TOLERANCES AS PER AWS

D1.1
STRUCTURAL WELDING CODE
WELCOME
TO
QA/ WELDING,NDT
DEPARTMENT
SCOPE OF - AWS D1.1
 This code contains the
requirements for fabricating and
erecting welded steel structures.
Limitations
 Applicable to
1 Carbon steel or low alloy steels..
2. Yield Strength Up to 690 Mpa (100ksi)
3. Thickness of the steel 3 mm and higher
 Not Applicable to
1.Pressure vessels or pressure piping.
Preparation of Base Metal
 Surfaces on which weld metal is to be deposited
shall be smooth,uniform, free from
Raw Material Defect
-fins, tears, Cracks, thick scale,
Process/Handling
slag, rust, moisture, grease and paint
which would affect the quality or strength of the
weld.
 Quality of Gas cutting Surfaces
 The roughness of all thermal cutting shall be no greater than

Roughness Max Base metal Thick

0.025mm (25µm) t  100 mm
 Roughness
0.050mmexceeding
(50µm)these value-Notches/
100 to 200 mm gouges  5 mm
deep surface shall be remove by grinding or machining.
 Notches/gouges deep > 5 mm (Repaired by grind), but the
nominal cross sectional area is not reduced by more than
2%.
L – long discontinuity is the
visible on the cut surface. Width
D- The depth is distance that
D
extends into the material from
the cut surface.
25 mm min

Length
Limits of acceptability Mill-Induced
Discontinuities
Description of Discontinuity Repair Required
Length Vs Depth
L  25 mm None

L > 25 mm & None, depth to be

D - 3 mm max. explored
L > 25 mm & Remove need not weld
3 mm < D < 6 mm
L > 25 mm & Remove and weld
6 mm< D < 25 mm
L > 25 mm & Investigate
D > 25 mm
 Joint Dimensions & WELD
Thickness of the thinner base Max.. Root Opening
material in mm “T”
T< 75 5
T 75 8
If root opening is greater than 2 mm , the leg of the fillet shall
be increased by the amount of root opening.

Root Opening
Weld Size and Length
 Design drawings shall specify
a) The effective weld length and
b) PJP groove, the required weld size (E)
 Fillet welds and T Joints
a) Surfaces meet 80o to 100o – Weld Leg
size
b) Surfaces meet < 80o or 100o< - Effective
throat

E S
 Minimum Length :
Fillet weld shall be at least 4 times the
nominal size, or Size of the weld shall be
considered not to exceed 25% of length
 Intermittent Fillet Weld: Min Length - 38 mm
L = 4 x Size OR
Size > 25% of L

Length

Size
Minimum Fillet Weld Size
Base metal Thickness Mini. size of Fillet Weld a,b
in mm in mm
T≤6 3
6 < T ≤ 12 5
12 < T ≤ 20 6
20<T 8
a. The weld size need not exceed the thickness of the
thinner part joined.
b. Min.. Size for cyclically loaded structures shall be
5 mm
 C
W
W
SIZE W W

SIZE SIZE SIZE C SIZE C

C

Desirable Fillet Weld Profiles Acceptable Fillet Weld Profiles

W – Width of Weld Face Max Convexity, C

W  8 mm 2 mm
8 > W <25 mm 3 mm
W  25 mm 5 mm
BUTT JOINT
R

t1

R
Reinforcement shall
R not exceed
( R ) = 3 mm
 Faying Surface :
The separation between faying surfaces of
plug and slot welds, and of butt joints
landing on backing shall not exceed 2 mm

Faying Surface

 2 mm max
 Butt Joint Alignment:
Offset Max. allowed = 10% of thinner part
thick or 3 mm, whichever is smaller

Offset

The correcting misalignment in such case,

the part shall not be drawn in to a greater
slope than 12 mm in 300 mm.
 Girth Weld Alignment :
1.No two girth weld located on pipe diameter or 1 m,
whichever is less.
2. There shall be no more than TWO girth welds in any 3
m interval pipe. (Agreed upon by the owner and contractor)
3. Radial offset of butting edges of girth seams  0.2t (“t”
thickness of the thinner member) and max. allowable shall
be 6 mm, provided that any offset exceeding 3 mm is
welded from both sides.
4.One localized area per girth seam may be offset up to 0.3t
with a maximum of 10 mm, provided the localized area is
under 8t in length
5. Long seam welds of adjoining sections shall be staggered
a min. of 90 deg.
 OFFSET ≤ 0.2t , Max 6 mm
 PROVIDED, If EXCEED 3 mm
DUUBLE SIDE WELD.

