Joint Tolerances in
Capillary Copper Piping Joints
Excessive and non-uniform joint clearance
the major causes of poor solder flow
ABSTRACT. Solderless regions re-
garded as defects can be formed in
solder joints in copper piping during
fabrication. This study examines
typical joints removed from field i n -
stallations. Principles of capillary
f l o w are presented to show how sol-
der flow is related to joint clearance.
Recommendations are given to pro-
mote better filling of joints than is
s h o w n by the samples examined.
Introduction
Solder joints widely used in copper
piping applications consist of a close
fitting short sleeve soldered over a
is one of
short length at the end of a thin w a l l
copper tube. The soldering is accom-
plished by capillary filling of the
fluxed, assembled, and heated joint
opening w i t h a molten solder sup-
plied to the joint edge by hand feed-
ing. Fittings and tube are made to
special tolerances to provide the
capillary joint clearance suitable for
this method of soldering. The tech-
nology for these joints in piping w a s
standardized on the basis of inves-
tigations carried out at the National
Bureau of Standards and published
by A. Maupin and W . Swanger in
1940. 1 Subsequent experience has
WELDING RESEARCH
BY Ft. B. E D W A R D S
shown these solder joints to have
broad success in meeting the require-
ments for piping systems.
In 1960, NIBCO began further ex-
tensive study of the capillary f l o w
solder joint. This continuing research
has contributed to further under-
standing of the joint itself and to the
soldering processes associated w i t h
it.
Actual Joints
W h a t is the quality of piping joints
MR. EDWARDS is director of research for
NIBCO Inc., Elkhart. Indiana.
Fig. 1—Radiograph of ¥4-in. wrought
copper elbow, with tracing to show
location of regions void of solder in
the joint. Defect types are identified by
roman numerals I, II, III, and IV
SUPPLEMENT! 321-s
as they exist in actual installations? spection technique for these defects, joint soldering tests made by many
Long experience has s h o w n that but is, of course, destructive. different investigators, for example
field failures are not a common oc- This miscellaneous collection of Keyes. 2 Studies of soldering process
currence. But does this mean that all fittings is intended to: (a) represent conditions have revealed many cor-
joints are perfect? Speciment joints some actual plumbing practice, (b) to relations w i t h joint defects. It is im-
(812 joints in 4 5 2 fittings) w e r e ob- indicate at least some of the range of portant to note that all of these de-
tained from scrap yards in Cleveland, joints actually accepted for use and fects are formed by peculiarities of
Ohio, Islip, L.I., N.Y., a f e w from (c) to see w h a t kind of defects might solder flow, or the lack of it, oc-
Osterville, Mass., and a f e w from be present and common. No attempt curring during the soldering opera-
various other areas of the United was made to select the fittings on tion. Various types of causes for de-
States. Most of the fittings were Vz or the basis of quality, brand, appear- fects may be described, such as bad
% inch size and were reportedly ance, age, original source, size, or cleaning, bad flux, and bad solder,
from housing torn d o w n for new specific use. No attempt w a s made but they all act by influencing the sol-
building or roadway construction. All to trace or date the fittings. They cer- der flow behavior w i t h i n the joint to
joints were soldered w i t h lead-tin tainly do not represent either all generate a region void of solder. The
solder. good or all bad joint making practice. effects of joint dimensional toler-
As far as could be determined, all The sampling of actual solder joining ances are discussed here as causes
the fittings had been giving satisfac- practice represented by the collec- of defects.
tory service prior to their removal. tion is recognized to be limited and
The presence of regions void of sol- suitable only as an indication of prac- Joint Tolerances
der is illustrated in Fig. 1 by a radio- tice w i t h smaller piping sizes.
Joint clearance between the tube
graph of a wrought copper ell. A
and the sleeve is specified by current
tracing showing the void regions is Experimental Joints standards B 1 6 . 1 8 - 1 9 6 3 for cast
given to clarify the x-ray interpre-
The types of defects found in the fittings and B16.22-1963 for
tation. A l l 4 5 2 fittings w e r e x-rayed
collection have also been found to wrought fittings. Diametral clear-
and the relative filling of joint areas
occur frequently in experimental ance is supposed to be no less than
was evaluated by viewing the x-ray
film.
