Stainless pipe and tube formed from strip or plate and welded along a longitudinal seam, usually by TIG, plasma or laser welding without filler, or by submerged-arc or other filler processes for large plate pipe. Welded products cover most stainless piping in water, food, chemical and building services, as well as handrails, furniture and structural hollow sections.
Most welded stainless tube is made on continuous tube mills: slit strip is roll-formed into a tube and the edges are fused by TIG, plasma, laser or high-frequency welding, usually without filler. The weld bead may be rolled or planished, and the tube is then solution annealed (in line or in a furnace) and pickled or bright annealed. Large-diameter pipe is formed from plate on press or roll benders and welded with filler — electric-fusion-welded (EFW) pipe to ASTM A358 or similar — then annealed and radiographed as the service demands.
Welded pipe to ASTM A312 or EN 10217-7 is used across process, water and building piping and is considerably cheaper than seamless, especially in the thin 5S and 10S walls, which seamless mills hardly make. Welded heat-exchanger and condenser tube to ASTM A249 and A688 is the norm for feedwater heaters and desalination condensers. Ornamental tube to ASTM A554 — round, square and rectangular, often polished — is a separate, lower-specification product for handrails, balustrades, furniture and fittings and must not be used for pressure piping.
Grade choice follows the environment: 304L for indoor and fresh water, 316L for chlorides, coastal air and food plant, duplex 2205 and super duplex 2507 for seawater and high-pressure reverse-osmosis lines in desalination plants. The 200-series grades (201) and ferritic 430 are used in low-cost ornamental tube; they rust in coastal air and should be avoided for outdoor work in the Gulf.
The GCC is a major market for welded stainless pipe, driven by desalination, water transmission and district cooling, oil and gas, and construction. Tube mills in the region make welded stainless tube from imported coil, and large quantities of pipe and ornamental tube are imported from Asia, India and Europe.
Pipe is ordered by NPS and schedule, tube by OD × wall. The mass table below covers common round tube sizes; the ASME B36.19M pipe schedules are on the seamless pipe page.
Full dimensions: Stainless round tube: mass per metre
| Region | Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| USA | ASTM A312/A312M ASTM |
Seamless, welded and heavily cold worked austenitic stainless steel pipes |
| USA | ASTM A358/A358M ASTM |
Electric-fusion-welded austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel pipe for high-temperature and general service |
| USA | ASTM A554 ASTM |
Welded stainless steel mechanical tubing (ornamental and structural tube) |
| USA | ASTM A249/A249M ASTM |
Welded austenitic steel boiler, superheater, heat-exchanger and condenser tubes |
| USA | ASTM A688/A688M ASTM |
Welded austenitic stainless steel feedwater heater tubes |
| USA | ASTM A790/A790M ASTM |
Seamless and welded ferritic/austenitic (duplex) stainless steel pipe |
| USA | ASTM A928/A928M ASTM |
Ferritic/austenitic (duplex) stainless steel pipe electric fusion welded with addition of filler metal |
| USA | ASTM A270/A270M ASTM |
Seamless and welded austenitic and ferritic/austenitic stainless steel sanitary tubing |
| USA | ASTM A778/A778M ASTM |
Welded, unannealed austenitic stainless steel tubular products |
| Europe | EN 10217-7 CEN-CENELEC |
Welded steel tubes for pressure purposes — stainless steel tubes |
| Europe | EN 10296-2 CEN-CENELEC |
Welded circular steel tubes for mechanical and general engineering purposes — stainless steel |
| Europe | EN 10312 CEN-CENELEC |
Welded stainless steel tubes for the conveyance of water and other aqueous liquids |
| International | ISO 1127 ISO |
Stainless steel tubes — dimensions, tolerances and conventional masses per unit length |
| Japan | JIS G3459 JSA |
Stainless steel pipes (seamless and welded) |
| Japan | JIS G3448 JSA |
Light gauge stainless steel tubes for ordinary piping |
| China | GB/T 12771 SAC |
Welded stainless steel pipes for fluid transport |
Grade equivalents and the standards bodies: Steel grades & standards
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