Welder Qualification for stainless

Date 08-02-2010 17:39

Without knowing all of the specifics....I would venture to say that you will have to qualify the welders and the WPSs to D1.6 for the A992 to stainless and the A588 to stainless. Not sure what role the duplex steels are playing in this....so, no comment on that.

By Magilla (*)

Date 08-02-2010 18:59

Most of the job is A572, but there are a couple of stainless sequences. One of them is c-276 stainless, the other is duplex 2205 stainless, and both may have A992 or A588 in the mix. I haven't seen the drawings yet, as they are on hold with the EOR. I just want to get all my ducks in a row before the work hits, so if we do need to qualify welders, we are ready. The work is actually duct work for a power plant. I'm just not sure if I need to test the welders on c-276 to c-276, 2205 to 2205, c-276 to A992, c-276 to A588, etc., or does one weld test per D1.6 cover all?

By RonG

Date 08-04-2010 18:22

I am not that familure with D1.6 but Isn't the material qualification a company issue versus process qualification a code issue?

My goodness if you need to be qualified in so many materials X process thats a lot of record keeping (and a lot of testing).

We have procedures that we need to qualify for inner company use only, we call them Welding Proceduress but they are much more involved than just welding.

In general we accept that if you are qualified and current in a process (for welding only) then you are qualified to weld in a large range of materials.

By 803056

Date 08-04-2010 18:52

Make sure you know and understand the applicable code for the work you will be doing. AWS covers sheet thicknesses with the sheet metal code, thicker sections with the structural code and each is different than the other. If you customer imposes ASME for the qualification of procedures and welders, the requirements are different yet from the AWS code that might be applicable.

In any event, it is questionable whether you can utilizes the WPSs from another company if you are required to meet either ASME or AWS code requirements. The various combinations for the materials you listed are not prequalified by any AWS welding code, so whether you have to meet ASME Section IX or an AWS welding code, there is a major investment in time and money to qualify the combinations listed before production can begin.

Best regards - Al