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July 2014 / Vol. 17 / No. 3
www.aws.org
Eddy Current Advancements

Protected
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July 2014 Vol. 17 / No. 3
Features
24
17
Cover photo: An inspector is shown
using the Mentor ETC technology.
(Photo courtesy of GE Measurement &
Control.)
INSPECTION TRENDS (ISSN 1523-7168) is
published quarterly by the American Welding
Society. Editorial and advertising offices are located
at 8669 NW 36th St., Suite 130, Miami, FL 33166;
telephone (305) 443-9353. Printed by R. R.
Donnelley & Sons Co., Senatobia, Miss.
Subscriptions $30.00 per year for noncertified,
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AWS MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the American Welding Society
is to advance the science, technology, and
application of welding and allied joining
processes woldwide, including brazing, soldering,
and thermal spraying.
Advances in Eddy Current Inspection Technology

by Robert Ward / Todays eddy current instruments offer speed, portability,
and network connection capabilities / 17
Understanding Protected Zones
by Brent E. Boling / Here are answers to whether you can or cant perform
welding in the Protected Zone / 20
Understanding Eddy Current Inspection of Ferrous Materials
by Bryan Lancon / When utilized appropriately, eddy current can
be a valuable means of NDE for weld inspection of ferrous materials / 24
Tips for Preparing Top-Notch Inspection Reports
by Albert J. Moore Jr./This advice will help you write clear,
concise reports / 26
Departments
Editors Note................................6
Mark Your Calendar...................34
News Bulletins.............................8
Certification Schedule................36
Mail Bag ....................................12
Just the Facts ..............................37
Print and Product Showcase ......14
Logos .........................................39
Technology Notes ......................16
Classifieds..................................40
Red Hots ....................................30
Advertiser Index ........................40
The Answer Is ............................32

Inspection Trends / Summer 2014
Editors Note
By Mary Ruth Johnsen

Dear Readers,
If youre an AWS member, then you

know that in late spring/early summer,
representatives from each AWS Section
meet with members from the other Sections
in their District for a yearly conference.
Someone from AWS headquarters attends
each conference as the staff representative.
Serving as a staff rep is one of my favorite
things that I do every year. I enjoy meeting
the members and I nearly always come
away with good article ideas.
Now, here at AWS, theres been a lot of talk about the projected
welder shortage resulting from the fact many welders are reaching
retirement age, and workforce development in general. AWS, and
especially the AWS Foundation, has many projects related to workforce
development, and concern for the future of the industry is the major
impetus behind the AWS scholarship program.
When I was at the District 20 Conference last month, one of the
attendees mentioned that its not only welders who are retiring, but also
welding instructors, and when they leave, their teaching techniques and
knowledge will go with them. Ive met a lot of welding instructors over
the years and, yes, most of them were long-time teachers who were
nearing retirement.
That got me to thinking about CWIs and I wondered if the situation
was the same for that segment of the industry. It turns out the situation
isnt as dire with regard to CWIs. The average age for a CWI is 44, and
the average length of certification is 5.95 years. Of the 27,570 CWIs in
North America, 7961 are age 55 or older, while of the 12,852 CWIs
located outside of North America, only 400 are 55 or older.
While the numbers are certainly better than for welders, the fact
remains that nearly 29% of the CWIs in North America are on the back
side of their careers. So what can we do to encourage new people to
become CWIs or to help them along with their careers as inspectors? If
youre an experienced CWI, I suggest you become a mentor to a
younger inspector. Yes, Ive heard of both welders and inspectors not
wanting to help a younger person because theyre afraid if they do, the
new person will take a job away from them. But, thats short
thinking.No matter what career path were on, none of us got to where
we are today without help from someone else. Im sure you can think
back and recall someone who encouraged you, answered questions,
showed you the ropes so to speak.
Beside the gentleman who spoke about losing welding instructors to
retirement, the other two representatives from that Section both of
whom were younger also taught welding. It was clear that he was one
of their mentors, and the youngest teacher had been a student of the middle
member of the group when he had taught at a different school. They
obviously understood the importance of having and being a mentor. My
hope is we all take someone else under our wings. We may find by doing
so we gain as much as we give.
(And if you arent an AWS member, I suggest you become one.
Beside many other benefits, you receive Inspection Trends big sister
publication, the Welding Journal, every month.)
Inspection Trends / July 2014
Publisher
Andrew Cullison
cullison@aws.org
Editor
Mary Ruth Johnsen
mjohnsen@aws.org
Associate Editors
Howard Woodward
woodward@aws.org
Kristin Campbell
kcampbell@aws.org
Editorial Assistant
Melissa Gomez
mgomez@aws.org
Production Editor
Zaida Chavez
zaida@aws.org
Senior Production Coordinator
Brenda Flores
bflores@aws.org
National Sales Director
Rob Saltzstein
salty@aws.org
Advertising Sales Representatives
Lea Paneca
lea@aws.org
Sandra Jorgensen
sjorgensen@aws.org
Senior Advertising Production Manager
Frank Wilson
fwilson@aws.org
Subscriptions Representative
Tabetha Moore
tmoore@aws.org
American Welding Society
8669 NW 36th St., #130
Miami, FL 33166-6672
(800/305) 443-9353
Copyright
Copyright 2014 by American Welding Society in
both printed and electronic formats. The Society is not
responsible for any statement made or opinion expressed
herein. Data and information developed by the authors
of specific articles are for informational purposes only
and are not intended for use without independent,
substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.
Hellier
CodeWest
WorldSpec
888.282.3887
281.392.4540
877.506.7773
Hellierndt.com
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News Bulletins
Shell Deer Park Donates Equipment to
San Jacinto Colleges NDT Program
San Jacinto College staff members (from left) Stephen Rowland, NDT
program director; Leslie Crnkovic, NDT professor; and Michael
Speegle, Process, Instrumentation, Electrical, Nondestructive Testing,
and Welding Technology dept. chair; are shown with Steve Martinez,
Dale Auterson, and Bryan Olson from Shell Deer Parks maintenance
dept. (Photo by Jeannie Peng-Armao, San Jacinto College marketing,
public relations, and government affairs dept.)
Shells Deer Park, Tex., manufacturing facility recently

donated a large amount of equipment to San Jacinto College to
help produce job-ready graduates in the fields of nondestructive
examination and process technology by providing them with
realistic experiences in the classroom.
The equipment included operator training boards showing
valves, pipe fittings, hoses, and lab supplies; and materials such
as microscopes, light tables, and coating testers. All the

equipment is used to ensure pressure equipment integrity.
The better training equipment we have, the better a
graduate well produce for the industry, said Michael Speegle,
dept. chair of process, instrumentation, electrical,
nondestructive testing, and welding technology. This
equipment is going to our process technology and
nondestructive testing programs. Some of it will be used in an
introductory process technology course so that students will
learn to recognize the different items because there are tens of
thousands of types of equipment that includes attachments,
valves, and piping pieces.
Shell Deer Parks 1700 employees operate a fully
integrated refinery and petrochemical facility around the
clock. Julie Pascoe, communications and social performance
advisor with Shell Deer Park, said San Jacinto College
provides an important feeder of talent to the petrochemical
and manufacturing industry in this region.
Chattanooga State Community College Opens

Materials Joining and Testing Center
The Engineering Technology Div. of Chattanooga State
Community College recently opened the Tennessee Valley
Institute for Materials Joining and Testing. The institute
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad-index

includes state-of-the-art welding processes labs that include

robotic welding equipment and nondestructive and materials
testing labs with associated computer classrooms.
The institutes programs were developed with federal grant
monies from the Dept. of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance
Community College and Career Training Grant Program. It will
provide students with educational options that can lead to
degrees, certificates, and training in the fields of welding
engineering technology and nondestructive examination.
For additional information, visit www.chattanoogastate.
edu/engineeringtechnology.
Fischer Technology Attains ISO 17025

Accreditation
Fischer Technology, Windsor,
Conn., recently earned
accreditation to ISO/IEC
17025:2005 from the American
Association of Accreditation
Laboratories (A2LA). The
standard is the benchmark for
calibration labs and assures the
competency of the laboratory staff
Fischer Technologys A2LA
and the accuracy of the
certificate to ISO17025.
calibrations being performed.
The company can now offer ISO 17025 certifications for a
variety of instruments and standards, including film thickness
instruments and standards for eddy current, magnetic induction,
X-ray fluorescence, and beta backscatter applications; electrical
conductivity instruments and standards for eddy current

comparison; Ferrite number instruments and standards; and
nanoindentation instruments and standards.
Fischer Technology manufactures coating thickness,
material testing, material analysis, and nanoindentation
instruments.
Nova Instruments Acquires Phoenix Inspection

Systems
Nova Instruments LLC, Woburn, Mass., recently
acquired Phoenix Inspection Systems, Ltd., a worldwide
supplier of ultrasonic nondestructive examination equipment
based in Warrington, England.
Phoenixs products range from conventional transducers
and wedges to state-of-the-art automated scanning systems.
The addition of Phoenix ISL to our portfolio of businesses
is a synergistic one, adding new technologies and systems to the
range of ultrasound techniques our subsidiary, NDT Systems,
Inc., currently supplies, and will allow Nova Instruments to
further establish itself as a comprehensive solution provider
within the NDT market.
Laboratory Testing Hires Metallurgical

Engineer
Laboratory Testing, Inc., Hatfield, Pa., recently selected
Greg Fackler of Lansdale, Pa., as a metallurgical engineer.
Fackler joins the companys Metallography Lab team and
will be responsible for performing the full range of
metallography services, including

microstructure and macrostructure
examinations, microhardness
testing, and scanning electron
microscope analysis.
Previously, Fackler worked at
Allied Tube & Conduit as a plant
metallurgist where he conducted
internal audits, supervised the
Quality Dept., and performed tests
on materials and specimens.
Greg Fackler
In other personnel news, Steve
Bowers is assuming the position of mechanical testing
workflow supervisor and Paul Szczepaniak has been
promoted to second shift coordinator for the companys
Mechanical Testing Dept.
TV Rheinland Adds Portable X-Ray Capability

TV Rheinland Industrial Solutions, Aliquippa, Pa., a
full-service inspection, testing, and certification company,
recently expanded its digital radiography capability with a
portable X-ray detector using wireless and battery-operating
technology. The wireless capability will allow the company
to provide faster results for its oil and gas, power generation,
construction, and other industrial clients.
Designed to operate in the harshest industrial
environments, the portable Xray detector can be wirelessly

connected or tethered to a
laptop computer. It can be set
up quickly in challenging field
conditions and used to survey
hard-to-reach areas such as
pipe racks.
In other TV Rheinland
news from Boxborough,
Mass., David Haataja was
named senior vice president,
David Haataja
Products, for the United
States, Canada, and Mexico
The company serves customers in commercial, electrical,
chemical, and medical products fields, and Haataja will be
responsible for enhancing operations, driving new business
development, and representing the North American region
in the international regulatory committees and industry
associations. He has more than 35 years of business
development and operations leadership experience.
The company has also appointed Herbert Hewitt Jr. as
senior sales account manager for the products group,
including product testing, EMC testing, and commercial and
international approvals. He has been with the company for
more than 25 years and will be responsible for business
development in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
continued on page 35
10
Plan ahead.
Even if your nine-year recertification
deadline is years away, you can fulfill
it now with a CWI endorsement.
Expand your credentials with an endorsement that fulfills your recertification requirements.
Recertification every nine years requires either 80 hours of documented continuing
education, retaking the Part B Practical Exam, or an endorsement to your certification.
You can do this at any time, so why not do it now and secure the prestige and enhanced
career potential of a credential in an additional welding code or skill?
A CWI or SCWI can take a Supplemental Inspectio
n Exam anytime during the nine-year cycle.
Inspection
Qualifying for and passing one of these exams me
ets the requirements for recertification.
meets
Endorsements are listed on your endorsement car
d. Endorsements require passing a
card.
two-hour exam on one of the following:
Welding
A
W
WS D1.1 Structural Welding
AWS
WS D1.2 Aluminum
A
W
AWS
A
W
WS D1.5 Bridge
AWS
A
W
WS D15.1
D15 Railroad
AWS
AWS
AWS D17.1 Aerospace
ASME Section IX, B31.1 & B31.3

