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Welder’s Handbook
Terms and Definitions
The terms and definitions in this glossary are extracted from the American Welding Society publication AWS A3.0-80 Welding Terms and Definitions. The terms with an asterisk are from a source other than the American Welding Society.
A
*Abrasives. Materials that are usually sharp and are used to clean or grind a surface. They may be used as a powder such as sand to blast the surface or they may be formed into disks or stones to be used by a grinder.
Arc welding (AW). A group of welding processes producing coalescence of workpieces by melting them with an arc. The processes are used with or without the application of pressure and with or without filler metal. As-welded. Pertaining to the condition of weldments prior to subsequent thermal, mechanical, or chemical treatments. *Automatic welding. Welding with equipment that requires only occasional or no observation of the welding and no manual adjustment of the equipment controls. Variations of this term are automatic brazing, automatic soldering, automatic thermal cutting, and automatic thermal spraying. Axis of a weld. A line through the length of a weld, perpendicular to and at the geometric center of its cross section. B Back weld. A weld deposited at the back of a single groove weld. Back gouging. The removal of weld metal and base metal from the weld root side of a welded joint to facilitate complete fusion and complete joint penetration upon subsequent welding from that side. *Backing. A material (base metal, weld metal, carbon, or granular material) placed at the root of a weld joint for the purpose of supporting molten weld metal.
Acceptable criteria. Agreed upon standards that must be satisfactorily met.
Acceptable weld. A weld that meets all the requirements and the acceptance criteria.
Actual throat. See throat of a fillet weld.
*Acetylene. A fuel gas used for welding and cutting. It is produced as a result of the chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water. The chemical formula for acetylene is C2H2. It is colorless, is lighter than air, and has a strong garlic-like smell. Acetylene is unstable above pressures of 15 psig (1.05 kg/cm2 g). When burned in the presence of oxygen, acetylene produces one of the highest flame temperatures available. Air acetylene welding (AAW). An oxyfuel gas welding process that uses an air-acetylene flame. The process is used without the application of pressure. This is an obsolete or seldom used process.
Air carbon arc cutting (CAC-A). A carbon arc cutting process variation removing molten metal with a jet of air.
*allotropic metals. Metals that have specific lattice or crystal structures that form when the metal is cool and that change within the solid metal as it is heated and before it melts.
*Alloy. A metal with one or more elements added to it, resulting in a significant change in the metal’s properties.
Backing strip. Backing in the form of a strip.
Backing weld. Backing in the form of a weld.
*American Welding Society. (AWS). Organization that promotes the art and science of welding and that publishes international codes and standards.
Base material. The material that is welded, brazed, soldered, or cut. See also base metal and substrate.
*Amperage. A measurement of the rate of flow of electrons; amperage controls the size of the arc.
Base metal. The metal or alloy that is welded, brazed, soldered, or cut. See also base material and substrate.
Arc strike. A discontinuity consisting of any localized remelted metal, heat-affected metal, or change in the surface profile of any part of a weld or base metal resulting from an arc.
Bend test. A test in which a specimen is bent to a specified bend radius. See also face-bend test, root-bend test, and side-bend test.
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