BUREAU VERITAS

VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

Contractor’s Name : BUREAU VERITAS VIETNAM

Company’s Name : Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC.

Plant Location : Nghi Son, Viet Nam

W/ Order No. :
Package No. : 5

Scope of Work : INSPECTION SERVICE FOR DCSM

Discipline : DCSM

NSRP DCSM PROJECT 2019

Discipline
Receiving Date
Reviewed By
Review Date
Review Result code
Document Review codes:
1- Rejected (Revise and resubmit), 2- Comments as Noted (Revise and
resubmit. Work may proceed subject to full compliance with comments),
3- Minor Comments (Acceptable, Works may proceed. Revise &
Resubmit as “Certified Final), 4- No comments (Works may Proceed)
Returned on
Next Submission Due
Date

THIS DOCUMENT IS CONTROLLED BY THE BUREAU VERITAS - VIETNAM AND MAY NOT BE AMENDED, REVISED OR ALTERED IN
ANY OTHER WAY WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THAT COMPANY.

THE SIGNATURES BELOW AUTHORISE ALL PAGES OF THIS PROCEDURE FOR USE FROM THE DATE OF APPROVAL AS SHOWN.

Rev Date Description Prepared By Reviewed by Approved By

.
0 26/09/2019

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 BUREAU VERITAS
VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

Nguyen Gia Dinh Annamalai Natarajan Annamalai Natarajan

REVISION HISTORY

Rev. Date Issued Comments Prepared by Reviewed & Approved by

00 26.Sep.2019 First Issue. Nguyen Gia Dinh Annamalai Natarajan

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 BUREAU VERITAS
VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

INDEX

Section Description Page

1.0 Scope 4

2.0 Reference Documents 4

3.0 Personnel Qualification 4

4.0 Safety 4

5.0 Preparation for Hardness Testing 4

6.0 Location of Testing 5

7.0 Field of Application 6

8.0 Techniques 7

9.0 Evaluation of Test Results 8

10.0 Acceptance Criteria 8

11.0 Reporting 9

Appendix 1 Hardness Test Report 10

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 BUREAU VERITAS
VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

1.0 SCOPE:

1.1 This Procedure details the hardness testing of weld joints and parent metal (base
metal) using portable Equotip Instruments.

2.0 REFERENCES:

1 EQUOTIP PROCEQ Operation Manuel

2 ASTM A956-02 Standard Practice for Hardness Testing of Steel Product

Standard Hardness Conversion Table for Metal

3 ASTM E-140
relationship
QHSE-MN-QHSE Manual Rev
4 Quality, Health, Safety and Environment
08

3.0 PERSONNEL:

3.1 Personnel performing hardness testing shall be fully conversant with the operation
of the equipment and shall demonstrate sufficient knowledge and experience as
per company’s training procedure.

4.0 EQUIPMENT CALIBRATION:

4.1 Equipment shall be calibrated as per the EQUOTIP Instruction Manual using the
calibration block supplied.

5.0 PREPARATION FOR HARDNESS TESTING:

5.1 The surface to be tested shall feature metallic smooth, ground surface in order to
eliminate erroneous measurements brought about by coarse grinding or lathe
scoring.

5.2 The surface must be clean and free of oil, grease and dust.

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NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

5.3 The surface roughness of the material being tested shall be small in relation to the
penetration depth of the Vickers diamond (ca 14 to 200 Micrometers), Ideal surface
roughness is approximately 30% of the penetration depth.

6.0 LOCATION OF TESTING:

6.1 The number of spots required for hardness testing and location of testing shall be
minimum five readings per Spot shall be taken and records the average hardness
value.

6.2 Pressure-retaining welds shall be hardness tested in accordance with NACE RP

0472 and requirements given below:

6.2.1 Place specimens under 5 kg (11 lbs) on a solid base so that they cannot
be moved or oscillate as a result of the impact.

6.2.2 Firmly couple specimens that weigh between 0.1 - 2 kg (0.2 - 4.4 lbs) to an
immovable base, e.g. a heavy base plate.

6.2.3 Despite the low mass of the impact body and low impact energy, a
relatively large impact force of short duration is generated when the impact
body hits the measuring surface.

6.2.4 For heavy samples of a compact shape, no particular precautions are

necessary.

6.2.5 Smaller and lighter samples or work pieces yield or flex under this force,
producing L-values which are too small and of excessively large variation.

