Overview
ISO/TR 17844:2004 - "Welding - Comparison of standardised methods for the avoidance of cold cracks" is an informative Technical Report that compares established procedures for preventing hydrogen-induced cold cracking in ferritic steels (excluding ferritic stainless steels). Published in 2004, the report complements ISO/TR 17671-2 / EN 1011-2 by presenting additional standardised methods (CE, CET, a JIS CE method, and the P-method from ANSI/AWS D1.1) for manual, semi‑mechanized, mechanized and automatic arc welding across all product forms.
Key Topics
- Scope and purpose: Guidance for avoiding HIC (hydrogen-induced cold cracking) during fabrication of ferritic steels.
- Comparative methods: Detailed treatment of the CE, CET, another CE variant (JIS B 8285), and P (ANSI/AWS D1.1) methods.
- Input parameters used across methods:
- Steel composition (parent metal)
- Welding heat input
- Joint geometry and material thickness
- Weld/HAZ hydrogen levels
- Preheat and post‑heating
- Graphical/computer data formats
- Clause structure for each method: cracking test method, composition range, thickness/joint geometry, hydrogen and process limits, heat input, special considerations, and step‑by‑step determination of minimum preheat (including worked examples).
- Supporting material: Annex A provides a comparative prediction study across ten steels and various welding conditions; Annex B lists abbreviations and references.
Applications
ISO/TR 17844 is practical for professionals who need to develop or verify welding procedures to minimize cold cracking risk:
- Welding engineers selecting appropriate avoidance methods and preheat levels.
- Procedure writers / WPS developers comparing method outcomes and documenting rationale.
- Quality and inspection teams assessing suitability of welding parameters for ferritic steels.
- Fabricators and contractors implementing process controls (hydrogen control, heat input, preheat/post-heat).
- Useful when choosing between HAZ‑hardness based and hydrogen‑controlled approaches, and when using graphical or computer tools to determine preheat.
Related Standards
- ISO/TR 17671-2 / EN 1011-2 (heat input, preheat guidance)
- JIS B 8285 (CE method variant)
- ANSI/AWS D1.1 (P‑method reference)
- The report was prepared under ISO/TC 44 in collaboration with CEN and includes a bibliography for further reading.
ISO/TR 17844:2004 is an informative comparative resource to help users understand method scope, limits and practical implementation options for avoiding cold cracking in arc welding of ferritic steels.