Steel makes cities and products, and it otherwise comprises an assortment of components that are depended on for their strength and resistance to heat and chemical damage. With at least a ten percent chromium content, stainless steel adds corrosion resistance to this list of desirable qualities, granting it principal applications in numerous industries, spanning from general domestic use through kitchen ware and cutlery to power generation, food production, automotive systems, and medical devices.
AWS D1.6: Structural Welding Code – Stainless Steel
AWS D1.6/D1.6M-2017: Structural Welding Code – Stainless Steel contains welding recommendations for the fabrication, assembly, and erection of welded structures and weldments subject to design stress in which at least one of the materials being joined is stainless steel. It is for use with base metals with a minimum thickness of 1/16 in (1.5 mm) or 16 gage, in conjunction with any complementary code or specification for the design or construction of stainless steel structures and weldments.
In addition to background information and terms relevant to those involved with stainless steel fabrication, the AWS D1.6-2017 code includes a clause that covers guidance on the design of welded connections. Other clauses in the standard focus on exempting a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) from qualification by testing, qualifying WPSs and welding personnel, the fabrication, assembly, and erection of welded stainless steel structures, inspection and acceptance criteria, and stud welding.
Changes to AWS D1.6-2017
AWS D1.6/D1.6M-2017 is the third edition of the stainless steel structural welding code, and it revises and supersedes the 2007 publication. Because of this, there have been many changes to the latest version of the standard, including editorial alterations, harmonization with other voluntary consensus standards, and even technical updates. Major changes to the code include:
- New normative references and identified summary of code clauses.
- Several clauses, including that on the design of welded connections, have been updated to better parallel AWS D1.1 (you can read more about the current edition of this standard in our post AWS D1.1:2020 – Changes to Structural Welding Code – Steel).
- Flare-V and flare-bevel-groove welded prequalified joint details have been included.
- Qualification directly to AWS B2.1/B2.1M:2014-Specification for Welding Procedure and Performance Qualification is now allowed, without approval from the engineer.
- Visual inspection acceptance criteria were removed from the text and placed in a new Table 8.1.
- All visual Inspector and NDE personnel qualification requirements have been put together for ease of use.
- Annex E from the previous edition was deleted and most of its content salvaged into the standard.
- New Annex E listing informative references.
- Incorporation of several errata.
These changes, as well as many others, are underlined throughout the AWS D1.6-2017 document to aid in their identification and compliance.
AWS D1.6/D1.6M-2017: Structural Welding Code – Stainless Steel is available on the ANSI Webstore.