Niro A/S

Standard 1.61

Niro A/S Gladsaxevej 305 PO Box 45 DK-2860 Soeborg Denmark Tel +45 3954 5454 Fax +45 3954 5800 Reg No 12682

Stainless Steel
General Requirements

Contents

1998-10-01

Page

1.

Preface.........................................................................2

2.

Fabrication premises and aids .................................2-3

Materials .....................................................................3

4.

Placement of welds..................................................3-4

5.

Cutting and forming...................................................4

6.

Welding....................................................................4-5

7.

Surface treatment ....................................................5-6

8.

Inspection and testing ................................................6

9.

Finished equipment ....................................................6

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Niro A/S

Standard 1.61
However attention must be paid to crosswelds, repair-welds etc., where the total
heat input may be extra large.

1. Preface
1.1 Scope
This standard is applicable to all Niro
stainless steel equipment.
Failure to comply with this standard may
result in severe damages, especially relating
to corrosion. Corrosion resistance of
stainless steel in general is briefly described
in the following.
1.2 Corrosion resistance
The reason for the good corrosion resistance
of stainless steel is the presence of a very
thin - but chemically and mechanically
strong - film of chrome oxide on the
surface.
This corrosion resistance depends in a very
high degree on the quality of the surface
finish. The more corrosive a media is, the
greater the demands will be concerning the
quality of the surface finish.
As a main rule a cold-rolled, pickled at mills
surface will have almost optimum corrosion
resistance. It is therefore extremely
important to maintain the original surface
during the whole fabrication process.
1.3 Carbon content
At a temperature range between approx.
500C and 850C, chrome carbides are
gradually formed resulting in the reduction
of corrosion resistance of stainless steel.
The amount of separated chrome carbides
depends on the exact temperature, the time
in which the steel is in the critical
temperature range, i.e. the total heat input
and cooling time, and most of all the
contents of carbon in the steel.
The formation of chrome carbides leaves
the welded zone with reduced chrome
content, thus reducing the corrosion
resistance. The zone becomes sensitized.
When sheets of thickness less than approx. 5
mm are welded, the heat input will
normally be small, and the corrosion
resistance will not be essentially decreased.

1998-10-01

It is recommended to use stainless steel with

a maximum carbon content of 0.03% (Lquality) or a titanium/niob stabilized steel, if
parts in large thickness have to be welded
or, if the design includes details which are
difficult to handle for the welder.
1.4 Stainless steel quality
The selection of the specific stainless steel
quality is among others based on the
aggressiveness of the corrosive media.
In this connection it is important to
emphasise that the corrosion resistance of
the complete component seldom is as good
as for the selected stainless steel type. The
reason for this may be a non-optimum
surface finish or a presence of small cracks
and pores, where a heavy corrosive
environment may be generated.
Crevices and other geometric details, which
may give possibilities for local heavy
corrosive environment, shall be avoided in
the design. If this is not possible, the use of
a more resistant stainless steel for those
details are to be considered.
Surface finish requirements and acceptable
geometrical defects shall be considered in
relation to the actual corrosive environment
and selected material quality.

2. Fabrication premises and aids

2.1 Storage
All stainless steel material shall be stored in
a suitable manner in order to avoid damage
or contamination from chlorides and
weather etc. It shall be stored in areas
separated from carbon steel materials.
Insulation materials shall be stored in a
clean and dry area.
2.2 Fabrication
Stainless steel fabrication shall be carried
out in dedicated areas. These areas shall in
the greatest possible extent be separated
from areas, where carbon steel fabrication is
being carried out.

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Niro A/S

Standard 1.61

The supplier shall take all practical measures

to avoid contamination of the stainless
steel. In order to avoid any damage of the
original surface, plastic foil covering should
be considered.

3.3 Material identification markings

2.3 Tools

In any case, the hard stamped marking shall

not be on the product contact surfaces.

Hand tools of carbon steel material shall not

be used. Hand tools which were used with
carbon steel shall be absolutely avoided.
Care has to be taken while using the lifting
equipment.
Rolls, forming equipment and shearing
blades used to form or cut stainless steel
shall be kept clean and burr-free. Any debris
from carbon steel forming or cutting are to
be removed prior to use of such equipment
for stainless steel.
Hammers, earthing lugs or clamps etc. used
on stainless steel should preferably be made
of stainless steel or a material compatible
with stainless steel.
Grinding and polishing wheels, discs or belts
shall be dedicated for use on stainless steel.