ASME Section VIII, Di
v. 1 & Section IX
Div.
API 1
104 Pipeline
1104
Structural Drawing Reading
Seminars to prepare you for the two-hour exam on D1.1 or API 1104
1104 are available at numerous
seminar sites across the country. An ASME Sectio
n IX seminar will be offered at FABTECH
Section
Atlanta on Nov. 11-12.
One other stand-alone credential can serve as an endorsement credit and also fulfills your
recertification requirement. At any time during your nine-year cycle, if you meet the prerequisites,
you can apply to become certified as an A
WS Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI).
AWS
The five-day CRI seminar is designed to ensure th
at you have the knowledge to properly assess
that
indications produced on radiographic media. It will prepare you for the CRI certification exam, which
is given at the end of each seminar week. This is a valuable certification that fulfills your
nine-year requirement. Upcoming seminars and ex
exams
ams for CRI are:
Dallas: Aug. 18-23 Chicago: Sept. 15-20 Pittsburgh: Oct. 13-18

If you dont want to take any exams at all, you can fulfill the 80-hour education requirement by
attending a six-day AWS
AWS 9Year
e Recertification
Recertificatio Course. Courses are scheduled for:
9-Year
Orlando: Aug. 17-22
Denver: Sept. 7-12
Dallas: Oct. 5-10
New Orleans: Oct. 26-31

Seattle: Nov.
Nov. 16-21
Miami: Dec. 7-12
One more option is to recertify by taking the Part B CWI Practical Exam. This exam and refresher
Wo
offered
fere
f
Visual
at convenient CWI seminar/exam sites across the
Visual Inspection Workshop
Workshop seminars are offered
country.
countr
y.
(800) 443-9353 ext 273
Mail Bag
Columns Strike a Chord
I really enjoyed the article by Jim
Merrill in the Just the Facts section
(Spring 2014 issue of Inspection
Trends). Moisture and steel are so
misunderstood, and his article really
brought out the facts as to what is
actually being witnessed during preheat
and other operations. I could have
wished for more detail but appreciate
the thoroughness of expression that
hopefully cleared this up for many
inspectors.
I also appreciated Al Moores
response in The Answer Is department.
His explanation of the process of
calibrating inspection tools is very
applicable to us all. Many times we
bring this on ourselves by making a
QC program for our company that says
we are going to do something a certain
way, and we dont realize the
complications that we have created and
that the steps are totally unnecessary.
Thanks for another great edition
with articles that really hit home. They
were all good but these two items
meant the most to me currently.
Brent E. Boling
Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Reader Relates Ethics to

Safety
I am a second-generation welder
with more than 40 years experience and
have been a CWI for 20 years. I earned
an associates degree in welding
technology and have owned my own
business for 30 plus years. I see CWIs
with attitudes regarding ethics that
disturb me. The older, more experienced
personnel like myself are beginning to
retire. If the problems are not remedied
before they retire, it will take a
generation to fix these attitude problems.
Ethics as defined by Websters
dictionary is moral philosophy or
moral science; i.e., that branch of
philosophy that studies the principles
of right or wrong in human conduct;
the moral principles that determine the
rightness or wrongness of particular
acts or activities.
The consequences of ethics
12
violations are high for CWIs or other

inspectors, contractors, and owners. The
worst case is loss of life; the best case
delay of project and extra cost. I dont
know if current CWIs are aware that
violations could result in the CWI death
sentence, meaning loss of credentials.
Qualifications of CWIs. There is a
great need to ensure that the inspectors
on the job have proper experience for
that type of work. The attitude of many
inspectors today is one of thinking they
have the last say on the job. That is
incorrect. As per code, what you see
visually is not always unacceptable or
may have been misinterpreted. I have
witnessed this many times. If the failure
rate on a welder qualification test is
75%, is this a real or unreal rate? A lot of
good, experienced welders are looked
out (a term commonly used in the field
by inspectors to base the rejection of a
test weld or production weld on their
visual testing or observation of the
interior of a root pass or the cap or last
pass on a pipe test) by inspectors who do
not interpret the code correctly. There
are a lot of new welders who can pass a
welding test but lack the experience to
do production quality and quantity for
the job at hand. The same goes for
inspectors. They passed a test but dont
have the experience needed for the job at
hand.
Codes and the use of
interpretation. The owner of the
project is the one who sets the code to
be used according to what the project is
to do, i.e., pipeline, gas plant, etc.
Does the welder testing need to be
more stringent than the code used for
production?
Interpretation of weld test. Does
the test sample meet production quality
and acceptance criteria? If the inspector
used visual aids such as magnifying
mirrors, did the inspector verify by
measurement with calibrated instruments
or simply use visual interpretation?
Do we need to return to the use of
NDT, i.e., X-ray and destructive
testing? That is what was used when I
started welding. Is the type of weld test
being used the best choice to represent
the work to be done on the job? For
instance, 6G vs. 5G-2G.
Cost vs. effect. The cost of
misinterpretation of the weld test and
production welds is first on the owner,
second on the contractor, and third on

the welder not only testing but loss of
complete job and possible future testing
for that owner. The inspector has no loss
at all. He simply gets paid to retest more
welders or reexamine more welds.
Safety is affected by ethics. As a
welder, I witnessed a stainless steel pipe
heated cherry red and then water
quenched. This was done by a pipefitter
under direction of the piping boss both
having enough experience to know
better and both knowing I was an
inspector on the job previously. I went to
the safety person and reported what I
saw. The answer was You are not in an
inspector capacity and not to worry. I
continued until I got to the welder who
made the weld who then went to the
inspector. The results were the pipe got
replaced. This line had a max. pressure
of 625 lb at 200 deg and was corrosive.
There was a potential for loss of life if
this hadnt been replaced.
I hear stories like this every week
from welders and seasoned inspectors. A
few examples: welds flagged for repair
that did not need repair, welds
mismarked, repairs made by rewelding
without any grinding out of defects
when the called defect required grinding
to remove and the repaired weld passing
X-ray. Will it take loss of life to turn
around the trend in attitudes of some of
the inspectors today?
In conclusion, it is my belief that
our system needs better regulation of
inspection from the beginning of
applying for a CWI through final
inspection of the finished product.
Welders need more training and
inspectors need to be sure they have the
needed experience for the job at hand.
After becoming a CWI, I have used
the ethics taught and the appropriate
code to base my findings on. The rule of
using the proper WPS, code, acceptance
criteria, and experience before, during,
and after welding has been done has
been my guide. Ethics are black and
white, the codes can be grey, that is why
CWIs need to use all of the code to
ensure their decision of good or bad is an
ethical one.
Kenneth C. Terry Jr.
AWS CWI
Fallbrook, Calif.
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15
Technology Notes
Official Interpretations
Document: A2.4:2012, Standard
Symbols for Welding, Brazing, and
Nondestructive Examination
Subject: Complete joint penetration
Provision: 7.2.2
Inquiry: Request the revision of
complete joint penetration weld
symbols illustrations and definition.
Content: Current illustrations and
definitions of complete joint penetration
weld symbols are inconsistent with the
prequalified joints found in the AWS D1
series code books.
Proposed reply: 1. Add the
following to clause 7.2.2, Groove
welds with back weld, backing bar,
back gouge, or melt through are
complete joint penetration. Groove
welds without back weld, backing bar,
back gouge, or melt through are partial
joint penetration, regardless of the
depth of groove. 2. Add a tail and the
words back gouge to the symbol in
16
Figure 12 (D). 3. Add a backing bar to

the symbol in Figure 12 (E).
Response: Per subclause 7.2.2
(Complete Joint Penetration), AWS A2.4
symbols define and illustrate complete
joint penetration as a groove weld that
extends through the thickness of the
joint, i.e., the faying surfaces of the weld
joint are completely fused. The presence
or lack of backing, back welding, or
reinforcement is independent of the
definition of a weld that extends through
the thickness of the joint.
While the correspondence has
merit, weld joint requirements do not
fall within the scope of AWS A2.4. The
symbols in this publication are
intended to be used to facilitate
communication among the design,
fabrication, and inspection
communities. AWS A2.4
communicates that a dimensionless
groove welding symbol requires that
the weld extend through the thickness
of the joint. No changes will be made
to the standard.
Document: D1.1:2006, Structural
Welding Code Steel
Subject: Welder qualification and
position qualified
Provision: Subclause 3.7.1 and Table
4.12
AWS Log: D1.1-06-I13
Inquiry: Is a welder who is qualified for
groove welds in the vertical position
using upward progression qualified to
repair undercut using downward
progression without further qualification
testing?
Response: No, see Table 4.12 (5).
Document: D1.1:2008, Structural
Welding Code Steel
Subject: Power source calibration
Provision: Clause 6
AWS Log: D1.1-08-I08
Inquiry: Does the D1.1:2008 Code
require welding power source voltmeters
and ammeters to be calibrated?
Response: No, see 5.11.
By Robert Ward
Feature
Advances in Eddy Current Inspection Technology

Eddy current testing has evolved in reaction to technological advances over the past
decades, bringing it to new levels of value and performance
With the portable Mentor EM from GE, there are no physical dials or other external
variables on the device to affect test results; the probe used to perform the inspection is the
only external feature. (All photos courtesy of GE Measurement and Control.)
Eddy current testing (ET) is

fundamentally the same as it was when
first introduced in 1879 by David
Hughes, yet it remains among the best
inspection techniques for use in many
cases today. While the technology itself
is unchanged, its applications have
become much more sophisticated,
particularly over the past twenty years.
Inspection professionals across
manufacturing, oil and gas, aerospace,
power, and various other industries are
able to perform inspections plus detect
and size flaws with greater speed and
accuracy than ever before.
How and when ET is used has
changed remarkably, and the digital
age has brought transformational
change for inspection technology.
Recent advancements in eddy current
tools have simplified not only the

inspection process, but also the training
and collaboration processes involved
across industries, increasing the scope
of applications and usefulness of the
technology. As inspection technologies
become more advanced, the need to
recruit, train, qualify, and retain skilled
nondestructive examination (NDE)
personnel becomes increasingly
important, especially in an industry
where the workforce is rapidly aging.
The Move from Analog to

