weldability: a standalone construct

Weldability is the capacity of a material to be joined by welding into a sound structure that performs as intended under its service conditions. It is not a single number but a judgement combining how easily a defect-free weld is made and how the joint behaves afterward. It depends on the alloy's chemistry and how the weld's heat alters its structure, so the same process can weld one steel readily and crack another. Lippold's Welding metallurgy and weldability frames weldability around the cracking and property-loss mechanisms that limit it. The criterion is producing a joint that is both defect-free to make and fit for service.[1]

Unit

The ease of making a sound weld and its fitness for service in a given material

Recovery means

A metal with poor weldability can often be welded with preheat, controlled heat input, filler selection, or post-weld heat treatment

Measured by

Assessed by weldability tests for cracking susceptibility, carbon-equivalent formulas, and post-weld mechanical and soundness evaluation