3. Materials
Only materials conforming to the specified
requirements may be used. All materials
shall be inspected by the supplier prior to
use, i.e. check of steel quality, dimension,
surface finish etc.
3.1 Surface quality
Exact values for surface roughness for
standard plates/sheets (e.g. 2B) are not
available, as they vary from mill to mill for
the different thickness of sheet/plate.
In case the surface quality is better on one
side of a plate than on the other, the better
side shall be used for product contact
surface.
3.2 Traceability
If traceability is required, the supplier shall
maintain a system of identification for the
materials used in manufacture. The supplier
shall supply a material list stating drawing
and item number for the relevant parts with
reference to the material certificates.
1998-10-01

No markings with hard stamping on plates

with 6 mm thickness or less are allowed,
unless this is specifically required.

Material identification markings should not

be left on stainless steel surfaces subject to
corrosive environment, unless this is
specifically required.

4. Placement of welds
4.1 General
The placement of welds shall be carefully
considered prior to plate cutting. The
number and extent of welds shall be kept to
a minimum, in order to obtain a uniform
appearance of the finished equipment.
Where practical possible, the equipment
shall be made from a single sheet/plate.
Small pieces of plates shall be avoided.
Accumulation of welds shall be avoided.
Distance between two parallel butt welds
shall at least be the greater of 50 mm or 10
times the plate thickness.
Intersecting welds shall be avoided to the
greatest extent possible. Longitudinal
seams, which adjoin a circumferential seam
from each side shall be separated by at least
50 mm.
Corner welds in drains, ducts, vessels and
vessel outlets shall not be used unless
specifically approved by Niro.
Openings for manways, pipe connections
etc. as well as reinforcement rings shall be
placed as far from the shell joints as
possible, and shall not cut into other joints.
Fillet welds securing external attachments
should be placed at a minimum toe to toe
distance of 10 mm away from any existing
seam welds.

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Standard 1.61

4.2 Pneumatic hammers

6.1 Joint preparation

The position of the impact point shall be

properly selected in order to avoid cracking
in the parent material.

All burrs and ragged edges shall be

removed prior to any welding operation.

Distance from impact point to any weld

shall be at least 400 mm.
Provided the weld is tested by X-ray
examination, the distance from the impact
point to a high quality square butt weld can
be 100 mm. The cost for the X-ray
examination shall be borne by the supplier,
unless otherwise agreed upon.

5. Cutting and forming

The material may be formed to the required
shape by any process that will not impair
the quality and the proportions of the
material for its intended use.
All burrs and ragged edges shall be
removed prior to welding. Any cut edge
that is left in the cut condition shall be
dressed to remove sharp edges.
Cold forming or bending of the material
should be carried out by gradually applied
pressure. Hammering of the material as a
forming method should be absolutely
avoided.
The material thickness shall not be reduced
by more than 10% of the original thickness
during any general forming operation. For
domed/dished ends, where a greater
distortion is unavoidable, the minimum
design thickness shall be maintained.
Knuckle radii shall be free from kinks,
ripples or dents. Minor forming marks on
the non-contact side are acceptable.
Deviations in the diameter of bend
pipes/tubes shall not exceed 10% of the
original diameter.

6. Welding
Welding personnel shall be adequately
trained. The welding process, especially the
heat input, shall be carefully controlled and
appropriate welding methods, gas mixtures
and filler materials shall be used.

1998-10-01

Joint preparations made by machining,

grinding, laser or water jet cutting are
usually acceptable. If other methods are
used, e.g. arc gouging/cutting, the fusion
faces shall be ground clean to remove
oxides.
Prior to welding, the fusion faces and the
adjacent material, for a minimum of 25mm
from the fusion faces, shall be free from
moisture, scale, paint, grease, plastic foil or
other foreign matter.
6.2 Assembling and alignment
Weld joints shall be aligned and held in
position by methods not damaging the
material.
Any tack weld that is to be incorporated in
the final weld shall conform with the
current welding quality requirements. The
tack weld shall be made using a welding
consumable of the same composition as of
the final weld.
Tack welds shall be positioned in such a way
that they will be incorporated fully into the
main welded joint or can be removed after
welding has been completed.
Temporary attachments used to assist fit up
shall be compatible with the parent
material and shall be removed without
damaging the equipment. After removal of
temporary attachments, the remnants of
the welds shall be ground flush, polished
and passivated.
All permanent attachments to equipment
should conform with the shape of the
surface to which they are attached.
6.3 Gas protection
When welding the austenitic stainless steel,
it shall be done carefully and aimed to
obtain the same corrosion resistance as the
untreated parent material.
For this reason the root of the weld shall be
protected from oxidation/contamination by
back purging with a suitable gas.

