Dilution Percentage / Grade of Dilution

Source & assumptions

IWE Module 2 – Materials and Their Behavior during Welding, Chapter 22, Section 4 (Effect of Dilution), with related context from Chapter 16, Section 4.2 (Cladding Processes / Grade of Dilution)

Assumptions

• Dilution (%) = weight of melted base metal / total weight of melted metal × 100 — the source-stated arithmetic formula, used exactly as given.
• meltedBaseMetal and totalMeltedMetal are measured or estimated consistently — both from the same source (e.g. both from macro-section measurement, or both from a mass-balance estimate), not mixed.
• totalMeltedMetal includes melted base metal plus added/filler/deposited metal — it is not the base metal weight alone, and not the filler weight alone.
• dilutionPercent represents the base-metal fraction of total melted metal, expressed as a percentage — not a chemical composition and not a structure indicator by itself.
• Both inputs must be entered in the same mass unit (g or kg) — this calculator does not convert between mass units; no mass-unit conversion utility exists elsewhere in this project to reuse.
• The 10–60% range used for the review-prompt warning is an implementation-level heuristic drawn from the source's cladding/mixed-zone discussion (Ch. 16 §4.2, which says values 'can vary significantly' without giving a specific numeric range) — it is not a source-stated boundary, and crossing it does not indicate that a dilution value is accepted or rejected.
• The 30% (root-pass) and 25% (building-up-pass) reference notes echo values the source mentions in its Schaeffler-diagram/dilution discussion (Ch. 22 §4) — they are shown as neutral reference points only, never as a recommendation, target, or approval for any specific case.
• Result requires engineering review — this calculator does not decide whether a dilution value is acceptable for a given application.

Limitations

• Calculates dilution percentage only.
• Not a weld-metal composition calculation.
• Not a Schaeffler coordinate calculation, and not a Schaeffler/DeLong/WRC classification.
• Not a structure prediction.
• Not a cracking decision.
• Not a corrosion decision.
• Not a hardness prediction.
• Does not approve a WPS or PQR.
• Not a filler-metal recommendation.
• Does not account for groove geometry, process-specific dilution behaviour, bead shape, layer sequence, segregation, burn-off, recovery, arc behaviour, melting efficiency, or measurement uncertainty.
• Does not replace metallurgical review, macro examination, procedure qualification, production testing, or engineering judgement.
• Results require technical review before production use.