EN 10028-7 X2CrNi12 1.4003 Pressure Vessel Stainless Plate

EN 10028-7 X2CrNi12 (1.4003) is a ferritic stainless steel with little or no nickel, listed in EN 10028-7:2016 for flat products used in pressure equipment. It is delivered annealed (+A) as cold-rolled strip (C) up to 8 mm, hot-rolled strip (H) up to 13.5 mm, hot-rolled plate (P) up to 25 mm, and plate in that condition has a minimum 0.2% proof strength of 250 MPa with a tensile strength of 450 – 650 MPa (Table 7). Its nearest ASTM counterpart is S41003, but the two specifications are not identical.

X2CrNi12 1.4003 is described by two designations: the steel name X2CrNi12, which is built from the carbon content (in hundredths of a percent) and the main alloying elements with their approximate percentages, and the steel number 1.4003, which is the five-digit material number used throughout European standards. EN 10028-7 is Part 7 of the EN 10028 series, the harmonized European standard for flat steel products for pressure purposes, and the part that covers stainless steels. Plate certified to it can be used under the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU and design codes such as EN 13445, which is why every X2CrNi12 pressure vessel plate we ship is tested to the 2016 edition.

X2CrNi12 is the low-carbon 12% chromium ferritic steel with a small nickel addition that refines the structure of the weld zone. It is the cheapest stainless option in the standard and is chosen where carbon steel would rust but an 18-8 grade would be over-specified. Its 25 mm plate limit (product form P) is unusual for a ferritic grade and makes it usable for thicker shells than most 17% Cr ferritics.

SHH STEEL is a stainless steel producer and exporter based in Shanghai. We act as sales agent for well-known mills, run our own processing warehouse for cutting, bevelling and polishing, and ship every EN 10028-7 stainless plate with EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 certificates. Buyers who already know the ASTM grade can compare this page with our ASTM A240 Type 409 page, and related grades sit in our stainless steel sheets and plates.

Why designers specify 1.4003

Material selection for a pressure vessel starts from the design conditions: medium, design temperature, pressure and the minimum design metal temperature. Ferritic grades are chosen when chloride stress-corrosion cracking rules out austenitic steel, when nickel cost matters, and when the wall is thin enough for the toughness limits of the family. Because X2CrNi12 is a harmonized EN 10028-7 grade, its proof strength values can be used directly for the nominal design stress in EN 13445-3, without a particular material appraisal, which shortens approvals on CE-marked equipment.

In short, EN 10028-7 1.4003 is the pressure-equipment certification of X2CrNi12; outside pressure equipment the same steel is sold to EN 10088-2. The specification of 1.4003 is the set of requirements in EN 10028-7:2016 that a plate must meet before it can be certified for pressure equipment. The summary below gives the clauses and tables that apply to this grade.

EN 10028-7 does not repeat the general delivery rules: it refers to EN 10028-1 for general requirements, to EN 10088-1 for physical properties, and to the EN ISO tolerance standards listed above. The maximum thicknesses in the table are those for which Table 7 gives mechanical property values; thicker material can be produced by some mills, but it falls outside the standard and the properties must be agreed separately.

Scope in plain terms

The standard covers flat products in the form of plate, sheet and strip. Product form C is cold-rolled strip and the sheet cut from it, form H is hot-rolled strip and the sheet or plate cut from it, and form P is hot-rolled plate rolled individually on a plate mill. Because the grade appears in more than one product form, the right row of the property table depends on how the material was rolled, not only on its thickness. The process route (1D, 2B and so on) must be named on the order, because the standard leaves the surface condition open.

The 1.4003 chemical composition is the cast (heat) analysis reported by the steelmaker for each heat, and it must fall within EN 10028-7:2016 Table 1. Values are in percent by mass; a single value is a maximum unless marked otherwise.

Footnotes to Table 1 allow stabilization by titanium, niobium or zirconium; where a formula is given, the minimum depends on the actual carbon and nitrogen of the heat, so the certificate must report C and N for the stabilization to be checked.

Product analysis tolerances (Table 5)

The product analysis is the composition measured on the finished plate. EN 10028-7 Table 5 sets how far it may deviate from the cast limits; the deviations below are applied to the X2CrNi12 limits of Table 1.

The footnote to Table 5 matters for acceptance: if several product analyses are made on one cast, an element may lie above the maximum or below the minimum of the range, but not both. Calculated from the minimum chemistry, PREN = Cr + 3.3Mo + 16N gives about 10.5 for 1.4003, a ranking value used for pitting resistance.

