ASME SA210 Grade A1 Carbon Steel Seamless Boiler Tube and Superheater Tube
ASME SA210 GR.A1 is a medium carbon steel pipe under the ASME SA210 standard. It is usually used as water-cooled wall tubes, economizer tubes, low-temperature superheater tubes and various heat exchanger tubes for manufacturing power station boilers, industrial boilers, and marine boilers. The working environment temperature usually does not exceed 450°C (840°F). In higher temperatures or more demanding environments, materials with higher alloy content such as ASME SA213 T11 and T22 will be selected. GR.A1 is the minimum strength grade specified in the ASME SA210 standard. It is a medium carbon steel with a higher carbon content than low carbon steel such as A53 and lower than high carbon steel. It is manufactured by cold working or hot working processes and undergoes necessary heat treatment to obtain the required structure and properties.
ASTM A210 / A210M Grade A1 Carbon Steel Boiler Tube Chemical Compositions
| Chemical Components (%) |
| Grade |
C |
Si |
Mn |
P |
S |
Mo |
Cr |
V |
| A-1 |
≤0.27 |
≥0.10 |
≤0.93 |
≤0.035 |
≤0.035 |
/ |
/ |
/ |
ASME SA210 GR.A1 belongs to medium carbon steel with a carbon content of less than or equal to 0.27%. Compared to low carbon steels such as ASME SA178 GR.A and ASME SA192, it maintains higher strength while still having relatively good weldability and formability, which is to some extent superior to higher carbon or alloy steels. On the other hand, a silicon content greater than or equal to 0.10% ensures that ASME SA210GR.A1 has a good deoxidation effect.
| Standard Specification |
ASTM A210 / A210M, ASME SA210, A210 A1, SA210 A1 |
| Grade |
Grade A-1 |
| JIS G 3467 |
STFA 10 |
| Size Range |
1/2 in. to 16 in. [12.7 to 406.4mm] |
| Wall Thickness |
1.5mm-50mm |
| Shape |
Round |
| Manufacturing method |
Hot and cold finished |
| Length |
max 25 m, Single / Double random length |
| Terms |
Mill test certificates will be issued according to EN10204.3 3.1 or 3.2 |
| A210 GR.A1 tubes Shall be Seamless, and the testing shall be as per A 450 / A450M. |
| Common uses |
Boiler Tubes, Seamless Steel Tubes, Steel Tubes, and Superheater Tubes. |
ASME SA210 GR.A1 Carbon Steel Seamless Boiler Tube Manufacturing and Requirements
- Process: ASME SA210 GR.A1 carbon steel seamless boiler tubes must be manufactured using seamless processes such as hot rolling and cold drawing
- Heat treatment: In terms of heat treatment requirements, ASME SA210 GR.A1 finished carbon steel boiler tubes must undergo normalizing heat treatment, which can uniformly organize, refine grain size, eliminate internal stress, enhance the mechanical properties of the pipe, and make the pipe have good processing performance in future use.
- Hydrostatic testing: Each ASME SA210 GR.A1 carbon steel boiler tube shall undergo a hydrostatic pressure test before leaving the factory, or if specified by the buyer, non-destructive electrical testing may be used instead of this test.
- Dimensions and tolerances: The outer diameter, wall thickness, length, straightness, ovality, and other dimensions and tolerances of ASME SA210 GR.A1 carbon steel boiler tubes must comply with the requirements specified in the standard.
ASTM A210/ASME SA210 Grade A1 Boiler Tube Mechanical Properties
| Mechanical Properties |
| Grade |
Tensile |
Yield |
Elongation |
Hardness |
| Strength (Mpa) |
Strength (Mpa) |
(%) |
(HRB) |
| A-1 |
≥415 |
≥255 |
≥30 |
≤79 |
ASTM A210/ASME SA210 Boiler Tube Wall Thickness Tolerance
| Seamless, Cold-Finished Tubes |
| Outside Diameter |
Wall thickness Tolerance % |
| In. (mm) |
Over (+) |
Under (-) |
| 1 1/2" (38.1) and under |
20 |
0 |
| Over 1 1/2" (38.1) |
22 |
0 |
Comparison between ASME SA210 GR.A1 Carbon Steel Tubes and Other Grades
- SA210 GR.A1 vs SA210 GR.C: Compared to ASME SA210 GR.C, which has a carbon content of ≤ 0.35%, GR.A1 has a lower carbon content (≤ 0.27%), resulting in a relatively lower strength of the tube. It is suitable for working environments at medium to low temperatures and medium to low pressures, while GR.C is suitable for slightly higher temperature and pressure environments. However, due to its lower strength, GR.A1 has better weldability and formability than GR.C. GR.C typically requires preheating and post weld heat treatment.
- SA210 GR.A1 vs SA192: Compared to SA210 GR.A1 medium carbon steel tubes, SA192 belongs to low-carbon steel pipes (C ≤ 0.06-0.18%) with the lowest strength, but has excellent ductility, weldability, and thermal conductivity. It is commonly used in economizers and water-cooled walls of low-pressure boilers.
- SA210 GR.A1 vs SA106 GR.B: Although both SA106 GR.B and SA210 GR.A1 belong to medium carbon steel (C ≤ 0.30%), they are mainly used for high-temperature and high-pressure process pipelines (such as petrochemical and power plant main steam pipelines). Their chemical composition, heat treatment requirements (usually normalizing+tempering or quenching+tempering), and mechanical properties (especially high-temperature performance) are different from SA210 carbon steel boiler tubes. The two are not directly interchangeable.
The cost of ASME SA210 GR.A1 is lower than that of alloy steel tubes, and the market process is sufficient. At the same time, it has good processability, and is relatively easy to process such as welding, bending, and cutting. It has good strength and plasticity, and can meet the basic requirements of medium-parameter boilers and heat exchangers for strength and plasticity, and has better thermal conductivity than stainless steel.
When choosing ASME SA210 GR.A1 carbon steel tubes, it should be noted that ASME SA210 GR.A1 has limited high temperature resistance. Its maximum operating temperature is usually below 450℃. When it exceeds this temperature, the strength of the pipe will decrease significantly, and the anti-oxidation ability is insufficient. When working for a long time in a high temperature environment, ASME SA210 GR.A1's creep deformation resistance will be inferior to that of alloy steel. At the same time, in corrosive media such as oxygenated water, acid, and alkali, ASME SA210 GR.A1 requires good water chemistry control to maintain performance.
ASTM A210/ASME SA210 Boiler Tube Application
Boiler
Super heater
Heat exchangers
Condensers
Marine application
Refineries
Paper pulping
Petrochemical applications
Pressure vessels
General engineering applications
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