5/9/2016

B31.3MaterialsASME(mechanical)CodeIssuesEngTips

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B31.3Materials

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IsthereanyparagraphsinASMEB31.3suchasASMESec1PG11.1thatallowstheuseofmaterialswithoutmaterialtest
reports.IhaveablindflangeIwouldliketouseithasalltherequiredmarkingsbutnoMTR.
Flangesandotherfittingsareassumedtobeacceptabletothespecyoufindstampedintothem.That'swhysomanyofus
refusetousepartsfromknowncounterfitterscough[china]cough.
IfIboughtthatflangefromareputablesupplier,Iwoulduseit.AssumingthatitwasstampedA105andB16.5.
Interpretation:2103
Subject:ASMEB31.32004,Paras.K323.1.5,ProductAnalysisandK346.2(b),RequiredRecords
DateIssued:March29,2006
File:06298
Question:DoesASMEB31.32004requireanyCertifiedMaterialTestReports(CMTR)?
Reply:Nohowever,seeparas.K323.1.5andK346.2(b).
Hopethathelps,
Cheers,
DD
justdothePMIformaterialverification..anddimensionscheckthenyoucanuse...
ManufacturermarkingisalsoinpunchingyoualsocanaskforMTCi.e.3.1or3.2

LalitMohanKothari
TUVNORD
"Dreamsanddedicationmakespowerfulcombination"
Lalit
WhatPMIdeviceormethodwouldyourecommendtoGemmellthatwouldhelptodistinguisha70UTScarbonsteelplate
froma55UTScarbonsteelplate?
Umm,theflangesaren'tmadefromplate,sohowisthisrelevant?Pipingcomponentshere,notvesselcomponents.ASME
VIIIhasfairlystricttraceabilityanddocumentationrequirements,whereasB31.3permitsmarkingsonFITTINGStobetrusted
asnoted.Theexception,andwherewedrawtheline,isforPIPEitself,forwhichMTRsareprettymucharequirement
becausethemarkingsaren'toneveryportionofthatpipe,noraretheymadeinadurablefashion.
Well,strictlyspeaking,onecouldeasilybuildaSectionVIII1vesselwithoutMTR's.SectionVIII1allowsformarkings
(permanentorotherwise)onfittingsandpipetobeconsideredgoodenoughifsostatedinthefabshop'sQAmanual.Asfor
B31.3,IamnotawareofarequirementforanMTRinthiscodeevenforpipingfabricatedofrolledplate.While
owner/usersmaywiselychoosetoaddthisasarequirementfortheirprojects,itisnotanASMErequirement.
TheOPwasaskingaboutablindflange,whichcouldeasilybefabricatedofplatematerial.
ButI'dstillliketoknowwhatPMIdevicecoulddistinguishbetweengradesofthesamespecificationofsteel.Simplyput,I'm
notawareofanysuchthingbutIamnotaspecialistinthatfield.Insomecasestherecouldbesubstantialvalueinsimply
identifyingonecarbonsteelspecfromanother,e.g.A53fromA106.
NoramI.PrettymuchimpossiblebyPMI,especiallyconsideringthatmanysuchmaterialsarecertifiedtomultiple
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5/9/2016

B31.3MaterialsASME(mechanical)CodeIssuesEngTips

specificationsbythemill.
WeregularlyseeMTR'scertifyingapipetoAPI5L,A53andA106.
Fordistinguishinggradesofcarbonsteel,youhavetoknowCarboncontent.Soundssimplistic&easyit'snot.XRFxray
fluorescence'gun'cannotgiveCarbon[orNitrogen].Soyouhavetogotoamorephysicaltestthesemachinesusedto
useaspark,andleftan'arcstrike'todealwith.Currentonesuseplasmaorlaser,soyougetleftwithasmall,smoothdivot.
Iusuallyrefertothisas'seminondestructive'testing.Thefitting/pipeisslightlymarred,butusuallynobodyworriesabouta
small,smoothblemish.
Also,itdoesn'taboutmultiplecertifications.Ignorealloftheoverlappingonesexcepttheoneyouneed.Eitherthematerialin
questionmeetsthatspec,oritdoesn't.Inmyexperience,theoffspecmaterialshavebeen5and9Chrome[toolean],316
stainless[toolean,toolittleMolly],andgoldweddingrings[12karat,insteadof18k].
IfacompanyisgoingtothebotherofputtinganASTM/B16markingonacomponentwhichdoesn'tmeetthespec,doyou
thinktheyarecapableofalsogeneratingafraudulentmillcert?We'veseenit...
ThequestionwaswhetherornotB31.3requiresmillcertsforB16pipingcomponentswithdurablemarkings.Theanswerto
thatquestionhasbeenprovided,andit'sno.It'sapopularmyththatMTRsforsuchcomponentsisacoderequirement
ratherthanaclientpreference.
AstotheusefulnessofPMI,Duwe6hasoutlineditprettywell.NotethatsomeXRFmachinesareblindtofairlyheavy
elementssuchasTiandhencecan'tdistinguish321from304etc.Theyabsolutelycannotdocarboncontent.

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