Brittle Fracture of Carbon Steel Flanges Up to Ambient Temperature

During a recent poll of E²G clients, over 40% indicated that their company has experienced failures of carbon steel flanges, fittings, or piping components. Industry failures have occurred during installation and hydrotest, as well as in service, despite compliance with the appropriate ASME codes and ASTM
standards. These failures have been noted to predominately affect SA-105 flanges, but failures have also been reported for SA-106-B pipe, SA-105 and SA-234 WPB fittings, SA-105N flanges, and even SA-350 LF2 flanges. This article is specifically focused on SA-105 flanges.