Materials & Welding

QUESTION: My 316 stainless-steel valve is rusty and attracts a magnet. Did I get the wrong alloy? ANSWER: Let's answer the second part of the question first. Forged 300-series stainless steels should be non-magnetic. However, cast versions of the 300-series stainless steels-such as CF8 (304), CF3 (304L), CF8M (316), CF3M (316L), CG8M (317), CG3M (317L), CF8C (347), etc.-are all formulated to contain some ferrite. The presence of ferrite makes the alloy less prone to cracking as the hot casting cools in the mold. Weld filler materials are also formulated to contain some ferrite for the same reason. The ferrite makes the material attract a magnet. The exact amount of ferrite, which influences the strength of magnetic attraction, is dependent on the exact chemical composition and the thermal history of the casting. In any event, CF3, CF8, CF3M, CF8M, CG3M, CG8M, and CF8C should all attract a magnet to some degree. In fact, if you have a casting in one of these alloys that doesn...

QUESTION: When specifying valves for hydrogen service, what are some of the material considerations I should keep in mind? ANSWER: Hydrogen can cause a number of different adverse effects in metallic materials. The specific problems that can occur, and the methods for avoiding them, depend upon the service conditions. Although the subject is much too vast to cover completely in this column, following are descriptions of the predominant hydrogen damage mechanisms, along with some suggestions for avoiding problems. Hydrogen Embrittlement Hydrogen embrittlement, also called hydrogen stress cracking or hydrogen induced cracking, is a condition of low ductility in metals resulting from the absorption of hydrogen. Hydrogen embrittlement is mainly a problem in steels with ultimate tensile strength greater than 90 ksi, although a number of additional alloys are susceptible. Most hydrogen embrittlement failures occur as a result of absorption of hydrogen that is generated during plati...

QUESTION: I see that there is a new version of NACE MR0175 called NACE MR0175/ISO 15156. Why did MR0175 become an ISO standard, and how do the requirements in the ISO version differ from those in the previous version? ANSWER: This topic is too broad to cover completely in a column of this size. However, we would like to offer a brief history and a summary of one major change that will affect valve companies and their suppliers. You may recall that MR0175-2003 invoked some major changes compared with the 2002 revision. Many of these changes were encouraged by the European Federation of Corrosion (EFC). The EFC had already issued two reports closely related to MR0175: Publication 16, "Guidelines on Materials Requirements for Carbon and Low Alloy Steels for H2S-Containing Environments in Oil and Gas Production," and Publication 17, "Corrosion Resistant Alloys for Oil and Gas Production: Guidance on General Requirements and Test Methods for H2S Service" ISO req...

QUESTION: Why do WCC and LCC castings have different maximum allowable temperatures in ASME B16.34? ANSWER: This is a very good question and a commonly discussed topic among materials engineers. Unfortunately, the answer isn't black and white-in fact, the "whys" are not very clear at all. What is clear is that the maximum allowable temperature values in B16.34 can be traced back to Section II Part D of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code. However, that code contains no background information or notes to explain why those particular temperature limits were assigned. Because of this, much speculation among materials engineers exists- following along these lines: The standard carbon steel materials (i.e., those not impact-tested for low-temperature applications, such as A216/SA216 WCC) are most commonly heat treated by normalizing, sometimes followed by tempering. Normalized steels are relatively resistant to microstructural changes at elevated tempe...

QUESTION: Do austenitic stainless steels require impact testing when used in low-temperature applications? ANSWER: Austenitic materials are generally recognized for their lack of ductile-to-brittle transition behavior. In other words, they do not generally display a reduction in impact energy as the test temperature is reduced. By contrast, ferritic and martensitic materials-such as the carbon steels, alloy steels, and 400-series stainless steels-exhibit reduced toughness as test temperature is reduced. Wrought vs. Cast The wrought forms of the austenitic stainless steels used for pressure-retaining components (forgings, plate, pipe, etc.) are typically supplied in the solution-annealed condition with a fully austenitic structure. These materials suffer essentially no reduction in toughness even at cryogenic temperatures. For example, notched Charpy specimens of Types 304 and 316 stainless steel in the solution-annealed condition will routinely stop the hammer on smaller Charp...

QUESTION: High metal prices, especially for nickel and molybdenum, have our procurement people looking at less expensive stainless steels like the 200 series. Are these as good as 304 and 316 stainless steels? ANSWER: Before answering this question, let’s look at the history and differences between the 200 and 300 series stainless steels. The original 200 series stainless steels were first developed in the 1930s by using manganese to replace some of the nickel in the 300 series austenitic stainless steels. Certain elements used in stainless steels either promote the formation of the austenitic or ferritic atomic structure, and the austenitic stainless steels are the more corrosion resistant. The austenitic-forming elements are nickel, manganese, nitrogen, copper and carbon. The primary ferrite-forming element is chromium. Since a stainless steel needs 10-12% minimum chromium to be considered “stainless,” it then takes about 8-10% nickel to offset the ferritic-f...

ASME Sec VIII Div.1 and  2 are available off late only. From design point of  view soem reviews are in progress where some descrepancies are noted. As far as Inspection check list no chnage has been noted. however , i will post the findings later after full study of  the 2007 editions. Tagore On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 5:31 AM, uttam das < ugdas@yahoo.com > wrote: Dear all,   Do any body has a check list for NDT and other requirements checklist for U,S,R,PP,etc as per ASME LATEST CODES . Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to materials-welding@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to materials-welding-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group's bolg at http://materials-welding.blogspot.com/ The views expressed/exchnaged in this group are members personel views and meant ...