 31, 2014.
Return Objectives and Risk Parameters
The Foundation has adopted investment and spending policies for endowment assets that attempt to provide a predictable
stream of funding to programs supported by its endowment while seeking to maintain the purchasing power of the
endowment assets. The Foundation expects its endowment funds, over time, to provide a rate of return in excess of the
principal. Actual returns in any given year may vary.
Strategies Employed for Achieving Objectives
To satisfy its long-term rate-of-return objectives, the Foundation relies on a total return strategy in which investment returns
are achieved through both capital appreciation (realized and unrealized) and current yield (interest and dividends).
Spending Policy and How the Investment Objectives Relate to Spending Policy
The Foundation has a policy of appropriating for distribution each year 5 percent of its endowment fund's value over the
prior 12 months through the calendar year-end preceding the fiscal year in which the distribution is planned. In establishing
this policy, the Foundation considered the long-term expected return on its endowment. Accordingly, over the long term,
the Foundation expects to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment assets held in perpetuity or for a specified
term as well as to provide additional real growth through new gifts and investment return.
13. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN
The Organizations have a simplified employee pension plan for all full-time employees. Full-time employees are eligible for
participation in the plan the first day of the month after they are employed. Effective June 1, 2008, the Organizations will
contribute a maximum of 8% of the employees base salary, composed of a 4% initial contribution and a match up to 4% of
an employees voluntary contribution. The Organizations made contributions totaling approximately $635,000 during the
year ended December 31, 2014.
14. EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
AWS entered into an employment agreement with its Executive Director on November 13, 2012 for a term of three years.
The first year commencing January 1, 2013. The Organizations will provide certain benefits for the period set forth in the
agreement. An amendment to the employment agreement was signed in 2014 to include a retirement plan and extend the
term until 2017.
15. MANAGEMENT SERVICES
On May 17, 2010, AWS signed an association management agreement to provide administrative services, office space,
facilities and equipment to the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA), a not-for-profit trade association
incorporated in Pennsylvania. As consideration for the professional contracted services provided under the agreement,
GAWDA pays AWS a management fee based on the compensation and benefits to be provided by AWSs personnel serving
as the Executive Director and Coordinator positions, payable in equal monthly installments. Additionally, GAWDA
reimburses AWS for all direct pass-through costs relating to association specific matters. As of December 31, 2014,
management fees for services provided amounted to approximately $397,000. The management agreement expired on
December 31, 2013 but was subsequently extended through December 31, 2014 to give GAWDA time to work on becoming
self-managed. Effective January 1, 2015, AWS is no longer providing management services to GAWDA as they are
independently managed and have moved into their new premises in Hollywood, Florida.

16. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Operating Leases
The Organizations have entered into various operating lease agreements involving equipment. Minimum monthly payments
are approximately $18,000. Rent expense for the year ended December 31, 2014 totaled approximately $216,000. Minimum
annual payments on the non-cancellable portion of the leases are as follows:
For the years ending December 31,
2015
2016
2017
Total
211,000
44,000
23,000
278,000
Royalty Agreement
On October 26, 2005, AWS entered into a Publication Sales Agreement with World Engineering Exchange (WEX), whereby
WEX has been given non-exclusive worldwide rights to duplicate, package, facsimile transmit, price, promote, distribute,
sell and/or lease AWSs documents and technical publications through paper and electronic media formats and compilations.
On May 8, 2007, the term of the agreement was amended to extend the initial period to sixty (60) months commencing on
January 1, 2006. The agreement can be renewed for two (5) year periods with the same terms and conditions except for the
pricing which shall be negotiated by the parties in good faith. On September 24, 2010, AWS exercised its renewal option;
the term was amended and restated for an additional 60 months commencing January 1, 2011. On October 14, 2011, AWS
entered into a second amendment to reflect a change in royalty percentages for lease and individual documents. AWS
royalties will increase as a result of the change. WEX will pay AWS royalties based on the percentages indicated per the
agreement. The agreement is contingent upon AWSs continued performance, which includes the production and release of
new and revised publications periodically. In addition, the list price shall be no less than the prices as indicated in AWSs
catalog. Under the terms of the agreement, AWS earned $5,053,092 during the year ended December 31, 2014. Such amount
has been included in revenues in various departments in the Combined Statement of Activities.
Effective September 4, 2012, AWS amended an existing agreement with The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME), whereby ASME has the nonexclusive right to reproduce the 2013 and 2015 editions of the filler metal
specifications. ASME will pay AWS royalties equal to 30% of the net sales per quarter for the 2013 edition and 35% of the
net sales per quarter for the 2015 edition. Under the terms of this agreement, AWS earned approximately $381,000 during
the year ended December 31, 2014.
Weldmex Trade Show
On January 11, 2013, Weldmex, LLC, now solely owned by AWS, entered into an agreement with TSC for show management
services. TSC services will include developing an annual budget subject to approval by AWS, conducting contract negotiations,
overseeing and managing service vendors, general show marketing and promotion, exhibit space selling, contracting and
floor layout, customer support and onsite management and logistics. TSC shall be paid a fixed fee of $170,000 annually and
incentive fees as follows: (1) 5% of exhibit space revenues and (2) 10% of Fabtech Mexico royalties paid to Weldmex, LLC
for up to 30,000 square feet and 15% of Fabtech Mexico royalties paid to Weldmex, LLC for square footage over 30,000
square feet. The agreement is for five annual WELDMEX shows from 2013 through the end of the 2017. Either party may
terminate without cause no later than twelve months prior to the commencement of any WELDMEX show and with cause
should any party commit a material breach within thirty days of receipt of written notice from the non-breaching party.
Keys to Success
for a New
Welding Engineer
BY RICHARD HOLDREN
ne of the biggest challenges for a

welding engineer, especially
when newly introduced to the
position, is to understand the myriad
welding requirements existing for various applications. Just determining the
applicable welding standard for a given
application can be a challenge. Once
this has been established, the next
task becomes the interpretation of
welding requirements related to qualification, inspection, and acceptance
criteria. Few schools provide instruction in this aspect of the job, so onthe-job training and experience are the
primary means of gaining this knowledge. Becoming proficient requires
years of experience.
While there may be a shortage of
training in the specific activity of standards selection and application, a
welding engineer is considered relatively well prepared for this challenge.
Why it is critical that a welding

engineer become knowledgeable
in what welding standards exist
and how they must be applied
Welding engineering curricula require
individuals to be exposed to the broadranging areas of expertise, including,
but not limited to, welding design, materials, welding processes, and welding
inspection and quality control. On a
daily basis, a welding engineer may be
required to interpret and apply drawings, specifications, and other related
standards to understand the applicable fabrication and quality requirements existing for the job at hand.
While it is not recommended for a
welding engineer to commit this vast
amount of information to memory,
he/she must become proficient in maneuvering through the world of welding standards.
To be successful, a welding engineer
needs to realize that certain ground
rules exist. While many products could
not be effectively manufactured without welding, some designers either
dont understand welding or the standards governing welding design, and

this often results in overly conservative designs that can give rise to the
creation of designs and configurations
that are less manufacturable. This
may be further complicated by the
stipulation of overly restrictive quality
requirements.
A welding engineer must understand these limitations. Few companies are of a size to warrant a separate
welding engineering department or
group, so most often a welding engineer is found in a manufacturing engineering position, which is an excellent
environment because a welding engineers training makes him/her well
suited for observation and control of
the applicable manufacturing or fabrication processes, including welding
and other ancillary technologies. I
have also experienced situations where
a welding engineer functioned as a

part of the quality organization. In
these cases, results were excellent
since there was an effort to ensure
that welding was being performed in a
manner that would reduce scrap and
rework, and therefore improve productivity. When the focus is placed on
quality, the overall result is positive in
terms of meeting both productivity
and quality goals.
Consequently, one of the keys to
success for a welding engineer is to become fully aware of the quality requirements so that these goals can be
attained in the most effective manner.
Part of this awareness is to understand
the distinction between weld quality
and welding quality. While the two
terms are considered synonymous,
there is a subtle difference. Weld quality relates to the attributes of the finished weld in terms of attainment of
the prescribed quality requirements.
Welding quality is a more inclusive
term, as it relates to not only the finished product, but also to all of those
design and manufacturing steps affecting the resulting weld quality. It is
this area where a welding engineer can
be most effective in terms of ensuring
that the required quality levels will be
achieved. Consequently, the welding
engineer must also be aware of the
preliminary and in-process requirements and controls necessary to ensure that the manufacturing process
will be successful.
Quality Considerations
Prior to Welding
To ensure success, the emphasis on
quality must begin long before the
welding inspector examines the completed weld. In fact, the path to achieving the prescribed quality goals begins
in the design stage of a project. If a
product is not designed with an awareness of how the welding and other
manufacturing operations will be performed, it may not yield a successful
result. So, an area where a welding engineer can be most effective is in the
execution of a design review. Some of
the critical factors to be considered are
as follows:
Is the product manufacturable?
That is, can it be effectively manufactured to meet the quality and productivity requirements?
Does the specification and drawing package contain all of the detailed
information necessary to execute the

design?
Are all welding symbols present
and correct?
Are the applicable welding standards clearly identified?
Are the weld acceptance criteria
clearly specified?
If any of this information is missing
or incomplete, it may be difficult to
produce an acceptable product in an
effective and efficient manner.
Another preproduction concern for
a welding engineer relates to qualification of welding procedures and personnel performing the welding. While
this can be a costly activity, it is critical
that a welding engineer have a clear
understanding of the applicable standards and job specifications so that
any qualification testing performed results in the maximum coverage for
both the existing job as well as potential work. Some of the items to be reviewed include:
Do the drawings and specifications clearly specify the requirements
for procedure and performance qualification?
Do existing welding procedures
satisfy the current job requirements?
If existing procedures have been qualified in accordance with some other
welding standard, will the customer
accept those in lieu of the applicable
specifications for the job?
Are welding personnel properly
qualified?
If additional procedures or personnel require qualification, be aware
that the acceptance criteria for the required qualification test welds are not
necessarily the same as the acceptance
criteria for production welding.
If necessary to perform additional
qualification testing, develop a qualification program that will result in the
maximum coverage for the procedure
or performance qualification, even if
greater than that required for the current job being considered.
One of the ways a welding engineer
can get the most bang for the qualification buck is to perform qualification
testing in accordance with AWS B2.1,
Standard for Welding Procedure and Performance Qualification. This is AWSs
general qualification standard and is
recognized by virtually all of the other
AWS fabrication standards. AWS
D14.3 and D17.1 directly specify that
welding procedures be qualified in accordance with AWS B2.1. Most of the
other AWS standards allow AWS B2.1

to be used as an alternate to qualification requirements in those respective
standards. Consequently, if procedures
are qualified in accordance with AWS
B2.1, there is potential for those
procedures to be applicable for use
when working to a variety of AWS
standards.
Additionally, AWS B2.1 is essentially equivalent to ASME Section IX, so
AWS B2.1 qualifications may also be
employed when doing ASME work.
Like ASME Section IX, AWS B2.1
groups materials with similar weldability so that when a base material
from a given M-number group is used
for the qualification test, the procedure is qualified for use with any of
the other materials from that same Mnumber group. This can be a tremendous benefit when working with AWS
D1.1 and using a nonapproved base
metal. Per AWS D1.1 requirements,
this requires that a procedure be qualified by testing, and that procedure is
only applicable for that single base
metal. Employing AWS B2.1 would allow that procedure to cover the welding of all of the base metals in the
same M-number group. Additionally,
welding position is a nonessential
variable for AWS B2.1; however, D1.1
requires procedure qualification testing in all positions to be used in production when prequalified procedures
are not applicable.
Another advantage of AWS B2.1 is
that Standard Welding Procedure
Specifications (SWPSs) exist. These
SWPSs are based on results from actual welding procedure qualification testing and are developed using the essential variables of AWS B2.1. Users can
purchase these SWPSs and use them
without the need to perform qualification testing, resulting in tremendous
savings. Many of these SWPSs are recognized by both ASME Section IX and
the National Board Inspection Code
(NBIC). A series of these SWPSs are
being developed for use by suppliers of
weldments for Navy ship construction.
More than 30 SWPSs have been developed and are available for purchase
from AWS.
A number of AWS standards, including AWS D1.1, D1.6, and D14.3,
have allowance for the use of Prequalified Welding Procedure Specifications
(PWPS). These procedures can be developed based on the applicable limitations of the AWS standard and can be
used for production welding without

the need for any procedure qualification testing. To develop a PWPS, the
user must document the essential
variables specified in the applicable
standard and create a written PWPS,
but no testing is required.
Another area where a welding engineer can potentially provide valuable
input to improve both quality and productivity is in the selection of processes
and consumables to be used. Gas metal
arc welding (GMAW) tends to be a
workhorse in todays manufacturing
world. The process has numerous variations in terms of both electrical characteristics and welding consumables, so
selection of the best combination for a
given application is critical. One of the
options available is the mode of metal
transfer to be used. Greatest productivity can be achieved when using spray
transfer; however, its use is limited in
terms of both base material thickness
and position. When welding out-ofposition (other than flat position),
welding thin sections, or when welding
joints without backing, ones choices
are limited to either short circuiting
transfer (GMAW-SC) or pulsed
(GMAW-P). Use of GMAW-SC requires
separate procedure and performance
qualification per AWS B2.1 and D1.1,
and its use is limited in terms of thickness for ASME Section IX. GMAW-SC
also has limitations related to its potential for creation of incomplete fusion
when used for joining thick sections.
While GMAW-P is a suitable replacement for GMAW-SC for many applications, it requires a welding power
source capable of producing pulsing
output power. An alternative to this
solution, which can be costly, is the use
of metal core electrodes in lieu of solid
wire electrodes. Because of their configuration, metal core electrodes operate at a higher current density. This allows metal core electrodes to be used
for applications requiring either
GMAW-SC or GMAW-P without the
need to invest in costly pulsing power
sources. Additionally, metal core electrodes melt more efficiently resulting
in a 1520% increase in deposition rate
at a given amperage level compared to
solid electrodes. Consequently, the
change from solid to metal core electrodes can result in very costeffective productivity improvements.
When adjusted properly, metal core
electrodes can be operated with essentially no spatter, so the amount of
cleanup required after welding is negligible, equating to even further savings.
during Welding
Once production welding begins,
the focus for the welding engineer
changes to the assurance that the quality plan is being properly executed and
the welding is being performed in accordance with the qualified welding
procedure(s). Among the concerns at
this stage of the production process are
as follows:
Are the proper consumables being
used?
Have the consumables been properly stored and are they in good condition?
Are the required preheat and interpass temperatures being maintained?
Are welding personnel properly
qualified, and more importantly, do
they understand the limitations of
the welding procedure and quality
requirements?
Is welding being done in accordance with the applicable fabrication
requirements?
In order to meet the dimensional
requirements for a weldment, the
welding engineer may need to develop
a plan for controlling distortion. To accomplish this, the first step is to understand what dimensional requirements exist and whether postweld
stress relief will be employed. Production adjustments necessary to limit
distortion may include
Use of weld sequencing
Use of subassemblies
For welding thick sections, consideration of welding from both sides of a
joint to balance the shrinkage stresses.
after Welding
At this stage of the process, little can
be done to alter the result of the preceding steps. As is often said, quality
cannot be inspected into a product. After welding, the activities involve verification that the fabrication steps have
been successful to result in an acceptable product. The most important concern at this point is to be certain that
there is a clear understanding of the applicable quality requirements in terms
of both weld quality and dimensional
accuracy of the completed weldment.
The applicable acceptance criteria

must be known and understood
throughout the fabrication process;
however, after welding is complete, it is
critical that these acceptance criteria
are properly interpreted and applied
during the inspection process. While
desirous that welds be produced without any discontinuities, this is impractical. Thats why welding standards exist. They provide limits on discontinuities that, when achieved, will result in
a product that will perform as designed
and intended. A welding engineer must
have a clear understanding of these requirements so that resulting welds can
be defended. For this part of the job, a
young welding engineer is encouraged
to become an AWS Certified Welding
Inspector (CWI).
Every welding standard incorporates its own set of acceptance criteria,
so maneuvering through this maze is
the first challenge for a welding engineer. Below is a list of some of the application-related welding standards the
welding engineer may be exposed to.
Structural welding (AWS D1.1
through D1.9)
Piping (Cross-country pipelines
API 1104, Power piping ASME
B31.1, Petrochemical piping ASME
B31.3)
Pressure vessels (ASME Section
VIII)
Boilers (Power ASME Section I,
Heating ASME Section IV)
Aerospace (AWS D17.1)
Specialty apparatus (Industrial
and mill cranes AWS D14.1, Construction and agricultural equipment
AWS D14.3 and D14.4, Rotating elements of equipment AWS D14.6).
Within the context of this discussion, it is impractical to cover the weld
acceptance criteria for all of these
standards. Since AWS D1.1 is considered to be the dominant AWS welding
standard in terms of its use both domestically and internationally, the discussion below addresses some of the
weld acceptance criteria found in D1.1.
The requirements found in the other
D1.X codes are quite similar, as D1.1
has been the model for the others.
Understanding the Weld

Quality Requirements of
AWS D1.1
For any project where AWS D1.1 is
the applicable standard, the first question to be asked relates to the classifi-
Fig. 1 These illustrations show how the fillet weld profile can vary when the same
limiting value for convexity applies to a range of sizes. While the three welds have
acceptable convexity, the reentrant angles vary significantly.
cation of the welded structure. This

applies not only to the acceptance criteria to be applied, but it also dictates
some of the fabrication requirements.
D1.1 classifies structures as one of
three types: statically loaded, cyclically
loaded, or tubular. This is especially
important for the inspection effort,
since different acceptance criteria are
specified for each type of structure.
Some of the highlights of these acceptance criteria are discussed below.
Table 6.1 summarizes the visual
weld acceptance criteria for all types of
structures. Some of the criteria are
identical for all types of structures;
however, a couple, porosity and undercut, vary with the type of structure.
Requirements for weld profile are
found in the fabrication clause in section 5.24. What is curious here is the
fact that the weld profile has perhaps
the greatest impact on the performance of a weld when subjected to fatigue, i.e., cyclically loaded, service.
However, D1.1 makes no distinction
between the weld profile requirements
for the different types of structures.
Without differentiating, there exists a
potential for acceptance of weld profiles that will not perform as desired
when placed in fatigue service.
There are also issues related to the
manner in which the code limits weld
profiles. By current A3.0 definitions,
there are three weld profile conditions

that can be quantitatively measured
convexity, overlap, and weld reinforcement. Convexity is a characteristic exclusively applied to fillet welds
and is defined as, The maximum distance from the face of a convex fillet
weld perpendicular to a line joining
the weld toes. Its counterpart, weld
reinforcement, is only applicable to
groove welds and is defined as, Weld
metal in excess of the quantity required to fill a weld groove. The final
profile characteristic, overlap, is applicable to both fillet and groove welds
and is defined as, The protrusion of
weld metal beyond the weld toe or
weld root. In the current edition of
D1.1, overlap is not limited and both
convexity and weld reinforcement are
limited by a dimension. In the case of
convexity, this limiting dimension is
virtually impossible to measure with
conventional tools used by the welding
inspector.
In the current edition of D1.1, the
dimension for convexity is limited in
terms of weld face width, so a specific
amount of convexity is allowable for a
range of weld sizes. The illustrations
in Fig. 1 show how the fillet weld profile can vary when the same limiting
value for convexity applies to a range
of sizes, i.e., face widths. While the
three welds have acceptable convexity,
Fig. 2 A Fillet weld with acute and obtuse reentrant angles; B reentrant angle
at weld bead toe.
the reentrant angles vary significantly.

To truly limit the profile of a weld,
the single characteristic defining profile is the angle formed between the
weld face and the adjacent base metal
surface at the weld toe. In a weld consisting of multiple beads across the
weld face, angles formed between adjacent beads also form part of the weld
profile. In the next edition of A3.0,
these angles have been proposed to be
termed reentrant angles, defined as,
The angle formed between a line tangent to the weld face or root surface
and adjacent base metal surface at the
weld toe or weld root, respectively. In a
multipass weld, the angle formed between lines tangent to adjacent weld
bead surfaces at a weld bead toe.
The illustrations in Fig. 2 show
reentrant angles at weld toes and between adjacent weld beads.
It has been proposed that the existing limits on convexity and weld reinforcement, which indirectly affect profile, be replaced, or at least supplemented by limits for reentrant angle.
Reentrant angles can be easily measured with simple, template-type
gauges. A further benefit of this approach is that separate limits could be
specified for statically loaded and
cyclically loaded applications. This
same approach has been implemented
in AWS D14.4. The whole point of this
discussion is that not only is it important for a welding engineer/inspector
to understand the acceptance criteria,
it is also important to know how to
measure characteristics. For weld profile inspection, a welding engineer may
find it beneficial to suggest alternate
means of limiting weld profile characteristics, which can be more easily and
consistently measured.
A couple of other inspection issues
a welding engineer needs to be aware
of when AWS D1.1 is being used relate
to the requirements for porosity and
undercut. It was mentioned earlier
that both of these discontinuities have
different limits depending on the type
of structure. Additionally, in the case
of porosity, only piping porosity is
considered rejectable. Per the limits of
D1.1, any other form of porosity is not
considered rejectable, regardless of
size or the type of structure. This distinction leads to disputes since various
entities, such as design engineers and
customers, may not understand the
significance of the type of porosity being limited. A further complication is
that, for cyclically loaded structures,

there is a difference in the porosity
limitation depending on the direction
of the principal tensile stress with respect to the weld. To make this determination, the design engineer must be
consulted. This same problem exists
for the undercut requirements for
cyclically loaded structures.
These examples come from AWS
D1.1, but similar interpretation/application issues can be found in many of
the other industry standards. Visual
examination of welds is not a straightforward activity, because it requires
the inspector to use tools to assist
with measurements and judgment in
terms of whether the physical attributes of the weld meet the written acceptance criteria. At times, this can be
challenging, especially for the inexperienced welding engineer. This is expected and helps to explain why there
is no replacement for experience.
Thats the only way one becomes effective and efficient in the art and science
of welding inspection.
Ending Thoughts
So, keys to success for a new welding engineer so that he/she becomes
effective in this position are numerous, as has been explained here. It is
critical that a welding engineer become knowledgeable in what welding
standards exist and how the requirements are to be applied. These documents will provide the technical basis
for your success in this position. The
better you know the contents of these
standards, especially those related to
qualification, fabrication, and inspection, the more successful youll become. Becoming proficient with these
requirements will allow you to succeed. One problem you will often encounter are situations where other individuals attempt to apply their own
requirements that are in excess of
those required by the applicable Code
or specification. Your best defense is
to have a better understanding of the
real requirements through your knowledge and experience. WJ
RICHARD HOLDREN (richard@arcspecialties.com), a PE, AWS SCWI, and IWE, is a

senior welding engineer with Arc Specialties Technical Services, Houston, Tex, and
president of Welding Consultants, LLC,
Columbus, Ohio.
How Composition Affects

Weldability of Steels
Carbon equivalent describes the effect of key
elements that influence the ease with which a
given grade of steel can be welded
BY MURALI TUMULURU
eldability, as defined by the

American Welding Society, is
the ease with which a material or a combination of materials can
be welded into a suitably designed
joint under shop-floor conditions and
the weld should perform satisfactorily
in the intended service (Ref. 1). This
definition deals with two components
in a weldment, namely the weld (or
the fusion zone) and the heat-affected
zone (HAZ).
One of the key components of this
definition is the material being welded. In the case of steels, the composition of the steel is an important parameter that dictates the ease with
which that given grade of steel can be
welded. The difficulties with welding a
given grade of steel can come from
cracking in the HAZ or from the presence of other imperfections in the
weld fusion zone of heterogeneous
welds (where a filler metal is added to
the weld), such as cracks, slag inclusions, or porosity. While fusion zone
imperfections can often be countered
by changing welding consumables and
the adopted welding procedures, finding solutions to problems with the
HAZ is relatively more difficult and
requires a good understanding of the
base material composition effects,
specifically the knowledge of the
types and amount of alloying elements present.
The following information presents
a brief review of the effects of alloying

elements, their role in steels, and how
they affect weldability. A brief discussion is also provided on how weldability of steels is generally quantified in
industrial applications.
Purpose of Adding
Alloying Elements to
Steels
Some of the purposes are as
follows:
Steel Classification
From a welding standpoint, steels
can be divided into several broad
groups. One such grouping classifies
steels into three broad categories,
namely carbon steels, low-alloy steels,
and high-alloy steels. As the names
imply, carbon steels contain only carbon and small amounts of manganese
(typically less than 1%) as the intentional alloying elements and are generally deoxidized (or killed), commonly using aluminum. Killed steels are
required for welded applications to
avoid porosity. High-alloy steels contain alloying additions in excess of 5%
and include families of steels such as
stainless steels and heat-resistant
steels.
Another classification of steels in
sheet steel applications is provided by
the World Steel Association, which
classifies steels into four groups based
on strength (Ref. 2). This classification is widely adopted in automotive
applications where sheet steels are
predominantly welded using the resistance spot welding process.
Improve tensile strength

Improve toughness
Improve hardenability, which
permits hardening of larger sections
than possible with plain carbon steels
or allows quenching at less drastic
rates
Retain strength at elevated

temperatures
Improve corrosion resistance

Improve wear resistance
Impart a fine grain structure to the
steel to provide better toughness
Improve special properties such as

abrasion resistance and fatigue
behavior.
Fig. 1 Relationship between carbon

content and maximum hardness of steels
with microstructures of 50 and 100%
martensite (Ref. 3).
Effects of Major Alloying

Elements on Steel Properties
and Weldability
Carbon is perhaps the most important element that has a strong influence on the weldability of steels.
Steels are generally classified as low-,
mild-, medium-, and high-carbon
steels. Table 1 provides the widely
used classification of carbon steels
along with typical uses. It is apparent
that while low-carbon and mild steels
are readily welded, medium-carbon
steels require special precautions such
as the use of preheat and postwelding
heating to successfully weld them.
This is because with the rapid cooling
rate that welds undergo, martensite
forms in the weld and the HAZ. The
amount of martensite formed and its
hardness depend upon the carbon
content of the steel.
Figure 1 shows the relationship between the carbon content and the
maximum hardness of steels (Ref. 3).
Alloying element additions affect
steel properties (Ref. 4) and weldability. Among the alloying elements
Fig. 2 Hardening effect of various alloying elements dissolved in pure iron

