Welder/Welding operator Position and thickness qualified

Date 02-11-2020 08:58

Good morning,

Statement:
For ALL position qualificaiton I require 2 tests 3G+4G.
For unlimmited thickness I require T>=25mm.

Question:
Do both samples require to be T>=25mm to have unlimited thickness in ALL positions for welder qualification?

i.e. 4G 25mm test piece T 3 to unlimited and OH,F
+ 3G 10mm test piece T 3 to 20 and F,H,V,
or can I get credit for 25mm on the 4G specimen i.e. 3G+4G all position 3 to unlimited.

What is the phylosphy on WPS qualificaiton range in general for the above scenario?
What about the 3G coupon requried for CVN. Both ASME and EN allows supplimentary testing on lower thickness given that ll other essential variables remain the same.

Regards
Hanre

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 02-11-2020 12:24 Edited 02-11-2020 12:28

Hi Eutectic !!!    Long time no see :)

You did not mention the governing specification.

But if AWS D1.1   Both coupons would be required to be 25mm for "initial" welder performance qualification for all positions. See Table 4.10

The only exception to this I see is for a "retest" scenario, where the welder was previously qualified to unlimited thickness.
4.24.1.3 Retest After Lapse of Qualification Period of Effectiveness.

By Eutectic (**)

Date 02-11-2020 13:11

Hi Lawrence,

Jip I am a forum stalker,...pretending to be busy. :lol:

Yes AWS D1.1. Sorry.
Thanks for the asnwer, I was thinking the same but wanted confirmation. I have not come accross this questin previously but it is an interesting scenario as one can ask what is the benefit in weding all the way out to 25mm if you already did one coupon.
I will contact you on Linked shortly about training. It seems I have now officially reached overqualified over experienced status for corporate here in my home country. Need to rethink things a bit.

Take care and thanks for the answer.
Regards
Hanre

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 02-11-2020 13:23 Edited 02-11-2020 13:27

Morning Lawrence,
I'm in agreement, however let's dig a little deeper.
Where exactly are you seeing the thicknesses qualified in Table 4.10?(positions only)
Table 4.11 gives the ranges qualified for plate testes, but doesn't mention positions, so can you use two different thicknesses as long as one of the tests is with 1" or greater material to qualify for unlimited thicknesses?
I saw this question earlier and it made me look twice at this, because I had just always went with 1" materials on all of the testing as it seemed like more bang for the buck to me.

Edit: I guess the answer is in the Figures listed rather than in the text of the code, as they specify limited thickness and unlimited thickness qualifications

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 02-11-2020 14:10

Seems pretty self explanatory to me.

Table 4.10 lists positions qualified. A 3G qualification test is not going to qualify overhead welding, no matter how thick the coupon is.

A 4G test is not going to qualify vertical welding no matter how thick the coupon is.

Table 4.11 Specifies the thickness qualified by which ever test is used, and references the specific test assemblies that may be used. (Figures)