BLASTING WELD TEST TO NEAR WHITE FINISH

By Mike D K Date 04-13-2006 20:50

This question is about a groove weld welder Qual that will be RT tested.
It’s a 5.25 inch long gr 50 steel with a backing plate.
If all the weld sample pieces were sand blasted with aluminum oxide (to a profile of at least 3.8 mils)after the 22.5 deg bevel was machined on both sides could that effect the root pass. Could or would the aluminum oxide impregnate the steel and cause the test to fail?

By G.S.Crisi (****)

Date 04-17-2006 14:42

Aluminum oxyde (also called "corundum") disks, followed by stainless steel wirebrushes, are used to clean stainless steel welds. Silicon carbide disks and carbon steel wirebrushes can not be used in stainless steel because of their carbon content.
The wirebrush cleaning is supposed to get rid of the corundum tiny particles that have stuck to the metal. So, I'd say that they won't impregnate the steel if you have the precaution of wirebrushing it after blasting.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil