CHAPTER 12 Materials of Construction

Material properties are of great importance in all aspects of rotating equipment design and manufacture. It is essential to check the up-to-date version of the relevant British Standards or equivalent when choosing or assessing a material. The most common materials used for rotating equipment are divided into the generic categories of carbon, alloy, stainless steel, and non-ferrous.

12.1 Plain carbon steels basic data

Typical properties are shown in Table 12.1. Table 12.1 Plain carbon steel: properties
Type Low C steel General structural steel Steel castings %C 0.1 0.2 0.3 %Mn 0.35 1.4 Yield, Re (MN/m2) 220 350 270 UTS, Rm (MN/m2) 320 515 490

12.2 Alloy steels basic data

Alloy steels have various amounts of Ni, Cr, Mn, or Mo added to improve properties. Typical properties are shown in Table 12.2.

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Table 12.2 Alloy steels: properties

Type Ni/Mn steel Ni/Cr steel %C 0.4 0.3 Others (%) 0.85 Mn 1.00 Ni 0.5 Mn 2.8 Ni 1.0 Cr 0.5 1.5 1.1 0.3 Mn Ni Cr Mo Re (MN/m2) 480 800 Rm (MN/m2) 680 910

Ni/Cr/Mo steel

0.4

950

1050

12.3 Stainless steels basic data

Stainless steel is a generic term used to describe a family of steel alloys containing more than about 11 per cent chromium. The family consists of four main classes, subdivided into about 100 grades and variants. The main classes are austenitic and duplex. The other two classes, ferritic and martensitic, tend to have more specialized application and so are not so commonly found in general rotating equipment use. The basic characteristics of each class are given below. Austenitic The most commonly used basic grades of stainless steel are usually austenitic. They have 1725 per cent Cr, combined with 820 per cent Ni, Mn, and other trace alloying elements which encourage the formation of austenite. They have low carbon content, which makes them weldable. They have the highest general corrosion resistance of the family of stainless steels. Ferritic Ferritic stainless steels have high chromium content (>17 per cent Cr) coupled with medium carbon, which gives them good corrosion resistance properties rather than high strength. They normally have some Mo and Si, which encourage the ferrite to form. They are generally nonhardenable. Martensitic This is a high-carbon (up to 2 per cent C), low-chromium (12 per cent Cr) variant. The high carbon content can make it difficult to weld. Duplex Duplex stainless steels have a structure containing both austenitic and ferritic phases. They can have a tensile strength of up to twice that of straight austenitic stainless steels and are alloyed with various trace elements to aid corrosion resistance. In general, they are as weldable as austenitic grades but have a maximum temperature limit, because of the characteristic of their microstructure. Table 12.3 gives basic stainless steel data.

Table 12.3 Stainless steels basic data Stainless steels are commonly referred to by their AISI equivalent classification (where appropriate).
AISI Other Type classifications 302 ASTM A296 (cast), Wk 1.4300, 18/8, SIS 2331 ASTM A296, Wk 1.4301, 18/8/LC, SIS 2333, 304S18
+

Yield [(R e) Fty MPa] (ksi) 40

Ultimate [(R m) Ftu (ksi) MPa]

E(% ) 50 mm

HRB % C % Cr

% Properties others * 810 Ni A general purpose stainless steel.

Austenitic

[275.8] 90

[620.6] 55

85

0.15 1719

Materials of Construction

304

Austenitic

42

[289.6] 84

[579.2] 55

80

0.08 1820

812 Ni An economy grade.

304L ASTM A351, Wk 1.4306, 18/8/ELC, SIS 2352, 304S14 316 ASTM A296, Wk 1.4436, 18/8/Mo, SIS 2243, 316S18

Austenitic

39

[268.9] 80

[551.6] 55

79

0.03 1820

812 Ni Low C to avoid intercrystalline corrosion after welding. 1014 Ni Addition of Mo increases corrosion resistance. Low C weldable variant of 316.

Austenitic

42

[289.6] 84

[579.2] 50

79

0.08 1618

316L ASTM A351, Wk 1.4435, 18/8/Mo/ELC, 316S14, SIS 2353

Austenitic

42

[289.6] 81

[558.5] 50

79

0.03 1618

1014 Ni

297

Table 12.3 Cont.