D or 1 m
WHICH EVER
GREATER

NO MORE
THAN 2
JOINT IN 3 m
 GROOVE DIMENSIONS
NONTUBULAR CROSS SECTIONAL
 + 100 - 50  + 100 - 50
F  2 MM F  2 MM

R 2 MM R+ 6 MM, - 2MM
GROOVE WELDW
WELDWITHOUT
ITHOUTBACKING
BACKING GROOVE WELD WITH BACKING
 + 100 - 50
F not Limited

R +2 mm , - 3 mm

GROOVE WELDWITHOUT BACKING ROOT BACKGOUGED

Minimum Backing Thickness –
Process Wise
Process Backing Thickness mm
GTAW 3
SMAW 5
GMAW 6
FCAW-S 6
FCAW-G 10
SAW 10
 Tolerances of Groove welded Joints
Root Not Root Back
Back gouged gouged

Root face of 2 Not limited

joint

Root opening of 2 +2
joint without -3
backing
Root opening of +6 Not applicable
joints with -2
backing
Tubular Cross-Section
 T K Y Joint


Area for Detail A or B
TOE ZONE

Area for Detail B Area for Detail C or D

SIDE ZONE HEEL ZONE

 DETAIL A


tb

Built up as
R Required to
maintain tw

 = 180o –135o tw
L
DETAIL B
tb Root Face 2 mm  tb

 
R  R

F = Varies from 0 to tb/2 tw F

tw
 = 150 –90
o o As  varies from 135 to 90  = 90o –50o
 tb
DETAIL C

 = 75o –30o

W

tw F = tb/2
Back Up weld
tb tb
 = 45o –30o  = 40o –15o



W W

tw F = tb/2 tw F = tb/2
TRANSITION FROM C TO D DETAIL D
R Root Opening
tb Branch Member Thickness
tw Weld Size
L Weld Size
 Joint included Angle
 End Preparation angle with reference to the
 Dihedral Angle
F Built up weld thickness
W Width of the groove (Back-up weld width)
 Detail A Detail B Detail C =75o Detail D =40o
=180o –135o =150o –50o –30o –15o
 Max 90o To obtain required 
Min 10o or 45o for 
> 105o
Root Max 5 6 W Max 
Opening
SMAW Min 2 mm 2 3 mm 25o –40o
No min>90o 5 mm 15o –25o
Joint Max 90o 60o for 105o 40o: if more use
include detail B
d angle Min 45o 37-1/2o: if less ½
 use Detail C
Comple  tb for   tb/Sin  but  2 tb
ted
tw  tb
> 90o  need not
Weld tb/sin  for  < exceed 1.75 tb
L  tb/Sin  but 90o Weld may be
need not built up to meet
exceed 1.75 tb this
WELDED STRUCTURAL
MEMBER
Straightness- Column and Trusses
Length Straightness Max in mm
L<9m 1mm X total length in m
10 m to 15 m 10 mm
L > 45 m 10mm+3mm x Total length-15
3

Straightness & Sweep - Beam and Girder

Max Variation in Straightness 1 mm x total length in m
Max Variation in Straightness  1 mm x total length in m
or Sweep at the midpoint
Web Flatness- Variation

Flange

d
D Web
d

Flange
Stiffener
D – Depth of web d – least panel
dimension
D/t Ratio Maximum Variation
Stiffeners on Both Side of web
D/t < 150 d/100
D/t  150 d/80
Stiffeners on one side of web
D/t < 150 d/100
D/t  150 d/67
No stiffeners
D/t  100 D/150
 Parallel To Centerline of WEB

Flange or Stiffener Variation

Variation between Web and Flange center line

6 mm Max
For built up “H” or “I” member , the maximum
variation between the centerline of the web and the
centerline of the flange at contact surface shall not
exceed 6 mm
 Flange Warpage and Tilt
W/2 W
V

V W/100 (mm) or 6 ,
Whichever is greater
Thanking You