Name that alloy! Desperate for help on this one.

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Hi all,I have an alloy that I cannot seem to figure out what it is. I was hoping that maybe someone here could shed some light on what it might be. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here is the composition as provided to me by a scan gunFe: 56.10Ni: 23.10Si: <.10Mn: 1.20Cr: 15.30Cu: 3.60Mo: <.10Ti: <.10Co: <.10Nb: 0.50Al: <.10V: <.10W: <.10Wikipedia says that ". Although alloys contain only a maximum of 0.1%, that small percentage of niobium improves the strength of the steel."This alloy has five times that amount. Is wikipedia wrong on this one? has anyone seen Niobium in quantities greater than .10 in an alloy?The alloy is a tank and was intended for use on a ship as a hydraulic tank. other devices attached to the tank, such as valves and what not, are marked 316L.I have been researching this for a few hours and I am not getting any close matches. Also if anyone knows of a site that may help that would be great to know as well. I have checked the stainless alloys, inconel alloys, hastealloys, and others and noting comes up close enough.Thank you for your help in advance!Last edited by MetalBiker; 11-27-2012 at 11:41 PM.
Reply:Well the valves and what-not are 316L stainless, I reckon. The main body is another question. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I used this site to plunk in your three top alloys and it comes back with the 660 stainless group as the main suspect but you punch things in the way you want and see what you come up with.http://www.matweb.com/search/CompositionSearch.aspxhttp://www.matweb.com/index.aspxI put in Iron =55 to 57%, nickel 22 to 24% and Chromium 14 to 16%.Last edited by Sandy; 11-27-2012 at 11:50 PM."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Keep in mind, PMI guns are far, far better for validation than they are identification...
Reply:As mentioned, the scan gun may not be 100% 'calibrated'.  Close, but not necessarily 100%.Adding up your listed amounts and ignoring the <.10 items gets up to 99.8%.Just what are you trying to do with this unknown alloy tank?And yes, there are steel alloys that contain greater than 0.10% niobium.  The 'higher' niobium in the steel alloy can give a 'better' corrosion resistance (to certain types of corrosion).Generally, that list of alloying ingredients looks like a stainless steel or non-standard variant stainless steel.  Too much iron for a Hastelloy or Inconel alloy (generally).Possible choices seem to fall in the 300 or 400 or 600 series stainless steels or a duplex steel.23Cr15Ni+Nb variant (if the scan gun is close to being accurate).  Not a 'standard' SAE/ASTM alloy (like 304, 309, 316, etc)  but obviously it was made.On a ship?  Contact the maker/yard/engineer and ask if the usage info is 'critical'.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Can't narrow the field by much, but I think most of the common Duplex Alloys out.  All contain far more molybdenum than the analysis the OP listed.The Niobium and Copper are significant alloying ingredients in terms of figuring out what you're working with.Low Manganese is interesting as well.  I think these will ultimately determine which alloy you've got.If you can ID where the vessel was made, you might be able to narrow the field for materials.  Could be a japanese, chinese, or European grade of stainless steel that looks nothing like the grades we're familiar with here in the states.  My guess is you've got some material from China on your hands.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:Thank you all for the replies. I greatly appreciate the help.The tank is american constructed. I uploaded a pic of the ID tag that is mounted on the tank. I believe the tank was manufactured for use as a hydraulic tank for a steering system.The intent for the tank is to re purpose it as a storage tank for very high temp liquids. Attached Images
Reply:call bath iron works with the serial number and part number pretty sure they have the info you needMiller Xmt 350Lincoln Ln-25Ahp 200xSmith Gas Mixer AR/HTig is my Kung FuThrowing down dimes and weaving aboutInstagram http://instagram.com/[email protected]
Reply:Whoa, I'd never heard of a PMI gun. That's a cool tool. I want one. I see one on ebay for only $21k, seems like I can't let that pass me by.
Reply:Hi, so once you find out what the material is and what it was used for, are you going to weld it with some welding rods that will completely alter the weld zone and create a failure point not anticipated by the original constructor?The insurance company, whoever, will be most accomodating I reckon.Ian.
Reply:Originally Posted by puddytatHi, so once you find out what the material is and what it was used for, are you going to weld it with some welding rods that will completely alter the weld zone and create a failure point not anticipated by the original constructor?The insurance company, whoever, will be most accomodating I reckon.Ian.
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldingWookiecall bath iron works with the serial number and part number pretty sure they have the info you need
Reply:Originally Posted by MetalBikerThank you all for the replies. I greatly appreciate the help.The tank is american constructed. I uploaded a pic of the ID tag that is mounted on the tank. I believe the tank was manufactured for use as a hydraulic tank for a steering system.The intent for the tank is to re purpose it as a storage tank for very high temp liquids.
Reply:That is either a pressure vessel or a piece off of a government/military vessel. Call bath with the contract number and serial number and they will possible tell you everything you need to know about it.Shake and Bake
Reply:Thank you all for your help. I am going to call Bath to see what info they can give me. I ended up in the hospital today and found out that I have a herniated disc in my back, so it might be a little while, but I will definitely post an update as soon as I have more info on the alloy.