Digital
One of the key benefits of ET for
inspection technicians is its transportability, which can be traced back to
the early 1990s. This was a turning
point for the technology because it

allowed technicians to bring the
technology they needed into the field.
The transition from large, analog
technology to more compact, digital
systems allowed inspectors to adapt the
testing process for more NDE
applications. For its previous 100-year
history, performing ET required the
equipment under review to be brought
to a laboratory; now, inspectors could
bring the ET equipment to the object in
the field.
Of course, transportability is a
relative term, and in its first outsidethe-lab incarnations, ET equipment was
transportable on par with a refrigerator
or a safe. The difference was
significant enough, however, that ET
could now be performed on equipment
in the workplace. In the early field
inspections, ET was used to check
steam generators at nuclear power
plants, to ensure that high-pressure
radioactive steam from inside the
reactor was not escaping to the
environment.
As the technology improved, the
number of industries and applications
using ET grew. Given the increasing
number of facilities and systems that
required constant inspection,
performing and staffing regular
inspections became a major challenge
especially for teams that were top
heavy with advanced inspectors. In the
1990s, the company Zetec introduced a
new method where an on-site team
transmitted inspection data to a
centralized analysis team using a
satellite or online connection. This
advanced process relieved the need for
the experts to remain on site for
analysis and final decisions. Zetec
improved the productivity of Level III
inspectors by enabling a given crew to
support testing at multiple sites
simultaneously. The Internet made data
17
The recent emergence of powerful, networked portable devices is one of the notable trends in
eddy current testing today.
Research Institute, a worldwide

consortium of utility companies, to
recommend to member utilities that use
of defect recognition software be the
primary means for signal identification.
Experts are used in supporting and
verification roles, to corroborate and
validate the indications called out by
the software.
Advancements in technology have
vastly improved the inspection process.
For instance, the nuclear plant steam
generator inspection that originally
required six inspectors working up to
28 days can now be completed in under
a week with half the staff and with
far greater confidence in the data.
With technological advancements
also come training advancements.
Because ET devices provide clear
interpretations of scan results, less
experienced inspectors are capable of
making critical decisions that
previously required the approval of
Level II and III certified inspectors.
Moreover, as ET equipment becomes
smaller and less costly, its use expands
far beyond the nuclear reactor, airplane
manufacturing floor, and petrochemical
processing operations that have long
been its focus. One can now find highend auto mechanics using ET
equipment to detect whether parts are
suitable for use or require replacement.
New Frontiers for Eddy

Current Testing
With todays eddy current equipment, complex inspection projects can be completed in less
time, with fewer staff involved, and with far greater confidence in the data.
transfer even simpler and, not long

after, software emerged to improve the
quality and analysis of data, laying the
foundation for how ET is used today.
Making Smarter Machines

Eddy current testing equipment
has tremendous sensitivity. The
technology can detect defects that are
well defined and discern defects even
through significant noise in the data
signal. This also means that very minor
patterns in a sample for example,
tooling marks left by the process of
lathing during manufacture could
give a response very similar to a defect
signal. Noise, or signal interference,
can be caused by naturally occurring
factors such as temperature, changes in
18
conductivity, and magnetic

permeability.
The creation of noise-filtering
technology opens the use of ET to a
broader, constantly growing range of
applications. Researchers discovered that
various types of signal noise occurred in
recognizable or predictable patterns.
Anticipating and eliminating these
effects using software-based processing
on the source data essentially erases
noise signals and leaves the rest of the
picture, allowing ET to reliably provide
clear diagnostic images.
The effect of noise-filtering
algorithms on ET has been profound.
Research led by Professor Lalita Upda
at Michigan State University validated
the accuracy of noise filtering
algorithms and led the Electric Power
There are a number of current and

emerging trends that promise to further
revolutionize ET for the next phase of
inspection. One notable trend is the
recent emergence of powerful,
networked portable devices.
Previous generations of
inspection technology often required
the testing technician to carry
cumbersome equipment, diagrams,
maps, and numerous other paper
documents for information on the
testing process and the standard
requirements for the test. Given the
complex and often harsh industrial
environments inspectors work in, this
process was far from ideal and
introduced a number of variables that
could affect the accuracy of test
results.
This year, GE launched Mentor
EM. With this portable device, the
testing process is automated on-screen,
including all relevant information on
test metrics, procedures, and standards.
There are no physical dials or other

external variables on the device to
affect test results; the probe used to
perform the inspection is the only
external feature.
Where previous ET devices have
been standalone units that perform a
reading essentially like a very
advanced pocket compass Mentor
EM incorporates a comprehensive
information system. Not only can
technicians capture its readings onto a
network database, but future versions
of the system will be capable of
finding and opening information on
the network. The inspector can be
relieved of carrying paper documents,
which instead are directly viewed on
the instruments tablet. Printed
documents expire; online
documentation can be managed to
provide only current information.
The new system also has the
ability to create standardized
inspection workflows. It can automate
the test process, which again is a
seemingly small advancement that
could have tremendous implications.
Large organizations with numerous
inspectors at multiple facilities might

find that their ET is performed
differently, with slightly different
results achieved by each individual.
By developing a standard practice, the
company can be confident that all of
its weld inspections, for example, are
being performed in exactly the same
way, with results that can be
duplicated by any one of its test
technicians.
Through the use of connectivity
technology, technicians can bring
others into the inspection process as
needed, without having to wait for
them to physically arrive on site,
saving time and money. In addition, a
higher-level engineer located
anywhere in the world can work with
the inspection technician, directing all
of his or her actions to achieve
unambiguous results. The equipment
also offers the foundation for a broad
rethinking of the process of ET
inspection within a company, perhaps
realizing untold means of efficiency or
advancement of skill and corporate
knowledge.
Conclusion
Eddy current inspection has
become one of todays most useful and
essential modalities for NDE. It has
achieved this status by evolving in
reaction to technological advances over
the past decades.
As of 2014, a number of new
advances have been introduced to ET,
including networked communications,
collaborative features, and an
application programming interface, that
promise to expand the horizons of this
test modality dramatically, making it
feasible for a far wider range of
applications and bringing new
technicians and operators up to speed
more quickly and efficiently.
ROBERT WARD is senior
project manager for Ultrasonic Testing
(UT) and Electromagnetics (EM)
Innovation at GE Measurement and
Control, a division of GE Oil & Gas,
Lewistown, Pa.,
www.ge-mcs.com/microsites/mentor/.
19
Feature
By Brent E. Boling
Understanding Protected Zones

Here are answers to the question does a Protected Zone equal a no
weld zone
What Is a Protected Zone?
Fig. 1 Protected Zone at the end of a beam.

Thats the Protected Zone! You
cant weld there!
Many of us have heard or even
said that about Protected Zones to
welders on the job. But is it an accurate
statement? Does it reflect the true
intention of the applicable codes
Fig. 1? Because of a recent
experience I had, I believe we need to
take a serious look at this topic.
While on a job with seismic
requirements, I was confronted one
morning by two of the fabrication lead
personnel overseeing the project in the
heavy fabrication department
(columns). Their complaint: one of the
night shift third-party inspectors had
marked an area for weld removal
where it progressed into the designated
Protected Zone. The night shift had
already taken the time to remove the
weld. The biggest part of the problem:
they now had to go back and reweld
the 1 in. of weld that had been
removed at four locations on the
column because the Codes and General
Notes in the plans and discussions with
20
the engineers were all very specific that

the weld was intended to be placed and
remain in that area.
The fabricator was not happy
about the waste of time. When I
confronted the swing shift personnel
that evening, their first words were
We never allow welding in the
Protected Zone.
As CWIs we hear and see many
things that cause us to pause and think,
where does that come from, or, is
that actually in the code I am using on
this job. The person who made the
statement thought so. For this
investigation into the accuracy of these
statements and for the sake of keeping
everyone on the same page, we are
dealing with seismic members using
AWS D1.8/D1.8M:2009, Structural
Welding Code Seismic Supplement, and
AISC 341, Seismic Design Manual
(SDM), as supplemental to and in
conjunction with D1.1, Structural
Welding Code Steel, and AISC 360,
Specification for Structural Steel
Buildings.
One of the first things we need to

do is see how the applicable codes
define and apply the term Protected
Zone. The answers can only be found
within the seismic codes mentioned
previously because the Protected Zone
is not an issue outside of seismic areas
and therefore is not part of D1.1.
AWS D1.8, Clause 3.3, defines
Protected Zone as that portion of a
member of the SFRS (Seismic Force
Resisting System) designated by the
Engineer in Contract Documents in
which inelastic straining is anticipated
to occur and to which special
limitations in these provisions apply
with regard to attachments and
fabrication.
Now lets see what the
Commentary for D1.8 has to say about
this clause in section C-3.3 Protected
Zone: Seismic Force Resisting
Systems designed in accordance with
the AISC Seismic Provisions are
intended to dissipate earthquake energy
through inelastic deformation in
specific members and/or their
connections. The locations within the
structures in which such behavior is
anticipated to occur are commonly
termed plastic hinges. The Protected
Zone is intended to encompass those
portions of the structure in which
plastic hinges are anticipated to form.
Special care in the selection of
materials, members, details, fabrication
procedures, and quality control are
required in these Protected Zones to
avoid failure during earthquake
response. Figures 2 and 3 show
typical examples.
Notice in Figs. 2 and 3 that there
are two different types of welds: D1.8
welds and D1.8-DC (Demand Critical)
welds within the Protected Zone. Also
Fig. 2 Example RBS/column strong axis connection (from AWS

D1.8).
notice that on the column just outside

the Protected Zone there are D1.1
welds that are not part of the SFRS.
Also notice that the figures show the
Protected Zone does indeed
encompass those portions of the
structure where we find the plastic
hinge. (Please note: there is only one
weld in the whole bunch that would
require additional testing of the welder
to D1.8. You will need to review D1.8
Clause 5.1 and C-5.1 carefully in order
to understand the supplemental testing
requirements.) So, from these
definitions and Figs. 2 and 3, it is
obvious there is welding done within
the area the code defines as the
Protected Zone. The inspector needs to
examine each weld according to its
applicable code, not all of which are
D1.8 seismic Fig. 4.
AISC 341, Seismic Design
Manual, makes this application clear in
Sections 7.4, 9.2d, 10.2d, and the
Commentary C-7.4. According to the
definitions and descriptions found in
AISC 341, the Protected Zone is
intended to encompass these areas of
the plastic hinge, and it includes
welding of components.
There are several more clauses in
the AISC 341 glossary and Chapter I,
Fabrication and Erection, explaining
the Protected Zones. There are too
many to quote or reference, but they
add a great deal in terms of clarifying
the Protected Zone and are worth some
self-study.
Fig. 3 Example eccentric brace/link/column connection (from

AWS D1.8).
Why Is It Called a Protected

Zone?
Okay, so where does that leave us?
From the definitions we found in the
applicable codes, lets look at why it is
called a Protected Zone, and if its
protected, why were to weld in it.
Lets review what D1.8 told us in
the commentary: Special care in the
selection of materials, members, details,
fabrication procedures, and quality
control are required in these Protected
Zones to avoid failure during earthquake
response. So, we are to protect that
area by exercising special care and
limitations concerning fabrication
procedures and their application. That
does not include prohibiting all welding
within the Protected Zone such as
stiffener plates, continuity plates,
moment connections, and other
engineered connections that require
welding.
There are items, however, that are
considered as prohibited operations
within the Protected Zone. AWS D1.8
Clause 6.15.1 Attachments and Welds,
states: Welded attachments, including
stud welds and fasteners for the
connection of other materials, shall be
prohibited within the Protected Zone
(see Fig. 4 and notice the break in the
angle iron at each side of the Protected
Zone).
That statement, along with the rest
of Clause 6.15 Protected Zone, needs to
be examined carefully with
consideration of the Commentary as well

because Clause 6.15.2 goes on to say
that when the need arises for erection
aids and/or OSHA safety requirements,
it may be necessary to weld attachments
in the Protected Zone. Once these have
fulfilled their function, the engineer may
require their removal. Both the welding
and the removal/repair are to be done to
exacting standards. From this clause we
can see the existence of both allowed
and prohibited welding operations
within the Protected Zone.
So, to answer the question of why
welding is allowed in the Protected
Zone: Protected does not mean
prohibited, but there are times at which
certain procedures must be prohibited in
order to protect the structural integrity of
the items involved with the SFRS.
This may seem confusing, which is
probably one reason for all the
misinformation concerning Protected
Zones. What it really emphasizes is the
need for us to carefully read all available
reference materials on this and any other
subject that calls for observation by a
CWI. That includes examining the
references from AISC and even the
International Building Code. While selfstudy is critical to each inspectors
understanding of the Protected Zone,
lets continue to see whether we can
make it any easier to understand by
going over a few more facts.
The bottom line is the finished
condition of the Protected Zone when
any other work is completed that may
21
affect it. There are so many references to

