Designation: A 209/A 209M – 03

Standard Specification for

Seamless Carbon-Molybdenum Alloy-Steel Boiler and
Superheater Tubes1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation A 209/A 209M; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year
of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.
A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope* 4. Materials and Manufacture

1.1 This specification2 covers several grades of minimum- 4.1 Steelmaking Practice—The steel shall be killed.
wall-thickness, seamless, carbon-molybdenum alloy-steel, 4.2 The tubes shall be made by the seamless process and
boiler and superheater tubes. shall be either hot-finished or cold-finished, as specified.
1.2 This specification covers tubes 1⁄2 to 5 in. [12.7 to 127 4.3 Heat Treatment—Hot-finished tubes shall be heat
mm] inclusive, in outside diameter and 0.035 to 0.500 in. [0.9 treated at a temperature of 1200 °F [650 °C] or higher. Cold-
to 12.7 mm], inclusive, in minimum wall thickness. finished tubes shall, after the final cold finishing, be heat
1.3 An optional supplementary requirement is provided and, treated at a temperature of 1200 °F [650 °C] or higher, or
when desired, shall be so stated in the order. tubing may be furnished in the full-annealed, isothermal
1.4 The values stated in either inch-pound units or SI units annealed, or normalized and tempered condition. If furnished
are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text, the in the normalized and tempered condition, the minimum
SI units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each tempering temperature shall be 1200 °F [650 °C].
system are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system must
be used independently of the other. Combining values from the 5. Chemical Composition
two systems may result in nonconformance with the specifi- 5.1 The steel shall conform to the requirements given in
cation. The inch-pound units shall apply unless the “M” Table 1.
designation of this specification is specified in the order.
2. Referenced Documents TABLE 1 Chemical Composition Requirements
2.1 ASTM Standards: 3
A 1016/A 1016M Specification for General Requirements Element Composition, %
for Ferritic Alloy Steel, Austenitic Alloy Steel, and Stain- Grade T1 Grade T1a Grade T1b
less Steel Tubes Carbon 0.10–0.20 0.15–0.25 0.14 max
Manganese 0.30–0.80 0.30–0.80 0.30–0.80
3. General Requirements Phosphorus, max 0.025 0.025 0.025
Sulfur, max 0.025 0.025 0.025
3.1 Product furnished under this specification shall conform Silicon 0.10–0.50 0.10–0.50 0.10–0.50
to the requirements of Specification A 1016/A 1016M, includ- Molybdenum 0.44–0.65 0.44–0.65 0.44–0.65

ing any supplementary requirements that are indicated in the

purchase order. Failure to comply with the general require-
ments of Specification A 1016/A 1016M constitutes noncon-
formance with this specification. In case of conflict with the 5.2 Product Analysis
requirements of this specification and Specification A 1016/ 5.2.1 An analysis shall be made by the manufacturer of one
A 1016M, this specification shall prevail. billet or one tube from each heat. The chemical composition
thus determined, shall conform to the requirements given in
Table 1.
1
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee A01 on Steel, 5.2.2 If the original test for product analysis fails, retests of
Stainless Steel, and Related Alloys, and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee two additional billets or tubes shall be made. Both retests for
A01.10 on Tubing.
Current edition approved Sept. 10, 2003. Published October 2003. Originally the elements in question shall meet the requirements of the
approved in 1938. Last previous edition approved in 1998 as A 209/A 209M – 98. specification; otherwise all remaining material in the heat or lot
2
For ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code application see related Specifica- (See 7.1) shall be rejected or, at the option of the producer, each
tion SA-209 in Section II of that Code.
3
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
billet or tube may be individually tested for acceptance. Billets
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM or tubes that do not meet the requirements of the specification
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on shall be rejected.
the ASTM website.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard.

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

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 A 209/A 209M – 03
6. Mechanical Properties TABLE 3 Computed Minimum Values

