ASME SA517 Grade Q Steel Plate | SA517 Gr.Q QT High Strength Vessel Plate

ASME SA517 Grade Q is not another carbon boiler plate. It is a high-strength quenched-and-tempered alloy vessel plate written for fusion-welded boilers and pressure vessels that need about 690 MPa yield in the thinner range. SHH STEEL supplies it as China mill-Direct Supply to ASME SA-517/SA-517M. Direct Mill Supply by SHH STEEL means the plate comes from a producing mill, not from a mixed stockyard of unknown heats.

On drawings and RFQs the same plate is written SA517 Gr.Q, SA517GRQ, SA517 GR Q, SA-517 Grade Q, SA517 Grade Q, ASTM A517 Grade Q, A517 Gr.Q, A517GRQ and A/SA517 Grade Q. They all mean Grade Q in ASME SA-517. The ASTM companion is A517/A517M.

Grade Q is the thick-capable grade in this family. ASME SA-517 lists eight grades—A, B, E, F, H, P, Q and S—with the same mechanical table in principle, but different alloys and different maximum thicknesses. Grade Q and Grade E may be furnished up to 150 mm (6 in.). That is why jack-up, offshore and heavy reactor inquiries land on SA517 Gr.Q more often than on Grade B, which stops at 32 mm.

The steel is killed and made to fine austenitic grain practice under ASME SA-20. Heat treatment is mandatory quench and temper: austenitize at not less than 900 °C, quench in water or oil, temper at not less than 620 °C. Do not order this plate as-rolled or “normalized only” and expect the 690 MPa table.

Do not mix this page with ASME SA515 or ASME SA516. Those are carbon vessel plates. ASME SA517 Grade Q is a QT alloy plate. It is also not structural A514, even though the strength band looks familiar. A514 is a structural specification. SA-517 is a pressure-vessel specification with SA-20 general requirements, Code marking and vessel testing.

For Code work the plate is used under ASME Section VIII. Dual marking ASME SA517 Grade Q / ASTM A517 Grade Q is available. Certificates can be EN 10204 3.1 or EN 10204 3.2.

When a project is still choosing high-strength vessel plate, we put SA517GRQ next to ASME SA537 Class 2, ASTM A537, ASME SA387 and ASTM A285, so the buyer can see whether they actually need 690 MPa QT or a lower-strength carbon / Cr-Mo route.

This plate belongs to the Pressure Vessel Steel Plates family. It is not a structural HSLA Steel Plates substitute and not a Carbon Steel Plates grade.

Chemistry for ASME SA517 Grade Q is reported as heat analysis and, when specified, product analysis under ASME SA-517/SA-517M. Grade Q is a Ni-Cr-Mo-V alloy. That combination is why the plate can hold QT properties through 150 mm.

Heat Analysis — ASME SA517 Grade Q / SA517 Gr.Q

Product Analysis — SA517GRQ / A517 Grade Q

A Grade F heat cannot be recertified as Grade Q. Nickel, chromium and vanadium bands are different, and the allowed thickness is different. If the drawing says ASME SA517 Grade Q, the ladle must sit in the Grade Q table. SHH STEEL reports heat analysis on every certificate and adds product analysis when ASME SA-20 or the vessel specification requires it.

Tighter phosphorus, sulfur or residuals are supplementary. Vacuum carbon deoxidation and other A20 supplementary chemistry items are available when written on the order.

All SA-517 grades share one tensile table. Thickness is what changes the numbers.

Tensile Requirements — ASME SA517 Grade Q per ASME SA-517/SA-517M

That second line is why people specify Grade Q instead of Grade F. Grade F stops at 65 mm. Grade Q can stay on the same specification to 150 mm, with the lower yield line applying above 65 mm.

Density is 7.85 g/cm³. Hardness after QT is typically in a high-strength vessel range; a special HBW window is a supplementary requirement, not a default.