(Ref. 4).
added to steels, carbon, by far, has the

most significant effect on weldability.
Carbon in steels is an austenite stabilizer and serves as a strengthening
agent. However, with increasing carbon content, the propensity for cracking increases due to the high hardness
of the weld and HAZ. Hydrogeninduced cracking (also known as underbead, cold, or delayed cracking) can
occur if there is sufficient hydrogen
and tensile stresses are present in a
crack-susceptible microstructure. The
sensitivity to hydrogen-induced cracking goes up as the strength of the
steel goes up. In light of this, it is advisable to keep carbon content low,
generally below 0.25%, if possible.
Manganese is the other significant
alloying element present in carbon
and low-alloy steels. Manganese is a
solid-solution strengthener and improves notch toughness as well. Manganese is generally present typically
anywhere from 0.3 to about 1.0%;
however, recently introduced dualphase and other automotive steels
contain much higher levels of up to
2.2 wt-%. One reason for high levels
of manganese is to minimize the in-
Table 1 Classification of Carbon Steels and Weldability (Ref. 3)

Type
Carbon, %
Typical Hardness
Weldability
Low Carbon
0.15 max
60 HRB
Excellent
Mild Steel
0.150.30
90 HRB
Good
Medium Carbon
0.300.50
25 HRC
Fair (requires precautions

such as pre- and postheating;
low-hydrogen welding practice
required)
High Carbon
0.501.0
40 HRC
Generally poor (requires preand postweld heating and lowhydrogen welding practice)
crease in carbon level required to

achieve strength levels of 800 to 1000
MPa. Manganese assists in the deoxidation of the steel, prevents the formation of iron sulfide and inclusions,
and promotes greater strength by increasing hardenability; however, manganese sulfides have a deleterious effect on weldability. Therefore, the addition of higher manganese levels in
steels requires that sulfur levels be
kept low, typically below 0.008 or
preferably 0.005%.
Silicon usually present in only
small amounts (0.25%) is present
in rolled steel when it is used as a deoxidizer. However, in steel castings,
0.35 to 1.00% is commonly present.
Silicon dissolves in iron and strengthens it. Weld metal usually contains approximately 0.50% silicon as a deoxidizer. Some filler metals may contain
up to 1% to provide enhanced cleaning and deoxidation for welding on
contaminated surfaces. When these
filler metals are used for welding on
clean surfaces, the resulting weld metal strength will be markedly increased.
The resulting decrease in ductility
could cause cracking problems.
Nickel is an austenite stabilizer and
is added to steels to increase hardenability. It often improves the toughness and ductility of steel, even with
the increased strength and hardness it
brings. It is frequently used to improve toughness at low temperature.
Nickel steels are used in cryogenic
applications and are considered
weldable.
Other major alloying elements in
low-alloy steels are chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, and niobium.
These are carbide formers and are
good strengthening agents. Chromium and molybdenum are added to improve steels high-temperature performance. These carbide formers also
resist tempering and minimize softening in the HAZ.
Sulfur is regarded as an undesirable
impurity in steel rather than an alloying element. In amounts exceeding
0.05%, it tends to cause brittleness
and reduce weldability. Alloying additions of sulfur in amounts from 0.10
to 0.30% tend to improve machinability. Such types may be referred to as
resulfurized or free-machining.
Free-machining steels are not intended for welded applications.
Phosphorus is generally considered
to be an undesirable impurity in
JUNE 2015 WELDING JOURNAL 73
steels. It is normally found in

amounts up to 0.04% in most carbon
steels although for welded applications, a typical maximum of 0.015 to
0.02% is specified. In hardened steels,
it may tend to cause embrittlement.
In low-alloy high-strength steels,
phosphorus may be added in amounts
up to 0.10% to improve strength (as
in rephosphorized grades) and corrosion resistance. The effect of various
elements in improving the hardness
of steel is shown in Fig. 2.
Carbon Equivalent
To attain the desired strength and
microstructure, various amounts of
alloying elements such as carbon,
manganese, chromium, and molybdenum are added to steels. The structure-property combination must be
accomplished without compromising
weldability. Therefore, steelmakers
add alloying elements in such a way as
to accomplish the desired structure
and properties without sacrificing
weldability. To accomplish this, it is
common to calculate the carbon
equivalent of a grade of steel. The
carbon equivalent expresses the cumulative effect of carbon and various
other alloying elements on the weldability of steels. In calculating carbon
equivalent, the effect of other alloying
elements is equated to an equivalent
amount of carbon.
Several formulas exist for calculating the carbon equivalent of steels.
Perhaps the most commonly used is
the one developed by the International Institute of Welding (IIW) (Ref. 5).
The IIW equation is as follows:
CeqIIW = C + Mn/6 + (Cr + Mo + V)/5
+ (Ni + Cu)/15
(1)
The CeqIIW is used primarily to predict weldability. It appears that the
formulas on which it is based may
have been derived from a variety of
factors, including strength, hardness,
and cracking resistance. Although the
formula was useful for C-Mn steels,
its utility for low-alloy and microalloyed steels may be limited. Ito and
Bessyo (Ref. 6) developed a weldability index called the compositionparameter or Pcm. The Pcm is calculated
as follows:
Pcm = C + Si/30 + (Mn + Cu + Cr)/20
+ Ni/60 + Mo/15 + V/10 + 5B (2)
Fig. 3 Figure showing the relationship

between carbon equivalent, HAZ hardness, and cracking propensity for a 1-in.
C-Mn steel welded with E6010 electrode
(Ref. 3).
It is generally believed the Pcm is

better suited to describe the weldability of low-carbon steels, whereas the
IIW formula may provide a more realistic assessment of higher-carbon
steels. Yet another parameter developed by Yurioka, et al. (Ref. 7), called
carbon equivalent number (CEN), is
designed to incorporate both the IIW
carbon equivalent and the Pcm over the
full range of carbon contents. The formula is as follows.
CEN = C + A(C) * {Si/24 + Mn/6
+ Cu/15 + Ni/20 + (Cr + Mo
+ Nb + V)/5 + 5B}
(3)
where A(C) = 0.75 + 0.25 tan h{20
(C-12)}.
The CEN is similar to Pcm for steels
that contain less than 0.17 wt-% carbon. The CEN is good for steels containing niobium because it takes into
account the effect of niobium, which
the other formulas do not. Niobium is
a strong carbide former and hardenability agent that is being increasingly
utilized to achieve higher strengths.
In resistance welding of steels, the
commonly used formulas for calculating carbon equivalent include Equation 1 shown previously as well as the
following:
Ceq = C + Mn/20 + Si/30 + Cr/20
+ Mo/15 + 2P + 4S
(4)
Ceq = C + Mn/20 + Si/30 + 2P + 4S (5)
It is apparent that, while there are
similarities among the carbon equiva-
lent Equations 35, there are differences that will likely provide different
carbon equivalent numbers. Therefore, users should choose the most
suitable equation that will best serve
their purpose. Additionally, carbon
equivalent should be used as a guideline to indicate the weldability of a
given grade of steel but not as an absolute parameter. As the carbon
equivalent increases, it is generally
more difficult to weld steels Fig. 3.
However, with proper procedures,
which might include pre- and postweld heat treatment and other steps,
it is possible to achieve welds that
perform satisfactorily in the intended
service. A recent study on weldabilty
of steels with different carbon equivalents has shown that even steels with
high carbon equivalent can be welded
to achieve acceptable results if appropriate procedures are used (Ref. 8).
The procedures and practices required
differ depending on the carbon equivalent of the steel being welded. This
means it is inaccurate to state that beyond a certain carbon equivalent a
particular grade of steel is not weldable. It only means, beyond a certain
carbon equivalent, steels require additional precautions to achieve acceptable results.
Summary
Weldability of a given grade of steel
is strongly influenced by its composition. Various alloying elements are
added to improve properties of steels
to make them suitable for a variety of
applications. Among the various alloying elements added in steel, carbon by
far has the most influence on weldability. Carbon equivalent, which provides a cumulative effect of various alloying elements in steel, provides a
means of quantifying the weldability.
Several formulas are available to calculate carbon equivalent, and each
formula provides a different number.
Users should choose the most suitable
formula for their application. As the
carbon equivalent of steel goes up, it
becomes increasingly difficult to weld
and achieve satisfactory service performance. As the carbon equivalent
goes up, certain precautions, such as
the use of pre- and postweld heating,
are necessary to ensure that welds
produced are of acceptable quality and
provide satisfactory performance in
the intended service. WJ
Disclaimer
The material in this article is intended for general information only.

Any use of this material in relation to
any specific application should be
based on independent examination
and verification of its unrestricted
availability for such use and a determination of suitability for the application by professionally qualified personnel. No license under any United
States Steel Corp. patents or other
proprietary interest is implied by the
publication of this article. Those making use of or relying upon the material
assume all risks and liability arising
from such use or reliance.
References
1. Welding Handbook, 9th Ed., Vol.

1, Welding Technology. 1987. Miami,
Fla.: American Welding Society.
2. Advanced High-Strength Steel
Application Guidelines V5, www.worldautosteel.org.
3. Welding Handbook, 9th Ed., Vol.
4, Welding Technology. 1987. Miami,
Fla.: American Welding Society.
4. Bain, E. C., and Paxton, H. C.
1990. Alloying Elements in Steel, 2nd
Ed. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International, www.asminternational.com.
5. ASM Metals Handbook, Vol. 6.
1990. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International.
6. Ito, Y., and Bessyo, K. 1968.
Weldability of high strength steels related to heat affected zone cracking.
IIW Document IX-576-68.
7. Yurioka, N., Suzuki, H., Ohshita,
S., and Saito, S. 1983. Determination
of necessary preheating temperature
in steel welding. Welding Journal
62(6): 147-s to 153-s.
8. Tumuluru, M. 2014. The significance of carbon equivalent in the resistance spot welding of dual phase
steels. Paper presented at the International Conference organized by the
International Institute of Welding,
April 58, New Delhi, India.
MURALI TUMULURU (mtumuluru@

uss.com) is research consultant with the
Research and Technology Center, United
States Steel Corp., Munhall, Pa.
JUNE 2015 WELDING JOURNAL 75
Performing Root Pass Welds

on a Super Duplex Stainless
Steel Pipeline
Making these types of welds for a
recent oilfield construction project
required massive workmanship quality
uplex stainless steels are often

specified for oilfield corrosive
service applications. In constructing a super duplex stainless steel
(SDSS) pipeline, the root pass is the
single most important as well as the
most demanding weld pass to make.
The SDSS root pass is critical owing
to the exposure of the internal
pipeline surface to corrosive media in
service. To endure service conditions,
achieving a root pass with sound mechanical and metallurgical properties
as well as the correct profile and surface morphology is crucial.
Even for an experienced bead hand
(an oil industry term denoting a highly
skilled welder recognized for his/her
pipeline root welding abilities), SDSS

root pass welding is demanding due to
rigorous workmanship quality requirements. A root weld made utilizing a
flawed welding technique, poor weld
joint fitup, or with an inadequate gas
purge will not meet respective radiographic inspection and/or mechanical
testing criteria.
In addition, metallurgical requirements must be met pertinent to
achieving an optimum austeniticferrite phase balance and in mitigating
the occurrence of adverse precipitation
reactions. A detrimental weld and
heat-affected zone (HAZ) microstructure increases the susceptibility of the
weld joint to pitting and corrosion as
BY WILLIAM C. LAPLANTE
well as for decreased Charpy impact

toughness.
This article centers on gas tungsten
arc welding (GTAW) of the root pass as
experienced during the construction
of a one-mile SDSS pipeline for an oilfield seawater application Fig. 1.
Pipeline PQR Qualification

Without a procedure qualification
record (PQR), achieving high-integrity
SDSS pipeline welds on a consistent
basis cannot be realized.
In qualifying the pipeline PQR, the
objective was to develop weld variables
to attain an as-welded weld deposit
and HAZ microstructure that effective-
Fig. 1 A shelter protects a bead hand while making a pipeline root pass weld using GTAW. Purge gas retaining tape placed
around the weld joint is gradually being removed as welding progresses. The pipeline alloy is as follows: Zeron 100 SDSS, 6.625-in.
OD 0.250-in. wall thickness.
Fig. 2 The PQR GTAW process and test data. Ferrite testing was performed per
ASTM E562, Standard Test Method for Determining Volume Fraction by Systematic
Manual Point Count, where ferrite levels of 48 to 54% were identified. Intermetallic
phase testing was conducted per ASTM A923, Standard Test Methods for Detecting Detrimental Intermetallic Phase in Duplex Austenitic/Ferritic Stainless Steels,
where no intermetallic phases were detected. Also, multiple pitting and corrosion
tests were carried out per ASTM G48, Standard Test Methods for Pitting and
Crevice Corrosion Resistance of Stainless Steels and Related Alloys by Use of
Ferric Chloride Solution.
ly retains the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the pipeline alloy.

For example, achieving a close 50:50
austenite-ferrite phase balance in the
root pass and HAZ microstructure.
In SDSS multipass welds, each subsequent weld pass can have a significant and adverse effect on the metallurgical condition of the previous weld
pass. This is due to harmful precipitating reactions that can occur in a weld,
including the Chi phase (), sigma
phase (), chromium-rich carbides,
chromium nitrides, alpha prime ('),
and other intermetallic phases (Ref. 1).
During qualification of the PQR, it
was critical to mitigate the risk for
damaging precipitation reactions from
occurring and achieve a close 50:50

austenitic-ferrite phase balance
Fig. 2. This was accomplished by the
following: 1) limiting the number of
weld HAZ and weld metal reheating
cycles; and 2) controlling the weld
metal ferrite content via base metal/
weld metal composition and weld thermal conditions, including preheat, interpass, and weld heat input (kJ/in.).
Pipeline Weld Joint Fitup

Figure 3 shows the fitup method
and complete-joint-penetration groove
weld joint design. To optimize root
pass fusion and achieve consistent
heat input, detailed attention was
given to the thoroughness of weld

joint preparation and root opening
uniformity.
Good weld joint fitup is critical.
Weld time increases with poor fitup
wherein the weld HAZ and weld metal
experience multiple reheating cycles
and exposure to the damaging temperature range 1000 to 1830F, where
sigma and other intermetallic phases
form (Ref. 2).
Weld joint fitup practices included
the following:
Achieving uniformity of weld
bevels and the root opening to ensure
heat-input consistency.
Utilizing a knife root edge weld
joint design to facilitate root pass fusion with reduced heat input.
Attaining weld joint cleanliness by
removing contaminants and the oxide
film on the pipe inside diameter (ID)
and outside diameter (OD) surfaces at
least 2 in. back from weld joint edges.
Performing visual inspection of
weld joints prior to root tack welding
with proactive intervention.
GTAW Root Tack Welding

Root tack welding is important because tack welds typically become an
integral part of the root weld (Ref. 3).
To ensure good weld pool fusion qualities and oxidation protection, the
pipeline ID was prepurged prior to and
during root tack welding as well as
throughout weld joint welding. Welding began when the oxygen content
within the argon purge gas environ-
Fig. 3 A A pipe clamp aligns the weld joint and maintains the root opening during prepurging prior to GTA root tack welding; B
a single-V-groove butt weld joint, 75 deg, included an angle with a 18-in. open root opening and knife root edge.
ment was <100 parts per million.

The weld joint purge gas environment represents the volumetric
pipeline ID space between two inflated
gas bladders, as shown in Fig. 4.
Pipeline welds were made using 18-in.diameter, SDSS Zeron 100X, ER/R
2594 weld filler metal. Care was exercised to avoid making an arc strike
outside of the weld joint. In welding
duplex alloys, arc strikes promote the
formation of excessive ferrite in which
the area must be excavated by fine
grinding to a minimum depth of
0.040 in.
Weld Joint Gas Purging,

Monitoring, and Control
Gas purging is a pivotal practice. To
facilitate good weld pool fusion characteristics and oxidation protection,
weld joint gas purging is performed to
protect internal root weld and HAZ
surfaces from atmospheric contamination. Internal heat-tint oxide levels
range from heavily oxidized sugaring
to visually clear oxidation-free welds.
Reference AWS D18.2, Guide to Weld
Discoloration Levels on Inside of
Austenitic Stainless Steel Tube.
Figure 4 shows the type of inflatable purge gas bladder unit used for
the pipeline project. The unit was inserted into the pipeline and positioned
during the weld joint fitup stage. The
strategy was to confine the pipeline ID
purge volume to a more localized and
controllable level as opposed to purging a whole pipeline section. Throughout all welding activities, a calibrated
oxygen sensor was utilized to analyze
the oxygen content within the argon
purge gas environment. The sensor
display was continually monitored by a
welding inspector. Argon gas flow
rates for the two inflatable gas bladders and purge gas were controlled by
the welder.
Fig. 4 A The type of inflatable purge gas bladder unit utilized for SDSS pipeline
construction; B a schematic of the unit installed within the pipeline for weld joint
welding.
GTA Root Pass Weld Defects

Figure 5 shows the root pass weld
defects identified during pipeline
welder performance qualification testing. Root pass weld defects included
the following: underfill (i.e., suck
back/internal root surface concavity),
excessive penetration, and incomplete
fusion.
During welder testing, root pass
weld defects resulted from the following: 1) incorrect welding technique re78 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015
Fig. 5 Pipe ID root pass weld defects. Defects were visually identified during
pipeline GTAW welder performance qualification testing.
spective to the feeding of the weld

filler metal and torch manipulation; 2)
improper starts and stops; 3) failure to
decrease the argon purge gas flow rate
as well as the bladder gas pressure during the root pass tie-in; 4) welding too
soon where the oxygen content within
the argon purge gas environment exceeded 100 parts per million; 5) welding with a root opening less than 18 in.;
and 6) welding with pipe ID high-low
misalignment in excess of 116 in.
Radiographic weld inspection and
mechanical and metallurgical testing
Fig. 6 A GTAW bead hand cup walking the root pass in the 5G position as a
pipefitter slowly removes purge gas retaining tape placed around the open root
weld joint.
detrimental microstructural accumulative effect occurs each time a duplex

alloy is held in the sigma formation
range. Thus, there was an emphasis to
minimize the total time at temperature by limiting the number of weld
HAZ and weld metal reheating cycles.
A compromise was established between the heat input and number of
weld passes required to achieve desired mechanical and metallurgical
properties.
Also, there was strict control of the
weld metal ferrite content via the base
metal/weld metal composition and
weld thermal conditions. An important aspect of weld thermal conditions
is the weld cooling rate. As the cooling
rate increases, the weld solidification
time decreases and vice versa. The
weld cooling rate has a profound effect
on the weld metal and HAZ microstructure during welding and requires close control. For example, an
accelerated cooling rate can promote a
weld metal ferrite content that is higher than optimal.
Conclusion
Fig. 7 SDSS pipeline root welds with acceptable root reinforcement (< 332 in.), root
surface morphology, and level of internal surface heat-tint oxide.
of welder performance qualification

test specimens were in accordance
with the Engineering Authoritys Duplex Stainless Steel Welding Specification
and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code, Section IX.
GTAW Root Pass Welding

Figure 6 shows root pass welding
and the face of a root pass weld that is
slightly convex with good weld toe
fusion.
Figure 7 shows acceptable pipeline
root welds. The governing code for
pipeline construction was ASME
B31.4, Pipeline Transportation Systems
for Liquid Hydrocarbons and Other
Liquids.
Bead hands achieved radiographic
quality root pass welds on a consistent
basis by the following:
Minimizing GTAW cup walking
torch manipulation. Only stringer
weld beads (i.e., 3 weld filler metal
diameter) were used for pipe welding.
Maintaining tight arcs to better

define and provide directional control
of the weld pool.
Employing the continuous weld
filler metal feeding method as opposed
to the dapping method.
Adhering to key weld joint preparation and fitup principles, including
proper weld joint design, the precision
machining of joint bevels, uniform
open roots, surface cleanliness, visual
inspection, the ability to accurately
monitor/control the purge gas environment, and the minimization of
pipe ID high-low misalignment.
Exhibiting patience in manipulating the weld pool without using excessive amperage.
Pipeline Welding Overview

PQR Criticality
The qualification of the SDSS PQR
was an integral part of the pipeline
project. The PQR qualification was
based upon the knowledge that a
Super duplex stainless steel pipeline

root pass welding is demanding owing
to the workmanship quality requirements to meet radiographic inspection
and mechanical and metallurgical acceptance criteria. This entails the following: 1) employing highly competent
GTAW pipe welders, i.e., bead hands;
2) adhering to key weld joint preparation and fitup principles; and 3) the
qualification of a PQR to ensure the aswelded weld deposit and HAZ microstructure effectively maintain the
inherent mechanical and metallurgical
properties of the pipeline alloy. WJ
References
1. AWS D10.18, Guide for Welding

Ferritic/Austenitic Duplex Stainless Steel
Piping and Tubing.
2. Lippold, J. C., and Kotecki, D. J.
2005. Welding Metallurgy and Weldability of Stainless Steels. New Jersey: John
Wiley and Sons, Inc.
3. AWS D10.11, Guide for Root Pass
Welding of Pipe without Backing.
WILLIAM C. LAPLANTE
(william.laplante@ge.com), an AWS CWI
and CWE, is a welding engineer at GE
Power & Water, Greenville, S.C.
Understand the Building Blocks for a

Quality Welding Program
A methodical evaluation of the job requirements
and welder skills is presented to help new
welding engineers develop sustainable programs
welding program that demonstrates consistent quality performance begins with very basic
tools. An understanding of the requirements to produce an acceptable
product is communicated, in writing,
to the welder who has previously
demonstrated sufficient skill and ability by producing workmanship samples
tested as required by the customers
specification. From these building
blocks, a program that consistently
produces quality welded products can
succeed in the modern world economy.
process essential elements to provide

the welder or welding operator the
technical information required to complete a weld.
There are no industry standards for
the format or content of a WPS. There
is a wide variety of standards and
codes (Fig. 1) that suggest a format to
be used, but the format is not the
most important feature of a WPS. The
technical content is the most critical
component.
The Welding Engineers Job
There are many industry standards

and codes that do define the information to be provided in each WPS. In
many cases, these standards and codes
provide very similar directions but not
necessarily identical directions. For
this reason, it is imperative that each
welding engineer research the specific
requirements for each of the standards
or codes invoked by the customer receiving the welded product. This cannot be stressed enough the WPS
must incorporate all of the information defined by the applicable contractual fabrication standard and not have
been based upon an assumption that
one WPS may be adequate for multiple
standards.
A major responsibility for most

welding engineers is to develop and
create the welding procedure specifications (WPSs). These written instructions provide the technical direction
for a welding operation. The WPS is
typically based upon objective qualification test data and contains the
Working with the Standards
Essential Elements of the WPS
Fig. 1 The AWS B2.1 specification is a

valuable reference.
The core of any WPS is the essential

elements. Commonly, a fabrication
standard will define what comprises
the WPS essential elements and what
information is mandatory for inclusion in the procedure. The elements
themselves may change based upon
the process definition, such as additional elements are required for an automatic process than a manual welding process. Based upon the product
BY LEE G. KVIDAHL
being welded and the fabrication standard, the number and specifics of what
WPS information is defined as essential will determine the content of the
welding procedure.
Following are some of the more
common essential elements contained
in welding procedures.
Process Every WPS requires the
type of welding process and additionally whether it is to be used semiautomatically, automatically, or in conjunction with some type of machine.
Base Material Each specification
may require this information to be reported in a different manner. Many

standards group the potential base
materials into families based upon
chemistry or mechanical properties. A
WPS may simply reference the correct
family of materials, as defined by the
fabrication standard, or may need to
include the applicable material specification and more specific material
designations.
Base Material Thickness A WPS

may be restricted to a material thickness range. Normally, this is based
upon the material thickness used for
qualification testing, i.e., the procedure qualification record (PQR).
Filler Material Similar to the base

materials, many of the filler materials
are grouped together based upon
chemistry. While this may simplify a
requirement, it is important that the
WPS specify the type of filler material
to be used for the intended application. For example, it is common for all
of the austenitic stainless steel filler
materials to be placed into a single
group, but the WPS must direct the
welder to use the correct alloy for the
specific type of base material and the

service condition the welded component will experience.
stricted to a family or families of joint
designs. If the supporting PQR utilized a partial penetration joint design,
most likely the WPS may not be applicable for applications requiring a complete-joint-penetration weld. In the
case of fully automatic welding procedures, rather than a family of joint designs, the WPS may require a very specific machined weld preparation.
fine the requirements for the qualification of the welding procedure. This
process requires the use of the proposed welding procedure (WPS) to
make one or more test welds that will
be thoroughly examined. The examination may entail nondestructive testing, destructive testing, or in some instances both. This testing is documented in the procedure qualification
record (PQR) and provides the objective quality evidence that the welding
procedure will produce an acceptable
weld when tested for soundness and
mechanical properties.
Electrical Characteristics For arc
Using Prequalified WPSs
Joint Design The WPS may be re-
welding procedures, amperage, voltage, and polarity are almost universally required as essential elements.
Some standards may accept a wire feed
speed range to replace the amperage
range in the WPS.
Gases If a gas is used for the
welding process, a definition of the

type and potential mixes of gases, the
minimum flow rate, and whether the
procedure requires just a shielding gas
in the immediate zone of the arc or if
additional shielding gas is required for
internal purging or as a trailing shield
will be required. It is also common for
the WPS to provide direction as to the
minimum size of the shielding gas cup
to be used.
Heating Requirements Certain
materials require a minimum preheat

or maximum interpass temperature to
be incorporated into the welding operation. The WPS will contain this information as well as any postwelding
heating operations such as a lowtemperature soaking heat or a fullbore stress relief.
Procedural Requirements Other
procedural elements may be required

to complete the WPS. Factors such as
travel speed, torch orientation,
preweld cleanliness, and other attributes may be required by the specifications or codes being employed for the
specific job. It is mandatory that the
author of the WPS review the specification requirements thoroughly to ensure that the necessary information is
contained in the WPS.
Qualifying the WPS

Most specifications and codes de-
Not all fabrication standards require a WPS to be qualified prior to being written and implemented. These
standards have provisions for prequalified welding procedures. The prequalified procedures are typically used for
common welding processes to be used
to join common materials in less critical applications. The reason that the
procedures are considered prequalified
is that there is a large body of knowledge and considerable history of use
demonstrating that the prequalified
procedure provides the directions required to make acceptable welds without having to do additional testing.
When the WPS must be qualified,
the first step is to carefully and fully
review the procedure qualification requirements as stated in the applicable
fabrication document. As with welding
procedures, the requirements between
different standards may also be different. It can be costly in both time and
money, as well as very frustrating, if a
test is not performed during the qualification process due to overlooking a
requirement and a second test plate or
pipe must be welded to provide the
necessary test specimens.
The Six Qualifying Steps

