ASTM A213

ASTM A213 covers seamless ferritic and austenitic steel boiler, superheater, and heat-exchanger tubes, designated Grades T5, TP304, etc.Grades containing the letter, H, in their designation, have requirements different from those of similar grades not containing the letter, H.

1.1 This specification covers seamless ferritic and austenitic steel boiler, superheater, and heat-exchanger tubes, designated Grades T91, TP304, etc. These steels are listed in Tables 1 and 2.
1.2 Grades containing the letter, H, in their designation, have requirements different from those of similar grades not containing the letter, H. These different requirements provide higher creep-rupture strength than normally achievable in similar grades without these different requirements.
1.3 The tubing sizes and thicknesses usually furnished to this specification are 1/8 in. [3.2 mm] in inside diameter to 5 in. [127 mm] in outside diameter and 0.015 to 0.500 in. [0.4 to 12.7 mm], inclusive, in minimum wall thickness or, if specified in the order, average wall thickness. Tubing having other diameters may be furnished, provided such tubes comply with all other requirements of this specification.
1.4 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text, the SI units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard. The inch-pound units shall apply unless the “M” designation of this specification is specified in the order.
TABLE 1 Chemical Composition Limits, %A, for Low Alloy SteelA Maximum, unless range or minimum is indicated. Where ellipses (…) appear in this table, there is no requirement, and analysis for the element need not be determined or reported.

B It is permissible to order T2 and T12 with a sulfur content of 0.045 max. See 16.3.

C Alternatively, in lieu of this ratio minimum, the material shall have a minimum hardness of 275 HV in the hardened condition, defined as after austenitizing and cooling to room temperature but prior to tempering. Hardness testing shall be performed at mid-thickness of the product. Hardness test frequency shall be two samples of product per heat treatment lot and the hardness testing results shall be reported on the material test report.

• A262 Practices for Detecting Susceptibility to Intergranular Attack in Austenitic Stainless Steels
• A941 Terminology Relating to Steel, Stainless Steel, Related Alloys, and Ferroalloys
• A1016/A1016M Specification for General Requirements for Ferritic Alloy Steel, Austenitic Alloy Steel, and Stainless Steel Tubes
• E112 Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size

AWS Specifications

• A5.23/A5.23M Specification for Low-Alloy Steel Electrodes and Fluxes for Submerged Arc Welding
• A5.5/A5.5M

3.1 Definitionx—For definitions of terms used in this speci- fication, refer to Terminology A 941.

4.1 It shall be the responsibility of the purchaser to specify all requirements that are necessary for products under this specification. Such requirements to be considered include, but are not limited to, the following:

4.1.1 Quantity (feet, metres, or number of lengths),

4.1.2 Name of material (seamless tubes),

4.1.3 Grade (Tables 1 and 2),

4.1.4 Condition (hot finished or cold finished),

4.1.5 Controlled structural characteristics (see 6.3),

4.1.6 Size (outside diameter and minimum wall thickness, unless average wall thickness is specified),

4.1.7 Length (specific or random),

4.1.8 Hydrostatic Test or Nondestructive Electric Test (see 10.1),

4.1.9 Specification designation and year of issue,

4.1.10 Increased sulfur (for machinability, see Note B, Table 1, and 15.3), and

4.1.11 Special requirements and any supplementary require- ments selected.

5.1 Product furnished to this specification shall conform to the requirements of Specification A 1016/A 1016M, including any supplementary requirements that are indicated in the purchase order. Failure to comply with the general require- ments of Specification A 1016/A 1016M constitutes noncon- formance with this specification. In case of conflict between the requirements of this specification and Specification A 1016/ A 1016M, this specification shall prevail.

6.1 Manufacture and Condition—Tubes shall be made by the seamless process and shall be either hot finished or cold finished, as specified. Grade TP347HFG shall be cold finished.

