Datasheet updated

2024-01-11 10:32
(supersedes all previous editions)

Alleima® 3R12 is an austenitic stainless chromium-nickel steel with a low carbon content.

Standards

  • ASTM: TP304L, TP304
  • UNS: S30403, S30400
  • EN Number: 1.4306, 1.4301
  • W.Nr.: 1.4306*, 1.4301*
  • DIN: X 2 CrNi 19 11*, X 5 CrNi 18 10*
  • SS: 2352*, 2333*
  • AFNOR: Z 2 CN 18.10*
  • BS: 304S31*, 304S11*
  • JIS: SUS304L, SUS304LTB, SUS304TP

Product standards

  • ASTM A213, A269 and A312
  • JIS G3459
  • JIS G3463
  • EN 10216-5
  • BS 3605, 3606*
  • DIN 17456, 17458*
  • NFA 49-117, 49-217
  • SS 14 23 52, 14 23 33*

* Obsolete. Replaced by EN.

Approval
JIS approval for Stainless Steel Tubes

Chemical composition (nominal)

Chemical composition (nominal) %
C Si Mn P S Cr Ni
≤0.030 0.5 1.3 ≤0.030 ≤0.015 18.5 10

Subject to agreement, material with extra low Co content can be supplied.

Applications

Alleima® 3R12 is used for a wide range of industrial applications. Typical examples are: heat exchangers, condensers, pipelines, cooling and heating coils in the chemical, petrochemical, fertilizer, pulp and paper and nuclear power industries, as well as in the production of pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages.

Corrosion resistance

General corrosion

Alleima® 3R12 has good resistance in

  • Organic acids at moderate temperatures
  • Salt solutions, e.g. sulfates, sulfides and sulfites
  • Caustic solutions at moderate temperatures

Alleima® 3R12 has better resistance than normal type ASTM TP304 to oxidizing agents, such as nitric acid. Figure 2 shows isocorrosion in nitric acid for Alleima® 3R12.

Figure 2. Diagram showing isocorrosion in nitric acid for Alleima 3R12 at the corrosion rates of 0.1 mm/year (4mpy) and 0.3 mm/year (12 mpy).

Intergranular corrosion

Alleima® 3R12 has a low carbon content and therefore better resistance to intergranular corrosion than steels of type ASTM TP304.

The TTC-diagram, Figure 3, which shows the result of testing for 24 h in boiling Strauss solution (12% sulfuric acid, 6% copper sulfate) confirms the superior resistance of Alleima 3R12. This is an advantage in complicated welding operations.

The good resistance against intergranular attack of Alleima 3R12 is also demonstrated in the Huey test (boiling in 65% nitric acid for 5x48 h). A maximum corrosion rate of 0.40 mm/year in the annealed condition and 0.60 mm/year in the sensitized (675°C (1275oF)) condition can be met.

Alleima® 3R12 with its controlled and low impurity level, shows better results than ordinary ASTM TP304L or TP321.


Figure 3. TTC-diagram for Alleima 3R12 (AISI 304L) and AISI 304.

Pitting and crevice corrosion

The steel may be sensitive to pitting and crevice corrosion even in solutions of relatively low chloride content. Molybdenum-alloyed steels have better resistance improves with increasing molybdenum content.

Stress corrosion cracking

Austenitic steels are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). This may occur at temperatures above about 60°C (140°F) if the steel is subjected to tensile stresses and at the same time comes into contact with certain solutions, particularly those containing chlorides. Such service conditions should therefore be avoided. Conditions when plants are shut down must also be considered, as the condensates which are then formed can develop conditions that leads to both stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and pitting.

In applications demanding high resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) we recommend the duplex (austenitic-ferritic) steel SAF 2304.

Gas corrosion

Alleima 3R12 can be used in:

  • Air up to 850°C (1560°F)
  • Steam up to 750°C (1380°F)
  • Synthesis gas (ammonia synthesis) up to about 550°C (1020°F).

Creep behavior should also be taken into account when using the Alleima 3R12 in the creep range.

In flue gases containing sulfur, the corrosion resistance is reduced. In such environments the steel can be used at temperatures up to 600-750°C (1110-1380°F) depending on service conditions. Factors to consider are whether the atmosphere is oxidizing or reducing, i.e. the oxygen content, and whether impurities such as sodium and vanadium are present.

Bending

Annealing after cold bending is not normally necessary, but this point must be decided with regard to the degree of bending and the operating conditions. Heat treatment, if any, should take the form of stress relieving or solution annealing, see under 'Heat treatment'.

Hot bending is carried out at 1100-850°C (2010-1560°F) and should be followed by solution annealing.

Forms of supply

Seamless tube and pipe in Alleima® 3R12 is supplied in dimensions up to 260 mm (10.2 in.) outside diameter in the solution-annealed and white-pickled condition or solution annealed by a bright-annealing process. U-bent tubes can be supplied on request.

Heat treatment

Tubes in Alleima® 3R12 are normally delivered in heat treated condition. If additional heat treatment is needed after further processing the following is recommended.

Stress relieving

850-950°C (1560-1740°F), cooling in air.

Solution annealing

1000-1100°C (1830-2010°F), rapid cooling in air or water.

Mechanical properties

For tube and pipe with wall thickness greater than 10 mm (0.4 in.) the proof strength may fall short of the stated value by about 10 MPa (1.4 ksi).