There are typically six steps to qualify a welding procedure. First, understand the requirements from the applicable specification. Second, weld the
necessary number of test plates or
pipes using the proposed WPS. Depending upon the product application
or specification requirements, more
than one test piece may be required to
be welded. Third, perform all required
nondestructive testing. Fourth, perform all required destructive testing.
Fifth, document the welding and testing results in the welding procedure
qualification test record. Sixth, if required, submit the documentation to
the customer for approval.
The required nondestructive testing may include visual inspection,
which will be needed for all qualification welding, hardness testing, liquid
penetrant inspection, magnetic particle inspection, radiography, and in
some cases ultrasonic inspection.
Rarely are all of these inspection
methods required, but in many standards, some combination of these
will be necessary. The acceptance
criteria will be defined in the applicable standard.
Destructive Testing Methods

Destructive testing can include fillet weld break test, tensile testing,
bend testing, and toughness testing.
As with the nondestructive testing,
rarely are all of these test methods required, but the applicable standard
will define the requirements. The standard will also define the acceptance
criteria and the appropriate test conditions for performing these tests.
Minimizing Qualification Tests

A key part of reviewing the specification requirements is to ensure that
the testing encompasses a broad
enough range of parameters that additional qualification test work will not
be needed in the near future. Most
specifications have a range of tolerances on each of the essential elements that permit some variations
from the qualification test values so
that a WPS may be altered without requiring another PQR test regimen. For
example, many standards allow the
qualified base material thickness to
range from one-half the thickness of
the test material to twice the thickness
of the test material. If there are several
applications that may utilize the same
WPS, it is prudent, if possible, to use a
material thickness that may include all
of the thicknesses required by only
performing a single PQR.
Each standard has different requirements for changes in the WPS
that are allowed without having an additional qualification requirement.
The standard should be very carefully
reviewed to understand these allowable changes to determine the planned
qualification process to ultimately

minimize the number of qualification
tests being performed while the full
range of the WPS stays within the confines of the specification tolerances.
Welder Certification
In addition to welding procedure
development and qualification, virtually all standards define requirements
for welder certification. Many of the
standards have similar requirements
but, as expected, they will not be identical. Fortunately, many of the standards have requirements that are very
similar, so that the customer of the
welded product may accept the welder
certification testing from an alternate
specification.
Rarely are welder certifications
transferable between different employers without an additional performance test. While this process may
permit a national certification program to be considered for welder certification, the reality is that each em-
ployer will most likely require a welding test to be included in the hiring
process. By having a national certification, the welder has demonstrated the
skill necessary to make quality welds
and this should simplify the welder
certification process.
Typically, pipe and structural certifications have different requirements.
Based upon the application, the standards should be reviewed to determine
whether a single certification test may
be applied to all of the required production welds. Many standards define
a pipe with a diameter of 24 in. or
greater to be a plate, so this type of information may be of consideration for
the welder certification process.
Conclusion
Many standards define the welder
certification application by process
and filler material. Depending upon
the applicable standard, one filler material grouping may also certify the
use of additional filler material group-
ings. By understanding this allowance,

a company may be able to certify their
personnel for multiple applications by
using a single welder certification test
package. A detailed understanding of
the applicable welder certification
testing process will provide the path to
have a fully certified welder with a
minimum of test welds being made.
Summarizing, the basic building
block of a quality welding program is
the conformance to the applicable
specification requirements for welding
procedures, their qualification testing
to demonstrate the acceptance of the
procedures and the talent of the
welder as demonstrated by the certification process. By performing all of
these developmental steps, a welding
program is on the road to success and
will provide welded products that
meet the customers requirements. WJ
LEE G. KVIDAHL (lee.kvidahl@hii-ingalls.com)
is manager, Welding Engineering, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., and an AWS past
president.
Recent Advances in
Weld Purge Dams
BY RON A. SEWELL
Technical
improvements in
materials, gas
control, and
robustness of
purging equipment
for pipe welding
are outlined
Fig. 1 Example of an inflatable dam system that ranges in size from 25 to 600 mm.
nert gas purging is increasingly

used to protect weld underbeads
from contamination, particularly on
materials and applications where impurities can affect performance. This
may simply be to eliminate discoloration or unsightly grapes or sugaring. It is particularly significant in
the pharmaceutical, biomass, food,
petrochemical, power generation, and
semiconductor industries where any
oxidation introduced during welding
can result in particulate materials or
reduce corrosion resistance.
Commercial purging equipment
has been available for decades, but
customer feedback in the last ten
years has alerted manufacturers to the
need for technical improvements in
materials, gas control, and robustness.
The inflatable dam concept has been
adopted globally as offering a solution
in purging equipment, and the range
of available systems covers all pipe diameter sizes from 25 to 2500 mm
Figs. 1, 2.
Fig. 2 This system can be used for pipe in sizes between 150 and 2440 mm.
Three areas in particular have been

addressed recently: the use of purging
when pre- and postweld heating is involved, purging during the manufacture of large vessels, and remote measuring of purge gas oxygen levels.
Weld Purging with Preheat

and Postweld Heat Treatment
Some engineering alloys are prone
to cracking during welding. Industry
sectors having to overcome this problem are principally in power engineering, including nuclear power generation, and include low- and mediumalloy steels that have been specially developed for their high strength. Metallurgists have learned that heating the
joint prior to and after welding [preheating and postweld heat treatment
(PWHT)] can reduce the sensitivity to
cracking quite significantly. It involves
temperatures in the region of 200C,
although this may be much higher for
certain materials (Refs. 14).
An example of a commonly used alloy benefitting from this treatment is
SA 213 T91 or SA 335 P91 (Table 1).
This is a ferritic alloy steel that meets
the condition of creep resistance required in high-temperature steam generating plants. The material, often
simply referred to as P91, has been in
successful use for the last two decades
in power plant service.
Welding, which is widely used during manufacturing, affects the microstructure of the metal. Preheating,
maintaining interpass temperatures,
and PWHT procedures are critical for
P91 and similar alloys. Failure to follow the procedures can result in catastrophic failures in service.
Other high-temperature, creepresistant ferrous alloys requiring this
type of heat treatment are ASTM
A389 grade C24, A356 grade 9; DIN
21CrMoV 5-11, 15CrMoV 5-10, GS17CrMoV 511; and EN G17CrMoV510 and GE B50A224.
The preferred processes for this

type of fabrication are gas tungsten
arc (GTA) and gas metal arc (GMA)
welding, which offer protection to the
exposed upper fusion zone. The joint
around the underbead, however, needs
to be protected by purging.
Meeting the requirements of inert
gas purging when temperatures exceeding 200C are involved necessitates the use of purge systems capable
of withstanding these temperatures
throughout the heating and welding
cycles. Typical thermal cycles can exceed 2 h and it may be necessary to
maintain the purge system in place
throughout.
Specially engineered purge products have been designed over the past
five years that are capable of withstanding the temperatures involved
while at the same time maintaining
adequate gas sealing characteristics.
They are also rugged enough to survive multiple-use applications. They
feature inflatable seals manufactured
from flexible, thermally resistant engineering materials, and longer inflatable dam connection collars to allow
the dams to sit a little further away
from the high temperature of the joint
during PWHT.
All materials are selected to be used
multiple times at temperatures exceeding 300C for 24 h and fittings
comply with international standards.
Another innovation incorporates
advanced pressure regulator technology to ensure there is no possibility of
overinflation, and hence, failure of the
seals. The risk of loss of purge during
the whole weld cycle is, therefore,
minimized.
Inert Gas Weld Purging

of Large Tanks
While commercial systems have
been available to provide shielding or
purging when welding pipes, little attention seems to have been paid to
shielding weld roots on the inside of

large tanks or vessels.
Simply filling the vessel with argon
would be time consuming and expensive because of the large volume of gas
necessary. The health risks involved in
releasing such an amount of asphyxiant gas into the atmosphere when the
welding process has been completed
must also be considered.
The use of inflatable dams or stoppers to fill much of the space, leaving
only a minimum volume close to the
weld region for protection with argon,
is becoming much more common. The
dams can be inflated with compressed
air or with a standard foot pump. Because the volume remaining for purging is then reduced significantly, cost
savings are clearly evident. Benefits
include
Protection of the weld from oxidation and elimination of any need for
postweld cleaning
Significant reduction in expensive argon consumption
Prevention from release of large volumes of asphyxiant gas into the atmosphere following welding
Shortened purging and welding
times.
Ingenious solutions to providing effective but practical devices have been
developed to meet the potentially wide
range of vessel configurations. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques, for example, manufactures a family of dams
called Inflatable Stoppers.
The family includes spherical and
cylindrical models. Heat-resistant versions for use up to 300C are available
to accommodate the need to weld using preheat or postheat schedules.
They are manufactured using an engineering quality latex inner tube and
polyurethane-impregnated nylon fabric outer cover.
Inflatable cylindrical stoppers are
collapsible. They can thus be inserted
through a small opening and then inflated to seal a larger-diameter vessel.
Table 1 Composition of P91 Steel

Grade
P91
Mn
P, S, max
Si
Cr
Mo
0.080.12
0.300.60
0.020/0.010
0.200.50
8.009.50
0.851.05
V
0.180.25
N
0.030.07
Ni
0.40 max
Al
0.02 max
Nb
0.060.10
Ti
0.01 max
Fig. 3 Chart showing effect of sampling distance on measured oxygen levels.
Remote Weld Purge

Monitoring
Circumstances occasionally arise,
particularly during on-site welding of
pipelines, for which it becomes necessary to measure purge gas oxygen content using instrumentation located
some distance from the joint.
The accepted method of monitoring
has been to extract gas from a tube
and take measurements at the tube
exit. While this technique yields good
results when the tube length is short,
i.e., below 1 m, readings become inconsistent and unreliable at sampling
distances greater than that.
In order to establish the reasons for
this variation in readings, laboratory
research, based on commercially available equipment, has been initiated.
The preliminary results confirm the
feedback from field observations concerning erratic readings, but also reveal some alarming statistics. The delay in readings when the measurement
distance exceeds 1 m can be up to 30
min to reach an oxygen level in the region of 100 ppm even when the actual
level is only 25 ppm measured at 1 m.
The user can thus be misled by a very
large margin and the welding process
thus extended considerably.
Data in Fig. 3 have been obtained
by sampling oxygen content at 1 (series 3), 10 (series 2), and 20 m (series
1), and show the change in oxygen
content in parts per million with time
over a 30-min period.
The efficiency of the system is indicated by the fact that an oxygen level
Fig. 4 Electronic purge monitor eliminates delays in

oxygen level measurement even at 1000 m distance
from the weld region (Ref. 5).
of 100 ppm measured at 1 m is

reached in approximately 3 min. However, at 10 m this oxygen level is not
reached for 20 min. The reasons for
the very significant delays can be attributed to a number of factors:
Gas flow velocity. The monitor used
in the research incorporates an extraction pump, but the manufacturers
pumping speed is based on unthrottled measurement at the pump inlet.
Even at 1 m, this speed is likely to be
much reduced. Increasing the pumping
speed, however, will lead to turbulence
and aggravate the readings even more.
Sampling tube gas friction. Unlikely
to be significant with the polyurethane material used but nevertheless
contributory.
Sampling tube diameter. Possibly
better laminar flow with increased diameter but even slower gas flow rate.
Sampling tube material. Polyurethane is probably the material offering
least resistance to gas flow and unlikely to contribute to oxygen pickup from
the tube wall.
This preliminary research will be
supported by further, more comprehensive study but the results clearly
show that measurements taken beyond 1 m distance are unreliable and
misleading. Recognizing this problem,
and the consequent delay and cost of
welding involved, an electronic weld
purge monitor with a sensor that can
be located close to the weld purge exit
and a monitor connected by a data cable that can be up to 1000 m in length
has been developed Fig. 4.
In this way, actual oxygen levels can
be conveyed instantly via data cable,

without having to wait 30 min or more
to see the results at a distance. WJ
References
1. BS EN ISO 13916:1997: Welding

Guidance on the Measurement of Preheating Temperature, Interpass Temperature and Preheat Maintenance Temperature. British Standards Institution.
2. BS EN 1011-2: 2001: Welding
Recommendations for Welding of Metallic Materials. Part 2: Arc Welding of Ferritic Steels. British Standards Institution.
3. The Welding Institute. Technicalknowledge series.
4. Bailey, N. 1995. Weldability of
Ferritic Steels. The Welding Institute.
5. Technical specification available
via HFT website www.huntingdonfusion.com.
Ron A Sewell (rasewell@huntingdonfusion.com) is chairman, Huntingdon

Fusion Techniques, Ltd., Stukeley
Meadow, UK.
Change of Address? Moving?

Make sure delivery of your Welding Journal is not interrupted. Contact Maria
Trujillo in the Membership Department
with your new address information
(800) 443-9353, ext. 204; mtrujillo@aws.org.
COMING EVENTS
AWS-SPONSORED EVENTS
For more information on AWS events:
www.aws.org/w/a/conferences/index
(800/305) 4439353, ext. 234, belkys@aws.org
National Robotic Arc Welding Conference. June 13. Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, Milwaukee, Wis. Sponsored by the AWS Milwaukee Section and D16 Committee
on Robotic and Automatic Welding. Features conference on
June 2, 3 with a tour of Miller Electric in Appleton, Wis., on
June 1. Tours planned for Eaton power-management company in Milwaukee, and John Deere in Horicon, Wis. Contact Karen Gilgenbach at karen.gilgenbach@airgas.com;
http://sections.aws.org/milwaukee/.
AWS 18th Annual Aluminum Conference. Sept. 2224. San

Diego, Calif. A panel of distinguished aluminum-industry
experts will survey the state of the art in welding technology
and practice. Attendees will network informally with the
speakers and visit an exhibition showcasing the latest products and services offered by aluminum industry providers.
ITSA Thermal Spray for Oil and Gas Conference and
Exhibits. October TBA, Houston, Tex. This two-day event
will explore the latest technologies and applications for
thermal spraying in the oil and gas exploration, production,
refining, and distribution industries.
FABTECH 2015. Nov. 912. McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill.
This exhibition is the largest event in North America dedicated to showcasing welding, metal forming, fabricating,
tube and pipe equipment and services plus myriad manufac-
AWS 2nd Welding Education, Skills, and Certification Con

ference. July 1316. Chattanooga State Community College,
Chattanooga, Tenn. This years conference is structured to
provide an integrated and comprehensive overview on AWS
standards, services, and best practices for welding career
pathway education and credentialing. It will be especially
valuable for education and training institution leaders who
are developing workforce supplier and testing services with
industry and their industrial partners.
AWS HighTemperature Metals Conference. Aug. 11, 12.

Moraine Valley Community College, Chicago, Ill. Materials
used in high-temperature applications are becoming more
complex to achieve the creep strength and corrosion resistance. A range of low-alloy, high-strength, and austenitic materials are required depending on the application. What
choices does the engineer have once the weldability window
for high-temperature steels is cut in half? Topics to be covered include weldability of P91 steel, welding dissimilar metals, postweld heat treating, new welding consumables, and
managing weld cracking.
turing and related technologies. Attend the American Welding Societys business meetings, awards-presentations, educational programs, and welding contests. (800/305) 4439353, ext. 264; www.fabtechexpo.com.
U.S., CANADA, MEXICO EVENTS

METMG 2015, 3rd International Conference on Manufac
turing Engineering and Technology for Manufacturing
Growth. August 1, 2. Vancouver, Canada. www.metmgconf.net/index.htm.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
20th Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting Trade Fair. June

1619. Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai,
China. www.beijing-essen-welding-cutting.com.
The Assembly Show. Oct. 2729. Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill. Registration is free. Visit
www.theassemblyshow.com for information and to register.
Manufacturing Day 20. Oct 2. Major events will be held at

hundreds of manufacturing locations nationwide. MfgDay
is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire
the next generation of manufacturers. www.mfgday.com.
Parts2Clean 2015. June 911. New Stuttgart Trade Fair

Centre, Stuttgart, Germany. The trade fair for parts cleaning
and drying technology for mechanical components and the
metalworking industries. www.parts2clean.de.
2015 International Conference on Informatics, Control, and
Automation. July 26, 27. Phuket, Thailand. All papers in
English. www.ica2015.org.
2015 International Conference on Control, Automation, and
Artificial Intelligence. Aug. 23, 24. Phuket, Thailand. All papers in English. www.caai2015.org.
ALUEXPO 2015, 4th International Aluminum Technologies,
Machinery, and Products Trade Fair. Oct. 810. Istanbul
Expo Center, Istanbul, Turkey. www.aluexpo.com.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
ESABCWA Webinar: MIG Gun Selection, Maintenance,
Repair, Troubleshooting, and Retrofit. June 23, 13 PM,
EST. Tweeco experts will present practical information
about guns used for mild steel and tubular wires in light- to
heavy-duty operations. Visit www.cwa-acs.org/events for details and to register. All proceeds to benefit the Canadian
Welding Assn. (CWA).
8th Offshore Energy Expo and Conference. Oct. 13, 14. Amsterdam RAI, The Netherlands. www.offshore-energy.biz.
Collaborate to Educate 2015. July 7, 8. Hobart Institute of

Welding Technology, Troy, Ohio. For welding educators. Call
(800) 332-9448 for information and to register.
Certified Welding Inspector Courses. Allentown, Pa. CWI
Training: Aug. 1721, Nov. 26; D1.1 Endorsement: May 15,
Aug. 21, Nov. 6; D1.5 Endorsement: July 28; API Endorsement: Oct. 30. Bolting Endorsement: July 27. Welder Training and Testing Institute; (800) 223-9884; www.wtti.edu.
Modern Furnace Brazing School UK. Oct. 2022, Wall Colmonoy European Headquarters, Swansea, Wales, UK.
www.wallcolmonoy.co.uk.
Preparation Courses and Exams for AWS CWI and CWE.

Troy, Ohio. Classes begin June 22, July 20, Aug. 24, Sept.
21, Nov. 2, Dec. 7. Exams: July 3, July 31, Sept. 4, Oct. 2,
Nov. 13, Dec. 18. Hobart Institute of Welding Technology,
www.welding.org. WJ
Preparation for the AWS Certified Welding Inspector/

Educator Course and Examination. Troy, Ohio. Classes begin June 22, July 20, Aug. 24, Sept. 21, Nov. 2, Dec. 7. Exams given May 22, July 3, July 31, Sept. 4, Oct. 2, Nov. 13,
Dec. 18. Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. www.welding.org/students/continuing-education/technical-training.
Advanced Fundamentals & Brazing by Design. Sept. 1517,

Cleveland, Ohio. Fundamentals, braze design, filler metals,
heating methods, and problem solving. Lucas-Milhaupt;
www.lucasmilhaupt.com; (800) 558-3856.
CERTIFICATION SCHEDULE
Certication Seminars, Code Clinics, and Examinations
Note: The 2015 schedule for all certifications is posted online at

www.aws.org/w/a/registrations/prices_schedules.html.
Certified Welding Inspector (CWI)

Location
Miami, FL
Bakersfield, CA
Corpus Christi, TX
Miami, FL
Cleveland, OH
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Omaha, NE
Denver, CO
Scottsdale, AZ
Waco, TX
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Sacramento, CA
Corpus Christi, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
Chicago, IL
Las Vegas, NV
Philadelphia, PA
Seattle, WA
Rochester, NY
Mobile, AL
Portland, ME
Charlotte, NC
San Diego, CA
Minneapolis, MN
San Antonio, TX
Salt Lake City, UT
Anchorage, AK
Miami, FL
Idaho Falls, ID
St. Louis, MO
Houston, TX
New Orleans, LA
Fargo, ND
Portland, OR
Pittsburgh, PA
Miami, FL
Long Beach, CA
Indianapolis, IN
Tulsa, OK
Seminar Dates
Exam only
June 2126
Exam only
Exam only
July 1217
July 1217
July 1217
July 1217
July 1217
July 1217
July 1924
July 1924
July 1924
July 2631
July 2631
July 2631
Exam only
Aug. 27
Aug. 27
Aug. 27
Aug. 27
Aug. 27
Exam only
Aug. 914
Aug. 914
Aug. 914
Aug. 1621
Aug. 1621
Aug. 1621
Aug. 1621
Exam only
Sept. 1318
Sept. 1318
Sept. 1318
Sept. 1318
Sept. 27Oct. 2
Sept. 27Oct. 2
Sept. 27Oct. 2
Sept. 27Oct. 2
Exam only
Oct. 49
Oct. 49
Oct. 49
Exam Date
June 25
June 27
June 27
July 16
July 18
July 18
July 18
July 18
July 18
July 18
July 25
July 25
July 25
Aug. 1
Aug. 1
Aug. 1
Aug. 1
Aug. 8
Aug. 8
Aug. 8
Aug. 8
Aug. 8
Aug. 8
Aug. 15
Aug. 15
Aug. 15
Aug. 22
Aug. 22
Aug. 22
Aug. 22
Sept. 19
Sept. 19
Sept. 19
Sept. 19
Sept. 19
Oct. 3
Oct. 3
Oct. 3
Oct. 3
Oct. 8
Oct. 10
Oct. 10
Oct. 10
9Year Recertification Seminar for CWI/SCWI

For current CWIs and SCWIs needing to meet education requirements without taking the exam. The exam can be taken at any site listed under Certified Welding Inspector.
Location
Seminar Dates
Kansas City, MO
June 712
San Diego, CA
July 1924
Miami, FL
July 2631
Orlando, FL
Aug. 1621
Denver, CO
Sept. 1318
Dallas, TX
Oct. 49
Seattle, WA
Oct. 1823
Certified Welding Educator (CWE)

Seminar and exam are given at all sites listed under Certified
Welding Inspector. Seminar attendees will not attend the Code
Clinic portion of the seminar (usually the first two days).
Certified Welding Sales Representative (CWSR)

CWSR exams will be given at CWI exam sites.
Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)

CWS exams are also given at all CWI exam sites.
Location
Seminar Dates
Minneapolis, MN
July 1317
Cleveland, OH
Sept. 28Oct. 2
Norfolk, VA
Oct. 1216
Exam Date
July 18
Oct. 3
Oct. 17
Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI)

The CRI certification can be a stand-alone credential or can
exempt you from your next 9-Year Recertification.
Location
Seminar Dates
Exam Date
Cleveland, OH
June 812
June 13
Dallas, TX
Aug. 1721
Aug. 22
Chicago, IL
Sept. 28Oct. 2
Oct. 3
Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 1216
Oct. 17
Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW)

ABB, Inc., Auburn Hills, MI; (248) 3918421
OTC Daihen, Inc., Tipp City, OH; (937) 667-0800, ext. 218
Lincoln Electric Co., Cleveland, OH; (216) 383-8542
Genesis-Systems Group, Davenport, IA; (563) 445-5688
Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO; (970) 225-7736
On request at MATC, Milwaukee, WI; (414) 456-5454
IMPORTANT: This schedule is subject to change. Please verify your event dates with the Certification Dept. to confirm your course status
before making travel plans. Applications are to be received at least six weeks prior to the seminar/exam or exam. Applications received after
that time will be assessed a $250 Fast Track fee. Please verify application deadline dates by visiting our website
www.aws.org/certication/docs/schedules.html. For information on AWS seminars and certification programs, or to register online, visit
www.aws.org/certification or call (800/305) 4439353, ext. 273, for Certification; or ext. 455 for Seminars.
WELDING WORKBOOK
DATASHEET 357
Welding of Tubular Connections

Tubular members, also called hollow structural sections, are used in
structures such as drill rigs, space
frames, trusses, booms, and earthmoving and mining equipment. They
have the advantage of minimum deflection under load because of their
greater rigidity when compared to
standard structural shapes. Figure 1
shows six types of welded tubular
connections, the component designations, and nomenclature.
Because with structural tubing
holes do not need to be cut at intersections, the connections are characterized by high strength and stiffness.
However, connections made with
complete-joint-penetration (CJP)
groove welds must be given special
consideration, and care must be taken
to ensure weld quality and that adequate fusion exists at the root. A CJP
weld must be made from one side
only and without backing as the small
tube size and configuration prevent
access to the root side of the weld.
Special skill is required to make tubular connections using CJP groove
welds from one side.
With relatively small thin-walled
tubes, the end of the brace tube may
be partially or fully flattened. The end
of the flattened section is trimmed at
the appropriate angle to abut against
the main member where it is to be
welded. This design should only be
used with relatively low-load conditions because the load is concentrated
on a narrow area of the main tube
member. The flattened section of
the brace member must be free of
cracks.
Fig. 1 Welded tubular connections, components, and nomenclature.
Weld Joint Design

When tubular members are fit together for welding, the
end of the branch member or brace is normally contoured to
the shape of the main member. In the case of T-connections
(Fig. 1C), the members must be joined with their axes at 80
to 100 deg. For Y and K connections (Fig. 1D, E), an angle of
less than 80 deg would be used. The tubes may have a circular or rectangular shape. In addition, the member may be
equal in size or smaller than the main member.
The angle between the adjacent outside tube surface in a
plane perpendicular to the joint can vary around the joint

from about 150 to 30 deg. To accommodate this, the weld
joint design and welding procedures must vary around the
joint to obtain a weld with an adequate throat dimension.
Tubular joints are normally accessible only from outside
the tubes; therefore, the joints are generally made with single groove or fillet welds. Groove welds may be designed for
complete or partial joint penetration depending on the load
conditions. To obtain adequate joint penetration, shielded
metal arc, gas metal arc, and flux cored arc welding are generally used to make tubular joints in structures. WJ
Excerpted from the Welding Handbook, 9th Ed., Vol. 1, Welding Science and Technology.
BY HOWARD WOODWARD woodward@aws.org
SOCIETY NEWS
I came here to work, Farnsworth said, and he did
Gathered at the historic USS Slater, moored on the Hudson River in Albany, N.Y., the volunteer maintenance crew celebrates the life
and work of Clark Farnsworth who has contributed his welding skills for 18 years to help restore the museum ship to its former glory.
On April 11, the AWS Northern

New York Section recognized U.S.
Navy veteran and welder Clark
Farnsworth for his dedication to the
community and the nation. For the
past 18 years, Farnsworth has volunteered his welding services to restore
the USS Slater, the last remaining
World War II destroyer escort, now a
public museum moored on the Hudson
River in downtown Albany, N.Y. Built
at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa,
Fla., she was commissioned May 1,
1944, and in 2000 received the AWS
Extraordinary Welding Award.
At 93 years old, Clark Farnsworth
is our oldest active volunteer, said
Timothy Rizzuto, executive director of
the USS Slater Museum. When the
USS Slater first came to Albany, Clark
reported on board with the statement,
Im not here to sit around and drink
coffee, Im here to work. And, he has
worked hard ever since. As a weekly
volunteer, he has completed welding
projects all over the ship and been an
essential part of the maintenance

crew. He dons his dress uniform for
ceremonial occasions and has been a
member of the color guard.
Farnsworths U.S. Navy career began as an aviation metalsmith at Norfolk Naval Air Station during World
War II. Later, he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte CV-32 until his
discharge from active duty, then entered the Naval Reserves for 39 years.
He retired with the rank of chief hull
maintenance technician.
Farnsworth then worked as a
welder for General Electric Corp. in its
Waterford, N.Y., plant. Since retiring
from GE, he has been an active member of the Capital District Chief Petty
Officers Assn. and the Schenectady
Yacht Club, where he has been the
Clubs primary welder for the past 40
years. For many years, he was a boating safety instructor, and he remains
an active member of the USS Leyte
Former Crew Members Assn., serving
as its president for many years.
Clark Farnsworth (right) is greeted by

