TAILORMADE HEAVY PLATES

FOR PRESSURE VESSELS

F. Gottwalles, Dr. I. Detemple, Dr. P. Wolf
Metallurgy Department, DillingerHütteGTS

ABSTRACT

The increasing severe requirements in customer specifications for heavy plates used in the
construction of petrochemical reactors are limiting the design possibilities of the steel
producers. This could create a situation in which the limits of the material are reached. One
must take into account that not only the combination of thickness and heat treatment strongly
influences the mechanical properties of the steel, but also the chemical composition and the
metallurgical fabrication parameters.
This paper deals with the influence of the heat treatment, the plate thickness and the alloying
concept of CMn steels on the mechanical properties of heavy plates. Only a few solutions
exist and can be used by the metallurgist to design the mechanical properties of the plate. But
these solutions can only be applied if rules or specifications authorize them.
The plate producer has to consider all these parameters and their interactions for the plate
design since only a well balanced combination of the above mentioned parameters can
guarantee an optimal result. It is strongly recommended to involve the steel producer in the
plate design during the early stages of the specification development.

INTRODUCTION

Technical requirements for petrochemical reactor steels have continuously proliferated in the
last decade. The need to improve operational benefits by higher operating temperatures and
pressures leads to the construction of higher capacity reators with thicker walls.

Also, more severe requirements in the steel specifications concerning fabrication and in
service conditions like : limitation of the chemical composition, heat treatment conditions of
stress relief, etc... give the steel designer little scope to find an optimum balance between all
influencing parameters in order to achieve the best possible steel design.

The above mentioned more and more severe specifications can generate a situation in which
the design limits of the material are reached, because an optimum balance can’t be achieve.

A typical carbon manganese steel, SA516-70 [1,2], frequently used in the reactors
construction, is presented as an example how to design the microstructure and thus the main
mechanical properties and find an optimal balance.

However, the metallurgist has to adapt the basic steel design to the mechanical requirements
of material standards like EN10028 [3] or ASME [1,2]. The standards limit certain design
parameters, but the latest reviews offer new posibilities, e.g. since edition 2007 the ASME
standard allows for a higher maximum manganese content of 1.50%. The maximum carbon
content has to be reduced accordingly. The former editions allowed only a maximum
manganese content of 1.20%.

1
THE HOLLOMON PARAMETER (HP) CONCEPT

The Hollomon Parameter (HP) [4] is used to describe the various heat treaments applied to a
steel plate, especially tempering and stress relief treatments as well as their combination (see
figure 1). Thanks this parameter, it is possible to combine the different influencing factors of
the heat treatment to a single value.

„T“
Holding Temperature
[°C]
Temperature [°C]

“ Kh “ “ Kc “
heating rate cooling rate
[°C/h] [°C/h]

Time [h]

heating holding cooling

T (+ 273) T (+ 273)
[
HP = T (+ 273) log ( +t+ ) + 20 ] * 10 -3
2,3 * Kh ( 20 - log Kh ) 2,3 * Kc ( 20 -log Kc )

Figure 1 : Schematization of the Hollomon Parameter calculation

Different heat treatments with an identical HP will therefore have an identical effect on the
metallurgy of the material – the higher the HP, the more significant the metallurgical effect.
HP is mainly inflenced by four parameters:
¾ HP increases when temperature and holding time increase
¾ HP decreases when heating rate and cooling rate increase

INFLUENCE OF THE HP ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HEAVY

PLATES

Through the example of the carbon-manganese steel SA516-70 [1,2], figure 2 shows the
evolution of yield strength and tensile strength according to the HP (N representing the
normalised condition). The blue-obliquely-shaded band represents yield strength values
calculated for a typical chemical composition and for plates having a thickness range (e) from
30 to 50 mm with a confidence interval of 99%. The red-vertically-shaded band represents
tensile strength values calculated for the same typical chemical composition and for plates
having a thickness range (e) from 30 to 50 mm with a confidence interval of 99%. The

2
continuous horizontal red and blue lines represent the minimum and maximum requirements
set by standard SA516-70 ed. 2004 ad. 2006 [2].

