Copyright 1999 by JSME 1

7
th
International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
Tokyo, Japan, April 19-23, 1999
ICONE-7468
INCREASED ALLOWABLE STRESSES AND
ACCEPTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS
IN THE ASME BOILER & PRESSURE VESSEL CODE
Michael Gold*
Babcock & Wilcox
20 S. VanBuren Avenue
Barberton OH 44203-0351 USA
Tel: 330-860-1375, Fax: 330-860-9200
E-mail: goldm@pgg.mcdermott.com
Section II of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code consists of four volumes or
Parts: A, B, C, and D. Parts A and B contain the ferrous and nonferrous base-
material specifications that have been adopted by the ASME Boiler & Pressure
Vessel Committee (B&PVC). Part C contains the welding consumable material
specifications. Part D contains the tables and charts of design values and material
properties required for any of the construction sections of the ASME B&PVC Code.
Section II, Parts A, B, and D are under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee II on
Materials of the ASME B&PVC Committee. Part C is under the jurisdiction of
Subcommittee IX on Welding. This paper will describe the most important of the
recent developments for Parts A, B, and D. These are:
1. The increase in allowable stresses for Section I; Section VIII, Division 1; and
Section III, Classes 2 and 3 Construction, in Part D;
2. The adoption of international material specifications into Parts A and B; and
3. The setting of allowable stresses for international materials in Part D.
Keywords ICONE-7, ASME Boiler Code, Section II on Materials, Increased
allowable stresses, Approval of international materials
1 INCREASE IN ALLOWABLE STRESSES
1.1 Birth of the Concept
Section I; Section VIII, Division 1; and Section III, Classes 2 and 3 Construction all
use the same criteria for setting maximum allowable stresses. These criteria are
described in Appendix 1 of Section II, Part D (II-D). The present criteria are shown in
Figure 1. The values themselves are published in Tables 1A and 1B, of II-D, for
ferrous and nonferrous materials, respectively. In the time independent region,
where creep-rupture deformation is not significant, the criteria have been the least of:
one-fourth of the specified minimum tensile strength, one-fourth of the tensile
strength at temperature, two-thirds of the specified minimum yield strength, and two-
thirds of the yield strength at temperature. The factor on tensile strength has been
unchanged since it was reduced from five to four, in 1949. The factor on yield
strength was changed in 1979, from five-eighths, to two-thirds.
Copyright 1999 by JSME 2
In 1995, James R. Farr, a member of the ASME B&PVC Main Committee, and
former Chair of Subcommittee VIII, suggested that improvements in design rules and
materials justified a review to determine if a further reduction in the tensile strength
criterion was warranted. He suggested that it might be appropriate to reduce this
factor to 3.5. Accordingly, The ASME B&PVC Committee (the Committee)
commissioned a study by the Pressure Vessel Research Council (PVRC), which
established that the change in the criterion was technically supportable. This work
will be published soon as a PVRC Welding Research Council Bulletin.
The Committee directed that Subcommittees VIII and II should implement the
revision. Subsequently, Subcommittee I determined that enough of the
improvements identified by the PVRC study were applicable for boiler construction, to
warrant a similar reduction in the tensile strength criterion for Section I. The
Committee approved a similar implementation for Section I. Later, Subcommittee III
determined that similar action was justified for Classes 2 and 3 Construction.
1.2 Three-Stage Implementation
The Committee directed that there should be a three-stage implementation of the
new allowable stresses. The first action was development of a Section VIII, Division
1, Code Case, that would permit designers to calculate the increased allowable
stresses, for those materials for which the Code already provides the tensile and
yield strength values in Tables U and Y-1 of II-D. This is Code Case 2278:
Alternative Method for Calculating Maximum Allowable Stresses Based on a Factor
of 3.5 on Tensile Strength. Code Case 2278 was approved on May 20, 1998, and
was published as part of Supplement 1 to the 1998 Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Cases.