Northern New York Section Chair David
Parker during the awardpresentation
ceremony.
Using just basic welding equipment, Clark Farnsworth has contributed his talents generously to the
nation and the Albany, N.Y., area. His
achievements set a high bar for what
welders can achieve.
SOCIETY NEWS
TECH TOPICS
D1 Committee Completes Work on Structural Welding Code Steel
The AWS D1 Committee on Structural Welding met April 710 at AWS World Headquarters in Miami, Fla. The members completed work
on the 2015 edition of D1.1/D1.1M, Structural Welding Code Steel, to be published later this year.
New Standards Projects

Development work has begun on
the following revised standards. Concerned individuals are invited to contribute to their development. Participation on AWS technical committees
is open to all persons. Contact E.
Abrams, ext. 307; eabrams@aws.org.
D3.7/D3.7M: 201X, Guide for Aluminum Hull Welding
This guide provides information
on proven processes, techniques, and
procedures for welding aluminum
hulls and related ship structures. The
information presented applies chiefly
to the welding of aluminum hulls that
are longer than 30 ft (9 m) and made
of sheet and plate 18 in. (3.2 mm)
thick and greater. Stakeholders: Maritime welding industry.
D3.9/D3.9M:201X, Specification
for the Classification of Weld-Through
Paint Primers
This standard specifies the requirements for classification of weldthrough paint primers only and does
not include galvanized or other types
of protective coatings. The primers
are classified based on the maximum
coating thickness for successful welding and the welding procedure used
during the classification test. Included is a system for paint manufacturers to classify the weldability features
of weld-through primers. Stakeholders: Marine construction community.
Standards in Public Review
A5.19-92 (2015), Specification for
Magnesium Alloy Welding Electrodes
and Rods. Reaffirmed. $36.50.
6/8/15. R. Gupta, ext. 301;
gupta@aws.org.
A5.20/A5.20M:2005 (R2015),
Specification for Carbon Steel Electrodes
for Flux Cored Arc Welding. Reaffirmed. $36.50. 6/8/2015. R. Gupta,
ext. 301; gupta@aws.org.
A5.28/A5.28M:2005 (R2015),
Specification for Low-Alloy Steel Electrodes and Rods for Gas Shielded Arc
Welding. Reaffirmed. $36.50.
6/8/2015. R. Gupta, ext. 301; gupta@aws.org.
B2.1-1-302:201X, Standard Welding Procedure Specification for Naval
Applications (SWPS-N) for Shielded
Duane Miller (left) outgoing D1 chair

welcomes incoming Chair Allen Sindel.
Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel (S1), 18 inch [3 mm] through 112 inch [38
mm] Thick, MIL-7018-M, in the AsWelded or PWHT Condition, Primarily
Plate and Structural Naval Applications. New. $124. 5/18/15. J. Rosario,
ext. 308; jrosario@aws.org.
B2.1-1-312:201X, Standard Welding Procedure Specification for Naval
Applications (SWPS-N) for Shielded
Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel (S-
SOCIETY NEWS
1), 18 inch [3 mm] through 112 inch [38
mm] Thick, MIL-7018-M, in the AsWelded or PWHT Condition, Primarily
Pipe for Naval Applications. New.
$124. 5/18/15. J. Rosario, ext. 308;
jrosario@aws.org.
B2.2/B2.2M:201X, Specification for
Brazing Procedure and Performance
Qualification. Revised. $40. 6/1/15. J.
Rosario, ext. 308; jrosario@aws.org.
D17.3/D17.3M:20XX, Specification
for Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum
Alloys for Aerospace Applications. Revised. $36. 5/18/15. A. Naumann,
ext. 313; anaumann@aws.org.
AWS was approved as an accredited standards-preparing organization
by the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) in 1979. AWS rules,
as approved by ANSI, require that all
standards be open to public review
for comment during the approval
process. The above standards are out
for public review until the expiration
dates shown. A draft copy may be obtained from the staff member listed.
national Standards for welding, contact A. Davis, ext. 466;

adavis@aws.org.
ISO Draft Standards

in Public Review
ISO/DIS 3581, Welding consumables Covered electrodes for manual
metal arc welding of stainless and heatresisting steels Classification
ISO/DIS 14343, Welding consumables Wire electrodes, strip electrodes, wires and rods for arc welding of
stainless and heat resisting steels
Classification
ISO/DIS 17916.2, Safety of thermal
cutting machines
Copies of these draft standards are
available for review and comment
through your national standards
body, which in the United States is
ANSI, 25 W. 43rd St., 4th Fl., New
York, NY, 10036; (212) 642-4900. In
the United States, if you wish to participate in the development of Inter-
Technical Committee Meetings

All AWS technical committee
meetings are open to the public. Contact the staff member listed at (800/
305) 443-9353 for information.
June 17. Safety and Health Committee. Columbus, Ohio. S. Hedrick,
ext. 305; steveh@aws.org.
June 18. B2F Subcommittee on
Plastic Welding Qualification. Burr
Ridge, Ill. S. Hedrick, ext. 305;
steveh@aws.org.
June 18. G1A Subcommittee on
Hot Gas Welding and Extrusion
Welding. Burr Ridge, Ill. S. Hedrick,
ext. 305; steveh@aws.org.
Sept. 29Oct. 2. D1 Committee
and Subcommittees on Structural
Welding. San Antonio, Tex. J. Molin,
ext. 304; jmolin@aws.org.
Opportunities to Contribute to AWS Technical Committees

The following committees welcome new members. Some committees are recruiting members with specific interests in
regard to the committees scope, as marked below: Producers (P); General Interest (G); Educators (E); Consultants (C); and
Users (U). For more information, contact the staff member listed or visit www.aws.org/w/a/technical/comm_stand.html.
E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org, ext. 307
Methods of weld inspection, B1
Committee (E, U). Automotive, D8
Committee (C, E, G, U). Cranes, press
es, and industrial mill rolls, D14E and
H Subcommittees (C, E, G, U). Resist
ance welding, C1 Committee (C, E, G,
U). Resistance welding equipment, J1
Committee (E, G, U).
ing, D10K Subcommittee. Purging and

root pass welding, D10S Subcommittee. Lowcarbon steel pipe, D10T Subcommittee. Orbital pipe welding,
D10U Subcommittee. Duplex pipe
welding, D10Y Subcommittee. Reac
tive alloys, G2D Subcommittee (G). Ti
tanium and zirconium filler metals,
A5K Subcommittee.
cation, B2 Committee (E). Thermal

spraying, C2 Committee (C, E, G, U).
Welding iron castings, D11 Committee
(C, E, G, P, U). Railroad welding, D15
Committee (E, G).
A. Naumann, anaumann@aws.org, ext. 313

Oxyfuel gas welding and cutting, C4
Committee (C, E, G, U). Friction weld
ing, C6 Committee. Welding practices
and procedures for austenitic steels,
D10C Subcommittee. Aluminum pip
ing, D10H Subcommittee. Chromium
molybdenum steel piping, D10I Subcommittee. Welding of titanium pip
P. Portela, ext. 311, pportela@aws.org

Highenergy beam welding and cut
ting, C7 Committee. Robotic and auto
matic welding, D16 Committee (C, E,
G). Hybrid welding, C7D Subcommittee (G).
S. Hedrick, ext. 305, steveh@aws.org

Joining of plastics and composites,
G1 Committee. Safety and Health
Committee (E, U, G, C). Mechanical
testing of welds, B4 Committee.
J. Rosario, ext. 308, jrosario@aws.org

Procedure and performance qualifi
J. Molin, ext. 304, jmolin@aws.org

Welding sheet metal, D9 Committee (G, P).
R. Gupta, ext. 301, gupta@aws.org

Magnesium alloy filler metals, A5L
Subcommittee.
Candidates Sought to Receive the MIT Masubuchi Award

The Prof. Koichi Masubuchi award,
with a $5000 honorarium, is presented
to one person, 40 or younger, who has
made significant contributions to the
advancement of materials joining
through research and development.

Send a list of your candidates experience, publications, honors, awards,
and at least three letters of recommendation from fellow researchers to Prof.
Todd Palmer, tap103@psu.edu. This

award is sponsored annually by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Dept. of Ocean Engineering.
SOCIETY NEWS
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
FlorenceDarlington Technical College Names
Welding Program Director
From left are Welding Instructors Mike Ward and Mathias Serrano, AWS Past President
and Advisory Committee Chair Jerry Uttrachi, Welding Program Administrator Lou Ann
Dayton, Welding Program Director Jamie King, and Welding Instructor Willis Ford.
Jamie King was recently appointed

director of the welding program at
Florence-Darlington Technical College
(FDTC), Florence, S.C. King, who also
teaches welding, has worked with local industries to verify the training
programs meet their needs and developed special training courses for
the colleges continuing education
program.
King was named during a meeting
of the Welding Advisory Committee,
chaired by Gerald Uttrachi, a past

AWS president. King is an AWS member and the college has supported
AWS as an Educational Institution
Member since 2003.
The two-year community college
currently is training more than 200
welding students. Administrative Assistant Lou Ann Dayton (shown
above) assists the students with obtaining financial support from federal, state, and other scholarships.
Student Chapter Member

Receives Award
Whitmer CTC Student Chapter Advi

sor Craig Donnell (left) is shown with his
awardwinning student Brian Simon.
CWI Craig A. Donnell, a welding instructor and the advisor to the Whitmer
Career and Technology Center Student
Chapter, presented the Student Chapter
Member Award to Brian Simon for his
outstanding scholastic and welding performance. The presentation was made
at the school in Toledo, Ohio. The
Chapter is associated with the Northwest Ohio Section, Dist. 11.
Nominate Your Candidates for These WeldingRelated Awards

The deadline for nominating candidates for the following awards is December 31 prior to the year of the awards presentations. E-mail Chelsea Lewis at clewis@aws.org or call (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 293.
William Irrgang Memorial Award
This award includes a $2500 honorarium to recognize the individual
who has done the most over the past
five years to advance the science and
technology of welding.
International Meritorious
Certificate Award
The award recognizes, in the
broadest terms, the honorees significant contributions and service to the
international welding community.
National Meritorious Award

The award includes a $2500 honorarium to recognize the recipients
loyalty, good counsel, dedication to
AWS affairs, and promotion of cordial
relations with industry and other
technical organizations.
Honorary Membership Award
This award cites an individual who
has eminence in the welding profession or has made outstanding developments in the field of welding arts.
George E. Willis Award

The award is presented to an individual who has promoted the advancement of welding internationally
by fostering cooperative participation
in technology transfer, standards rationalization, and promotion of industrial goodwill for the Society.
SOCIETY NEWS
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES New AWS Supporters
Sustaining Members
Benchmark Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd.
Free Ind. Zone, Ph. 1, Bayan Lepas
Penang, 11900, Malaysia
Representative: Shane Cavilee
www.bench.com/Pages/Welcome.aspx
POLYSOUDE S.A.S.
2 Rue Paul Beaupere
Nantes 44300, France
Representative: Hans-Peter Mariner
http://fr.polysoude.com
SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd., Level 6
Sapura@Mines, No 7, Jalan Tasik, The
Mines Resort City, Seri Kembangan Selangor Darul Ehsan, 43300, Malaysia
Representative: Nicolas Oliver Neel
www.sapuraacergy.com
Strobel Starostka Construction
106 S. Green St., Clarks, NE 68628
Representative: Greg G. Schroeter
www.sscdesignbuild.com
Affiliate Companies
Advance Testing Co.
3348 Rte. 208
Campbell Hall, NY 10916
Monarch, LLC
7050 N. 76th St., Milwaukee, WI 53223
Fusion Tech Integrated, Inc.

218 20th Ave., Roseville, IL 61473
Oth Consulting
6740 Dudley Ferry Rd.
Radford, VA 24141
Lincoln Tech
200 Executive Dr.
West Orange, NJ 07052
Pattison Engineering, LLC

1129 N. Winstel Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
Mesa Community College

1833 W. Southern Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85202
Precision Labor Services, Inc.

940 S. First St., Jesup, GA 31545
Northampton Community College

3835 Green Pond Rd.
Bethlehem, PA 18020
SQ Tech (Mexico)
Carr El Tazajal Km 11
Hermosillo Son 83304, Mexico
Talleres Industriales, S.A.
Zona Procesadora, Colon Maritime
Investor, Colon 0301-02161, Panama
Tinchers Welding, LLC
PO Box 219, Harveysburg, OH 45032
The Welding and Fab Shop, LLC
5925 Lake View Dr.
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Supporting Company
Estructuras De Acero Esacera S.A.

Panamericana N. Km 1412
Pasaje Cenepa, Quito
Pichincha 170202, Ecuador
Manchester Tank & Equipment

905 "X" St., Bedford, IN 47421
Farwest Aircraft, Inc.

1415 Meridian E.
Edgewood, WA 98371
Elite Welder Training & Testing

223 Democrat Rd.
Mickleton, NJ 08056
Johns Welding, Inc.

PO Box 1299, Rifle, CO 81650
Force Inspection, LLC

PO Box 196, Valliant, OK 74764
Educational Institutions
Son Set Consultants Training, LLC

7679 N. 140th E. Ave.
Owasso, OK 74055
South Branch Career and Tech Center
401 Pierpont St.
Petersburg, WV 26847
Vitron Manufacturing Solutions
18008 N. Black Canyon Hwy.
Phoenix, AZ 85053
AWS Member Counts
May 1, 2015
Sustaining.................................606
Supporting ...............................347
Educational...............................713
Affiliate.....................................589
Welding Distributor ...................52
Total Corporate ......................2,307
Individual ...........................60,596
Student + Transitional ...........10,743
Total Members ..................71,339
MemberGetAMember Campaign
Listed here are the members participating in the Member-Get-A-Member Campaign that runs from Jan. 1 to
Dec. 31, 2015. Members receive 5
points for each Individual Member and
1 point for every Student Member they
recruit. For campaign rules and a prize
list, see page 113 of this Welding Journal.
Standings as of April 20. If you have
any questions regarding your member
proposer points, please call the AWS
Membership Department at (800) 4439353, ext. 480.
J. Morris, Mobile 126

M. Pelegrino, Chicago 122
M. Poss, Detroit 115
M. Krupnicki, Rochester 58
H. Hughes, Mahoning Valley 37
T. Geisler, Pittsburgh 36
J. Russell, Fox Valley 27
R. Gilmer, Houston 26
B. Hackbarth, Milwaukee 25
J. King, South Carolina 25
J. Theberge, Boston 21
N. Baughman, Stark Central 20
R. Washenesky, Arrowhead 20
R. Randall, Detroit 16
D. Saunders, Lakeshore 16
M. Stevenson, JAK 16
M. Cyphert, Northwestern Pa. 15
S. Lord, Rochester 15
B. Scott, Dayton 15
R. Zabel, Southeast Nebraska 15
W. Elliott, Houston 14
S. Slagle, Cleveland 14
J. Pruitt, Kansas City 13
D. Galiher, Detroit 11
SECTION NEWS
District 1
Thomas Ferri, director
(508) 527-1884
Tom_Ferri@Thermal-Dynamics.com
BOSTON
March 14
Activity: The members conducted the
annual Certied Welding Inspector
(CWI) exam for more than 50 applicants. The exam followed the CWI
prep course taught by Albert Moore.
Participating were Tim Kinnaman,
Jim Shore, Doug Desrochers, and
Chair Jeff Mannette.
District 2
Harland W. Thompson, director
(631) 546-2903
harland.w.thompson@us.ul.com
LONG ISLAND
April 9
Speaker: Harland Thompson, Dist. 2
director
Affiliation: Underwriters Laboratories
Topic: The new AWS website and
tracking system for members credentials
Activity: The April Is National Welding
Month video by AWS President David
Landon was shown. Ken Messemer
was presented the District Directors
Award. The program was held in
Wantagh, N.Y.
PHILADELPHIA
March 23
Speaker: Mike Novak, welding engineer
Affiliation: Miller Welding Technology
Topic: Postweld heat treatment
Activity: The program was held at
Miller Welding Technology Center in
Swedesboro, N.J.
schools at Lebanon County Career &

Technology Center in Lebanon, Pa.
David Hibshman and Francis Butkus
served as judges. Secretary Sharon
Bally, a welding instructor at the
school, and Chair Richard Heisey, organized the event.
District 4
Stewart A. Harris, director
(919) 824-0520
stewart.harris@altec.com
Central Piedmont C. C.
Student Chapter
March 14
Activity: The colleges welding department and the Chapter hosted the second annual workshop to help 27 Boy
Scouts earn their welding merit
badges. The trainers included Instructor Rich Davis, Chapter Advisor Ray
Sosko, and John McPherson, welding
merit badge counselor and a welding
instructor for Mecklenburg County
Council.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
February 11
Activity: The members and Stewart
Harris, Dist. 4 Director, joined David
Landon, AWS president, on a tour of
Altec Industries in Daleville, Va., and
a business meeting with Botetourt
Technical Education Center officials
in Fincastle, Va. Awards were presented to Nathan Minnix (Section Private
Sector Instructor), Jamie Huffman
(District Educator), Chair Bill Rhodes
(District Director and Section Meritorious), Mike Bryant (Section Educator), Mark Gilbert (Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial CWI of the Year), Troy
Linkenhoker (Section Educator),
David Cash (Section Meritorious),
Bob Fitch (District Meritorious), and
Dave Owens (District CWI of the Year
and Section Private Sector Educator).
READING
March 10
Speakers: Jim Colt, Ralph Rudnick
Affiliation: Hypertherm
Topic: Advances in manual and automated plasma cutting
Activity: The event was held in
Roanoke, Va.
March 28
Activity: The Section held a welding
contest for students from ve local
April 9
Speakers: Bill Monti, Paul Cseko
District 3
Michael Sebergandio, director
(717) 471-2065
drweld13@gmail.com.
Affiliation: Miller Electric

Topic: Advances in robotic welding
Activity: Wayne Johnson received the
Section Private Sector Educator
Award.
District 5
Carl Matricardi, director
(770) 356-2107
cmatricardi@aol.com
NORTH FLORIDA
March 19
Speaker: Michael Dortch, CWI, technical sales manager
Affiliation: Alcotec
Topic: Welding aluminum
Activity: Nancy Cole, a past AWS
president, attended the program.
SOUTH CAROLINA
March 19
Speaker: Chris Eure, inspector
Affiliation: AMEC
Topic: Rebuilding the World Trade
Center in New York City
Trident Technical College in North
Charleston, S.C.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA Above, Wayne

Johnson (left) receives his award from
Chair Bill Rhodes. Below, Jim Colt (left)
and Ralph Rudnick spoke March 10.
SECTION NEWS
READING Dalia Cummins is shown

during the welding contest.
PHILADELPHIA From left are Bill Mowbray, Don Gibbons, Jim Koons, Howard Miller,
Frank Srogoto, speaker Mike Novak, Dist. 2 Director Harland Thompson, Chair Sal Russo
mano, and Pete Koegel.
SOUTH CAROLINA Chair Gale Mole

(left) is shown with Inspector Chris Eure.
LONG ISLAND From left are Deborah McInnis, Chair Brian Cassidy, Ken Messemer,
Dist. 2 Director Harland Thompson, Alex Duschere, Tom Gartland, Ron Pandolf, and Ray
OLeary.
READING Students from ve local schools competed in the welding contest.
Central Piedmont C. C. Student Chapter

Above, John McPherson approves a
welding merit badge for an eager Boy
Scout. Below, Rich Davis (right) discussed
safe use of oxyfuel torches.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA From left: Nathan Minnix, Jamie Huffman, Chair Bill Rhodes,
Mike Bryant, Mark Gilbert, Troy Linkenhoker, David Cash, Bob Fitch, and Dave Owens.
SECTION NEWS
April 16
Activity: This South Carolina Section
installation of officers meeting and
cookout was hosted by Haselden and
Co., Inc., in Wando, S.C. Serving the
20152016 term are Chair Gale Mole,
Vice Chair Kenny Inabinette, Secretary Rick Stevens, and Treasurer
Odell Haselden.
District 6
Michael Krupnicki, director

(585) 705-1764
mkrup@mahanyweld.com
District 9
Michael Skiles, director

(337) 501-0304
michaelskiles@cox.net
CENTRAL LOUISIANA
February 26
Speaker: John Bruskotter, a past AWS
president
Affiliation: Bruskotter Consulting
Services, LLC
Topic: Offshore fabrications
Activity: The meeting was held in
Alexandria, La.
March 26
Activity: The members participated in
a Central Louisiana Manufacturing
Council meeting held at Central
Louisiana Technical Community College in Alexandria, La. Chair Don
Sanders and Secretary Sara Hopper
presented $2000, the proceeds from a
scholarship fund-raising event, to
Jimmy Sawtelle, college chancellor,
and Welding Instructor Gerald Bickerstaff, to assist welding students.
NORTHERN NEW YORK
April 7
Activity: The members toured Dimension Fabricators, Inc., in Scotia,
N.Y., to study the manufacture of rebar fabrications. Greg Stevens, assembled products manager, conducted the program.
April 11
Activity: The Section recognized
Clark Farnsworth for his dedication
to restoring the USS Slater, a winner
of the AWS Extraordinary Welding
Award in 2000. See story on page 95
of this issue.
District 7
Uwe Aschemeier, director

(786) 473-9540
uwe@sgsdiving.com
District 8
D. Joshua Burgess, director

(931) 260-7039
djoshuaburgess@gmail.com
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA Above photo, taken at Botetourt Technical Education Center

(BTEC), (from left) are Chair Bill Rhodes, President David Landon, Dist. 4 Director Stewart
Harris, BTEC Principal Jim Bradshaw, Brian Price, and Troy Linkenhoker. In the photo be
low, AWS President David Landon is shown with members at the Altec Industries tour.
CHATTANOOGA
February 28
Activity: The Section hosed its annual student welding competition at Sequoyah High School in Soddy Daisy,
Tenn. The winners in the three categories were 3G Scottie Robinson,
Seth Elsea, and Holland Moon; 4G
Josh Sable, Kristen Lloyd, and Jose
Garcia; and 6G Erica Heckman,
Dustin Luthringer, and Matthew
Gwyn.
SOUTH CAROLINA Incoming ocers are (from left) Secretary Rick Stevens, Chair Gale
Mole, Vice Chair Kenny Inabinette, and Treasurer Odell Haselden.
SECTION NEWS
NORTHERN NEW YORK Presenter

Greg Stevens (left) and Dave Parker,
secretary.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA From left are

Paul Cseko, Chair Bill Rhodes, and Bill
Monti.
CHATTANOOGA From left are (top photo) Chair Thomas Atkinson, Robin Dykes, Seth
Elsea, Scottie Robinson, Chris Renfro, Holland Moon, and Josh Burgess, Dist. 8 director;
(center photo) Jose Garcia, Robin Dykes, Kristen Lloyd, Chris Renfro, and Josh Sable;
(above photo) Matthew Gwyn, Erica Heckman, Chris Renfro, and Dustin Luthringer.
NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
From left (top photo) are Secretary Eric
Speer (left) and Chair Tom Kostreba;
(above photo) Jason Neff (left) is shown
with speaker Ron Stahura.
NORTHERN NEW YORK Shown at Dimension Fabricators are (from left) Doug Tanner,
Larry Hidde, Ralph Viola, Al Silvia, Dave Parker, Greg Stevens, and Luke Perry.
SECTION NEWS
MOBILE
April 9
Activity: the members toured Mitternight, Inc., in Satsuma, Ala., to
study the manufacture of ASME Code
pressure vessels, heat exchangers,
chemical reactors, and distillation
columns. Siva Nair, vice president of
engineering and technical sales,
Welding Engineer John J. C. Wade,
and QC Manager Mike Jones conducted the program.
District 10
Robert E. Brenner, director

(330) 575-0198
bobren28@yahoo.com
NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
April 15
Speaker: Ron Stahura
Affiliation: ESAB
Topic: Welding stainless steel
Activity: Tom Kostreba received an
appreciation award for serving as
chairman.
Ferris State University

Student Chapter
March 714
Activity: The members, led by Advisor Jeff Carney, joined members of
the United Church of Big Rapids for a
work trip to Louisiana where they
helped rebuild a house and make renovations to a church. Participating
were Rachel Schmidt, Chelsey Porter,
Cheyenne Kelly, Bret Parks, Richard
Little, Jordan Hasbrouck, and
Nicholas Most.
April 15
Activity: The members, led by Advisor Jeff Carney, performed a community service by performing maintenance along two miles of roadway in
Big Rapids, Mich., as part of the
Chapters Adopt-a-Highway project.
District 12
Daniel J. Roland, director

(920) 241-1542
daniel.roland@airgas.com
LAKESHORE
March 12
Activity: The members toured Kohler
Power Systems assembly shop in Sheboygan, Wis. Jeff Schoneman, senior
area manager, led the tour.
April 9
Activity: The members visited
Amerequip Corp. in Kiel, Wis., to
study the manufacture of tractor attachments for the agriculture and
construction markets. Conducting
the tour were Doug Thompson, Tom
Thiel, and Mitch Schroeder.
RACINEKENOSHA
April 1
Activity: Chair Dan Crifase, welding
students from Gateway Technical
College, and Section members visited
Generac in Eagle, Wis., to tour the
facility. Scott Rhode led the program
and described the manufacture of a
wide range of residential and industrial generators.
District 11
Robert P. Wilcox, director