Figure 2 : Influence of HP on yield strength and tensile strength

We can see that not only the yield strength but also the tensile strength are affected by the
heat treatment : the harsher the heat treatment (higher HP-parameter), the more the yield
strength and the tensile strength of the material decrease. However, the influence of the heat
treatment remains relatively low.
Figure 3 shows the example of carbon manganese steel SA516-70 [1,2] the evolution of
toughness according to HP. The coloured dotted lines represent, for various test temperatures,
the lower toughness limits calculated for a typical chemical composition and for plates with
thicknesses between 30 and 50 mm. 99% of the results stand above this limit. The two
horizontal black lines represent typical minimum values 25 (17) J (25 J lowest average value
and 17 J lowest single value).

3
 300
Thicknes s range
30 < t <= 50 m m
250
Charpy - V - notch Toughness [Joule]

200

Low e r confide nce

lim it (99 %)
150 for t = 50 m m

+20 °C
100
0 °C

-10 °C
50 -20 °C

-40 °C -30 °C
0
N
15,0 15,5 16,0 16,5 17,0 HP 17,5 18,0 18,5 19,0 19,5
(Del. Cond.)

Figure 3 : Influence of HP on Charpy -V – notch toughness

We can note that the toughness, especially at lower temperatures, is strongly affected by the
heat treatment – the harsher the heat treatment, the more the toughness of the material
decreases and the minimal requirement of the standard can not be reached any more.

Therefore, by keeping a constant chemical composition whatever the HP value is, the
requirements set by a standard or a customer specification may no longer be respected. To
counter the effect of harsher HP-value, the carbon content of the steel has to be adjusted.
Figures 4 and 5 represent curves of the expected values of tensile strength and toughness at
–29 °C for a plate thickness of 50 mm and a typical chemical composition which is fixed only
by varying the carbon content and the HP.
As we can see in figures 4 and 5, the carbon content has to be increased to ensure the minimal
tensile strength requirement, and it has to be decreased to improve the toughness (when the
carbon content increases, the transition temperature of the steel also increases). For certain
carbon contents and depending on the applied heat treatment, it is no longer possible to design
the mechanical requirements of the product with identical solutions.

4
 600 350
Thickness
50 mm
300
Thickness C = 0,08 %
50 mm

Charpy - V - notch toughness [Joule]

550
250
C = 0,24 %
Tensile strength [MPa]

200 C = 0,12 %
C = 0,20 % Testing temperature
500
-29 °C
Rm min. according SA516-70 150
C = 0,16 %

100
C = 0,16 %
450 C = 0,12 %

50
C = 0,08 %
C = 0,20 %
C = 0,24 %
400 0
N N
15,0 15,5 16,0 16,5 17,0HP 17,5 18,0 18,5 19,0 19,5
15,0 15,5 16,0 16,5 17,0HP17,5 18,0 18,5 19,0 19,5

Figure 4 : Influence of HP and chemical Figure 5 : Influence of HP and chemical

composition on tensile composition on Charpy-V-
strength notch toughness

INFLUENCE OF PLATE THICKNESS ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

In order to consider the influence of the plate thickness on mechanical properties, a SA516-70
[1,2] is again examined as an example of carbon manganese steel, but this time in the
normalised condition, without tempering and stress relief treatment.

Figure 6 : Influence of plate thickness on yield strength and tensile strength

5
The blue-obliquely-shaded band (see figure 6) represents yield strength values calculated for a
typical chemical composition with a confidence interval of 99%. The red-vertically-shaded
band (see figure 6) represents tensile strength values calculated for the same typical chemical
composition with a confidence interval of 99%. The continuous horizontal red and blue lines
represent the minimum and maximum requirements set by the standard SA516-70 ed. 2004
ad. 2006 [2].
When the plate thickness increases, the yield strength and the tensile strength of the material
decrease for a constant chemical composition. Therefore, from a certain thickness, it is no
longer possible to guarantee the minimum tensile strength requirements set by the standard
and to keep the same chemical composition. The carbon content has to be increased.

