Hi Guys,
It is our proposal to qualify our welders for a stainless steel application on Carbon steel pipe using a stainless steel welding consumable that complies with our current stainless steel WPS, in accordance with ASME 1X sections QW- 423.1 and Table QW 416. (Pipe diameter and wall thickness will be selected to ensure ranges comply with the project pipework scope and in accordance with ASME.
Is this acceptable?
Thanks
Alan
So are you saying you are qualifying your welders using an unqualified procedure?
If so, why not have the 4 bends tested for one of your WPQ's and pull 2 tensiles and you have the procedure qualified as well. For less than $100 you keep the inspectors off your tail.
Good idea Don, never thought of it that way :-)
grin:
My understanding is that you have the qualified WPS. ASME IX allows the use of other based metals for welder qual.
Just so it's out there for the records, If you had a carbon to carbon say P1 to P1 using and F6 filler such as ER70S-3 procedure, you could qualify your man to that procedure and he could potentially be qualified for your stainless procedure saying it's also using an F6 filler per QW 433 and say P8 base materials per 423.1 for example. This doesn't help to see if the man knows how to purge a pipe though.
The code provides the minimum requirements. It is up to the contractor to take any additional actions deemed to be prudent and to ensure their product is safe.
Al
Yes, the suggestion sounds like it meets ASME IX.
I assuming GMAW, FCAW or GTAW as the process.
This is a very common practice. One thing you can do to add to your confidence regarding the very minor differences when welding thinner stainless is to have an individual perform a workmanship test on what you would consider a typical weld they would encounter in the field.
Code wise you are good to go and the rules and exceptions for P no substitution are easy to find.
However code compliance is only a small part of a quality system.
They need to put a like button in here.
The statements about also checking for the quality of the welder so he is proficient at what you need him to do are worth a like.
It's easy to teach a person to pass a test but throwing a little something out to them that is closer to "real world" can give a company some valuable info.
When I do testing as a 3rd party I'm all for just the code or whatever written requirements are provided by the company paying for the test. When I am in charge of quality on a project and have been provided permission to do what I think is best you can be pretty sure a 2.75 x 5/8 wall tig coupon is not all that's gonna be done if your doing 3/4 nps butt welds.
Have a great day.