Material Selection for Piping, Valves and

Supports

By
AMLAN SAHA
Richard Design Services India
 Pipe Materials and their Selection
1. Piping Materials are a very important part of Piping Engineering. The success
of a project and the cost to a great extent depends on piping materials. Hence,
the proper selection of pipe materials plays an important role in the project
economy and it is always preferred to choose piping materials that meet all
technical requirements but are cheaper. There is a lot of variety of piping
materials present in the market.

2. Piping material is a broad term and is not limited to only the material of the
pipe. It signifies the material of all piping components; pipes, fittings, valves and
other items. So, in a sentence, we can say that piping material means the
materials of all the components that are present in a specific pipe class.
 Parameters/Factors for Pipe Material
Selection
As pipes and pipelines carry various liquids and gases having different
process conditions, the proper selection of pipe material is very important.
The main process parameters that govern the piping material selection
process are:

 Types of fluid to be handled i.e. Flammable, Explosive, Corrosive, Reactive,

Volatile, Hazardous etc.

 Line design and operating temperatures

 Design pressure of the fluid

 Flow medium

 Material characteristics
 Parameters/Factors for Pipe Material
Selection
…. (Continued)
 Fracture tendencies at the temperature extremes

 Corrosion and erosion

 The environment where the pipe will be working

In addition to the above factors, some other non-process parameters that are
considered for pipe material selection are:
 Cost of the pipe material
 Availability
 Manufacturability, Weldability etc.
Various piping codes and standards
provide a list of acceptable piping
materials under their jurisdiction.
These codes provide various details
about those piping materials like
design rules, allowable stresses at
different temperatures etc.
 Mechanical Properties of Pipe Materials
The mechanical properties which are considered for selecting pipe material for a specific
service:

 Modulus of Elasticity (Young’s Modulus) : The ratio of stress and strain measured using
Tension Tests

 Elastic Range : Material returns to its original shape after load is released.

 Plastic Range : Material is permanently deformed even after the load is released

 Yield Strength : It defines the transition from elastic to plastic phase and it establishes the
limiting value at which this transition occurs.

 Ultimate Tensile Strength : It defines the limit to which any further addition of load under
constant strain would arrest the specimen elongation or thinning and would result in its
failure.

 Ductility : Ability of a material to elongate along with reduction in cross-sectional area

before its failure. Established by measuring specimen length before elongation and
minimum diameter before failure.
 Mechanical Properties of Pipe Materials
…. (Continued)
 Hardness : Ability of a material to resist
deformation. It is tested by Brinell or
Rockwell Hardness Tests (both are
Indentation type tests)

 Toughness : Ability of a material to resist

sudden and brittle fracture due to the
rapid application of loads. It is measured
using the Charpy V-notch test.

 Fatigue Resistance : Ability of a

material to resist failure or crack initiation Stress-Strain Diagram (for structural
and its further propagation under steel)
repeated cyclic loading conditions.
 Thermal Properties of Pipe Materials

Density: This is the ratio of the mass of a material to its volume.

Thermal Conductivity: This is the characteristic ability of a material to transmit

energy in the form of heat from a high-temperature source to a point of lower
temperature.

Thermal Expansion: This is a ratio of the change in length per degree of

temperature, to a length at a given standard temperature.

Specific Heat: This is a measure of the quantity of heat required to raise a unit
weight of a material one degree in temperature.
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Chemical properties are defined as those material characteristics which are dictated by
the elemental constituency of the solid. This is usually measured by the relative atomic
weight percent of the various elements (metals or non-metals) or compounds within the
material.

Metals are not usually used in their pure form. Rather, secondary elements are purposely
added to improve or modify their behaviour. This addition of secondary elements is
called alloying.

Carbon added to iron, creating steel, is the most common example.

Pure metals possess relatively low strength. Adding an alloying element will
increase the strength of a metal.

Elements are also added to metals to improve or modify their corrosion or oxidation
characteristics, or to improve manufacturability (e.g., machineability) and/or electrical
properties.

Carbon steels, the most common of the construction materials, always contain the
elements carbon, manganese, phosphorous, sulfur, and silicon in varying
amounts.

