What Is Weld Macro Examination?
Weld macro examination is an examination in which a full section taken from a welded joint, after being polished and etched, is examined at low magnification, assessing penetration, weld geometry, the heat-affected zone and discontinuities.
Purpose of Weld Macro Examination
The purpose is to verify that the welding procedure achieves the required penetration and contains no unacceptable discontinuities.
Which Products Is Weld Macro Examination Applied To?
- Pressure-vessel and pipe welds
- Structural-steel welds
- Pipeline joints
- Welding-procedure-qualification specimens
In Which Sectors Is Weld Macro Examination Used?
Standards Related to Weld Macro Examination
- ISO 17639
- ASTM E340
- ISO 15614 series
Weld Macro Examination Conditions
- Section
- Full section perpendicular to the weld axis
- Surface preparation
- Grinding and polishing if required
- Etching
- Macro-etchant that distinguishes the weld zones
- Magnification
- Low magnification defined in the standard
Equipment for Weld Macro Examination
- Cutting machine
- Grinding and polishing bench
- Macro-etching rig
- Stereo microscope and scaled imaging
Sample Requirements for Weld Macro Examination
- The section must be a full section, perpendicular to the weld axis
- Thermal damage must not occur during cutting
- Section location along the weld must be documented
- The number of specimens is defined in the qualification standard
Duration of Weld Macro Examination
Typically 1–2 days.
Weld Macro Examination Procedure
- 1A full section is taken from the weld.
- 2The surface is ground.
- 3The macro-etchant is applied.
- 4Weld geometry and penetration are measured.
- 5Discontinuities are recorded and imaged.
Weld Macro Examination Acceptance Criteria
The acceptance criterion is given in the welding-qualification standard or manufacturing specification.
Evaluation of Results
A single section does not represent the entire weld length; the section location and number must be chosen per the qualification standard.
Weld Macro Examination Report
- Standard applied
- Section location
- Etching conditions
- Penetration and geometry measurements
- Discontinuity findings and images
Accreditation
EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.
Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Scope and authorisationsRelated Regulations
- ISO 15614 welding-procedure qualification
Metal and Metallurgy Testing — What Does This Testing Field Cover?
The section below describes the field that the Weld Macro Examination test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Metal and metallurgical testing determines the load a metal or a welded joint can carry, how it fails and what its internal structure looks like. The output of this family is often not about the product itself but about the identity of the MATERIAL: is the steel really of the declared grade, does the weld seam deliver the strength the design assumes, does the casting contain an unacceptable internal defect?
The practical importance of the field comes from the fact that a metal part rarely fails gradually. A plastic part deforms, ages, cracks and usually gives warning. A weld seam or a fastener, by contrast, often breaks without warning — especially where fatigue and brittle fracture are involved. That is why in fields such as pressure equipment, lifting gear, structural steel and pipelines, material testing is a requirement of REGULATION rather than of design.
The family brings together three groups of methods, and each answers a different question. Mechanical tests quantify how the material behaves under load. Non-destructive examination looks for defects without damaging the part. Metallography and chemical analysis explain why the material behaves the way it does — through grain structure, phase distribution, inclusion content and alloy composition.
The acceptance criterion for these tests almost never comes from the test standard, and this is the key to understanding the field. The test standard says how the measurement is to be made; the acceptable values come from the product standard, the material grade or the fabrication code. ISO 6892-1 tells you how to run a tensile test; EN 10025 tells you what yield strength that steel must deliver. When reading a report, the product standard it was assessed against is essential.
Sampling is an inseparable part of the result in this field. Two specimens taken from the same heat may give different values depending on the direction and location they were taken from; in rolled products, specimens parallel and perpendicular to the rolling direction produce different results. Product standards therefore also govern sampling location and orientation, and the report must document this.
Method groups in this field
Mechanical tests
Tensile, compression, bending, notch impact (Charpy), hardness (Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell), fatigue, creep and fracture toughness. These give the behaviour of the material under load in numerical form.
Non-destructive examination
Radiography, ultrasonic examination, penetrant, magnetic particle and visual examination. It looks for surface and internal defects without damaging the part and is an indispensable step in welded fabrication.
Metallography
Specimen preparation, etching and microscopic examination. Grain size, phase distribution, inclusion content, case depth and the weld heat-affected zone are assessed.
Chemical analysis
Alloy composition is verified by optical emission spectrometry and wet chemistry; confirmation of the material grade runs through this step.
Corrosion behaviour
Salt spray, pitting and crevice corrosion and intergranular corrosion tests. In stainless steels these can indicate the quality of the heat treatment.
Commonly confused in this field
- A material certificate (such as EN 10204 3.1) is not a test report; it is the manufacturer's declaration. In critical applications independent verification is carried out, and the two must not be confused.
- ASTM and ISO tensile tests measure the same quantities but use different specimen geometries; the results are not treated as directly equivalent, and whichever the specification calls for is the one applied.
- Conversion tables between hardness and strength are APPROXIMATE. Calculating yield strength from hardness is not sufficient evidence for material acceptance.
- In non-destructive examination, "no defect found" does not mean there is no defect; defects below the detection limit of the method may be present. The report must state the method applied and the sensitivity level.
- A weld seam passing does not show that the welder or the procedure is qualified; these are separate processes.
Which decisions these results support
- Verifying the material certificate and accepting incoming material
- Approving welded fabrication; welder and procedure qualification
- Manufacturing control of pressure equipment and structural components
- Failure analysis and determining the root cause of field damage
- Verifying heat treatment and surface treatment processes
Related Tests
Frequently Asked Questions About Weld Macro Examination
According to which standard is Weld Macro Examination made?
Weld Macro Examination is executed in scope ISO 17639, ASTM E340 and ISO 15614 series. The limit values and acceptance criteria to be applied are defined in the product standard; The version valid for your product is confirmed in writing at the offer stage.
Which products does Weld Macro Examination apply to?
Mainly applied to Pressure-vessel and pipe welds, Structural-steel welds, Pipeline joints and Welding-procedure-qualification specimens. Whether your product is included in the scope is determined by examining its technical specifications and intended use.
Under what conditions is Weld Macro Examination done?
The determining parameters are: Section — Full section perpendicular to the weld axis, Surface preparation — Grinding and polishing if required and Etching — Macro-etchant that distinguishes the weld zones. The full terms are in the "Test Conditions" section on the page and vary depending on the product standard.
What kind of sample is needed for Weld Macro Examination?
The section must be a full section, perpendicular to the weld axis, Thermal damage must not occur during cutting and Section location along the weld must be documented. The number of samples is determined according to the product standard and the scope to be reported.
How long does Weld Macro Examination take?
Typically 1–2 days. This duration belongs to the experiment itself; sample preparation, queuing and reporting are also evaluated. A realistic schedule for your product is given in the offer.
What is the Weld Macro Examination result called "appropriate"?
The acceptance criterion is given in the welding-qualification standard or manufacturing specification.