STEEL PIPE

Manufacturing

What is steel pipe?

Steel pipes are long, lightweight hollow tubes
that are used for a variety of purposes.
They are used for water and gas supply,
automobiles, heating and plumbing systems,
flagpoles, street lamps and etc.

History
People have used pipes for thousands of
years.
Perhaps the first use was by ancient
agriculturalists who diverted water from
streams and rivers into their fields.
Chinese used reed pipe for transporting water
to desired locations as early as 2000 B.C.
During the first century A.D. , the first lead
pipes were constructed in Europe.

Reed pipe

Lead pipe

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An early for producing metal tubes was
patented by James Russell in 1824. In his
method, tubes were created by joining
together opposite edges of a flat iron strip.
The metal was first heated until it was
malleable. Using a drop hammer, the edges
folded together and welded.
The pipe was finished by passing it through a
groove and rolling mill.

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After Russell's method, Comelius Whitehouse
developed a better method for making metal
tubes.

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After Whitehouse, John Moon (in 1911)
suggested the continuous process method in
which a manufacturing plant could produce
pipe in an un ending stream.

Design
There are two types of steel pipes:
1. Seam pipe
2. Seamless pipe
Seamed tubes are heavier and more rigid.
They are used for as gas transportation,
plumbing.
Seamless tubes are typically more light
weight, and have thinner walls. They are used
for bicycles and transporting liquids.

Raw Material
The primary raw material in pipe production is
steel. Other metals that may be present in the
alloy are
o Aluminum
o Manganese
o Titanium
o Tungsten
o Zirconium

Manufacturing Process
The overall production method three steps;
First, raw steel is converted into a more
workable form.
Next, the pipe is formed on a continuous or
semi continuous production line.
Finally, the pipe is cut and modified to meet
the customer's needs.

Ingot production
Molten steel is made by melting iron ore and
coke in a furnace.
The molten steel is then poured into large,
thick-walled iron molds, where it cools into
ingots.

Producing Blooms
To produce a bloom, the ingot is passed
through a pair of grooved steel rollers.
Groove steel rollers move in opposite
directions.
This action causes the steel to be squeezed
and stretched into thinner, longer pieces.
Blooms are converted into billets by putting
them through more rolling devices which
make them longer and more narrow.

Producing Slabs
Ingots may also be rolled into slabs in a process
that is similar to the bloom making process.
The steel is passed through a pair of stacked
rollers which stretch it. However, there are also
rollers mounted on the side to control the width
of the slabs.
The slabs are sent through a series of rollers on a
hot mill and made into thin narrow strips of steel
called skelp

Blooms

Slabs

Pipe Making (seam pipe)

Both skelp and billets are used to make pipes. Skelp
is made into welded pipe.
In first steel (skelp) is heated.
The steel is then passed through
a series of grooved rollers.
As it passes by, the rollers
cause the edges of the skelp to
curl together.

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The steel next passes by welding electrodes.
These devices seal the two ends of the pipe
together.
Then passed through a high pressure roller
which helps create a tight weld.

Pipe Making (seamless pipe)

When seamless pipe is needed, square billets
are used for production. They are heated and
molded to form a cylinder shape, also called a
round.
The round is then put in a furnace where it is
heated white-hot, then is rolled in high
pressure and results hole is form in the
center.

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Since this hole is irregularly shaped, a bullet
shaped piercer point is pushed through the
middle of the billet as it is being rolled.
After that the pipe may still be of irregular
thickness and shape. To correct this it is
passed through another series of rolling mills.

Quality Control
To ensure steel pipe meets specifications. For
example, x-ray gauges are used to regulate the
thickness of the steel pipe.
The gauges work by utilizing two x rays.
1. One ray is directed at a steel of known
thickness.
2. The other is directed at the passing steel on the
production line.
If there is any variance between the two rays, the
gauge will automatically trigger a re sizing of the
rollers to compensate.

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One method of testing a pipe is by using a
special machine. This machine fills the pipe
with water and then increases the pressure to
see if it holds.