You purchased a product, but how can you tell if it meets the standards? We wanted to share an article explaining the importance of steel pipe standards, and a simple step-by-step guide to check the pipes you buy. We also included an example pipe certificate.
How accurately are pipes sold and used in the market? For example, it used to be very common to install galvanized water pipes for natural gas lines. Perhaps 15 years ago, this was not taken very seriously, but even back then, compliance with standards was essential.
Standards ensure safety, are impartial, and are not open to debate. They ensure the correct product is manufactured and used in the right place. That’s why standards are so important.
Always ask what type of pipe you are using, which standard it meets, and request its certificate.
Steel pipe norms can seem complex to many of us. Understanding an entire standard at once is not easy, especially since standards differ for water pipes, natural gas pipes, construction pipes, and industrial pipes.
But there’s no need to panic 🙂. With the simple information we’re sharing, you can easily check if a pipe meets standards.
By following these 3 steps, you can verify approximately 95% of a pipe’s compliance:
- Visual inspection
- Measuring the pipe dimensions (diameter, wall thickness, and length)
- Checking the product certificate
Let’s go over these briefly:
1. Visual inspection:
- What does the pipe look like externally? Are there rust, dents, or deformations?
- Is the pipe straight or bent?
- How are the pipe ends? If beveled, is the bevel correct? If threaded, are the threads properly formed?
- Does it have a coupling? If coated, is the coating intact?
- Is the pipe round or oddly oval?
- How is the internal surface? Any broken burrs or debris inside? Any rust?
- Is the stencil on the pipe legible? The stencil should show the pipe brand, size, type, production standard, and material grade clearly.
2. Measuring pipe dimensions (diameter, wall thickness, and length):
- Use a caliper to measure the pipe’s outer diameter. While digital calipers are convenient, their precision may be insufficient. Preferably, use regularly calibrated mechanical calipers.
- Use a calibrated micrometer to measure wall thickness. Wall thickness measurement is the most critical measurement and should never be done with a caliper or ruler.
- Use a tape measure or ruler to check the pipe length. Since diameter and wall thickness require high precision, rulers or tape measures should not be used for these measurements.
For detailed instructions on measuring pipe diameter and wall thickness with calipers and micrometers, check our blog post [here].
3. Requesting and checking the pipe certificate:
- The product certificate guarantees the quality of the pipe. Always request the certificate from the supplier. It serves as the pipe’s identity and provides traceability.
- When the pipe label is unavailable, this document provides essential information.
A typical pipe certificate includes:
- Pipe diameter, wall thickness, and length
- Production standard
- Material grade
- Customer receiving the shipment
- Delivery note number and date
- Steel casting number and chemical composition
- Mechanical properties of the pipe (tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation)
We are sharing an example certificate for Borusan Pipe products below.