Product analysis is a check analysis made on a sample taken from the delivered plate, and under EN 10028-7 it is carried out only when the purchaser requests it at the time of ordering (Table 16). The cast analysis is always reported.

When a product analysis is agreed, the order should state the number of samples and the elements to be determined. Samples are taken through the thickness or from millings so the result represents the whole cross-section, and the analysis method follows the reference methods cited by EN 10028-1. Results are judged against the cast limits widened by the Table 5 deviations shown above; a result outside those limits normally leads to retests on further samples before a plate or a test unit is rejected.

PMI and laboratory checks at SHH STEEL

Every plate that leaves our Shanghai warehouse is checked by positive material identification (PMI) with a handheld XRF analyser, which confirms chromium, nickel and the other heavier elements. XRF cannot measure carbon, nitrogen or boron, so when those elements decide the grade (as they do for X2CrNi12), we arrange spark-OES or combustion analysis through our independent testing service. Product analysis results are added to the 3.1 certificate, or reported by the inspector on a 3.2 certificate.

Why the check matters

Mixed-up plates are a real risk in stock-holding: an 18-8 grade and a molybdenum or stabilized grade look identical, and a low-carbon grade cannot be told apart from its standard-carbon version without laboratory analysis. A product analysis or PMI record ties the physical plate to the certificate and protects the fabricator at the notified-body inspection.

The 1.4003 mechanical properties are the room-temperature minimum values in EN 10028-7:2016 Table 7 for material in the annealed (+A) condition. Unlike ASTM A240, EN 10028-7 gives a separate row for each product form, so the rolling route matters as much as the thickness.

Impact energy and intergranular corrosion

Table 7 also sets Charpy V-notch impact energy and states whether the grade resists intergranular corrosion when tested to EN ISO 3651-2.

For comparison, the American plate specification ASME SA240 409L uses a single set of minimums for all thicknesses, so a plate that meets one standard does not automatically meet the other.

How designers use these values

Under EN 13445-3 the nominal design stress for ferritic steel follows from the lower of Rp0.2/1.5 and Rm/2.4 at the calculation temperature. The room-temperature values above are therefore only the starting point; for operation above 50 °C the elevated-temperature values in the next section are used.

1.4003 annealing is the final heat treatment of this grade: EN 10028-7 Annex A recommends annealing X2CrNi12 at 700 – 750 °C followed by air or water cooling, after hot forming in the range of about 1 100 – 800 °C. Annealing recrystallizes the cold- or hot-worked structure, gives the soft ferritic condition that the tensile values assume, and, in stabilized grades, keeps carbon and nitrogen tied up as titanium or niobium compounds.

Heat treatment after fabrication

Annex B of EN 10028-7 covers post-weld and post-forming heat treatment. Ferritic grades are not normally heat treated after welding; if the parts are re-annealed, the Annex A temperature range is used, and over-heating should be avoided because it coarsens the ferrite grain. Cold-formed heads and shells are checked against the forming-strain limits of the design code (for example EN 13445-4), which decide whether a heat treatment is needed.

What can go wrong

An incorrectly heat-treated plate shows up as high hardness, low elongation or poor impact energy, and in corrosion tests as intergranular attack. Over-heating or slow cooling through the embrittlement range reduces toughness. When plate arrives in our warehouse we check the heat-treatment record on the certificate against Annex A and the tensile results before releasing it.

The 1.4003 elevated temperature properties below are an essential input for hot equipment. Elevated-temperature properties are the minimum proof strengths that EN 10028-7 gives at temperatures above room temperature, and they are the values a designer uses to calculate the wall thickness of 1.4003 equipment operating hot.

The values come from Table 11, which stops at 300 °C. 12% Cr ferritic steels are much less prone to 475 °C embrittlement than the 17% Cr grades, but the code temperature limits still apply.

For hot-water cylinders and heat exchangers the 100 – 150 °C row is the one that usually matters: this is where the 1.4003 elevated temperature proof strength sets the design stress.

A X2CrNi12 equivalent is a grade in another standard with similar chemistry and properties; it is a comparison, not an interchangeable certificate.

On 1.4003 vs S41003: the chemistry ranges overlap, but EN 10028-7 sets its own limits, its own strength values per product form and its own impact requirements. On steelspecs.com you can compare the related pages AISI 409 and AISI 410S. For background reading, see our comparison of ASTM, EN, JIS and GB standards.