298

321

ASTM A240, Wk 1.4541, 18/8/Ti, SIS 2337, 321S18 ASTM A240/A276/ A351, UNS 40500 ASTM A176/A240/ A276, UNS 43000, Wk 1.4016 UNS S40300, ASTM A176/A276 UNS S40300, ASTM A176/A240, Wk 1.4006

Austenitic

35

[241.3] 90

[620.6] 45

80

0.08 1719

912 Ni

Variation of 304 with Ti added to improve temperature resistance. A general purpose ferritic stainless steel. Non-hardening grade with good acid-resistance.

405

Ferritic

40

[275.8] 70

[482.7] 30

81

0.08 11.514.5 1 Mn

Engineers Guide to Rotating Equipment

430

Ferritic

50

[344.7] 75

[517.1] 30

83

0.12 1418

1 Mn

403

Martensitic 40

[275.8] 75

[517.1] 35

82

0.15 11.513

0.5 Si

Turbine grade of stainless steel.

410

Martensitic 40

[275.8] 75

[517.1] 35

82

0.15 11.513.5 4.56.5 Used for machine Ni parts, pump shafts, etc. 4.56.5 Better resistance to Ni SCC than 316. High strength. Max. 7 Ni, temp 575 F 4 Mo, (301 C) due to 0.3 N embrittlement.

255 (Ferralium) Duplex Avesta SAF 2507 , UNS S32750

94

[648.1] 115 [682.6] 116

[793]

25

280 0.04 2427 HV 300 0.02 25 HV

'Super' 99 duplex 40% ferrite

[799.8] ~ 25

* Main constituents only shown. + All austenitic grades are non-magnetic; ferritic and martensitic grades are magnetic. Avesta trade mark.

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299

12.4 Non-ferrous alloys basic data

The term non-ferrous alloys is used for those alloy materials that do not have iron as their base element. The main ones used for mechanical engineering applications, with their ultimate tensile strength ranges, are: nickel alloys zinc alloys copper alloys aluminium alloys magnesium alloys titanium alloys 4001200 MN/m2 200360 MN/m2 2001100 MN/m2 100500 MN/m2 150340 MN/m2 4001500 MN/m2

The main ones in use are nickel alloys, in which nickel is frequently alloyed with copper or chromium and iron to produce material with high temperature and corrosion resistance. Typical types and properties are shown in Table 12.4. Table 12.4 Nickel alloys: properties
Alloy type NiCu NiFe NiCr NiCr NiCr NiCr (age hardenable) NiCr (age hardenable) Designation UNS N04400 (Monel) Ni lo 36 Inconel 600 Inconel 625 Constituents (%) 66 Ni, 31 Cu, 1 Fe, 1 Mn 36 Ni, 64 Fe 76 Ni, 15 Cr, 8 Fe 61 Ni, 21 Cr, 2 Fe, 9 Mo, 3 Nb UTS (MN/m2) 415 490 600 800 750 8001200

Hastelloy C276 57 Ni, 15 Cr, 6 Fe, 1 Co, 16 Mo, 4 W Nimonic 80A 76 Ni, 20 Cr

Inco Waspalloy 58 Ni, 19 Cr, 13 Co, 8001000 4 Mo, 3 Ti, 1 Al

12.5 Material traceability

The issue of material traceability is an important aspect of the manufacture of high-integrity rotating equipment. Most technical codes and standards make provision for quality assurance activities designed to ensure that materials of construction used in the pressure envelope are traceable. Figure 12.1 shows the chain of traceability which operates for rotating equipment materials. Note that although all the activities shown are

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Fig. 12.1 The chain of traceability for materials

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301

available for use (i.e. to be specified and then implemented) this does not represent a unique system of traceability suitable for all materials. In practice there are several levels in use, depending on both the type of material and the nature of its final application. The most common document referenced in the material sections of rotating equipment specifications is the European Standard EN 10 204: (1991) Metallic products types of inspection documents. It provides for two main levels of certification: Class 3 and Class 2 (see Table 12.5). Table 12.5 Material traceability: EN 10 204 classes
EN 10 204 certificate type 3.1A 3.1B 3.1C 3.2 2.3 2.2 2.1 Document Compliance with: validation by the order technical rules * I M(Q) P P + M(Q) M M M Test results included Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Test basis Specific Non-specific

I An independent (third party) inspection organization. P The purchaser. M(Q) An independent (normally QA) part of the material manufacturer's organization. M An involved part of the material manufacturers organization. * Normally the technical rules on material properties given in the relevant material standard (and any applicable technical code).