(734) 721-8272
rmwilcox@wowway.com
.
DETROIT
March 28
Speaker: David Landon, AWS president
Affiliation: Vermeer Corp.
Topic: A Triple Pass of the Torch
Activity: The 75th annual ladies
night and scholarship fund-raising
event was held at MGM Grand in Detroit, Mich. Vice Chair Wes Donath
served as MC for the 425 attendees
who contributed more than $10,000
to the Sections scholarship fund.
April 13
Activity: The Section held its annual
Quiz the Experts contest moderated
by CWI Jeffrey Carney. Competing
were members from Ferris State University Student Chapter and the Detroit, West Michigan, Saginaw Valley,
and Central Michigan Sections. The
Ferris State team took rst place (Jacob Hamilton, Paul Otto, and Cody
Tohm), followed by the Detroit team
(Wes Doneth, Tyler Alexander, and
Nate Miller).
Ferris State University Student Chapter From left (front) are Bret Parks, Richard Little,
Jordan Hasbrouck, and Nicholas Most. Top row are Rachel Schmidt, Chelsey Porter, and
Cheyenne Kelly. Below, Chapter members are shown after working on their Adopta
Highway project in April.
SECTION NEWS
CENTRAL LOUISIANA Attendees are shown at the February program.
CENTRAL LOUISIANA From left are Chair Don Sanders, Jimmy Sawtelle, Sara Hopper,
and Gerald Bickerstaff.
MOBILE From left are Vice Chair Clay

Bryon, and presenters Siva Nair and John
Wade.
LAKESHORE From left are (left photo) Doug Thompson, Chair Brian Strebe, Tom Thiel, and Mitch Schroeder. At right are presenter Jeff
Schoneman and Chair Brian Strebe.
DETROIT The Ferris State University team took rst place in the Quiz the Experts con
test. From left are Jacob Hamilton, Paul Otto, and Cody Tohm.
RACINEKENOSHA Chair Dan Crifase

(left) is shown with Scott Rhode.
SECTION NEWS
District 13
John Willard, director

(815) 954-4838
kustom_bilt@msn.com
CHICAGO
March 18
Speaker: Jonathon Mench
Affiliation: ESAB, sales manager
Topic: Reducing welding costs
Activity: Eric Razny, a student at College of DuPage, received his AWS
SENSE Level 1 GTAW certicate.
District 14
Robert L. Richwine, director

(765) 606-7970
rlrichwine2@aol.com
and Henry Carl. Also assisting were

representatives from other area
schools, including Robert Mitchell,
Tim Pinson, Scott Stringer, Karl Watson, Craig Herald, Monty Hill, and
Steven Cummings.
ST. LOUIS
March 26
Activity: The Section held its 13th annual Mini-Weld Show at Cee Kay Supply in St. Louis, Mo. More than 25
companies offered hands-on demonstrations of their latest products and
services. Several seminars were held.
Billy Crow spoke on the Sheet Metal
Training School Local 36, and Ed
Hoganson discussed the Carpenters
Joint Training Program. More than
200 people attended the show.
April 9
Activity: Seven students received
scholarships: Brian Craig (Hil Bax
Named Scholarship); Travis Elling
($1000 Section-sponsored); and Paul
Wood, Josh Sebright, Michael Bufka,
Duran Dollins, and William Bye
($750 scholarships). The event was
held at Ranken Technical College in
St. Louis, Mo. Nine outstanding welding students were named by their instructors: Mike Bufka, Andrew
Kramer, Nakoa Phang, John
Schoonover, Billy Kaune, Clayton
Wilson, Benjamin Sparkman, Troy
Newcomb, and Leroy Thomas.
INDIANA
March 18, 19
Activity: The Section held its 37th annual Mid-West Team Welding Competition for 24 teams (120 students)
from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. Judging the
contest were Dist. 14 Director Bob
Richwine, Chair Bennie Flynn, AWS
Vice President Dave McQuaid, past
AWS President Richard Alley, Eric
Cooper, Sam Chance, Gary Tucker,
Charlie Cessnia, Dave Jackson, Josiah
Miller, Gary Dugger, Kyle Hutcheson,
and Daniel Stopnick. First place went
to the Impact Institute team: Jake
McDonald, Andrew Blair, Trevor Harlan, Kyles Likes, and Gage Shivley.
The two-day event was held at J.
Everett Light Career Center in Indianapolis, Ind.
INDIANA David Landon, AWS presi

dent, addressed the Section in April.
CHICAGO Eric Razny (left) is shown

with Craig Tichelar.
April 6
Affiliation: Vermeer Mfg. Co.
Topic: Passing the Torch
Activity: The program was held in Indianapolis, Ind.
LEXINGTON
Feb. 21 and March 14
Activity: The members assisted in the
training and testing of a group of Boy
Scouts to help them earn their welding merit badges. The program was
held at Clark County Area Technical
Center in Winchester, Ky. Participating were school Principal Mike Kindred, Welding Instructors Coy Hall
106 WELDING JOURNAL /JUNE 2015
INDIANA Competitors are shown at the MidWest Team Welding Competition.
SECTION NEWS
ST. LOUIS At left, MiniWeld Show vendors posed for a group shot. Shown during students night are (from left) Chair Mike Kamp,
scholarship awardees Brian Craig, William Bye, Duran Dollins, Michael Bufka, Josh Sebright, and Paul Wood, with Rick Sura, awards chair.
RACINEKENOSHA The Section members and students are shown at Generac.
CHICAGO From left are (front) Jonathon Mench and Craig Tichelar; (second row) Lisa Moran, Arturo Oliverus, Jorge Ramos, Reggio
Suton, and Church Wells; (back row) Chris Hansen, Paige Iwema, Josh Walter, Matt Borowski, and Ed Borowski.
INDIANA Judges at the MidWest Team Welding Competition are (from left) Charlie Cessnia, Eric Cooper, Dave Jackson, Chair Bennie
Flynn, Josiah Miller, Sam Chance, Gary Dugger, Gary Tucker, Kyle Hutcheson, past AWS President Richard Alley, Daniel Stopnick, Dist. 14
Director Bob Richwine, and Dave McQuaid, an AWS vice president.
SECTION NEWS
SANGAMON VALLEY
April 13
Activity: The members toured the
Caterpillar Corp. facility in Decatur,
Ill. Thomas Conlin, managing engineer, conducted the program and described the manufacture of the 797
mining truck. Attending were AWS
President David Landon, Kay Landon,
Dist. 13 Director John Willard, and
Bob Richwine, Dist. 14 director.
District 15
David Lynnes, director
(701) 893-2295
dave@learntoweld.com
NORTHERN PLAINS
April 2
Activity: The Section held its Behind
the Mask welding competition for 47
contestants at Northland Community
and Technical College in Thief River
Falls, Minn. The steel coupons were
donated by Central Boiler, tubing by
Polaris Industries, electrodes and
welding wires by Lincoln Electric, and
Arctic Cat, Inc., prepared the project
drawings.
Activity: Welding students from Metropolitan Community College participated in this Nebraska Section program. The event was held at the college in Omaha, Neb. Awards were
presented to Gage Boles (Welder of
the Year), John Kirke (Instructor of
the Year), Chris Beaty (Service
Award), and Ron Samuelson (CWI of
the Year).
March 25
Activity: The members and college
students toured Drake-Williams Steel
Co. in Omaha, Neb., to study its operations. Mark Cain and Mike Nutsch
conducted the program.
CENTRAL TEXAS
TSTC Student Chapter
April 2
Speaker: Nancy Cole, past AWS president
Affiliation: NCC Engineering
Topic: Women in Technology
Activity: About 150 female students
attended this rst annual Women in
Technology Day, held at Texas State
Technical College (TSTC) in Waco,
Tex. Participating were Texas State
April 8
Activity: Members met with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to receive a document proclaiming April Welding
Month in the state. The presentation
was made at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.
District 17
Jerry Knapp, director
(918) 224-6455
jerry.knapp@gasandsupply.com
SANGAMON VALLEY David Landon

(left), AWS president, and John Willard,
Dist. 13 director, are shown during the
Caterpillar factory tour.
District 16
Karl Fogleman, director
(402) 677-2490
fogleman3@cox.net
KANSAS CITY
March 17
Activity: The event was held at
Kansas City Power & Light Training
Center in Kansas City, Mo.
CENTRAL TEXAS/TSTC Student Chapter From left are Advisor Chelsey Morris, Annie
Briggs, Peggy Pilant, Richard Crandal, Angel Eldridge, Danielle Rivera, Veronica Covey,
and speaker Nancy Cole, a past AWS president.
NEBRASKA
March 19, 2014
Activity: The members and welding
students from Metropolitan Community College toured the CLAAS Omaha LLC facility to study the manufacture of the large Lexion combine.
Oct. 16, 2014
Topic: Careers in welding
NORTHERN PLAINS Highranking welders in the Behind the Mask contest are (from
left) Austin Douvier, Ethan Sukraw, Dillon Braaten, Jackson Wolfe, and Donald Stewart.
SECTION NEWS
KANSAS CITY Attendees are shown at Kansas City Power & Light Training Center.
ST. LOUIS The outstanding students pose with their welding instructors.
NEBRASKA Attendees are shown during their tour of the CLAAS Omaha LLC facility.
NEBRASKA (Left photo) David Landon, AWS president, is shown with Chair Chris Beaty; (center) Chair Chris Beaty greets speaker
Mark Cain; (right) Secretary Chris Ellinwood and Chair Chris Beaty receive a proclamation from Pete Ricketts, Nebraska governor.
SECTION NEWS
Technical College Student Chapter
Advisor Chelsey Morris, Annie
Briggs, Peggy Pilant, Angel Eldridge,
Richard Crandal, Danielle Rivera, and
Dept. Secretary Veronica Covey.
TULSA
March 31
Speaker: Ralph Johnson, president
Affiliation: Associates CCI
Topic: History of pipelines
Bass Pro Shop in Broken Arrow, Okla.
District 18
John Stoll, director

(713) 724-2350
John.Stoll@voestalpine.com
HOUSTON
February 27
Activity: The Instructors Institute,
hosted by Industrial Welding Academy, was held for welding instructors
from local companies and schools to
enhance their teaching skills. The
presenters included Andre Horn,
Steven Luck, Marcus Horn, Earl Simon, Dan Jones, and Tim Bailey.
March 18
Speaker: Walter Sperko, president
Affiliation: Sperko Engineering Services
Topic: Update on ASME Section IX
Activity: The event was held at
Bradys Landing in Houston, Tex.
District 19
Ken Johnson, director

(425) 957-3553
kenneth.johnson@vigorindustrial.com
TULSA Chair Paul Wittenbach (left) is

shown with speaker Ralph Johnson.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
March 18
Speaker: Eric Mao, professional engineer
Affiliation: BC Hydro
Topic: Status of the Site C project
Activity: Eric Watereld received a
certicate of appreciation for his continuing support of the Sections
activities.
Topic: Automating welding

Activity: The program was held at the
university in Ogden, Utah.
District 21
Sam Lindsey, director

(858) 740-1917
slindsey@sandiego.gov
ARIZONA
PUGET SOUND OLYMPIC
April 2
Speaker: Barbra Henon
Affiliation: R. C. International, LLC
Topic: Harmonizing ASME codes impacting high-purity piping
Sheraton Hotel in Bellevue, Wash.
SPOKANE
March 18
Speakers: Guy Hombel, Mark Baily,
and Travis Diley
Affiliation: Boilermakers Local 242
Topic: Seminar on career and technical training
Activity: The event, held at Spokane
Community College, was attended by
55 members, students, and guests.
Nov. 11
Activity: The members toured
Phoenix National Laboratories, led by
Dick Viduka who demonstrated various inspection techniques.
LOS ANGELES/INLAND EMPIRE

March 17
Activity: The members toured Red-DArc Weldrentals in Carson, Calif.
Mike Alloy demonstrated induction
heating and orbital welding on smalldiameter stainless steel tubing.
District 22
Kerry E. Shatell, director

(925) 866-5434
kesi@pge.com
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
District 20
Pierrette H. Gorman, director

(505) 284-9644
phgorma@sandia.gov
Weber State University

Student Chapter
March 26
Speaker: Kevin Summers, robotics expert
Affiliation: Miller Electric
SPOKANE Chair Phil Zammit (left) is

shown with presenter Guy Hombel.
March 18
Activity: The Section participated in
the 2015 Career Expo held at Union
Mine High School in El Dorado, Calif.
Presenters included AWS Vice President Dale Flood, past Chair Rob
Purvis, and Jimmy Madrid, a welding
system specialist at Tri Tool, Inc. Assisting were Svetlana Meshkova, Lilly
Madrid, and Debbie Purvis. About
1000 students, parents and presenters attended the event.
BRITISH COLUMBIA Speaker Eric Mao

(left) is shown with Steve Prost.
SECTION NEWS
HOUSTON Above, welding in

structors are shown during their
training program held at Industrial
Welding Academy. At right are
(from left) Dist. 18 Director John
Stoll, speaker Walter Sperko, John
Husfeld, and Chair Barney Burkes
shown at the ASME Section IX up
date meeting.
LOS ANGELES/INLAND EMPIRE

Attendees are shown during their
tour of the RedDArc facility.
Weber State University Student Chapter Attendees are shown at the automation program.
BRITISH COLUMBIA Eric Watereld

displays his certicate of appreciation.
ARIZONA Mary Leslie (far right)

demonstrates wet magnetic particle in
spection to Mesa C.C. students Pedro
Montoya, Jacob Gill, and Nancy Gillis.
LOS ANGELES/INLAND EMPIRE From

left are Education Chair Robert Frutos,
rae winner George Moore, and Chair
George Rolla.
SECTION NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO
February 4
Speakers: Dan Duman, Rick Wittrock
Affiliation: Brightlight Welding
Topic: A study of an independent
fabrication shop
Activity: The event was held for 45
members at Rickys Sports Theatre in
San Leandro, Calif. Chair Scott Miner
conducted the meeting.
March 4
Speaker: Shadd Williams
Affiliation: American Bureau of Shipping
Topic: Maritime compliance
Activity: Twenty-four San Francisco
Section members and guests attended this program, held at Spengers
Restaurant in Berkeley, Calif.
April 1
Speaker: Doug Williams, PE
Affiliation: WeldEngineers.com
Topic: A summary of the San Francisco Bay Bridge high-strength rods
reports
Activity: The program was held for 43
attendees at Spengers Restaurant in
Berkeley, Calif.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY From left are Rob Purvis, Vice President Dale Flood, Jimmy
Madrid, Svetlana Meshkova, Lilly Madrid, and Debbie Purvis (behind Lilly).
SAN FRANCISCO At left, Doug Williams is shown with Kerry Shatell, Dist. 22 director. At
right, Chair Mike Zinser (left) welcomes speaker Shadd Williams.
International
SAUDI ARABIA
March 19
Speaker: Sayee Raghunathan, chair,
Affiliation: Saudi Aramco
Topic: The importance of welding to
Saudi Arabia
Activity: The event, held at Mercure
Hotel in Al-Khobar, was attended by
about 100 professionals, business
representatives, professors, and students. Vice Chair Tariq Al-Ghamdi
welcomed the Gulf Quality Control
Co. (CQCC) representatives who
sponsored the program, headed by
Ayed Al-Ali, company president, and
Ahmed Afy, general manager. Following the talk, a discussion was held
on the topic of improving welding
productivity and reducing costs.
SAN FRANCISCO From left are Rick

Wittrock, Dan Duman, and Chair Scott
Miner.
SAUDI ARABIA Samer Kababji, Sec

tion secretary and general manager of
Specialized Gulf Welding Co.
SAUDI ARABIA At left, Ayed AlAli is shown with Ahmed Afy. At right are Vice Chair
Tariq AlGhamdi, past Chair Adnan AlAwwami, and Chair Sayee Raghunathan.
112 WELDING JOURNAL /JUNE 2015
AWS MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Join or Renew:
Mail: Form with your payment, to AWS
Call: Membership Department at (800) 443-9353, ext. 480
Fax: Completed form to (305) 443-5647
Online: www.aws.org/membership
8669 NW 36 St, # 130

Miami, FL 33166-6672
Telephone (800) 443-9353
FAX (305) 443-5647
Visit our website: www.aws.org
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Please check each box that applies to the Membership or service youd like, and then add the cost together to get your Total Payment.
q AWS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP (One Year)......................................................................................................$86
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OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO AWS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS ONLY:

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q Individual Members in the U.S..................................................................................................................................$35
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INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP TOTAL PAYMENT..................................................................................$_____________
NOTE: Dues include $16.80 for Welding Journal subscription and $4.00 for the AWS Foundation.
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
Please choose your Student Membership option below.
q AWS STUDENT MEMBERSHIP (One Year)...................................................................................................................$15
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q AWS STUDENT MEMBERSHIP (One Year)...................................................................................................................$35

Includes one-year Welding Journal hard copy subscription. Option available only to students in U.S., Canada & Mexico.
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP TOTAL PAYMENT......................................................................................$_____________
PAYMENT INFORMATION
Payment can be made (in U.S. dollars) by check or money order (international or foreign), payable to the American Welding Society, or by charge card.
q Check q Money Order q AMEX
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Signature of Applicant:_________________________________________ Application Date:_______________________
OFFICE USE ONLY
Source Code: IT
REV. 11/14
Check #:_______________________________ Account #____________________________________

Date:_________________________________ Amount:_____________________________________
Type of Business (Check ONE only)

A
q Contract construction
B
q Chemicals & allied products
C
q Petroleum & coal industries
D
q Primary metal industries
E
q Fabricated metal products
F
q Machinery except elect. (incl. gas welding)
G
q Electrical equip., supplies, electrodes
H
q Transportation equip. air, aerospace
I
q Transportation equip. automotive
J
q Transportation equip. boats, ships
K
q Transportation equip. railroad
L
q Utilities
M
q Welding distributors & retail trade
N
q Misc. repair services (incl. welding shops)
O
q Educational Services (univ., libraries, schools)
P
q Engineering & architectural services (incl. assns.)
Q
q Misc. business services (incl. commercial labs)
R
q Government (federal, state, local)
S
q Other
01
02
03
04
05
20
21
06
10
12
13
22
07
08
14
09
11
15
17
16
18
19
q
q Manager, director, superintendent (or assistant)
q Sales
q Purchasing
q Engineer welding
q Engineer design
q Engineer manufacturing
q Engineer other
q Architect designer
q Metallurgist
q Research & development
q Quality control
q Inspector, tester
q Supervisor, foreman
q Technician
q Welder, welding or cutting operator
q Consultant
q Educator
q Librarian
q Student
q Customer Service
q Other
Technical Interests (Check all that apply)

A
q Ferrous metals
B
q Aluminum
C
q Nonferrous metals except aluminum
D
q Advanced materials/Intermetallics
E
q Ceramics
F
q High energy beam processes
G
q Arc welding
H
q Brazing and soldering
I
q Resistance welding
J
q Thermal spray
K
q Cutting
L
q NDT
M
q Safety and health
N
q Bending and shearing
O
q Roll forming
P
q Stamping and punching
Q
q Aerospace
R
q Automotive
S
q Machinery
T
q Marine
U
q Piping and tubing
V
q Pressure vessels and tanks
W
q Sheet metal
X
q Structures
Y
q Other
Z
q Automation
1
q Robotics
2
q Computerization of Welding
Guide to AWS Services

8669 NW 36th St., #130
Miami, FL 33166-6672
(800/305) 443-9353; Fax: (305) 443-7559
Phone extensions are in parentheses.
AWS PRESIDENT
David Landon . . . . dlandon@vermeermfg.com
Vermeer Mfg. Co.
2010 Vermeer Rd. E., Pella, IA 50219
ADMINISTRATION
Executive Director
Ray Shook.. rshook@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(210)
Senior Associate Executive Directors
Cassie Burrell.. cburrell@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(253)
John Gayler.. gayler@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(472)
Chief Financial Officer
Gesana Villegas.. gvillegas@aws.org . . . . . . . .(252)
Chief Technology Officer
Dennis Harwig..dharwig@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(213)
Chief Information Officer
Emilio Del Riego..edelriego@aws.org . . . . . . .(247)
Board and Executive Director Services
Associate Director
Alex Diaz.. adiaz@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(294)
Program Manager
Chelsea Lewis.. clewis@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . .(293)
Administrative Services
Director
Hidail Nuez..hidail@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(287)
HUMAN RESOURCES
Director
Gricelda Manalich.. gricelda@aws.org . . . . . .(208)
Associate Director
Patrick Henry..phenry@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .( 211)
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WELDING
Senior Coordinator
Sissibeth Lopez . . sissi@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(319)
Liaison services with other national and international societies and standards organizations.
GOVERNMENT LIAISON SERVICES
Hugh Webster . . . . . . . . . . . . . .hwebster@wc-b.com
Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, Washington, D.C.
(202) 785-9500; F: (202) 835-0243.
Monitors federal issues of importance to the
industry.
BRAZING AND SOLDERING

MANUFACTURERS COMMITTEE
Stephen Borrero..sborrero@aws.org . . . . . . . .(334)
INTERNATIONAL SALES
Managing Director of North American Sales
Joe Krall..jkrall@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(297)
Corporate Director, Global Sales
Jeff Kamentz..jkamentz@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(233)
Oversees international business activities;
certification, publications, and membership.
PUBLICATION SERVICES
Dept. information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(275)
Managing Director
Andrew Cullison.. cullison@aws.org . . . . . . . .(249)
Welding Journal
Publisher
Andrew Cullison.. cullison@aws.org . . . . . . . .(249)
Editor
Mary Ruth Johnsen.. mjohnsen@aws.org . . .(238)
Society and Section News Editor
Howard Woodward..woodward@aws.org . . . .(244)
Welding Handbook
Editor
Annette OBrien.. aobrien@aws.org . . . . . . . .(303)
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Director
Lorena Cora.. lcora@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(417)
Public Relations Manager
Cindy Weihl..cweihl@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(416)
Webmaster
Jose Salgado..jsalgado@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(456)
Section Web Editor
Henry Chinea...hchinea@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(452)
MEMBER SERVICES
Senior Associate Executive Director
Cassie Burrell.. cburrell@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(253)
Director
Rhenda Kenny... rhenda@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(260)
Serves as a liaison between members and AWS
headquarters.
CERTIFICATION SERVICES
Senior Associate Executive Director
John Gayler.. gayler@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(472)
CONVENTION AND EXPOSITIONS

Director, Convention and Meeting Services
Matthew Rubin.....mrubin@aws.org . . . . . . . .(239)
Director, Certification Operations

Terry Perez..tperez@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(470)
Application processing, renewals, and exams.
ITSA INTERNATIONAL THERMAL

SPRAY ASSOCIATION
Senior Manager and Editor
Kathy Dusa....kathydusa@thermalspray.org . .(232)
EDUCATION SERVICES
Director, Operations
Martica Ventura.. mventura@aws.org . . . . . .(224)
RWMA RESISTANCE WELDING

MANUFACTURING ALLIANCE
Committee Specialist
Adrian Bustillo....abustillo@aws.org . . . . . . . .(295)
WEMCO ASSOCIATION OF WELDING
MANUFACTURERS
Management Specialist
Keila DeMoraes....kdemoraes@aws.org . . . . . .(444)
Director, Development and Systems

David Hernandez.. dhernandez@aws.org . . . .(219)
AWS AWARDS, FELLOWS, COUNSELORS
Program Manager
Board and Executive Director Services
Chelsea Lewis.. clewis@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . .(293)
Coordinates AWS awards and Fellow and
Counselor nominations.
TECHNICAL SERVICES
Managing Director Technical Services
Annette Alonso.. aalonso@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(299)
Technical Committee Activities, Additive Manufacturing, Welding Qualification
Director International Activities
Andrew Davis.. adavis@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . .(466)
International Standards Activities, American
Council of the International Institute of Welding
Manager, Safety and Health
Stephen Hedrick.. steveh@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(305)
Metric Practice, Safety and Health, Joining of
Plastics and Composites, Personnel and Facilities
Qualification, Mechanical Testing of Welds
Program Managers II
Stephen Borrero... sborrero@aws.org . . . . . . .(334)
Brazing and Soldering, Brazing Filler Metals
and Fluxes, Brazing Handbook, Soldering Handbook, Definitions and Symbols, Structural Subcommittees on Bridge Welding, Stainless Steel,
and Reinforcing Steel
Rakesh Gupta.. gupta@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(301)
Filler Metals and Allied Materials, International Filler Metals, UNS Numbers Assignment,
Arc Welding and Cutting Processes, Computerization of Welding Information
Jennifer Molin.. jmolin@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(304)
Structural Welding, Sheet Metal Welding
Program Managers
Efram Abrams.. eabrams@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(307)
Automotive, Resistance Welding, Machinery
and Equipment, Methods of Inspection, Welding
in Marine Construction
Andre Naumann.. anaumann@aws.org . . . . .(313)
Welding and Brazing in Aerospace, Joining of
Metals and Alloys, Piping and Tubing, Ti and Zr
Filler Metals, Friction Welding, Oxyfuel Gas
Welding and Cutting
Peter Portela.. pportela@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(311)
High-Energy Beam Welding, Robotics Welding, Welding in Sanitary Applications
Jennifer Rosario.. jrosario@aws.org . . . . . . . .(308)
Railroad Welding, Thermal Spraying, Welding
Iron Castings, Welding Qualification
AWS FOUNDATION, INC.
www.aws.org/w/a/foundation
General Information
(800/305) 443-9353, ext. 212, vpinsky@aws.org
Chairman, Board of Trustees
William A. Rice.. brice@oki-bering.com
Executive Director, Foundation
Sam Gentry.. sgentry@aws.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (331)
Corporate Director, Workforce Development
Monica Pfarr.. mpfarr@aws.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (461)
Associate Director of Scholarships
Vicki Pinsky.. vpinsky@aws.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (212)
The AWS Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
charitable organization established to provide support
for the educational and scientific endeavors of the
American Welding Society. Promote the Foundations
work with your financial support.
PERSONNEL
Eriez Names VP
Technology
ABC Taps Craft

Professional of the Year
Eriez, Erie, Pa., a supplier of magnetic lift and separation technology,

has promoted Mike Mankosa to executive vice president-global technology.
Mankosa joined the company in 1997.
Since 2004, he has served as vice president of operations.
Associated Builders and Contractors

(ABC), Washington, D.C., has named
Holley Thomas, Double Springs, Ala.,
its Craft Professional of the Year.
Thomas works as a foreman for KBR,
Inc. The award is presented to a construction craft professional who excels
in his or her field

while also demonstrating commitment to safety,
training, and the
merit shop philosophy each year.
Her citation reads
in part, Holley is
a strong female
role model in our
industry and has
Holley Thomas
dedicated herself
through many volunteer roles to ensure that young
women understand the opportunities
available to them in the construction
industry . . . and assist in the development of the pipefitters and structural
welders around her.
Iron Workers General

President Wise to Retire
Walter W. Wise
Eric Dean
Walter W. Wise has announced his

retirement, effective July 1, as general
president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers,
Washington, D.C. Wise is also stepping down as co-chair of IMPACT, the
labor-management arm of the Iron
Workers. The Iron Workers General
Executive Board unanimously elected
General Secretary Eric Dean, Local 63
(Chicago), to succeed Wise in finishing
his term. Wise has been an ironworker
for more than 42 years, serving as an
officer since 1976. Dean was named
general vice president in 2008, and
general secretary in 2011.
Bosch Rexroth Appoints

