W47.2-11

(reaffirmed 2020)

Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum

REVISED AUGUST 2012

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Update No. 2

W47.2-11

August 2012

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Title: Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum — originally published March 2011

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W47.2-11

March 2011

Title: Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum

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W47.2-11

Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum

®A trademark of the Canadian Standards Association, operating as “CSA Group”

Published in March 2011 by CSA Group

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ISBN 978-1-55491-416-6

© 2011 Canadian Standards Association

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the prior permission of the publisher.

Contents

Technical Committee on Certification of Companies for Welding of Steel and Aluminum vii

Subcommittee on Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Aluminum ix

Preface x

1. Scope 1

   
   

2. Reference publications 2

   
   

3. Definitions 3

   
   

4. Administration 4

   
   

5. Requirements for certification 5

   1. General 5

   2. Divisions 6

   3. Application for certification 7

   4. Personnel 7

   5. Reporting of personnel and documentation 7

      
      

6. Welding engineer 7

   1. General 7

   2. Duties of the welding engineer 7

   3. Documentation provided by the welding engineer 8

   4. Qualifications of the welding engineer 8

      
      

7. Welding supervisor 8

   1. Duties of the welding supervisor 8

   2. Qualifications of the welding supervisor 9

   3. Duration of qualification 9

   4. Delegation 10

      
      

8. Operational control procedure 10

   
   

9. Welding procedures and specifications 10

   1. Welding procedure specifications (WPSs) 10

   2. Welding procedure data sheets (WPDSs) 10

      1. General 10

      2. Qualification of welding procedure data sheets (WPDSs) 10

         
         

10. Qualification of welding procedures 11

    1. Test conditions 11

    2. Limitation of variables 12

       1. Base metal 12

       2. Filler metals 12

       3. Welding processes 13

    3. Position of test welds 13

       1. General 13

       2. Groove welds on plates 14

       3. Groove welds on pipe 14

       4. Fillet welds on plates 14

    4. Types of tests 14

    5. Complete joint penetration groove welds 15

       1. General 15

       2. Macro-etch test 15

       3. Root, face, and side bend tests 15

       4. Reduced section tension test 16

    6. Partial joint penetration groove welds 16

       1. General 16

       2. Macro-etch test 16

       3. Fracture test 17

       4. Side bend test 17

    7. Fillet welds 17

       1. General 17

       2. Macro-etch test 17

       3. Fracture test 17

    8. Retests 18

       
       

11. Qualification of welding personnel 18

    1. General 18

    2. Classifications 19

    3. Process 19

    4. Modes of process application 19

    5. Weld type and position combination 19

    6. Electrode alloy (GMAW) 20

    7. Qualification requirements 21

       1. WT classification 21

       2. FW classification 21

       3. S classification 22

       4. T classification 24

    8. Retest due to failure in qualification of welding personnel 28

    9. Upgrading 28

    10. Records of qualification 28

    11. Period of effectiveness of qualification 28

        1. Welders 28

        2. Renewal of qualification 29

        3. Welding operators 29

    12. Probationary welders and welding operators 29

Annexes

A (informative) — Sample welding procedure specifications (WPSs) 77

B (informative) — Information typically included on an aluminum welding procedure data sheet 87

C (informative) — Guide to the choice of filler metal for general purpose aluminum welding 88

D (informative) — Getting ready to weld 91

E (informative) — Tungsten electrodes — Recommended operating ranges for DC and AC GTAW 95

F (informative) — Material control 96

G (informative) — Example of operational control procedure document 97

H (informative) — Bibliography 98

Tables

1. — Base-metal alloy groupings 30

2. — Filler-metal alloy groupings 31

3. — Essential variables for GMAW, GTAW, and PAW 31

4. — Procedure qualification tests for complete penetration groove welds 33

5. — Procedure qualification tests for partial penetration groove welds 33

6. — Procedure qualification tests for pipe welds 33

7. — Specified minimum tensile strengths for welded aluminum alloys (with no postweld heat treatment) 34

8. — Weld quality requirements for discontinuities occurring in test samples (limitations of porosity and

   fusion-type flaws) 35

9. — Performance qualification 36

10. — Initial qualification tests — WT or FW classification 37

11. — Initial qualification tests — Plate test assemblies (S or T classification) 38

12. — Initial qualification tests — T classification — Pipe test assemblies 40

13. — Upgrading tests — FW and WT classification 42

14. — Upgrading tests — S and T classification — Plate test assemblies 43

15. — Upgrading tests — T classification — Pipe test assembly 45

16. — Check testing — FW classification 47

17. — Check testing — S and T classification — Plate test assemblies 48

18. — Check testing — T classification — Pipe test assemblies 50

19. — Renewal of qualification 52

Figures

1. — Position of welds 53

2. — Positions of plate test assemblies for groove welds 54

3. — Positions of plate test assemblies for groove/fillet welds 55

4. — Positions of test assemblies for pipe groove welds 56

5. — Positions of test assembly for combined 2G and 5G qualification of pipe groove welds 56

6. — Positions of plate test assemblies for fillet welds 57

7. — Welding procedure qualification — Groove weld test assembly location of test specimens (plates up to 10 mm thick) 58