Number of elements alloyed with a parent metal, and the acceptable range of content of
each, are identified in the material specification (e.g., ASTM, API, ASME).
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 Effect of Alloying Elements on Metallic
Piping Materials
The main alloying elements that influence the chemical properties of pipe materials
and their selection are :
• Carbon (C) : It increases strength and hardness, but decreases ductility and
toughness.
• Phosphorus (P) : High content decreases shock resistance and ductility making
material brittle.
• Silicon (Si) : Increases tensile strength without increasing brittleness, hence making
the metal more stable under high temperature services. It also resists oxidization and
is used as a deoxidizing agent.
• Manganese (Mn) : It improves hot working characteristics by increasing hardening
when combined with sulfur.
• Nickel (Ni) : It improves hardenability by increasing the strength and toughness of
steel. Being combined with Chromium, it improves impact and fatigue resistance.
• Chromium (Cr) : It is a hardening element and improves material strength at a higher
temperature. It also improves high temperature oxidation and corrosion resistance of
steel.
• Molybdenum (Mo) : It makes the steel harder and more stable by increasing its creep
resistance at a higher temperature.
 Type of Piping Materials
The piping materials commonly
used in design of process
systems, can be broadly
classified into the following
categories:
 Metallic Piping Materials
 Non-metallic Piping
Materials and
 Composite Piping
Materials
 Type of Piping Materials
…. (Continued)
 CLASSIFICATION OF FERROUS MATERIALS

CARBON STEEL
Steel is defined as an alloy of iron with not more than 2.0 weight percent carbon.

1. Low carbon steels - 0.05 to 0.25 percent carbon

2. Medium carbon steels - 0.25 to 0.50 percent carbon
3. High carbon steels - 0.50 percent and greater carbon content

ALLOY STEEL
Alloy steels are generally considered to be steels to which one or more alloying
elements, other than carbon, have been added to give them special properties that are
different than those of straight carbon steels. From the standpoint of composition,
steel is considered to be an alloy steel when amounts of manganese, silicon, or copper
exceed the maximum limits for the carbon steels, or when purposeful addition of
minimum quantities of other alloying elements are added. These could be chromium,
molybdenum, nickel, copper, cobalt, niobium, vanadium, or others.

CAST IRON
It is the re-melted form of Pig Iron, with carbon content excess of 2 percent. Compared
with steel, cast iron is inferior in malleability, strength, toughness, and ductility. On the
other hand, cast iron has better fluidity in the molten state and can be cast
satisfactorily into complicated shapes. It is also less costly than steel. The most
important types of cast iron are white and gray cast irons.
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 CLASSIFICATION OF FERROUS MATERIALS (Contd.)

STAINLESS STEEL
Ferritic and martensitic stainless steels are steels alloyed with chromium contents above
about 12 percent, which enables these materials to possess good corrosion resistance.
These can be hardened by heat treatment.

When sufficient nickel is added to iron-chromium alloys, it becomes austenitic,

possessing an excellent combination of strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance.
These steels cannot be hardened by quenching, since the austenite does not transform to
martensite.

A stronger type of stainless steel (precipitation-hardenable stainless steel) has been

developed by addition of elements like aluminum, titanium, copper, and nitrogen. Both
martensitic and austenitic stainless steels can be enhanced in this manner. As annealed,
these materials are soft and readily formed. When fully hardened, through aging heat
treatments, they attain their full strength potential.

Another development in the world of stainless steel is duplex grade, i.e. austenitic and
ferritic stainless steels that contain high amounts of chromium and nickel. This
combination is stronger than both austenitic and ferritic stainless steels. Duplex
stainless steels are highly resistant to corrosion and cracking.
This is particularly useful in sea water service.
13
 CLASSIFICATION OF NON-FERROUS MATERIALS

Copper and Copper Alloys

Use of copper and copper alloys is limited to temperatures below the lower
recrystallization temperature for the particular alloy. This is the temperature at
which cold-worked specimens begin to soften.

Nickel and Nickel Alloys

Nickel is a tough, malleable metal that offers good resistance to oxidation and
corrosion. When nickel is combined with copper as the secondary element, the
well-known series of Monel alloys are created. Nickel, Monel, and various
modifications of these materials are used in piping systems, turbine blading,
valves, and miscellaneous power plant accessories handling steam.

Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys

Aluminum and many of its alloys are highly resistant to atmospheric corrosion
and to attack by many chemical agents, with the exception of strong alkalis.
However, they are subject to galvanic attack if coupled with more noble
materials.

14
 CLASSIFICATION OF NON-METALLIC MATERIALS

THERMOPLASTICS

Thermoplastics can be softened and reshaped repeatedly by the application of heat.

Thermoplastic materials include minimal reinforcements.

Examples of thermoplastic piping materials are: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene

(PE), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC),
crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), polybutylene (PB), polypropylene (PP), and
polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).

