Bend Testing

Guided bend testing is a fundamental destructive test used to assess the ductility and soundness of welded joints. Prepared weld specimens are bent through a specified angle (typically 180 degrees) in a guided bend jig, and the outer (tensile) surface is examined for cracks, lack of fusion or other discontinuities that exceed the applicable acceptance criteria.

QMS Asset Integrity performs guided bend testing at our Largs North mechanical testing laboratory, covering longitudinal bend, transverse guided bend, root bend, face bend and side bend configurations. Our scope covers an extensive range of Australian and international standards including AS/NZS 2205.3.1/.3.2/.3.3, ASME IX QW-160, ASTM E290, ASTM A370, ISO 5173, and AWS D1.1/D1.2/D1.6.

A prepared weld specimen of specified dimensions is placed in a guided bend jig (former and plunger) with the surface to be tested in tension on the outer face. The plunger is advanced to bend the specimen through the required angle - typically 180 degrees for qualification tests.

The convex (tensile) surface of the bent specimen is examined for open discontinuities. Cracks, lack of fusion, or other defects exceeding the code-specified size limits (typically 3 mm in any direction) constitute a failure. Corner cracks resulting from the edge preparation are generally excluded unless they are clearly the result of inclusions, lack of fusion or other internal defects.

Test types: Root bend (root in tension), face bend (cap in tension), side bend (full thickness in tension) and longitudinal bend (specimen oriented parallel to the weld axis).