Protected Zones in AISC 341 that space
does not permit an in-depth examination
here. Suffice it to say that, concerning
our original premise, I believe the texts
are clear that welding is allowed in the
Protected Zone. It is the placing of
welded attachments, such as ledger
angles, and other operations in the
Protected Zone that are prohibited.
So, if thats the case, why is it called
the Protected Zone? Because it is
protected from the design stages of the
SFRS through the fabrication and
erection process in order to avoid
failure during earthquake response.
Just what is it protected from?
Lets see if we can answer that from
our codes.
Special Care and Limitations

As was mentioned previously, we
are to protect the area by exercising
special care and limitations
concerning fabrication procedures and
their application. So what is meant by
special care and limitations? Keep in
mind that you will need to do some
independent study as there is too much
to quote here. Following are some
suggestions of documents to review.
First, an examination of D1.8
Clauses 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 is important
because we must understand the
terminology and application of the
Seismic Force Resisting System,
Demand Critical Welds, and the
Protected Zone. AISC 341 is also
important for learning the depth of
these terms and how to apply them to
our situation.
Second, as you look into these
items, some other issues will begin to
take shape. A mention of stresses,
stress raisers, discontinuities,
metallurgy, and fracture mechanics is
in order. For those, I would recommend
AWS Welding Handbook Vol. 1,
Welding Science and Technology, as
well as Welding Metallurgy by George
E. Linnert. Both have some good basic
information to start us down the path
toward understanding the why of the
Protected Zone and how it intertwines
with special care and limitations. There
is also information to be gleaned from
AWS D1.1 Clause 2 Design of Welded
Connections that will aid in a proper
understanding of the stresses and
transfer of those stresses in our seismic
welded connections.
Third, we can now start putting
22
Fig. 4 Protected Zone at the edge of a column-to-beam connection.
together the information and knowledge

learned from our studies in order to see
why these codes are interested in
protecting the finish quality of the
material in the Protected Zone.
The inelastic area at the juncture of
changes in thickness, direction of
stresses/forces, and other factors found
in our codes and references will be the
focal point of much force in the event of
seismic activity. If there is the slightest
discontinuity of quality within the
Protected Zone, that becomes a weak
spot that will be the point of
initialization for failure in the form of
fractures in an area designed to
withstand the forces exerted by an
earthquake.
To see more about how the codes
express concerns over stress raisers, you
can also compare the clauses that
reference stress raisers at weld access
holes, reentrant corners, surfaces where
the runoff tabs have been removed,
grinding, and/or other repairs for notches
and gouges in cut surfaces. These all
have a roughness limitation of sample 4
from C4.1 Criteria for Describing
Oxygen-Cut Surfaces, and Oxygen
Cutting Surface Roughness Gauge as
stated in D1.8 Clauses 6.10.2, 6.11.3,
and 6.15.4.2. For applications not
covered by D1.8, see D1.1 Clause
5.15.4.3 and 4, 5.16, and 5.17, which

will allow for use of sample 3 up to and
including 4-in.-thick material and
sample 2 for material more than 4 in.
thick. (This gauge should be in your
toolkit and is available through the AWS
Bookstore.) Even a brief viewing of
these reference materials relates the
dynamics created in any structure by a
rough edge. That is your weak spot
where a tear can begin in the component.
That is why all of our codes are so
concerned with the surface roughness in
these areas.
In answer then to the question of
what it is being protected from, stress
raisers in any surface of the members of
the fabrication assembly will be an issue
in the event of an earthquake. Our job is
to make sure the fabricator protects these
surfaces in order to reduce the chances
of failure during an earthquake or other
event. That is what the special care and
limitations are all about protection
from stress raisers and other conditions
that would contribute to failure.
Purpose of the Protected

Zone
As stated previously, the Protected
Zone is designed to avoid failure during
earthquake response. But how does it
achieve this purpose?

The AISC SDM calls out three
different moment connection classes:
Ordinary Moment Frames
Intermediate Moment Frames
Special Moment Frames
Each has different restrictions,
limitations, and applications. Lets take a
look at them.
The Ordinary Moment Frame
(OMF) has no Protected Zones.
The Intermediate (IMF) and Special
Moment Frames (SMF) do have
Protected Zones. Each one has its own
unique assigned limitations and
restrictions. Some are with an eye to our
Protected Zone and some with other
items involving the connection.
The Protected Zones, in my simple
understanding and methods of
explaining since I am not an engineer,
are in areas where the stresses could be
critical because of other factors such as
changes in thickness of a spliced column
or locations where beams are attached to
columns via moment connections. We
know that the forces involved in an
earthquake will make a building move.
As such, that motion has to be channeled
safely through these areas in order to
reduce the chance of failure. Thus,
reduced beam sections, moment
connections, sideplate systems, and other
engineered systems have been
engineered to handle a seismic event.
Some of these areas have rigid
connections that will resist the motion
and then have an area that will flex to
take the motion without a failure of
structural integrity.
Regardless of the system and how
we channel those forces to where we
want them, there are areas of the SFRS
that need protection in fabrication
practices in order to keep unacceptable
discontinuities from producing stress
raisers where a fracture can start. These
discontinuities can have several sources,
such as welding, changes in section,
fabrication flaws, gouges from cutting
operations, or penetrations in the
material, even something as small and
inconspicuous as ridges from grinding
that are in the wrong direction and/or
location. Any one of these will give the
structure that one little weak spot for
catastrophic failure to initiate. Take a
look at D1.8 Clause 6.15.4.1 Grinding,
and especially its Commentary, for more
information.
When you look at the location in the
design where Protected Zones are
located, it all starts to make sense. They
are at points where materials have rigid

connections, such as moment
connections, changes in material
thicknesses, such as a column splice
where the two sections are of different
thicknesses, and other areas where we
have a restrained point in the structure
transferring stresses to a lesser
restrained area. It is at that transition
point that we discover the Protected
Zones. And in our minds eye, we can
now see what can occur if at that
transition point where we are bound to
have flexing components we were to
leave some form of discontinuity
catastrophic failure.
This is a much deeper topic than
can be covered here. That is why I have
recommended so many other
references for additional study.
T R E N D S
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Conclusions
There are several worthwhile
items to take note of from this review
of Protected Zones:
1. Welding is permitted within the
Protected Zone.
2. Welding is to be limited and
carefully controlled in the Protected
Zone.
3. Welding and other operations
are prohibited for certain items in the
Protected Zone.
4. Welding repairs are to be
completed and inspected with great
care in the Protected Zone.
5. The utmost attention to quality
is to be given to all work in the
Protected Zone.
6. Inspectors must always be
learning and applying the codes to
which they are working in order to
displace misconceptions,
misinformation, and misapplications of
the work they are responsible for.
6 T F S F Q S J O U T UP N BYJ N J[F

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BRENT E. BOLING
(cwinspectorbrent@gmail.com) is
president of Arc-Tech Welding, Inc.,
Prescott Valley, Ariz. He is also an
AWS CWI with a Bolting Endorsement,
an ASNT Level II in VT, and is chair of
the AWS Arizona Section and its
Certification Committee.

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23
Feature
By Bryan Lancon
Understanding Eddy Current Inspection of

Ferrous Materials
It is essential that technicians be familiar with both the advantages and limitations
associated with the eddy current process
Eddy current testing (ET) is a
widely accepted nondestructive
examination (NDE) method for the
inspection of various electrically
conductive materials. Inspections are
performed to detect discontinuities or
other material variables (hardness,
conductivity, lift-off, and/or thickness).
The discontinuities detected by ET are
either surface or very near surface, as
this is not a volumetric inspection
method. Although nonferrous materials
are typically used in the aviation
industry, there are other occasions
when ferrous alloys may be inspected.
Welds may be inspected using ET.
Many eddy current equipment
manufacturers supply weld inspection
kits for that specific purpose. Tubing
inspection in heat-exchangers also
utilizes unique eddy current techniques
and special equipment. In eddy current
inspection, it is essential that the
technician be familiar with both the
advantages and limitations associated
with the eddy current process.
The discussion in this article is
limited to basic ET using a surface
probe for weld inspection. It should be
understood that advanced
multifrequency techniques may be used
to improve such inspections to achieve
specific results.
As with ultrasonic testing, ET is a
comparison test that requires precise
reference and/or calibration samples. It
is essential that the proper reference or
calibration sample be used dependant
on the application.
Eddy current testing relies on the
principles of electromagnetic
induction. In the ET technique, a coil
(probe) is excited with a sinusoidal
alternating current, with frequencies
from 50Hz to more than 10 MHz. This
establishes what are called eddy
24
currents, which travel in closed loops

and exist only in conductive materials.
The change in coil impedance, Z, that
results due to distortion of eddy
currents at regions of discontinuities
(defects, material property variations,
surface characteristics, etc.) and
associated magnetic flux leakages, is
measured and correlated with the factor
producing it, i.e., a discontinuity. Other
variables can be measured or correlated
using ET, including mass, geometry,
lift-off (spacing), conductivity,
hardness, etc.
Many parts or structures are made
of mild steels or other ferrous alloys,
and therefore present issues for the
eddy current processes. It may be that
such materials could be examined
using some other method of NDE such
as ultrasonic, magnetic particle,
penetrant, or radiographic testing.
However, if ET is to be used for such
inspections, saturation coils or
multifrequency applications may be
necessary, especially for tube
inspection. Saturation may be
accomplished by applying either a DC
electromagnet or a permanent magnet
to the component being tested. This
practice minimizes the varying effects
of permeability on the test article.
Permeability is determined by the
following equation:
= B/H
where = permeability, H =
magnetizing current, and B = flux
density.
Permeability must be considered
when the item being examined is a
ferromagnetic material, meaning any
material that can be magnetized or
support magnetic lines of flux.
Typically, carbon steels are considered

ferromagnetic, and therefore could
present some problems in evaluating
the condition of the part under test.
As can be seen in Fig. 1, changes
in the magnetic characteristics of the
material and/or changes in the amount
of current applied will greatly affect
the permeability value and likewise
alter the distribution of the eddy
current field.
A DC field can be applied to a part
until the material reaches magnetic
saturation. By reaching magnetic
saturation on the B-H curve, the
permeability () becomes 1 or unity.
At this point, the material takes on the
same characteristics of nonferrous
materials. The result is that the signal is
significantly improved. It is at this
saturation point that the permeability
variables become less significant
during the inspection process.
Due to the many variables
encountered in eddy current
applications, it is always in the best
interest of the technician to eliminate
as many of them as possible and isolate
the one item of interest in an effort to
accurately provide a disposition of the
component or part. When the variable
of permeability is considered, and can
be minimized, it is always best to do
so. Some of the other material
variables that will be encountered
include conductivity, geometry,
hardness, and alloying.
Of course, the material variables
are not the only things that must be
considered, there are system variables
that have an effect on the eddy current
inspection. When accounting for
system variables, things such as
frequency, probe type, filtering, and
current are factors. The frequency
selection will have a tremendous
impact on the inspection and should be