The second stage was development of Code Cases that contain tables with the
values based on the revised criterion. Code Case 2284 is the Section I table of
Alternative Maximum Allowable Stresses for Section I Construction Based on a
Factor of 3.5 on Tensile Strength. It contains new values for many, but not all, of the
materials commonly used in boiler construction. Case 2284 was approved on June
17, 1998, and was published as part of Supplement 2 to the 1998 Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code Cases. Code Case 2290 is the Section VIII, Division 1 table
of Alternative Maximum Allowable Stresses Based on a Factor of 3.5 on Tensile
Strength. It was also approved on June 17, 1998, and was published as part of
Supplement 2. Case 2290 contains many popular pressure vessel materials, but
again, does not contain all of the materials permitted for Section VIII, Division 1
construction.
The final stage will be revision of the values in Tables 1A and 1B and concurrent
revision of Appendix 1 and Table 1-100, of Section II, Part D. Figure 2 shows how
the new table will appear. This action was approved by the Main Committee of the
B&PVC on November 30, 1998. It is in the final stages of approval by the ASME
Board on Pressure Technology Codes and Standards. It was posted as available for
public comment in Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 121, No. 3, March 1999, page 87,
(Section II, item BC98-165). Providing that there are no serious objections, the new
values will be published in Tables 1A and 1B in the 1999 Addenda of Section II, Part
D, on about July 1, 1999. The new tables have been completely revised, to
incorporate the new 3.5 factor on tensile strength. Therefore, all the materials for
Copyright 1999 by JSME 3
Section I; Section VIII, Division 1; and Section III, Classes 2 and 3 Construction have
been reviewed and revised where necessary.
Where the change in tensile strength criterion leaves the allowable stress still
controlled by the tensile strength, the increase in allowable stress will be about 14%.
In many instances, however, the reduction in the tensile strength factor leaves the
new value controlled by the yield strength. Also, particularly for those materials with
higher yield strength to tensile strength ratios, the change in the tensile strength
factor leads to intersection of the time-independent and time-dependent controlling
variables at a temperature 50F (28C) lower than before. When any of these
conditions occurs, the increase may be less than 14%. Examples of the effects of
the changes are shown in Table 1. Table 1 shows two features of the change. First,
in both Code Cases 2284 and 2290, the values controlled by time-dependent criteria
are shown in bold italic font. Second, the table shows that, for SA-213T92, the value
at 1050F (565C) increased when the criteria changed, but is shown in bold italic
font. This means that the old value was controlled by the tensile strength factor, but
is now controlled by a time-dependent criterion. The intersection of the time-
independent and time-dependent criteria has shifted down 50F (28C). The same
effect is shown for SA-213TP347H at 1150F (621C).
2 ACCEPTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS
Prior to 1997, the policy of ASME had been to require that materials adopted for
use by one of the B&PVC construction codes (I, III, IV, and VIII) must first be covered
by an ASTM material specification. Recognizing the increasing international use of
these construction codes in regions of the world where local content and other
economic constraints made use of other materials necessary, the Committee
changed that policy, to allow use of non-ASTM materials.
2.1 First Materials Incorporated
The first two international material specifications incorporated into Section II
appeared in the 1998 Addenda to the 1995 Edition of Section II, Part A. They were:
CSA-G40.21, a Canadian specification for structural quality steels; and EN 10028-2,
a European carbon steel pressure vessel plate specification. Since then, a third
material has been incorporated: JIS G3118, a Japanese specification for carbon
steel pates for pressure vessels for intermediate and moderate temperature service.
Notice of the approval of this specification was published in Mechanical Engineering,
Vol. 121, No. 1, January 1999, page 89. The title page for the specification will be
published in the 1999 Addenda to Section II, Part A and it is shown in Figure 3.
The ASME does not yet have copyright agreements with the publishers of these
specifications. Therefore, rather than reprint these specifications in Section II, Part A,
only a title page for each non-ASTM material specification is printed. The title page
identifies any additional requirements the Committee determined were necessary to
permit use in ASME construction. The title page also identifies the address of the
source of the approved English language version.
2.2 Allowable Stresses for Foreign Materials
The Committee recognizes that some international material specifications actually
contain design allowable stresses. However, setting of allowable stresses cannot be
separated from the design, fabrication, and inspection rules of a particular code. For
Copyright 1999 by JSME 4
example, the increased knowledge of stresses that result from the analysis
procedures required by Section III, Class 1 construction, permits the use of less
conservative allowable stresses in that Code. Therefore, the Committee has
developed a two-level approach for setting allowable stresses for these materials.