Essentially four kinds of regions
TABLE 1—Types of Defects Present in Sample of Used Joints and Their Distribution
unfilled w i t h solder w e r e found.
by Number and Percent
These defects, according to their
radiographic appearance, are iden- Type of defect Number of joints Percentage of sample
tified here as: (I) small closed circular I A L L (812) 100%
spot, (II) irregular shaped isolated II 328 40.3
closed area, (III) irregular area adjoin- III 194 23.9
ing a joint edge or another defect re- IV 232 28.5
gion, (IV) large or extensive area only 183 22.4
usually adjoining an edge of the II only 227 34.1
joint. The types are identified in Fig. III only 87 10.7
1 by their respective numbers. Fre- IV only 129 15.8
quencies for these types of defects I, II III 33 4.1
I, II IV 29 3.5
are listed in Table 1.
I. II III, IV 39 4.8
It is apparent that imperfect joints I, III, IV 35 4.3
are common. In joints that w e r e cut
and peeled apart, illustrated by Fig.
2, the closed solderless areas fre-
quently contained solid or semi-solid
flux residues and the extensive void
areas were frequently untinned.
Clearly, all of these defects w e r e
formed during soldering of the joint,
i.e., none are due to subsequent
action on the joint such as corrosion
or erosion. There were 550 cast
bronze fitting joints and 2 6 2 wrought
copper fitting joints in the collection.
No significant differences with
respect to solder fill w e r e attributed
to the difference between bronze
and copper.
X-radiography was used as the pri-
mary means for assessing the solder
joint fill. It is a good nondestructive
inspection method for this purpose.
Ultasonic techniques are capable of
detecting unfilled solder areas, but
have been limited by manual
operation of the test probe to slow
examination rates. Cutting and peel-
ing of the joints, w i t h visual or micro-
scopic examination of the opened
surfaces, is the most reliable i n - Fig. 2—Cut and peeled joints showing some typical defects

322-s I J U N E 1972
 0.002 in. and not more than 0.006
TABLE 2—Diametral Clearances from Standards B16.18-1963 and B16.22-1963
in. for VA in. tubes and varies up to
and the Half Maximum Clearance between faying surfaces (Vi Maximum)
0.011 in. for the 8 in. size piping.
Standard watertube Diametral clearances, in The m i n i m u m and maximum diamet-
size, in. Minimum Maximum Vi Maximum ral clearances for each piping size
Vs 0.002 0.006 0.003 are given in Table 2. If the joint parts
0.006 0.003 were geometrically perfect cylindri-
1
/4 "
3/8 " 0.006 0.003 cal shapes and w e r e assembled cen-
Vi " 0.006 0.003 tered and aligned, joint clearance
Ve " 0.006 0.003 would be a concentric uniform gap
% " 0.006 0.003 between tube and sleeve. Clearance
1 " 0.007 0.0035 between faying surfaces would thus
114 " 0.007 0.0035 be one-half the diametral clearance
Vh " 0.0085 0.00425 value. The values for half the m a x i -
n
2 0.0085 0.00425 mum diametral clearances are also
TA " 0.0085 0.00425
listed in Table 2. Real joint openings
3 " 0.0085 0.00425
0.009 0.0045 usually vary from zero to the maxi-
31/2 " mum diametral clearance because of
4 " 0.009 0.0045
0.009 0.0045 imperfect shape and assembly.
