Supplied Steel Material Testing Norms and Requirements

[Manix]

Hi All,

Been a while, I am after some advice on testing requirements for supplied raw material for mild and stainless steel. We will be sourcing various grades of material in various forms and thicknesses from a completely new supplier in a new territory. We are therefore doing out due diligence in terms of understanding the supply chain make up, number of mills, distributors, who they are, whether they are ISO9001 and also require C of C's for each batch etc.... that's the easy bit. We are requiring the supplier to verify material meets spec on 1st batch via a test house such as SGS, but I want to be explicit about our requirements, so;

1. Should we be asking for a sample of each grade / each thickness to test OR just each grade?
2. Should we be checking both chemical composition and mechanical properties?

I expect the answer is depends on our requirements and the level of risk involved. We will also need to determine the frequency of checking and verification of their C of C but I am happy with doing that, it's this initial checking I am unsure of as to the level required.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[John Broomfield]

What are you making and what standards are you using to purchase the steel?

For example:

ASTM International - Iron and Steel Products - Standards

Then decide what certification (of analysis and of conformity) you want the steel supplier to provide.

Then, according to the risks associated with its fabrication and application, decide what test coupons to require for independent verification.

Group according to each grade of steel and to risk. Smaller risk may equate to larger groupings. Severe risks may require samples and independent verification for each batch of steel.

Involve a cross-section of engineers and fabricators in determining the risks.