Explanation of DIN material codes

[CMMehanicalWorks]

After much experience working with ASTM material standards I am now assisting a german company for piping fabrication and Installation. One thing that I am finding difficult to understand is where the numbers in front of CrMo (and other letters) come from. Say for example 16Mo3 and x10CrVNB9-1 . Does the 16 and 3 have a direct reference to the amount of molybdenum or is it a different meaning altogether and where is the x coming from? . Also can you determine from looking at the material code the parts of chromium or moly. in a material as I came across tables that say materials fall into this category if they are 1/2 CrMo etc. Any help or references to books or websites would be a great help. Thanks to anyone who gives useful information.

 

[mrfailure]

The numbers sometimes have meaning for nominal composition, but most of the time they do not. Your best bet is to look them up in a reference such as the Worldwide Guide to Equivalent Ferrous Irons and Steels.

Aaron Tanzer

 

[ulyssess]

The designation of EN-materials is given in EN 10027-1.
There are different rules depending on the use, the alloy contnent,.....
E.g.
16Mo3 means an average C-content of 0,16% and Mo-content of 0,3% and no other major alloying element.
Different multiplication factors apply:
4 for Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Si, W
10 for Al, Be, Cu, Mo, Nb, Pb, Ta, Ti, V, Zr
100 for C, P, S, N
1000 for B
This system mainly applies to steel grades if no element has > 5%.

X10CrVNB9-1 means an average of 0,10%C, 9%Cr, 1%V (I assume Mo is missing in your designation and the correct designation is X10CrMoVNb9-1)
X means that one element has > 5%.
The multiplication factor for all elements is 100.
The first figure is the average C-content.
Alloying elements are sorted in decreasing order. Generally, only the contents of the 2-3 most important enter in the designation.

All EN Grades are based on the rules of EN 10027-1.