ISO/TC 44/SC 10/WG 5 - Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials

This document specifies how a welding procedure can be qualified by using tested welding consumable data. It expands on the requirements given in ISO 15607. In addition, it gives the range of qualification. Application of this document is limited to parent material groups 1.1, 8.1, 21, 22.1 and 22.2 in accordance with ISO/TR 15608, which produce acceptable microstructures and properties in the heat-affected zone which do not deteriorate significantly in service. This document is limited to: — parent material thicknesses t ≤ 40 mm (groups 1.1 and 8.1) and t ≤ 20 mm (groups 21, 22.1 and 22.2); — fillet welds with throat thickness a ≥ 1 mm. This document is not applicable when any of the following is specified for the welded joint: a) hardness; b) impact properties; c) preheating; d) controlled heat input; e) interpass temperature; f) post-weld heat treatment. The use of this document can also be restricted by an application standard, specification or other documents.

This document is part of a series of standards dealing with specification and qualification of welding procedures. Annex A gives details of this series of standards, Annex B gives a table for the use of these standards, and Annex C gives a flow diagram for the development and qualification of a WPS. This document defines general rules for the specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials. This document also refers to several other standards as regards detailed rules for specific applications. This document is applicable to manual, partly mechanized, fully mechanized and automated welding. Welding procedures are qualified by conforming to one or more welding procedure qualification records (WPQR). The use of a particular method of qualification is often a requirement of an application standard. It is assumed that welding procedure specifications are used in production by competent welders, qualified in accordance with the relevant part of ISO 9606 or by competent operators qualified in accordance with ISO 14732.

This document: — specifies how a user can follow a standard welding procedure specification (SWPS) based on welding procedure qualification tests performed by a different organization; — specifies the range for the use of SWPSs in accordance with ISO 15607; — specifies the requirements for qualification of welding procedures to be issued as SWPSs; and — specifies the requirements for organizations adopting SWPSs. The use of this document can be restricted by an application standard or a specification. This document is applicable to welding of steels and aluminium and its alloys (see 4.1). All new standard welding procedure qualifications are to be carried out in accordance with this document from the date of its issue. However, this document does not invalidate previous standard welding procedure qualifications made to former standards, specifications or previous editions of this document

ISO/TR 15608:2017 provides guidelines for a uniform system for grouping materials for welding purposes. It can also be applied for other purposes, such as heat treatment, forming and non-destructive testing. It covers grouping systems for the following standardized materials: ? steels; ? aluminium and its alloys; ? copper and its alloys; ? nickel and its alloys; ? titanium and its alloys; ? zirconium and its alloys; ? cast irons.

ISO 15614-7:2016 specifies how a preliminary welding procedure specification for overlay welding is qualified by welding procedure tests. ISO 15614-7:2016 defines the conditions for execution of welding procedure tests and the range of qualification for welding procedures for all practical welding operations within the range of variables listed in Clause 8. ISO 15614-7:2016 applies to all welding processes suitable for overlay welding. In situations where qualification is carried out on a pre-production test piece, the qualification is performed in accordance with ISO 15613 except that, as far as possible, the testing is according to this part of ISO 15614. Building up and repair of parent metal is covered by ISO 15613 or ISO 15614‑1. This edition of ISO 15614‑7 is applicable to all new welding procedure qualification tests. It does not invalidate previous welding procedure tests made in accordance with previous editions of this part of ISO 15614. Where additional tests are required by the present edition, it is only necessary that those additional tests be carried out on a test piece made in accordance with the existing WPS and this part of ISO 15614. If buttering is used for welding between dissimilar materials, the welding procedure is qualified in accordance with ISO 15614‑1. This buttering may be required for weld combining different material structure or properties, e.g. joining martensitic steels or ferritic steels with austenitic steels. Additional tests may be required by application standards.

ISO 15614-8:2016 specifies requirements for the qualification testing of welding procedures for the arc welding of tube to tube-plate joints in metallic materials by manual, partly mechanized, fully mechanized, or automatic processes. ISO 15614-8:2016 is a part of a series of standards. Details of this series are given in ISO 15607, Annex A. Qualification by tube to tube-plate joint tests can be used for all joints even if they are fully loaded or only seal welded as required in application standards. ISO 15614-8:2016 applies to fusion welding of metallic materials for tube to tube-plate joints with a remaining gap between the tube and the tube-plate for some length of the tube-plate thickness. This part of ISO 15614 does not apply to tube-sheets with forged end connections with welded tubes (external/internal bore welds). For welding of tube to tube-plate joints with mechanical expansion which is load bearing, welding procedure test is to be defined. For other applications and/or requirements, this part of ISO 15614 can be used if required by the specification. Repair welding is to be considered in the welding procedure test.

ISO 15609-4:2009 specifies requirements for the content of the welding procedure specification (WPS) for laser beam welding processes, including overlay welding. It is not applicable to other processes for cladding (e.g. thermal spraying). Variables listed in ISO 15609-4:2009 are those influencing the quality and properties of the welded joint.

ISO/TR 15608:2013 provides a uniform system for the grouping of materials for welding purposes. It can also apply to other purposes, such as heat treatment, forming and non-destructive testing. ISO/TR 15608:2013 covers grouping systems for the following standardized materials: steels; aluminium and its alloys; copper and its alloys; nickel and its alloys; titanium and its alloys; zirconium and its alloys; cast irons.