President Americas
Bosch Rexroth, Charlotte, N.C.,
which markets automotive original
PERSONNEL
Corp of Engineers. Moniaci has more
than nine years experience working
for the OGara Group welding armored
vehicles. Baden brings more than four
years experience working at Huntington Ingalls in Newport News, Va. Bartley previously worked six years at Precision Certified Welding.
Paul Cooke
Berend Bracht
equipment and aftermarket products,

power tools, and household appliances, in the United States, Canada,
and Mexico, has announced that effective July 1, 2015, Paul Cooke has been
appointed regional president Americas
and president and CEO of Bosch
Rexroth Corp. U.S. Cooke, with the
company since 1982, will continue as
senior vice president sales within the
Industrial Applications business unit
at the headquarters in Lohr, Germany,
until the end of this month. Cooke
succeeds Berend Bracht who is leaving
the company for personal reasons.
Blaine Lowry
Josh Moniaci
Hobart Institute Adds Four

Skill Instructors
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, Troy, Ohio, has added four former students, Blaine Lowry, Josh Moniaci, Joel Baden, and Jeremy Bartley,
to its team of skill instructors. Lowry
was a welder in the U.S. Marine Corps
for five years and served in the Army
Coldwater Machine Co., Coldwater, Ohio, a supplier of precision

equipment for the
automotive, aviation, aerospace,
appliance, and energy industries,
has appointed
William Schuck
account manager
William Schuck
for clients in its
Kentucky, Indiana, and southern Ohio territory.
Schuck has more than 30 years experience in the industry. Previously, he
was a sales engineer at Noble Tool in
Dayton, Ohio.
Obituary
W. D. DOr Doty
Oberg Industries Selects

HR Director
Oberg Industries, Freeport, Pa.,
a producer of precision machined or
stamped metal
components and
tooling, has named
Joseph G. OBrien
director of human
resources. OBrien,
with more than 20
years in HR leaderJoseph G. OBrien
ship roles, will supervise the HR
teams at the headquarters location in Freeport and its facility in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Coldwater Machine Signs on

Account Manager
Joel Baden
Jeremy Bartley
Bunting Magnetics Names

Midwest Territory Manager
Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., a producer of precision
magnetic products
for the automotive, recycling,
electronics, and
other industries,
has named Bob
Castaneda Midwest territory
Bob Castaneda
manager for the
food industry,
serving clients in
Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa,
Minnesota, and North and South
Dakota. Castaneda has many years of
experience addressing safety issues
when processing foods and grains, and
working with Midwestern manufacturers and wholesalers.
W. D. DOr
Doty, 95, an industry icon, died
March 5 in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was
an AWS Fellow,
Life Member, and
Honorary Member
who served on the
committees on
welding qualification and filler
W. D. Doty
metals. Dr. Doty
was a long-time
member of The
National Board of Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Inspectors Advisory Committee
representing the welding industry.
The Board awarded him its prestigious
Safety Medal. Doty received his PhD
in metallurgy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he served as a
Research Fellow. He subsequently
performed research at the United
States Steel Corp. Technical Center.
Renowned for his research in welding
and steel product development, he coauthored the text Weldability of Steels,
and published numerous papers. He
was named a Fellow of ASM International and the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, where he was
awarded the J. Hall Taylor Medal. WJ
Friends and Colleagues:

The American Welding Society established the honor of Counselor to recognize individual
members for a career of distinguished organizational leadership that has enhanced the image
and impact of the welding industry. Election as a Counsel shall be based on an individuals
career of outstanding accomplishment.
To be eligible for appointment, an individual shall have demonstrated his or her leadership in
the welding industry by one or more of the following:
Leadership of or within an organization that has made a substantial contribution to the
welding industry. The individuals organization shall have shown an ongoing
commitment to the industry, as evidenced by support of participation of its employees
in industry activities.
Leadership of or within an organization that has made a substantial contribution to
training and vocational education in the welding industry. The individuals
organization shall have shown an ongoing commitment to the industry, as evidenced
by support of participation of its employees in industry activities.
For specifics on the nomination requirements, please contact Chelsea Lewis at clewis@aws.org
at AWS headquarters in Miami, or simply follow the instructions on the Counselor nomination
form located at http://www.aws.org/awards/fellow_counselor.html. Please remember, we all
benefit in the honoring of those who have made major contributions to our chosen profession
and livelihood. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2015. The Counselors Committee looks
forward to receiving numerous Counselor nominations for 2016 consideration.
Sincerely,
Lee Kvidahl
Chair, Counselor Selection Committee
Friends and Colleagues:

The American Welding Society, in 1990, established the honor of Fellow of the Society to
recognize members for distinguished contributions to the field of welding science and
technology, and for promoting and sustaining the professional stature of the field. Election as a
Fellow of the Society is based on outstanding accomplishment and technical impact of the
individual. Such accomplishments will have advance the science, technology and application of
welding, as evidenced by:
Sustained service and performance in the advancement of welding science and
technology
Publication of papers, articles and books which enhance knowledge of welding
Innovative development of welding technology
Society and Section contributions
Professional recognitions
I want to encourage you to submit nomination packages for those individuals whom you feel
have a history of accomplishments and contributions to our profession consistent with the
standards set by the existing Fellows. In particular, I would make a special request that you
look to the most senior members of your Section or District in considering members for
nomination. In many cases, the colleagues and peers of these individuals who are the most
familiar with their contributions, and who would normally nominate the candidate, are no long
with us. I want to be sure that we take the extra effort required to make sure that those truly
worthy are not overlooked because no obvious individual was available to start the nomination
process.
For specifics on the nomination requirements, please contact Chelsea Lewis at clewis@aws.org
at AWS headquarters in Miami, or simply follow the instructions on the Fellow nomination
form located at http://www.aws.org/awards/fellow_counselor.html. Please remember, we all
benefit in the honoring of those who have made major contributions to our chosen profession
and livelihood. The deadline for submission is August 1, 2015. The Fellows Committee looks
forward to receiving numerous Fellow nominations for 2016 consideration.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Elmer
Chair, AWS Fellows Committee
CLASSIFIEDS
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
BUSINESS FOR SALE

Welding Company for Sale
Successful welding company for sale
in Hawaii.
Technology at LeTourneau University invites applicants for a tenure-track faculty

position in the Welding Engineering/Materials Joining area. The School offers
EAC/ABET accredited degrees in engineering with concentrations in mechanical,
electrical and welding, biomedical and computer engineering and degrees in engineering
technology with concentrations in mechanical, electrical and welding. A Ph.D. in
welding/materials engineering or a closely related field is required and the applicant
must be eligible to become a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. We also desire
a candidate with a proven peer reviewed publication record, a desire to use innovative
teaching technologies and a willingness to work with industrial partners. Teaching,
research, and industrial experience are desirable, especially in the areas of emerging
technologies such as biomaterials and electronic materials joining. The successful
individual must be able to communicate subject material and have a proven ability to
relate to students and faculty and should be committed to seeking outside research
funding. Teaching duties include undergraduate and graduate in Welding Metallurgy,
Joining of Advanced Materials, Joining Processes and Engineering Design and
supervising Masters students and research teams. Information on the engineering
program at LeTourneau can be found at the School of Engineering and Engineering
Technology webpage: www.letu.edu/Academics/Engineering/index.html.
Send inquiries to GerrieForbis@letu.edu.
In business for 23 years on the

Big Island specializing in aluminum
and aluminum railings on all islands.
Call Rick (808) 987-5607
Place Your
Classified Ad Here!
Call the AWS sales team at:
(800) 443-9353
Sandra Jorgensen, ext. 254
sjorgensen@aws.org
Annette Delagrange, ext. 332
adelagrange@aws.org
CERTIFICATION & TRAINING

Professionals Sought for
IIW Training Courses
The American Welding Society, the
Gesellschaft fr Schweisstechnik
International (German Welding
Institute, GSI), and the National
Center for Welding Education and
Training (Weld-Ed) are seeking
candidates interested in obtaining the
IIW International Welding
Engineer or International Welding
Technologist diploma. Courses are
being planned that will blend
Internet-delivered training with classroom training conducted in the United
States.
The 440-hour course will be offered
during the next two summers and
is designed to promote career
development for busy welding
professionals.
Please contact Jeff Hufsey at:
hufsey@aws.org for more details.
2015
CWI PREPARATORY
80+ HOUR COURSE
MORE HANDSON/PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Ellijay, GA Aug. 24Sep. 4, Oct. 26Nov. 6

Pascagoula, MS July 2031, Sep. 718
Houston, TX June 1526, Sep. 21Oct. 2
Houma, LA Oct. 1223
Ardmore, OK July 617
+ Includes additional self study for weekend
FOR DETAILS CALL OR EMAIL:

(800) 4892890
info@realeducational.com
Also offering: RT Film Interpretation,
Fundamentals of Welding Inspection,
MT/PT/UT Thickness, CWS, SCWI,
Welding Procedure Fundamentals,
and Advanced Inspection Courses
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR SALE OR RENT
MITROWSKI RENTS
JOE FULLER LLC
Made in U.S.A.
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WELDING RESEARCH
SUPPLEMENT TO THE WELDING JOURNAL, JUNE 2015

Sponsored by the American Welding Society and the Welding Research Council
Ultrasonic Soldering Aluminum

at Low Temperature
Strength and elongation of soldered joints can be
improved with tinbased solder containing zinc
BY W. B. GUO, X. S. LENG, J. C. YAN, AND Y. M. TAN
ABSTRACT
A majority of aluminum alloys are heat sensitive and preferably joined at
low temperature to avoid deterioration of mechanical properties. Tin- (Sn-)
based solders with low melting points are very attractive for the joining of
heat-sensitive aluminum alloys. In this study, ultrasonic soldering of pure Al
at 300C was investigated with Sn-based solders. The tensile strength of the
joints only reaches 63 2.8 MPa if using pure Sn as solder, and the joints fail
along the interface between Al/Sn during the tensile test. However, if using
Sn-Zn alloys, the tensile strength could be raised up to more than 80 MPa, and
the joints fail in the filler metal layer. For Sn-9Zn and Sn-20Zn solders, joints
all fail at the interface of Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic phases in the bond metal.
For hypoeutectic solder, the joints fail across b-Sn and Sn-Zn eutectic phase,
and have maximum elongation. It indicates that Zn can strengthen the interface between the base metal and the solder through forming an Al-based solid
solution layer containing Zn and Sn. The thickness of the solid solution increases with the content of Zn in the solder, but the strength of joints does
not increase. Interface stronger than filler metal and best ductility could be
realized with 4 wt-% Zn.
KEYWORDS
Ultrasonic Soldering Pure Al Sn-based Solder Microstructure
Mechanical Properties
Introduction
Aluminum and its alloys have been
widely used in aerospace, aircraft, and
automobile applications for their high
specific strength, excellent thermal conductivity, and heat treatability (Refs.
13). A key process for joining aluminum alloys is brazing, especially for
relatively low bonding temperature and
low residual stress applications (Ref. 4).
The Al-Si and Zn-Al alloys
are the most popular filler metals for

aluminum (Refs. 57), and their
melting points are still high for the
deformation-strengthening and heattreated aluminum alloys such as 2024
Al and 7075 Al (Refs. 8, 9), whose softening temperatures are 502C and
465C, respectively. Aluminum alloys
and their composites are also used in
electronic components and packaging
(Ref. 10). In other applications, aluminum alloys need to be joined with
temperature-sensitive materials (Ref.
11), which restricts brazing temperature. Some components like the superfluid helium dewar refrigerating machine for aircraft and spacecraft have
special requirements for soldering temperatures as low as 200300C, thus,
low-temperature soldering for aluminum should be developed (Ref. 12).
Sn-based solders have great potential
for joining aluminum alloys (Ref. 13)
because of their relatively lower melting
points, but it is difficult to realize reliable metallic bonding between Sn and
Al. First, without proper flux with a corresponding melting point, the oxide
film of aluminum cannot be removed
effectively. Second, the Al/Sn interface
strength is quite low.
An ultrasonic wave in liquid solder
can generate ultrasonic cavitation, and
a microjet resulting from cavitation
bubble implosion contributes to the
breakage of oxide film. Chen (Ref. 14)
estimated that the shock pressure of
the microjet in Al-Si liquid alloys could
reach about 0.78 GPa. Aluminum, titanium, and steel (Refs. 1518) were all
successfully joined by ultrasonic soldering. Faridi (Ref. 19) ultrasonic soldered 2024 Al with tin, and the joints
achieved shear strength of only 38
MPa. Diao (Ref. 20) deposited a Cu-Ni
adhesion film on the surface of aluminum, then joined the aluminum alloy by hot-dipping tin, thus achieving
a Cu/Sn interface instead of a weak direct Al/Sn interface; however, the
shear strength was as low as 40 MPa.
Li (Ref. 13) found that aluminum dendrites migrating into the solder can
strengthen the joint, and the maximum shear strength of a joint could
approach 60 MPa. Ding (Ref. 21) sol-
W. B. GUO, X. S. LENG, J. C. YAN (jcyan@hit.edu.cn), and Y. M. TAN are with the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin
Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
JUNE 2015 / WELDING JOURNAL 189-s
WELDING RESEARCH
dered 6061 Al with ultrasonic Sn-PbZn coating, and the highest shear
strength was only 25 MPa. All of these
works confirm weak metallic bonding
between Al and Sn.
Recently, Sn-Zn solders have been
used to join aluminum alloys to get
higher strength. Nagaoka (Ref. 12) ultrasonic soldered 1070 Al under the
liquidus temperature of Sn-Zn hypereutectic solder. However, few works
focused on soldering aluminum with
hypoeutectic Sn-Zn solder, which
makes it difficult to understand the
strengthening mechanism of Zn to
Al/Sn interface and the relationship
between content of Zn and mechanical
properties of the joints. So in this
work, pure Sn, hypoeutectic Sn-4Zn,
eutectic Sn-9Zn, and hypereutectic Sn20Zn filler metals were used to solder
aluminum alloys at 300C. Pure Al
1060 was chosen as the base metal for
it can provide results to compare other
Al alloys. Ultrasonic waves were used
to break the oxide film and promote
wetting and bonding between solder
and base metal. The relationship between the Zn content, the microstructure, and mechanical properties were
investigated. It helps in the selection
of solder alloys and processing to realize high-strength metallic bonding of
aluminum alloys at relatively low
temperatures.
Fig. 1 Schematic of ultrasonic soldering process.
the soldering thermal cycle.

Commercially pure tin (99.9%) was
used as a filler metal. Pure tin and
pure Zn (99.9%) were used to prepare
Sn-Zn solders in a Al2O3 crucible at
about 500C. The chemical composition, and solidus (TS) and liquidus (TL)
temperatures of the filler metals and
three eutectic phases are shown in
Table 2.
Soldering Process
The schematic diagram of the soldering process is shown in Fig. 1. The
dimensions of the lower sample is 60
20 9 mm, and filler metal thickness of 300 mm was ensured by
milling. The 1060 Al substrate was
Experimental Procedures
Materials
The aluminum substrate used in
this work is 9-mm-thick 1060 pure Al
(supplied by Dongbei Light Alloys Co.
Ltd.), whose chemical composition
(wt-%) is shown in Table 1. The tensile
strength of 1060 pure Al is 85 0.8
MPa, and has no obvious change after
mechanically polished using 500-grit

SiC papers. Then the polished substrate was ultrasonically cleaned in
acetone for 10 min. A self-assembled
ultrasonic soldering system equipped
with ultrasonic equipment and heating units was used in this work. The
frequency of the ultrasonic vibration
was 20 kHz, with power of 1 kW and
amplitude of 6.5 mm. All samples
were heated to 300C in air, and the
temperature was measured with Ktype thermocouples. Ultrasonic vibration was applied for 40 s, and the
holding time was 10 min. Vibration
direction of the horn was perpendicular to the soldering surfaces. The
samples were removed from the heating platform and cooled in air.
Table 1 Chemical Composition of 1060 Al

Material
1060 Al
Chemical Composition in wt-%

Cu
0.10
Mg
0.01
Mn
0.01
Fe
0.50
Si
0.07
Zn
0.01
Ti
0.02
Al
Bal.
Table 2 Chemical Composition; Solidus and Liquidus Temperatures of Filler Metals and Some Phases
Filler Metals or Phases
Sn
Pure Sn
Sn-4Zn
Sn-9Zn
Sn-20Zn
Sn-Zn eutectic
Al-Sn eutectic
Al-Zn eutectic
Chemical Composition in wt-%

Zn
100
95.89
90.55
79.64
91.2
99.4
0
190-s WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015, VOL. 94
0
4.11
9.45
20.36
8.8
0
6
Al
0
0
0
0
0
0.6
94.0
Solidus and Liquidus Temperature in C

TS
TL
232
198.5
198.5
198.5
198.5
232
381
232
212
202
277
198.5
232
381
WELDING RESEARCH
A
polishing techniques. The joint microstructure, fracture location, and

morphology of the fracture surface
were observed by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM:S3400, FEI-Quanta
200F) equipped with an energydispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS).
The joint tensile strength was evaluated with a tension testing machine (Instron-5569) at a constant speed of 0.5
mm/min. Three samples were used to
calculate the average tensile strength.
Elongation of the joint was used to
evaluate the ductility, and elongation d
is defined as follows:
d= (l1l0)/l0=l/l0 100%
(1)
where l0 is the original length of the

joint, and l1 is the joints length after
fracture.
Results and Discussion

Microstructure of Joints
C
Fig. 2 Microstructure of joints of 1060

Al soldered with A pure Sn; B Sn
4Zn; C Sn9Zn; D Sn20Zn.
Microstructure and
Mechanical Testing
The sample for microstructure observation was prepared using standard
Aluminum reacts with oxygen to

form a layer of alumina at any temperature, which has to be removed before
a metallic bond can be formed with
Sn-based solder. Ultrasonic vibration
can remove the oxide film effectively.
Figure 2A shows the morphology of Al
1060/Sn joint. The interface is curved
with some dissolution pits, which indicates that the aluminum oxide film
was removed completely. A sound joint
is realized without any obvious defects. The filler metal layer is mainly
composed of b-Sn, Sn-Al eutectic, and
primary a-Al phase. The chemical
composition of the whole bond zone is
Al: 2.67 % and Sn: 97.33%, based on
EDS analysis. The solder and base
metal dissolve each other after the oxide film is removed, but Sn and Al have
very limited mutual solubility. At
300C, the solubility of Al in pure Sn is
about 1% according to the Al-Sn phase
diagram (Ref. 22). The ultrasonic
process can promote nucleation of the
high-temperature phase (Ref. 23). After the liquid Sn is saturated with dissolved Al, a-Al, which is the hightemperature phase, will crystallize
from liquid Sn, which makes liquid Sn
subsaturated. At the same time, the ultrasonic process can accelerate dissolution by the stirring effect of acoustic
streaming (Ref. 24), and Al will trans-
fer into liquid Sn continuously to

make liquid Sn saturated all the time.
Therefore, Al content in the metallic
bond zone exceeds the saturated solid
solubility of Al in Sn at 300C. The
composition of Sn-Al eutectic is 0.6%
Al and the eutectic temperature is
228C. b-Sn and Sn-Al phase eutectic
forms in the process of cooling.
Figure 2B shows the microstructure
of the joint with the Sn-4Zn hypoeutectic solder. The microstructure of
the bond zone mainly consists of b-Sn,
Sn-Zn eutectic, and primary a-Al
phase. The eutectic temperature of SnZn is 198C, so the a-Al and b-Sn
phases are all pre-eutectic phase. b-Sn
phase crystallizes first, and Sn-Zn eutectic phase fills in the gaps between
the b-Sn particles. The chemical composition of Sn-Zn eutectic phase is Zn:
10.14%, and Sn: 89.96% by EDS analysis. The morphology of the joint with
Sn-9Zn eutectic solder is shown in Fig.
2C. There are mainly Sn-Zn eutectic,
Zn-rich, and a-Al phases. Zn hardly
dissolves Sn at any temperature according to the Sn-Zn phase diagram
(Ref. 25). Therefore, a-Al and Zn-rich
phases can form during holding time.
The chemical composition of Zn-rich
phase is Zn: 98.40% and Sn: 1.60%.
The joint with Sn-20Zn (Fig. 2D) has
basically the same phase constitution
as the joint with Sn-9Zn, but with
more a-Al and Zn-rich phases. Also,
more Al dissolves into the filler metal
layer for larger mutual solubility of Zn
and Al, and most of a-Al particles have
a morphology of a petal shape.
Figure 3AD shows the interface
morphology of joints with pure Sn, Sn4Zn, Sn-9Zn, and Sn-20Zn, respectively. When 1060 Al is soldered with pure
Sn, a large amount of primary a-Al
particles grow at the interface, with
morphology of regular shape, as
shown in Fig. 3A. During the time of
holding and cooling, primary a-Al will
crystallize from liquid tin, and prefers
to nucleate at the aluminum base metal for lower nucleation energy. The
corresponding EDS line-scanning result shows that the content of the elements changes dramatically at the interface, which indicates there is only a
very thin diffusion layer of Al and Sn
for their limited mutual solubility.
With regard to the Sn-Zn soldered
samples, the element distribution of
the interface shows there are thicker
WELDING RESEARCH
diffusion layers of elements than
Al/Sn interface.
Figure 3B shows that Zn segregates
at the interface with Sn-4Sn, indicating that Al-rich phase solid dissolves
certain content of Zn, forming a solid
solution of AlZnSn. When soldered
with Sn-9Zn, Zn content and thickness of the solid solution increase
Fig. 3C. Whats more, Zn has already
diffused into the base metal through
grain boundaries with Sn-20Zn solder
Fig. 3D. Al could dissolve about
0.5% of Zn, and Sn could hardly dissolve Zn at room temperature, according to Zn-Al (Ref. 26) and Sn-Zn phase
diagrams. Therefore, Zn prefers to exist in an Al-rich phase at the interface.
Moreover, when primary a-Al crystallizes from liquid tin, it shows obvious anisotropy, and would like to present certain crystal faces outside to reduce its total surface free energy,
and the Al-rich phase will lose its
anisotropy for mutual dissolution of
Al and Zn, resulting in a morphology
of quasi-sphere at the interface with
Sn-20Zn filler metal.
Fig. 3 Interface morphology and corresponding EDS linescanning result of joints

soldered with A pure Sn; B Sn4Zn; C Sn9Zn; D Sn20Zn.
Tensile tests were used to evaluate
the mechanical properties of joints.
The black line in Fig. 4 shows the tensile strength of joints with different
filler metals. The joint soldered with
pure Sn has a tensile strength of 63
2.8 MPa. When Zn was added to the
filler metal, the tensile strength increased to more than 80 MPa. Joints
with Sn-9Zn and Sn-20Zn have the
same tensile strength of about 80
MPa, which approaches the strength
of 1060 Al, while strength of the joint
with Sn-4Zn can get as high as 86 3.2
MPa, which is slightly higher than the
base metal. As a matter of fact, if a
sample of equal section is prepared for
a tensile test, fracture will occur at the
base metal, which means an interface
stronger than the filler metal can be
realized with only 4% Zn.
The red dashed line in Fig. 4 shows
the possible tensile strength at the interface. Since the joint with pure Sn
fails along the interface, the joint
strength is also its interface bonding
strength. The joints with Sn-Zn solders all fail in the filler metal, which
means the interfaces are stronger than
the filler metal and their strength val-
ues cannot be obtained in the tensile

test. Al 3003 was soldered with Sn9Zn in our previous work, and a
strength of 120 MPa was obtained,
which means Al/Sn-9Zn interface
bonding strength is more than 120
MPa. The AlZnSn solid solution layer
gets thicker when Zn is increased, so
the interface may also be stronger
with more Zn.

The blue line in Fig. 4 shows the relationship between elongation and
content of Zn. The joint with pure Sn
shows typical interface fracture, and
bonding of the interface is so weak
that the joint fractured before much
deformation. Joints with hypereutectic Sn-Zn filler metals also show inter-
Fig. 4 Relationship between content of Zn and mechanical properties of joints.
WELDING RESEARCH
A
face fracture, but the interface was already strengthened, and bonding between Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic
phases is much stronger than that of
Sn/Al interface. Strength of the joints
approaches the strength of the base
metal, so the joints experienced large
deformation before failure. As to the
joint with Sn-4Zn, the interface is
stronger than the filler metal and no
other weak interface exists in the bond
zone, so it shows typical ductile fracture and has the highest elongation.
Failure Behaviors
Fig. 5 Fracture location of joints soldered with A pure Sn; B Sn4Zn; C Sn9Zn;
D Sn20Zn.
Fig. 6 Fracture surface of joints soldered with A pure Sn; B Sn4Zn; C Sn9Zn;
D Sn20Zn.
Figure 5 shows cross sections of the

fractured region with different filler
metals. The joint with pure Sn shows a
typical interfacial failure type Fig.
5A. The fracture initiates at Al/Sn interface during the tensile test and
then partially turns into the filler metal layer, which indicates that the joint
tensile strength has a close relationship with Al/Sn interface strength.
The Al/Sn interface is the weakest area
of the joint for the low degree of element diffusion. Figure 5B shows fracture path of the joint with Sn-4Zn.
With only 4% Zn, tensile strength
raised to more than 80 MPa, and fracture occurs in the filler metal layer
rather than Al/Sn inteface. It can be
concluded that the interface has been
strengthened by Zn. Fracture initiates
from the solder near the interface, and
then turns into the other side. Figure
5C, D shows the fracture paths of
joints with Sn-9Zn and Sn-20Zn. They
present almost the same fracture behavior, and the joints fail along the interface of Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic
phases rather than Al/Sn interface.
For larger solubility of Al and Zn, the
diffusion layer at the interface will be
thicker with more Zn. The interface
would be Al/AlZnSn solid solution/SnZn eutectic or b-Sn phase instead of
the weak interface of Al/Sn. Thus, interface strength is improved significantly. Then the interface of Zn-rich
and Sn-Zn eutectic phase becomes the
weakest area of the joint.
Figure 6 shows the fracture surfaces
of tensile failed joints with different
filler metals. For the joint with pure
Sn, the fracture surface of Al side (Fig.
6A) shows the 3-D morphology of primary a-Al particles at the interface. All
of them tend to be enclosed with {111}
WELDING RESEARCH
faces. Typically, aluminum has a fcc
crystal structure, and the surface energy ranking of Al crystal faces runs as
g{110}>g{100}>g{111} (Ref. 27). Primary a-Al would like to expose its
{111} faces in liquid tin to minimize total surface free energy, thus presenting
regular facet morphology. The fracture
surface of the solder side presents regular pits corresponding to a-Al particles. Figure 6B shows the fracture surface of the Sn-4Zn joint. The fracture
propagates in the filler metal layer, and
fracture surface shows b-Sn and Sn-Zn
eutectic phase, both of which have lots
of dimples with different sizes. This indicates that it is typical ductile fracture. Figure 6C and D shows the fracture surfaces of joints with Sn-9Zn and
Sn-20Zn. Since joints fail along the interface of Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic
phase, fracture surfaces all show Znrich and Sn-Zn eutectic phases. The
chemical composition of point A at
surface is Zn: 92.38%, Sn: 7.62%; point
B Zn: 9.96%, Sn: 90.04%, which are
Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic phases, respectively. The Zn-rich phase is platelike in space with a smooth surface,
and there is still some Sn-Zn eutectic
phase on the Zn-rich phase.
Discussion
Microstructure and fracture path
models (Fig. 7) of joints soldered with
pure Sn, hypoeutectic Sn-4Zn, and hypereutectic Sn-20Zn were established
based on the results above. It can be
concluded that Al does not react with
Sn and Zn at all, and metallic bonding
between Al and Sn-based solder rely
on the solid solution formed at the interface. But Al and Sn form only a very
thin solid solution to strengthen the
interface. Therefore, the strength of
Al/Sn interface is quite low, and the
joint will fail along the interface, as
shown in Fig. 7A. The shear strength
was about 3060 MPa and varied from
base metals and process parameters
based on the literature (Refs. 13, 19,
21), as discussed in the introduction.
Tensile strength of 63 2.8MPa was
obtained in this work. Whereas, Zn and
Al have relatively larger mutual solubility, there was a thick layer of Al-Zn solid
solution at the interface when Al alloys
were soldered with Zn-Al filler metal
(Ref. 28), and the tensile strength could
reach 130200 MPa (Ref. 8), which is
Fig. 7 Microstructure and fracture paths model of joints soldered with A pure Sn;
B Sn4Zn; C Sn20Zn.
much higher than that of Al/Sn joints.