6.2 Heat Treatment:

6.2.1 Ferritic Alloy and Ferritic Stainlexx Steelx—The fer- ritic alloy and ferritic stainless steels shall be reheated for heat treatment in accordance with the requirements of Table 3. Heat treatment shall be carried out separately and in addition to heating for hot forming.

6.2.2 Auxtenitic Stainlexx Steelx—All austenitic tubes shall be furnished in the heat-treated condition, and shall be heat treated in accordance with the requirements of Table 3. Alter- natively, immediately after hot forming, while the temperature of the tubes is not less than the minimum solution treatment temperature specified in Table 3, tubes may be individually quenched in water or rapidly cooled by other means (direct quenched).

6.3 If any controlled structural characteristics are required, these shall be so specified in the order as to be a guide as to the most suitable heat treatment.

ASTM A213M-09 Material comparison tables (ASTM →KS, JIS, DIN, BS, NBN, NF, UNI)

Grade	UNS Designation	C	Mn	P	S	Si	Nickel	Chromium	Molybdenum	Vana-	Boron	Niobium	Nitrogen	Aluminum	Tungsten
T2	K11547	0.10–0.20	0.30–0.61	0.025	0.025B	0.10–0.30	...	0.50–0.81	0.44–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T5	K41545	0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.5	...	4.00–6.00	0.45–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T5b	K51545	0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	1.00–2.00	...	4.00–6.00	0.45–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T5c	K41245	0.12	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.5	...	4.00–6.00	0.45–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T9	K90941	0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.25–1.00	...	8.00–10.00	0.90–1.10	...	...	...	...	...	...
T11	K11597	0.05–0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.50–1.00	...	1.00–1.50	0.44–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T12	K11562	0.05–0.15	0.30–0.61	0.025	0.025B	0.5	...	0.80–1.25	0.44–0.65	...	...	...	...	...	...
T17	K12047	0.15–0.25	0.30–0.61	0.025	0.025	0.15–0.35	...	0.80–1.25	...	0.15	...	...	...	...	...
T21	K31545	0.05–0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.50–1.00	...	2.65–3.35	0.80–1.06	...	...	...	...	...	...
T22	K21590	0.05–0.15	0.30–0.60	0.025	0.025	0.5	...	1.90–2.60	0.87–1.13	...	...	...	...	...	...
T23	K40712	0.04–0.10	0.10–0.60	0.03	0.01	0.5	0.4	1.90–2.60	0.05–0.30	0.20–0.30	0.0010–0.006	0.02–0.08	0.015	0.03	1.45–1.75
T24	K30736	0.05–0.10	0.30–0.70	0.02	0.01	0.15–0.45	...	2.20–2.60	0.90–1.10	0.20–0.30	0.0015–0.007	...	0.012	0.02	...
T36	K21001	0.10–0.17	0.80–1.20	0.03	0.025	0.25–0.50	1.00–1.30	0.3	0.25–0.50	0.02	...	0.015–0.045	0.02	0.05	...
T91	K90901	0.07–0.14	0.30–0.60	0.02	0.01	0.20–0.50	0.4	8.0–9.5	0.85–1.05	0.18–0.25	...	0.06–0.10	0.030–0.07	0.02	...
T92	K92460	0.07–0.13	0.30–0.60	0.02	0.01	0.5	0.4	8.5–9.5	0.30–0.60	0.15–0.25	0.001–0.006	0.04–0.09	0.030–0.07	0.02	1.5–2.00
T122	K91271	0.07–0.14	0.7	0.02	0.01	0.5	0.5	10.0–11.5	0.25–0.60	0.15–0.30	0.0005–0.005	0.04–0.10	0.040–	0.02	1.50–2.50
T911	K91061	0.09–0.13	0.30–0.60	0.02	0.01	0.10–0.50	0.4	8.5–9.5	0.90–1.10	0.18–0.25	0.0003–0.006	0.06–0.10	0.040–0.09	0.02	0.90–1.10

Note:

A Maximum, unless range or minimum is indicated. Where ellipses (...) appear in this table, there is no requirement, and analysis for the element need not be determined or reported.

