Definition of buttering from ASME Section IX, QW/QB-492 Definitions:

Buttering: the addition of material, by welding, on one or both faces of a

joint, prior to the preparation of the joint for final welding, for the purpose of
providing a suitable transition weld deposit for the subsequent completion of
the joint.

Simply it is weld build up of (one or both) base metal(s) before beginning to weld
the joint itself. This can be done in order to make up for poor joint preparation as
indicated previously, but also is done to minimize the effect of PWHT on a sensitive
material or eliminate subsequent PWHT. For the latter cases a couple of examples
may be in order:

1. If you wanted to weld P91 pipe to a stainless steel pipe, ASME Code
would require a PWHT of the P91 at nominally 1400F (760C). This
temperature would, however, sensitize the stainless steel (cause carbide
precipitation along the grain boundaries). One way to eliminate this problem
is to butter (or overlay) the P91 with ERNiCr-3 (or similar weld material).
The thickness of the butter must be sufficient to avoid the weld heat
affected zone from extending into the 91 during completion of the weld. You
would then PWHT the buttered P91. The joint would be completed by
welding the stainless steel pipe to the ERNiCr-3 butter with ERNiCr-3 material
and no subsequent PWHT would be required.

2. A steam turbine manufacturer I am familiar with used to butter 2 Cr

1Mo casing materials with carbon steel at some nozzle connection sites
where it was undesirable to have stubs. The casing was heat treated prior to
final machining. In the field carbon steel nozzles/pipes were welded to the
carbon steel butter with no subsequent PWHT.

ASME Section IX, QW-283, discusses and governs welding procedure qualification
when buttering is to be performed. While not complex there are some significant
details that need to be paid attention to. I would suggest that peruse this section
of the Code and if enquire further if you have subsequent questions.

Buttering for welding SA-335 Gr P91 to SS 316

by Hollan Petersen Mon Jun 10, 2013 10:02 am

By the design and material selection of a boiler under the scope of ASME VIII, it happens that I
need to weld pipes SA-335 Gr P91 to weld neck flanges SS 316. Since I have been consulted that
such a welding requires buttering, could any one explain me what buttering is and why it is
considered as necessary for such a welding. Moreover, may I have some instructions for the
qualification of the welding procedure.
Hollan Petersen

Posts: 13
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 1:43 pm
Top

Re: Buttering for welding SA-335 Gr P91 to SS 316

by wgadmin Mon Jun 10, 2013 10:18 am

In accordance with ASME IX, buttering is the addition of material, by welding, on one or both
faces of a joint, prior to the preparation of the joint for final welding, for the purpose of
providing a suitable transition weld deposit for the subsequent completion of the joint.

As far as this specific welding is concerned, the reason that you need to do buttering is to avoid
PWHT after the completion of the welding. According to ASME VIII, table UCS-56 the welding
of SA-335 Gr P91 (P-no 5B, Group-no 2) needs PWHT in a temperature higher than 700 deg C.
But if you do PWHT in such temperatures there is the possibility the austenitic SS to be made
vulnerable to cracking
http://www.weldinguide.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29
or to lose its corrosion resistance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergranular_corrosion

For that reason you shall overlay (buttering) the SA-335 Gr P91 with a nickel based consumable
like AWS 5.14, ErNiCr-3 (or similar), then you shall PWHT the buttered pipe and finally you
shall complete the welding by joining the SS flange to the buttered pipe using the same welding
consumable as the one that used for the buttering. Since after completion of the welding the HAZ
shall not be extended to the SA-335 Gr P91, the actual thickness of the buttering (after
completion of bevel preparation) must be sufficient to permit HAZ to be included in the buttered
area.

As for the PQR requirements, you could have a look to the ASME IX, QW-283 that gives the
scope and the requirements for the buttering.
wgadmin
Site Admin

Posts: 44
Joined: Wed May 15, 2013 2:53 pm