one of the first things considered
Fig. 2. These factors are controlled by
the technician and should be adjusted
so as to provide the best possible test
results within the scope of the
referenced specification. This can be
accomplished by using a reference
standard, a calibration block that is
similar to the part being inspected.
Probe coil selection is also
important as absolute, differential, and
hybrid designs have various
capabilities. Surface probes are usually
used for weld inspection and therefore
must be appropriate for the inspection
performed. Since weld geometry can
cause indications, it would be best to
select a weld probe that can minimize
erroneous signals, due to probe wobble
or lift-off.
The cross section of the material
being inspected or thickness of the part
can also have an impact on the results
of the eddy current process. Since the
depth that the eddy current field will
penetrate into a part is a function of
what will be evaluated on the display, it
is often necessary to determine what
effect this depth of penetration will
have on the test results.
The following equation is used to
determine the standard depth of
penetration:
= 1.98 / f
where = standard depth of

penetration, = resistivity, =
frequency, and = permeability.
It is evident that as permeability
increases, the standard depth of
penetration will decrease; therefore,
inspection of ferromagnetic materials is
typically a surface inspection.
When inspecting welded areas on
ferrous alloys, the welding process can
also cause material variations in the
heat-affected zone (HAZ). The signal
observed in the HAZ may be different
from the base material at some distance
away from the area, as well as the weld
itself. This can be attributed to the
localized heating changes that will alter
the material properties, including the
localized conductivity of the area being
inspected.
Frequency selection for
inspections of ferromagnetic materials
can have a significant impact on the
effectiveness of the test. Generally,
frequencies selected for inspection of
ferrous materials will be lower than
those selected for inspection of
Fig. 1 A partial simple magnetic

hysteresis diagram illustrating magnetic
saturation point for a specific material.
Note: As the material changes, so does the
configuration or shape of the curve
observed.
nonferrous materials. However, when

inspecting for surface-breaking
discontinuities, higher frequencies may
be used on ferrous materials.
Since there are so many variables
encountered in ET, an appropriate
procedure and technique should be
provided for any eddy current
inspection. Such a procedure should
take into consideration the variables
related to the inspection and provide
for a thorough examination.
Presently, there are few codes or
standards that address eddy current
flaw detection specifically, and
therefore the need for inspectionspecific technical data is essential.
Unlike many NDE methods for which
codes and standards are provided, eddy
current requires considerable attention
to the process and development of the
technical data on an almost individual
basis. The following is a small sample
of some of the technical codes and
standards related to a few other NDE
methods:
Ultrasonic: ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code, Section V,
Articles 4 and 5; ASTM E-388;
ASTM E-2375
Radiography: ASME Boiler and
Article 2; ASTM E-94
Penetrant: ASME Boiler and
Article 6; ASTM E-1417.
There are many other codes that
address other methods or disciplines
for numerous applications, but few that
address eddy current. When they do
address eddy current, it is often for
other applications such as conductivity
measurement or tubing inspection.
Eddy current inspection of ferrous
metals, including welds, will present its
own challenges. The display will be
quite different as compared to nonferrous materials. When inspecting
Fig. 2 Frequency variations and

materials.
nonferrous materials such as

aluminum, a very clean and consistent
signal will be observed. Not so for a
standard eddy current test on ferrous
welds; there will be a much different
presentation. However, when utilized
appropriately, eddy current can be a
valuable means of NDE for weld
inspection of ferrous materials.
BRYAN LANCON
(bryan@brlconsultants.com) is with
BRL Consultants, Inc., San Antonio,
Tex. He is an AWS Certified Welding
Inspector, a Certified Technical
Professional by the Association of
Technology, Management, and
Applied Engineering, and an ASNT
NDT Level III in RT, UT, ET, PT, MT,
and VT.
25
By Albert J. Moore Jr.
Feature
Tips for Preparing Top-Notch Inspection Reports

Take your time when preparing inspection reports; your competency is judged by its
thoroughness and accuracy
The value and importance of an
inspection report should not be
underestimated. It is the product of
your efforts. The report is the
deliverable the customer uses to
determine if you are meeting your
responsibilities as defined by the
contract. Your competency as an
inspector is judged by the thoroughness
and accuracy of the written report.
Should a dispute arise, the inspection
reports are provided to both litigants
during the process of discovery to build
their case.
The goal of the inspection report is
to provide the reader with a thorough,
accurate account of the work
performed by the contractor. Collecting
pertinent information is part of the
inspectors tasks. Interruptions that
distract you during the inspection are
part of the job. These distractions make
it is easy for you to forget to collect all
the information you need to write a
complete report.
What can be done to ensure those
distractions do not interfere with your
efforts? Think about what people in
other industries do when confronted by
similar problems. Airline pilots and
astronauts use checklists to ensure no
detail is overlooked. You can adopt a
similar approach by developing an
inspection report that incorporates a
checklist, then simply fill in the blanks.
Any unfilled blanks serve as a reminder
to collect the missing information.
Figure 1 shows a sample report form.
It is human nature to focus on easily
identifiable discrepancies. This human
characteristic can cause us to fixate on
the weld that is too short or contains a
crater crack. Meanwhile, we fail to
observe other important features such as
an excessive root opening resulting in a
weld that is undersized or an
unacceptable weld profile that results in
a notch-like stress riser at the toe of the
fillet weld. Worse yet, we may neglect to
26
Fig. 1 A sample report form is shown.
note the welder responsible for the

deficient weld is not qualified for the
process used.
While it is important to report
deficiencies, it is equally important to
include members that meet the
requirements of the drawings. After all,
the written report is a record of all your
activities and observations. The checklist
format can provide a means of
presenting your observations in a
concise manner. However, there are
times when a checklist is not sufficient
to provide the reader with a complete
picture of the nature of the discrepancy.
A photograph or a sketch can be
included in the report to better define the
deficiencies observed. You can augment
the checklist and the graphics with a
narrative describing the deficiency in
detail.
You should include mention of
important conversations and of those
who participated in those conversations
in your report. Generally, the description
of the conversation should be brief and
limited to important facts.
Any narrative should be factual,
clear, and concise. The narrative must

use AWS standard terminology. Do not
use jargon or slang in any written report.
Keep a copy of AWS A3.0, Standard
Welding Terms and Definitions, handy
and use it when writing the report.
Likewise, use a dictionary and your
computers spell check function to make
sure everything is spelled correctly. As
an inspector, you are a professional.
Your reports should reflect a high level
of professionalism.
General Information
Every job has different reporting
requirements and acceptance criteria,
but every report must include certain
basic information. The following is a
list of items that are applicable to most
projects. The checklist simplifies the
collection of essential information
needed to develop a complete report.
Use this checklist to gather the
following information:
Project name and address
Contract or project number
Inspectors name, signature, and date
of the inspection
Fabricator/contractor and address
Contact information including name,
telephone number, e-mail address
Drawings with the revision used for
the inspection
Whether the drawings are approved
for use
Whether the drawings bear the
Engineers stamp approving them
Applicable welding standard and
fabrication standard
Welding Procedure Specification
(WPS)/Procedure Qualification Record
(PQR).
Most welding standards and
project specifications require the
contractor to provide the owner (or the
representative) with copies of the
welding documentation for review and
approval. Your inspection report should
include whether the WPS and
supporting PQR is approved for use. In
the same vein, you should note that the
contractor utilizes the approved WPSs.
You should also implement a process
of surveillance to verify the welder
complied with the approved WPSs.
The results of the surveillance should
be included in the report.
Note whether the welders are
qualified and whether the owners
representative found them to be
acceptable for the work. There are
instances where the owner may allow
the contractor to utilize welders who
are qualified to a different welding
standard than the one listed by the
project specifications. It should be
noted if the owners representative
approved welders qualified by a
previous employer to work on the
project. The method of establishing
each welders continuity should be
noted in the report.
When required by the project
specifications, the welding machines
should be checked for proper
calibration. When calibration is
required, the report should list the
machines that have been properly
calibrated.
Filler metal storage conditions
must be checked. The inspection report
should note storage conditions that
deviate from code requirements. The
fact that the electrode oven used to
condition low-hydrogen covered
electrodes is not plugged into the wall
outlet is something that should be
included in the report. Open spools of
flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) or gas
metal arc welding (GMAW) electrodes
Fig. 1 Continued.
lying about the shop rather than being

properly stored in a cabinet deserves
mention in the inspection report.
When the individual reading the
report is not conversant with the code
requirements, a reference to the
specific clause can be very useful.
When there is evidence the reader is
not conversant with the welding
standard, inclusion of the exact
wording of the clause can eliminate the
possibility of misunderstanding.
Material test reports are required
for many welded structures. The
project specifications will specify if
material test reports (MTRs) are
required. The inspection report should
note whether MTRs and material
traceability is a project requirement.
When required, MTRs should be
recorded and checked to verify
compliance with the applicable
material specification.
Your inspection report must note
how raw material is stored. Conditions
that can result in damage or
contamination should be included in
the report. Material identification must
be checked to verify the proper
materials are being used. Your
inspection report should not be missing
material identification and conditions
that can lead to contamination. Fluids
used while drilling or punching holes
must be removed with solvents. Failing
to properly remove fluids from the
surface of material that will be welded
can cause welding problems that may
not be apparent during the inspection.
Materials such as austenitic stainless
steel can be contaminated by iron when
carbon steels and high-strength low-
alloy steels are stored together.

Likewise, contamination can result
when stainless steel is fabricated in the
same workspace as carbon and highstrength low-alloy steels. Unacceptable
storage conditions and any evidence of
cross contamination must be included
in the report.
Specific Information
The inspection report should be
clear, concise, and include sufficient
detail so that the reader can visualize
the problem or deficiency reported.
Every member or part examined
should be listed in the report, and it
should note whether each part is found
to be compliant or noncompliant with
the approved drawings. When a part is
judged noncompliant, the report should
include enough detail that the reader
understands which member is
deficient, which fitting is affected, and
the nature of the deficiency. It is not
sufficient to say the weld is cracked.
The report should include details on the
location, length, and type of crack, i.e.,
longitudinal face crack, transverse
crater crack, etc.
When you observe a deficiency, it
must be reported even when the
contractor corrects the deficiency in your
presence. Incomplete or inaccurate
reports can lead the reader to
misconstrue that the quality standard has
been met, when in fact there are serious
quality problems. The reoccurrence of
the same defect is a signal that the
contractor is not addressing the root
cause of the problem. If fillet welds are
continually undersized, the root cause
27
may be that the welder does not have a

set of fillet gauges or does not know how
to properly use them. Once the problem
is identified, it can be addressed by
showing the welder how to use the
gauge correctly.
Your inspection report must
thoroughly document any deficiency so
the reader can fully appreciate the nature
of the problem. The discontinuity or
deficiency can be described in detail
through a narrative, but a photograph
can show the nature of the problem. A
sketch can highlight the area of interest
and filter out extraneous details so the
reader can more easily visualize the
deficiency.
Surveillance Reports
Generally, all completed welds are
subjected to a visual examination.
However, a surveillance system that
periodically checks specific items may
adequately control other aspects of
fabrication. Welders can check each
others fitup, perform dimensional
checks, and check each others welding
parameters. Quality control may check
fitup on a random basis to ensure the
welders are following the drawing and
the WPS. Likewise, the welders
technique should be checked
28
periodically to ensure the work is

performed in accordance with the WPS.
The outcome of all surveillance
examinations must be reported.
Deficiencies identified by the
surveillance report must be addressed.
The written report provides a means of
tracking discrepancies and determining
the root cause of recurring problems.
Caution
Inspection reports must be factual
and accurate. Never accept work that
was not actually examined. Your
reputation for honesty must be above
reproach. Never sign a report that
contains misleading or factually
incorrect information. You must evaluate
the work in accordance with the
inspection criteria provided by the
welding standard or project
specification, and you must be objective
when performing an inspection. Resist
the urge to include personal opinions in
your written report.
The value of a well-written
inspection report is often
underestimated. In litigation, the case
can be won or lost based on inspection
reports. The inspection report and field
notes are considered evidence that must
be made available to both parties during
the discovery phase of litigation. Even if

a case is lost, damages can be mitigated
if the inspection reports show the
contractor took reasonable steps to
ensure the work delivered met the
requirements of the project
specifications. The absence of written
reports, poorly written reports, and
incomplete or inaccurate reports is
considered evidence the contractor did
not take the necessary steps needed to
ensure the work met the contract.
The product of your efforts as an
inspector is the written report. The
ability to write a clear, concise report is
often what separates one inspector from
another. The time spent writing the
report is time well spent. You should
approach every job with the thought it
will end up in court and the inspection
report will be Exhibit A.
ALBERT J. MOORE JR.

