Material Properties

As can be seen in the detailed cost evaluations that follow, one of the greatest cost factors associated with
vessel fabrication is material. If all other cost factors are considered equal, a thinner vessel requiring less
material will be less expensive than a thicker vessel requiring more material. Of course, the primary
driver in determining the minimum thickness of a vessel is the allowable stress used for design. Thus, the
allowable stress/design margin philosophy employed by each of these Codes has a significant impact on a
vessels ultimate cost.
An evaluation of the allowable stress bases used by the ASME and EN Codes reveals some similarities as
well as some significant differences. For purposes of discussion, these evaluations look at material
allowables below the creep range and are focused on the two types of materials that are commonly used in
vessel construction carbon and low alloy ferritic steels, and austenitic stainless steels.