ASME SA-517 also requires transverse Charpy V-notch testing with a minimum lateral expansion of 0.38 mm (0.015 in.) on each specimen. The test temperature is agreed between purchaser and manufacturer. That sentence matters. Do not assume −40 °C or −50 °C unless the purchase order says so. Offshore and jack-up jobs often write a colder temperature and a higher energy minimum than the base spec. Those extras belong on the mill instruction.

Specimens follow ASME SA-20. If simulated PWHT is specified, coupons from the same SA517 Gr.Q heat follow the vessel cycle before tensile and impact testing. On QT 690 MPa plate that request is not optional if the shop will PWHT the vessel.

Order ASME SA517 Grade Q when the drawing names Grade Q or when thickness exceeds what Grade F can carry. If the plate is only 20 mm, Grade B may be the cheaper alloy at the same tensile table—but only if the drawing allows the grade change. SHH STEEL does not swap Q for B on a Code vessel without a written revision.

HSLA Steel Plates and S690QL structural plate are not ASME SA-517. If the equipment is Section VIII, stay on SA517 / A517.

ASME SA517 Grade Q exists because some vessels cannot be designed in SA516 or SA537 without excessive thickness. The 690 MPa yield line (to 65 mm) cuts wall thickness. The 150 mm ceiling keeps the same specification on heavy courses.

Allowable stress for Code work comes from ASME Section II Part D for SA-517 Grade Q, not from a mill flyer. Impact temperature is not a brochure number. It is an order number.

This plate is used on high-pressure process vessels, mobile and modular equipment, offshore structures that are Code-stamped as vessels or related pressure parts, and other fusion-welded equipment where QT alloy strength is specified. It is not a cryogenic 3.5Ni or 9Ni grade, and it is not a creep-focused Cr-Mo grade such as SA387.

SA517GRQ is a high-strength QT alloy. Welding is not the same job as welding SA516 Gr.70.

Procedures for Code work are qualified to ASME Section IX. Consumables should match the required joint strength and toughness, usually a high-strength low-hydrogen family selected for 690 MPa class steel. Hydrogen control, preheat and interpass are mandatory thinking, not optional notes. Thick Grade Q plate has enough carbon equivalent and hardenability that a cold, wet start will crack.

Preheat depends on thickness, restraint, hydrogen and the qualified WPS. Interpass must stay inside the qualified range. After welding, many shops want to PWHT. On QT plate that decision has to be engineered. A shop cycle that is too hot or too long can drop yield below the SA-517 table. That is why simulated PWHT of mill coupons should be on the purchase order whenever the vessel specification includes PWHT.

Do not copy an SA516 or SA537 procedure onto ASME SA517 Grade Q. Procedure review can go through steel welding services. The fabricator owns the qualified WPS.

Heat treatment of ASME SA517 Grade Q follows ASME SA-517/SA-517M:

• Heat to not less than 900 °C (1650 °F)
• Quench in water or oil
• Temper at not less than 620 °C (1150 °F)

That sequence is the product. As-rolled plate is not SA517 Grade Q. Normalized-only plate is not SA517 Grade Q.

Holding time at austenitizing and tempering temperatures follows mill practice and ASME SA-20 thickness rules. If the purchaser fixes a tempering band, a cooling medium or a maximum tempering temperature (common when later PWHT is planned), those limits go on the mill instruction and onto the certificate.

SHH STEEL reports the actual heat-treatment condition on the MTC for every SA517 Gr.Q plate.

Delivery condition for this grade is quenched and tempered. That is the only standard condition.

The certificate lists ASME SA517 Grade Q and, when dual certified, ASTM A517 Grade Q; heat number; heat analysis; product analysis when ordered; tensile results by thickness line; reduction of area; Charpy lateral expansion and test temperature; heat-treatment temperatures; and supplementary tests.

Surface is vessel-plate quality. Shot blasting and shop primer are available. Decorative 2B or BA finishes are not used on QT vessel plate.

Certificates may be EN 10204 3.1 or EN 10204 3.2. BV, LR, DNV, TUV, SGS or the buyer’s agency can witness quench, temper, mechanical tests and documents when the order says so.

