Stainless steel from China or India - ASME BPVC Section II or VIII

[komposites]

Hi Forum,

I'm looking for some definitive information on whether stainless steel from China or India is permitted for use on ASME Pressure Vessels and Components per ASME BPVC Section II and VIII. For example, getting a S.S. Plate from China and machining a pressure vessel part from it.

After looking through the previous postings, I can't tell whether sourcing Chinese/Indian Stainless Steel is allowed(See below).
-- Chinese steel certified to different spec.
[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=261943[/url]
-- Claiming that Chinese Steel can never be accepted.
[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=273564[/url]

My questions:
1) Has anyone successfully sourced Stainless (bar, plate, pipe, etc.)from China or India for use in a certified ASME pressure vessel/pressurized components? There are plenty of sources on Alibaba.com implying they can cert to ASME, but are the Certs adequate in the eyes of an ASME inspector?
2) What is the required information on the certificate? I ask because I have a sample Cert that contains composition, tensile, yield, elongation from a Chinese steel company to DIN 1652 (Ck45 Medium carbon steel, EN10204-3.1 cert), but there is no mention of ASME or ASTM. Hypothetically, if the test values meet the ASME or ASTM test requirement, then can I upgrade the cert to ASME?? Or does the steel mill need to explicitly state that it is certified to "ASME SA-###"?
3) Another scenario: If material comes directly from a single batch, can I have a third-party test a subset of the batch, then upgrade the batch material to an ASME SA-### material? Not sure which tests would be required, and could conceivably be very extensive.
4) Alternatively, does ASME accept material certified to an EN-#### spec (European harmonized spec) as an equivalent. Sourcing using an EN spec in China/India might be easier to obtain, rather than an ASME material spec.

Thanks!

 

[metengr]

komposites;
First off, ASME B&PV Code does not nor will not ever exclude a country from supplying materials for use in boilers and pressure vessels. Any country that can meet ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code material specification requirements and can certify the materials to these requirements can source this to clients. You as the buyer must be aware of what you are purchasing from any organization, period.

Second comment regarding the rest of your questions - the general requirements for plate, tube and pipe products are well defined in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code under Section II, Part A or Part B. Read them.

Third comment - materials for pressure retaining application are listed in ASME Section II, Part D. There is no equivalency for materials, materials are listed based on original material specification, regardless if EN or ASTM/ASME. Vendors must certify that the materials being supplied meets the requirements. As a Purchaser you should still review all material certification or test reports for final acceptance.

Do you have access to the ASME Boiler and Pressure vessel Code? If not, you should have access to the Codes and Standards and after review you will find answers to your questions.

 

[rakuday]

komposites,

metengr has replied to all your queries. I would like to state that there are numerous companies in China & India who manufacture pressure vessels, heat exchangers and boilers, certify them as per ASME, PED and other different countries codes. Many such companies export & commission these equipment’s across the world. Again to cite metengrs words, you have to check if all the requirements as per the code are met.

 

[komposites]

Thanks for the comments. If there are more comments, feel free to keep discussing.

Therefore, in summary:
1) Yes, there are Chinese steel suppliers that can cert to ASME. Purchase to ASME requirements. Try to screen reputable sources.
2) No equivalency to other specs. Only buy to the ASME material spec.
3) No third party testing to upgrade to ASME spec material. The original supplier must cert to ASME spec.
4) If EN spec is listed in Section II or code case, then OK to purchase to EN spec.

Thanks.

 

[PipingEquipment]

As is pointed out yes they are allowed, however I would caution that there is a history of very poor quality and fraud from these areas, particularly China. In the heavy industrial side of pressure vessel manufacture most vendors I deal with have approved countries of 'origin and manufacturing location' for materials and products and I have never seen either country listed as approved. Just something to be aware of.