(AMoore999@comcast.net) is vice president, Marion Testing & Inspection, Canton, Conn. He is an AWS Senior Certified
Welding Inspector and an ASNT ACCP
NDT Level III in RT, UT, MT, and PT. He
is also a member of the AWS Certification
Committee and the Committee on Methods of Inspection of Welds.
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Camera System
UDR-V2014-Z Welding Camera with 10x Zoom

and Ultra-Dynamic-Range
The iShot Weld-i 1000

camera system saves resources and
time by verifying the quality of
automated welds in real time. This
inspection system combines a
specially housed, high-resolution
color CCD camera with air or water
cooling capabilities, allowing it to withstand the punishing
environments of automated welding. The camera head is compact,
1-inch OD and 3-inches long. Control of focus and iris for the everchanging weld process conditions.
The UDR-V2014-Z welding camera

with 10x digital zoom is specially
designed for live viewing of arc
welding. In addition, video and stills
can be digitally recorded for analysis,
email or archiving. With a dynamicrange of over 10,000,000:1, the camera
can capture both arc and metal simultaneously. See the arc, electrode,
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can be a million times brighter than the metal, far exceeding even
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weld@intertest.com
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30
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303 State Route 94
Columbia, NJ 07832 (908) 496-8008
weld@intertest.com www.intertest.com
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NDT Red Hot Product Listings

Saint-Gobain
Reduces time for periodic

inspections/tests.
Installs on both smooth and
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Patented design seals and protects
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sleeve.
info@ndtseals.com 800-261-6261
Nondestructive Testing
Institute
The Nondestructive Testing Institute offers training in the following
methods: MT/PT/UT/VT/RT/ET,
as well as the CWI/CWE prep
course and CWI endorsement
training. Classes occur monthly at
our Allentown, Pennsylvania facility, or can be conducted at
customer sites. NDT courses are led by ASNT Level III personnel.
Our facilitys lab is accredited to ISO 17025 for destructive and
nondestructive test methods. Visit our website for more information on inspection courses and schedules: www.ndtinstitute.com
Saint-Gobain is a world class

manufacturer of equipment and
consumables for the thermal spray
coatings industry. Our expansive
equipment experience dates back
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the first oxyacteylene flame wire gun followed by Rokide Spray
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We offer a wide range of consumables in the form of powder, flexible
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1 New Bond Street,
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coatingsolutions@saint-gobain.com
www.coatingsolutions.saint-gobain.com
Bring
Brand Awareness
to Your
Your Company
By Placing YYour
our Product
Product Video
Video
on the AWS
AWS
W Website
Website
1144 N. Graham Street

Allentown, PA 18109
(610) 820-4196
Fax: (610) 820-0271
www.ndtinstitute.com
For more information visit our website at

http://videos.aws.org
http://
/videos.aws.org
v
or please contact:
Rob Saltzstein
salty@aws.org / (800) 443-9353, ext. 243
Lea Paneca
lea@aws.org / (800) 443-9353, ext. 220
Sandra Jorgensen
sjorgensen@aws.org / (800) 443-9353, ext. 254
31
By K. Erickson and A. Moore
The Answer Is
The Society is not responsible for any statements made or opinion expressed herein. Data and information developed by the authors are for specific
informational purposes only and are not intended for use without independent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.
Q: I am a CWI working for a job

shop that provides machining and
welding services. On occasion, we
have to have parts nitrided. I
remember hearing the terms case
hardened, carburizing, and
nitriding used by the instructor
when I took the CWI seminar. I was
so overwhelmed with new
information that I didnt absorb
everything he told us. Can you
explain exactly what those terms
mean and how they work?
A: (from A. Moore) I know exactly

what you mean about being
overwhelmed by the information
presented during the CWI seminar. I
used to make it a practice to take the
seminar every four or five years. Each
time I attended one, I learned
something new.
Case hardening is a process that
produces a very hard layer on the
surface of a workpiece that is
otherwise soft and ductile. Gears,
cams, and other mechanical parts
subject to wear are case hardened to
provide a wear-resistant surface.
However, because they may also be
subject to shock loads think of
someone grinding through the gears as
he or she learns to drive with a manual
transmission there is a need for the
part to be tough as well as hard. The
case-hardening operation hardens the
parts surface, yet the core remains
soft and tough to absorb the shock
loads.
A component made from a
medium-carbon steel can be flame
hardened or induction hardened to
produce a hard, wear-resistant surface.
The surface to be hardened is
austenitized by heating it with a torch
or induction coil, then quenched and
tempered to produce a wear-resistant
surface. The depth of the case can be
as much as a quarter inch. It is worth
mentioning that a laser beam can also
be used to heat the surface when a
shallow case depth is required.
Low-carbon and medium-carbon
steels can be case hardened by adding
32
Fig. 1 The solute atoms (carbon or

nitrogen) are much smaller than the solvent
atoms (iron). The objective is to get the
solute to diffuse into the solvent.
either carbon or nitrogen to the

surface layer that forms the wear
surface.
Diffusion is the mechanism used
to introduce carbon, nitrogen, or both
into the atomic lattice. The carbon and
nitrogen atoms are much smaller than
the iron atoms that populate the
atomic lattice of the steel workpiece
Fig. 1. Both carbon and nitrogen
atoms can form an interstitial solid
solution or an intermetallic compound
when they diffuse (migrate) into the
atomic lattice of the steel workpiece
Fig. 2. The process distorts the
atomic lattice, thereby hardening and
strengthening the base metal.
Carburizing is one method of
producing a case-hardened surface in
low-carbon steel Fig. 3. The
surface of the steel is heated above the
austenitizing temperature
transforming the body-centered cubic
iron into face-centered cubic
crystalline. The carbon atoms are
more soluble in iron when it is a facecentered cubic structure. The carbon
moves into the atomic lattice of the
steel surface by diffusion forming an
interstitial solid solution. The steel is
then quenched to form a layer of hard,
brittle martensite. Once quenched, the
steel is tempered to optimize the
properties of the case-hardened layer.
Nitriding produces a hard wear
surface, but without the high heat
Fig. 2 The solute atoms (carbon or

nitrogen) diffuse into the atomic lattice of
the solvent (steel). In the case of
carburizing, the solvent is austenitized.
Austenitizing the steel increases the
solubility of carbon in the iron lattice.
Upon quenching and tempering, a tempered
martensitic wear surface is developed. The
atomic lattice is still an elongated bodycentered cubic (tetragonal) structure during
nitriding. The nitrogen combines with iron
to form an intermetallic compound that is
hard without the need for quenching.
Fig. 3 The solute diffuses into the solvent

forming either an interstitial solid solution
as in the case of carburizing or an
intermetallic compound in the case of
nitriding. Ultimately, the lattice structure is
distorted, as shown by the figure, with an
increase in hardness and strength. The
product of carburizing is tempered
martensite. Once the carbon diffuses into
the austenitized surface, the piece is
quenched and tempered. Nitriding is
performed at a temperature just below the
lower temperature of transformation. The
nitrogen and iron forms an intermetallic
compound of iron nitride. There is no need
to quench or temper the piece after
nitriding.
required when carburizing. The

medium-carbon steel that has already
been quenched and tempered strongly
responds to nitriding. No martensitic
transformation is required, so the
process is a good choice when
dimensional stability is required. The
nitrogen diffuses into the steel
forming the intermetallic compound
iron nitride. Nitriding is done at
temperatures below the lower
transformation temperature, so the
steel must be quenched and tempered
before being nitrided. The process is
very slow, taking upward of 100 h,
possibly longer, to complete. The
case-hardened layer is thin compared
to a carburized surface. Steel alloys
that contain aluminum, chromium,
vanadium, tungsten, and molybdenum
are best suited for nitriding because
they easily form nitrides. Nitrided
surfaces are more corrosion resistant
and more resistant to thermal
degradation when exposed to
temperatures of 1000 to 1100F for
short periods of time. Carburized
surfaces rapidly degrade (soften)
when exposed to temperatures of 600
to 800F.
Q: When are autogenous welds
acceptable? Ive been told that this
method is often used for pipe
welding. If the drawing specifies a
fillet weld, and the supplier gas
tungsten arc welds it without filler
material, we reject them for having
shallow or excessive concavity. This
has caused many arguments. Many
suppliers use autogenous welds to
attach nuts to brackets. There isn't
much written about autogenous
welds. Is there a weld symbol for an
autogenous weld? Shown is a
sample drawing with a weld symbol
for attaching nuts to a bracket (see
figure). Some suppliers will use
autogenous welds in this
application.
A: (from K. Erickson) This is a great

question. I am making an assumption
here that the material is carbon steel
and the standard is AWS D1.1,
Structural Welding Code Steel.
There are a few considerations that do
apply:
1. In accordance with AWS D1.1,
the addition or deletion of filler
metal for the gas tungsten arc
welding (GTAW) process is a Welding
Procedure Specification (WPS)
A sample drawing with a weld symbol for

attaching nuts to a bracket.
essential variable change that would

require requalification of the WPS
used for this application if the supplier
is using an AWS GTAW WPS with
filler metal. The supplier would be in
violation of the standard and thus it
would be cause for rejection if he or
she is omitting the use of filler metal.
2. Since a fillet weld size is being
indicated on the drawing provided, it
has to be considered that the WPS
qualified uses filler metal otherwise
the integrity of the hardware (nut in
this case) could be compromised to
obtain a 0.12-in. fillet weld size.
3. Generally in cases such as this,
engineers/designers will specify the
hardware being used to attach items
such as brackets, clips, clamps, etc.,
be damaged or killed so the
hardware cannot become loose and/or
unattached. If so, this may result in
significant damage or failure to
operating parts or machinery if this
hardware was unaccounted for and
entered into a high-velocity air stream
or fluid path for which cleanliness and
contamination requirements have to
be maintained.
Oftentimes you will hear the term
FOD, which is an abbreviation for
foreign object damage. It appears
that your drawing and application
reflects this same thought process.
Killing hardware can be
accomplished either mechanically or
by welding. For example, in lieu of
tack welding a nut to the plate in this
case, it may be possible to simply
destroy the threads to the bolt at the
nut bolt interface so the nut cannot be
backed off the bolt. This could be
accomplished with a hammer and a

cold chisel.
4. The bottom line is that if the
customer is requiring the supplier to
weld as the drawing indicates by
either GTAW or any other process in
accordance with AWS regardless of
the weld purpose, then both the WPS
and welder are required to comply
with the applicable AWS standard that
applies.
5. If the entire intent of this need
is only to kill the hardware for the
purpose of a possible FOD-type
situation, then a possible suggestion
would be to reclassify this application.
The welds in question would add no
structural value other than to capture
the hardware. A simple visual
inspection could be peformed to
ensure that the weld(s) meet the
minimum drawing requirements such
as location and quantity but need not
fall under the provisions of the AWS
standards for welding. A simple
welding/visual instruction could be
developed between the customer and
supplier that encompasses these
requirements to be adhered to.
Inspection Trends encourages

question and answer submissions. Please
mail to the editor (mjohnsen@aws.org).
KENNETH ERICKSONis manager of quality at National Inspection & Consultants,
Inc., Ft. Myers, Fla. He is an AWS Senior
Certified Welding Inspector, an ASNT National NDT Level III Inspector in four methods, and provides expert witness review and
analysis for legal considerations.
ALBERT J. MOORE JR. is vice president,
Marion Testing & Inspection, Canton,
Conn. He is an AWS Senior Certified
Welding Inspector and an ASNT ACCP
NDT Level III. He is also a member of the
AWS Certification Committee and the
Committee on Methods of Inspection of
Welds.
33
Mark Your Calendar