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Standard 1.61

Acceptable limit for oxygen content

depends on the stainless steel type and the
type of protection gas used.
After welding the heat affected zone on the
root side shall have a yellowbrown or
lighter colour. The heat affected zone on
the welding side shall have an even colour
and must not be black.
If the colour in the heat affected zone is
darker than specified above, pickling shall
be made without any extra costs to Niro,
even if such pickling is not specified.
For pipe welds etc., where surface
treatment on the root side is not possible, it
is very important to ensure adequate gas
protection during welding.
6.4 Filler material
Filler materials shall be compatible with the
materials being welded. The quality of the
weld metal shall at least correspond to the
quality of the parent material.
Recommendations from recognized
suppliers of filler materials shall be
obtained.
Different filler materials shall be properly
identified and stored.
6.5 Welding
In general the welding quality of the
equipment shall be in accordance with Niro
Standard 1.4-, unless otherwise specified.
Every effort shall be made to avoid stray arc
strikes on the material surface. In case of
stray arc strikes, these shall be dressed,
polished and passivated.
The equipment will be rejected in case
plastic foil covering is burned into the
parent material.
The use of permanent backing bars or rings
is not permitted but temporary backing bars
or rings may be used.

Where accessible, all welds and heat

affected zones shall be cleaned prior to
further surface treatment. i.e. all slag, flux
residues, spatter etc. shall be removed.

7. Surface treatment
7.1 Grinding and polishing
During grinding and polishing localised
heat build-up and blueing of the material
shall be avoided.
Grinding and cutting dust from stainless
steel, which is burned into the surface, will
behave as ordinary carbon steel
contamination. The chrome in the dust will
disappear during heating, and the particles
will, therefore, no longer be corrosionresistant.
Reduction of material thickness during
grinding and polishing shall not exceed 5%
of the original material thickness. Local
reduction of up to 10% of the plate
thickness may be accepted
7.2 Chemical surface treatment
A chemical surface treatment is used for
optimizing the surface corrosion resistance.
Carbon steel contamination may normally
be removed by decontamination. It must
not be expected that mechanical cleaning
alone will remove the carbon steel
contamination effectively as in many cases
the carbon steel particles will be pressed
into the stainless steel surface.
Prior to any chemical surface treatment, the
surface shall be thoroughly cleaned and
degreased. Cutting lubricants, rests of glue
and other grease deposits on the surface
shall be removed.
Passivation chemicals shall not be left on
the material surface for a period exceeding
that recommended by the manufacturer
and all residues shall be completely
removed using fresh, clean water.

Reinforcements and other attachments,

which are attached by intermediate fillet
welds, shall be fixed by welding in the
ends/corners of the reinforcements.

1998-10-01

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Niro A/S

Standard 1.61

8. Inspection and testing

9. Finished equipment

The supplier shall carry out adequate

inspection during fabrication. Niro reserves
the right at any time to check by means of
the most appropriate test methods to
ascertain that the equipment conforms to
the specified requirements.

Finished equipment shall be properly

cleaned.

Non-destructive testing shall be carried out

in accordance with Niro Standard 1.5-, when
required.
All welds in light gauge plate on tanks,
vessels, bins, etc., which are designed to
contain liquid, shall be leak tested by the
supplier, e.g. by penetrant, pneumatic leak
testing or water filling to overflow.

Plastic foil on internal surfaces of closed

vessels, tanks etc. shall be removed. Plastic
foil on external surfaces may remain on the
component, except in cases where the
equipment will be transported or stored in
direct sunlight and/or extreme heat.
The equipment shall preferably be stored
indoor, but large constructions may be
stored outdoor provided that they are
properly protected.

Only components which are designed to

contain liquid may be filled with water.

1998-10-01

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