THERMOSETTING

Thermosetting materials are irreversibly set, or cured, or hardened into a permanent

shape during factory manufacture. Once hardened into their final shape, thermosetting
products cannot be softened and therefore may not be reshaped by heating.
Thermosetting resins are almost always combined with reinforcements (such as glass
fibers) and sometimes fillers (such as sand) to produce structurally integrated composite
constructions.

Examples of thermosetting piping materials are: FRP, GRP, GRE, etc.

15
 INSULATIONS
HOT INSULATIONS

When hot fluid flows through pipe then generally pipe is insulated.
There are two primary reasons for insulating the pipe carrying hot fluid:
• Containing the heat inside the pipe. Insulation preserves the heat of the fluid. It is
called Hot Insulation.
• Personnel safety, so that people do not get burn injury by touching hot surface of
pipe. It is called Personnel Protection Insulation.

COLD INSULATIONS

• Cold or chilled fluid carrying pipes are insulated to prevent heating of cold fluid
from outside. It is called Cold Insulation.
• Some times cold pipes are insulated to prevent condensation of atmospheric water
vapor on pipe surface. It is called Anti-Sweat Insulation.

OTHER TYPES OF INSULATION

• When gas flows through pipes at high velocity, it creates noise. In such cases pipes
are insulated to reduce noise. It is called Acoustic Insulation.
• Some times pipe and it’s content are heated from outside, by heat tracing element.
In that case pipe along with heat tracing element are insulated to conserve the heat
of the tracer. It is called Heat Tracing Insulation.
16
 INSULATIONS (Contd.)
INSULATION MATERIAL : The insulating material should be bad conductor of heat.
There are two basic categories
1) Fibrous Material, which has large voids full of air between fibers - Cork, Glass Wool,
Mineral Wool, Organic Fibers. Note stagnant air is a bad conductor.
2) Cellular Material, which has closed void cells full or air - Calcium Silicate, Cellular
Glass (Foam Glass), Polyurethane Foam (PUF), Polystyrene (Thermocol), etc.
Some times Cast material like Cement Plaster or Plaster of Paris are also used.
INSULATION CLADDING :
Insulation materials are generally soft or fragile. So the outer surface of insulation are
protected with Aluminum sheet or GI sheet cladding.

Have a look at how

pipes are insulated,
and general
components of
insulation

17
 What is a Piping Material Specification
 Piping Material Specification is the most important piping engineering
document for a project that is prepared during the design phase of
any project. It provides all the basic guidelines that need to be
followed while proceeding with the design work of the project.

The Function of a Piping Material Specification (PMS):

 Piping Material Specifications are engineering design documents to cover
additional requirements applicable to a specific product or application.
Piping specs provide specific/ additional requirements for the materials,
components or services that are beyond the code and standard
requirements and based on engineering experience and best practices
of the design companies.
 How to Make a Piping Material Specification (PMS)
Piping Material Specifications must have a front cover
with a written section containing the following: Piping Class

• Document Title

• Document Number along with Revision history

• Name of responsible person, checker, approver along
with creation date
• Content in Tabular or properly arranged format
• Functional or Purpose Statement
• General Notes
• A list mentioning all the applicable codes that apply to
the materials added in the specification
• A list specifying the Line Classes with data like
Material, Commodity, Flange Rating etc.
• All individual Line Class sheets
• All common drains, vents and other miscellaneous
details with the proper connection
• Header and Branch connection Tables
Piping Class
in PMS
A piping class is defined as an assembly of piping
components that are suitable for a defined service
and design limits within a piping system. The piping
class or Pipe Class is an important part of PMS,
that specifies all the required components under a
specific design limit.Typical components that are
covered in a Piping Class are the type of pipe,
material, schedule, corrosion allowance, flange
ratings, branch types, valve types, valve trim
material, gasket and all the other components’
specific requirements.

Pipe Class development mainly considers the

Design and Operating Pressure, Temperature and
corrosive environment. Different piping material
specifications are segregated into separate “Piping
Classes”. Pipe Class is included in the Line Number
to easily identify the MOC of piping system.
Pipe Material Specification (Carbon Steel Pipe)
Pipe Material Specification (Carbon Steel Pipe)…. (Continued)
Pipe Material Specification (Stainless Steel Pipe)
Pipe Material Specification (Alloy Steel Pipe)
Pipe Material Specification (Alloy Steel Pipe) …. (Continued)
Pipe Material Specification (FRP/GRP Pipe)
Pipe Material Specification (FRP/GRP Pipe) …. (Continued)

