Welding and fabrication
ASME Section IX: Welding, brazing and fusing qualifications
The qualification code behind ASME pressure equipment and piping welding.
Reference noteThis page is an independent plain-language summary written by QUALITAS TR. It does not reproduce the standard. Always work from the current official edition, available from ASME, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (official page). QUALITAS TR supports organisations against this standard; it does not certify them.
01Purpose
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX establishes rules for qualifying welding, brazing and fusing procedures and the personnel who perform them, when referenced by a construction code such as Section VIII or B31.3.
02Scope
Section IX covers qualification only. Design, fabrication and examination requirements come from the referencing construction code.
03Main requirements
- WPS supported by one or more PQRs
- Essential, supplementary essential (when impact testing is required) and nonessential variables
- Base metal grouping by P-numbers and group numbers
- Filler metal grouping by F-numbers and A-numbers
- Welder and welding operator performance qualification (WPQ)
- Continuity: qualification maintained by welding with the process within six months
04Typical applications and industries
Pressure vessels, boilers, process piping and other ASME code work, including many international projects outside the USA.
05Audit and inspection considerations
- Are supplementary essential variables addressed when impact tests are required?
- Do PQRs support all WPS ranges?
- Is welder continuity recorded?
06Common nonconformities
- WPS variables not supported by PQR
- Impact tested applications without supplementary variables
- Welder continuity records missing
07How QUALITAS TR can support
We review ASME welding documentation through our qualification review.