Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe for Ships

Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe for Shipbuilding:

Seamless carbon steel pipe for shipbuilding refers to seamless pipes used in shipbuilding and maintenance, primarily for fluid transport, structural support, and power systems. Its key features are its high strength and corrosion resistance, made from carbon steel.

Seamless carbon steel pipe for shipbuilding is a highly specialized field. It's not just a pipe that transports fluids; it's the ship's lifeline. Its quality and reliability are directly related to the ship's safe navigation and the safety of the crew. Therefore, the standards, materials, manufacturing, and inspection requirements for seamless carbon steel pipe for shipbuilding far exceed those for ordinary fluid pipes.

Basic Characteristics of Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe for Shipbuilding:

Seamless carbon steel pipe for shipbuilding is primarily made of carbon steel material and manufactured through processes such as hot rolling or cold drawing. Because ships are exposed to marine environments for extended periods, the material requires excellent corrosion resistance, high mechanical strength, and stable physical properties. Carbon steel seamless pipe, with its uniform internal structure and absence of weld defects, can withstand high pressures and shock loads, making it suitable for the complex operating conditions of ships. This type of pipe must also meet certain low-temperature toughness requirements to adapt to temperature fluctuations in diverse sea areas.

Core Characteristics and Critical Importance:

Ship piping systems are exposed to extremely harsh environments year-round:
Corrosive Environment: Seawater, marine atmosphere, and high humidity are all highly corrosive.
Dynamic Loads: Ships rock and pitch in wind and waves, subjecting piping systems to constant vibration, impact, and bending stress.
Space Constraints: Engine rooms are compact and the piping layout is complex, placing high demands on pipe dimensional accuracy and bending performance.
High Safety Requirements: A rupture in a critical pipeline could result in engine room flooding, fire, or power loss, leading to catastrophic accidents.

Therefore, carbon steel seamless pipes for ships must possess:

1. Extremely high reliability and pressure-bearing capacity.
2. Excellent corrosion resistance, typically achieved through subsequent coating or plating.
3. Good low-temperature toughness, especially for piping located outside the ship's hull or in low-temperature environments.
4. Excellent processability, such as cold bendability and weldability.

Specifications and Standards for Shipbuilding Steel Pipes:

The shipbuilding industry is a global one, and its pipes must comply with the specifications of authoritative classification societies. While the standards of major classification societies vary, they are all extremely stringent and mutually recognized.

China Classification Society Material and Welding Specifications - China Classification Society (CCS)
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Specifications - Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
Lloyd's Register (LR) Specifications - Lloyd's Register (LR)
Germanischer Lloyd (GL) Specifications - Germanischer Lloyd (GL)
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Specifications - American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
Bureau Veritas (BV) Specifications - Bureau Veritas (BV)
RINA Specifications - RINA
NK Classification Society (NK) Specifications - Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK)
GB/T 5312 - Chinese National Standard

Note: Shipbuilding pipes must be certified by the classification society. Manufacturers must submit their products and production processes to the classification society for review. Only after obtaining factory approval and product type approval certificates can their products be used in shipbuilding. Steel pipes are marked with the classification society's inspection mark upon leaving the factory.

Applications:

Used in the manufacture of seamless steel pipes for marine boilers and superheaters, and Class I and II pressure piping.

Specifications for seamless steel pipes for ships:

Outer diameter: 8mm-1240mm
Wall thickness: 1mm-200mm

Common materials:

The chemical composition of carbon steel seamless pipes for ships, particularly the content of harmful elements such as sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P), is more strictly controlled than for ordinary fluid pipes to ensure superior toughness and weldability.

Main steel pipe grades:
320, 360, 410, 460, 490: These are internationally recognized grades for ship pipes. The number represents the minimum yield strength (MPa). For example, 320 indicates a yield strength of 320 MPa or higher. These pipes are used in various ship piping systems. Standard specification: ISO 9329-1. 

CCS Grade A/B/D/E: China Classification Society material. A/B represents general strength, D/E represents high strength, and Grade E has excellent low-temperature impact toughness. 

