THE WELDING INSTITUTE

Weld Repairs:
Weld repairs can be divided into two specific areas

1) Production repairs

2) In-service repairs
1) Production repairs:
The Welding Inspector or NDT operator will usually identify production repairs during
the process of inspection or evaluation of NDT reports to the code or applied standard.

A typical defect in a weld HAZ is shown below:

Before any repair can commence the following issues may need to be fully considered.

a) An analysis of the defect may need to be made by the Q/A department to discover
the likely reason for the occurrence of the defect. (Material/Process or Skill related)

b) A detailed assessment will need to be made to find out the full extremity of the
defect. This may involve the use of a surface and/or sub surface NDT method.
Once established the excavation site must be clearly identified and marked out.

c) An excavation procedure will need to be produced, approved and executed.

d) NDT should be used to provide confirmation of complete removal of the defect.

e) A welding repair procedure will need to be drafted and approved. Welder

approval to the approved repair procedure is normally carried out during the
repair procedural approval.

f) A method of NDT will have to be identified and a procedure prepared to ensure

that a successful repair has been carried out.

g) Final repair weld dressing and post repair procedures that need to be carried out
i.e. PWHT It may also be a requirement to carry out NDT after PWHT.

Welding Inspection of Steels WIS 5 16.1 WORLD CENTRE FOR

Section 16 Weld Repairs MATERIALS JOINING
Rev 30-03-07 Copyright  2007 TWI Middle East TECHNOLOGY
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE

a) Analysis:
As this defect has occurred in the HAZ the fault could be a problem with either the
material or the welding procedure, however in this case, and if the approved procedure
had been exactly followed then no blame can be apportioned to the skill of the welder.

b) Assessment:
In this particular case as the defect is open to the surface penetrant testing may be used
to accurately gauge the length of the crack and to estimate the depth of the crack. Once
size and location has been determined it should be recorded identified and marked out.

c) Excavation:
As this defect is a crack it is likely that the ends of the crack may be drilled to avoid any
further propagation during excavation particularly if a thermal method of excavation is
being used. If a mechanical method is used then the end of the excavation is made oval.
The excavation procedure may also need approval particularly if it will affect the
metallurgical structure of the component i.e. Arc Gouging.

Plan View of defect with drilled ends

Side View of defect excavation

Welding Inspection of Steels WIS 5 16.2 WORLD CENTRE FOR

Section 16 Weld Repairs MATERIALS JOINING
Rev 30-03-07 Copyright  2007 TWI Middle East TECHNOLOGY
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE

d) Confirmation of complete excavation:

At this stage NDT should be used to confirm the defect has been completely excavated
from the area. In the case of the crack Penetrant Testing would most likely be used.

e) Re-welding of the excavation:

Prior to re-welding of the excavation a detailed weld procedure will need to be drafted
and approved by the Welding Engineer. The procedural qualification is often carried out
by the welder who is to be used on the repair and who then should become approved
should the procedure become qualified.

f) NDT confirmation of successful repair:

After the excavation has been filled the weldment should then undergo a complete retest
using NDT to check no further defects have been introduced during the repair.

g) Dressing, PWHT & final NDT (as applicable)

The repair weld may need to be dressed flush to avoid stress concentrations. NDT may
also need to be further applied after any additional Post Weld Heat Treatments. (PWHT)

2) In service repairs:
Most in service repairs can be of a very complex nature as the component is very likely
to be in a different welding position and conditions that existed during production. It may
also have been in contact with toxic or combustible fluids hence a permit to work will
need to be sought prior to any work being carried out. The repair welding procedure may
look very different to the original production procedure due to changes in these elements.

Other factors may also be taken into consideration such as the effect of heat on any
surrounding areas of the component i.e. electrical components or materials that may
become damaged by the repair procedure. This may also include difficulty in carrying
out any required pre or post welding heat treatments and a possible restriction of access
to the area to be repaired. For large fabrications it is likely that the repair must also take
place on site and without a shut down of operations, which may produce many other
elements that need to be considered. Repair of in service defects/failures may require
consideration of these and many other factors and as such are generally considered much
more complex than production repairs.

Welding Inspection of Steels WIS 5 16.3 WORLD CENTRE FOR

Section 16 Weld Repairs MATERIALS JOINING
Rev 30-03-07 Copyright  2007 TWI Middle East TECHNOLOGY
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE

WIS 5 Section 16 Exercises:

1) List the elements that may need to be considered before commencing a repair?

1. Analysis of the defect to discover the reason for the occurrence

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.
9.

10.

2) List any documents that any Welding Inspector may be required to refer to
before, during or after any weld repair?

Welding Inspection of Steels WIS 5 16.4 WORLD CENTRE FOR

Section 16 Weld Repairs MATERIALS JOINING
Rev 30-03-07 Copyright  2007 TWI Middle East TECHNOLOGY