6.1 Tensile Requirements Wall Thickness Elongation in 2 in. or 50

6.1.1 The material shall conform to the requirements given mm, min, %A
in. mm
in Table 2.
5 / 16 (0.312) 8 30
6.1.2 Table 3 gives the computed minimum elongation 9 / 32 (0.281) 7.2 29
values for each 1⁄32-in. [0.8-mm] decrease in wall thickness. 1 / 4 (0.250) 6.4 27
Where the wall thickness lies between two values shown 7 / 32 (0.219) 5.6 26
3 / 16 (0.188) 4.8 24
above, the minimum elongation value shall be determined by 5 / 32 (0.156) 4 22
the following equation: 1 / 8 (0.125) 3.2 21
3 / 32 (0.094) 2.4 20
E 5 48t 1 15.00 [E 5 1.87t 1 15.00] (1) 1 / 16 (0.062) 1.6 18
A
where: Calculated elongation requirements shall be rounded to the nearest whole
number.
E = elongation in 2 in. [50 mm], %, and,
t = actual thickness of specimen, in. [mm].
6.2 Hardness Requirements—The tubes shall have a hard- TABLE 4 Hardness Requirements
ness not exceeding the values given in Table 4.
6.3 Number of Tests Brinell Hardness Rockwell Hardness
6.3.1 Tension Test—One tension test shall be made on a Number (Tubes 0.200 Number (Tubes less than
in. [5.1 mm] and over in 0.200 in. [5.1 mm] in
specimen for lots of not more than 50 tubes. Tension tests shall Wall Thickness), HBW Wall Thickness), HRB
be made on specimens from two tubes for lots of more than 50 Grade T 1 146 80
tubes (See 7.2) Grade T 1a 153 81
6.3.2 Flattening Test—One flattening test shall be made on Grade T 1b 137 77
specimens from each end of one finished tube, not the one used
for the flaring test, from each lot (See 7.1)
TABLE 5 Number of Tubes in a Lot Heat Treated by the
6.3.3 Flaring Test—One flaring test shall be made on
Continuous Process
specimens from each end of one finished tube, not the one used
for the flattening test, from each lot (See 7.1) Size of Tube Size of Lot
6.3.4 Hardness Test—Brinell or Rockwell hardness tests 2 in. [50.8 mm] and over in outside diameter and not more than 50 tubes
shall be made on specimens from two tubes from each lot (See 0.200 in. [5.1 mm] and over in wall thickness
7.2) 2 in. [50.8 mm] and over in outside diameter and not more than 75 tubes
under 0.200 in. [5.1 mm] in wall thickness
Less than 2 in. [50.8 mm] but over 1 in. [25.4 mm] not more than 75 tubes
7. Sampling in outside diameter
7.1 Flattening, Flaring, and Product Analysis—For flatten- 1 in. [25.4 mm] or less in outside diameter not more than 125 tubes
ing, flaring, and product analysis requirements, the term lot
applies to all tubes prior to cutting of the same nominal size
and wall thickness that are produced from the same heat of
steel. When final heat treatment is in a batch-type furnace, a lot 7.2 Tension and Hardness Tests—For tension and hardness
shall include only those tubes of the same size and from the tests, the term lot applies to all tubes prior to cutting, of the
same heat that are heat treated in the same furnace charge. same nominal diameter and wall thickness that are produced
When the final heat treatment is in a continuous furnace, the from the same heat of steel. When final heat treatment is in a
number of tubes of the same size and from the same heat in a batch-type furnace, a lot shall include only those tubes of the
lot shall be determined from the size of the tubes given in Table same size and the same heat that are heat treated in the same
5. furnace charge. When the final heat treatment is in a continuous
furnace, a lot shall include all tubes of the same size and heat,
TABLE 2 Tensile Requirements heat treated in the same furnace at the same temperature, time
Grade Grade Grade
at heat, and furnace speed.
T1 T1b T1a
Tensile strength, min, ksi [MPa] 55 [380] 53 [365] 60 [415] 8. Forming Operations
Yield strength, min, ksi [MPa] 30 [205] 28 [195] 32 [220]
Elongation in 2 in. or 50 mm, min, % 30 30 30 8.1 Tubes when inserted in the boiler shall stand expanding
For longitudinal strip tests a deduction 1.50A 1.50A 1.50A and beading without showing cracks or flaws. Superheater
shall be made for each 1⁄32-in. [0.8- tubes when properly manipulated shall stand all forging,
mm] decrease in wall thickness
below 5⁄16 in. [8 mm] from the welding, and bending operations necessary for application
basic minimum elongation of the without developing defects.
following percentage
When standard round 2-in. or 50-mm 22 22 22
gage length or smaller proportion- 9. Product Marking
ally sized specimen with the gage
length equal to 4D (four times the 9.1 In addition to the marking prescribed in Specification
diameter) is used A 1016/A 1016M, the marking shall include whether the tube
A
Table 3 gives the computed minimum values. is hot-finished or cold-finished.

2
 A 209/A 209M – 03
10. Keywords
10.1 boiler tubes; carbon-molybdenum; seamless steel
tube; steel tube; superheater tubes

SUPPLEMENTARY REQUIREMENTS

The following supplementary requirement shall apply only when specified by the purchaser in the
inquiry, contract, or order.

S1. Surface Condition

S1.1 If pickling or shot blasting, or both, are required, this
shall be specifically stated in the order. Details of this supple-
mental requirement shall be agreed upon between the manu-
facturer and the purchaser.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee A01 has identified the location of selected changes to this specification since the last issue,
A 209/A 209M - 98, which may impact the use of this standard. (Approved September 2003)

(1) Revised and re-formatted extensively to adopt the new old Specification A 209/A 209M, was changed to the manda-
general requirements specification and conform to the guide- tory nondestructive electric test unless the hydrostatic test is
lines for form and style. The mandatory hydrostatic test, unless specified by purchaser per Specification A 1016/A 1016M.
the nondestructive electric test is specified by purchaser per the

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