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WHITEPAPER
WHITEPAPER: ASTM vs ASME- Understanding the relationship between the two

What is the difference between the two material standards - ASTM and ASME?
There are numerous metals and alloys in the market today and no shortage of
classification or standards to warehouse them.i This article focuses on two of
them- ASTM and ASME.
In the metals industry it is important to understand the interplay between ASTM and
ASME specifications because the risk of supplying, fabricating and/or installing
incorrect material may be extremely significant.
There are similarities and differences to discuss, but first and foremost lets start with
the most important concept that being for suppliers and manufacturers to always
follow the designated requirements & specifications invoked for a specified line
item/order.
For over a century ASTM and ASME have cooperated with each other in the
preparation of material specifications so often the ASTM and ASME material
specifications are the same and the materials may reflect this fact with a dual ASTM
and ASME specification for the materials. This cooperation is often referred to as
joint action. Basically ASTM creates the material specifications and standard test
methods to determine compliance. ASME selects those ASTM materials which will
perform adequately in boiler or pressure vessel service and accepts them with stated
limitations. For example - we dont make power boilers from copper tubing or paper
mache!
Be particularly aware that while most of the ASTM and ASME material specs are
nearly identical, there are many ASTM materials that are not acceptable for ASME
Code construction.
One example of similar specifications is ASTM A335 and ASME SA-335 Chrome
Alloy pipe. When the specifications are basically the same and have been accepted for
use by the ASME Committee, it assigns the prefix S followed by the ASTM
designation; for example ASTM A335 and ASME SA-335 are similar. It is possible for
the material to be produced in compliance with both specifications and thus it may
reflect a dual ASTM and ASME specification on the material and on the certifications.
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So how can one tell if there is not a similar ASME specification to an ASTM
specification? The answer is to consult the ASME Code Section II of the Edition year
referenced in the design standard. To assist in this understanding, further down in this
article we have the list of the common ASME materials specs and the corresponding
ASTM revision; including exceptions, corrections, and clarifications.
ASTM materials are developed for a variety of uses, including use in non-pressurized
equipment services such as machinery and equipment. ASTM is not a code, but rather it
issues properties of materials through its standards which means that these are not
intended as specification design values for use within ASME Code applications. The
A prefix in an ASTM specification indicates Ferrous material; the B prefix indicates a
Non Ferrous material. The ASTM standards are the most widely used in the United
States for steel products. Many ASTM standards have been adopted or extensively
recognized and required in many overseas, federal, state, local, municipal and foreign
government projects.
ASME is short for American Society of Mechanical Engineers. ASME material
specifications are usually developed and specified for use in the fabrication of
pressurized equipment service such as tanks, pressure vessels, boilers, heat exchangers,
pipe, fittings, piping spools, large liquid, oil and gas storage containers. If you are
designing a Section VIII pressure vessel, for example, you should make sure to
investigate the ASME standards as well.
As of today all 50 of the United States and all provinces of Canada have adopted, by
law, either partially or in its entirety the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code
(B&PVC) and legally requiring it when building power plants and boilers, just to name
a few constructions. The Code is also widely accepted across the globe currently in
over 100 countries.
For the most common products that Tioga supplies, the following list shows those
revisions of ASTM specifications for pipe and tube that have been adopted by the
2015 Edition of the ASME Code; including the exceptions, clarifications, and
deletions.

SA-53: Pipe, Steel, Black and Hot-Dipped, Zinc-Coated Welded and Seamless
(Identical with ASTM Specification A53/A53M-01 except for the insertion of test
practices in 11.1.1, and editorial correction to Table X4.1.)
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SA-106: Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe for High-Temp Service (Identical with ASTM
Specification A106/A106M-08.)

SA-213: Specification for Seamless Ferritic and Austenitic Alloy-Steel Boiler

Superheater and Heat-Exchanger Tubes (Identical with ASTM Specification
A213/A213M-08 except for the additional H grade heat treatment requirements in 6.2
and revision to para. 6.2.2 to include S30432.)

SA-312/SA-312M: Seamless and Welded Austenitic Stainless Steel Pipe (Identical

with ASTM Specification A312/A312M-13b except for the deletion of 5.2, revision to
6.2 to add "H" grade heat treatment requirements and editorial corrections to the
nickel content of UNS S30451 and to the chemistry of UNS S31035 in Table 1.)

SA-333/SA-333M: Seamless and Welded Steel Pipe for Low-Temp Service (Identical
with ASTM Specification A333/A333M-04a except for the deletion of 12.3 that
conflicts with 15.)

SA-335/SA-335M: Seamless Ferritic Alloy-Steel Pipe for High-Temp Service

(Identical with ASTM Specification A335/A335M-06 except for the addition of
hardness requirements for P23 and P911 in 9.3 and 14.2.1, and the correction of the
UNS numbers for P9 and P91.)

SA-376/SA-376M: Seamless Austenitic Steel Pipe for High-Temp Central-Station

Service (Identical with ASTM Specification A376/A376M-06 except for the deletion
of HT-O option from 6.2 and 14.1 and clarification of heat treatment requirements in
6.2.)
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SA-691: Carbon and Alloy Steel Pipe, Electric-Fusion-Welded for High-Pressure

Service at High Temperatures (Identical with ASTM Specification A691-98(R02)
except that the following additional requirements apply.)

For the most common products in fittings, flanges & forgings, Tioga supplies the
following list of ASTM specifications that have been adopted by the 2015 Edition of
the ASME Code; including the exceptions, clarifications, and deletions.

SA-105/SA-105M: Carbon Steel Forgings, for Piping Applications (Identical with

ASTM Specification A105/A105M-05.)

SA-182/SA-182M: Forged or Rolled Alloy Steel Pipe Flanges, Forged Fittings, and
Valves and Parts for High-Temp Service (Identical with ASTM Specification
A182/A182M-14a except for the inclusion of Grade F316Ti in 7.3.1, and the removal
of reduced strength levels for Grade F53 in Table 3.).)

SA-234/SA-234M: Piping Fittings of Wrought Carbon Steel and Alloy for Moderate
and Elevated Temperatures (Identical with ASTM Specification A234/A234M-07.)

SA-350/SA-350M: Forgings, Carbon and Low-Alloy Steel, Requiring Notch

Toughness Testing for Piping Components (Identical with ASTM Specification
A350/A350M-02b except for the deletion of 6.1.2 and 14.1, revision to 14.2.5, and
test reports have been made mandatory.)

SA-403/SA-403M: Wrought Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping Fittings (Identical with

ASTM Specification A403/A403M-07 except for the correction of Table 2 Ni
minimum for Grade S38815, the deletion of 5.14 and 5.15, clarified heat treatment
requirements in 6.1 (Grade S33228) and 6.4, and the deletion of 304/304L/304N in
14.5.).
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At Tioga a deep dive into your requirements is what we love to do. To contact a
Tioga sales representative call 800-523-3678 or [email protected] or for a specific
location go to http://goo.gl/PboZNp.

i
1. The most common industry standards are: ASTM- American Society for Testing and Materials,
ASME- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, AISI- American Iron and Steel Institute, API-
American Petroleum Institute Steel, U.S. Military- Mil, & ANSI- American National Standards
Institute & UNS- Unified Numbering System for Metals and Alloys, JIS- Japanese Industrial
Standard, EN- (European Nation Standards), DIN- Deutsche Industrie Norm & BS- British
Standards