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SAWALKA KEL PVT.

LIMITED, PANIHATI
DOC. NO. DOC. TITLE
WI / 9 - 29 Procedure For Visual Testing

1. Scope:

This procedure relates to the visual inspection requirements for the weld of new construction,
adjacent base metal and the control of the parameters and features of the weld and how these are
recorded, in order to ensure full compliance with the relevant approved welding procedures, codes
and specifications. Visual inspection will be performed to 100% of welds, before, during and after
welding.

2. Reference documents:

 BS EN ISO 17637-2011: non-destructive testing of welds-visual testing of fusion-welded joints

 SNT-TC-1A, 2011 edition: American Society for Non destructive Testing, Recommended Practice.

 ISO 9712, 2012 edition: Non-destructive testing. Qualification and certification of NDT personnel.

3. Aids to visual inspection:

Direct visual examination may usually be made when access is sufficient to place the eye within 24
inches of the surface to be examined and at an angle not less than 30° to the surface to be examined.
Aids to visual inspection should be used whenever practicable to facilitate the assessment of
imperfections or the examination of welds not directly visible. These aids may be in various forms
depending on the type and location of the weld being examined. For local examination of a weld
that is directly visible to the eye, a small hand lens used in conjunction with a pen torch, while
varying the direction of the light is usually very revealing. In such cases, the hand held lens shall
have a magnification of 3x to 5x.

4. Equipments:

All equipment to be used to assist visual inspections shall, where applicable, be fully calibrated and
have a valid calibration certificate. When it is required to measure the dimensions of a weld edge
preparation, a weld or an imperfection or the material parameters, the following devices may be
used:
 Welding gauges
 Calliper
 Magnifier
 Ruler
 Torch lamp

5. Personnel:

Visual welding inspector shall be suitably qualified to a recognized international standard for the
inspection and shall check the welding activities referring to the appropriate WPS, Quality Plans,
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SAWALKA KEL PVT. LIMITED, PANIHATI
DOC. NO. DOC. TITLE
WI / 9 - 29 Procedure For Visual Testing

Specifications and Codes to ensure full compliance. Visual Inspectors personnel shall have as
minimum requirements one of the following qualifications or equivalent:
 ASNT Level II Visual Inspection (American Society of Non destructive Testing)

 CSWIP 3.1 Welding Inspector (Certification Scheme for Welding and Inspection Personnel)

All visual examination personnel shall have a minimum of 2 years’ experience on visual
examination. They shall be capable of reading standard Jaegar Chart J1 letters with or without
corrected vision. The far vision acuity shall be 20/40 or better. Yearly eye examination shall be
conducted.

6. Lighting:

The inspection area shall be adequately illuminated, with a minimum level of 1000 lux, for proper
evaluation. If artificial lighting is used such as a torch, the direction of the light shall be capable of
being varied so that any imperfections can be revealed and glare or dazzling of the inspector
avoided.

7. Prior to welding:

Before welding starts, the Inspector shall:


 Have adequate knowledge of the applicable standard
 Have adequate knowledge of the welding procedure specification (WPS) to be used
 Have a knowledge with working drawing

 The inspector shall check as a minimum:


 Examine the welders’ qualification
 Review materials and welding consumables to be used.
 Check base metal for discontinuities.
 Check weld preparation
 Check fit-up and alignment of weld joints.
 Check preheats, if required.

Weld Preparation: Check that the form and dimensions of the weld preparation are in accordance
with the data supplied using appropriate measuring devices.

Fit – Up: Check that the fit-up (gap and alignment) of the parts to be welded, including any backing
material, is in accordance with the data supplied. Welding consumables: check the identification of
the welding consumable against the appropriate welding procedure specification. Preheat: 75 °C
preheat temperature will be checked at not less than 75mm from the weld line. The pre-heating
temperature may be checked by the use of temperature indicating crayons or paints, thermometers,
thermocouples, pyrometers or a combination of these methods.

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SAWALKA KEL PVT. LIMITED, PANIHATI
DOC. NO. DOC. TITLE
WI / 9 - 29 Procedure For Visual Testing

8. During welding:

During welding, there are a number of items, which require control so that the resulting weld will
be satisfactory. Visual examination is the primary method for controlling this aspect of the
fabrication. It can prove to be a valuable process control tool. Some of the aspects of fabrication,
which can be checked, include:
 Welding technique
 Welding consumable
 Preheat temperature
 Direction of welding
 Inter pass cleaning and temperature
 Sequence of weld passes.
 Quality of weld root bead.
 Subsequent layers for apparent weld quality.
 Welding process amperage, voltage & polarity
 Travel speed and heat input
 Cleaning between passes.

Any of these factors, if ignored, could result in discontinuities that could cause serious quality
degradation.

8.1 Inner run cleaning


Check that each run of weld metals cleaned before it is covered by a further run. Particular attention
shall be paid to the junctions between the weld metal and the fusion faces.

8.2 Inter pass temperature


Check the conditions specified in the welding procedure for inter pass temperature.

9. After welding:

 Finished weld appearance


 Dimensional accuracy
 Post-weld heat treatment (if required)

The basic purpose of final weld inspection is to assure the weld’s quality. Check that all slag has
been removed, by manual or mechanical means. The surfaces of the finished welds shall be
sufficiently free from coarse ripples, grooves, overlays and abrupt ridges and valleys to permit
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SAWALKA KEL PVT. LIMITED, PANIHATI
DOC. NO. DOC. TITLE
WI / 9 - 29 Procedure For Visual Testing

proper interpretation of radiographs and other required non-destructive examination. Melt through
and repaired burn through areas are acceptable provided the areas do not contain cracks, crevices,
excessive oxidation and the root convexity and concavity limits are not exceeded. The weld and
adjacent parent metal shall be examined for any local hot spots or cracking caused by stray arching.
Weld seam and heat affected zone (HAZ) shall be examined for flaws against the acceptance
standard. In some cases, visual inspection may not be sufficient to determine the full extent of a
surface flaw (crack/porosity) and the use of other testing methods may be required before the flaw
can be assessed.

10. Repair:

The weld fails to comply wholly or in part with the acceptance criteria, the unacceptable defects
shall be removed. The following items shall be checked during the repair operation. Ensure that the
specified means of removing the defect (e.g. chipping, grinding, machining, thermal cutting or
thermal gouging) shall be used correctly, when a thermal process is employed. Check that if pre-
heating is specified and is correctly applied. Partially remove weld: Check that the cut out portion is
sufficiently deep and long enough to completely remove the defects. The ends and sides of the cut
should gradually from the base of the cut to the surface of the weld metal. The width and profile of
the cut should allow adequate access for re-welding. Completely remove weld: when a section of
material containing a faulty weld has been removed, check that each weld preparation is repaired in
accordance with the welding procedure. Re-welding shall be carried out in accordance with the
relevant repair welding procedure and full re-inspection shall be made for the repaired weld.

11. Evaluation:

The weld shall be evaluated according to the acceptance standards of the BS EN ISO 17637-2011.

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