As to results in this work, it is found
that Zn can strengthen Al/Sn interface
by the formation of AlZnSn solid solution, and an interface stronger than
filler metal can be realized with only
4% Zn. The fracture crosses Sn-rich and
Sn-Zn eutectic phases Fig. 7B. The
joints have the highest strength and
ductility, and as shown in Fig. 7C, a Znrich phase would appear if hypereutectic Sn-Zn solder was used. The interfaces of Zn-rich and Sn-Zn eutectic
phases weaken the strength of the
joints slightly. Almost equal tensile
strength would be obtained with hypereutectic Sn-Zn solder with different Zn
content for the existence of Zn-rich/SnZn eutectic phase interface. Nagaokao
(Ref. 12) also got tensile strength at the
same level with hypereutectic Sn-xZn (x
= 9, 23, 40, 82) filler metals. Beside,
adding too much Zn would raise the liquidus temperature of the solder, so the
hypoeutectic Sn-Zn solder is most suitable for soldering of 1060 Al, and a
joint with best strength and ductility
can be obtained.
Conclusions
Pure Sn and Sn-Zn solders with different Zn contents were used to ultra-
sonic solder 1060 Al at 300C without

flux. Ultrasonic waves contribute to the
breakage of oxide film, and could promote wetting and metallic bonding between the solder and 1060 Al. Joints
with good interface bonding were realized with all the filler metals. Bonding
between Al and Sn is weak and fracture
occurs at the Al/Sn interface during tensile testing. The tensile strength is 63
2.8 MPa. Zn would segregate at the interface for larger mutual solubility of Zn
and Al, which can strengthen the interface significantly by forming a layer of
AlZnSn solid solution. With an increase
of Zn, the pre-eutectic phase of the
metallic bond zone transforms from Snrich phase to Zn-rich phase. Joints all
fail along the interface of the Zn-rich
and Sn-Zn eutectic phases, thus the
content of Zn does not affect the
strength of joints with hypereutectic
solder. An interface stronger than filler
metal and best ductility can be realized
with only 4% Zn.
Acknowledgment
This research was sponsored by the

Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant No. 51105106).
WELDING RESEARCH
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WELDING RESEARCH
Control of Keyhole Exit Position in

Plasma Arc Welding Process
Experiments laid a foundation for the practical
application of the keyhole mode PAW process
BY Z. M. LIU, Y. K. LIU, C. S. WU, AND Z. LUO
ABSTRACT
Keyholing behavior is controlled by using the keyhole exit
image signal to improve the welding stability in the plasma arc
welding (PAW) process. Keyhole plasma arc welding has multiple
advantages over the traditional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)
process; however, the keyhole stability may be easily influenced
by welding parameters such that obtaining highquality welds
becomes difficult, especially in midthickness weld metals. Weld
surface quality, porosity, and collapse are closely related to the
keyhole behavior, especially the keyhole exit deviation distance,
which is the distance deviated from the keyhole exit center point
to the torch axis. A welding process control system was thus de
signed based on the keyhole exit image in this paper. The pulse
welding current waveform was specially designed, the averaged
value of the keyhole deviation distance during one pulse was
chosen as the controlled variable, and the falling slope was
selected as the controlling variable. A predictive control
algorithm was designed. Experiments were conducted on
9.5mmthick stainless steel plate, and highquality welds were
obtained.
KEYWORDS
Plasma Arc Welding Keyhole ClosedLoop Control
Keyhole Exit Deviation Distance Controlled Pulse
Introduction
Control of the keyhole behavior is of great significance
for practical application of the keyhole plasma arc welding
(PAW) process. As the welding arc flows through the relatively small-sized water-cooled orifice in the nozzle, the radial size of the welding arc is constricted (Ref. 1). Many important properties of the constricted arc, including arc pressure, energy density, and arc temperature, are improved
heavily compared to the free-burning arc. The constricted
arc is called plasma arc for the ionization percentage in the
arc column is extremely high (Refs. 1, 2). As the plasma arc
deposits onto the metal surface, the metal is melted and the
liquid metal is pressed away to the side, and a keyhole forms
in the weld pool. When the penetration ability becomes high
enough, the keyhole will fully penetrate through the weld
pool. As the welding torch moves along the welding direction, most of the liquid metal is displaced to the rear part of
the weld pool, cools down and solidifies into the weld (Ref.
3). The weld quality mainly depends on the keyhole stability
during the welding process (Refs. 4, 5). Because the keyhole
is easily affected by many factors (Ref. 6), real-time control
of the keyhole behavior is crucial to improving keyhole stability and to obtaining high-quality welds (Ref. 7).
Real-time control of the PAW keyhole process has attracted researchers recently. Constant size keyhole welding
process is chosen in the beginning period of the keyhole
PAW application (Ref. 8). However, it is very hard to realize
a constant-size diameter keyhole during the welding process
because the keyhole state can be easily disturbed by many
welding parameters. Pulsed-current PAW was thus developed to overcome the shortcoming of the constant keyhole,
and good pipeline welds were obtained (Ref. 9). A one pulse
one keyhole strategy was first proposed by using the square
pulse waveform to weld 4.0-mm-thick workpieces (Refs. 10,
11), yet it is hard to obtain high-quality welds if the workpiece is thicker. In order to improve keyhole stability in the
thicker workpiece, two slow-dropping substages of variable
slopes were added to the falling edge of the square pulse in
controlled-pulse keyholing PAW process (Refs. 1214). Keyhole state transformation was smooth, and 8.0-mm-thick
stainless steel plates were joined by a controlled-pulse keyholing PAW process (Ref. 15).
Unfortunately, during pulsed keyhole PAW controlled by
indirect keyhole signals, for example, efflux plasma voltage,
the weld surface is not smooth and porosity easily emerges
in the resultant welds. At the authors research institute, an
industrial camera-based vision system has been developed
to observe the keyhole PAW process. It was found that not
only is the keyhole exit size changing dynamically, but the
keyhole exit position is also dynamically varying during the
Z. M. LIU and Z. LUO are with Tianjin Key Laboratory of Advanced Joining Technology & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, China.
Z. M. LIU is also with School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, China, as is C. S. WU (wucs@sdu.edu.cn). Y. K. LIU is with Center for
Sustaining Manufacturing and Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.
196-s WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015 VOL. 94
WELDING RESEARCH
welding process. Keyhole size parameters include keyhole
width and length; keyhole exit deviation distance is defined
in Fig. 1. It is the distance of the keyhole exit center point
deviated against to the welding direction away from the
torch axis (Ref. 16). If the thermal state of the weld pool is
changing, the keyhole exit deviation distance varies by a
faster speed and by a wider margin than do the keyhole size
parameters (Ref. 17). When the keyhole exit deviation distance becomes large, the weld surface is rough and porosity
forms easily; if the keyhole exit becomes small, on the other
hand, collapse or even melt-through will take place in the
weld pool (Refs. 17, 18).
In order to guarantee weld quality, a keyhole PAW process
control system was developed based on the keyhole exit deviation distance. Welding current was pulsed, the waveform
was defined based on the controlled-pulse keyholing strategy. The falling slope was chosen as the controlling variable.
A predictive control algorithm was derived. High-quality
welds were obtained in varied speed welding control
processes. The results lay a solid foundation for the practical
application of the keyhole PAW process.
The Control System

Fig. 1 Definition of the keyhole exit deviation distance.
Fig. 2 Schematic of the control system setup.
As shown in Fig. 2, the innovative keyhole PAW observation and control system contains two subsystems, i.e., the
keyhole PAW system, and the data acquisition and predictive control system. In the PAW system, the transferred arc
power source was a Thermal Arc Ultra Flex 350 model and
the nontransferred arc (pilot arc) power source was a Miller
Electric Maxstar 150 STH, the PAW torch was a Thermal
Arc Dynamics PWM 300, and the coolant box machine was
made by Miller. In the acquisition and control system, the
welding process electrical signals, including the welding current and arc voltage, were sensed by a current Hall sensor
and a voltage Hall sensor, respectively, and were
acquired/recorded by an NI-6024 DAQ card; the keyhole
process was imaged by the camera at the ratio of 62
frames/s. After calibration and image processing, the keyhole state parameters can be extracted from the keyhole exit
image sequence.
In the torch, the tungsten electrode diameter was 4.5
mm, the orifice diameter 3.175 mm, throat length 5.0 mm,
and the electrode setback 4.0 mm. The torch standoff distance was 6.0 mm. The plasma gas and shielding gas were
pure argon, and the flow rates were 2.8 and 20 L/min, respectively. The workpiece was stainless steel (SUS 304) with
a dimensional size of 300 63 9.5 mm.
Principles of the Keyhole Behaviors

Fig. 3 The captured
keyhole exit image
(x denotes the
welding direction, *
denotes the keyhole
exit center point).
That means the
welding direction is
along the negative
x axis.
Figure 3 is a sample keyhole exit image captured by the

CCD camera mounted at the backside of the workpiece. Keyhole exit size and its distance from the keyhole center point
deviated to the torch axis (as shown in Fig. 1) were extracted
from the keyhole image (Refs. 19, 20). The keyhole exit deviation distance varied by a faster speed and a wider margin
than did the keyhole size parameters as the weld pool thermal state was changed. The keyhole exit deviation distance
has a close relationship to the thermal state in the keyhole
and weld pool, and can thus be used to reflect the stability
WELDING RESEARCH
of the penetrated keyhole (Ref. 21). If the observed keyhole
exit deviation distance is too large, porosity forms easily in
the weld pool as heavy plasma flux pressure blow onto the
liquid-gas interface, and more liquid metal distributes in the
front side weld pool to increase the front side weld height; if
the keyhole exit deviation distance is too small, the weld
pool may become particularly large, the weld pool will easily
collapse or even melt-through (Ref. 17). In order to improve
the keyhole stability, a controlled pulse keyholing strategy
is proposed (Refs. 12, 13), the designed welding current
waveform is shown in Fig. 4.
As observed in the previous experiments, among the
waveform parameters in the current pulse, the Tk1 period
length is the most critical factor to affect the keyholesustaining opening period (Ref. 21), and in turn can be used
to adjust the inclined degree of the leading keyhole wall and
the weld pool volume. Increasing Tk1 prolongs the keyholesustaining opening period and decreases the keyhole exit deviation distance. In the controlled-pulse keyholing welding
process, the current waveform is defined in Fig. 4. The waveform parameters are defined in Table 1, peak current (IP),
base current (IB), and base current period (TB), second-stage
current falling period (TK2) are fixed to simplify the control
algorithm; peak current period (TP), i.e., the blind keyhole
growing period is related to the weld pool thermal status, it
is a variable and treated as the disturbance factor in the control system; the first stage current falling period (TK1), i.e.,
the keyhole-sustaining open period, is set as the controlling
factor, its varying ranges are listed in Table 1.
In this research, deviation distance was used to indicate
the keyhole status, the averaged deviation distance in one
pulse [averaged deviation distance per pulse (ADSP)] was selected as the controlled factor in the control system. The
system control process is shown in Fig. 5. During the welding process, the transferred-arc current waveform from the
main power source is controlled by the command signals
from the host control computer. The keyhole dynamic state
varies following the current waving process. The backsidemounted camera continuously images the keyhole exit behavior, and keyhole exit deviation distance is calculated
from the processed image. As the keyhole opens, the deviation distance adds up until the keyhole is closed. During the
base current period, the ADSP is calculated, the difference
(e) of the real-time ADSP and its set-point ADSP* is figured
out, and the controller outputs TK1 for the next current
pulse based on the inputted error. The keyhole state will be
adjusted to narrow the error.
Fig. 4 Current waveform in the controlledpulsed welding

process.
Fig. 5 The closedloop control process.
obtained by system identification. From test 1 to test 3, the

input factor varies randomly in different ranges; the ranges
are listed in Table 1. The response model of the system output to the input was obtained by
ADSP(k) = 0.848 ADSP(k 1) 0.27 TK1(k 1) + 0.59 (1)
where ADSP (mm) is averaged deviation distance in one
pulse, Tk1 (ms) is the first stage current falling period, and k
is the pulse cycle number. The experimental observed ADSP
and the model predictive value are shown in Fig. 6. The root
mean square error (RMSE)
RMSE =
1 N
2
( y ( k ) y ( k ))
N k =1
(2)
System Identification
is 0.1788 mm, which is very small, i.e., the error of the model predictive value to the experimental results is very narrow. In Equation 2, N is the sample number, y(k) is the sam-
The mathematic model between the input factor (TK1) of

the control system and the output factor (ADSP) should be
Table 1 Welding Current Waveform Parameters and Welding Speed

Test No.
IP (A)
TK1 (ms)
1
2
3
4
220
220
220
220
10130
10100
1080
10130
TK2(ms)
40
40
40
40
IB (A)
TB (ms)
Welding Speed (mm/s)
Set Point (mm)
60
60
60
60
100
100
100
100
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.81.61.95
2.3
WELDING RESEARCH
A
Fig. 6 System identification results: A Test 1; B Test 2; C Test 3.
ple value, and y (k) is the predication value of the model.

According to Equation 1, if the system becomes stable
(i.e., reaches its steady state), the controlling factor and the
controlled factor have the following relationship:
TK 1 s =
1
(0.590.152ADSP s )
0.27
(3)
where TK1s (ms) and ADSPs (mm) are the inputted TK1 and
outputted ADSP as the system is stable. According to Equation 3, some typical stable input and output values are listed
in Table 2.
Control Algorithm
A predictive control algorithm is a robust control method
for applications where the predictive model is not accurate
(Ref. 22), and has been used widely in the welding control
field (Refs. 2325). In this research, keyhole behavior was
controlled by applying the predictive algorithm.
At instant k, denote ADSP(k) as y(k), TK1(k) as u(k). Equation 1 can then be written as
y(k) = a y(k 1) + b u(k 1) + c
(4)
where a, b, c are constants whose values are identified as

0.848, 0.27, and 0.59 [based on standard least squares algorithm (Ref. 23)], respectively.
At step (k + 1), (first step prediction)
y(k + 1) = y(k) + y(k + 1)
= y(k) + ay(k) + bu(k)
(5)
where y(k + 1) = y(k + 1) y(k), u(k) = u(k) u(k 1).

At step (k + 2), (second step prediction)
y(k + 2) = y(k + 1) + y(k + 2)
= y (k + 1) + a y (k + 1) + b u (k + 1)
= y (k) + a y (k) + b u (k) + a2 y (k) + ab u k
Fig. 7 Controlled process (Test 4).
= y(k) + a(a + 1) y(k) + b(a + 1) u(k)

At step (k + 3), (third step prediction)
y(k + 3) = y(k + 2) + y(k + 3)
= y(k) + a(a + 1)2 y(k) + b(a + 1)2 u(k)
(7)
At step (k + j), (j-th step prediction)

y(k + j) = y(k + j 1) + y(k + j)
= y(k) + a(a + 1)j1 y(k) + b(a + 1)j1 u(k)
(8)
(6)
Because in Equation 8, a and b are constant, y(k + j) can

hence be predicted. Based on the results of modeling and experimental observation, if the predication step number is
set to 5, the response time and the predication precision of
the control system will get an acceptable trade-off.
Supposing the control system reaches its steady state,
i.e., the input and the output get stable, the system should
meet u(k + i) = 0(i > 0). The i-step prediction output value is
y(k + i) = y(k + i 1) + y(k + i)
= y(k) + a(a+1)i1 y(k) + b(a+1)i1 u(k)
(9)
Suppose,
y(k + i) = y*
(10)
where y* is the set-point value of the system output.
Thus, as the prediction step is set as 5, the control algorithm is
u ( k ) =
y * y( k ) a
y ( k )
b ( a + 1)4 b
(11)
Table 2 Predicted Input and Output in the Stable System

TK1s(ms)
ADSPs(mm)
50
78
106
3
2.5
2
The period length of TK1 directly determines the keyhole

open period length in one pulse (Ref. 21). If the keyhole
opens too short or too long, the keyhole will be unstable. According to Equation 3, if TK1 is less than 10 ms or larger than
WELDING RESEARCH
A
F
Fig. 8 Keyhole image, current waveform, and deviation dis
tance in Test 4: A Welding current and deviation distance (Part
I); B keyhole image (Part I); C welding current and deviation
distance (Part II); D keyhole image (Part II); E welding cur
rent and deviation distance (Part III); F keyhole image (Part
III).
200 ms, the penetrated keyhole may become unstable because the heat input to the weld pool changes too heavily.
The system input should be restricted to a range that will
guarantee the robustness and the stability of the control
system. According to the observation results in tests 13, if
TK1 [10, 130] ms, the keyhole should not be so unstable. In
the control system, the input is set as
u ( k ) = 130 ms, if u( k ) > 130 ms;
u ( k ) = u ( k ) , if 10 < u ( k ) < 130 ms;

u k = 10 ms, if u k < 10 ms.
( )
( )
Control Experiments
In order to test the robustness of the control system, the
welding speed was varied during test 4. The welded workpiece thickness was 9.5 mm. The set point of the control al200-s WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015, VOL. 94
gorithm (ADSP*) was 2.3 mm. The observed input and output of the control system are shown in Fig. 7. At the starting
stage of the welding process, the welding speed is zero until
a fully penetrated keyhole forms in the weld pool. At the beginning stage, the keyhole exit deviation distance was very
small. TK1 is restricted at 60 ms during the first 10 pulses;
the welding torch moves after the first completely penetrated keyhole emerges, and the ADSP is increasing during this
stage. After the control algorithm begins to work, the system is not so stable; the heat input factor TK1 waves in a
large range. The control system stabilized after about 20
pulse cycles. Even though the welding speed was changed
during the welding process, the controlled factor ADSP
waved in a narrow range around the set-point value.
Figure 8 shows the keyhole image, current pulse waveform, and keyhole exit deviation distance behavior during
the different speed welding stages. The keyhole first penetrates completely at the instant of 2.292 s. The observed
keyhole exit center point is considered to coincide with the
torch axis for the torch is stationary at this instant. During
the first stage, the welding speed is 1.8 mm/s, TK1 keeps inA
Fig. 9 Weld surfaces (Test 4): A Front side; B back side.
WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 10 Cross
sections of the weld
(Test 4): A Part I;
B Part II; C Part
III.
creasing as the welding point moves toward the middle of

the workpiece plate, and the current pulse frequency is
about 3.6 Hz during this stage; the keyhole position is stable
and the keyhole open period in one pulse is about 157 ms.
During the second stage, the welding speed decreases to 1.6
mm/s, so less heat should be deposited into the weld pool,
TK1 becomes shorter to 30~60 ms to decrease the heat input,
and the current pulse frequency increases to 3.8 Hz; keyhole
open period decreases to about 144 ms, and the keyhole exit
position varies steady around the set point. During the third
stage, the welding speed increases to 1.95 mm/s, TK1 increases to 100~120 ms, the keyhole open period increases to
about 194 ms, the welding current pulse frequency decreases to about 3.0 Hz, the keyhole exit deviation distance waves
steady around the set point. During the welding process, the
control system can overcome the disturbance of the welding
speed varying, the welding current falling period (TK1) was
controlled to adjust the heat input into the weld pool; therefore, the keyhole open period was adjusted and the keyhole
position varied smoothly.
The resultant weld was very sound. The weld surfaces are
shown in Fig. 9. During different speed stages, the weld surfaces changed very little except at the arc starting point and
extinguishing points. As shown in Fig. 10, the inner weld
quality in the three stages was very sound. It was thus concluded that the derived predictive control algorithm was
able to control the process with acceptable accuracy.
Conclusion
A controlled-pulse keyholing plasma arc welding system
was designed based on the keyhole exit image. Deviation
distance of the backside keyhole exit was extracted from the
keyhole image captured by a backside-mounted camera. The
averaged deviation distance in one pulse (ADSP) was chosen
as the controlled variable, the first stage falling period (TK1)
in the welding current waveform was set as the controlling
variable, the relationship between ADSP and TK1 was identified, and the model based on predictive control algorithm
was applied. During the control experiments, the control
system was able to adjust the welding current waveform according to the keyhole deviation exit distance feedback, thus
controlling the keyhole exit position. High-quality welds
were obtained in the experiments conducted on the 9.5mm-thick stainless steel workpiece. The results laid a foundation for the practical application of the keyhole mode
PAW process.
The experiments were completed at the University of
Acknowledgments
Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. The authors are grateful for the financial support for this project from the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50936003). They
would also like to thank Dr. YuMing Zhang and Dr. WeiJie
Zhang for their help with the experiments.
References
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plasma-arc welding. Welding Journal 54(3): 99-s to 103-s.
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welds in the plasma-arc keyhole welding of structural steels. Journal
of Materials Processing Technology 52:6875.
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7. Zhang, S. B., and Zhang, Y. M. 2000. Stability of keyhole in
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8. Steffens, H. D., and Kayer, H. 1972. Automatic control for
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9. Ashauerand, R. C., and Goodman, S. 1967. Automatic plasma
arc welding of square butt pipe joints. Welding Journal 46(5):
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14011411.
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for keyhole plasma arc welding of stainless steel plates with medium thickness. Welding Journal 89(11): 224-s to 231-s.
13. Wu, C. S., Jia, C. B., and Chen, M. A. 2010. Effects of controlled pulse current waveform on key-holing condition in plasma
arc welding. China Welding (2): 1216.
14. Jia, C. B., Wu, C. S., and Zhang, Y. M. 2009. Sensing controlled pulse keyholing condition in plasma arc welding. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China 19: 341346.
15. Liu, Z. M., Wu, C. S., and Chen M. A. 2011. Experimental
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study on PAW butt-welding process with controlled pulse keyholing strategy. Journal of Mechanical Engineering 47(3): 4450.
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sensing of the keyhole exit deviation from the torch axis in plasma
arc welding. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology 71: 12091219.
17. Liu, Z. M., and Wu, C. S. 2012. The influence of keyhole behaviors to the weld defects in plasma arc welding process. Research
Report in Shandong University.
18. Liu, Z. M. 2013. Vision sensing and controlling of the backside keyhole dynamic behaviors in controlled-pulse plasma arc
welding process. Doctoral thesis, Shandong University.
19. Liu, Z. M., Wu, C. S., and Gao, J. Q. 2013. Vision-based observation of keyhole images in plasma arc welding. International
Journal of Thermal Sciences 63(1): 3845.
20. Liu, Z. M., Wu, C. S., and Chen, M. A. 2012. Visualizing the
influence of the process parameters on the keyhole dimensions in
plasma arc welding. Measurement Science and Technology 23:

105603 (9 pp).
21. Liu, Z. M., Wu, C. S., and Chen, J. 2013. Sensing dynamic
keyhole behaviors in controlled-pulse key-holing plasma arc welding. Welding Journal 92(12): 381-s to 389-s.
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model predictive control technology. Control Engineering Practice
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23. Liu, Y. K., and Zhang, Y. M. 2014. Toward welding robot
with human knowledge: A remotely-controlled approach. IEEE
Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, accepted for
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surface. Control Engineering Practice 21(11): 14691480.
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control of weld penetration in gas tungsten arc welding. IEEE
Transactions on Control Systems Technology 22(3): 955966.
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WELDING RESEARCH
Welding Metallurgy of Dissimilar AISI 430/DQSK

Steels Resistance Spot Welds
The metallurgical behavior of dissimilar resistance spot welds in
AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel and DQSK lowcarbon steels is investigated
BY M. POURANVARI, S. P. H. MARASHI, AND M. ALIZADEH-SH
ABSTRACT
This paper addresses the microstructure and mechanical performance of dissimi
lar resistance spot welds between AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel and drawing quality
special killed (DQSK) lowcarbon steel. The mechanical properties of the welds are
described by peak load, failure energy, and failure mode during the tensileshear test.
Phase transformations in the fusion zone (FZ) and heataffected zone (HAZ) are ana
lyzed. The main metallurgical features of the weldment are the formation of a dual
phase, ferritemartensite microstructure in the FZ, grain growth and martensite for
mation in the HAZ of the ferritic stainless steel side, and martensitic and eutectoid
transformations in the HAZ of the DQSK steel side. It was observed that increasing
welding current leads to transition of failure mode from interfacial to double pullout
mode. It is shown that the FZ size at sheet/sheet interface in the DQSK side is the key
macrostructural feature controlling the load bearing capacity and energy absorption
capability of the AISI 430/DQSK dissimilar weld.
KEYWORDS
Resistance Spot Welding Dissimilar Welding Failure Mode
Ferritic Stainless Steel Welding Metallurgy
Introduction
Resistance spot welding (RSW) is a
critical joining process in vehicle production. Vehicle crashworthiness,
which is defined as the capability of a
car structure to provide adequate protection to its passengers against injuries in the event of a crash, largely
depends on the integrity and mechanical performance of the spot welds. The
failure mode of resistance spot welds
is a qualitative measure of mechanical
properties (Refs. 13). Basically, spot
welds can fail in two distinct modes,
described as follows (Refs. 49):
1) Interfacial failure (IF) mode in
which the fracture propagates
through the fusion zone (FZ). It is believed that this failure mode has a
detrimental effect on the crashworthiness of the vehicles.
2) Pullout failure (PF) mode in
which the failure occurs via withdrawal of the weld nugget from one sheet.
In this mode, fracture may initiate in
the base metal (BM), heat-affected
zone (HAZ), or HAZ/FZ depending on
the metallurgical and geometrical
characteristics of the weld zone and
loading conditions. Generally, the pullout mode is the preferred failure mode
due to its associated higher plastic deformation and energy absorption.
Due to its significant impact on
joint reliability, failure mode has been
an interesting issue for some recent

studies. The transition from IF to PF
mode is generally related to the increase in the size of FZ above a minimum value. It has been shown that the
minimum FZ size is a function of
sheet thickness and BM/HAZ/FZ materials properties as well as loading
conditions (Refs. 1017). It is shown
that the hardness characteristics are
the key controlling factor in failure
mode transition of resistance spot
welds, which in turn is governed by
phase transformation in the FZ and
HAZ. The nonequilibrium heating and
cooling condition of RSW processes
changes the phase stability of the
weldment. Therefore, studying the
phase transformations in the FZ and
HAZ is critical for understanding the
failure mode behavior and mechanical
properties of the joints.
An unavoidable practical requirement in modern vehicle construction
technology is dissimilar welding. Understanding the failure mode and failure behavior of similar spot welds is
straightforward. However, the failure
behavior of dissimilar resistance spot
welds can be problematic due to the
following reasons (Refs. 16, 1820):
1) The difference in the physical
properties of the base metals.
2) The difference in the materials
properties (strength, ductility, and
work hardening) of the base metals.
3) The more complicated microstructural gradient across the weld.
4) The mixing of the steels in the
FZ, which affects the phase transformation in the weld nugget.
M. POURANVARI (pouranvari@sharif.edu) is with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
S. P. H. MARASHI and M. ALIZADEHSH are with the Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
WELDING RESEARCH
A
Fig. 2 Typical macrostructure of dissimilar AISI 430 ferritic

stainless steel (DQSK) and drawing quality special killed (DQSK)
lowcarbon steel.
40, 12, and 20 cycles, respectively.