5 "
6 " 0.009 0.0045
8 " 0.011 0.0055
Solder Flow
Properly cleaned, fluxed, assembled,
and heated joints are normally sol-
dered by melting Vs-in. w i r e solder
against the entrance edge of the
sleeve member. The solder melts to
TABLE 3 Maximum Static Heights for Molten Solder in Capillary Gaps* form a puddle w h i c h bridges the cap-
illary gap between the tube and the
Parallel plate gap thickness, Maximum molten solder height sleeve. The behavior of the initial
d, in. h, in.
liquid solder bridge in the capillary
0.001 13.5 space can be visualized as being s i m -
.002 6.75
ilar to the behavior of India ink in a
.003 4.5
.004 3.37 drafting pen. The liquid drawing pow-
.005 2.7 er of a drafting pen is a function of
.006 2.25 the adjusted space between the pen
.007 1.93 nibs. If the nibs are adjusted too far
.008 1.68 apart, both of t h e m w i l l become w e t
.009 1.5 w i t h ink, but a liquid bridge w i l l not
.010 1.35 form. The beginning of capillary f l o w
.011 1.23 can be observed at the time this
.012 1.13 bridge is formed if the pen nibs are
.013 1.04
.014 adjusted to a reasonable spacing.
0.97
From this liquid bridge an exten-
"Computed using a value of 378 dynes/cm for the interfacial tension of 50-50 sive solder meniscus can develop as
solder in contact with flux, 8.89 g/cc for the density of solder, and zero contact more solder is fed and melted. It is
angle. this meniscus as it w e t s the capillary
gap walls that pulls liquid solder into
the joint. This meniscus is the source
of the capillary force that fills the
joint.
The liquid solder meniscus is a
TABLE 4—Capillary Liquid Solder Heights for Maximum Clearance Gaps
free liquid surface and exhibits
Standard water tube Diametral clearance, Liquid capillary surface tension. Because the liquid
size, in. max., in. solder height, in. solder has cohesive and adhesive
Vs 0.006 2.25 forces, it w e t s the capillary w a l l s ,
V4 0.006 2.25 spreads and pulls solder liquid w i t h it
Va 0.006 2.25 (this wetting is assumed to be ideal
V2 0.006 2.25 here — as if the joint were pre-
Va 0.006 2.25 tinned). The limiting force tending to
0.006 2.25
3
/4 d r a w solder into the joint is the
1 0.007 1.93
0.007 1.93 meniscus force or pressure differ-
VA ence. A free liquid surface becomes
Vh 0.0085 1.59
0.0085 1.59 curved w h e n a pressure difference
2
Vh 0.0085 1.59 exists across it. The general descrip-
3 0.0085 1.59 tion of the pressure difference w i t h
3 1 /2 0.009 1.5 respect to curvature for surface t e n -
4 0.009 1.5 sion phenomena is ascribed to
5 0.009 1.5 Laplace:
6 0.009 1.5
8 0.011 1.23 Ap = o
\ R, R2 )

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 323-s

 Where:
AP = pressure difference
a = surface tension
R, = radius in one principal
direction
R 2 = radius in the other principal
direction
The radii of curvature in t w o prin-
cipal directions describe the net cur-
vature of a meniscus over the area of
interest. The solder joint clearance
approximates the gap between par-
allel flat plates, in that curvature of a
meniscus w i t h i n the gap w i l l have a
low value in one principal direction.
This is approximatelyAp~,(r(2/d),
w h e r e d is the distance across the
gap.
W h e n the w a l l s are wetted to
some degree, but the gap is not full
of solder, the internal pressure in the
solder liquid is reduced and a net
force A p x A, w h e r e A is the gap
area, is exerted by the meniscus
climbing the w a l l s trying to pull l i -
quid after it through the action of t e n -
sile forces. The maximum force in
one direction is achieved w h e n the
contact angle is zero (complete w e t -
ting) and the radius of curvature is
minimized. The meniscus supports,
or fails to support, the pressure dif-
ference.
The maximum static height to
w h i c h a meniscus w i l l hold a liquid
in a parallel plate capillary of a given
size is given by:
h = 2 g cos 8
d p g
Where:
h = capillary head height
a = surface tension
0 = contact angle
d = capillary gap dimension
p = density of solder
g = gravity acceleration
Some values for the m a x i m u m
static parallel plate capillary height
for liquid 5 0 - 5 0 tin-lead solder are
given in Table 3 and illustrated in Fig-
ure 3. These are computed using a
value of 3 7 8 d y n e s / c m . for the
surface tension of the solder in con-
tact w i t h flux in the capillary gap. 3
The values represent the heights
molten solder can climb w h e n it is
not limited by w e t t i n g or spreading
or other related problems. These
values also represent pressure head
forces available to cause solder f l o w
into the joint space.