The first approach is used for materials that are near equivalents of existing ASME
SA or SB specifications. For these, the Committee identifies the ASME specification
closest to the non-ASTM specification being considered. Then the database used to
establish the values for the ASME material is retrieved from the ASME/Materials
Properties Council archives. Allowable stresses in the time-independent region are
then established by using the tensile and yield strength trend curves for the ASME
material, but anchored to the minimum specified yield and tensile strengths of the
non-ASTM material (rounded to the nearest 0.5 Ksi). Allowable stresses in the time-
dependent region (the region where creep and creep-rupture properties govern the
allowable stresses) will be exactly the same for the new, non-ASTM material and the
ASME material. Allowable stresses in the time-independent region might be higher
or lower than those of the non-ASTM material, depending on whether the room-
temperature minimum specified yield and tensile strengths are higher than, lower
than, or the same as those of the near-equivalent ASME material. For instance, JIS
G3118 SGV 49 appears to be a near equivalent for SA-516 Grade 70. The minimum
yield strength of SGV 49 is 265 N/mm
2
, which rounds to 38.5 ksi. The minimum
tensile strength of SGV 49 is 481 N/mm
2
, which rounds to 70.0 ksi. Therefore, it
could be expected that the allowable stresses for G3118 SGV 49 will be identical to
those for SA-516 Grade 70, because the minimum yield and tensile strengths of SA-
516 Grade 70 are 38.0 ksi and 70.0 ksi, respectively.
The second approach is used when there is no near equivalent to the new foreign
specification. Then, the Committee treats the specification as a new material, and
sets allowable stresses based on analyzing the available tensile and creep-rupture
data, and then applies the usual factors in Appendix 1 of Section II, Part D. The
Committee does not use the allowable stresses that may be published in the material
specification itself, or those that may be published in codes of the country of origin of
the material specification. In many cases, however, the data analysis procedures
and stress criteria are sufficiently similar that very similar allowable stresses may be
adopted by ASME. There are, as yet, no examples of values established for new
foreign material specifications in this way.
3 VISION
The advent of the new tensile criterion resulted in the development, by the
Materials Properties Council, of an Excel data base containing all of the trend curves
for the tensile and yield strengths of all of the materials in Tables 1A and 1B; and all
of the creep-rupture data, also. The trend curves are now expressed as polynomial
curve-fits of the tensile and yield data that have been reviewed and approved by
Subcommittee II. Previously, many had been hand drawn by Committee members
and analysts. The availability of this data base allows the computer generation of the
allowable stresses and stress intensity values needed by any section of the B&PV
Code, simply by inputting the correct formula expressions representing the particular
criteria of that code. ASME and MPC now have the ability to generate completely
consistent allowable stresses and stress intensity tables. It is a simple matter to
Copyright 1999 by JSME 5
apply this powerful tool to the values in Tables 2A and 2B, and that will be one of our
next tasks. Subcommittee II already has a request in hand from ASME B31.1, Power
Piping, to review all of the B31.1 allowable stresses, and provide corrected values
where necessary. A similar request is anticipated from ASME B96, Welded
Aluminum Alloy Storage Tanks.
It is not too big a leap to recognize that Section II could become a printed or
electronic repository of allowable stresses and stress intensity values that are
internally consistent with a unique representation of the property data base for each
material, for every code section or book under the jurisdiction of the ASME Board on
Pressure Technology Codes and Standards (BPTCS) and the ASME Board on
Nuclear Codes and Standards (BNCS). By sorting on the basis of applicability for a
given book, Subcommittee II could generate tables of materials property values
uniquely appropriate to any of the codes or books for which the values are stored in
its database. So, ASME could generate book-specific tables and restore stress-table
appendices to each book section.
Further, whenever ASTM or any other agency makes a change to a specified
minimum tensile or yield strength, the change could be made in the database, and
revised values for all the affected properties would be revised globally. ASME
Subcommittee II and MPC can also generate hard metric tables, if requested.
