Stainless steel pipe and carbon steel pipe are the most commonly used types of standard steel pipe today. They are part of pipes manufactured according to different specifications and standards. Typically, pipe is sold in a “nominal pipe size,” usually between 1/8″ and 72″. Whether it is carbon steel or stainless steel, there are two most common types of pipe, welded pipe and seamless pipe. Let’s discuss seamless steel pipes and welded steel pipes through this article.
Seamless and Welded Pipes
What is a seamless steel pipe?
Seamless steel pipes have no joints. As the name suggests, they are produced by hot and cold rolling. The manufacturing process of seamless pipe does not require welding. The most common specification for seamless carbon steel pipe is A106B. Stainless steel tubing is fabricated to Specification A312. Stainless steel tubing is also available in seamless and welded configurations. The most common stainless steel materials are 316 and 304.
About welded steel pipe
Welded pipe, on the other hand, is a steel coil rolled to the required standard thickness, a manufacturing process that leaves joints on the pipe body. In the next stage, the joints should be cut to a width corresponding to the size of the pipe to be built. Especially welded pipes are also known as ERW (Electric Resistance Welded) pipes. The most common specification for welded carbon steel pipe is A53.
Advantages of welded pipe and welded steel pipe
Each pipe has advantages and disadvantages, depending on your end use. Although the seamless joint has a high pressure rating, it may not have been the highest priority for this project. If you’re building a bridge and need a lot of piles, pipes that are less expensive to weld and potentially larger in size may be more important.
List the advantages of welded steel pipe
- Welded steel pipes have a wide range of sizes, and can produce welded pipes with a diameter of 45~4000mm, a wall thickness of 0.1~40mm, and a pipe length of hundreds of meters. The wall thickness is smaller than that of seamless steel pipe and furnace pipe. The ratio of pipe diameter to pipe wall thickness can reach 100.
- Continuously improve the new electric welding device, equipment and control system, so that the weld has a higher strength than the metal matrix. The welding stress of the weld seam is eliminated by heat treatment, and a uniform structure is obtained on the cross section of the welded pipe.
Advantages of seamless steel pipe
- Seamless steel pipes also include large-diameter seamless steel pipes and small-diameter seamless steel pipes, and furnace welded pipes are also rare. Generally, the pipe diameter is 4-50, and the wall thickness is 5-28.
- They can generally withstand greater pressure, which makes them ideal for oil and gas industry applications. If the pipe is in the visible area, there will be no corroded joints and it won’t look unsightly. Due to the limitations of the production process, it is not a good choice when you need a very large assembly line.