ASME Impact Test Requirement

The ASME Impact Test Requirement article provides you information about impact test requirement in pressure vessel design and construction. Suggest you have pressure vessel under design process and construction has not started yet. Based ASME impact test requirement you need to make assessment to see either your pressure vessel is exempted from impact testing or you need to carry out the test. There are 4 steps for impact test exemption assessment, you need to precede these steps, and you might be exempted in first, second or third steps and might not be exempted even in step 4; So if you are in step 4 and you have not exempted then you need to carry out the test. This article explains you this assessment process.

Grain refined carbon steel forgings and wrought materials (thoroughly worked and normalized) generally exhibit good notch toughness.

ASME Code Section VIII Div 1 exemption rules for ASME Impact Test Requirement:
There are specific rules in ASME Code for exemption from ASME Impact Test Requirement; this test is very expensive so pressure vessel manufactures are trying to be exempted for this costly test. You need to follow following clauses to make exemption assessment for ASME impact test requirement: UG-20(f) UCS-66(a) UCS-66(b) UCS-68(c) First you have to keep your pressure vessel design data available and then refer to UG-20 (f), if you are exempted from this clause you do not need precede anymore. But if you are not exempted by UG-20 (f), you have to proceed to UCS-66(a), again if you are exempted no need for more assessment. But if not, you have to proceed to UCS-66(b), if you are exempted now, no need for more assessment otherwise you have to proceed to UCS-68(c) again if you are still not exempted; you have to carry out impact testing. It means for some cases we might be exempted from ASME impact test requirement in first stage in UG-20 (f), in others in UCS-66(a) or UCS-66(b) or UCS-68(c) or might not be exempted and prepare yourself for doing this costly test. This test would be more costly out of US because of Laboratory Accreditation requirement. Accredited Laboratory based US accreditation system is not too much in Europe, Middle East and other locations.

Basic Concept:
You may know carbon steels and low alloy steels exhibit a drastic change in their room temperature ductility, at sub-zero service temperatures. Different types of materials exhibit different types of transition behavior. We can see there is a sudden, phenomenal drop in their notch-toughness properties below the "transition" range of temperature, which should be a matter of concern for us. Body centered cubic or Ferritic alloys exhibit a significant transition in behavior when impact tested over a range of temperatures. Above transition temperature range, impact specimens fracture in a "ductile" manner, absorbing relatively large amounts of energy. At lower temperatures, i.e. below the transition temperature range, the impact test specimens are found to fracture in a brittle (cleavage) manner, absorbing less energy. And within the transition temperature range, the fracture is a mixture of ductile and brittle nature. A material would be invulnerable to a sudden drop in notch-toughness at the lowest specified service (or design) temperature, if only be proved by conducting Charpy V-notch Impact tests on representative test samples, at reference (the lowest service) temperature.

UG-20(f)
We start with UG-20(f) for ASME impact test requirement, if your MOC (Material of Construction) is categorized in P-No. 1 or 2 (Refer to ASME Code Section IX for P-No Definition) and your MOC thickness has limited value defined in this clause, then you might be exempted from impact testing. But you need to refer to Fig UCS-66 in ASME Code Section VIII Div. 1 and see your MOC is listed in which A, B, C or D curves, all ASME carbon steel and low alloy steel material distributed in these 4 groups (Curves) of materials. You need to know the materials listed in curve D has the best toughness property and better than materials listed in curve C, in similar way materials

listed in curve C has better toughness property to materials listed in curve B and materials listed in Curve B has better than materials listed in Curve A . See Following Fig UCS-66(a):

