SPECIFICATIONS

Structural Design

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

ACI/ASCE:  ACI 530.1-88/ASCE 6-88 Section 3.2.1. Specification for masonry structures
This covers the requirements for ties and anchors made of Type 304 stainless steel

SEI/ASCE-8-02 Specification for the design of cold formed stainless steel structural members
This covers cold formed structural sections

American Institute for Steel Construction (AISC)

AISC Design Guide 27: Stainless Steel
This document covers the structural design of hot rolled and welded austenitic, duplex and precipitation hardening alloy structural sections that are 0.125 inch (3 mm) and greater; tension bars and fasteners.

Product Standards

American Standard for Testing of Materials (ASTM)

General Standards for Stainless Steel


A240/A240M

Specification for heat-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel stainless steel plate, sheet, and strip for pressure vessels 
Note: This is the most widely used specification for stainless steel plate, sheet, and strip, no matter what the end-use application. It covers chemistry and minimum strength requirements for common stainless steel in the annealed condition. For improved finish quality and corrosion resistance for austenitics (i.e. 304/304L, 316/316L), tighten A240 by specifying “Sulfur not to exceed 0.005%” and, for highly polished mirror finishes, specify “Sulfur not to exceed 0.002%”.

A480/
A480M

General requirements for flat-rolled stainless and heat-resisting steel plate, sheet, and strip
Note: Specify in conjunction with A240. Describes surface finishes for sheet, strip, plate; defines edge conditions; provides dimensional and flatness tolerances; describes shipping requirements; and requirements for heat treatment, test specimens, test methods.

 

Cleaning and Passivation


A380

Standard Specification for Cleaning, Descaling and Passivation of Stainless Steel Parts, Equipment and Systems
Note: This covers various potential treatments required to restore the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel after welding, hot forming, and heat treatment. It also covers inspection after cleaning and tests for free iron, residual oil and other surface contaminants.

A967

Standard Specification for Chemical Passivation for Stainless Steel Parts
Note: This specification includes methods for testing for and removing free iron and other foreign matter from the surface that can prevent the formation of a protective passive film on the stainless steel.  These treatments do not remove heat tint from welding or heat treatment - Passivation alone is not sufficient to restore corrosion resistance.

 

ASTM Fasteners, Fittings, Anchors

There is no ASTM standard for stainless steel washers. Order to the raw material standard A240.

A193/
A193M

Alloy-steel and stainless steel bolting materials for high temperature or high pressure service and other special purpose applications 
Note: Includes bolt sizes of 1.5 inch and greater. Does not include duplex SS grades.

A194/ A194M

Carbon and alloy steel nuts for bolts for high pressure or high temperature service or both  Note: Includes stainless steel and bolt sizes of 1.5 inch and greater)

A774/ A774M

Austenitic stainless steel fittings (as-welded) for general corrosive service at low/moderate temperatures

A951/ A951M

Standard specification for steel wire for masonry joint reinforcement

A1082/ A1082M

Standard specification for high strength precipitation hardening and duplex stainless steel bolting for special purpose applications,
Note: Use for all high strength duplex and PH stainless steel fasteners – any size

C1242

Standard guide for design, selection, and installation of exterior dimension stone anchors and anchoring systems 
Note: This says that metal in contact with stone should be a 300 series stainless, but other materials can be used if properly protected against moisture and galvanic corrosion. Specify 316 instead of 304 if there will be typical coastal or deicing salt exposure. In severe high salt environments, a more corrosion resistant stainless steel is advised.

F593

Stainless steel specification for bolts/hex cap screws/studs
Note: Less than 1.5 inch in diameter, for standard – not high strength service

F594

Specification for stainless steel nuts
Note: Less than 1.5 inch diameter, standard service – not high strength service

F738M

Stainless steel specification for bolts/screws/studs, metric
Note: Less than 1.5 inch, standard service – not high strength service

F836M

Specification for stainless steel metric nuts
Note: Less than 1.5 inch, standard service – not high strength service

F837/ F837M

Specification for stainless steel socket head cap screws

F879/ F879M

Specification for stainless steel metric socket button and flat countersink head cap screws

F880/ F880M

Specification for stainless steel socket set screws

 

Wire


A492

Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Rope Wire
Note: Austenitic stainless steel wire intended for stranding into wire rope - chemical composition and tensile requirements.

A555/
A555M

General Requirements for Stainless Steel Wire and Wire Rods
Note: Terminology and dimensional tolerance requirements intended primarily for cold forming, including coiling, stranding, weaving, heading and machining.

