Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
(OP)
Hi all
Can someone please help answer a simple question on material certification:
We are sourcing raw material in China for manufacture at our Chinese factory.
Of course this material has been inspected to GB code and standard.
This mainly concerns mild steel plate, angle and the like. Nothing exotic.
Now we have a client who is demanding that all material must be "ASME material". They do not say how they define "ASME material".
I have examined the mill sheets for our Chinese GB material with the mill sheets for the same "ASME material" that we use in the USA. These are identical in chemical analysis and mechanical properties. Essentially the actual material is identical.
My question is this:
Can the GB material be "re-inspected" by a qualified third party (SGS for example) to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the ASME material code and then legitimately described as "ASME material".
Any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance.
Can someone please help answer a simple question on material certification:
We are sourcing raw material in China for manufacture at our Chinese factory.
Of course this material has been inspected to GB code and standard.
This mainly concerns mild steel plate, angle and the like. Nothing exotic.
Now we have a client who is demanding that all material must be "ASME material". They do not say how they define "ASME material".
I have examined the mill sheets for our Chinese GB material with the mill sheets for the same "ASME material" that we use in the USA. These are identical in chemical analysis and mechanical properties. Essentially the actual material is identical.
My question is this:
Can the GB material be "re-inspected" by a qualified third party (SGS for example) to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the ASME material code and then legitimately described as "ASME material".
Any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance.





RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/8/83b/b04
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
Thank you for your reply. I agree that "ASME material" doesn't mean anything and despite our requests they will not offer any more clarification!
Your reply is very helpful.
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
However, I really believe your client is telling you in their own way NO material sourcing from China.
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
We also make third party varification part of the fabrication specification with the shops making the vessels and heat exchangers. They have to get it done at our lab, we approve the results, and we have the right to refuse the material at no cost increase to us if the material does not pass.
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
MikeMet thanks for your interesting post. We have a very strict system of vendor approval and we are fairly confident in our suppliers. Recently we had one client who insisted on all materials undergoing secondary PMI testing - thankfully all results matched the original MTR's.
Again, thank you for all the contributions to this topic - I am very far from an expert in this filed so it is very helpful to get the thoughts and experiences of others!
Happy New Year!
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
In my view, you should consider in detail to say "equivalent material". For an example, carbon steel plate can be structural quality or pressure vessel quality...
PMI may not be necessary for your carbon steel material...
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
This is really an issue of identification and traceability.
We audited 11 mills in China to find one that could do work for us. And we still witness every run. We have not found a steel company in China yet that takes this seriously at all levels of the organization.
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Plymouth Tube
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
No, our products are not covered by ASME B31. Our products are auxiliary equipment for boilers but outside the pressure boundry.
Thanks for your input!
RE: Material Certification - Chinese GB and ASME
If you require "fully comply" with ASME II, material testing and traceability record shall be considered. I concur with the comment from EdStainless...
However, you said, you require material outside pressure boundary this may be accepted by your client...
It will be better, if you can give specific requirement of your project in the post e.g. grade of material, design condition, etc...