EN Pressure Vessel Steel

Comprehensive Grade Breakdown & Technical Specifications

 

A. Non-Alloy Carbon Steels (EN 10028-2)

These are the most common "boiler steels," used for steam drums, storage tanks, and heat exchangers operating at elevated temperatures.

Grade	Delivery State	Yield (MPa)	Tensile (MPa)	Recommended Application
P235GH	Normalized	≥≥ 235	360–480	Small boilers and low-pressure components.
P265GH	Normalized	≥≥ 265	410–530	Global standard for pressure vessels and boilers.
P295GH	Normalized	≥≥ 295	460–580	High-pressure boilers and steam piping.
P355GH	Normalized	≥≥ 355	510–650	High-stress petrochemical and energy equipment.

 

B. Fine-Grain Steels (EN 10028-3)

These grades offer higher yield strengths and are optimized for different temperature ranges (NH for high temp, NL1/NL2 for low temp).

NH Grades: For high-temperature service.

NL1/NL2 Grades: For low-temperature toughness (NL2 is tested at -50°C).

Grade	Yield (MPa)	Tensile (MPa)	Impact Test Temp	Industry Usage
P275NH	≥≥ 275	390–510	-20°C	General industrial pressure vessels.
P275NL1	≥≥ 275	390–510	-40°C	Low-temperature gas storage.
P355NH	≥≥ 355	490–630	-20°C	High-strength structural pressure parts.
P355NL1	≥≥ 355	490–630	-40°C	LPG storage and transport.
P355NL2	≥≥ 355	490–630	-50°C	Critical cryogenic and Arctic-environment vessels.
P460NH/NL	≥≥ 460	570–730	-20°C/-50°C	Ultra-high strength heavy wall vessels.

 

C. Alloy Steels (Creep-Resistant & High Temp)

Specifically alloyed with Molybdenum (Mo) and Chromium (Cr) to resist "creep" (deformation) at continuous high temperatures.

Grade	Alloy Type	Max Temp	Key Feature
16Mo3	Mo Alloy	600°C	Excellent creep resistance and weldability.
13CrMo4-5	Cr-Mo Alloy	600°C+	Higher corrosion resistance in hydrogen service.
10CrMo9-10	Cr-Mo Alloy	650°C	Heavy-duty power plant and nuclear reactors.

 

3. Master Equivalent Chart: EN vs. ASTM vs. GB

Understanding cross-standard compatibility is vital for international EPC projects and global procurement.

EN Standard (PED)	ASTM/ASME Equivalent	GB Standard (China)
P265GH	ASTM A516 Gr. 60	GB Q245R
P295GH	ASTM A516 Gr. 65	—
P355GH	ASTM A516 Gr. 70	GB Q345R
P355NH	ASTM A537 Class 1	GB Q345R (Normalized)
P355NL2	ASTM A537 Class 2	GB 16MnDR
P275NH	ASTM A285 Gr. C	GB Q245R
16Mo3	ASTM A204 Gr. B	GB 12CrMo
13CrMo4-5	ASTM A387 Gr. 12	GB 15CrMoR
10CrMo9-10	ASTM A387 Gr. 22	GB 12Cr2Mo1R

Note: Equivalent grades are not identical. Always verify:

Impact test requirements

Heat treatment condition

Certification (ASME / PED / EN10204 3.1)

 

4. Material Selection by Operating Environment

Low-Temperature & Cryogenic Service (≤-20°C)

For equipment like LNG tanks or Arctic pressure vessels, impact toughness is the primary concern.

Recommended: P355NL1, P355NL2, 16MnDR.

Note: P355NL2 is specifically tested for Charpy V-notch impacts at -50°C, ensuring no brittle fracture in extreme cold.

 

Intermediate & High-Temperature Service (200°C – 600°C)

For steam boilers, power plant vessels, and refineries.

Recommended: P265GH, P355GH, 16Mo3, 13CrMo4-5.

