Arc Welding 101: Defining a fillet weld with D1.1
Q: I'm auditing a fab shop and have a question regarding the AWS D1.1 code. The shop is referring to the corner joints in the plates encompassing the columns as fillet welds, yet there is no faying surface. D1.1 says a fillet can have up to 3/16-in. misalignment (with certain stipulations), which effectively makes the joint an open root complete joint penetration (CJP).
The shop is having substantial issues with cracking through the throat, which isn’t surprising. My issue, though, is with the joint design. I’m inclined to say it is not a fillet weld, but I cannot find a code reference to support that claim. I also cannot find a prequalified weld procedure specification (WPS) and joint configuration that in any way resembles this partial-joint-penetration (PJP) or CJP groove.
Am I missing something in the code that resolves this? What course of action would you advise?
A: I'm not sure of the plate thickness, but based on the photo you provided, it looks to be about 3/8 in. If that's the case, these ¼-in. fillet welds are undersized. I can tell because the leg does not extend halfway up the plate thickness and its contour is concave.
With that said, this is a common fillet weld on an outside corner joint. Fig 5.4(F) shows a picture of it.
Here are a couple of questions I would ask:
- Does the shop have a WPS for welding this? The fillet looks to have been done vertically down. This would require procedure qualification record (PQR) testing.
- What process is used? It looks to be GMAW-S (short-circuit transfer). If so, this would require PQR testing as well.
I'm sure their cracking is due to insufficient throat. You can fix that by ensuring the weld meets the size requirement. If the weld is engineered correctly and qualified/prequalified to ensure mechanical, chemical, and soundness requirements, the cracking will be a thing of the past.
That should do it.
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Paul Cameron
Braun Intertec
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