Standards breakthrough for XLERPLATE® steel

03 October 2007

Steel fabricators using North American welding codes will be able to qualify welding procedures using readily available XLERPLATE® steel from 2008

Steel fabricators using North American welding codes will be able to qualify welding procedures using readily available XLERPLATE® steel from 2008.

Key grades of XLERPLATE® structural steels will be listed as part of the American Welding Society's AWS B2.1 Standard, one of two key reference documents in the United States for weld procedure and performance qualifications.

The move will simplify bidding for work on large national and international resource and infrastructure projects, many of which have been designed to North American standards.

"This is a major breakthrough for local fabricators thanks to the efforts of AWS member and Welding Engineer Jon Lambert," said Bruce Cannon, Senior Metallurgist, Welding Engineer with BlueScope Steel's Technology and Environment Department.

"This follows years of collective engineering efforts, and is the latest evidence of a growing trend to internationalise standards."

XLERPLATE® steel made to the Australian Standard AS/NZS 3678 in Grade 250, 350, 400 and 450 will be covered by the change, as will AS 1548 XLERPLATE® steels and some AS/NZS 1594 hot rolled strip grades with defined structural strength.

"Prior to their inclusion in AWS B2.1, our XLERPLATE® AS 1548 grade steels, designed for use in pressure vessels, were listed within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) pressure standards in 2003," Mr Cannon said.

"This ASME listing allows Australian fabricators, working to the ASME pressure vessel code, the option of using those XLERPLATE® steels to construct pressure vessels.

"Fabricators previously had to order American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards grades, which in Australia could prove difficult when those quantities could not be manufactured because of the order size."

The current approval process to use Australian steel for export work is very convoluted. Fabricators wanting to undertake projects for South-East Asian companies are often locked out of a market dominated by ASME and AWS D1.1 welding standards.

"BlueScope Steel will continue to pursue additional standards recognition for XLERPLATE® steel, as we and our customers identify the need,"

BlueScope Steel's National Sales Manager, Distribution and Manufacturing, Stan Clark said. "We will also contribute to the development of standards in Australia and internationally."