COMMERCIAL PIPE AND TUBE SIZES AND TUBULAR PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION

Finally Piping & Fabrication has finish this chapter about Manufacturing of Metallic Pipe and this is the last post of this chapter.

COMMERCIAL PIPE AND TUBE SIZES
The standard pipe sizes and other pipe properties are given in App. E2 and E2M, and the standard tube sizes and other tube properties are given in App. E3 and E3M.

TUBULAR PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION
Pipe and tubing are considered to be separate products, although geometrically they are quite similar. ‘‘Tubular products’’ infers cylindrical products which are hollow, and the classification of ‘‘pipe’’ or ‘‘tube’’ is determined by the end use.

Piping Classification
Tubular products called pipe include standard pipe, conduit pipe, piling pipe, transmission (line) pipe, water-main pipe, oil country tubular goods (pipe), water-well pipe, and pressure pipe. Standard pipe, available in ERW or seamless, is produced in three weight (wall-thickness) classifications: standard, extra strong, and double extra strong (either seamless or welded). ASTM and the American Petroleum Institute (API) provide specifications for the many categories of pipe according to the end use. Other classifications within the end use categorization refer to the method of manufacture of the pipe or tube, such as seamless, cast, and electric resistance welded. Pipe and tube designations may also indicate the method of final finishing, such as hot finished and cold finished.

Tubing Classification
Pressure tubes are differentiated from pressure pipe in that they are used in externally fired applications while carrying pressurized fluid inside the tube. Structural tubing is used for general structural purposes related to the construction industry. ASTM provides specifications for this type of tubing. Mechanical tubing is produced to meet particular dimensional, chemical, and mechanical property and finish specifications which are a function of the end use, such as machinery and automotive parts. This category of tubing is available in welded (ERW) and seamless form.

SPECIALTY TUBULAR PRODUCTS
There are many specialty tubular products designed for special applications requiring unique manufacturing methods for production. Examples are the rifled boiler tube, the finned heat-exchanger tube, the duplex tube, and the double-wall tube.

FIGURE A5.10 Single rifled boiler tube

The rifled boiler tube (Fig. A5.10) is used to provide an improved heat transfer surface on the inner surface of a boiler tube. The rifling twist, similar to that of a rifle, is produced by specially shaped mandrels over which the tube is drawn. The finned heat exchanger (Fig. A5.11) tube provides improvement in thermal efficiency by providing an extended surface from the base tube surface. The extended surface is produced by turning the tube through special sets of dies which raise fins from part of the base tube material. These fins can be coarse or fine depending on the equipment developed for producing fins.

Duplex or composite tubes have been developed to provide a different material on the inside and outside of the tube to meet the requirements of a different environment on either side of the tube. One method of producing a composite tube is by providing a bimetal mother tube before the extrusion or drawing process. Careful development of this process will yield a composite tube with an excellent bond between the two materials.

FIGURE A5.11 Finned heat-exchanger tube

Double-wall tubes (Fig. A5.12) are used in applications requiring leak detection to avoid a catastrophic mixture of the fluids on either side of the tube. An inert detecting gas can be placed in the annulus between the two tubes to sense very small amounts of leakage from either tube so as to allow careful shutdown of the system. This tube is manufactured by inserting one tube inside the other, then drawing the combined tube through dies or over mandrelswhich provide a calibrated prestress between the two tubes. This type of tube was developed for application to a fast breeder reactor sodium-water steam generator.

FIGURE A5.12 Double-wall leak-detecting tube

ENGINEERING SELECTION OF PIPE MANUFACTURING METHODS
The selection of the appropriate pipe manufacturing method by the design engineering specification deserves consideration. For many applications, the codes and standards specified in the procurement contract provide for little room to select an optimal manufacturing method. The safest procedure is to obtain the price and schedule from suppliers before firming the piping specifications. At times the selection of the pipe with the best manufacturing process might be tempered by project cost or delivery considerations. In such cases, much is required of the engineer to consider whether lesser quality will be able to meet the desired reliability standard.
It therefore is essential that the engineer is aware of the alternates and their operating history of success and failure before an appropriate alternative decision can be accepted. It must also be recognized that choices based on economic considerations alone may prove to be the more costly in the face of the downtime costs of failure.