Substitution rules

Replacing 1.4003 with a foreign grade in PED equipment needs the agreement of the designer and, where applicable, the notified body, usually through a particular material appraisal. The reverse also applies: an ASME vessel cannot simply use EN 10028-7 plate without the code’s material rules. Where both certificates are needed, we can often arrange dual certification at the mill, provided both sets of chemistry and property limits are met in one heat.

Welding of X2CrNi12 is done by GTAW, SMAW, GMAW, FCAW or SAW with matching stabilized ferritic filler or austenitic 308L / 309L-type filler (for dissimilar joints and better weld toughness). Heat input should be kept low to limit grain growth in the heat-affected zone, which is the main cause of reduced weld toughness in ferritic stainless steel. Pickling and passivation after welding restore the passive film in corrosive service.

Weld procedures for PED equipment are qualified to EN ISO 15614-1, and welders to EN ISO 9606-1. Where a fabricator lacks capacity, our welding team and partner workshops can prepare bevels and sub-assemblies. Our equipment manufacturing industry page shows the type of projects we supply.

Practical welding notes

• Clean the joint with stainless-only brushes and solvent; iron contamination leaves rust spots.
• Avoid repeated reheating of the same heat-affected zone.
• Check that the minimum design temperature is compatible with weld toughness.

Forming and cutting

Ferritic plate forms well at room temperature in thin gauges, although its elongation is lower than austenitic steel; plasma, laser and waterjet cutting are all suitable, and heat-tinted edges should be ground before welding.

Corrosion resistance is the ability of the plate to stay passive in the process medium, and 1.4003 resists atmospheric corrosion, potable water and many mild media, and like other ferritic steels it is practically immune to chloride stress-corrosion cracking. Its minimum PREN is about 10.5.

The intergranular corrosion entries of Table 7 (no in the delivery condition, no in the sensitized or welded condition) tell the designer whether welds can be left without heat treatment. For comparison of pitting resistance across standards, see our JIS G4305 SUS410L page.

Media guide

The table is general guidance. Final material selection should be based on the actual medium, temperature and concentration, and where possible on plant experience or corrosion testing.

Applications of X2CrNi12 follow from its corrosion behaviour and formability. As a ferritic stainless steel plate certified to EN 10028-7, it is used for:

• Low-pressure storage and transport vessels where mild corrosion resistance is enough
• Hoppers, silos and bulk-handling equipment under modest pressure
• Ash and coal handling equipment in power plants
• Wear-and-corrosion parts that would rust quickly in carbon steel

Selection guidance by application

For storage tanks and low-pressure vessels the choice is usually driven by corrosion resistance and price, and plate thickness is moderate. For high-pressure or large-diameter vessels strength becomes important, and ferritic plate is used mainly for thin, low-pressure parts where stress-corrosion resistance matters. For heat exchangers, the shells, channels and tube sheets often use different grades, and we can supply all of them in one order with consistent certification.

Every 1.4003 stainless steel plate supplied for these duties is traceable to its heat, which is essential for CE marking under the PED.

Comparing 1.4003 with its neighbours in EN 10028-7 shows where it fits: the differences come down to carbon, nitrogen, molybdenum and the stabilizing elements.

How to choose

Start from the corrosion requirement and the design temperature, then compare strength, availability and cost. Among the ferritic grades, molybdenum (1.4513, 1.4521, 1.4526) improves pitting resistance, dual stabilization (1.4509) improves behaviour at temperature, and the 12% Cr grades (1.4003, 1.4516) are the economy choice and the only ones available as thicker plate. Our engineers can review your design conditions and suggest the most economical grade. A related grade page on our site is GB/T 4237 022Cr12Ni S11213.

The dimensions of 1.4003 plate are limited by the product forms that EN 10028-7 lists for the grade and by the rolling capacity of the mill.

Weight per square metre is the thickness in millimetres multiplied by the density in g/cm³: with a density of about 7.7 g/cm³, a 10 mm plate weighs roughly 77 kg/m². Lengths are cut to order or supplied as mill lengths; for heads and dished ends we can supply circular blanks cut to the developed diameter.

Tolerance and flatness notes

For plate (form P), EN ISO 18286 gives thickness tolerance classes A to D and flatness classes; class B is a common choice for pressure vessels because it limits the negative tolerance. For strip and sheet cut from coil, EN ISO 9445-2 and EN ISO 9444-2 apply, and normal or special tolerances can be ordered. State the class on the order, since it decides the acceptance criteria.

Surface finish is the process route defined by the EN 10088-2 codes that EN 10028-7 Table 6 uses, and it must be named on the order for 1.4003.

We offer cutting to size and surface finishing in our Shanghai warehouse, along with bevel preparation and protective PE film.

