Trade Glossary

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Cert. issued and signed by manufacturer’s representative, who must be independent of the manufacturing department. Eg Inspection department or test house manager/supervisor.

Cert. issued by both manufacturer’s representative and an independent inspector appointed either by the customer (cf withdrawn 3.1C) or an inspector designated by official regulations (cf withdrawn 3.1A). ie 3.2 now covers scope of both 3.1A and 3.1C of 1991 edition. This cover what is often referred to as ‘outside inspection’

Annealing is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable . The process requires heating material to a required temperature under various environment (for some alloys) and then allowing it to cool down according to process specified .

Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) is used during the refining process to produce steel with low carbon properties and low silicon levels, while creating a metal more weldable and more corrosion and heat resistant. It brings the tightest chemistry control to deliver the highest levels of metal purity.

The process injects oxygen and inert gas (argon or nitrogen) through submerged tuyeres and additional oxygen is blown through a top lance. The AOD process is suitable for production of stainless steel and other high-grade alloys because dilution with argon/nitrogen minimizes unwanted chromium oxidation.

ASTM International creates standards for a multitude of materials, products, test methods, and systems for a variety of industries.

A solid steel product, commonly in flat, square, round or hexagonal shapes. They are further machined , forged , finished to make different products . This a base product used by various industries all over the globe.

Pipe beveling is the process where an angle is formed between the edge of the end of a pipe or tube . This abbreviated as BE for projects or orders . This process is done to make welding of the pipe easier and better .

A bill of lading is a legal document between a shipper and a carrier that details the type, quantity and destination of the goods being carried. The bill of lading also serves as a shipment receipt when the carrier delivers the goods at the predetermined destination.

A semi-finished steel product with a square cross section up to 155mm x 155mm. This product is either rolled or continuously cast and is then transformed by rolling to obtain finished products like wire rod, merchant bars and other sections. The range of semi-finished products above 155 mm x 155 mm are called blooms.

Bright annealing is the heat treatment of metals under a nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere. This helps achieving better ID and OD surface finish.The annealing process under protective gas prevents oxidation and eliminates the need for pickling thus saving time and additional process after annealing.

Carbon steel includes manganese and iron. It is considered to be one of the most widely used steel metals. Base on the percentage of carbon contain it mainly classified in to 4 types

Low carbon steel:- 0.05–0.26% carbon
Medium carbon steel;- 0.29–0.55% of carbon
High carbon steel :-0.55–1% of carbon
Very high carbon steel :-1–2.10% of carbon

Note;- As carbon % increase the hardness of the steel increase

A payment arrangement in which an exporter instructs a bank to hand over shipping and title documents (see document of title) to the importer when the importer fully pays the accompanying bill of exchange or draft. Also called documents against payment.ch

Chemical Analysis means determining exact percentage of elements like Carbon (C) , Iron (Fe) , Manganese (Mn) , Nickel (Ni) , Molybdenum (Mo) , etc in the alloy .

A payment term for signifying that the price invoiced or quoted by a seller includes insurance and all other charges up to the named port of destination.

The process of reducing the cross-sectional diameter of tubes or wire or bars by drawing through successively smaller dies without previously heating the material, thereby increasing its tensile strength

Cold pilgering is a longitudinal cold-rolling process that reduces the diameter and wall thickness of metal tube in one process step. Depending on the material, the cold pilger process achieves cross-section reductions of more than 90 percent in a single working cycle

Cold Rolled is a term used for sheets , where the material has been rolled without heating, producing a smooth surface finish . This process is done after the plates or coils are hot rolled .

Deburring is to neaten and smooth the rough edges or ridges of any metal material after it has been cut .

Removal of grease, or oil from a metal surface after it has been cold drawn or cold pilgered generally through the use of hot water, steam, alkaline cleaners, or organic solvents.

DIN – DIN, Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (German Institute for Standardization) develops norms and standards for rationalization, quality assurance, environmental protection, safety and communication in industry, technology, science, and government, as well as the public domain.

A dye penetration test is a type of nondestructive evaluation used to detect surface flaws on a material. The dye penetration test uses a liquid called a penetrant that flows into any flaws on the material’s surface to increase the visibility of the surface discontinuities, making them easier to detect and measure.

Eddy-current testing (also commonly seen as eddy current testing and ECT) is one of many electromagnetic testing methods used in nondestructive testing (NDT) making use of electromagnetic induction to detect and characterize surface and sub-surface flaws in conductive materials.

