ASTM A182 F304L Forged Socket Weld Fittings

ASTM A182 F304L specification covers forged or rolled alloy and stainless steel pipe flanges, forged fittings, and valves and parts for high-temperature service. After hot working, forgings shall be cooled to a specific temperature prior to heat treatment, which shall be performed in accordance with certain requirements such as heat treatment type, austenitizing/solution temperature, cooling media, and quenching. The materials shall conform to the required chemical composition for carbon, manganese, phosphorus, silicon, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, columbium, titanium. The material shall conform to the requirements as to mechanical properties for the grade ordered such as tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, Brinell hardness. All H grades and grade F 63 shall be tested for average grain size.

A Socket Weld is a pipe attachment detail in which a pipe is inserted into a recessed area of a Valve, fitting or flange. In contrast to buttweld fittings, Socket Weld fittings are mainly used for small pipe diameters (Small Bore Piping); generally for piping whose nominal diameter is NPS 2 or smaller.

To join pipe to Valves and fittings or to other sections of pipe, fillet-type seal welds be used. Socket Welded Joints construction is a good choice wherever the benefits of high leakage integrity and great structural strength are important design considerations.

Fatigue resistance is lower than that in butt-welded construction due to the use of fillet welds and abrupt fitting geometry, but it is still better than that of most mechanical joining methods.