 

Concrete Reinforcement


A955/ A955M

Stainless steel bars for concrete reinforcement

A1022/ A1022M

Standard specification for deformed and plain stainless steel wire and welded wire mesh for concrete reinforcement

 

Tubing

Tubing is specified based on outside diameter and is available in light to heavy wall thicknesses and a range of sizes. Typically tube is specified for purely structural applications – not pipe.  Pipe is specified based on inside diameter and used for transporting fluids.

A269

Standard Specification for Seamless and Welded Austenitic Stainless Steel Tubing for General Service

Note: Use for ordering large diameter light and heavy wall tubing – above 16 inch – for Austenitic and Ferritic stainless steels. Duplexes are not covered. To reduce cost for a purely structural application order – “heat treatment not required”. Use A1016 for general requirements.

A554

Standard specification for welded stainless steel mechanical tubing
(round, square, and rectangular tubing for structural applications)
Note:  Diameters up to 16 inches only.  Heavy wall available in larger sizes. Austenitic 300 - series and ferritic 400-series stainless steels are included. See A 789 for duplexes. Use A1016 for general requirements.

A789/A789M

Duplex tube, seamless/welded.
Note: This is for pressure rated tubing. A554 does not currently contain duplex stainless steels. Order welded not seamless to reduce cost for structural applications. Use A1016 for general requirements.

A1016

Standard Specification for General Requirements for Ferritic Alloy Steel, Austenitic Alloy Steel and Stainless Steel Tubes

 

Structural Shapes, Bar, and Higher Strength Sheet/Strip


A276

Specification for stainless and heat-resisting steel bars and shapes
 
Note: This covers the chemistry and mechanical property requirements for hot and cold finished rounds, squares, hexagons, angles, tees, channels and other shapes used for structural applications. ASTM A484 may also need to be specified.

A484/A484M

General Requirements for Stainless Steel Bars, Billets, and Forgings

Note: This provides dimensional tolerance, straightness, and finish descriptions for hot or cold finished bar, squares, angles, channels, tees and other shapes. The finish descriptions are very general.  More precise descriptions of finish options should be obtained from the supplier.

A666

Austenitic stainless steel sheet/strip/plate/flat bar for structural/architectural/pressure vessel/magnetic/ cryogenic/heat resisting applications where cold worked material for higher strength is required.

Note: This standard defines the additional strength levels that should be expected when additional cold work is required to achieve higher strength levels. Specify A 240 and A 480 for the standard annealed products used in most architectural applications.

A1069/ A1069M

Standard Specification for Laser Fused Stainless Steel Bars, Plates, and Shapes

 

Welding Standards for Stainless Steel, American Welding Society (AWS) 

Carbon steel standards should never be used for stainless steel.  The primary structural standard for stainless steel is AWS D1.6. Carbon steel standards, such as AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel, are not appropriate for welding stainless and could result in corrosion or structural problems.

Because of the specialized requirements of the application, two standards should be referenced for stainless steel concrete reinforcing bars (A955/A955M). All welding and metallurgical inspection should be required to conform to AWS D1.6 / D1.6M Structural Welding Code - Stainless Steel. AWS D1.4 Structural Welding Code – Reinforcing Steel should be referenced for the structural details and joint dimensions required forwelder qualification and for mechanical testing of those joints. The welding procedures in AWS D1.4 are only for carbon steel and not appropriate for stainless.

D1.6

Structural Welding Code – Stainless Steel

Note: Primary document that should be referenced for any structural welding application. It covers all aspects of welder qualification, joint design, inspection and other key issues.

A4.2

Standard Procedures for Calibrating Magnetic Instruments to Measure the Delta Ferrite Content of Austenitic and Duplex Austenitic-Ferritic Stainless Steel Weld Metal

A5.4

Specification for Stainless Steel Electrodes for Shielded Metal Arc Welding

A5.11/
A5.11M

Specification for Nickel and Nickel-Alloy Welding Electrodes for Shielded Metal Arc Welding

A5.9

Specification for Bare Stainless Steel Welding Electrodes and Rods

A5.22

Specification for Stainless Steel Electrodes for Flux Cored Arc Welding and Stainless Steel Flux Cored Rods for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

B2.1.014

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel to Austenitic Stainless Steel, (M-1 to M-8 or P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

B2.1.013

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Austenitic Stainless Steel, (M-8 / P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

B2.1.010

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Carbon Steel to Austenitic Stainless Steel, (M-1 to M-8 or P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

B2.1.009

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Austenitic Stainless Steel (M-8 / P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

B2.1.006

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Gas Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel to Austenitic Stainless Steel, (M-1 to M-8 or P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

B2.1.005

Standard Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) for Gas Metal Arc Welding Austenitic Stainless Steel, (M-8 / P-8), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, With or Without Backing

D10.4

Recommended Practices for Welding Austenitic Chromium Nickel Stainless Piping and Tubing