Welder, Welding Operator, and Tack Welder Qualification 5.

21 General Requirements
Welders, welding operators, and tack welders using SMAW, SAW, GMAW, FCAW, ESW, and EGW welding processes shall be qualified by the tests described in Part B. 5.21.1 Purpose. The qualification tests described in Part B are specially devised tests to determine the welders, welding operators, or tack welders ability to produce sound welds. The qualification tests are not intended to be used as a guide for welding during actual construction. Construction welding shall be performed in conformance with the requirements of the WPS. 5.21.2WPS Compliance. The welder, or welding operator, shall follow a WPS applicable to the joint details given in 5.23.1.2, 5.23.1.3, 5.23.1.4, or 5.23.1.5, whichever is applicable. 5.21.3 Base Metal. The base metal used shall be an AASHTO approved steel as described in 1.2.2 or the WPS (see 5.24.1.1). 5.21.4 Period of Effectiveness. The welders, welding operators, or tack welders qualification as described in this code shall be considered as remaining in effect indefinitely unless (1) the welder, welding operator, or tack welder is not engaged in a given process of welding for which the welder, welding operator, or tack welder is qualified for a period exceeding six months, or unless (2) there is some specific reason to question a welders, welding operators or tack welders ability. In case of (1), the requalification test need be made only in the 10 mm [3/8 in.] thickness. 5.21.5Weld Cleaning 5.21.5.1 Chipping and Brushing. Cleaning between weld passes shall be limited to hand chipping and handwire brushing. Power chippers or grinders shall not be used during the weld test. 5.21.5.2 Root and Fill Pass Cleaning. Root or intermediate weld bead contours shall not be modified by chipping, grinding, cutting, or other means before depositing subsequent weld passes. 5.21.5.3 Cleaning Position. Weld cleaning shall be done with the test weld in the same position as the welding position being qualified. 5.21.6 Responsibility 5.21.6.1 Contractor. Each Contractor shall conduct tests or verify that the welders, welding operators, and tack welders are qualified as required by this code. 5.21.7 Records. Records of the test results shall be kept by the manufacturer or Contractor and shall be available to those authorized to examine them. 5.21.8 Previous Code Editions. Welders, welding operators, and tack welders qualified to previous editions of this code shall be considered qualified to this code. Qualification test records shall not be required to be converted to metric (SI) Units of measure if the tests were performed using U.S. Customary Units and vice versa.

5.22 Production Welding Positions Qualified

5.22.1Welder Qualification (Groove Welds). See Table 5.6.

5.23 Qualification Tests Required

5.23.1Welder Qualification. The welder qualification test for manual and semiautomatic welding shall conform to the following requirements: (1) Groove weld qualification tests for plate of unlimited thickness in conformance with 5.23.1.2 (2) Groove weld qualification tests for plate of limited thickness in conformance with 5.23.1.3 (3) Fillet weld qualification tests (for fillet welding only) in conformance with 5.23.1.4 (4) Plug weld qualification tests (for plug welds only) in conformance with 5.23.1.5 5.23.1.1WPS Qualification. A welder may also be qualified by welding a satisfactory WPS qualification test plate, as described in 5.12 or 5.13, that meets the requirements of 5.19. That welder shall be qualified to weld plate with the process and in the test position used for WPS qualification. That welder shall also be qualified for slot welding for the process and position tested. The thickness range qualified for shall be as described in Table 5.7. 5.23.1.2 Groove Weld Qualification Test for Plate of Unlimited Thickness. The joint details shall be as follows: 25 mm [1 in.] plate, single-V-groove, 45 included angle, 6 mm [1/4 in.] root opening with backing (see Figure 5.17). For horizontal position qualification, the joint detail may, at the Contractors option, be as follows: single-bevelgroove, 45 groove angle, 6 mm [1/4 in.] root opening with backing (see Figure 5.18). If RT is used, backing shall be 6 mm [1/4 in.] min to 10 mm [3/8 in.] by 75 mm [3 in.]. For mechanical testing, backing may be 6 mm [1/4 in.] to 10 mm [3/8 in.] by 25 mm [1 in.] min. The minimum length of the welded groove shall be 125 mm [5 in.]. 5.23.1.3 Groove Weld Qualification Test for Plate of Limited Thickness. The groove detail shall be as follows: 10 mm [3/8 in.] plate, single-V-groove, 45 included angle 6 mm [1/4 in.] root opening with backing (see Figure 5.19). For horizontal position qualification, the joint detail may, at the Contractors option, be as follows: single-bevelgroove 45 groove angle, 6 mm [1/4 in.] root opening with backing (see Figure 5.20). Backing shall be 6 mm [1/4 in.] min to 10 mm [3/8 in.] max by 75 mm [3 in.] min, if RT is used. For mechanical testing after the backing is removed, it shall be 6 mm [1/4 in.] min to 10 mm [3/8 in.] max by 25 mm [1 in.]. The minimum length of welding groove shall be 180 mm [7 in.]. 5.23.1.4 Qualification Tests for Fillet Welds Only. Requirements for fillet weld qualification only, on plate and rolled structural shapes, shall be as follows: (1) For fillet welds between parts having a dihedral angle () of less than 60 , the welder shall weld a groove weld test plate as required by 5.23.1.2 or 5.23.1.3.