Metric units, at 20°C
Proof strength Tensile strength Elong. Hardness
Rp0.2a) Rp1.0a) Rm Ab) A2"
HRB
MPa MPa MPa % %
≥210 ≥240 515-680 ≥45 ≥35 ≤90
Imperial units, at 68°F
Proof strength Tensile strength Elong. Hardness
Rp0.2a) Rp1.0a) Rm Ab) A2" HRB
ksi ksi ksi % %
≥30 ≥35 75-99 ≥44 ≥35 ≤90

1 MPa = 1 N/mm2
a) Rp0.2 and Rp1.0 correspond to 0.2% offset and 1.0% offset yield strength, respectively.
b) Based on L0 = 5.65 √S0 where L0 is the original gauge length and S0 the original cross-section area.

Impact strength

Due to its austenitic microstructure, Alleima® 3R12 has very good impact strength, both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperatures.

Tests have demonstrated that the grade fulfils the requirements according to the European standards EN 13445-2 (UFPV-2) ( (min. 60 J (44 ft-lb) at -270 oC (-455 oF)) and EN 10216-5 (min. 60 J (44 ft-lb) at -196 oC (-320oF).

At high temperatures - metric units
Temperature Proof strength
Rp0.2 Rp1.0
°C MPa MPa
50 ≥190 ≥215
100 ≥165 ≥190
150 ≥150 ≥175
200 ≥140 ≥165
250 ≥130 ≥155
300 ≥125 ≥150
350 ≥120 ≥145
400 ≥115 ≥140
450 ≥110 ≥135
500 ≥105 ≥130
550 ≥100 ≥125
At high temperatures - imperial units
Temperature Proof strength
Rp0.2 Rp1.0
°F ksi ksi
200 ≥24 ≥28
400 ≥20 ≥24
600 ≥18 ≥22
800 ≥16 ≥20
1000 ≥15 ≥18
Creep-rupture strength (ISO-values)
Temperature 10 000 h 100 000 h
°C °F MPa ksi MPa ksi
550 1020 ≈195 ≈28.3 ≈115 ≈16.6
575 1065 ≈147 ≈21.3 ≈93 ≈13.5
600 1110 ≈122 ≈17.6 ≈74 ≈10.7
625 1155 ≈100 ≈14.5 ≈58 ≈8.4
650 1200 ≈79 ≈11.5 ≈45 ≈6.5
675 1245 ≈64 ≈9.2 ≈33 ≈4.8
700 1290 ≈48 ≈7.0 ≈23 ≈3.3

Physical properties

Density: 7.9 g/cm3, 0.29 lb/in3

Thermal conductivity
Temperature, °C W/m °C Temperature, °F Btu/ft h °F
20 15 68 8.5
100 16 200 9.5
200 18 400 10.5
300 20 600 12
400 22 800 13
500 23 1000 14
600 25 1200 15
700 26 1300 15
Specific heat capacity
Temperature, °C J/kg °C Temperature, °F Btu/lb °F
20 475 68 0.11
100 500 200 0.12
200 530 400 0.13
300 560 600 0.13
400 580 800 0.14
500 600 1000 0.14
600 615 1200 0.15
700 625 1300 0.15
Thermal expansion1)
Temperature, °C Per °C Temperature, °F Per °F
30-100 16.5 86-200 9
30-200 17 86-400 9.5
30-300 17.5 86-600 10
30-400 18 86-800 10
30-500 18.5 86-1000 10
30-600 18.5 86-1200 10.5
30-700 19 86-1400 10.5

1) Mean values in temperature ranges (x10-6)

Modulus of elasticity1)
Temperature, °C MPa Temperature, °F ksi
20 200 68 29.0
100 194 200 28.2
200 186 400 26.9
300 179 600 25.8
400 172 800 24.7
500 165 1000 23.5

1) Modulus of elasticity, (x103)

Welding

The weldability of Alleima® 3R12 is good. Welding must be carried out without preheating and subsequent heat treatment is normally not required. Suitable methods of fusion welding are manual metal-arc welding (MMA/SMAW) and gas-shielded arc welding, with the TIG/GTAW method as first choice.

For Alleima® 3R12, heat input of <2.0 kJ/mm and interpass temperature of <150°C (300°F) are recommended.

Recommended filler metals

TIG/GTAW or MIG/GMAW welding

ISO 14343 S 19 9 L / AWS A5.9 ER308L (e.g. Exaton 19.9.L)

MMA/SMAW welding

ISO 3581 E 19 9 L R / AWS A5.4 E308L-17(e.g. Exaton 19.9.LR)

ISO 14343 S 19 9 L / AWS A5.9 ER308L (e.g. Exaton 19.9.L) wire or strip electrodes are recommended for overlay welding of tube sheets and high-pressure vessels in cases where corrosion resistance, equal to that of Alleima® 3R12, is required.

Sizes in stock

Seamless tube and pipe
Alleima® 3R12 is stocked in a wide range of sizes according to ISO and ANSI. Heat exchanger tubes are also stocked in a number of sizes as BWG-sizes. Hollow bar is stocked in a large number of sizes as SANMAC 304L (see data sheet S-1824-ENG) but on request hollow bar in 3R12 can also be supplied.
Details of our manufacturing and stock programme are given in catalogue S-110-ENG.


Disclaimer: Recommendations are for guidance only, and the suitability of a material for a specific application can be confirmed only when we know the actual service conditions. Continuous development may necessitate changes in technical data without notice. This datasheet is only valid for Alleima materials.