KNOWLEDGE // ARTICLES

Circumference Weld Misalignment: Causes, Allowable Limits, and Mitigation

 

It is just a fact of life that pipe and circular tube are never perfectly round, nor do they have a perfectly uniform thickness around the circumference, nor are they perfectly straight along their length, and nor can perfect fitup at a weld be achieved. It is intuitive that we have to live with some imperfection, but determining what should be and how best to arrive at the optimal outcome is not always straightforward.

In this article, engineers and welding experts Steven Altstadt and Robert Warke cover common causes of misalignment in circumferential welds, mitigation options, and strategies industries use to determine their respective allowable limits.

This article originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of Welding Journal, the official publication of the American Welding Society that has been published continually since 1922.