Across many types of merchandise in a variety of industries, the practice of combining assorted components from various resources around the globe is the rule, not the exception. Should this be a concern for a control valve user? For instance, when an finish user discovers that a number of parts are being made in China (Figure 1), ought to the consumer worry concerning the quality?
When dealing with a major valve vendor, the reply is “no.” There shouldn’t be any room for doubt when the vendor has a number of checks and balances in place specializing in product quality to make sure management valves function as designed, want minimal upkeep, carry out safely and function within environmental laws.
Yet, despite such efforts by the seller, a control valve user might have questions on global sourcing and the country of origin. This article discusses how one major management valve vendor ensures product high quality. Many other control valve distributors follow the same or comparable procedures.
Quality specification brings world assurance
Emerson enforces a comprehensive quality specification for its Fisher control valves that have to be met by suppliers of pressure-containing and structural metallic castings. The quality specification contains more than a dozen necessities that apply to the following areas:
Supplier qualification
Welding procedures
Marking inspection and testing
Tryout and sample castings
Production castings
Certification of compliance
Supplier qualification — Suppliers bear a rigorous qualification process. เพรสเชอร์เกจ4นิ้ว investigates a potential supplier’s capacity to fulfill material specifications and relevant worldwide codes and standards — as properly as particular necessities associated to element manufacture. In the case of castings, a foundry is considered “qualified” when it passes a important analysis by Fisher’s engineers.
The foundry should reveal a record of qualification by a third-party inspection company and conform to numerous requirements, such as ISO 9001:2000, ASME, A2LA, PED and others. It must pass a evaluation of its quality program as nicely as on-site audits of the foundry’s processes and procedures similar to welding, warmth therapy and non-destructive examination. Additional proof of performance is set by evaluation of tryout castings to confirm specifications are met.
Welding procedures — Welding is used in the course of the manufacturing and upgrading of castings, similar to when radiographic examination is required. Welding necessities state that procedures and welder qualifications should meet ASME Section IX (or EN ISO 15614-1 and ISO 9606-1) qualification requirements. Similarly, each lot of weld filler must adjust to ASME/AWS chemical evaluation specs. In Europe, compliance must be to EN499. Weld filler should have actual chemistry.
Marking inspection and testing — Valve physique castings have markings (Figure 2) that identify the foundry that poured the casting and that point out the warmth code. Material identification can be typically shown on the body casting, such as CC, CF8M, CN7M and others.
Casting checks — Emerson technicians conduct both visible inspections and mechanical checks on pressure-retaining castings.
As-cast exterior and inside surfaces are inspected visually for unacceptable irregularities, together with sizzling tears and cracks, shrink, sand inclusions, veining and rat tails. Mechanical testing involves a hydrostatic pressure take a look at to confirm the leak tightness of a control valve’s pressure-retaining components, together with the body and bonnet castings. The test process includes a fixture that closes off cavities that would be pressurized in service and then topics the element to the hydrostatic shell take a look at stress applicable for the valve physique materials and sophistication.
ASME B16.34 units out the hydrostatic test pressure to make use of for steel and alloy valves. It’s calculated by multiplying the working pressure by 1.5 and rounding to the following higher 25 psig increment. Any visually detectable weeping or leaking via the stress boundary walls that are part of the valve meeting is a compulsory cause for rejection (Figure 3).
Compliance with these specs should be ensured, in addition to with other requirements regarding materials.
Figure 2. Markings identify the foundry and supplies of the valve body. These management valve bodies have been cast at an Emerson-approved foundry in China.
Meeting material necessities
Valve casting integrity and quality begins with specs that decision not just for premium supplies, but additionally for the supplies that work finest within the meant applications. These utility necessities include strength and ductility in addition to resistance to sure factors, together with the makeup of the controlled fluid, working temperature and move velocity.
For instance, chemical composition have to be controlled precisely to achieve an alloy’s intended performance stage. Carbon metal castings for valves supposed for use in oil and gasoline purposes should meet NACE SP0472 recommendations that chemical composition be managed to lower than 0.43% carbon equivalency. The decrease carbon content improves weldability and reduces the potential for stress cracking by hydrogen sulfide sometimes found in oil and fuel production and processing purposes.
