AWS D1.1 is not a manual of ultrasonic inspection: it is the code governing the fabrication and erection of welded steel structures. Inspection is one of the activities that framework requires.
- ✓ Document published by the American Welding Society
- ✓ Current edition: AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, 23rd edition
- ✓ Scope: carbon and low-alloy structural steels
- ✓ The text of the code remains the only contractual reference
When the designation AWS D1.1 appears in a structural steelwork specification, the reference is to the Structural Welding Code — Steel published by the American Welding Society. According to the body’s official description, the document “contains the requirements for fabricating and erecting welded steel structures”. Its scope covers carbon and low-alloy structural steels.
It is worth establishing the most useful distinction straight away: AWS D1.1 is a construction code, not a method standard. It does not describe how an ultrasonic examination is physically carried out, nor does it replace the standards that define that method. What it establishes is the framework within which a welded structure is designed, qualified, built and verified, and within that framework it also places inspection activities. For those organising inspections in the workshop or on site, the practical consequence is that the code must be read together with the specification and the project requirements, not instead of them.
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The edition currently in force is AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, the twenty-third edition, published in May 2025 and superseding the 2020 edition. The detail is not a formality: when a specification refers to “AWS D1.1” without stating the year, it is advisable to clarify with the client which edition is meant, because the edition named in the contract is the one that governs, not necessarily the latest published. This page gives an overview of the document; the specific requirements — thicknesses, permitted procedures, acceptance criteria — are to be read solely in the purchased text of the code.
What AWS D1.1 is and what it is not
| Aspect | How it is framed |
|---|---|
| Nature of the document | Construction code for welded steel structures |
| Issuing body | American Welding Society (AWS) |
| Current edition | AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, 23rd edition, May 2025 |
| Superseded edition | AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2020 |
| Materials covered | Carbon and low-alloy structural steels |
Where ultrasonic inspection comes in
Non-destructive testing of welded joints is one of the activities a fabrication code takes into account: a welded structure is verified before it is accepted. Ultrasound is, alongside other methods, one of the means by which that verification can be carried out on full-penetration joints.
In instrument terms this means having a calibrated flaw detector and a suitable reference block. The Dakota FX family provides a toolkit comprising the DAC, AWS, TCG and DGS functions, with PRF adjustable from 8 Hz to 2 kHz, 60 Hz refresh and threshold detection in Z-Cross, Flank or Peak mode. Which of these settings are permitted for a given job, and with what parameters, is established by the specification together with the text of the code.
Recommended instruments
| Product | Use |
|---|---|
| Dakota FX70-DL | Portable flaw detector for inspection in the workshop and on site |
| Dakota FX81-DL | Benchtop version for fixed inspection stations |
| Calibration blocks | References for calibrating the instrument-probe chain |
| Couplants | Acoustic coupling between probe and joint surface |
Frequently asked questions
AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, the twenty-third edition, published in May 2025, superseding the 2020 edition. If the specification refers to the code without stating the year, it is advisable to agree the reference edition with the client, because the one named in the contract governs.
The code concerns the fabrication and erection of welded steel structures, with reference to carbon and low-alloy structural steels. For applications on other materials or in other sectors there are separate documents.
No. It is a construction code, not a method standard: it frames the fabrication and erection of the welded structure and places inspection within that framework. Examination techniques and equipment requirements are described in separate documents, such as EN ISO 17640 and the series on equipment characterisation.
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