Measure of the ductility of a material as determined by a tension test, it is the increase in the gauge-length of a test specimen after fracture divided by its original gauge-length. Higher elongation mean higher ductility.

Extrusion is a process in which a heated metal block is forced through a die to obtain the desired smaller cross-section shape.

Used to describe goods that buyers can have immediately because the seller has a supply of them available: Most ex-stock items can be delivered on the following day after the order is placed

Ex Works (EXW) is an international trade term by which a seller makes the product available at a designated location, and the buyer incurs transport costs

Stainless Steel comes in various finishes . These finishes are on the

A flange is a method of connecting pipes, valves, pumps and other equipment to form a piping system. It also provides easy access for cleaning, inspection or modification. Flanges are usually welded or screwed. Flanged joints are made by bolting together two flanges with a gasket between them to provide a seal.

Indicating “FOB port” means that the seller pays for transportation of the goods to the port of shipment, plus loading costs. The buyer pays the cost of marine freight transport, insurance, unloading, and transportation from the arrival port to the final destination

Free on Truck (FOT) pricing term indicating that the seller will put the goods on a railroad car or ‘truck’ at a named loading point without any extra charge . But the freight has to be paid by the buyer.

Forging is a metal forming process in which the metal is heated and a force is applied in such a way that a required shape can be obtain.

Fumigation is a method of killing pests, termites or any other harmful living organisms. This is usually done for export packaging (mostly wood) . It is mandatory process when exporting to major of the countries including to Europe & America

Hardness is measured of all materials , being directly related to tensile strenght and inversely related to ductility it helps identify the nature for which the material is going to be used . Measured in HRB or HRC or HB in the steel industry .

A heat number is a unique identifying code a technician stamps on a piece of metal to provide information about its origins. It is assigned when the batch was first formed and carried forward when other production runs are performed .

Hot rolling is a mill process which involves rolling the steel at a high temperature (typically at a temperature over 1700° F), which is above the steel’s recrystallization temperature. When steel is above the recrystallization temperature, it can be shaped and formed easily, and the steel can be made in much larger sizes. Hot rolled steel is typically cheaper than cold rolled steel due to the fact that it is often manufactured without any delays in the process, and therefore the reheating of the steel is not required (as it is with cold rolled). When the steel cools off it will shrink slightly thus giving less control on the size and shape of the finished product when compared to cold rolled.

Hydrostatic / Hydro Test is a type of NDT test where pressure is build in metal component and hold for a certain duration. In case of any leaks or pin holes the pressure will not hold and thus material getting rejected . This is the cheapest and fastest way to identify defects in material .

If materials with incorrect heat treatment enter service, they are liable to crack or fail much more rapidly than properly treated materials . IGC or Inter Granular Corrosion test is to accelerate the wear and tear of the material in a short duration of time to check the expected life of material .

Impact tests are used in studying the toughness of material. A material’s toughness is a factor of its ability to absorb energy during deformation. Brittle materials have low toughness as a result of the small amount of deformation that they can endure. The impact value of a material can also change with temperature. Generally, at lower temperatures the impact energy of a material is decreased.Usually this test is for materials used in extreme environments e.g. sub-zero temperatures where oil drilling is done .

Semi-finished solid metal form produced in a non-continuous casting process by pouring liquid metal into large molds. A steel ingot is usually rectangular in cross-section, weighs between 25 to 30 tons. This is the first product that is formed from the furnace.

A letter issued by a bank to another bank (especially one in a different country) to serve as a guarantee for payments made to a specified person under specified conditions of trade.

Mechanical analysis is a technique used to study and characterize materials for the applications to be used for . This process is done after annealing process . Reading of Tensile Strength , Yield Strength , Elongation , Hardness , Etc are taken for the user to have a understand the final application of materials.

Nickel Alloys or Super Alloys or Exotic Alloys are with atleast minimum 30% Nickel content . These alloys show outstanding corrosion and high temperature resistance and are used in place of regular stainless steel . But with high cost factor and low availability are used only in critical situations . They have a longer life compared to regular stainless steel .

Passivation is a non-electrolytic process typically using nitric or citric acid which removes free iron from the surface and forms an inert, protective oxide layer that in turn renders the stainless steel more rust-resistance due to lack of iron to react with the atmosphere. Its a mandatory process after pickling.

Pickling is a metal surface treatment which uses acids to remove impurities, such as stains, inorganic contaminants, rust or scale from ferrous metals, copper, precious metals and aluminum alloys.