ABS Grade A/B/D/E: American Bureau of Shipping material. The grading method is similar to CCS, but the requirements are slightly different. 

Uses I, II, III: ASTM A106 is sometimes used, but it must meet the additional inspection requirements of the ship regulations. 

Click here to learn more about the Mechanical properties of seamless steel pipes for ship uses.

Main Application Areas: 

In shipbuilding, carbon steel seamless pipes are widely used in the following systems: 

(1) Power system: used for fuel delivery, lubricating oil circulation and cooling water pipelines for main engines and auxiliary engines.

(2) Hydraulic system: as a hydraulic oil transmission pipeline, it is required to have a high pressure bearing capacity and sealing performance. 

(3) Firefighting system: used for the delivery of fire water, and must meet fire protection and corrosion resistance requirements. 

(4) Bilge water and ballast water system: used for discharge or adjustment of ship balance, and the material is required to be resistant to seawater corrosion.
(5) Structural use: Some seamless steel pipes are used for auxiliary structures such as supports and guardrails of ships.
(6) Life support systems: daily seawater, fresh water systems, ventilation systems, sanitary water systems.

Quality Control and Testing:

To ensure the quality of carbon steel seamless steel pipes for ships, a number of tests are required during the production process:

(1) Chemical composition analysis: to ensure that the material composition meets the standard requirements.
(2) Non-destructive testing: ultrasonic, eddy current and other methods are used to detect internal defects. 100% eddy current testing (ET) is a basic requirement. For critical pipelines (such as hydraulic pipes and high-pressure fuel pipes), 100% ultrasonic testing (UT) is usually required to detect internal defects.

(3) Hydrostatic test: to verify the pressure bearing capacity and sealing of the steel pipe. The test pressure is much higher than the ordinary standard. The calculation formula is unique to the ship regulations and is usually 1.5 times or even higher than the design pressure. 

(4) Mechanical properties test: An impact toughness test report must be provided, which is a major difference from ordinary fluid pipes. It is designed to ensure that the material will not brittle fracture under low temperature or impact load.

 (5) Dimensional accuracy test: Dimensional tolerance requirements are more stringent to ensure smooth installation and welding in the compact cabin. This includes the measurement of parameters such as outer diameter, wall thickness, and length. 

GB/T 5312-85 is a standard issued by the China National Standardization Organization, which specifies the technical requirements and test methods for marine carbon steel seamless pipes.

Skills requirement:

The technical requirements for carbon steel seamless pipes for ships mainly include the following aspects:

1. Material requirements: The material requirements for seamless carbon steel pipes are #20, #25, and #30 steel. Among them, No. 20 steel has better corrosion resistance and is suitable for ships with harsh operating environments.
2. Manufacturing method: Seamless carbon steel pipes for ships use cold-drawn or hot-rolled seamless manufacturing processes. After being made, the steel pipes need to be pickled, painted and other surface treatments are carried out.
3. Physical properties: The physical properties of seamless carbon steel pipes for ships must comply with the requirements specified in the standard, including tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and other indicators.
4. Chemical composition: The chemical composition of seamless carbon steel pipes for ships must meet the requirements of the standard, and the carbon content should be between 0.17% and 0.24%.

Experiment method:

The test methods for seamless carbon steel pipes for ships mainly include the following aspects:

1. Appearance inspection: Check whether there are cracks, defects, oxide scale, etc. on the surface of the steel pipe.
2. Chemical composition analysis: Use chemical analysis methods to detect whether the chemical composition of the steel pipe meets the standard requirements.
3. Mechanical performance test: including tensile test, compression test, bending test, etc., to detect whether the physical properties of the steel pipe meet the standard requirements.

Seamless carbon steel pipe for ships is an indispensable material in the process of ship construction and maintenance. Strict control of its quality and technical requirements is crucial to the safe operation of ships.

Read more: Seamless Steel Pipe for Structural Use or Mechanical Tubing vs. Structural Tubing