UCS-66(a)
So assume in above example your MOC thickness is 1.125 inch instead 1 inch, you will not be exempted by UG-20(f) and you have to refer to UCS66(a); But for assessment, based this clause, you need to know your pressure vessel MDMT (Minimum Design Metal Temperature), assume it is -20 degree F, so you should now go to Fig. UCS-66 and locate 1.125 inch in horizontal axis and draw a vertical line; In similar way locate -20 degree F in vertical axes and draw a horizontal line, these two lines will cross each other; see above Figure, the lines identified in red If the cross point fall above the curve D (because your MOC is listed in curve D) you are exempted otherwise not, so for current example you are above the curve D so you are exempted from impact testing. To simplify your assessment for ASME impact test requirement the Fig-66 has been converted to the table (table UCS-66), so for any MOC with specific thickness you can go to this table and see what is the minimum permissible temperature without impact testing. See following UCS-66(a) Table:

When you determined your MOC curve, then you has to review UG-20(f) and see for possibility for exemption from ASME impact test requirement, there are some other condition in this clause which you should consider for exemption; For instance the vessel should be hydrostatically tested after completion and also thermal and mechanical loading not be design controlling factor. For example if your MOC is normalized SA 516 Gr.70 with 0.75 inch thickness you will be exempted from ASME impact test requirement; Your MOC is listed in curve D and up to 1 inch, impact testing is not required, of course you should assure you will be carry out hydrostatic test as well as mentioned loadings are not design controlling factor in your considered pressure vessel.

In above example (normalized SA 516 Gr.70, Curve D, 1.125 inch thickness), minimum permissible Temperature without impact test is -26 degree F, it means if in above example your MDMT changes from -20 degree F to -27

degree F, then you cannot be exempted from ASME impact test requirement by UCS-66(a) and you have to proceed to UCS-66(b)

UCS-66(b)
Let us explain this clause with above example your MDMT from above is -27 degree F, nominal thickness is 1.125 inch, normalized SA 516 Gr.70 listed in curve D and you are not exempted by UCS-66(a) So you are here to continue your assessment to find a chance for exemption, you have to refer to Fig UCS-66.1 and calculate following formula; Ratio= tr E / (tn c)
tr is required design thickness for all applicable loading we assume for above example it is 0.95 inch, E is your joint efficiency and we assume for this vessel it is 1, it means your vessel is RT2, tn is your nominal thinness which in this example from above it is 1.125 inches, and C is corrosion allowance and we assume it is 0.125 inches, so let calculate:

Then go to the Figure UCS-66(b) and in vertical axes locate Ratio and draw a horizontal line then locate the cross point with graph and draw a vertical line to cross horizontal axis; You will be reach to value of 8 in the horizontal axes, this 8, is your 8 degree F bonus from table UCS-66 which you can reduce 8 degree F minimum permissible temperature in table without impact testing. In above example your MDMT is -27 degree F and in UCS 66 table the minimum permissible temperature without impact testing designated -26 degree F so with this clause you can reduce it to -36 degree F(-26 -8 = -34), your MDMT is -27 degree F so you are exempted from impact testing with this clause.

UCS-68(c)
Let we change one variable in above example; we assume you need to have -45 degree F for your MDMT, other variable are the same it means normalized SA 516 Gr.70 listed in curve D, thickness 1.125, so you can see you are not exempted by UCS-66(b); Because minimum permissible temperature is -36 degree F but your MDMT is -45 degree F, so UCS-68(c) might be helpful; It says if post weld heat treatment is not code requirement and your P-No is 1 and you carry out post weld heat treatment a 30 degree F bonus will be granted to you to reduce minimum permissible temperature in table UCS-66. So when post weld heat treatment is code requirement? It is code requirement when your service is lethal and when your thickness for P-No. 1 is greater than 1.5 inch; So for our example our service is not lethal and our P-No. is 1 and thickness is 1.125 and it is less than 1.5 inch therefore post weld heat treatment is not code requirement. It means if you carry out post heat treatment a 30 degree F bonus will be granted by this clause, it means for this example our minimum permissible temperature would be -36-30=-66 degree F and your MDMT is -45 degree F so you are exempted from impact testing. Now the worst case; in above you assume you need to have -70 degree F for your MDMT; you can see with this new condition you cannot be exempted even by UCS-68(c) and you have to carry out impact testing.

Ratio = 0.95x1/(1.125 0.125) Ratio= 0.95 See following Fig UCS-66(b):