This qualification shall also be valid for joints having a dihedral angle () of 60 and greater. (2) For joints having a dihedral angle () of 60 or greater, but not exceeding 135 , the welder shall weld a test plate according to Option 1 or Option 2, depending upon the Contractors choice, as follows: (a) Option 1. Weld a T-test plate in conformance with Figure 5.21. (b) Option 2. Weld a soundness test plate in conformance with Figure 5.22. 5.23.1.5 Plug Weld Qualification Tests for Plug Welds Only. The joint shall consist of a 20 mm [3/4 in.] diameter hole in a 10 mm [3/8 in.] plate with a 10 mm [3/8 in.] minimum thickness backing plate (see Figure 5.23). 5.23.2Welding Operator Qualification 5.23.2.1 Joint Requirements for Processes Other Than ESW or EGW. The welding operator qualification test for other than plug welds and ESW or EGW welding shall have a joint detail as follows: 25 mm [1 in.] plate, single-V-groove, 20 included groove angle, 16 mm [5/8 in.] root opening with backing. Backing shall be 10 mm [3/8 in.] to 12 mm [1/2 in.] by 75 mm [3 in.] min if RT is used without removal of backing. If backing is removed, at least 40 mm [1-1/2 in.] width of backing shall be used. The minimum length of welding groove shall be 400 mm [15 in.] (see Figure 5.24). This test will qualify the welding operator for groove and fillet welding in materials of unlimited thickness for the process and position tested. Alternatively, the welding operator may be qualified by RT of the initial 400 mm [15 in.] of a production groove weld. The material thickness range qualified shall be that shown in Table 5.7.

5.27 Test Results Required

5.27.1 Visual Inspection of Welder and Welding Operator Test Plates. For acceptable qualification, the welded test plates, when inspected visually, shall conform to the requirements for visual inspection in 6.26.1, except that undercut shall not exceed 1 mm [1/32 in.]. 5.27.2 RT. For acceptable qualification, the weld, as revealed by the radiograph, shall conform to the requirements of 6.26.2, except that 6.26.2.2 shall not apply. 5.27.3 Root or Side Bend Tests. The convex surface of the bend test specimen shall be visually examined for surface discontinuities. For acceptance, the surface shall contain no discontinuities exceeding the following dimensions: (1) 3 mm [1/8 in.] measured in any direction on the surface (2) 10 mm [3/8 in.] for the sum of the greatest dimensions of all discontinuities exceeding 1 mm [1/32 in.], but less than or equal to 3 mm [1/8 in.] (3) 6 mm [1/4 in.]the maximum corner crack, except when that corner crack resulted from visible slag inclusion or other fusion-type discontinuities, then the 3 mm [1/8 in.] maximum shall apply Specimens with corner cracks exceeding 6 mm [1/4 in.] with no evidence of slag inclusions or other fusion-type discontinuities may be disregarded, and a replacement test specimen from the original weldment shall be tested. 5.27.4 Fillet Weld Break Test (Welder and Welding Operator) 5.27.4.1 Visual Examination. To pass the visual examination, the fillet weld shall present a reasonably uniform appearance and shall be free of overlap, cracks, and excessive undercut. There shall be no porosity visible on the surface of the weld. 5.27.4.2 Fracture Surface. The specimen shall pass the test if it bends flat upon itself. If the fillet weld fractures, the fractured surface shall show complete fusion into the root of the joint and shall exhibit no inclusion or porosity larger than 2 mm [1/16 in.] in the greatest dimension. The sum of the greatest dimensions of all inclusions and porosity shall not exceed 10 mm [3/8 in.] in the 150 mm [6 in.] specimen. 5.27.5 Fillet Weld Break Test (Tack Welder) 5.27.5.1 Visual Examination. The tack weld shall present a uniform appearance and shall be free of overlap, cracks, and excessive undercut exceeding 1 mm [1/32 in.]. There shall be no porosity visible on the surface of the tack weld. 5.27.5.2 Fracture Surface. The fracture surface of the tack weld shall show fusion to the root but not necessarily beyond and shall exhibit no incomplete fusion to the base metal nor any inclusion or porosity larger than 2 mm [1/16 in.] in greatest dimension.

5.27.6 Macroetch Test. For acceptable qualification, the test specimen, when inspected visually, shall conform to the following requirements: 5.27.6.1 Fillet Welds. Fillet welds shall conform to the following requirements: (1) No cracks (2) Thorough fusion between adjacent layers of weld metals and between weld metal and base metal (3) Weld profiles conforming to intended detail, but with none of the variations prohibited in 3.6 (4) No undercut exceeding 1 mm [1/32 in.] (5) Fusion to the root of the joint but not necessarily beyond (6) Leg sizes equal to or greater than the specified leg size