Usual supply range from SHH STEEL for SA517 Gr.Q QT high strength vessel plate:

• Thickness: 8 mm – 150 mm (Grade Q maximum in ASME SA-517 is 150 mm)
• Width: up to about 4000 mm
• Length: up to about 12000 mm

State the ordered thickness clearly. At 65 mm the tensile table changes. A 70 mm plate is ordered and tested to the lower yield line. Cut-to-length shells, racks and nest sizes are available.

Dimensional limits follow ASME SA-20. Thickness, width, length, flatness and camber are vessel-plate tolerances. QT plate can move during quench; extra-flatness is a negotiated item, not a free default.

Ultrasonic testing to A435 or A578 is commonly added on Grade Q because thickness and restraint are high. Finished sizes go through steel cutting services. Thermal cutting of 690 MPa QT plate needs preheat and edge control; that belongs in the cutting instruction, not as an afterthought.

Almost every ASME SA517 Grade Q order adds tests beyond the base table.

Simulated PWHT. Same-heat coupons follow the vessel cycle. Tensile and Charpy are run after that cycle. On 690 MPa QT plate this is the test that prevents a shop surprise.

Charpy details. Base spec is lateral expansion 0.38 mm, temperature agreed. Purchasers often add energy minima, a colder temperature, and specimen location through thickness.

NDE. UT to A435 / A577 / A578 with purchaser levels. Edge MT/PT after cutting.

Hardness survey. Through-thickness or surface HBW/HV after QT or after simulated PWHT.

Restricted chemistry. Tighter P, S, residuals or vacuum treatment per A20 supplementary requirements.

HIC / NACE. Only when the datasheet cites TM0284 or MR0175 / ISO 15156. Grade Q is not automatically sour-service plate.

Z-direction. A770 or Z15/Z25/Z35 for thick nozzles and strained joints.

Third-party. Witness of quench, temper, testing and documents. Output can be EN 10204 3.2.

These tests run through steel testing service. If it is not on the purchase order, it is not assumed.

For stamping, write ASME SA517 Grade Q or dual SA517 / A517 Grade Q. Nearby vessel pages: ASME SA537, ASTM A537, ASME SA516, ASTM A516.

ASME SA517 Grade Q / SA517 Gr.Q is selected when a Section VIII or equivalent vessel needs QT alloy strength and thickness up to 150 mm.

Related pages: petrochemical industry, energy industry, steel cutting services, steel welding services, steel testing service, worldwide shipping service.

SHH STEEL is a China mill-Direct Supply for plates to ASME SA-517/SA-517M. On ASME SA517 Grade Q that means mill pricing, dual SA517/A517 marking, heat and product analysis, mandatory QT with recorded temperatures, Charpy lateral expansion at the agreed temperature, 3.1 as standard and 3.2 when specified, and the extra tests a 690 MPa vessel shop actually writes on the PO.

We also keep the order on the right grade. Grade Q is not Grade F. Grade Q is not SA537 Class 2. Grade Q is not A514. If the thickness is 80 mm, we will say so before anyone tries to buy Grade B. Export packing goes through worldwide shipping service. Company scope: China steel Mill Agent-SHH STEEL.

ASME SA517 Grade Q Steel Plate is the Ni-Cr-Mo-V, quenched-and-tempered high-strength vessel grade in ASME SA-517/SA-517M. Whether the inquiry says SA517 Gr.Q, SA517GRQ, SA-517 Grade Q or A517 Grade Q, SHH STEEL supplies plate with heat and product analysis, recorded QT, thickness-correct tensile lines, agreed Charpy testing, optional simulated PWHT, and EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 certification.

As China mill-Direct Supply, SHH STEEL provides ASME SA517 Grade Q / SA517 Gr.Q QT High Strength Vessel Plate for ASME Section VIII fabrication.

Contact SHH STEEL for mill rolling, QT, dual SA517/A517 marking, 3.2 inspection or a quotation.

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