ASTM A537 PVQ carbon steel plate

ASTM A537 is heat-treated, carbon steel pressure vessel quality (PVQ) steel. This steel is typically used to produce boilers and pressure vessels for oil, gas and petrochemical products.

ASTM A537 PVQ steel tensile requirement
High yield and tensile strength are particularly important for use in the energy sector – a broken, leaking tank holding oils or gases could have significant, negative environmental impacts. Below is a chart detailing the yield point, tensile strength and elongation of A537.

ASTM A516 vs ASTM A537 steel
A537 has similar machinability and ductility to ASTM A516, but its strength and hardness are significantly increased by heat treatment.
Like ASTM A516, ASTM A537 carbon steel plate can be normalized, but it also can also be quenched and tempered, another type of heat treatment. Quenching and tempering is a two-part process in which steel is brought to an extremely high temperature and rapidly cooled with water (quenching), then re-heated to a below-critical temperature and cooled in room temperature.

In addition to the strength given by its chemical composition, heat treatment gives A537 steel grades greater yield and tensile strengths than the A516 grades. As a result, A537 steel can endure extremely high stress, weight or energy before deforming or breaking.