Types of piping material used in oil and gas project

Types of piping material: Piping in a particular plant can be compared with arteries & veins in our body. There are mainly two types of pipes from manufacturing point of view. The first is Seamless pipes & second is Welded pipes.

Various attributes of pipe are described below.

A) Pipe End Preparation:

There are three types of end preparation of pipes.

(a)      Plain End (PE)

(b)      Butt weld or Beveled End (BW/BE)

(c)      Threaded End

B) Design & Dimension Standard for pipe manufacturing:

This will provide the following information.

  • Nominal Bore (NB),
  • Thickness,
  • Outside Diameter (OD),
  • Tolerance & Weight.

The Dimension Standard for pipe is as follows.

ANSI/ASME B 36.10         For Carbon Steel (CS), Low Temperature Carbon Steel (LTCS), Low Alloy Steel (LAS) Pipes

ANSI/ASME B 36.19         For Stainless Steel (SS) Pipes

Types of Piping Material

There are different  types of piping material used in oil and gas, power plants, chemical plants and refineries as per service  of the  plants.  We have to select the different types of piping material as per PMS, Pipe Spec and process condition.

Carbon Steel: It is used for temperature range from (–) 290C to 4270C. Most commonly used CS materials are as follows:
  • ASTM A 106 Gr. B        (Seamless pipes)
  • API 5L Gr. B                  (Seamless & Welded)
  • ASTM A 53 Gr. B          (Seamless & Welded)
  • IS 1239                        (Upto 6” & ERW)
  • IS 3589 (Above 6”)

(Grade A, B, C Refers the tensile strength of the carbon steel, the grade “C” having high strength. Commonly we are going with grade “B”.)

LTCS: It is used for low temperature i.e. from (–) 460C to 3430C. The most commonly used LTCS materials are as follows:
  • ASTM A 333 Gr.6 (Seamless pipes)
  • ASME A 671 (Welded pipes)
LAS: It is used for high temperature. The most commonly used LAS materials are as follows:

ASTM A 335 Gr. P11, P12, P9 (Seamless pipes)

ASTM A 691 Gr.C60, C65, C70 (Welded pipes)

Stainless Steel (SS): It is used for cryogenic temperature range i.e. from (-) 1960C to 5380C. Most commonly used SS materials are as follows:
  • ASTM A 312 TP 304 / ASTM A 312 TP 304L (P/U-Corrosive service, DM Water, Reject Water, Rich Amine, Vacuum Service, wash Oil)
  • ASTM A 312 TP 316 / ASTM A 312 TP 316L (Recycle oil, Heated Atm residue)
  • ASTM A 312 TP 321

 

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