8. — Welding procedure qualification — Groove weld test assembly location of test specimens (plates

   over 10 mm thick) 59

9. — Welding procedure qualification — Partial penetration groove weld test assembly location of test specimens 60

10. — Welding procedure, welder and welding operator qualification — Face and root bend test specimen

    (plates up to 10 mm thick) 61

11. — Welding procedure, welder and welding operator qualification — Side bend test specimen (plates over 10 mm thick) 62

12. — Welding procedure qualification — Reduced section tensile test specimens 63

13. — Welding procedure, welder, and welding operator qualification —Groove weld fracture test specimens 64

14. — Welding procedure qualification fillet weld test assembly — Size and location of test specimens 64

15. — Welding procedure qualification — Location of pipe test specimens 65

16. — Welding procedure, welder, and welding operator qualification — Bend test specimen from pipe

    assembly 65

17. — Acceptable and unacceptable weld profiles 66

18. — Bend test arrangement 67

19. — Method of fracturing test specimen — Welding procedure FW and WT classification test

    assemblies 68

20. — Welding procedure, welder, and welding operator qualification — Fracture test 69

21. — Welder and welding operator qualification — Fillet weld test assembly size and location of test specimens 70

22. — Welder and welding operator qualification — Groove weld test assembly size and location of test

    specimens (plates up to 10 mm thick) 71

23. — Welder and welding operator qualification — Groove weld test assembly size and location of test specimens (plates over 10 mm thick) 72

24. — Welder and welding operator qualification —Joint preparation for GF test assemblies 73

25. — Welder and welding operator qualification — Optional joint preparation for G test assemblies 74

26. — Procedure welder and welding operator qualification — Pipe and plate weld assembly test 75

27. — Welder and welding operator qualification — Location of test specimens for pipe 76

28. — WT classification test assembly 76

W47.2-11 © Canadian Standards Association

Preface

This is the third edition of CSA W47.2, Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum. It supersedes the previous editions, published in 1987 under the same title, and published in 1967 under the title Aluminum Welding Qualification Code.

Technological advancements have made it necessary to provide a new edition of this Standard which deals with the certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum. It is not a product Standard and cannot be used to evaluate or approve products. Furthermore, it is not intended to supersede Codes and Standards that govern specific products, e.g., CSA B51, Boiler, pressure vessel, and pressure piping code; the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code; the Rules of the American Bureau of Shipping; or the Standards of the American Petroleum Institute.

This Standard stipulates minimum requirements that a company must meet and adhere to in order to obtain and maintain certification. Certification is granted by the Canadian Welding Bureau, the administrative body for this Standard, to companies that comply with the requirements of this Standard. Certification of a company indicates that, consistent with the requirements of the Division in which the company is certified, it has the organization, personnel, welding procedures, and equipment required to produce satisfactory welds and weldments.

Production of satisfactory welds and weldments is the responsibility of the certified company. It is the responsibility of the purchaser to ensure, through adequate inspection, that the required quality is attained. Although the Bureau makes periodic inspections of certified companies to ensure that they continue to comply with the requirements of this Standard, these inspections do not eliminate the need for a certified company’s quality control methods or a purchaser’s comprehensive inspection program.

This Standard was prepared by the Subcommittee on Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Aluminum, under the jurisdiction of the Technical Committee on Certification of Companies for Welding of Steel and Aluminum and the Strategic Steering Committee on Welding and Structural Metals, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee.

March 2011

Notes:

1. Use of the singular does not exclude the plural (and vice versa) when the sense allows.

2. Although the intended primary application of this Standard is stated in its Scope, it is important to note that it remains the responsibility of the users of the Standard to judge its suitability for their particular purpose.

3. This publication was developed by consensus, which is defined by CSA Policy governing standardization — Code of good practice for standardization as “substantial agreement. Consensus implies much more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity”. It is consistent with this definition that a member may be included in the Technical Committee list and yet not be in full agreement with all clauses of this publication.

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x March 2011

© Canadian Standards Association Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum

W47.2-11

Certification of companies for fusion welding of aluminum

1 Scope

1.1

This Standard provides the requirements for the certification of companies engaged in the fusion welding of aluminum and for the qualification of their personnel and welding procedures.

Note: This Standard is not intended for applications governed by codes such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and codes of the American Petroleum Institute (API).

1.2

The requirements of this Standard are based on the principle that a certified company has full responsibility for the quality of the welded product it produces, and this responsibility cannot be transferred to its employed or retained personnel, or to the administrator of this Standard.

1.3

This Standard governs the certification of companies. Certification pertains to the capability of the company with respect to welding. Certification should not be construed as approving any products or services of the certified company.

1.4

This Standard stipulates requirements for

1. welding engineers;

2. welding supervisors;

3. tack welders, welders, and welding operators; and

4. documentation.

1.5

The qualification requirements for tack welders, welders, and welding operators specified in this Standard are intended to demonstrate an individual’s basic welding skills and to provide a means of verifying that individual’s continuing ability in the fusion welding of aluminum.

1.6

This Standard applies to the gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and plasma arc welding (PAW) processes.

1.7

For the qualification of welding procedure data sheets (WPDSs) that use welding processes or base metals, or other parameters beyond the range specifically covered by this Standard. See Clause 9.2.2.5.

1.8

Provisions for recognition of personnel qualified to other standards are included in this Standard.

March 2011 1