Manufacturing and Testing of Welded Stainless Steel Tubing: You Have a Choice

A tubing manufacturer has many alternatives for manufacturing and testing stainless steel tubing for feedwater heater and condenser applications. ASTM specifications are fairly generic in nature and only specify the basic requirements needed for supplying a tube. These may not be sufficient for providing the appropriate quality tube for a critical power plant application. This paper summarizes many of the options in welding, cold working, heat treating and testing of tubing. It identifies the advantages and disadvantages of each and provides suggestions on what should be specified to ensure a reliable cost-effective tube for your application.