Another example of materials tied to a selected application embrace these for upstream oil and gas manufacturing. Many of these purposes happen in the arctic regions of Russia and Canada. For this service, castings are ASME SA 352 Grade LCC, whereas forgings should meet ASME SA 350 Grade LF2.
Many merchandise with international use now adjust to twin materials specs to meet ASME and European requirements. For example, metal castings are specified and authorized to each ASME SA216 Grade WCC and EN 10213 Grade 1.0619. Emerson usually adds its personal stringent necessities similar to the heat treating of excessive nickel alloys, extra demanding chemical composition or particular welding procedures.
In the previous, Emerson has supplemented typical ASTM and ASME specifications to attain the enhanced corrosion-resistance ranges and excessive temperature capabilities provided by high-nickel alloys. This is now completed by the new ASTM specification A990, which addresses each material composition and quality.
Figure 3. Pressure-retaining components of a valve are subjected to hydrostatic testing to judge the parts’ integrity. Visible leakage or seepage via a casting means computerized rejection.
Qualifying a foundry
As a part of a potential foundry’s qualification, Emerson inspects and checks Fisher valve castings. Non-destructive testing radiography is used as a monitoring tool. ASTM A990 Class C requires radiography of the primary casting of each sample. The acceptance criterion is Level three for classes A, B and C. For classes D by way of G, no cracking, sizzling tears or inserts are allowed as laid out in ASTM A990.
High-nickel alloy castings provide improved efficiency in corrosive providers and elevated temperatures. However, if high-nickel castings are improperly ready, they’ll pose major issues, together with poor integrity, poor weldability and lower-than-expected corrosion resistance. A systematic foundry qualification course of could be adopted to avoid these casting difficulties.
The foundry must solid a 1-inch thick high-nickel take a look at plate (Figure 4) that meets ASTM Material Specification A990. It’s troublesome to solid due to the difference in cross-section between the bottom of the weld cavity (in the center) and the general 1-inch thickness of the plate. The cavity of the poured plate is then crammed with an identical composition weld materials. The welder and procedure for this step must meet the standards outlined in Section IX of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Test bars (3/8-inch thick) are minimize from the plate and bent over a 1½-inch mandrel per ASTM A990 into a U-shape.
The bars are examined carefully for cracking along the weld heat-affected zone, casting grain boundaries or dendrite boundaries. Failure to satisfy quality standards will outcome within the disqualification of the foundry from additional consideration. Casting patterns must be dedicated solely to high-nickel alloy service. Use of carbon metal or a stainless-steel pattern is unacceptable because of differences in solidification properties.
Shrinkage charges for gates, risers and different equipment can differ significantly. Once the dedicated pattern tools for each of these elements has been secured, try-out castings are poured for each pattern-alloy mixture. The castings are then radiographed.
The intent is to disclose any inherent casting defects — similar to shrinkage — that must be eradicated by modifying the pattern rigging.
Figure four. In a foundry evaluation, a casting is crammed with weld filler, then sliced to yield a bar for bend testing.
A certified foundry
Emerson has used a Chinese foundry (Figure 5) to forged Fisher valve our bodies for greater than a decade. After an exploratory visit by procurement and manufacturing specialists, adopted by an in depth qualification process, the foundry was approved and has been delivering high-quality valve body and bonnet castings to Fisher valve manufacturing sites.
To help ensure the standard of the castings it produces, the Chinese foundry has applied international requirements and has obtained certifications for German TUV and CE, Norway DNV, German Lloyd’s and American ABS, and has handed international quality system certifications of ISO 9001 and QS -9000.
The foundry has been awarded Gold Medals three times consecutively within the Beijing International Casting, Forging and Industrial Boiler Expo. It has twice acquired an Excellent Supplier award from Emerson.
Figure 5. This Chinese foundry meets all specs for casting valve bodies.
Summary
Control valve users may be concerned after they be taught sure valve components usually are not made in the U.S. or Europe, however elsewhere. Perhaps their concern stems from experience with other inferior products, such as home equipment, clothes or electronics made in these countries and offered online. But if the valve components are being equipped to a significant management valve vendor that has gone to great lengths to qualify the foundry or provider, then customers could be assured the valves meet all specs.
Share