Sample Questions for Welding Engineering
Examinations
AWS Welding Engineer Revision 2 August 2003
Part 1 Basic Fundamentals of Science Examination
Mathematics
1. Determine the acute angle _ when tan 63° = cot _.
a. 45°
b. 18°
c. 27°
d. 72°
2. Determine cos _ if sin _ = 0.6 and 0° ≤ _ ≤ 90°.
a. 0.8
b. 0.5
c. 0.2
d. 0.4
3. Factor the following expression:
b 2 - 3b - 4
a. (b + 4)(b - 1)
b. (b + 1)(b - 4)
c. (b + 2)(b - 1)
d. (b + 1)(b - 2)
4. Calculate the area of a triangle with sides of 6, 8, and 10 cm.
a. 17 cm_
b. 48 cm_
c. 24 cm_
d. 34 cm_
5. A certain telephone pole is 80 feet high. A brace is run from a point _ of
the way up the pole to a point 20 feet from the base of the pole. How long is this
brace?
a. 63.2 ft
b. 72.4 ft
c. 68.2 ft
d. none of the above
6. What is the circumference of a circle that has a radius of 20 mm?
a. 52 mm
b. 63 mm
c. 126 mm
d. none of the above
7. If x_ + y_ = 2, and xy = -1, then x_ + y_ = ?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 0
d. 4
8. The mass, m, of a particular cast iron part is normally distributed with a
mean of 66 kg and a standard deviation of 5 kg. What percent of the parts will
have a mass less than 72 kg? Use the following formula for normal distribution.
x0 - m
z= where _ = the mean and _ = standard deviation
s
a. 2.4%
b. 0.88%
c. 1.2%
d. none of the above
Physics
9. A 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch copper cube was heated to 90° C. It was then
placed into a beaker of water at the temperature of 10° C. After a steady state is
reached, how much heat was released? (Assume that C copper = 0.386 kJ/kg°K)
a. 3.86 kJ/kg
b. 27.4 kJ/kg
c. 22.5 kJ/kg
d. 30.9 kJ/kg
10. Two blocks are connected to opposite ends of a light spring that exerts a
force of 18N when the blocks are pulled apart. The mass ratio of the first block to
the second block is 3:1. When the two blocks are released, and if the
acceleration of the first block is 6 m/s2, what is the acceleration of the second
block?
a. 18 m/s2
b. 6 m/s2
c. 9 m/s2
d. 2 m/s2
Chemistry
11. Which of the following elements is most likely to form a compound with
hydrogen?
a. He
b. Li
c. Cl
d. Na
12. When 30 grams of sodium hydroxide is neutralized by 36 grams of
hydrochloric acid, how many moles of water will it yield? (Molecular weights:
HCl =36, NaOH = 40)
a. 2.0 mol
b. 2.5 mol
c. 1.0 mol
d. 0.75 mol
13. The periodic table of elements is not useful in predicting which of the
following properties of an unknown element?
a. formula of its chloride
b. color
c. melting point
d. density
Part 2 Applied Fundamentals of Science Examination
Strength of Materials
14. A square steel bar 50 mm on a side and 1 meter long is subject to an axial
tensile force of 250 kN. Determine the decrease in the lateral dimension due to
this load. (Assume E = 200 GPa and _ = 0.3.)
a. 5.0 X 10-4 mm
b. 7.5 X 10-3 mm
c. 2.0 X 10-5 mm
d. 1.5 X 10-4 mm
15. A 20 meter diameter spherical tank is to be used to store gas. The shell
plating is 10 mm thick and the working stress of the material is 125 MPa. What is
the maximum permissible gas pressure, p? Use the following equation,
pr
sc =
2h
where _c = circumferential tensile stress
r = radius, and
h = wall thickness
a. 0.50 MPa
b. 0.20 MPa
c. 0.10 MPa
d. 0.25 MPa
Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics
16. Two ideal radiators in the form of parallel plates of equal areas are
maintained at 530°R (290K) and 1000°R (550K), respectively. What is the
approximate heat transfer between them on a unit area basis? Use F 1-2 = 1.0.
Electricity
17. For an induction motor, an increase in rotor resistance leads to:
a. an increase in starting torque.
b. an increase in motor efficiency.
c. an increase in the starting current.
d. an increase in speed.
