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The API 577 exam has 110 questions and runs 3 hours 15 minutes.
These 10 free API 577 questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Welding Inspection and Metallurgy Professional (API 577) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A GMAW setup for vertical steel welding is recorded as conventional pulsed-spray transfer. Which observation would contradict that description?
Correct answer: B - Metal routinely transfers by wire-to-pool contact, with arc extinction and restriking.
ER316L filler is specified for corrosion-service 316L stainless-steel piping. During a shortage, ER308L is proposed on the basis that both classifications carry the L designation. Which argument correctly addresses the metallurgical consequence of this substitution?
Correct answer: D - ER316L specifies 2-3% molybdenum; sharing the L suffix does not make ER308L equivalent.
The records for a successful 12 mm procedure-qualification coupon show 3 mm of weld metal deposited by GTAW and 9 mm by SMAW. The draft PQR lists 12 mm under each process's deposited weld-metal thickness. How should those entries be completed?
Correct answer: A - Enter each process's actual deposit: 3 mm GTAW and 9 mm SMAW.
Using ASME Section IX, 2023 edition, a fabricator wants to add short-circuiting transfer to a GMAW WPS that specifies spray transfer only. All other essential variables remain within qualified limits, notch toughness is not required, and the proposed work remains within the qualified thickness limits. The assigned welder is currently qualified for short-circuiting transfer. What does this transfer-mode change require?
Correct answer: A - Revise the WPS to include the permitted mode and operating limits.
A production joint requires 5 mm of GTAW-deposited weld metal followed by 11 mm of SMAW-deposited weld metal. The WPS covers the work. Four welders' performance records list the maximum qualified deposits below; all other qualification variables and employer requirements are satisfied. Under ASME Section IX, which welder can be assigned the entire joint?
Correct answer: A - GTAW limit 6 mm; SMAW limit 12 mm; both processes last used one month ago.
A ferritic-steel groove weld has a properly exposed radiograph with no reportable indications, but the welding history raises concern about deeply buried sidewall lack of fusion. The radiation beam was nearly perpendicular to the suspected discontinuity plane. Contact surfaces are accessible. Which additional examination would most directly address this concern?
Correct answer: C - Use angle-beam UT with a scan plan directed at the sidewall fusion faces.
Before a weld repair, a coated steel component must demonstrate at least 11.0 mm of remaining steel wall. A conventional pulse-echo UT gauge set to the steel sound velocity of 5.90 mm/µs reads 12.4 mm. Its measured transit time includes a 0.80 mm coating whose sound velocity is 2.50 mm/µs; no coating compensation is active. Normal incidence, a valid back-wall echo, and correct zero calibration are confirmed. What does this measurement indicate?
Correct answer: D - About 10.5 mm of steel; the reading does not demonstrate the required wall.
A drawing specifies a minimum theoretical throat of 5.0 mm for an equal-leg fillet weld in a close-fitting, 90-degree T-joint. Inspection finds two 6.0 mm legs and 2.0 mm of convexity. The design credits no additional root penetration. Does the measured profile provide the specified theoretical throat?
Correct answer: B - No; the theoretical throat is approximately 4.2 mm.
A highly restrained carbon-steel nozzle weld shows no surface indications when examined immediately after cooling. Magnetic particle testing the next morning reveals cracks in a locally hardened, coarse-grained HAZ near the weld toe. The electrodes had been exposed to moisture, and the weld has received no subsequent heat treatment. Taken together, these findings most strongly support which mechanism?
Correct answer: D - Hydrogen-assisted cold cracking in a susceptible HAZ
During GTAW inside a cleaned vessel, an entrant's monitor alarms at 18.6% oxygen while the combustible-gas reading remains zero. Argon is being used for shielding and purging. The entry permit requires 19.5-23.5% oxygen. The welder is alert and wants one more minute to finish the bead. What immediate response is required?
Correct answer: C - Stop welding and have all entrants leave the vessel before investigating the atmosphere.
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