Choosing a finish

1D is the standard finish for hot-rolled pressure vessel plate and suits shells, heads and parts that will be pickled after fabrication. Cold-rolled 2B is used for thin vessels, liners and parts where a smoother surface helps cleaning. Polished finishes are specified for hygienic vessels in food and pharmaceutical plants, where surface roughness limits are part of the design.

Testing and certification of 1.4003 follow EN 10028-7 Table 16 and EN 10028-1: each test unit is plate from the same cast, the same thickness range and the same heat-treatment batch.

• Cast analysis on every heat; product analysis when ordered (Table 16)
• Tensile test at room temperature per test unit, to EN ISO 6892-1, against Table 7
• Charpy V-notch impact test (EN ISO 148-1) for thickness of 6 mm and over, as required by Table 16
• Tensile test at elevated temperature by agreement (verification of Rp0.2 or Rp1.0)
• Intergranular corrosion test to EN ISO 3651-2 by agreement
• Visual and dimensional inspection; ultrasonic testing by agreement
• 100% PMI and dimensional check by SHH STEEL
• EN 10204 3.1 inspection certificate; 3.2 with a third-party or purchaser’s inspector

Third-party inspection

For export and PED projects a 3.2 certificate is often required. An independent inspector then witnesses sampling and testing at the mill and countersigns the certificate. We coordinate SGS, BV, TUV, Lloyd’s or a client-named inspector and schedule witness points so inspection does not delay rolling. In our warehouse we check dimensions, flatness, surface and marking, and repeat PMI on each plate before packing.

For PED equipment in categories II to IV, EN 10028-7 plate is normally supplied with a 3.1 certificate issued by a manufacturer with a quality system assessed by a competent body; check the requirement with your notified body.

An order for X2CrNi12 should identify the product, the standard and every option the standard leaves to agreement. The ordering example in EN 10028-7 follows a pattern like this:

10 plates, 8 × 2000 × 5000 mm, EN ISO 18286 tolerance class B, steel EN 10028-7 – X2CrNi12 (1.4003)+A, process route 1D, inspection certificate EN 10204 – 3.1.

• Standard and edition: EN 10028-7:2016
• Steel name or number: X2CrNi12 / 1.4003 and heat-treatment condition
• Product form (C/H/P), thickness, width, length and quantity
• Tolerance standard and class
• Process route / surface finish (Table 6)
• Optional tests: product analysis, impact at a stated temperature, IGC, elevated-temperature tensile, UT
• Inspection document: EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2, and the inspector for 3.2

Common ordering mistakes

• Ordering to EN 10088-2 instead of EN 10028-7 for pressure parts; EN 10088-2 plate is not certified for pressure purposes.
• Leaving out the process route, which the standard requires on the order.
• Not stating optional tests, which are only carried out if written into the contract.
• Specifying a thickness beyond the limit of the product form.

A short technical review before order placement avoids these problems, and our sales engineers do this as part of the quotation.

Mill sourcing for 1.4003 is handled through the mills we represent that are approved for this grade; we place a mill order and confirm the minimum quantity per thickness. Lead time for mill production is generally 30 – 40 days, and the rolling slot can be scheduled to suit your fabrication plan.

Every plate is traceable to its heat number, and copies of the mill certificates stay on file for repeat orders and audits. Mixed-grade and mixed-standard orders can be consolidated, so 1.4003 plate can ship with flanges, pipe or other grades in one container through our export shipping service.

Buyers who also work to other standards can check GB/T 4237 022Cr12 S11203 on our site.

Packing and export documents

Plates are packed on fumigated wooden or steel pallets with waterproof wrapping, edge protectors and steel straps, and each bundle is labelled with grade, standard, heat number, size and weight. Documents include the commercial invoice, packing list, mill certificates and certificate of origin. Browse our ASTM A240/A240M plate range for other plate standards we supply.

EN 10028-7 X2CrNi12 (1.4003) is a ferritic stainless steel with little or no nickel, defined by Table 1 chemistry and Table 7 properties, with plate in the annealed (+A) condition reaching Rp0.2 ≥ 250 MPa and Rm 450 – 650 MPa. Typical uses include low-pressure storage and transport vessels where mild corrosion resistance is enough and hoppers, silos and bulk-handling equipment under modest pressure.

Before ordering, state the standard edition, the steel name and number, the product form, the process route and any optional tests, so that the certificate matches your design documents. SHH STEEL supplies 1.4003 from mill production in generally 30 – 40 days, with cutting and finishing in our own warehouse and EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 certificates. Send your sizes and quantities for a quotation.