Ethan Bale Qualifying your welders and procedure specifications in compliance to ASME Section IX requires knowing Section IX with some intimacy. It is important to know the expectations of the code properly, so that full compliance can be ensured. Section IX lays out both technical as well as administrative requirements. While most welding engineers go to great … Read more
When a welder is qualified in accordance with ASME BPVC Section IX, he is only eligible to weld within the qualified ranges of the variables followed in his qualification test coupon. The qualified ranges of only a few variables (that are laid out under QW-350 in Article III of Section IX) need to be reckoned. … Read more
In this article I have discussed how to write a WPQR – short for Welder Performance Qualification Record. This discussion is in reference to Section IX of ASME BPVC. A WPQR is a record of actual events that occurred during a welder’s performance qualification in accordance with ASME Section IX. Below is the suggested format … Read more
This article discusses a few things that a welding engineer must keep in mind while writing a WPS, in accordance with Section IX of ASME BPVC. WPS is short for Welding Procedure Specification. Being a welding engineer myself, I have touched upon a few things that do not find an obvious mention in the Section … Read more
In this article I have discussed in some detail the subject of welding positions. The entire discussion has been done in reference to the Section IX of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC). I have been a welding engineer for more than nine years. One question that has always troubled me about the welding … Read more
In this article, I have discussed various aspects related to welding procedure qualification in accordance with ASME BPVC Section IX. These observations are borne out of almost a decade long personal experiences on this subject. What is a Welding Procedure Specification? Simply put, a WPS, short for Welding Procedure Specification, is a document (generally not … Read more
This article discusses about the subject of root spacing and groove design. How to address these variables on a WPS made in accordance with ASME Section IX? Let’s begin right away. Groove Design Groove design is a non-essential variable for most processes, except EBW. So a change from one groove type to another does not … Read more
In this article, we shall discuss how to address ‘backing’ on a WPS. There may be several equally acceptable ways of addressing it. In this article, I have offered my two cents on how to address this variable optimally. Please note that this article has been written keeping ASME Section IX in mind. The discussion … Read more
Section IX of ASME BPVC is a qualification standard for welding procedures and welding operators. It is a very widely used standard today. In some places, it is a statutory requirement – that is, it is mandated by law. In other places, it is adopted by companies for welding qualifications. Sometimes it becomes compulsory by … Read more
A new edition of Section IX is published by ASME every two years. Studying the summary of changes at the front of the Code is an instructive exercise. Some words and phrases are added, some are deleted. Trying to understand the intent behind these changes allows us a glimpse in the minds of the Section … Read more