17-4PH / 15-5PH Stainless Steel Round Bar Used for Pump Shafts

The successful completion of process testing and small batch trial production of precipitation-hardening stainless steel round bars (17-4PH /15-5PH) for downhole pump shafts has been achieved.

Stainless steel round steel made of 17-4PH (AISI 630, 1.4542) steel and XM-12 (15-5PH, 1.4545) steel is widely used in the oil and gas industry to make downhole pump shafts due to its high strength and strong corrosion resistance. Downhole pumps (such as electric submersible pumps ESP, screw pumps PCP, etc.) are the core of artificial lift technology. The pump shaft bears large torque, axial force and radial force during operation. If the downhole pump shaft breaks during operation, huge economic losses will occur.

(Retired Pump Shafts)

Therefore, this working condition has extremely strict requirements on the torsional strength, fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide of the stainless steel round steel used to make the pump shaft. Compared with conventional round steel that meets the requirements of ASTM A564 or EN10088:3 standards, the material is mainly required to have higher tensile properties and higher impact properties, which puts extremely high requirements on the heat treatment process and production capacity of round steel manufacturers.

After nearly half a year of continuous adjustments and optimization in terms of material chemical composition system, heat treatment process and other aspects, SMTCO finally completed the process test of stainless steel round steel that meets the performance requirements of this field of use, and successfully completed small batch trial production.

1. The Typical Performance Requirements of Stainless Steel Round Bars Used in This field and The Actual Measured Data of SMTCO R&D Products Are as Follows:

2. Typical Purchasing Requirements for Stainless Steel Round Bars Used in This Field Are as Follows:

• Size range: φ13.0-φ55.0mm, Calibrated tolerance grade h9, limited length.
• All round bars must be produced from casting ingots, chemical composition requirements as per ASTM A564.
•  Heat treatment condition: solution heat treated or age-hardening heat treated, mechanical properties in delivery condition must meet the requirements of each condition code.
• Macro and micro structure requirements as per customers request.
• Ultrasonic test must be carried out on each piece of round bars.
• Bright surface by polished, surface roughness Ra 0.63-1.25μm at a base length of 0.8mm or better. Any mechanical defects on surface are not allowed.
• The straightness deviation (curvature) of the finished round bars shall not exceed 0.5mm/m, and not exceed 1.2mm at the entire length of each round bar.
• The ovality (difference between the largest and smallest diameters) / deviation from roundness must not exceed half of the maximum deviation in diameter.
• Other requirements from customer according to the using environment.

The full-process inspection and quality control of the 17-4PH / 15-5PH stainless steel round bars produced by SMTCO fully meets all the above requirements, and has the production capacity of long-term stable batch supply. We look forward to working with you to expand the market in this field.