Difference Between ASME & ASTM
Difference Between ASME & ASTM
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Home » Products » Pressure Vessel Steel » ASME SA516 / ASTM A516 - Gr. 70
The A516 / SA516 standard, its full name is “Standard Specification for Pressure Vessel Plates, Carbon Steel, for Moderate- and Lower-Temperature Service”, could
almost be described as the default material specification for pressure vessel applications particularly outside of Europe and it is widely used by designers and engineers in
many market sectors. You may also see the following variations:
ASTM A516 Grade 70N or ASME SA516 Grade 70N (the “N” is added to show that the steel is normalise)
ASTM A516M or ASME SA516M (the “M” indicates that the material is certified in metric units)
ASME or ASTM?
So what is the difference between ASTM A516 Gr. 70 and ASME SA516 Gr. 70? In fact the mechanical and chemical properties of the steels are identical and it is the
producer of the standard that is the key difference. ASTM, the American Society for Testing and Materials, produces standards that define limits and parameters on a
product’s properties and the methods of testing those properties. ASME, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, specifies materials to be used in the manufacture
and construction of particular items. The relevance of this to pressure vessels is that ASME publishes design codes and standards for the manufacture of vessels and
within these a particular material standard will be endorsed. ASME “acquires” ASTM specifications in this way and its pressure vessel code committee assigns an “S” to the
relevant ASTM standard. So A516 becomes SA516 when ASME acquires it.
Chemical Requirements
In many cases the stringent requirements of engineers and designers require much greater controls than this and these are in part provided by a specification called ASTM
A20 or ASME SA20 (Specification for General Requirements for Steel Plates for Pressure Vessels). This specification outlines the testing and retesting methods and
procedures, permissible variations in dimensions and mass, quality and repair of defects, marking, loading, and ordering information. It also contains a list of
supplementary requirements which can be added to the basic A516 / SA516 specification when additional control, testing, or examination is required to meet end use
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requirements.
The supplementary requirements in A20 / SA20, there are seventeen of them, are designated numbers (S1, S2, S3, and so on) and cover things like ultrasonic testing (S8,
S11 or S12 depending on the type of ultrasonic test), charpy v-notch impact tests (S5), and product chemical analysis (S2).
As a matter of course, and in order to provide the best possible service to our customers, Brown McFarlane stocks ASTM A516 Gr. 70 and ASME SA516 Gr. 70 plates with
numerous supplementary requirements included and all noted on the material test certificate supplied with each plate.
For more information please contact our sales teams. Click here to go to the page giving contact details.
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