Welded Joint

A welded joint is the connection produced when two metal components are fused together by welding, classified by joint type (butt, fillet, lap, corner, edge) and groove geometry (V, U, J, square), with NDT scope driven by joint type and code.

Definition

Welded-joint NDT involves visual inspection, surface methods (MT or PT), and volumetric methods (RT, UT, or PAUT) as required by the construction code. AWS A3.0 provides the standard welding terminology.

Related terms

  • Butt Weld — A butt weld is a weld in a butt joint, joining two components edge-to-edge in approximately the same plane, with groove preparation (V, U, J) that allows full-penetration welding from one or both sides.
  • Fillet Weld — A fillet weld is a weld of triangular cross-section that joins two surfaces approximately at right angles to each other (typically T-joints, lap joints, or corner joints), characterized by leg length and throat thickness rather than by groove preparation.
  • Socket Weld — A socket weld is a fillet weld used in small-bore (typically up to 2") socket-welding pipe fittings, in which the pipe is inserted into a socket and the fillet weld is made around the resulting circumferential gap.
  • AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code — Steel — AWS D1.1 is the structural welding code for steel, covering buildings, bridges, towers, and other structures, defining procedure/welder qualification, NDT (visual, MT, PT, UT, RT), and weld acceptance criteria for statically and cyclically loaded structures.

Further reading

weld defect classification and detection methods

More equipment terms

Calibration Block · Transducer · Dual-Element Probe · Angle-Beam Probe · Normal-Beam Probe · Couplant · Reference Reflector · Side-Drilled Hole · Flat-Bottom Hole · Notch Reference

Where this comes up in practice

Terms like this one appear in three places that matter commercially: the written practice that governs how your personnel are qualified, the procedures and technique sheets that define how an examination is actually performed, and the evidence an auditor or client asks for when they want to know why an inspection was accepted. Getting the terminology right is the easy part; being able to produce the qualification record, the calibration traceability and the procedure revision that applied on the day of the inspection is the part that decides audits.

Atlantis NDT provides NDT training and certification against ASNT SNT-TC-1A and ISO 9712, ASNT Level III consulting for written practices and procedure approval, inspection management software that holds qualification, calibration and procedure-revision evidence in recoverable form, and an asset integrity platform that binds inspection results to the asset they describe. Browse the full NDT glossary or ask a Level III directly.