Prepared by

Nasrizal Mohd Rashdi

Senior Lecturer
Welding & Quality Inspection
Fabrication and Joining Section
Universiti Kuala Lumpur

Methods can be broadly categorised in term of

energy source.
 Electricity or combustible fuels

The method selected will depend on
 Size
 Geometry
 Material

The objective of any heat treatment operation is
to achieve required temperatures uniformly or
within specified limits on gradients, in
controllable manner.

Preheat operations are carried out using
portable equipment which can be easily
applied and removed from the weld joint.

There are several methods are available.

Selection base on
 Length of the weld
 Overall geometry
 Need for concurrent post heat operations
 Cost

Most basic preheating method is using gas

flame.

The temperature can be determine by crayon.

This process depend on the operator/welder to
ensure its correct application.

Gas flame preheat is frequently used for
smaller fabrications and pipe sizes in carbon
and carbon manganese steel.
AWS D1.1 code required
 Minimum preheat temperature be
established at a distance that is at least
equal to the thickness of the thickest
member, but not less than 3 in (75
mm) in all directions form the point of
welding.

AWS D1.1 code required

 It is recommended practice to heat the
side opposite of that which is to be
welded and to measure the surface
temperature adjacent to the joint.
 Measurement of Preheat
Temperatures

Correct temperature is an important factor in
preheating operation
 Use of tempilsticks or thermal chalks which are
crayons developed for different temperature. When
applied, the marking melt and change color at the
designated temperature.
 Marking the surface with carpenters blue chalk. A
marks made with such a chalk turn to a whitish gray
when the temperature reaches appox. 330C
 Rubbing 50-50 tin-lead solder on the surface, start
melting at 183C.

 Rubbing a pine stick on the heated surface. The pine

stick chars at 330C.
 Use of the surface thermometer or themocouple.

For uniform temperature control

Used controlled preheating
 Low voltage contact electrical resistance heating
elements.
 Resistance wire made from 80/20 Nickel- Chromium
or 60/15/25 Nickel-Chromium-Iron into
interlocking sintered alumina ceramic bead.
 Contact with the workpiece by either banding or
magnet bar.
 Each zone, temperature controlled by thermocouple.

 Can be applied over a wide range of geometries,

from butt welds to large node and plate fabrications.

For rotation component, preheating can be
achieved using heat transfer by radiation.

More common method utilises surface
combustion radiant is gas heaters.
 Burning natural gas, propane or butane.

PWHT is carried out in a furnace.

Consideration of furnace
 Heat up time
 Temperature uniformity
 Fuel economy

There methods of PWHT

 Permanent Furnace
 Temporary Furnace
 Internal Heating or Firing
 Local Heating
 Partial heat treatment

Advantages
 The temperature distribution within a good modern
furnace will normally meet the requirements of
current fabrication codes or customer specifications.
 Labour utilisation can be maximised with cost
benefits.
 Operation planning minimises delays to the
production programme.
 Cost effective for long term and economical method
of heat treatment.

Disadvantages
 Limited parts of final product size
 Cant be done for erected or repairing part welding
on site.

A fixed furnace usually consists of a
rectangular box made from heat resistant
materials in which are embedded electric
resistance elements.

Furnaces such as these are often capable of
heating to 1200C and can normalise and
anneal as well as stress relieve.

They often have fixed thermocouples that
measure the furnace atmosphere temperature
and not the temperature of the article being
heat treated.

Beyond 300C, thermocouples physically

attached to the article must take over both
temperature control and temperature
measurement.

Must be equipped with correctly calibrated
temperature controllers/recorders with at least
12 recording points.

Care must be taken when cooling after post
weld heat treatment.

Low thermal mass approach.
 Low levels of energy absorbed by ceramic fibre and
mineral wool type of insulation compared with
traditional brick linings.

Versatile furnace design.
 More readily dismantled and moved to another
location.
 No need factory specialist to reinstall.
 No limited product size

Minimise the air space between the vessel and

furnace walls, and they allow for faster heating
and cooling.

The basic structure of the furnace should be
creep resisting piping (if the pipes are to be
continually re-used) with heat resistant
materials attached to them.

Heating can be through resistant heating mats
placed on a concrete floor or via gas burners
placed at each end.

In the case of gas burners, care must be taken to
avoid direct flame impingement on the vessel.

Temperature control by 12 point recorder
/controller, but atmosphere thermocouples are
not generally used.

Insulating the outside surface and heating from

the inside either by electrical or fuel.

Suitable to repair and modification of large
seam steam drums, petrochemical reactors and
storage sphere and tank.

Care needs to be exercised with the diameter
and position of nozzles.

Care must also be taken to place deflector
plates inside the vessel and opposite the burner
entry points to avoid direct flame impingement
on the shell.

It is not advisable to post weld heat treat
vessels that contain internals in this manner.

The outside of the vessel must be completely

encased in insulating material, and again, at
least a 12 point temperature recorder is
advisable.

Used where furnace heat treatment cannot be
used;
 Erection of pipework on engineering construction
sites such as power plant, petrochemical plant,
offshore platform/module hook up stages.
 Repair and maintenance, overhaul and upgrading
operations on existing plants.

Localised heat treatment of pipe work is

generally governed by the same codes of
practice and standards as applicable to furnace
treatment.

Due to heat applied over specific location, need
caferully consideration;
 Techniques
 Temperature distribution meet requirement
 Inherent induced thermal stresses due to
temperature gradients.

Tolerance on soak temperature can typically
20C.

This condition should normally be achieved at
the weld and immediate environs, include the
full weld width plus the HAZ.

Temperature gradient inevitably develops
though the weld thickness.
 External source
 Internal heat losses by convection and radiation