Steel from China

Date 09-29-2010 10:54

I have had steel tubing to ASTM A500 and the certs matched the material. ALso I have had some bad tube from China as well.

By 3.2 Inspector (***)

Date 09-29-2010 11:24

Thanks to both......
How did you discover the bad tubes? By additional testing or by failure?

Do you normally do your own tests of the chinese steel?

3.2

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 09-29-2010 11:40

It doesn't take much NDT equipment to see the backing bar falling off of the inside of the tube(maybe a flashlight), or see the incomplete fusion where it is welded together to realize that there is a problem with the materials.

By 3.2 Inspector (***)

Date 09-29-2010 11:48

^^ I agree!
I was more looking for the chemical composition :)

3.2

By Mikeqc1 (****)

Date 09-30-2010 16:56

I can say this when china buys product from us they will not accept steel made in china....that says it all for me.

By 3.2 Inspector (***)

Date 10-01-2010 01:16

Yes, some Chinese clients don't want their own steel :)

3.2

By dbigkahunna (****)

Date 09-29-2010 10:55 Edited 09-29-2010 10:59

I have used A106 ERW China steel in non critical applications such as fire water and foam piping. The MTR's heat numbers matched the heat numbers on the pipe. No additional testing was done to verify. It held 150 PSI for 15 minutes.
I have had no luck with China fittings. As a group, JUNK.

By G.S.Crisi (****)

Date 09-29-2010 17:22

There must be a misinterpretation. If you look at ASTM Standard A 106, you'll se that it covers only seamless pipe. So, if it is ERW, it's not A 106.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil

By Joey

Date 09-30-2010 01:06

3.2

Aside from MTC, it is good to ask for FPC certificate (Factory Production Control) issued by TPI.

Regards
Joey :)

By eekpod

Date 09-30-2010 10:17

3.2
It was visual, the shop guys saw that the seam was not welded for about 10' of a 2-' tube, light would shine right through it. We sent it back and got a replacement.
Its easy enough to shine a light down inside the tube to make sure you can see the seam weld, it there isnt a weld, you may have a problem.

By 803056

Date 10-01-2010 03:34

There was a post here recently where the Chinese manufacturer stated the MTR was provided as requested by the US customer. The manufacturer further admitted the MTR most likely did not reflect the mechanicals or chemistry of the materials actually shipped.

"You want paper, we give you paper!"

There have been enough confirmed problems with Chinese products to say, "You get what you deserve if you bought Chinese produced goods."

CalTran got what they deserved on their Bay Bridge project. The sad part is the SOBs that made the decisions and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars will get bonuses instead of jail terms.

The scary part is the amount of food and medical products being imported from China and India.

Best regards - Al

By bert lee (**)

Date 10-01-2010 17:44

manny here are having problem with chinese steels, but why can't you just cut a sample piece and send it for lab test? if it met the chem and mech properties requirements then what is the problem? when the project spec did not state any restriction on materials origin, is it a mistake to get from cheaper source?

most department stores are selling nike or converse sneakers made in china, why not selling only those made in usa or germany if superiority is the name of the game.

bert

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 10-01-2010 19:14

Wrong term used Bert... It's not so much "superiority" being the primary goal as is the goal of having "consistency" along with "integrity, reliability, dependability" which no matter how one slices it up - it ends up being associated with a superior product as an end result of incorporating all of the previously mentioned attributes with such a product! ;)

Respectfully,
Henry

By Superflux (****)

Date 10-01-2010 22:43

Had a recent issue with a contractor using Chinese stainless (304, 316) pipe when docs stated that such origin would require pre-approval and other special considerations. Owner agreed that if random samples of all 4 suppliers met independent lab analysis, they would not require them to remove and install "proper" material. In the long run, all was good and the offensive product met and exceeded all chem and mech tests.

By 3.2 Inspector (***)

Date 10-02-2010 04:41

I 100% agree with you, why not just send it to a lab and have it tested.

3.2