Welded pipe is made by forming steel strip or plate into a tube and welding the seam — by electric resistance (ERW) for small and medium sizes, or by submerged arc (SAW) for large diameters. It is the bulk of the world's pipe: water, gas and fire mains, plumbing, line pipe for oil and gas, piling and structural hollow sections.
Most welded pipe below about 610 mm (24 in) is ERW: steel strip is slit from hot-rolled coil, formed into a tube by a train of rolls, and the edges are heated by high-frequency current and forged together under pressure. The outside — and on line pipe the inside — weld bead is trimmed off, and the weld zone is often normalised by induction (HFW). Above that size pipe is made from plate or coil by submerged arc welding: LSAW pipe has one straight seam, formed from a plate by the UOE or JCOE process and welded inside and out; spiral (HSAW) pipe is formed from coil wound at an angle and welded along a helix, which lets one mill make many diameters.
A modern ERW weld is as strong as the pipe itself, and ERW line pipe is used up to high grades; but for critical high-pressure and sour service owners still specify seamless or LSAW. Welded pipe's advantages are price, availability in long lengths and large diameters, and a more uniform wall than seamless.
At the light end, the GCC's plumbing, fire-fighting and building-services pipe is welded 'water and gas' tube, black or hot-dip galvanized (GI), to EN 10255 — the successor of BS 1387 — in Medium and Heavy series with BSP threads, or ASTM A53 in American-specified projects. The EN 10255 table and the ASTM A53 table give their sizes and masses. Square, rectangular and round structural hollow sections (SHS, RHS, CHS) are cold formed and welded to EN 10219 or ASTM A500.
Welded pipe is made in volume in the region. In Saudi Arabia, Arabian Pipes Company and Saudi Steel Pipe Company make ERW line and water pipe, and large LSAW and spiral mills supply line pipe and water transmission pipe for Saudi Aramco, the national water companies and desalination schemes; in the UAE, Al Gharbia Pipe Company makes LSAW line pipe, and many ERW mills across the GCC make GI pipe and hollow sections from regional coil. Water transmission lines from desalination plants are one of the region's largest users of large-diameter welded pipe.
Welded pipe is ordered by size (NPS and schedule, DN and series, or OD × wall), standard and grade, welding process, ends, length and coating.
Full dimensions: ASTM A53 welded pipe: dimensions and mass, NPS 1/2 to 8 · Black and galvanized pipe for threading (EN 10255, formerly BS 1387 and DIN 2440)
| Region | Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| USA | ASTM A53/A53M ASTM |
Pipe, steel, black and hot-dipped zinc-coated, welded (Types E and F) and seamless — Grades A and B |
| USA | API Spec 5L API |
Line pipe, welded (ERW/HFW, LSAW, SAWH) and seamless, PSL1 and PSL2 (equivalent to ISO 3183) |
| USA | ASME B36.10M ASME |
Welded and seamless wrought steel pipe — sizes and schedules |
| USA | ASTM A135/A135M ASTM |
Electric-resistance-welded steel pipe (sprinkler and general use) |
| USA | ASTM A252/A252M ASTM |
Welded and seamless steel pipe piles |
| USA | ASTM A500/A500M ASTM |
Cold-formed welded and seamless carbon steel structural tubing in rounds and shapes |
| USA | AWWA C200 AWWA |
Steel water pipe, 6 in (150 mm) and larger |
| Europe | EN 10255 CEN-CENELEC |
Non-alloy steel tubes suitable for welding and threading — series H, M, L, L1 and L2 |
| Europe | EN 10217-1 to -7 CEN-CENELEC |
Welded steel tubes for pressure purposes (P195TR1, P235TR1/TR2, P265GH…) |
| Europe | EN 10219-1 / -2 CEN-CENELEC |
Cold formed welded structural hollow sections of non-alloy and fine-grain steels (S235JRH, S355J2H…) |
| Europe | EN 10210-1 / -2 CEN-CENELEC |
Hot finished structural hollow sections |
| Europe | EN 10296-1 CEN-CENELEC |
Welded circular steel tubes for mechanical and general engineering purposes |
| UK | BS 1387 BSI replaced by EN 10255 |
Screwed and socketed steel tubes and tubulars — Light, Medium and Heavy |
| Germany | DIN 2440 / DIN 2441 DIN replaced by EN 10255 |
Medium and heavy-weight threaded steel tubes |
| Germany | DIN 2458 DIN replaced by EN 10220 |
Welded steel tubes — dimensions and masses |
| Japan | JIS G3452 JSA |
Carbon steel pipes for ordinary piping (SGP), black and galvanized |
| Japan | JIS G3444 / G3466 JSA |
Carbon steel tubes for general structure (STK); square and rectangular tubes (STKR) |
| China | GB/T 3091 SAC |
Welded steel pipes for low-pressure liquid delivery |
| India | IS 1239-1 BIS |
Steel tubes, tubulars and fittings — mild steel tubes (light, medium, heavy) |
| India | IS 3589 BIS |
Steel pipes for water and sewage (168.3–2,540 mm OD) |
Grade equivalents and the standards bodies: Steel grades & standards
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