Note: A diamond () denotes an AWS-sponsored event.
12th International Conference on Quantitative Infrared

Thermography (QIRT 2014). July 711. Ecole Nationale
des Arts et Mtiers, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France.
Contact QIRT2014.scientificevent.com or e-mail
QIRT2014@scientific-event.com.
Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative
Nondestructive Evaluation (QNDE). July 2025. Boise
Centre, Boise, Idaho. Contact Sarah Kallsen,
kallsen@iastate.edu, (515) 294-9749,
www.qndeprograms.org/qnde.html.
NDE/NDT for Highways and Bridges: Structural Materials
Technology (SMT) 2014. August 2527. Grand Hyatt
Washington, Washington, D.C. Contact American Society for
Nondestructive Testing, (800) 222-2768 or www.asnt.org.
ASNT Annual Conference 2014. October 2730. Charleston
Convention Center, Charleston, S.C. Contact American Society
for Nondestructive Testing, (800) 222-2768 or www.asnt.org.
FABTECH 2014. November 1113. Georgia World
Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Contact American Welding
Society, (800) 443-9353, or www.fabtechexpo.com.

19th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing. June
1317, 2016, International Congress Centre, Munich,
Germany. Contact German Society for Non-Destructive
Testing, 49 30 67807-120; e-mail:
conference@wcndt2016.com, or www.wcndt2016.com.
Educational Opportunities
GE Inspection Academy Courses. Online e-courses, on-site
classes, and week-long classroom programs in the major
industrial evaluation techniques. For information, visit
www.geinspectionacademy.com.
NDE Classes. Moraine Valley Community College, Palos
Hills, Ill., offers NDE classes in PT, MT, UT, RT, Radiation
Safety, and Eddy Current, as well as API 510 exam prep and
weld inspection. For more information, contact (708) 974-5735;
wdcs@morainevalley.edu; morainevalley.edu/NDE.
EPRI NDE Training Seminars. EPRI offers NDE technical
Www.FlawTech.com
Manufacturer of Flawed Specimens
<;:98987656438210<987
6 6
OFFERING THE:
AWS / CWI VISUAL

SPECIMEN KIT
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS BASED ON AWS D1.1

10 SPECIMENS - 2 FLAWS EACH
USE FOR TRAINING & TESTING CWIs
T 704-795-4401
F 704-795-4403
Concord
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USA
34
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CONTACT FLAWTECH FOR MORE DETAILS
FlawTech
EST. 1982
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SNT-TC-1A,
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AND CP189
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ww
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skills training in visual examination, ultrasonic examination,

ASME Section XI, UT operator training, etc. Contact Sherryl
Stogner, (704) 547-6174, e-mail: sstogner@epri.com.
Nondestructive Examination Courses. A course schedule is
available from Hellier, 277 W. Main St., Ste. 2, Niantic, CT
06357, (860) 739-8950, FAX (860) 739-6732.
Preparatory and Visual Weld Inspection Courses. One- and
two-week courses presented in Pascagoula, Miss., Houston,
Tex., and Houma and Sulphur, La. Contact Real Educational
Services, Inc., (800) 489-2890; info@realeducational.com.
CWI/CWE Course and Exam. A ten-day program presented
in Troy, Ohio. Contact Hobart Institute of Welding Technology
(800) 332-9448; www.welding.org; hiwt@welding.org.
News Bulletins
T.E.S.T. NDT, Inc., Courses. CWI preparation, NDE courses,

including ultrasonic thickness testing and advanced phased
array. On-site training available. T.E.S.T. NDT, Inc., 193 Viking
Ave., Brea, CA 92821; (714) 255-1500; FAX (714) 255-1580;
ndtguru@aol.com; www.testndt.com.
NDE Training. NDE training at the companys St. Louis-area
facility or on-site. Level III services available. For a schedule of
upcoming courses, contact Quality Testing Services, Inc., 2305
Millpark Dr., Maryland Heights, MO 63043; (888) 770-0103;
training@qualitytesting.net; www.qualitytesting.net.
CWI/CWE Prep Course and Exam and NDT Inspector
Training Courses. An AWS Accredited Testing Facility.
Courses held year-round in Allentown, Pa., and at customers
facilities. Contact: Welder Training & Testing Institute (WTTI).
Call (800) 223-9884, info@wtti.edu, or visit www.wtti.edu.
continued from page 10
ASQ Issues Nearly 8400 Certifications as Part of

Effort to Train Skilled Workers
Last year, ASQ issued 8380 professional certifications in
the United States as part of a partnership with The
Manufacturing Institute designed to help fill advanced
manufacturing positions and train the next generation of skilled
workers.
The Manufacturing Institute and its 15 partners
including the American Welding Society and ASQ stood with
President Barack Obama in 2011 to set a goal of issuing 500,000
industry-based certifications to individuals by 2016. In 2013, the
partners issued 117,189 credentials. The total number of
certifications issued by all partners since 2011 is 294,478.
ASQ offers 17 certifications, including Certified Quality
Technician, Certified Calibration Technician, Certified Quality
Engineer, and Certified Quality Inspector. In addition to the
8380 certifications issued in the United States, ASQ awarded
approximately 3340 certifications around the world in 2013.
In this highly competitive global market, our
manufacturers business success is tied directly to their ability to
innovate, and the single most important factor in their
innovation capacity is an educated and skilled workforce, said
Jennifer McNelly, The Manufacturing Institute president. Our
solution, the Skills Certification System, helps address the skills
gap directly affecting the workforce pipeline for manufacturers
by aligning manufacturing education and training with industry
standards.
For more information about the Manufacturing Institutes
Skills Certification Systems, visit themanufacturinginstitute.org.
Carestream Introduces NDT Training Programs

Carestream recently introduced a 40-h NDT training
program designed to meet the expanding needs of the NDT
industry. Courses are designed to cover everything a student
needs to know about the science of digital imaging and meet the
aerospace industrys guidelines for digital radiography training
and qualifications.
The courses are offered at the companys headquarters in
Rochester, N.Y.; however, they can be taken to a clients location
for an additional fee.

The course is split between classroom instruction and
hands-on laboratory time. Students have access to a full
radiography laboratory, including a variety of X-ray sources and
digital capture devices for hands-on training. They should have a
background in film radiography (RT Level I or II) in order to
attend.
For more information, visit www.carestream.com/ndttraining.html.
WELDER
SKILL
WELDER SKILL is a training and qualification

school in the field of welding manufacturing. Our
personnel have 12 years of experience and our
facilities are equipped to provide the practice of
welding processes. WELDER SKILL offers the
following services: Welder qualification in the
SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, and FCAW processes,
consulting for companies in the field of welding
manufacturing. Free conferences to schools,
universities and companies in the welding
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35
Certification Schedule
Certified Welding Inspector (CWI)
Location
Seminar Dates
Corpus Christi, TX
Exam only
Chicago, IL
Aug. 38
Baton Rouge, LA
Aug. 38
Portland, ME
Aug. 38
Las Vegas, NV
Aug. 38
Philadelphia, PA
Aug. 38
Charlotte, NC
Aug. 1015
Mobile, AL
Aug. 1015
Rochester, NY
Exam only
Seattle, WA
Aug. 1015
San Diego, CA
Aug. 1722
Minneapolis, MN
Aug. 1722
San Antonio, TX
Aug. 1722
Salt Lake City, UT
Aug. 1722
Miami, FL
Sept. 712
Idaho Falls, ID
Sept. 712
St. Louis, MO
Sept. 712
Houston, TX
Sept. 712
New Orleans, LA
Sept. 1419
Fargo, ND
Sept. 1419
Corpus Christi, TX
Exam only
Pittsburgh, PA
Sept. 28Oct. 3
Long Beach, CA
Oct. 510
Indianapolis, IN
Oct. 510
Tulsa, OK
Oct. 510
Nashville, TN
Oct. 510
Miami, FL
Exam only
Beaumont, TX
Oct. 1217
South Plainfield, NJ
Oct. 1217
Portland, OR
Oct. 1217
Atlanta, GA
Oct. 1924
Des Moines, IA
Oct. 1924
Detroit, MI
Oct. 1924
Roanoke, VA
Oct. 1924
Shreveport, LA
Oct. 1924
Cleveland, OH
Oct. 2631
Spokane, WA
Oct. 2631
Corpus Christi, TX
Exam only
Atlanta, GA
Exam only
Sacramento, CA
Nov. 1621
Miami, FL
Nov. 1621
Annapolis, MD
Nov. 1621
Dallas, TX
Nov. 1621
Edmonton, AB, Canada Exam only
St. Louis, MO
Exam only
Exam Date
Aug. 2
Aug. 9
Aug. 9
Aug. 9
Aug. 9
Aug. 9
Aug. 16
Aug. 16
Aug. 16
Aug. 16
Aug. 23
Aug. 23
Aug. 23
Aug. 23
Sept. 13
Sept. 13
Sept. 13
Sept. 13
Sept. 20
Sept. 20
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
Oct. 11
Oct. 11
Oct. 11
Oct. 11
Oct. 16
Oct. 18
Oct. 18
Oct. 18
Oct. 25
Oct. 25
Oct. 25
Oct. 25
Oct. 25
Nov. 1
Nov. 1
Nov. 8
Nov. 13
Nov. 22
Nov. 22
Nov. 22
Nov. 22
Nov. 24
Dec. 6
Certified Welding Educator (CWE)

Seminar and exam are given at all sites listed under Certified
Welding Inspector. Seminar attendees will not attend the
Code Clinic part of the seminar (usually the first two days).
Certified Welding Sales Representative (CWSR)
CWSR exams will be given at CWI exam sites.
Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)
CWS exams are also given at all CWI exam sites.
Location
Seminar Dates
Exam Date
Miami, FL
Sept. 1519
Sept. 20
Norfolk, VA
Oct. 1317
Oct. 18
9-Year Recertification Seminar for CWI/SCWI