To evaluate the mechanical performance and failure mode of the
spot welds, the tensile-shear test was
performed. The tensile-shear test
samples were prepared according to
ANSI/AWS/SAE/D8.9-97 standard
(Ref. 21).
Figure 1A shows the tensile-shear
sample dimensions. The tensile-shear
tests were performed at a cross head
of 10 mm/min with a 20-ton Instron
universal testing machine. Failure
modes were determined from the
failed samples. Peak load (measured
as the peak point in the load-displacement curve) and failure energy (measured as the area under the load-displacement curve up to the peak load)
were extracted from the load displacement curve Fig. 1B. The amount of
failure energy was calculated by measuring the area under the load-displacement curve up to the peak load.
Microstructure characterization of
the weldment was conducted by performing standard metallography procedure, and the specimens were
etched by Kallings No. 1 (33 mL H2O,
1.5 g CuCl2, 33 mL HCl, 33 mL
ethanol) and 2% Nital (2 mL HNO3,
98 mL ethanol). The FZ size was
measured on the metallographic cross
sections at the low-carbon steel side.
A Vickers microhardness test was performed to obtain a diagonal hardness
profile using an indenter load of 10 g.
and HAZs are detailed, and the effects of microstructural characteristics

on failure mode and
mechanical properties of the welds are
discussed.
Experimental
Procedure
Fig. 1 A The tensileshear specimen dimensions; B a
typical loaddisplacement curve along with the extracted pa
rameters. Pmax: Peak load, Wmax: Energy absorption.
Nowadays, ferritic stainless steels

(FSSs) are widely used in structural
frameworks and body paneling of
buses and coaches. Since traditional
steel grades are also widely used for
automotive production, dissimilar
RSW of both steels is an unavoidable
practical requirement in modern vehicle design. Although physical attributes of spot welds, particularly FZ
size, have significant influence on
mechanical properties and failure
mode behavior, phase transformations in weldment should also be considered to better understand the performance of the RSW joints.
Therefore, the present paper aims
at investigating the welding metallurgy of dissimilar RSW of ferritic stainless steel and DQSK low-carbon steel.
The phase transformations in the FZ
AISI 430 ferritic

stainless steels and
DQSK AISI 1004
low-carbon steel
were used as base metals in this research. The thickness of both sheets
was 1.5 mm. The chemical compositions of the base metals were determined using a standard spark emission spectrometer (quantometer).
Table 1 shows the chemical composition of the base metals.
Resistance spot welding was performed using a PLC-controlled, 120kVA, AC pedestal-type RSW machine.
Welding was conducted using a 45deg truncated cone RWMA Class 2
electrode with an 8-mm face diameter. The welding process was performed with a constant electrode tip
force of 3.3 kN. The welding current
was increased from 6 to 11 kA with
an increment of 0.5 kA. Throughout
the process, squeeze, welding, and
holding times were kept constant at
Table 1 Chemical Composition of Investigated Steels (wt%)

Steel
Mn
Si
Cr
Ni
Mo
AISI430 FSS
DQSK LowCarbon Steel
0.024
0.044
0.513
0.202
0.383
0.001
17.002
0.010
0.066
0.031
0.026
0.003
WELDING RESEARCH
Results and Discussion
Metallurgical Characteristics
Figure 2 illustrates a typical macrograph of the dissimilar FSS/DQSK resistance spot weld showing three distinct structural zones, including FZ or
weld nugget, HAZ, and BM. Owing to
the lower thermal conductivity and
higher electrical resistivity of the FSS
sheet compared to the DQSK sheet, the
FZ has asymmetrical shape such that
the volume fraction of weld metal in the
FSS sheet is slightly larger than that of
the DQSK sheet.
HAZ of AISI 430 Steel
Figure 3A shows the microstructure
of the AISI 430 base metal indicating a
fully ferritic microstructure along with
carbides, which are evenly distributed
throughout the matrix. In the HAZ,
the base metal microstructure is influenced by phase transformations induced by the welding thermal cycle.
A pseudo-binary diagram of Fe-C17Cr (Ref. 22) (Fig. 3B) is useful to describe the physical metallurgy and analyze the phase transformations in the
HAZ of AISI 430 steel. Figure 3C
shows the microstructure gradient in
the HAZ of the FSS side. The phase
transformations in the HAZ of AISI
430 steel welds have been discussed
elsewhere (Ref. 23). According to the
temperature distribution, the HAZ can
be divided into two distinct metallurgical transformation zones, namely,
high-temperature HAZ (HTHAZ) and
low-temperature HAZ (LTHAZ).
The phase transformations in these
zones are detailed as follows:
1) HTHAZ. Based on the pseudo-binary diagram (Fig. 3B), in this region,
BM microstructure transforms to fully
-ferrite microstructure at the elevated temperature. The carbide precipitates in the BM are completely dissolved. Upon cooling, a ferritic microstructure is retained and some reprecipitation of the carbides occurred
Fig. 3D.
The absence of a high-temperature
austenite phase in the HTHAZ has two
consequences:
The austenite at the grain boundaries at elevated temperature can act
to inhibit ferrite grain growth by pinning the grain boundaries. Therefore,
Fig. 3 A Base metal microstructure of AISI 430 steel; B Fe17% CrC phase diagram
and HAZ of AISI 430 steel; C microstructure gradient in the HAZ of ferritic stainless steel;
D grain growth and dispersion of carbide precipitates in HTHAZ; E martensite forma
tion, indicated by arrows, in LTHAZ.
ferrite grain growth at this region can

be quite dramatic, as is evident from
Fig. 3C. As can be seen, the grain
growth is inversely proportional to the
distance from the fusion line.
Any austenite that may have
formed at the elevated temperature
will transform to martensite during
the cooling cycle. Therefore, due to the
absence of the high-temperature
austenite, an almost martensite-free

microstructure is formed in HTHAZ
during cooling Fig. 3C.
2) LTHAZ. Based on the pseudo-binary diagram (Fig. 3B), in this region, the
BM microstructure transforms to -ferrite plus austenite at the elevated temperature. The amount of austenite at
the grain boundaries of -ferrite
strongly depends on the carbon conJUNE 2015 / WELDING JOURNAL 205-s
WELDING RESEARCH
A
B
Fig. 5 A and B Fusion zone microstructure of FSS/DQSK dissimilar resist
ance spot weld.
Fig. 6 FeCr phase diagram (Ref. 25). The chemical composition of the FZ
is superimposed to the diagram.
toid transformations.
According to the temperature distribution, the
HAZ of the DQSK steel
side can be divided into
two distinct metallurgical
transformation zones, including upper-critical HAZ
and inter-critical HAZ. The
phase transformations in
these zones are detailed as follows:
1) UpperCritical HAZ (UCHAZ). This
region experiences peak temperatures
above Ac3, transforming BM microstructure into austenite. Depending on the
peak temperature, the upper-critical
HAZ can be divided into the following
zones: coarse-grained HAZ (CGHAZ)
and fine-grained HAZ (FGHAZ). The
amount of grain growth in the HAZ is
determined by the maximum temperature reached and the time it has been
heated above the austenization temperature. In CGHAZ, which is adjacent to
the FZ, both the high cooling rate and
large austenite grain size coupled with
the formation of the carbon-rich
austenite promote the formation of the
martensite (Ref. 1).
Fig. 4 Microstructure gradient in the HAZ of lowcar

bon steels. A Uppercritical HAZ, including CGHAZ
and FGHAZ; B intercritical HAZ; C detailed mi
crostructure of CGHAZ; DF detailed microstructure
of ICHAZ. The distance from fusion zone boundary is in
creased by moving from D to F. (M, F, WF, GF, and FP
are martensite, ferrite, Widmansttten ferrite, grain
boundary ferrite, and fuzzy pearlite.)
tent of the alloys. Due to the low carbon content of the investigated AISI
430 steel (i.e., 0.024 wt-%), a very limited amount of austenite is formed in
the LTHAZ. The high-temperature
austenite is transformed to martensite
during cooling. According to Fig. 3E,
there is a small amount of martensite
at the grain boundaries in the LTHAZ.
Moreover, some reprecipitation of the
carbides occurred.
HAZ of DQSK Steel
Figure 4A and B shows the microstructure gradient across the HAZ
of the DQSK steel. The HAZ microstructure of the DQSK steel side is
more heterogeneous than that of the
FSS side due to martensitic and eutec-
As can be seen, the microstructure

CGHAZ consists of martensite, grain
boundary ferrite, and Widmansttten
ferrite Fig. 4C. Despite the very low
carbon content DQSK steel (i.e., 0.04),
the CGHAZ contains martensite.
Martensite formation in the FZ is attributed to the high cooling rate of the
RSW process due to the presence of
water-cooled copper electrodes and
their quenching effect as well as short
welding cycle.
Gould et al. (Ref. 24) developed a
simple analytical model predicting
cooling rates of resistance spot welds.
According to this model, the cooling
rate for sheets having 1.5-mm thickness is about 4000 Ks1. For steels, the
required critical cooling rate (Kh1) to
achieve martensite phase in the microstructure can be estimated using
the following equation (Ref. 25):
LogV = 7.42 3.13 C 0.71 Mn
0.37 Ni 0.34 Cr 0.45 Mo (1)
The calculated critical cooling rate
for DQSK is 3684 Ks1. The experienced cooling rate in the FZ is higher
WELDING RESEARCH
Under the nonequilibrium cooling
condition, the formed austenite will be
transformed to martensite.
Nonequilibrium Phase Transformation

Sequence :
I
II
L L + Ferrite Ferrite
B
III
Fig. 8 Typical hardness profile of dis

similar AISI 430/DQSK resistance spot
welds.
Fig. 7 Prediction of FZ microstructure of

dissimilar FSS/DQSK welds using the fol
lowing: A Schaeffler diagram; B
Balmforth and Lippold diagram.
than the critical cooling rate, so it is

not surprising to find a martensite
structure in the CGHAZ.
2) InterCritical HAZ (ICHAZ). In this
region, the peak temperature is ranging
between Ac1 and Ac3, and the BM microstructure transforms into ferrite
plus austenite during heating. Due to
the fast welding cooling rates, austenite
can transform subsequently into the
martensite, bainite, or ferrite/pearlit
depending on the cooling rate and
hardenability of the steels. In the case
of DQSK steel, due to low carbon content of the steel and hence its low hardenability, the microstructure consists of
fine ferrite grains and pearlite, which
pearlite amount decreases as it gets
closer to BM Fig. 4D, E. The volume
fraction of pearlite in the ICHAZ is
higher than that of in the BM due to
reaustenization in the ICHAZ. Decreasing peak temperature in the intercritical region (i.e., by moving away the FZ
line) results in lower pearlite volume
fraction. As can be seen in Fig. 4, the
ICHAZ is evidenced by fuzzy pearlite.
The morphology of pearlite suggests
that partial spheroidization of pearlite
occurred in this region.
Fusion Zone
Fig. 9 Effect of welding current on the FZ

size and failure mode of dissimilar AISI
430/DQSK resistance spot welds.
site and ferrite phases. The volume

fraction of ferrite and martensite is
calculated as 28 and 72%, respectively.
Phase transformations in the FZ are
affected by the chemical composition
and weld cooling rate. The FZ chemical
composition of dissimilar combination
can be estimated by considering the
melting ratio of base metals. For
FSS/DQSK welds, the melting ratio is
considered as 60/40. Therefore, the FZ
chemical composition of FSS/DQSK
welds is Fe-10.2Cr-0.03C-0.038Mn0.23Si-0.04Ni-0.01Mo.
Considering the low carbon content
of the FZ, the Fe-Cr binary phase diagram (Ref. 26) can be used as a reference to track phase transformations in
the FZ of the FSS/DQSK weld Fig.
6. According to Fig. 6, the equilibrium
phase transformation sequence is as
follows:
Equilibrium Phase Transformation
Sequence :
I
Figure 5A and B shows the microstructure of the FZ, indicating a

dual-phase microstructure of marten-
II
III
IV
Austenite Ferrite
(2)
IV
Austenite ' Martensite
(3)
Regarding the transformation of

austenite to martensite in the FZ,
three points should be considered.
1) Austenite Stability. Self et al.
(Ref. 27) in their work on the austenite stability and martensite formation
in stainless steels, using a statistical
regression analysis of the experimental data, obtained an expression for
the martensite start temperature (Ms)
as a function of alloy composition.
Their equation is given as follows:
Ms = 526 12.5 Cr 17.4 Ni
29.7 Mn 31.7 Si 354 C
20.8 Mo 1.34 (CrNi) + 22.41
(Cr + Mo)C
(4)
where the chemical symbols indicate
the weight percentage of the elements
present.
According to Lippold and Kotecki
(Ref. 28), this equation can be accurately used to examine austenite stability and estimate martensite start
temperature for stainless steels. For
FSS/DQSK welds, the Ms was calculated as 390C, which is well higher than
the room temperature. This indicates
that the austenite is not stable at
room temperature, and it transforms
to martensite, as was observed.
2) Volume Fraction of Martensite.
According to the binary Fe-Cr phase diagram (Fig. 6), a fully martensitic microstructure is predicted. However, according to metallographic examination,
28% ferrite is retained in the microstructure. The volume fraction of
martensite in the FZ depends on the
volume fraction of austenite present in
the weld nugget at high temperatures,
which is controlled by Ferrite Austenite
phase transformation. This is a diffusion-controlled reaction. Upon a rapid
cooling process (e. g., welding), the Ferrite
Austenite transformation has less time
to occur. Therefore, some amount of
untransformed ferrite is retained in the
WELDING RESEARCH
microstructure after stage III. Therefore, the phase transformation sequence in the FZ of dissimilar
FSS/DQSK welds under rapid cooling of
RSW can be considered as follows:
Phase transformation sequences

under rapid cooling condition
I
II
A
III
Austenite + Ferrite
IV
' Martensite + Ferrite
(5)
3) FZ Microstructure Prediction Us
ing Conventional Constitution Dia
grams. It has been proved that the
conventional constitution diagrams
(e. g., Schaeffler diagram and Balmforth and Lippold) can be used to predict the FZ microstructure of arc welds
of joints involving stainless steels (Ref.
28). In this section, the ability of conventional constitution diagrams to
predict weld FZ microstructure of dissimilar FSS/DQSK resistance spot
welds is examined.
According to Fig. 7A, the predicted
microstructure of a weld nugget using
the Schaeffler diagram is the mixture
of martensite and ferrite phases, as is
observed in the FZ Fig. 5A, B.
Measurement using imageJ software
showed that the volume fraction of
ferrite phase in the FZ is about 28%.
The Schaeffler diagram provides information about the present phases but
not their quantities (Ref. 28). The
Balmforth and Lippold diagram (Ref.
29) can be used for quantitative prediction of the relative amount of ferrite and martensite in the FZ.
In the case of the FSS/DQSK welds,
the Balmforth diagram (Fig. 7B) predicts a martensitic microstructure with
a small amount of ferrite (less than 5%),
which is not in accordance with metallographic observations Fig. 5B. As
mentioned above, the amount of elevated austenite, which controls martensite
volume fraction, depends on the Ferrite
Austenite transformation. The higher
cooling rate, the more -ferrite is retained in the microstructure. It has
been shown that the cooling rate ranged
from 2000 to more than 10,000 Ks1 for
sheet thickness ranging from 2 to 0.8
mm (Ref. 24).
Since the cooling rate in RSW is
C
Fig. 10 A A typical DPF mode; B
macrographic of failure cross section;
C typical loaddisplacement curve
showing a threestage failure process.
Stage I: work hardening and through
thickness straining of both sheets. Stage
II: severe necking and occurring the first
crack in the DQSK steel. Stage III: sec
ond crack in the FSS side.
much higher than the arc welding, a

higher volume fraction retained ferrite is formed in the FZ of the weld
made using RSW. Therefore, the presence of a high-volume fraction of ferrite can be attributed to the rapid
cooling rate of RSW, which suppresses
the completion of post-solidification
transformation of ferrite to austenite.
Therefore, some corrections should be
incorporated to the conventional constitution diagrams to accurately predict the microstructure of the FZ in resistance spot welded joints involving
stainless steels.
Hardness Characteristics
Hardness distribution across the resistance spot welds plays an important
role in determining weld failure mode.
Fig. 11 A Effect of FZ size D on the

loaddisplacement characteristics during
the tensileshear testing; B welding
current vs. peak load and energy ab
sorption; C fusion zone size vs. peak
load and energy absorption of dissimilar
AISI 430/DQSK resistance spot welds.
Figure 8 shows a typical hardness

profile of FSS/DQSK welds. Hardness
variation across the joint can be analyzed in terms of the microstructure
evolution in the FZ and HAZs.
1) The hardness of the HAZ in the
DQSK is higher than that of the base
metal. The BM microstructure is essentially ferritic. The higher hardness
of CGHAZ and ICHAZ compared to
BM is due to the formation of martensite and pearlite in these regions,
respectively.
2) The hardness of the HAZ in FSS
is higher than that of the AISI 430
base metal. The higher hardness of the
HTHAZ compared to the BM is due to
the precipitation of carbides. The
WELDING RESEARCH
higher hardness of the LTHAZ compared to the HTHAZ is due to martensite formation in ferrite grain boundaries and its finer grain size.
3) The hardness of the FZ is higher
than both that of the base metals and
HAZs, which can be attributed to the
martensite formation in the FZ. The
peak hardness in the HAZ of the
DQSK is lower than the FZ hardness.
The ferrite and martensite formed in
the FZ are harder than those in the
HAZ of DQSK. This can be related to
the fact that ferrite and martensite
phases in the FZ are enriched in
chromium (Cr), an element that can
strengthen both ferrite and martensite via a substitutional solid solution
strengthening mechanism.
Failure Mode
Both interfacial failure (IF) and
double pullout failure (DPF) modes
were observed during the tensile-shear
testing of the FSS/DQSK welds. It is
well documented that the size of the
FZ is the key physical weld attribute
controlling the failure mode transition
of spot welds (Refs. 1017).
The effect of welding current on
the FZ size is shown in Fig. 9, indicating the enlargement of the weld
nugget by increasing welding current
due to higher heat generation at
sheet/sheet interface. According to
Fig. 9, by increasing the welding current and FZ size, the failure mode was
changed from IF to DPF. To avoid IF
mode, a minimum welding current of
7 kA should be used for welding of the
FSS/DQSK joint. The minimum FZ
size required to avoid IF mode was
4.18 mm.
To analyze the failure mode transition of spot welds during the tensileshear loading, Pouranvari and Marashi
(Ref. 10) proposed a simple analytical
model to predict the minimum FZ size
(DC) to ensure the pull-out failure
mode as follows:
DC =
4t H PFL
f HFZ
(6)
where t is the sheet thickness (mm), f

is the ratio of shear strength to tensile
strength of the FZ, and HFZ along with
HPFL are hardness values (HV) of the
FZ and PF location, respectively.
In this work, the model was used to

evaluate the failure mode transition of
the FSS/DQSK dissimilar joint.
The hardness ratio of the FZ to PF
location (i.e., DQSKs base metal) is
about HFZ/HPFL = 350/140 = 2.5.
There are no reported experimental data for the ratio of shear strength
to tensile strength of the FZ, which is
comprised of martensite and ferrite.
Therefore, a theoretical value for the
ratio of shear strength to tensile
strength for the FZ is used. According
to the von Mises criterion, the ratio of
shear strength to tensile strength of
metals is 0.58 (Ref. 30).
Substituting the hardness ratio of
2.5 and the sheet thickness of 1.5 mm
into Equation 4, a critical FZ size (DC)
of 4.1 mm is calculated.
As can be seen in Fig. 8, in welding
currents lower than 7 kA, the FZ size
is lower than the DC; consequently, the
welds failed in IF mode. On the other
hand, welds made at welding currents
equal or higher than 7 kA exhibited
higher FZ size than the DC and hence
failed in pullout mode.
As mentioned above, all spot welds
made at a welding current higher than
6.5 kA failed at double pullout mode.
No single pullout mode was observed.
Figure 10A shows the fracture surface of welds failed in pullout mode,
indicating that the nugget is withdrawn from both sheets (i.e., double
pullout mode). Figure 10B shows the
metallographic cross section of a typical weld failed in DPF mode. Figure
10C is a representative load-displacement curve of the FSS/DQSK dissimilar weld. The pullout failure mechanism of spot welds in the tensile-shear
loading is dominated by necking of the
base metals. In the DPF, the nugget is
completely torn off from the sheet,
which experiences severe necking.
According to Fig. 10B and C, the PF
of FSS/DQSK welds can be divided
into the following stages:
Stage I. Both base metals are work
hardened under loading and experienced through thickness straining.
Stage II. The failure is started by severe necking of one sheet. In this case,
the PF location is determined by the
competition between the necking of
DQSK and FSS steel sheets. Since tensile strength and hardness of the
DQSK is lower than that of the FSS
sheet, DQSK sheet experiences a se-
vere necking leading to the initiation

of the failure at this point.
Stage III. After the welds experienced the first crack in the DQSK, the
nugget is still connected to the other
sheet. The final stage of the fracture
occurs by partial separation of the
nugget from the FSS sheet.
To explore the quasistatic mechanical properties of the spot welds, peak
load and energy absorption were
measured. Figure 11A shows the effect
of welding current on the peak load
and energy absorption. The experimental results indicate that the welding current has a significant effect on
the load carrying capacity and energy
absorption capability of the spot welds
under the tensile-shear static test.
Load carrying capacity and energy absorption capability of spot welds depend on their physical attributes, especially weld nugget size, failure
mode, and failure location strength.
According to Fig. 11B, the weld
nugget size significantly affects the
load-displacement characteristics of
dissimilar FSS/DQSK welds. To examine the relationship between the peak
load and failure energy and weld
nugget size, a scatter plot of peak load
(and failure energy) vs. weld size was
constructed. Since the weld nugget has
a asymmetrical shape, the FZ size at
sheet/sheet interface in the DQSK
steel, which is smaller than that of the
FSS side, was measured.
As can be seen in Fig. 11C, there is
a general linear relationship between
the peak load (and also failure energy)
and FZ size. Generally, increasing the
FZ size increases the overall bond area
and therefore increases the required
force and energy for failure to occur.
Conclusions
Metallurgical and mechanical characteristics of dissimilar resistance spot
welds between an AISI 430 ferritic
stainless steel and DQSK low-carbon
steel are investigated. The following
conclusions can be drawn from this
study:
1) Fusion zone is featured by dualphase microstructure of ferrite and
martensite. The transformation of
WELDING RESEARCH
austenite to martensite can be explained by examination of austenite
stability. The amount of martensite
depends on austenite formation at
high temperature as well as the extremely high cooling rate of RSW.
2) The main metallurgical features
in the HAZ of FSS side are grain
growth and carbide precipitation. The
microstructure of the HAZ of the
DQSK side is dictated by martensitic
and eutectoid transformations.
3) Increasing the welding current
led to the transition of failure mode
from interfacial to double pullout
mode. Failure mode transition is well
explained considering the hardness
distribution across the weldment. The
DPF process can be divided into the
following three stages: Stage I work
hardening and through thickness
straining of both sheets, Stage II severe necking and occurring the first
crack in the DQSK steel, and Stage III
formation of the second crack in
the FSS side. Accordingly, the mechanical response of the welds is controlled
by the strength of the DQSK steel.
4) The FZ size at sheet/sheet interface in the DQSK side is the key
macrostructural feature controlling
the load bearing capacity and energy
absorption capability of an AISI 430/
DQSK dissimilar weld.
References
1. Pouranvari, M., and Marashi, S. P. H.
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JUNE 2015

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June 2015 Volume 94 Number 6

Keys to Success for a New Welding Engineer

How Composition Affects Weldability of Steels

Performing Root Pass Welds on a Super Duplex

Understand the Building Blocks for a Quality Welding

Recent Advances in Weld Purge Dams

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

203s Welding Metallurgy of Dissimilar AISI 430/DQSK

196s Control of Keyhole Exit Position in Plasma Arc

JUNE 2015 / WELDING JOURNAL 3

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Design and Production

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Financial Gains Will Serve Our Members

Serendipity would be a poor descriptor

6 WELDING JOURNAL / JUNE 2015

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At IBSC 2015, Paul T. Vianco of Sandia National Laboratories, Al

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by Guntram Wagner on behalf of Bernhard Wielage of the

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ting equipment, along with personal protection products, were