Carbon steel pipe is a durable material made from carbon steel, a steel alloy with iron and carbon. Because of its strength and ability to withstand stress, carbon steel pipe is used in a variety of heavy-duty industries like infrastructure, ships, distillers, and chemical fertilizer equipment. Carbon steel pipe is a common type of steel pipe that is an alloy of iron and carbon. It has a higher carbon content, lower melting point and greater durability compared to stainless steel. Carbon steel is the most widely used engineering and construction material for industrial applications on a large scale, including marine structures, power plants, transportation, chemical processing and petroleum production and refining.
As one of the most popular materials for metal fabrication, carbon steel has become in one of the most reliable material on earth; but what makes this material so important and so popular?
The main component in steel is iron, while percentages of carbon, manganese, aluminum and other components are added for the material to have the best characteristics, properties and performance for its intended use. Carbon Steel can be defined as the steel with carbon content between 0.05 – 3.8 percent by weight. The more percentage of carbon the steel has, the harder and the stronger it becomes; However, the high carbon content makes the material losing its ductility and weldability (Regardless heat treatment), as well as lowering its melting point.
Carbon steel can be divided into three categories:
Low Carbon Steel
Its carbon content is between 0.05% and 0.25%. It is also called mild steel due to its low strength, low hardness and softness. It is the most common form of steel on the market, and its material properties are acceptable for many applications.
Low carbon steel has the characteristics of short tempering time, softness, stamping resistance and ductility. It easily accepts for various processing such as forging welding and cutting. It is commonly used in the manufacturer of steel bar, stamping parts, chains, rivets, bolts, wire, etc.
Medium Carbon Steel
Medium carbon steel is a type of carbon steel which has between 0.25% and 0.6% of carbon content. It has a certain degree of plasticity, toughness, strength, and good machinability after quenching as well as cutting performance but has poor welding performance. Strength and hardness higher than low carbon steel, plasticity and toughness lower than low carbon steel.
Medium carbon steel is used to manufacture some mechanical parts; Such as air compressors, pistons of pumps, impellers of steam turbines, shafts of heavy machinery, worm gears, gears and parts with wear-resistant surfaces, such as: crankshafts, machine tool spindles, rollers, fitter tools, etc.
High Carbon Steel
It is a type of carbon steel whose carbon content is somewhere between 0.6% and 1.7%. High carbon steels which are tempered with long time can be hardened and tempered and have good properties of hardness, strength and wear resistance. High carbon steels are commonly used for the manufacture of the general bearings, cutting tools, rails, steel frame mode, steel doors and much more.
There is an additional category called Ultra High Carbon Steel, with carbon content reaching the 2%. This type of steel could be tempered to achieve great hardness. It is specially used for non-industrial-purpose, such as the production of knives, punches, and axles.
Carbon steel pipe is more often used than alloy steel pipes. Compared with alloy steel pipe, It has the advantage of good performance with lower cost. Sunny Steel supplies most often used carbon steel pipes and tubes of comprehensive grades and specifications. According to its production process, Including seamless steel pipe, erw steel pipe and spiral welded steel pipe.
Specifications & Grades of carbon steel pipes
| Steel Standard | Steel Grade | Application | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASTM A-53 | A | B | Mechanical and pressure applications, low pressure liquid transmission and other purposes. |
| ASTM A-252 | 1 | 2,3 | Standard pipes and tubes for piles, columns, structural and other mechanical uses. |
| ASTM A-106 | A | B | High heat, including process piping, boiling plants, compression stations and refineries. |
| JIS G 3466 | STKR400 | STKR490 | Civil engineering architecture and other structures. |
