Sandvik Stainless Steel Tube (Seamless)

FTI stocks a broad range of high quality Sandvik European manufactured seamless Stainless steel tube manufactured to ASTM A269 – 316L.

FTI stocks a large range of both imperial seamless Sandvik stainless steel tube (standard sizes from 1/8 to 1″ OD) and metric seamless Sandvik stainless steel tube (standard sizes from 6 mm to 25 mm OD)

FTI’s Sandvik stainless steel tube is suitable for high pressure, vacuum, impulsing and pressure surge applications. The Sandvik tube is suitable for use with compression fittings and may be bent by hand or machine.

The standard stocked and minimum order length of Sandvik tube is 3 metres; 6 metre lengths are also available if required. FTI also stock 1/16th coiled stainless steel tube. Other OD sizes are also available please contact us for further information

Forms of supply

Sandvik Seamless tube and pipe- Finishes and dimensions

Sandvik Seamless tube and pipe in 3R60 is supplied in dimensions up to 260 mm outside diameter in the solution annealed and white-pickled condition or solution annealed in a bright-annealing process.

Sandvik Sizes in stock

Sandvik Seamless tube is stocked in a wide range of sizes according to ISO. Heat exchanger and instrumentation tubes are also stocked in BWG-and SWG-sizes. Hollow bar is stocked in a large number of sizes as SANMAC 316L.

Sandvik Mechanical properties

For tube and pipe with wall thickness greater than 10 mm (0.4 in.) the proof strength may fall short of the stated values by about 10 MPa (1.4 ksi).

Sandvik Impact strength

Due to its austenitic microstructure, Sandvik 3R60 has very good impact strength both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperatures.

Tests have demonstrated that the steel fulfils the requirements according to the European standards prEN 13445-2 (UFPV-2) ( (min. 60 J (44 ft-lb) at -270 oC (-455 oF) and prEN 10216-5 (min. 60 J (44 ft-lb) at -196 oC (-320 oF).

Sandvik Corrosion resistance

Sandvik 3R60 has good resistance in: 

• Organic acids at high concentrations and moderate temperatures
• Inorganic acids, e.g. phosphoric and sulphuric acids, at moderate concentrations and temperatures. The steel can also be used in sulphuric acid of concentrations above 90% at low temperature.
• Salt solutions, e.g. sulphates, sulphides and sulphites
• Caustic environments

Sandvik Stress corrosion cracking

Austenitic steels are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. This may occur at temperatures above about 60°C (140°F) if the steel is subjected to tensile stresses and at the same time comes into contact with certain solutions, particularly those containing chlorides. Such service conditions should therefore be avoided. Conditions when plants are shut down must also be considered, as the condensates which are then formed can develop conditions that lead to both stress corrosion cracking and pitting.

Sandvik Intergranular corrosion

Sandvik 3R60 has a low carbon content and therefore better resistance to intergranular corrosion than steels of type AISI 316. The TTC-diagram, Figure 1, shows the result of corrosion testing for 24 hours in boiling Strauss solution (12% sulphuric acid, 6% copper sulphate). The resistance to grain boundary attack is much better for AISI 316L than for AISI 316. This is an advantage in complicated welding operations.

Resistance to these types of corrosion improves with increasing molybdenum content. Sandvik 3R60, containing about 2.6% Mo, has substantially higher resistance to attack than these steels of type AISI 304 and also better resistance than ordinary AISI 316/316L steels with 2.1% Mo.

Gas corrosion

Sandvik 3R60 can be used in:

• Air up to 850°C (1560°F)
• Steam up to 750°C (1380°F)

Creep behavior should also be taken into account when using the steel in the creep range. 
In flue gases containing sulphur, the corrosion resistance is reduced. In such environments the steel can be used at temperatures up to 600-750 °C (1100-1380 °F) depending on service conditions. Factors to consider are whether the atmosphere is oxidising or reducing, i.e. the oxygen content, and whether impurities such as sodium and vanadium are present. )

Sandvik Heat treatment

The Sandvik tube is delivered in heat treated condition. If additional heat treatment is needed after further processing the following is recommended.

Stress relieving

850-950°C (1560-1740°F), cooling in air

Solution annealing

1000-1100°C (1830-2010°F), rapid cooling in air or water.

Welding

The weldability of Sandvik 3R60 is good. Suitable welding methods are manual metal-arc welding with covered electrodes and gas-shielded arc welding with the TIG and MIG methods as first choice. Preheating and post-weld treatment are not normally necessary.

Since the material has low thermal conductivity and high thermal expansion, welding must be carried out with a low heat input and with welding plans well thought out in advance so that the deformation of the welded joint can be kept under control. If, despite these precautions, it is foreseen that the residual stresses might impair the function of the weldment, we recommend that the entire structure be stress relieved. See under Heat treatment.

As filler metals for gas-shielded arc welding we recommend wire electrodes and rods Sandvik 19.12.3.L, 19.12.3.LSi. In shielded metal-arc welding (SMAW) covered electrodes Sandvik 19.12.3.LR, 19.12.3.LRV or 19.12.3.LRHD are recommended. If flux cored arc welding is preferred, the electrodes 19.12.3.LT or 19.12.3.LVT should be used.

Bending

Annealing after cold bending is not normally necessary, but this point must be decided with regard to the degree of bending and the operating conditions. Heat treatment, if any, should take the form of stress relieving or solution annealing, see under Heat treatment.

Hot bending is carried out at 1100-850°C (2010-1560°F) and should be followed by solution annealing.

Sandvik Tube Applications

Sandvik 3R60 is used for a wide range of industrial applications where steels of type AISI 304 and 304L have insufficient corrosion resistance. Typical examples are: heat exchangers, condensers, pipelines, cooling and heating coils in the chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper and food industries.