ASTM Standards for steel pipes

ASTM’s steel standards are instrumental in classifying, evaluating, and specifying the material, chemical, mechanical, and metallurgical properties of the different types of steels, which are primarily used in the production of mechanical components, industrial parts, and construction elements, as well as other accessories related to them.

A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders, masses of small solids. It can also be used for structural applications; hollow pipe is far stiffer per unit weight than solid members.

These steel standards are helpful in guiding metallurgical laboratories and refineries, product manufacturers, and other end-users of steel and its variants in their proper processing and application procedures to ensure quality towards safe use.

ASTM standards for Steel pipes

ASTM standards for Heat-exchanger and condenser tubes

ASTM standards for Mechanical tubing

ASTM standards for Structural tubing

ASTM standards for Welding fittings

Conversion from ASTM Standards

Engineering specification is also a language, and standard specifications for material and processes are defined differently in each country in the world. To a new designer, steel grades might seem easy, where 316 stainless steel is one material and cast iron another, but there are variations in each of these categories of metal. Rumors abound about people receiving poor quality steels from other jurisdictions. It leaves some designers wondering if there is something intrinsic in the official standards in other countries that can lead to these complaints.

International standards do not translate, metal-for-metal, the way words might translate. When converting from one standard to another, it’s almost impossible to find identical compositions for a given type of metal. The question becomes: can you find an equivalent? This can be confusing, as each named metal grade has its own chemistry and production guidelines.

For people without a materials background, these differences can make the purchase of foreign-made metal seem iffy, like ordering an inferior knockoff. However, the quality of the grades of steel are as good, country to country. Understanding what makes a steel standard or specification can help a North American business navigate overseas production.

Steel grades explained

Metal alloys are a mixture of different proportions of elements. A standard includes the chemistry, or “recipe” for the alloy, documenting what different elements should be melted into it. Specific instructions may also be given on melting temperature, cooling, and treatment.

Published standards also record the mechanical properties of a specified metal. If it has been made correctly, a metal should not only have the correct chemical analysis, but also perform within the correct range in mechanical tests.

Steels contain iron and carbon. Standards for each grade of steel specify the proportions by weight of each of these elements, as well as any additional elements alloyed with them. These additions may create different characteristics: for example, chromium is present in stainless steel to help prevent rusting.

In most consumer metal standards, the proportions of each element are given an acceptable range, rather than a precise number. For example, the ASTM 1050 grade steel is so named because it is approximately .50% carbon by weight. However, the tolerance for carbon percentage in the ASTM 1050 standard is .48-.55%. A similar Japanese specification sets carbon between .47-.53%, and allows for silicon and other trace elements, whereas the ASTM standard does not.

Steel specifications often provide ranges for carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, nickel, and molybdenum, and none set identical ranges for each element. It is for this reason that steel standards from different organizations are not precise matches: the tolerances merely overlap. If one steel specifies less than .007% sulfur content, and another allows up to .040%, are they different steels? Small changes do not matter in many situations but may be relevant depending on the metal’s intended use.

It is not just chemistry, but also processing, that changes the behavior of a metal. Metal is crystalline and forms grain microstructures as it cools. Chemistry, melting, cooling, and heat treatment all can change the grain of the metal. This directly influences tensile strength, hardness, and brittleness. Therefore, steel specification may also include the production steps needed to create particular microstructures, including martensite, austenite, or ferrite grains.

When making a substitution between one standard and another, a skilled metallurgist or engineer will evaluate comparable grades based on mechanical properties. The engineer considers what the final product needs to do, and in what conditions. Using their understanding of chemistry, the expected working load, and knowledge of the conditions the product will work in, they can find a steel for the product’s requirements in any standard. All recognized steel standards generally have equivalent rigor, making this translation possible.

It is not a difference in published standards that are the source of poor-quality foreign metals.

Process

Cold drawn seamless steel tube deformed process

Cold Drawn Seamless Mechanical Tubing (CDS) is a cold drawn 1018/1026 steel tube which offers uniform tolerances, enhanced machinability and increased strength and tolerances compared to hot-rolled products.

Cold drawn steel tube is with hot-rolled steel coil as raw material, and tandem cold rolling pickled to remove oxide scale, its finished rolling hard roll, rolling hard volumes due to the continuous cold deformation caused by cold hardening strength, hardness increased indicators declined tough plastic, stamping performance will deteriorate, which can only be used for simple deformation of the parts.

Rolling hard roll can be used as the raw material of the hot-dip galvanizing plant, hot dip galvanizing line set annealing line. Rolling hard roll weight is generally 6 to 13.5 tons, the coil diameter of 610mm.

Hot rolled seamless steel pipe deformed process

Hot-rolled seamless steel pipe production base deformation process can be summarized as three stages: perforation, extension and finishing.

The main purpose of the perforation process is to become a solid round billet piercing hollow shell. Capillary in the specifications, accuracy and surface quality can not meet the requirements of the finished product, further improvements are needed to deform the metal through. The main purpose of the stretching machine is further reduced sectional view (main compression wall) for a larger axial extension, so that the capillary improved dimensional accuracy, surface quality and organizational performance.

After stretching machine rolled steel pipe shortage collectively need further molding mill in order to achieve the requirements of the finished pipe. Rolled steel due to pass in the method widely used in the production of seamless steel tubes.

So far, due to the method pass rolling steel can be divided into two categories: core pension without rolling rolling (hollow body rolling), and with the mandrel. Sizing machines, reducing mill and stretch reducing mill belonging to the hole without mandrel type continuous rolling mills are generally coffin. Its main purpose is to reduce the diameter of the deformation process or sizing get finished steel, the wall thickness of process control, can make thinning, thickening or nearly unchanged.

All the traditional hole-type rolling machine with mandrel belong to extend machine. The main purpose is to reduce the deformation process perforated capillary wall thickness and outer diameter roll passes in the deformation zone and the mandrel posed, for a larger axial extension. At the same time a certain improvement in the organization, performance, accuracy, surface quality.

Carbon steel seamless pipes

The complex chemical and physical properties of the various grades of carbon steel pipe allow for a broad range of service usage.

American Piping Products has the right grade, size and price to meet your requirements, including A/SA-106 Grade B/C and API 5L X- 42 thru X -70. A/SA-106 Grades B & C are utilized for services ranging from structural supports to steam drum headers with temperature ranges up to 800°F, while API 5L X Grades 42 thru 70 are utilized for the water and petroleum industry to transport liquids or as platforms on off-shore rigs.