Copyright 1999 by JSME 6
Figure 1. Excerpt from Table 1-100 of Section II, Part D
Criteria for Establishing Allowable Stress Values for Tables 1A and 1B
Below Room
Temperature
Room Temperature and Above
Product/Material
Tensile
Strength
Yield
Strength
Tensile
Strength
Yield
Strength
Stress
Rupture
Creep
Rate
Wrought or cast
Ferrous and
Non-ferrous
Welded pipe or
Tube, ferrous and
Nonferrous
S
T
4
0.85
S
T
4
2/3 S
Y
2/3 x
0.85 S
Y
S
T
4
0.85
S
T
4
1.1
S
T
R
T
4
(1.1 x 0.85)
S
T
R
T
4
2/3 S
Y
2/3 x 0.85 S
Y
2/3 S
Y
R
Y
or 0.9 S
Y
R
Y
[Note (1)]
2/3 x 0.85 S
Y
R
Y
or 0.9 x 0.85 S
Y
R
Y
[Note (1)]
0.67 S
R avg
(0.67 x 0.85) S
R avg
0.8 S
R min
(0.8 x 0.85) S
R min
1.0 S
c
0.85 S
c
NOTES:
(1) Two sets of allowable stress values are provided in Table 1A for austenitic materials and in Table 1B for specific nonferrous alloys. The
higher alternative allowable stresses are identified by a footnote. These stresses exceed two-thirds, but do not exceed 90% of the minimum
yield strength at temperature. The higher stress values should be used only where slightly higher deformation is not in itself objectionable.
These higher stresses are not recommended for the design of flanges or other strain sensitive applications.
WHERE:
S
T
= specified minimum tensile strength at room temperature, ksi
R
T
= ratio of the average temperature dependent trend curve value of tensile strength to the room temperature tensile strength
S
Y
= specified minimum yield strength at room temperature, ksi
R
Y =
ratio of the average temperature dependent trend curve value of yield strength to the room temperature yield strength
S
Ravg
= average stress to cause rupture at the end of 100,000 hr
S
Rmin
= minimum stress to cause rupture at the end of 100,000 hr
S
C
= average stress to produce a creep rate of 0.01%/1000 hr
Copyright 1999 by JSME 7
Figure 2. Excerpt from the Proposed New Table 1-100 of Section II, Part D
Criteria for Establishing Allowable Stress Values for Tables 1A and 1B
Below Room
Temperature
Room Temperature and Above
Product/Material
Tensile
Strength
Yield
Strength
Tensile
Strength
Yield
Strength
Stress
Rupture
Creep
Rate
Wrought or cast
Ferrous and
Non-ferrous
Welded pipe or
Tube, ferrous and
Nonferrous
S
T
3.5
0.86
S
T
3.5
2/3 S
Y
2/3 x
0.85 S
Y
S
T
3.5
0.85
S
T
3.5
1.1
S
T
R
T
3.5
(1.1 x 0.85)
S
T
R
T
3.5
2/3 S
Y
2/3 x 0.85 S
Y
2/3 S
Y
R
Y
or 0.9 S
Y
R
Y
[Note (1)]
2/3 x 0.85 S
Y
R
Y
or 0.9 x 0.85 S
Y
R
Y
[Note (1)]
0.67 S
R avg
(0.67 x 0.85) S
R avg
0.8 S
R min
(0.8 x 0.85) S
R min
2.0 S
c
0.85 S
c
NOTES:
(1) Two sets of allowable stress values are provided in Table 1A for austenitic materials and in Table 1B for specific nonferrous alloys. The
higher alternative allowable stresses are identified by a footnote. These stresses exceed two-thirds, but do not exceed 90% of the minimum
yield strength at temperature. The higher stress values should be used only where slightly higher deformation is not in itself objectionable.
These higher stresses are not recommended for the design of flanges or other strain sensitive applications.
WHERE:
S
T
= specified minimum tensile strength at room temperature, ksi
R
T
= ratio of the average temperature dependent trend curve value of tensile strength to the room temperature tensile strength
S
Y
= specified minimum yield strength at room temperature, ksi
R
Y =
ratio of the average temperature dependent trend curve value of yield strength to the room temperature yield strength
S
Ravg
= average stress to cause rupture at the end of 100,000 hr
S
Rmin
= minimum stress to cause rupture at the end of 100,000 hr
S
C
= average stress to produce a creep rate of 0.01%/1000 hr
Copyright 1999 by JSME 8
FIGURE 3 COVER SHEET FOR JIS G3118
SPECIFICATION FOR
CARBON STEEL PLATES FOR PRESSURE
VESSELS FOR INTERMEDIATE AND
MODERATE TEMPERATURE SERVICE
SA/JIS G3118
(Identical with JIS G3118-1987 as translated and published in the English language by Japanese
Standards Association with the additional requirements listed on this cover sheet. No other edition is
approved for ASME use.)