Figure 7 shows, the evolution of toughness according to the plate thickness. The coloured
dotted lines represent, for various test temperatures, the lower toughness limits calculated for
a typical chemical composition. 99 % of the results stand above this limit. The two horizontal
black lines represent typical minimum values 25 (17) J.

300

norm alis ed

250
Charpy - V - notch Toughness [Joule]

200

150
Low e r confide nce
lim it (99 %)

100 +20 °C

0 °C

50 -10 °C
-20 °C

-30 °C
-40 °C
0
0 50 100 150
Thickness 200 250 300

Figure 7 : Influence of plate thickness on Charpy-V-notch toughness

For low plate thicknesses, the cooling rate (by air) is relatively high and can lead to a ferritic-
perlitic microstructure containing bainite. This influences negatively the toughness in the
untempered condition. Therefore the chemical composition and/or heat treatment has to be
redesigned.
For a certain thickness the toughness will reach a maximum level, and for higher thickness the
toughness decreases, all other parameters remain constant. This phenomenon is mainly caused
by an increase of the grain size in the microstructure since the cooling rate of the plate
decreases with higher thickness.

6
In order to fullfil the severe requirements of the standard or of the customer specification, for
a given test temperature and thickness, it is necessary to modify the chemical composition of
the steel and/or the heat treatment parameters.

We consider again the solution of the carbon content variation to optimize the steel design.
Figures 8 and 9 show the expected values of tensile strength and thoughness at –29 °C for a
typical chemical composition of a plate in normalised condition for different carbon content
and plate thickness. As in the previous case, it is obviously necessary at the same time to
increase the carbon content to ensure the minimum tensile strength requirement and to reduce
it to improve the toughness.

600 350
Testing temperature
normalised normalised
-29 °C
300
C = 0,08 %

Charpy - V - notch toughness [Joule]

550
250
Tensile strength [MPa]

C = 0,24 %
200
C = 0,12 %
500
C = 0,20 %
Rm min. according SA516-70 150

C = 0,16 %
C = 0,16 %
100
450

C = 0,12 % C = 0,20 %
50
C = 0,24 %

C = 0,08 %
400 0
0 50 100 150
Thickness 200 250 300 0 50 100 150
Thickness 200 250 300

Figure 8 : Influence of plate thickness Figure 9 : Influence of plate thickness

and chemical composition on and chemical composition on
tensile strength Charpy-V-notch toughness

Finally for certain combinations « product thickness – heat treatment – high toughness
requirements– standard or customer specification », it is easy to see that only the adjustement
of the carbon content is no longer sufficient. Furthermore, higher carbon levels deteriorate
certain steel forming properties, its suitability for oxycutting and its weldability. At last,
carbon is part of nearly all carbon equivalent formulas which are often limited by standards or
customer specifications.
Therefore, other methods have to be used by the metallurgist to design the mechanical
properties of the plate.

METALLURGICAL DESIGN TO MEET THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF

HEAVY PLATES

It has been shown that a basic design solution was to vary the carbon content of steel, but this
has limits as for its influence on mechanical properties.
Therefore, other methods have to be used to design the mechanical properties of the plates.
However, they have to comply with the standard or to be accepted by the customer.

7
ALLOYING

A reduction of carbon in the steel (which improves toughness but reduces yield strength and
tensile strength) can be offset by adjusting the chemistry of the steel through various elements
of alloying such as chromium, molybdenum, copper, nickel and / or niobium.
Thus, by their effect, the alloying elements either contribute directly to improving the
toughness of the steel, or allow to reduce the carbon content without reducing the tensile
strength and so, indirectly to improve the toughness.

Figure 10 shows the effect of alloying on the mechanical properties. The zones are functions
of thickness and heat treatment depending on whether a « CMn » concept or a « CMn +
alloying » concept is used. These zones represent combinations (e ; HP) for which a plate can
be produced according to standard SA516-70 ed. 2004 ad. 2006 [2] with minimum toughness
in the transverse direction at quarter thickness of 25 (17) J at –29 °C.