Note: Alloyed grades like 16Mo3 are mandatory when the service temperature exceeds 450°C to prevent creep.

 

5. Quality Assurance: PVQ and Certification

Every EN Pressure Vessel Steel plate must be produced as PVQ (Pressure Vessel Quality). This involves:

Strict Chemical Limits: Low Phosphorus (≤0.025%) and Sulfur (≤0.015%) to ensure purity.

Internal Soundness: 100% Ultrasonic Testing (UT) to detect laminations.

MTC Compliance: Materials are supplied with EN 10204 3.1 (Mill certified) or EN 10204 3.2 (Third-party witnessed by agencies like DNV, BV, or SGS).

 

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the difference between P355NH and P355NL2?
Both are fine-grain steels with 355 MPa yield strength. However, P355NH is designed for room to high-temperature service (tested at -20°C), while P355NL2 is designed specifically for low-temperature service, with guaranteed impact toughness at -50°C.

 

Q: Can I use P265GH instead of A516 Grade 60?
Yes, in most functional applications they are equivalent. However, if your project is ASME-coded, you must use A516. If it is PED-certified for the European market, P265GH is typically required.

 

Q: Why is 16Mo3 so popular in refinery projects?
16Mo3 is an economical alloy steel that provides the necessary molybdenum content to resist high-temperature deformation and hydrogen attack, making it ideal for heat exchangers and reactors.

 

Q: What does the "P" and "GH" stand for in EN grades?

P: Stands for "Pressure" service.

GH: Stands for "Gas/Heat" (elevated temperature properties).

NH/NL: Stands for "Normalized/High-Temp" and "Normalized/Low-Temp".

 

Looking for a Professional EN Pressure Vessel Steel Supplier?

We maintain an extensive stock of EN 10028 plates, including P265GH, P355NL2, and 16Mo3, ready for immediate global dispatch. All materials are fully PED-compliant.

[Request a Quote for EN Grades]

 

Relying on many first-class equipment, such as CNC Shearing machine, Press Brake machine, Straightening machine, Roll Bending machine, Flat Bar Machine, Deburring machine etc, GNEE STEEL could provide various semi-productsand extensive forming services to customers.

 

GNEE STEEL  PROCESSING

1.CTL & SL SERVICE (141 SETS)

Currently, GNEE STEEL has imported manyadvanced CTL/SL equipment from Italy and Korea and could provide customized CTL/SL services from cold rolled stainless steel and carbon steel to hot rolled stainless steel and carbon steel as well as strips and ultra-wide sheet.

CTL FACILITIES
Max Length:16500mm

Max Width:2200mm

Max Thickness:25.4mm

Max Yield Strength:1500Mpa
SL FACILITIES

Max Width:2200mm

Max Thickness:18mm

Max slit Quantity:31

Max Yield Strength:1200Mpa

 

2.CUTTING SERVICE

GNEE STEEL imported lots of advanced cutting machines from Germany, Sweden, America and Japan, including plasmas cutting machine, water jet cutting machine, laser cutting machine, flame cutting machine and saw machine. In order to meet customers' diversified needs, GNEE STEEL also adopts nest working multi-cutting methods and intensive production to improve production capacity and save costs for the customers.

Laser Cutting Machine

Max Cutting Length:40,000mm

Max Width:4,600mm
Max Thickness:100mm

 

Flame Cutting Machine

Max Cutting Length:40,000mm

Max Width:8,000mm
Max Thickness:500mm

Plasmas Cutting Machine

Max Cutting Length:30,000mm

Max Width:5,000mm
Max Thickness:100mm

 

Water-jet Cutting

Max Cutting Length:12,000mm

Max Width:4,010mm
Max Thickness:250mm

3.FORMING SERVICE

Steel Plate Roll Bending
Maximum Rolling Thickness: up to 200mm
Maximum Width: 4200mm

   

