golden welds

[lucyphill]

anybody know what this terminology is and where it came from.
A vendor tells me that a hydrotest isn't carried out on his equipment at site and that any welds carried out at site would be golden welds.
Is this to PED requirements

 

[Estassoc]

IMO, what the vendor is trying to say to you is that site
welding/hydostatic tests outside of his shop is expensive,
particularly if the buyer don't have the required facilities
to do ASME welding works and hydrostatic tests.

 

[TD2K]

I've heard the terminology 'golden weld' used in conjuction with a weld that for whatever reason, could not be hydrotested (the specific example was on a pipeline where the client was cutting into the line and didn't want to hydrotest the entire existing line).

Since this weld (actually 2, on on each side of the new tee) was not hydrotested, additional NDT was required by the client in addition to a 100% X-ray. Perhaps a more stringent than usual review of the X-rays was also done before 'okaying' the weld and other other NDT results before sign-off.

Essentially, 'golden' was being used to describe a weld with more than typical NDT testing/quality control being required to compensate for the lack of a hydrotest to verify the weld's pressure retaining capacity.

 

[DSB123]

lucyphill,
TD2K is spot on with his answer. "Golden Welds" are welds which must be treated differently since they will not be subject to a Hydrotest. We normally call them NPTCW (Non Pressure Tested Closure Welds). As such the requirements for NDT of the weld preparation, initial root run and the final weld are more stringent than for other welds which will be shop hydrotested in order to achieve some form of confidence in the integrity of the weld.