A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder .Dimensions are generally specified by a nominal diameter as per ANSI B36.10M & ASME B36.19M with a constant outside diameter (OD) and a schedule that defines the thickness in chart here Nominal Pipe Size . Pipe come in two types , Seamless and Welded

Pipe Fittings are used in pipe systems to connect the straight pipe or tubing sections, adapt to different sizes or shapes. They also are used to direct the flow in constrained spaces and play a very important part in pipe connections.

Piercing metal is a process used to provide holes, slots and notches with tight tolerances within sheet metal or metal components. Piercing metal provides a clean cut and high output rates often making it a more productive method than drilling or using a laser. The process minimizes the wastage in metal by a lot and is commonly used in making mother tubes for seamless pipes from round bars .

The Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN) is a measure of the relative pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steel in a chloride-containing environment. The pitting resistance of stainless steel is primarily determined by its composition. The elements which have a significant impact are chromium, molybdenum, and nitrogen. The formula, which quantifies their respective contribution, is:

PREN = 1 × %Cr + 3.3 × %Mo + 16 × %N

Higher PREN values indicate greater corrosion resistance.

The factor for nitrogen varies according to the source. Some variants of the equation also include tungsten (W).

PREN values are useful for ranking stainless steel grades according to their pitting-corrosion resistance. However, this comparison is only meaningful within the same stainless steel family (austenitic, ferritic, duplex). PREN cannot be interpreted as an absolute value.

Sandblasting is the act of propelling very fine particles of an abrasive material at high velocity toward a surface in order to clean or etch it.

Seamless Pipe / Tube is manufactured by extruding the metal either by Hot Working or Cold Working to the desired length; seamless pipe does not have any joint (seam) in its cross-section through-out its length.

Shearing is a cutting action along a straight line to separate metal by two moving blades. This process is used to cut coils in desired lengths or sheets and plates to smaller width .

Sheets is a term used for a single piece of metal with a fixed length and thickness lower than 3mm.

Plate – A single piece of metal with a fixed length and thickness greater than 3mm.

Coil – A single piece of metal with with continuous length wound after rolling . These are further cut into desired lengths and classifying them further in sheets or plates .

Slitting is a process of cutting the coiled steel received from the steel mill into various narrower widths or to cut along lines of a given length or contour in a sheet or work piece.

Stainless steels as the name goes are most notable for their corrosion resistance or stainlessness .Stainless steel family has minimum of 10.5% of chromium along with alloying elements like nickel and molybdenum.They are further classified into martensitic stainless steels, ferritic stainless steels, austenitic stainless steels, duplex (ferritic-austenitic) stainless steels, precipitation-hardening stainless steels.

Tensile strength is a measurement of the maximum deformation a certain material can take without necking

Tempering is a heat treatment technique applied to ferrous alloys, such as steel or cast iron, to achieve greater toughness by decreasing the hardness of the alloy. Its similar to annealing but to obtain opposite results .

Theoretical weight or section weight refers to the weight of steel calculated by the theoretical formula and not by physical weight. Each form has a different formula and used to get an estimate weight before the shipment or to verify any irregularities in thickness or weighing scale.

The ton is a unit of measure widely used in steel industry to measure weight.1 ton equal to 1000 kgs .

Tube is also a hollow cylinder like pipe but its dimension(OD , Thickness) which are not defined in Nominal Pipe Size Chart . They also come in two types , Seamless and Welded. The term tube is used for single length straight pieces , whereas tubing is a single circular coil which run in continuous length usually for small sizes .

Ultrasonic inspection (UT) is a non-destructive test method that utilizes sound waves to detect cracks and defects in parts and materials. It can also be used to determine a material’s thickness, such as measuring the wall thickness of a pipe.

The unified numbering system (UNS) is an alloy designation system widely accepted in North America. It consists of a prefix letter and five digits designating a material composition. For example, a prefix of S indicates stainless steel alloys, C indicates copper, brass, or bronze alloys, T indicates tool steels,N indicates Nickel and Nickel Alloys and so on[1].

Welded Pipe / Tube are made by ERW (Electro Resistance Weld) or EFW (Electro Fusion Weld) manufacturing process, welded pipes are formed by hot or cold rolling plate and welding the seam.

A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die.

Industrial radiography or X Ray Testing is a method of non-destructive testing where many types of manufactured components can be examined to verify the internal structure and integrity of the specimen

Yield strength is a measurement of the maximum amount of elastic deformation a material can take

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