Automatic Bending Machine-Press Brake
Max Bending Capability:3000Ton
Max Bending Length:15,000mm

Expert in Bending High-Strength & Wear-Resistant Steels

  

  

Punching Machine

Max Width:3,070mm
Max Thickness:8mm

Max Pressure:250t

BEVELING SERVICE

GNEE STEEL beveling platform has edge milling machine, edge planer, flame / plasma groove cutting machine, flame groove cutting robot, desktop chamfering machine, gantry planerand other advanced equipment to provide customers with parts prefabrication services,daily processing of V-type, Y-type, X-type and U-type grooves, and guarantee subsequent processes such as welding and assembly of products.

 

Milling：
Max Cutting Length:18,000mm

Max Width:4500mm
Max Thickness:120mm

 

  

Beveling:
Max Length:16,000mm

Max Thickness:80mm

MACHINING SERVICE

GNEE STEEL owns CNC Portal-type Boring and Milling machine,CNC Floor-type Boring and Milling machine, Vertical Precision 5-axis Milling Machine, Portal-type Planer, Vertical Lathe, Cylindical Grinding machine, Hydraulic Planer and CNC Lathe and could provide fine machining of large spare parts and structural parts for customers.

Gantry Type Boring & Milling Maching Center

Max Length:48000mm

Max Width:12500mm
Max Height:8000mm

Max Diameter:10500mm

Deep-hole Drilling Equipment
Max Driling Depth:1,100mm
Max Bore Diameter:φ80mm
Max Diametar:φ4,500mm

MMulti-hole Drilling Equipment

Max Length:13,000mm
Max Width:10,000mm
Max Bore Diameter:φ105mm
Max Drilling Depth:250mm

Floor Boring And Milling Machine
Max Length:24,000mm
Max Height:8,000mm
Turntable Dimensions:9x5m

Vertical Lathe

Max Height:6,000mm

Max Diametar:φ22,00mm

Automated Edge Milling Machine

The Automated Edge Milling Machine is a leading product in heavy-duty milling equipment. It is primarily used for weld groove preparation (beveling) on large-format plates made of stainless steel, carbon steel, and special steel grades. It can process plates with a maximum thickness of up to 90mm, a length of 16 meters, and a width of 4 meters.

 

It is equipped with dual milling units and a fully automatic milling cutter head changing system, enabling automated 4-edge beveling. Its standout feature is the profiling technology used when milling wavy plates and irregularly shaped products, which ensures absolute consistency of the groove after milling.

 

Utilizing specially designed milling cutter heads, it can execute highly difficult and complex groove profiles in a single pass.

 

Materials: Plain carbon steel, pressure vessel steel, wear-resistant steel, high-strength steel, stainless steel, nickel-based alloys, etc.
Width: 1200 - 4200 mm
Length: 5800 - 16000 mm
Thickness: 5 - 90 mm
Weight: Up to 35 tons

 

This edge milling machine is the world's premier automated bevel milling equipment. With its excellent structural design and advanced data algorithms, it achieves full automation from plate detection to the actual milling process, significantly improving processing efficiency while guaranteeing high precision.

 

• Processing Accuracy

Length accuracy: ±1mm when L < 10m; ±2mm when L > 10m;

Width accuracy: ±1mm;

Diagonal accuracy: ±2mm;

Root face accuracy (blunt edge): ±1mm for Y-grooves; +0.5mm for X-grooves.

• Processing Efficiency

The processing efficiency is more than 10 times that of conventional edge milling or edge planing equipment.

HEAT TREATMENT

Heat Treatment Furnace
Max Furnace Size:36x12x13.5m
Max Rated Temperature:1100℃
Max Loading Capacity:800t

Heat Treatment of Pressure Vessels
Heat Treatment of Mining Equipment
Heat Treatment of Tube Sheet
Heat Treatment of Pressure Vessel Head

 

 

GNEE STEEL is currently participating in the procurement phase of a 100,000m³ full containment ammonia storage tank project, supplying high-quality steel plates for critical tank components. Due to the corrosive nature of ammonia and the risk of Ammonia Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC), the project requires strict metallurgical control of materials according to EN 10028-3 standards.