NOTE: Samples questions only for Parts 3 and 4. No
answers provided.
Part 3 Welding Related Disciplines Examination
NDE/Weld Discontinuities
18. Prepare a shop procedure for the ultrasonic (UT) inspection of a full
penetration electron beam butt weld produced in the flat position in a one inch
thick Inconel 718 casting. Design the procedure for testing of the weld by angle-
beam ultrasonic transducers of 45 and 60 degrees. Provide precise distances for
transducer placement and movement and describe how the calibration for the
distance measurements will be performed.
19. A large stainless steel component in a corrosive service environment
failed in the HAZ of a weld. Your recommendation is to examine the fracture
surface of the failed weld, but it is not possible to cut out a section due to its bulk.
a. What procedure would you use to examine the surface?
b. Speculate of the fracture mechanism.
20. A large low alloy steel casting is found to contain a surface crack. The
crack has to be removed by gouging and grinding before any repair welding is to
be done.
a. What NDE method would you use to determine the extent of the cracking?
b. What method would you use to make sure that all of the crack has been
removed after the gouging and grinding?
c. What test do you recommend to make sure that there is no cracking
occurring during each pass of the build-up of the repair weld?
Welding Heat Sources and Arc Physics
21. Sketch plots for each of the following relationships and describe the
characteristics of a typical welding arc.
a) Arc voltage versus current for at least three different arc lengths.
b) Arc voltage versus arc length for three different current levels.
c) Arc voltage versus position across the arc from the anode to the cathode.
d) Discuss how the voltage drops near the electrodes appears in each of the
three above plots. Relate the electrode voltage drops to the distribution of
heat in the arc and to the overall efficiency of the arc as a heat source for
welding.
22. When is magnetic arc blow most likely to occur in the arc welding of steel?
Give three examples and briefly explain the cause.
Welding Processes and Controls
23. Name the appropriate welding materials and welding conditions for the
following welding processes when notch toughness is the most important
characteristic of the weld metal.
a) SMAW.
b) SAW
c) GMAW
24. In GMAW, a larger droplet is observed in globular metal transfer when
CO2 is used as the shielding gas than when argon is used. Explain the reason(s).
25. Describe two arc welding processes which involve slag/metal reactions.
Explain the mode of transfer of metal from the electrode to the weldment in each
case. What are the functions of slag during welding for each of the processes?
Approximate the melting temperature of the slag relative to the weld metal.
Welding and Joining Metallurgy
26. Briefly explain the advantages and disadvantages of continuous welding
and intermittent welding of a lap joint by comparing them in terms of strength and
weld deformation.
27. Austenitic-ferritic stainless steel weldments are commonly used in marine
(sea water) applications. Why? Discuss the weldability of these steels.
28. Answer the following regarding hot cracking in the weld metal of austenitic
stainless steel.
a. Give five factors that could cause these cracks.
b. Name two impurities that accelerate hot cracking.
c. Describe precautions that must be taken when selecting filler metals in
order to prevent hot cracking in weld metal.
29. Name four items of caution when reusing the flux for submerged arc
welding.
30. Small additions of elements (microalloying) are added to low carbon steel
to increase tensile strength and fracture toughness. Explain what elements give
these properties and how the steel processing route are affected by
microalloying.
Weld Design
31. List five implications that residual stress and weld deformation place upon
the design of welded connections.
32. Explain the significance of selecting filler metal to deliberately undermatch
the tensile properties of the weldments in a single bevel butt joint between a
heavily restrained flange on a beam to a heavy column connection.
Safety
33. What is the toxic metal most identified with exposure to welding
galvanized steel (breathing it can cause metal fume fever)?
a. chromium
b. tin
c. zinc
d. none of the above
34. OSHA (an American government safety agency) issues standards
regulating how high concentrations of air contaminants can be in the workplace.
These standards are called:
a. Recommended Exposure Limits (REL)
b. Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL)
c. Threshold Limit Values (TLV)
d. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
35. Your welding shop uses metals containing chromium and nickel. You have
been assigned to assess the effects of welding fumes containing these metals.
a. Describe the immediate effects of overexposure.
b. Describe the long term (chronic) effects of exposure.
c. Discuss how to protect against overexposure.
d. Identify information sources that you can use in solving problems that you
may uncover in your work.