Figure 10 : Effect of micro-alloying on the heavy-plate mechanical properties

However, this design concept has limits. On the one hand, the standards and specifications
define the content of alloying elements and on the other hand, these elements also influence
the carbon equivalent, which we discussed above (the most commonly used formula is : CE =
C + Mn/6 + (Cr + Mo + V)/5 + (Ni + Cu)/15). Furthermore, the following argument has to be
taken into account : the production costs of an alloyed plate are higher than that of a carbon-
manganese plate so the purchase price.
Therefore, it is necessary to investigate other design options, for example by directly adjusting
the parameters of the heavy plate production process.

8
ACCELERATED COOLING FOLLOWED BY TEMPERING

An alternative to obtain a microstructure with a finer grain size is the accelerated cooling of
the plates (through water, oil, ...).
According to standard SA516 [1,2], it is possible to use for thick plates a cooling process
similar to that realised in thin plates after normalising heat treatment. A controlled and
accelerated cooling of the thick plates is allowed whereas quenching is prohibited. This
accelerated cooling has to be followed by a tempering to further optimise the toughness
properties. The plate’s delivery condition is in this case "N +AC + T" instead of "N".
The purpose of this way of production is to get on a thick plate the same microstructure as on
a thin plate. The fine grain size has a good influence on toughness.
By applying this processing route, it is possible to meet the requirements in terms of
toughness and to achieve the required levels of yield and tensile strength. In figure 11, typical
plate microstructures obtained with these two types of processing are represented.

t = 36 mm, normalised t = 180 mm, normalised

Grain size = 10, F 75 %, P 25 % Grain size = 8-9, F 75 %, P 25 %

N + AC + T

t = 180 mm, N + AC + T
Grain size = 9-10, F 75 %, P 25 %
Figure 11 : Microstructures of heavy-plates in delivry condition N and N + AC + T

Figure 12 shows like figure 10 the effect of the treatment "N + AC + T" on the mechanical
properties. The areas here represent also combinations (e; HP) for which a plate can be
produced according to standard SA516-70 ed. 2004 ad. 2006 [2].with minimum toughness in
the transverse direction at quarter thickness of 25 (17) J at –29 C, depending on the used
production method.

9
Figure 12 : Effect of „accelerate cooling + tempering (AC + T)“ on the mechanical
properties of heavy plates

By implementing this type of production, the steelmaker can fullfil more severe requirements
in terms of «thickness – HP » combination or in terms of pure requirement with a constant
«thickness – HP» combination.

CONCLUSION

Through the different examples, it has been shown that the mechanical properties of heavy
plates depend on many design parameters.
The chemistry, the thickness of the finished product and the used type of metallurgical
processing (including the heat treatment) strongly influence the characteristics of the final
product.
Some standards allow in a more flexible way to design the mechanical properties by
controlling the rolling and colling parameters. This brings several benefits directly related to
the grain size and above all allows to reduce drastically the carbon content and therefore the
CE, which allows for easier fabrication of the steel.
Very stringent requirements compared to those defined in the general standards, especially
when they reflect only a part of the influential parameters or when they are applied uniformly
to an entire range of thicknesses, limit the metallurgist‘s design possibilities. For very severe
specifications and customer requirements, it is important to discuss the design in detail with
the steelmaker before ordering plates.

10
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

[1] ASME Code Section II Part A, Edition 2007, SA-516/SA-516M, Specification for
pressure vessel plates, carbon steel, for moderate- and lower-temperature service

[2] ASME Code Section II Part A, Edition 2004 + Addenda 2006, SA-516/SA-516M,
Specification for pressure vessel plates, carbon steel, for moderate- and lower-temperature
service

[3] EN10028 part 1-6, Edition 2003, Flat products made of steels for pressure purposes

[4] HOLLOMON, John Herbert & JAFFE, L.D. Time-Temperature relations in Tempering
Steel. Transaction of the AIME, 162, 1645, 223-249

ABBREVIATIONS

HP Hollomon Parameter
e Thickness
CE Carbon equivalent
N Normalised
ACC Accelerate Cooling
T Tempering
Table 1 : Table of abbreviations

11