B It is permissible to order T2 and T12 with a sulfur content of 0.045 max. See 16.3.

C Alternatively, in lieu of this ratio minimum, the material shall have a minimum hardness of 275 HV in the hardened condition, defined as after austenitizing and cooling to room temperature but prior to tempering.
Hardness test frequency shall be two samples of product per heat treatment lot and the hardness testing results shall be reported on the material test report.

ASTM A213 Mechanical properties

Grade	Tensile strength (Mpa)	Yield point(Mpa) not less than	Elongation(%) not less than	Impact(J) not less than	Hardness not less than
A213 T2/SA213 T2	≥415	205		"	85HRB
A213 T11/SA213 T11	≥415	205		"	85HRB
A213 T22/SA213 T22	≥415	205		"	85HRB
A213 T23/SA213 T23	≥510	400	20	"	97HRB
A213 T24/SA213 T24	≥585	415	20	"	25HRB
A213 T91/SA213 T91	≥585	415	20	"	25HRB
A213 T911/SA213 T911	≥620	440	20	"	25HRB
A213 T22/SA213 T92	≥620	440	20	"	25HRB
A213 T122/SA213 T122	≥620	400	20		25HRB
TP304H	≥515	205	35		90HRB
TP316H	≥515	205	35		90HRB
TP321H	≥515	205	35		90HRB
TP347H	≥515	205	35		90HRB
S30432	≥590	235	35		95HRB
TP310HCbN	≥655	295	30		100HRB

ASTM A213 tube Size range

NPS, inch	Outside Diameter(mm)	Wall Thickness(mm)	Max. Length(M)
1/8	10,3	1,24; 1,73; 2,40	12
1/4	13,7	1,65; 2,24; 3,02
3/8	17,1	1,65; 2,31; 3,20
1/2	21,3	1,65; 2,11; 2,77; 3,73
3/4	26,7	1,65; 2,11; 2,87; 3,91
1	33,4	1,65; 2,77; 3,38; 4,55	10
1.25	42,4	1,65; 2,77; 3,56; 4,85
1.5	48,3	2,77; 3,68; 5,08
2	60,3	3,91; 5,54	7
2.5	73,0	5,16; 7,01

5.1 Product furnished to this specification shall conform to the requirements of Specification A 1016/A 1016M, including any supplementary requirements that are indicated in the purchase order. Failure to comply with the general require- ments of Specification A 1016/A 1016M constitutes noncon- formance with this specification. In case of conflict between the requirements of this specification and Specification A 1016/ A 1016M, this specification shall prevail.

6.1 Manufacture and Condition—Tubes shall be made by the seamless process and shall be either hot finished or cold finished, as specified. Grade TP347HFG shall be cold finished.

6.2 Heat Treatment:

6.2.1 Ferritic Alloy and Ferritic Stainlexx Steelx—The fer- ritic alloy and ferritic stainless steels shall be reheated for heat treatment in accordance with the requirements of Table 3. Heat treatment shall be carried out separately and in addition to heating for hot forming.

6.2.2 Auxtenitic Stainlexx Steelx—All austenitic tubes shall be furnished in the heat-treated condition, and shall be heat treated in accordance with the requirements of Table 3. Alter- natively, immediately after hot forming, while the temperature of the tubes is not less than the minimum solution treatment temperature specified in Table 3, tubes may be individually quenched in water or rapidly cooled by other means (direct quenched).

6.3 If any controlled structural characteristics are required, these shall be so specified in the order as to be a guide as to the most suitable heat treatment.