 

One of the most important technical requirements of this project is the strict limitation of the actual Yield Strength (Re) for all NL2 grade materials. To prevent SCC risks in ammonia storage environments, the actual yield strength must not exceed 390 MPa, regardless of the nominal values specified in the standard or plate thickness ranges. This requirement places higher demands on steelmaking process control, heat treatment stability, and material testing.

 

Raw high-strength steel plates ready for the 100,000 m³ full containment ammonia storage tank production

 

Project Materials and Technical Requirements

 

The project mainly uses P355NL2 and P275NL2 normalized pressure vessel steel plates, which are widely applied in low-temperature storage tanks due to their excellent toughness and weldability.

 

Key technical specifications include:

• Material grades: P355NL2 and P275NL2 (Normalized)
• Yield strength: Standard minimum / Maximum limited to 390 MPa
• Hardness: ≤ 225 HBW in base material
• Impact testing: Charpy-V notch test at -50°C, minimum 27J
• Certification: EN 10204 3.1 certificate, with optional 3.2 certification

 

These strict requirements ensure that the steel plates maintain stable mechanical properties and high resistance to ammonia-induced stress corrosion during long-term operation.

 

Precision rolling and forming of steel plates into curved sections for the 100,000 m³ ammonia storage tank.

 

Project Plate Quantities and Thickness Distribution

 

The total steel demand for this ammonia storage tank project is several thousand tons, mainly distributed across different tank sections:

 

P355NL2 – Inner & Outer Tank Shell Plates

• Lower shell courses: 50 mm thickness – approx. 2,000 tons
• Middle shell courses: 25 mm thickness – approx. 1,400 tons
• Upper shell courses: 10 mm thickness – approx. 500 tons

 

P275NL2 – Tank Bottom Plates

• Thickness: 10–15 mm – approx. 750 tons

 

P275NL2 – Suspended Roof Structure

• Thickness: 5–8 mm – approx. 180 tons

 

S275JR – Outer Roof (Ambient Structure)

• Thickness: 10 mm – approx. 450 tons

 

To improve tank fabrication efficiency and reduce circumferential welds, the project also requires wide steel plates to minimize welding joints, which helps reduce the potential risk of SCC in ammonia service conditions.

 

Formed steel segments wrapped and racked for protection, ready for 100,000 m³ ammonia storage tank assembly.

 

GNEE STEEL provides high-precision steel plate rolling and cylinder fabrication solutions for tank manufacturers worldwide. Send us your plate specifications or fabrication drawings for a fast quotation.

Request A Quote

 

TYPE	GRADE	SPECIFICATIONS
Carbon Steel / Low Alloy Coil	Q235A/B/C/D/Q355B(Q345B)/C/D/E/SS400/SAPH400-C/ASTMA283Grade C	0.7~2.0*1250/1500mm*C 2.3~19.5*1250/1500/1800/2000mm*C
Medium Heavy Plate	Q235B/Q355B(Q345B)/C/D/E	6.0-200x150mm-4000mmxL
Vessel Plate	Q245R/Q345R/HP295/SA516MGR485/SA516GR70/P355NL2/P275NL2/ S275JR//SPV490/ASTM A537 Class 1/Class 2	2.5-120x1500mm-3000mmxL
High Strength Steel	510L/610L/700L/750L/BS600MCK4/BS700MCK2/BS700MCK4/ BS960E/BWELDY700QL2/L4/BWELDY960QL4/HG60D/70D/785D/ Q460D/Q550D/690D/690E/TQ600MCD/TQ700MCD/S700MCD/ WYS600/700/STRENX700MCE/Q490E/Q490D	1.2-60x 1500mm-2500mmxL
Patterned Steel	HQ235A|B	1.2-60x 1500mm-2500mmxL
Wear-resistance Steel	NM360/400/450/500/NM300TP/400TP/450TP/ ABREX400/450/500/B-HARD450XKY/ CREUSABRO4800/8000/EH C400LE/450LE/500LE/ HADOX450/500	3.0-50x1250mm-3300mmxL
Cold Rolled Coil	DC01/RECC/REDT/SPCC/ST12	0.5-3.0x1250mm-1500mmxC
Galvanized Plate	DC51D+AZ/DC51D+Z/DX51D+Z/SGH340+Z275/Z275/Z120/S350GD+ZM275	0.45-3.0x1250mm-1500mmxC
Pickled Coil	DD11/SPHC	2.0-6.0x1500xC

