ASME SA-516 Grade 65 pressure vessel steel

Below are the mechanical and chemical requirements, how thickness changes the carbon limit, when normalizing and impact testing apply, the nearest European, Japanese and Chinese grades, and the forging specifications used when a part is too large or too thick to come out of plate.

Mechanical properties of SA-516 Grade 65

The tensile requirements below are the values a mill certificate for A516 Gr.65 must meet. They apply to the standard plate thickness range and are checked on transverse specimens taken in accordance with ASTM A20/A20M.

Table compiled by Jiangyin Jiangnan Metal Co., Ltd. from ASTM A516/A516M and ASME BPVC Section II Part A, SA-516. The controlling document is always the edition named on the purchase order.

Chemical composition of A516 Grade 65

Carbon is the only element in SA-516 Gr.65 whose limit changes with plate thickness, because thicker plate needs a lower carbon level to stay weldable and tough through the section. The values below are product (check) analysis maxima.

Heat (ladle) analysis limits are slightly tighter than the product analysis limits shown here; ASTM A20/A20M sets the permitted variation between the two. The steel is supplied killed and made to fine austenitic grain practice. Where sour service applies, order to NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 with HIC and SSCC testing, which adds further restrictions on sulfur, phosphorus and calcium treatment.

Composition data compiled by Jiangyin Jiangnan Metal Co., Ltd. Each heat is verified by spectrometric analysis and reported on the original mill test certificate.

Heat treatment and delivery condition

Plate up to and including 40 mm is normally supplied as-rolled. Above 40 mm it is normalized, usually at 890 to 920 °C with still-air cooling. Any thickness is normalized when impact testing, sour service or a simulated post-weld heat treatment cycle is called for, or when the purchaser asks for it on the order.

Two further cycles come up constantly on heat exchanger work. Mechanical coupons can be given the fabricator's full PWHT cycle before testing, so the certificate shows properties after fabrication instead of in the as-delivered state. Thick tubesheets and channel covers are usually stress relieved after rough machining, which keeps distortion out of the final facing and drilling.

Testing and supplementary requirements

The base specification covers chemistry, tensile properties and surface condition. Everything else is ordered as a supplementary requirement, and needs to be on the purchase order before rolling. These are the options most often requested for pressure vessel and heat exchanger work:

• Ultrasonic examination to ASTM A435/A435M (straight beam) or A578/A578M Level B or C. This is standard practice for tubesheets and any plate carrying a full-penetration weld.
• Charpy V-notch impact testing at the design minimum metal temperature, commonly −20 °C to −46 °C, evaluated against ASME BPVC Section VIII Division 1 Part UCS-66.
• Simulated post-weld heat treatment of the test coupons to the fabricator's cycle.
• HIC and SSCC testing to NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 and NACE TM0284 for wet H₂S service.
• Through-thickness (Z-direction) tensile testing for lamellar tearing resistance on heavily restrained joints.
• EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 certification, with third-party witnessing by TUV, SGS, BV, Lloyd's or the customer's own inspector.
• Surface preparation: shot blasting to Sa 2½, primer or full paint system, edge preparation, cutting and welding to the drawing.

A516 Grade 55, 60, 65 and 70 compared

All four grades are the same steel type at four strength levels. Selecting a higher grade allows a thinner shell for the same design pressure, at the cost of slightly higher carbon and manganese and therefore a marginally higher carbon equivalent for welding.

International equivalents of A516 Grade 65

These grades occupy the same position in their national standards, but they are near equivalents rather than identical materials: chemistry limits, delivery condition and test temperatures differ. For code-stamped equipment, order the grade named in the design calculation.

Cross-reference prepared by Jiangyin Jiangnan Metal Co., Ltd. Values are for the thinnest thickness band in each standard and fall with increasing thickness.

Forged counterparts when plate will not do

SA-516 is a plate specification. A nozzle neck, a hub flange or a heavy forged ring cannot be certified to SA-516 because the product form is different, even though the chemistry is close. The usual forged counterparts, all of which we produce in-house, are:

A frequent question from buyers: a tubesheet larger than the available plate width, or thicker than the mill's plate range, is normally produced as an open-die forged disc to SA-266 Grade 2 instead of SA-516 Grade 65 plate. Send the drawing and the design code reference and we will confirm which route the code permits before quoting.

Components we machine in SA-516 Grade 65

We supply finished parts rather than cut plate. Work that arrives as a customer drawing is quoted complete with material, heat treatment, machining, testing and certification.

• Heat exchanger tubesheets and tube plates, fixed, stationary and floating, front and rear head, drilled, grooved and faced to TEMA or the customer drawing.
• Clad and weld-overlay tubesheets in 309L/308L, 316L, Inconel 625 and Monel, or machined from explosion-bonded clad plate.
• Girth flanges, cover flanges and channel covers.
• Baffle plates, support plates and tie rods.
• Long welding neck nozzles, nozzle necks and self-reinforced FVC type nozzles.
• Shell-and-tube heat exchanger, reactor, column, tower and skid components, including preheaters, superheaters, coolers and condensers.

Manufacturing and inspection

Forging, heat treatment, machining and inspection are done in our own works at Jiangyin, on the south bank of the Yangtze. Export orders ship through Shanghai or Ningbo. Keeping the whole route in one plant is what lets us quote a finished part against a drawing rather than sell plate and leave the machining to someone else.

• Open-die forging and ring rolling for discs, shells, rings and hollow forgings.
• Normalizing, quenching and tempering, and stress relief, on recorded and calibrated cycles.
• CNC vertical turning, gantry milling, and deep-hole drilling of tubesheet patterns to TEMA or the customer layout.
• Stainless and nickel alloy weld overlay, and machining of explosion-bonded clad plate.
• Ultrasonic, magnetic particle and dye penetrant examination, spectrometric analysis, tensile and Charpy impact testing, and dimensional inspection before packing.
• EN 10204 3.1 certification as standard, 3.2 with a third-party inspector when the order calls for it.

Maximum sizes depend on the part. Send the drawing and we will confirm what we can hold in one piece and where a welded or forged alternative makes more sense, before quoting.

Supplied by Jiangyin Jiangnan Metal Co., Ltd., No.1 Chengxiqiao Road, Zhouzhuang Town, Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, China.

Frequently asked questions about SA-516 Grade 65

About the supplier

Jiangyin Jiangnan Metal Co., Ltd. is an open-die forging factory at No.1 Chengxiqiao Road, Zhouzhuang Town, Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, China. The works produces forged and machined components for pressure vessels, heat exchangers, reactors, columns and towers in carbon steel, alloy steel, tool steel, stainless steel and nickel alloys, and exports to fabricators and EPC contractors worldwide.

Contact: +86 189 2135 9659 · sales@steelforgepieces.com · Contact page