Chemical composition (%) of ASTM A213 stainless steel tubing

Grade	C	Si	Mn	Cr	Ni	Mo	S	P
TP304	0,08	1,0	2	18 – 20	8 – 11	–	0,03	0,045
TP304L	0,035	1,0	2	18 – 20	8 – 12	–	0,03	0,045
TP316	0,08	1,0	2	16 – 18	11 – 14	2 – 3	0,03	0,045
TP316L	0,035	1,0	2	16 – 18	10 – 14	2 – 3	0,03	0,045
TP321	0,08	1,0	2	17 – 19	9 – 12	–	0,03	0,045

ASTM A213 stainless steel tubing mechanical properties and solution temperature

Grade	Tensile Strength(Mpa)	Yield Point(Mpa)	Elongation(%)	Hardness(HRB)	Solution Temperature
TP304	515	205	35	90	1040
TP304L	485	170	35	90	1040
TP316	515	205	35	90	1040
TP316L	485	170	35	90	1040
TP321	515	205	35	90	1040

(Min, degree centigrade).

This all seems to have changed now, thankfully because of the advent of new technological advancements and developments. Due to this, many new processes have surfaced that makes the whole manufacturing process of seamless tubes, easy and cost-effective. But the most popular process that has caught on with many manufacturers in the process of continuous tube mill. No forge welding or filler metal is used in this new technique.

1. Preparing the stainless steel sheets

The stainless steel sheets undergo several checks before getting picked to roll. While preparing them, the first step is to trim them around the edges.

2. Rolling through rollers

The sheets are then passed through many rollers to match the required size. In this step, you can see the sheets progressing into tubular shapes.

3. Rollers Through the fitted welding machine

In this step, the tubular shape has to go through a fitted welding machine. The inside of these tubular shapes, i.e., the weld beads and scraps are removed, thus giving you perfectly rolled tubes.

4. Cleaning and heating of rolled seamless tubes

After the stainless sheets have a basic rolled structure, it goes through the process of cleaning and heating. This depends upon the clients’ requirements. The stainless steel tubes are cleaned thoroughly to remove dirt before the heating process begins. Heating is used to remove the possible stress on the seamless tubes and let it have a seamless shape. The tubular shape is rolled in a hot furnace that has temperature controllers and recorders. The heating process helps the tubes to be straightened and open to pickling and removing the scales from its surface.

5. The cold-drawing process

Many clients have a peculiar tube requirement that will not match the seamless tubes rolled out directly from the mills. For this reason, another process of cold-drawing is to be performed to achieve the desired size.

To manufacture cold-drawn seamless tubes, the manufacturer first coats the tube with soap and oxalic solution. The solution helps to reduce the friction caused due to this process, by acting as a lubricant. Later, the seamless tubes are benched with the help of Die plugs.

6. Final touches

The final touches include ink jet marking on the seamless tubes, that educates the exporters about the tube’s grade, material, heat number, size, and a third party inspection stamp. Followed right after this are several stringent quality checks and appropriate packaging, making these seamless tubes ready for dispatch.

There are several industries that need seamless tubes in different alloys to have varied tensile strength. Thus many manufacturers produce the alloy steel Seamless tube. The most popular among these alloy steel seamless tubes are a carbon steel seamless tube.

Each tube shall be subjected to the nondestructive electric test or hydrostatic test, Manufacturer Material Test Certification as per EN 10204 3.1 should be provided.

• Tensile property, Elogation
• Hardness testing, Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers hardness
• Flattening testing
• Flaring testing
• Hydrostatic or Nondestructive test
• Intergranular Corrosion Test – ASTM A262/E (option)

• ASTM A213 pertains to seamless tubes, ASTM A269 can be both seamless and welded tubing.
• ASTM A213 material contain Ferritic and Austenitic Alloy Steel, ASTM A269 only has Austenitic Stainless Steel.
• Dimensional tolerances on outside diameter and wall thickness are not the same.
• ASTM A213 used in heat exchanger system, ASTM A269 is for general service use, commonly instrumentation tubing.
• ASTM A213 has ASME version SA213 for alternative, however, there are is no ASME SA269.
• In practise, ASTM A213 and ASTM A269 can be dual certified standard.