Stainless Steel Material and Surface Specifications

TYPE	GRADE	THICKNESS	SURFACE
Austenitic	304/304H/304L/304J1	0.25-150mm	2B/BA/NO.4/8K/SB/HL/NO.1
Austenitic	321	0.4-80mm	2B/BA/NO.4/8K/SB/HL/NO.1
Austenitic	316/316L/317L/316Ti	0.3-80mm	2B/BA/NO.4/8K/SB/HL/NO.1
Austenitic	201(J1/J2/J5)	0.35-12mm	2B/NO.1/1D
Ferrite	430	0.4-3.0mm	2B/BA/NO.4/8K/SB/HL
Ultra Pure Ferrite	443	0.4-2.0mm	2B
Ultra Pure Ferrite	436L/439/444/441	0.5-3.0mm	2B/2D

Special Steel / Nickel Base Alloy

TYPE	GRADE	GRADE (ASTM)	GRADE (EN)	THICKNESS
Heat-resistant Steel	309S	S30908	1.4833	0.5-40mm
Heat-resistant Steel	310S	S31008	1.4845	0.5-40mm
Duplex Stainless Steel	2101	S32101	1.4162	1.5-50mm
Duplex Stainless Steel	2304	S32304	1.4362	3.0-50mm
Duplex Stainless Steel	2205	S32205/S31803	1.4462	0.5-60mm
Duplex Stainless Steel	2507	S32750	1.4410	1.0-60mm
Super Austenitic-Steel	904L	N08904	1.4539	0.6-50mm
Super Austenitic-Steel	254SMO	S31254	1.4547	0.5-50mm
Super Austenitic-Steel	1.4529	N08926	1.4529	0.5-50mm
Super Austenitic-Steel	AL-6XN	N08367	1.4478	0.5-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	Alloy 31	N08031	1.4562	1.0-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	800	N08800	1.4876	0.8-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	800H	N08810	1.4958	0.8-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	800HT	N08811	1.4959	0.8-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	Alloy 28	N08028	1.4563	1.0-20mm
Nickel Base Alloy	Alloy 20	N08020	2.4660	1.0-20mm
Nickel Base Alloy	825	N08825	2.4858	0.8-40mm
Nickel Base Alloy	C276	N10276	2.4819	0.5-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	C22	N06022	2.4602	1.0-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	625	N06625	2.4856	0.8-20mm
Nickel Base Alloy	400	N04400	2.4360	1.0-20mm
Nickel Base Alloy	600	N06600	2.4816	1.0-50mm
Nickel Base Alloy	Pure Ni 201	N02201	2.4061	0.5-20mm
Titanium	TA1	Gr.1	Class 1	0.5-50mm
Titanium	TA2	Gr.2	Class 2	0.5-50mm

As one of the leading en10028 pressure vessel steel manufacturers and suppliers in China, we warmly welcome you to buy en10028 pressure vessel steel in stock here and get free sample from our factory. All customized products are with high quality and low price.

P275NH Steel, stainless steel pressure vessel, P460NL1 P460NL2 Boiler Quality Steel Plates