you are correct in every thing you've said.
i have one last question (please bear with me, i am truly trying to wrap my brain around it)
forget that we want to qualify the welders on fillet. lets say after qualifying a square groove WPS/PQR we test the welders on the same square groove identical to the PQR arrangement (if he is good he will pass since it was demonstrated that it's doable during the WPS/PQR) and in my case the the PQR passed all the required tests.
as per the code rules the welder is automatically qualified to weld fillet max range (unlimited thickness) this is also true for the welder who welded the groove PQR test. however that's is not true for big thicknesses only because it is short circuit (due to its low heat input), if the process was SMAW/GMAW Spray (F,H) we wouldn't have a problem.
my point is if the WPS is qualified on a groove using GMAW-S there should be a limit on the fillet weld thickness qualified like for example 3 or 4 mm max above that the code might require a separate fillet WPS be qualified.
and the same applies for Figure 4.37, it doesn't give an alternative for welder qualification test using GMAW-S with a lower thickness and a more conservative range qualified compared to the 12 mm thick/ 8 mm leg size and max range unlimited.
i feel the code left Short Circuit in a bit of a gray area. some of the points above i think might be directed towards me from our client
and for the ballistic how can i test the welder on 12 mm required fillet if the highest thickness available from the manufacturer is 10 mm?
lastly could any one please advise if there is any book/reference i can buy that explains D1.1, i have the code clinic but it doesn't cover any thing in depth like for example Casti guide for ASME IX.
thank you.