Additional Requirements
Marking:
In addition to the marking requirements of this specification in paragraph 11, all products are to
be identified by this SA/JIS specification designation.
In addition to the marking requirements of this specification in paragraph 11, the symbol for heat
treatment in 8.5 shall also be marked on the plate following the marked specification designation
by the party performing the heat treatment.
Mechanical Properties:
Tension testing is mandatory. Metric symbol materials (Table 1-2) shall use the values in Table
3-2 only.
Repair Welding:
Weld repairs may be performed when permitted by the purchaser. The requirements of SA-20
shall apply.
Source
JIS G3118 and its references can be obtained from:
Japanese Standards Association
1-24, Akasaka 4, Minato-ku
Tokyo 107 Japan
Copyright 1999 by JSME 9
Table 1: Effect of Change of Tensile Strength Criterion from 4 to 3.5 on the Allowable Stresses of Selected Materials
SA-213 T91 SA-213 TP347H SA-210C
Temp., F Temp.,C* Old (ksi) New (ksi) Old (MPa)* New (MPa)* Old (ksi) New (ksi) Old (MPa)* New (MPa)* Old (ksi) New (ksi) Old (MPa)* New (MPa)*
-20 to 100 -28.9 to 37.8 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 21.3 24.3 146.9 167.5 18.8 20.0 129.6 137.9
200 93.3 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 21.3 24.3 146.9 167.5 17.9 20.0 123.4 137.9
300 148.9 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 21.2 24.3 146.2 167.5 16.4 18.8 113.1 129.6
400 204.4 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 21.2 24.2 146.2 166.9 15.5 17.8 106.9 122.7
500 260.0 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 21.1 24.1 145.5 166.2 15.0 17.1 103.4 117.9
600 315.6 17.5 20.0 120.7 137.9 20.8 23.7 143.4 163.4 14.9 16.9 102.7 116.5
650 343.3 17.5 19.8 120.7 136.5 20.5 23.4 141.3 161.3 14.8 16.8 102.0 115.8
700 371.1 16.6 18.3 114.5 126.2 20.0 22.9 137.9 157.9 14.7 16.8 101.4 115.8
750 398.9 14.8 14.8 102.0 102.0 19.4 22.2 133.8 153.1 14.7 16.8 101.4 115.8
800 426.7 12.0 12.0 82.7 82.7 18.7 21.3 128.9 146.9 14.7 16.8 101.4 115.8
850 454.4 9.3 9.3 64.1 64.1 17.8 20.3 122.7 140.0 14.7 16.8 101.4 115.8
900 482.2 6.7 6.7 46.2 46.2 16.7 19.1 115.1 131.7 14.7 16.7 101.4 115.1
950 510.0 --- --- --- --- 15.5 17.8 106.9 122.7 14.6 16.6 100.7 114.5
1000 537.8 --- --- --- --- 14.3 16.3 98.6 112.4 14.4 16.4 99.3 113.1
1050 565.6 --- --- --- --- 12.9 14.0 88.9 96.5 14.1 16.2 97.2 111.7
1100 593.3 --- --- --- --- 10.3 10.3 71.0 71.0 13.5 14.1 93.1 97.2
1150 621.1 --- --- --- --- 7.0 7.0 48.3 48.3 10.5 10.5 72.4 72.4
1200 648.9 --- --- --- --- 4.3 4.3 29.6 29.6 7.9 7.9 54.5 54.5
1250 676.7 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 5.9 5.9 40.7 40.7
1300 704.4 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 4.4 4.4 30.3 30.3
1350 732.2 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 3.2 3.2 22.1 22.1
1400 760.0 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 2.5 2.5 17.2 17.2
1450 787.8 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 1.8 1.8 12.4 12.4
1500 815.6 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 1.3 1.3 9.0 9.0
* Soft conversions to metric units for illustration only.