Forged Stainless Steel 304 Tubesheet/Tube Sheet

Product Highlights

• Forged 304 austenitic stainless steel tubesheet (ASTM A182 F304, UNS S30400, EN 1.4301), manufactured by open‑die forging process with compact through‑thickness grain flow, eliminating slab segregation and internal porosity compared with flame‑cut rolled plate
• Excellent general corrosion resistance against atmospheric, water, weak acid and organic media; stable performance for moderate‑temperature pressure‑vessel service up to 300℃
• Good ductility and machinability for dense array deep‑hole drilling, guarantee precise hole pitch, aperture tolerance for tube expansion and tube‑to‑tubesheet welding
• Reliable weldability for on‑site repair welding; solution‑annealed delivery condition reduces residual stress risk after heavy‑duty CNC machining
• Fully custom engineered according to customer CAD drawings, supporting fixed tubesheet, floating‑head and U‑tube heat‑exchanger configurations
• Manufactured complying with ASME TEMA, NB/T47010 pressure‑vessel forging specification, third‑party inspection witness (SGS, TUV, BV) is acceptable
• Long service life for food‑pharmaceutical, chemical, light‑industry and petrochemical shell‑and‑tube heat exchangers, condensers and evaporators

Product Overview

This forged stainless steel 304 tubesheet is critical pressure‑bearing component for shell‑and‑tube heat exchangers. Produced from premium stainless steel ingot through multi‑direction upsetting and stretching open‑die forging, followed by solution annealing and stress relief heat‑treatment to achieve homogeneous metallographic structure across full thickness.

Different from cutting from rolled plate, forged 304 tubesheet delivers consistent mechanical properties in heavy‑thickness sections. After rough machining, non‑destructive testing and precision CNC deep‑hole drilling, it is ready for assembling heat‑exchange tubes by expansion or welding joint. Widely applied as core component for heat exchangers, condensers, reboilers and process pressure vessels under moderate corrosion and medium‑temperature working environment.

Material Grade Characteristics – Forged 304 (F304, UNS S30400 / EN 1.4301)

• Classic 18‑8 austenitic stainless steel for pressure‑vessel forging applications
• Excellent resistance to atmospheric corrosion, fresh‑water, weak acids and most organic process fluids
• Maintains good toughness at cryogenic temperature and moderate‑temperature strength up to 300 °C continuous operation
• Good ductility for heavy‑section machining, drilling of dense tube‑hole pattern
• Acceptable weldability; post‑weld stress relief treatment recommended after repair welding
• Designed for pressure‑bearing parts requiring general corrosion resistance and high structural reliability

Chemical Composition (Weight %)

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Mechanical Properties (Solution Annealed Condition per ASTM A182 F304)

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Related Material Grades

• Austenitic Stainless Forgings: 304L(F304L), 316L(F316L), 321(F321), 347(F347)
• Duplex Stainless Forgings: 2205, 2507
• Nickel‑Base Alloy Forgings: Inconel 625, Hastelloy C276
• Titanium Forgings: TA1, TA2
• Carbon & Alloy Steel Forgings: A105, 16Mn, 42CrMo, 12Cr2Mo1

Key Advantages

1. Homogeneous Forged Metallurgical Structure Multi‑step open‑die forging eliminates center segregation and porosity; uniform grain flow through full thickness, far superior to rolled plate cutting for heavy‑thickness tubesheet.
2. Good General Corrosion Resistance Outstanding performance for fresh water, atmospheric environment, weak acid and organic medium; fit for food, pharmaceutical and general chemical process equipment.
3. High Machining Stability Solution‑annealed plus stress‑relieved condition minimizes distortion during heavy‑duty deep‑hole drilling; ensures strict tolerance for hole pitch, aperture and sealing groove dimension.
4. Wide Custom Dimension Capacity Flexible diameter and thickness range; support various heat‑exchanger types: fixed tubesheet, floating head, U‑bundle configuration.
5. Pressure‑vessel‑grade Quality Control 100% non‑destructive inspection for each forging; full material traceability to meet international pressure‑equipment standards for global projects.

Typical Applications

• Food & pharmaceutical sanitary shell‑and‑tube heat exchangers, condensers
• General chemical industry process heat exchangers, evaporators and reboilers
• Light‑industry, beverage processing cooling and heating equipment
• Petro‑chemical moderate‑corrosion service heat‑exchange units
• Water treatment & desalination auxiliary heat‑exchanger pressure parts
• Custom pressure vessels requiring stainless steel corrosion‑resistant tubesheet

Processing Service

We provide integrated heavy forging, heat‑treatment and full precision machining services, produce finished tubesheet strictly according to customer CAD/PDF drawings:

• High‑grade stainless steel ingot selection, multi‑upsetting open‑die forging
• Solution annealing and stress‑relief heat‑treatment
• Rough turning/milling to remove forging scale and surface defects
• CNC vertical lathe, gantry boring‑milling, CNC deep‑hole drilling for tube‑hole array, bolt holes, sealing grooves and locating steps
• Pickling & passivation, protective covering for machined sealing surfaces

We supply custom forged stainless steel tubesheets for heat‑exchanger and pressure‑vessel manufacturers worldwide across pharmaceutical, chemical, food‑processing and petro‑chemical sectors.

Quality Assurance

• 100% UT Ultrasonic Testing for internal forging flaws complying with ASTM A182 and NB/T47010 requirements
• MT Magnetic Particle Inspection for surface crack detection
• Tensile test & hardness measurement for mechanical property verification
• Spectrometer full spectrum chemical composition analysis per forging lot
• High‑precision CMM dimensional inspection for diameter, thickness, hole pitch and all critical tolerances

Mill Test Certificate EN 10204 3.1 can be provided together with shipment documents before delivery. Third‑party inspection witness is available upon request.

Packing & Delivery

Packing

• Inner packaging: waterproof anti‑rust plastic film, protective covers for machined sealing faces and tube‑hole openings to avoid scratch and contamination
• Outer packaging: reinforced fumigated wooden case or heavy‑duty steel frame crate for long‑distance sea transportation
• Custom special packaging available on customer request for oversized heavy‑weight pieces

Lead Time Normally 20‑40 working days after receipt of advance payment. Exact delivery time depends on forging dimension, thickness, machining complexity and third‑party inspection schedule.