Table 4 now combines information
from Tables 2 and 3 to show liquid
solder heights possible for standard
maximum joint clearances. This is an
324-s I J U N E 1972
12-
10-
co
LiJ
X
o
2
4-
I i I I i I
.002 .004 006
d INCHES
Fig. 3—Maximum head height (h) versus
with flux present
interesting comparison, particularly
for the larger joint sizes. It is clear
tnat capillary filling alone cannot be
depended on for these standard joints
in the larger sizes.
As noted earlier, the joint space is
almost always of nonuniform thick-
ness due to geometrical imperfec-
tions of the tube and sleeve and due
to misaligned assembly. The pulling
force exerted by the meniscus is a
function of gap thickness and w i l l
therefore be nonuniform as w e l l . Sol-
der viscosity effect on f l o w is rel-
atively small until the gap size be-
comes appreciably less than 0.001
in. This means that f l o w of liquid sol-
der w i l l be nonuniform. In fact, n o n -
uniform f l o w is a general character-
istic for capillary piping joints as evi-
denced by x-ray motion picture ob-
servations. This is supported by evi-
dence from many other types of ex-
perimental soldering situations. Of
course, nonuniform f l o w may also be
due to a number of things other t h a n
uneven capillary gap, but uneven gap
is a major direct cause.
W h e n the liquid solder meniscus
advances unevenly through the joint
it may engulf flux, entrap bubbles, or
it may advance rapidly to the narrow
gap region of the tube-stop and seal
off the joint entirely from any further
inflow of solder at all. These mechan-
isms of engulfment, entrapment, and
seal off are the mechanisms by
w h i c h defects — solderless areas or
voids — are commonly formed in
smaller sized joints.
Thus it may be seen that keeping
I i I I I i T" i i
.008 .010 .012 014 .016
capillary gap dimension (d) for 50-50 solder
the m i n i m u m standard joint clear-
ance by tight control of size toler-
ances offers t w o major aids t o w a r d
freedom f r o m joint defects: (a) the
gap has less variation in thickness
and therefore the f l o w can advance
more evenly (the smaller clearance
limits both the maximum gap size
and the misalignment angle) and (b)
the smaller gap gives higher capil-
lary drive forces to fill the joint.
Conclusions
Common defects of solder joints
are generated by nonuniform solder
f l o w w h e n the joints are made. A n
important cause for nonuniform f l o w
can be nonuniform joint clearance.
Good geometry and good sizing of
tube and sleeve help this problem.
Other causes of nonuniform solder
flow, such as insufficient joint clean-
ing, dirty or inactive flux, poor solder
feeding and uneven heating are very
important but w i l l certainly not c o m -
pensate for uneven joint space.
Portions of this and related w o r k
have been reported earlier in a
paper 4 w h i c h contains further refer-
ences on solder f l o w behavior.
References
1. Maupin. A. R. and Swanger, W. H., "Strength of
Soft-Soldered Joints in Copper Tubing," National Bu-
reau of Standards Report BMSS8. 1940.
2. Keyes, J. M., "Factors Affecting Quality of Soft Sol-
dered Joints in Copper Water Tube," ASTM Special
Technical Publication No. 319. 1963, Papers on Solder-
ing, 1962 pp. 39-82.
3. Bailey, G. L. J. and Watkins, H. C, "The Flow of Li-
quid Metals on Solid Metal Surfaces and Its Relation to
Soldering, Brazing, and Hot-Dip Coating," Journal of
the Institute tor Metals, Vol. 80, 1951, p. 57.
4. Jayne, T. D. and Martin, L., "Improving Control of
Soft Soldering in Copper Piping Joints," ASME Publica-
tion No. 70-PVP-21. Sept., 1970. ,A.