For current CWIs and SCWIs needing to meet education requirements without taking the exam. The exam can be taken
at any site listed under Certified Welding Inspector.
Location
Seminar Dates
Orlando, FL
Aug. 1722
Denver, CO
Sept. 712
Dallas, TX
Oct. 510
New Orleans, LA
Oct. 2631
Seattle, WA
Nov. 1621
Miami, FL
Dec. 712
Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI)
The CRI certification can be a stand-alone credential or can
exempt you from your next 9-Year Recertification.
Location
Seminar Dates
Exam Date
Dallas, TX
Aug. 1822
Aug. 23
Chicago, IL
Sept. 1519
Sept. 20
Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 1317
Oct. 18
Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW)
Seminar dates (S:) are followed by the exam dates (E:)
S: Dec. 811, E: Dec. 12; at
ABB, Inc., Auburn Hills, MI; (248) 3918421
S: Oct. 2022, E: Oct. 23, 24; at
OTC Daihen, Inc., Tipp City, OH; (937) 667-0800
S: Oct. 2022, E: Oct. 23; at
Lincoln Electric Co., Cleveland, OH; (216) 383-8542
S: Aug. 1114, E: Aug. 15; S: Oct. 1316, E: Oct. 17; at
Genesis-Systems Group, Davenport, IA; (563) 445-5688
S: Sept. 2224, E: Sept. 25, 26; S: Nov. 1719, E: Nov. 20, 21;
at Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO; (970) 225-7736
On request at
MATC, Milwaukee, WI; (414) 297-6996
IMPORTANT: This schedule is subject to change without notice. Applications are to be received at least six weeks prior to the seminar/exam or exam. Applications received after that time will be assessed a $250 Fast Track fee. Please verify application deadline dates by visiting our website www.aws.org/certification/docs/schedules.html. Verify your event dates with the Certification Dept. to confirm your course status before making travel plans. For information on AWS seminars and certification programs, or to register online, visit www.aws.org/certification
or call (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 273, for Certification; or ext. 455 for Seminars. Apply early to avoid paying the $250 Fast Track fee.
36
By Jim Merrill
Just the Facts
Welding on Galvanized Steel

The subject of welding on
galvanized steel comes up often during
fabrication of structures. The following
questions are often asked. Can you
weld through galvanizing or is there a
potential for problems? Do the D1
codes allow welding through the
galvanized coating? Should the
galvanizing be removed? AWS
D1.1:2010, Structural Welding Code
Steel, reads as follows:
5.15 Preparation of Base Metal.
Surfaces on which weld metal is to be
deposited shall be smooth, uniform,
and free from fins, tears, cracks, and
other discontinuities which would
adversely affect the quality or strength
of the weld. Surfaces to be welded, and
surfaces adjacent to a weld, shall also
be free from loose or thick scale, slag,
rust, moisture, grease, and other
foreign material that would prevent
proper welding or produce
objectionable fumes. Mill scale that
can withstand vigorous wire brushing,
a thin rust-inhibitive coating, or
antispatter compound may remain with
the following exception: for girders in
cyclically loaded structures, all mill
scale shall be removed from surface on
which flange-to-web welds are to be
made.
Does this provision state that
because galvanizing is a thin rustinhibitive coating that it is okay to
weld through it, or does the statement
and other foreign material that
would prevent proper welding or
produce objectionable fumes mean
that it must be removed? An official
AWS D1 interpretation could provide
some insight into these issues;
unfortunately, the Official Book of D1
Interpretation, 2nd Edition, contains no
such information. Therefore, since the
code does not state galvanizing must
be removed or provide some other
statement that directly addresses
galvanizing, it is up to the Engineer
to interpret the code provision.
That still leaves us with the
question of whether is it okay or not. If,
for example, you are talking about a
very thin layer of zinc deposited by
Fig. 1 Welded sample No. 1 with galvanizing removed.
electroplating like on deck panels then

it is likely relatively benign and does
not need to be removed for applications
like arc spot welding or shooting studs.
In fact, D1.3 specifically says it is okay
to weld on electroplated plate.
However, if you are talking about
welding through a thick layer of hotdipped galvanizing as on direct imbeds
for concrete panel connections with 3
to 5 mils of zinc or greater, then there
is the potential for having weld defects,
namely cracks.
The susceptibility to cracking
appears to be most prevalent in the
roots of fillet welds, which also means
it is particularly difficult to detect them
by either visual or other NDE methods,
such as magnetic particle or penetrant
testing. The effect of welding on hotdipped galvanized material was clearly
demonstrated in recent tests performed
by Mayes Testing Engineers of Seattle,
Wash.
To determine the effect of
galvanizing on fillet welds, Mayes
Testing Engineers had A-572 Grade 50
hot-dipped galvanized plates welded
together in a cruciform configuration.
Two samples were welded without
removing galvanizing. A third sample
was welded after removing most of the

galvanizing from the weld area, prior
to welding. All of the fillet welds were
single-pass fillet welds joined with
self-shielded flux cored arc welding.
Galvanizing thickness ranged from 4 to
8 mils.
Two tensile samples were
machined from each plate. Tensile
specimens were machined to
approximately 1-in. width at the weld
joint. The resulting tensile strengths are
shown in Table 1. The samples with the
galvanizing left on resulted in tensile
strengths 20 to 22% lower than the
samples in which the galvanizing was
removed prior to welding. Figures 13
show the samples after testing. Note
the root crack in Sample 2-1.
To further illustrate the potential
for cracking, Figs. 4 and 5 display
macros that the author produced after
welding hot-dipped galvanized A572
Grade 50 steel plate with E7018.
Based on the above data, it is clear
that there is an effect when welding
through a relatively thick coating of
hot-dipped galvanized steel. However,
it may be possible that the resultant
mechanical properties are acceptable
for some applications if the engineer
37
Fig. 2 Welded sample No. 2 with galvanizing left on.

Note the crack in root in Sample 2-1.
Fig. 3 Welded sample No. 3 with galvanizing left on.
Fig. 4 E7018 welding through 3 mils of hot-dip

galvanizing halfway through the throat of a fillet weld.
Fig. 5 Welded with E7018 the fillet with the visible

crack was made with the galvanizing left in place; the
fillet weld with no visible crack was welded after the
galvanizing was removed.
Table 1 Tensile Strengths
Sample ID
Average Throat Dimension
(in.)
Ultimate Load
(lb)
Tensile Strength (lb/in.2)
Failure Location
Galvanizing Removed
1-1
1-2
2-1
0.300 0.287
0.321
Galvanizing Left On
2-2
3-1
3-2
0.325
0.345
0.333
42,230 42,431
35,139
34,888
38,765
33,588
75,410 75,770
Base
Base
Metal Metal
61,639
Weld
59,088
Weld
67,999
Weld
58,918
Weld
has considered this loss of strength in

the design. Further, it would be
incorrect to say it is impossible to weld
through a galvanized coating without
developing cracks. There are a number
of measures that can be taken to
mitigate and/or at least reduce the
potential for cracking. Variables that
should be considered include, but are
not limited to, the following:
The original base material to be
welded (A material with a lower
amount of silicon appears to be a
better selection.)
The thickness of the galvanized
coating (The thicker the galvanizing,
the higher potential for cracking.)
The welding process to be utilized
38
The welding consumable (Use a

lower-silicon type when using solid
wires; rutile-type electrodes appear
to be a better choice than the basic
type when utilizing shielded metal
arc welding.)
Joint preparation with particular
attention to the root opening
(Typically, a larger root opening
seems to allow zinc to dissipate).
It is beyond the scope of this
column to develop welding procedures
for the welding of galvanized steel, but
if you are considering welding
galvanized steel with the coating left in
place, you would be well advised to get
a welding engineer involved to help in
the development and testing. It is also
recommend that any procedure be

qualified utilizing the variables that are
intended to be used in production
welding. Finally, perhaps the best and
safest choice when faced with welding
galvanized steel is to remove the zinc
in the area of welding. If the decision is
made to weld through the galvanized
coating, then two additional important
points should be considered. First are
the safety concerns surrounding the
fumes produced by the zinc coating
when welding. (The AWS Fact Sheet
on metal fumes should be understood
and safety provisions for the welder
provided.) Second, the coating will
need to be repaired following welding
and should be performed in accordance
with ASTM A780.
JIM MERRILL, PE
(Jim.Merrill@amec.com), is senior principal engineer with AMEC E&I, San
Diego, Calif. He is an AWS Certified
Welding Inspector, a registered metallurgical engineer, and a member of the AWS
D1 Structural Welding Committee, D1Q
Subcommittee on Steel Structures, D1I
Subcommittee on Reinforcing Steel, and
D1 Task Group 4 on Inspection.
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Hellier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
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Astaras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC
www.e3tungsten.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .web contact only
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

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NDT Seals, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

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Olympus NDT, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC

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Dalus S.A. de C.V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

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SciAps, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC

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FABTECH 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

www.fabtechexpo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 443-9353, ext. 297
United Technical, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

www.unitedtechllc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(249) 667-9185
FlawTech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
www.FlawTech.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(704) 795-4401
WelderSkill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
www.welderskill.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .011-571-781-5235
G.A.L. Gage Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

www.galgage.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(269) 465-5750
NDT Red Hots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3031
Gradient Lens Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

www.gradientlens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 536-0790
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Tungsten Electrodes

Your Best Choice To

Technology - not old habits!

July 2014 / Vol. 17 / No. 3

Eddy Current Advancements

For Info, go to www.aws.org/adindex

AWS MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Call: Membership Department at (800) 443-9353, ext. 480

Fax: Completed form to (305) 443-5647

Please print Duplicate this page as needed

)__________________________ Secondary Phone (

IN DIVIDUAL MEMBE RSHIP

VE $25 New Members Only....................................$143

q New Member Initiation Fee ...........................................................................................................................................$12

OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO AWS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS ONLY:

STUDEN T MEMBE RSHIP

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP TOTAL PAYMENT......................................................................................$_____________

PAY MEN T INFORMATION

q Diners Club q MasterCard

CC#:____________ / ____________ / ____________ / ____________ Expiration Date (mm/yy) ________ / ________

8669 NW 36 St, # 130

Technical Interests (Check all that apply)

July 2014 Vol. 17 / No. 3

AWS MISSION STATEMENT

Advances in Eddy Current Inspection Technology

Mark Your Calendar...................34

Mail Bag ....................................12

Just the Facts ..............................37

Print and Product Showcase ......14

Technology Notes ......................16

Red Hots ....................................30

Advertiser Index ........................40

The Answer Is ............................32

By Mary Ruth Johnsen

If youre an AWS member, then you

Inspection Trends / July 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/adindex

Shells Deer Park, Tex., manufacturing facility recently

as microscopes, light tables, and coating testers. All the

Chattanooga State Community College Opens

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad-index

Inspection Trends / July 2014

includes state-of-the-art welding processes labs that include

Fischer Technology Attains ISO 17025

conductivity instruments and standards for eddy current

Nova Instruments Acquires Phoenix Inspection

Laboratory Testing Hires Metallurgical

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad-index

Inspection Trends / Summer 2014

metallography services, including

TV Rheinland Adds Portable X-Ray Capability

environments, the portable Xray detector can be wirelessly

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad-index

Inspection Trends / July 2014

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad-index

ASME Section IX, B31.1 & B31.3

Structural Drawing Reading

Dallas: Aug. 18-23 Chicago: Sept. 15-20 Pittsburgh: Oct. 13-18

New Orleans: Oct. 26-31

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(800) 443-9353 ext 273

Reader Relates Ethics to

Inspection Trends / July 2014

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