• The Outer Layer is rich in resin, filled with silica but no glass
added.
• The Structural Layer High consisting of resin, randomly
oriented fiber, filament winding glass and a high percentage
of silica filling.
• The Barrier Layer consists of randomly fibers and resin.
• The Inner Layer is a resin rich blend, backed with pure silica,
acting as a highly abrasion resistant liner.
Pipe Material Specification (HDPE Pipe)
 Some Codes and Standards for Non-metallic Pipes
The following are some applicable design codes and standards used for Non-metallic piping systems (like
GRP/FRP/HDPE etc):

 ASME NM.1 : Thermoplastic Piping Systems

 ASME NM.2 : Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Thermosetting-Resin Piping Systems

 AWWA M45 : Fiberglass Pipe Design

 AWWA M55 : PE-Pipe Design and Installation

 BS 7159 : British Standard Code for Design and Construction of Glass Reinforced Plastics (GRP) Piping Systems for
Individual Plants and Sites

 ASME NM.3.2 : Non-metallic Materials, Part-2 – Reinforced Thermoset Plastic Material Specifications

 ASME NM.3.3 : Non-metallic Materials, Part-3 – Properties

 AWWA C950-01 : AWWA Standard for Fibreglass Pressure Pipe

 AWWA C906-09 : AWWA Standard for Polyethylene (PE) Pressure Pipe and Fittings, 4 in through 63 in for Water
Distribution and Transmission

 ISO 14692 : Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries – Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) Piping, Part-3 : System Design
 Selection of Material for Jacketed Pipes
Jacketed piping is required to transport highly viscous fluids having very low
flowability. The jackets usually provide temperature to the core pipe by
carrying comparatively hot fluid (like steam) so that the flowability of the fluid
inside the core pipe is maintained. Due to this process condition, high
temperature gradient is developed at the junctions between core and jacket
pipes and subsequently high thermal stresses appear within the piping
system. Therefore, proper material selection for these type of piping system
is needed during the design phase of the project.
Also sometimes, due to selection of dissimilar metals for Core and Jacket,
high thermal stress is developed through-out the core pipe causing failure at
the bends or tees etc. Some pictures of thermal stress simulation of jacket
pipe is shown beside:

Design Condition for Core Pipe: Design Condition for Jacket Pipe:
 Valve Material Specification (VMS)
A Valve Material Specification (VMS) plays a crucial role in ensuring the safe and efficient
operation of piping systems. Piping engineers must posses a comprehensive understanding of
valve material specifications to make informed decisions during the selection, design and
maintenance processes. By considering factors such as material selection criteria, industry
standards and valve components, engineers can optimize the performance, reliability and
integrity of piping systems.
Valve Material Specification is sometimes also called as Valve Datasheet.

A Valve Material Specification (VMS) contains following information of valves intended to use for
a specific project:
1. Valve Type 7. Material Details (MOC)
2. Piping Class 8. Service Condition
3. Pressure Rating (like 800#, 150#, 300# etc) 9. Hydro-Test Condition
4. Valve Size 10. Special Notes
5. Design Standard
6. Construction details
Valve Material Specification
Valve Material Specification …. (Continued)

Gate Valve (or Stop Valve)

Valve Material Specification …. (Continued)
 Material Selection for Pipe Supports
Selecting the appropriate materials for pipe support components is crucial for ensuring
durability and long-term performance. Material selection is influenced by factors such
as the type of pipe, environmental conditions, load capacity requirements and
corrosion resistance. Common materials for support components include:

• Structural Steel

 Carbon Steel

 Stainless Steel

 Galvanized Steel

 Aluminium

 Ductile Iron

 FRP Composites
Material selection should align with the specific needs of the piping system and
consider factors like load capacity, exposure to chemicals or harsh weather, and
compliance with industry standards and codes.
Pipe Shoe for Hot-Insulated Carbon Steel Pipes
Pipe Shoe for Hot-Insulated Alloy Steel/ Stainless Steel Pipes
(for Temp. upto 343 deg.C)
Pipe Shoe for Hot-Insulated Alloy Steel/ Stainless Steel Pipes
(for Temp. above 343 deg.C)
Stress Simulation of a Clamp Shoe for Hot-Insulated Pipe
 Spring Supports

Bottom Spring
(CAN)

Spring Hanger
(Variable)
 Pipe Clamp for Bare CS/AS/SS Pipe

2-Hole type Clamp

 Pipe Clamp for Insulated CS/AS/SS Pipe

3-Hole type Clamp

Saddle Support for Large diameter Pipes/Ducts

Saddle Support MOC:

1. CS Plates : IS 2062 GR. E250 BR
2. SS Plates : ASTM A240 GR. 304
3. Angles : IS 2062
Stress Simulation of a Saddle Support for 1000NB COG Duct
Thank You