6.2.6 Even with big or heavy work pieces, it is possible for thin wall regions or
thinner protruding parts to yield upon impact.

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NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

6.2.7 Depending on the frequency of the resulting yielding action, the measured
L-value may be too small or too large.

6.3 Testing shall be performed after any required PWHT, the test location and
frequency shall be in accordance with NACE RP 0472 that is for vessel butt welds,
a minimum of one hardness test shall be made for each 3 meter (10 ft) of weld
seam.

6.4 In addition, one hardness test shall be made on each nozzle flange to neck and
nozzle, neck to Shell/Head weld.

6.5 Each unique welding procedure used shall be hardness tested.

6.6 All repair welds shall be hardness tested unless otherwise specified by the
applicable code / standard or as modified by the client.

6.7 Reading in the Base metal, Weld metal, HAZ shall be conducted if specified by the
applicable code (e.g. ASME B 31.3) or standard.

6.8 When access is available, tests shall be performed on the process contacted side
of the weld.

7.0 FIELD OF APPLICATION:

7.1 The hardness tester EQUOTIP is designed for testing metallic materials, the
hardness of which ranges from very low to very high values.

7.2 Hardness testing can be performed directly on-site and in any position.

7.3 Typical applications for the EQUOTIP instruments are large, heavy work pieces
which could only be transported to a hardness testing machine in a laboratory with
great difficulty.

7.4 It is especially suitable for applications in which standard indentation hardness

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VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

testing is either not feasible or not economical.

7.5 The hardness tester EQUOTIP comprises an indicating device and an impact
device.

7.6 It is based on the rebound hardness testing method according to Leeb.

7.7 It is for testing the hardness of all material surfaces over a large range of hardness
quickly and independently.

7.8 The unit displays in the hardness scales of:

7.8.1 Leeb (HL)

7.8.2 Vickers (HV)

7.8.3 Brinell (HB)

7.8.4 Rockwell (HRA, HRB, HRC)

7.8.5 Shore (HS)

7.8.6 Tensile strength for steel (Rm)

7.8.7 Customer-specific conversion

7.9 Dynamic L-values are converted to equivalent static hardness values, e.g. HV, HB
and HRC, with a certain conversion scattering (see instruction manual).

8.0 TECHNIQUES:

8.1 Clean the areas for testing.

8.2 Apply the coupling paste.

8.3 Apply a thin layer of coupling paste to the contact surface of the specimen.

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NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

8.4 Press the specimen firmly against the base plate and spread the paste using
circular motions.

8.5 The coupling process has been carried out properly if there is no longer any
metallic contact between the parts.

8.6 Carry out the impact vertically.

8.7 The coupling ensures a rigid connection between the two parts, the absence of
surface stress on the specimen and thus reliable test values.

8.8 Insufficiently coupled samples produce large variations of individual

measurements, L-values which are too high and the operation is characterized by
a rattling noise upon impact of the test tip.

8.9 Carry out hardness testing as per instruction manual and client’s requirements.
Records can be manually recorded.

9.0 EVALUATION OF TEST RESULTS:

9.1 The hardness of the base metal, weld metal, and the related HAZ of all welds shall
not exceed the limit given by the respective material specification Codes and
standards or by the client specification.

9.2 When hardness tests results are not in the required specifications, the owner’s
inspector / quality assurance manager shall be notified.

9.3 Additional hardness test shall be required based on inspector’s discretion.

10.0 ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:

10.1 The hardness of hot formed bends and of the base metal, weld metal, and the
related HAZ of all welds shall not exceed the limit given in the following table:

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 BUREAU VERITAS
VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

(1)
Material P-number Brinell Hardness (2)
P1 200
All other P numbers Refer to Table-2
1) Material P numbers as per ASME section IX.
2) For piping base metal value shown or the value given in the specific ASTM standard. For the weld metal and
HAZ, use the lower value or the value in the referencing code.

11.0 REPORTING:

11.1 The hardness test report shall indicate (as per annexure A):

11.1.1 The type of hardness tester.

11.1.2 Calibration date and due date.

11.1.3 Personnel conducting hardness test.

11.1.4 Type of material.

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VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

11.1.5 Test location and reading of each point tested and all necessary isometric
shall be supplied by the client, which highlighted number for joints that
corresponds to the request.

APPENDIX 1
REPORT FORMAT

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VIETNAM
NSRP DOCUMENT No.:
DCSM PROJECT 2019 HARDNESS TEST PROCEDURE D-P5-BV-PD-015

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