This paper presents an overview of an in-depth study into the stresses generated at a piping butt weld during hydrotest. A distinction is made between hydrotest conditions that are simply a leak test and those test which also test the structural integrity of a piping system. The work is also extended to include hydrotest of the butt weld at a B16.5 welding neck flange. The stress levels generated by four different methods of local hydrotest are examined and compared to a full system hydrotest. Conclusions regarding the suitability of the different methods to detect weld flaws are made and guidance is provided for determining which methods should be used during hydrotest of pipe welded joints, including those made at the butt weld of B16.5 flanged joints. This work is an extension of previous work that examined strain gauge stress measurement of local hydrotest methods (CARBER~®) and subsequent FEA assessment of the stress fields (Brown).
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