Introduction to the implementation standards of American standard seamless pipes

Understand the implementation standards of American standard seamless pipes:

1. ASTM standards

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) is one of the international organizations that formulates seamless pipe standards. According to ASTM standards, the steel grades of American standard seamless pipes are divided into A106, A53, A179, A192, A210, A213, A333, etc., among which ASTM A106 is the most widely used one. These standards cover the requirements for seamless steel pipes in different application scenarios, from low temperature to high temperature, from general use to specific alloy materials, with detailed regulations. ‌ ASTM standards also specify the dimensions, manufacturing process, chemical composition, mechanical properties, pressure tolerance and testing requirements of seamless pipes.

Examples of ASTM standard seamless pipes:
‌ASTM A53‌: Standard for seamless and welded steel pipes for general use, commonly used in pipeline systems for non-high pressure and non-mechanical applications.
‌ASTM A106‌: Standard for carbon steel seamless steel pipes for high temperature use, suitable for high temperature and high pressure pipeline systems in the fields of petroleum, chemical industry, and electric power.
‌ASTM A210‌: Standard for seamless steel pipes for boilers and superheaters, with medium carbon steel material, suitable for high temperature and high pressure environments.
‌ASTM A213‌: Standard for alloy steel seamless steel pipes for boilers, superheaters and heat exchangers, including ferrous and austenitic alloy steels.
‌ASTM A333‌: Standard for seamless steel pipes for low temperature use, suitable for low temperature pressure vessels and heat exchanger pipes from -45 to -195.

In addition, there are other standards such as ASTM A409 (stainless steel seamless pipes for high temperature applications) and ASTM B165 (seamless pipes for special alloys such as Monel 400), which specify detailed requirements for the chemical composition, mechanical properties, production methods, etc. of seamless steel pipes according to specific application requirements and material properties.

2. ASME standards
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) is a standardization organization, and the ASME standards it has formulated are standards that American manufacturers must comply with. ASME standards specify standard requirements for seamless steel pipes in terms of size, martensite count, composition analysis, coating and packaging, mechanical properties, etc. ASME SA106 is a commonly used American standard seamless pipe variety, and it is also a pipe material that falls within the scope of ASME standards.

3. ANSI Standards
ASNI (American National Standards Institute) is a non-profit private standardization group. But it has actually become the national standardization center; standardization activities from all walks of life are carried out around it. Through it, the relevant government systems and private systems cooperate with each other, playing the role of a bridge between the federal government and the private standardization system. It coordinates and guides national standardization activities, provides assistance to standard formulation, research and use units, and provides domestic and foreign standardization information. It also plays the role of an administrative agency.

The American National Standards Institute itself rarely formulates standards. The preparation of its ANSI standards mainly adopts the following three methods:
1. The relevant units are responsible for drafting, inviting experts or professional groups to vote, and the results are reported to the standard review committee established by ANSI for review and approval. This method is called the voting survey method.
2. The draft standard is drafted by representatives of the ANSI technical committee and the committee organized by other institutions, and all members vote, and finally the standard review committee reviews and approves it. This method is called the committee method.
3. From the standards formulated by various professional societies and associations, the more mature ones that are generally important to the whole country will be promoted to national standards (ANSI) after being reviewed by the ANSI technical committees and given the ANSI standard code and classification number, but the original professional standard code will be retained at the same time.

Most of the standards of the American National Standards Institute come from various professional standards. On the other hand, various professional societies and associations can also formulate certain product standards based on existing national standards. Of course, they can also formulate their own association standards without following national standards. ANSI standards are adopted voluntarily. The United States believes that mandatory standards may limit productivity improvements. However, standards cited by laws and formulated by government departments are generally mandatory standards.

4. API Standards
API (American Petroleum Institute) is a standard-setting organization recognized by ANSI. Its standard-setting follows ANSI's coordination and formulation procedures. API also jointly formulates and publishes standards with ASTM. API standards are widely used. It is a non-profit organization that provides technical standards and professional documents to the global oil and gas industry. API has formulated various standards that can be applied to the oil industry, including oil well truck standards, pumping standards, oil pipeline standards and valve standards. Among them, API 5L PSL1/PSL2 is a standard specification issued by the American Petroleum Institute that can be applied to the oil and gas industry. The specification includes quality and manufacturing requirements, chemical composition, mechanical properties, weldability, dimensional changes and other aspects.

Other standards:
In addition to the above 4 standards, there are many international and national standards related to seamless pipes, such as EN10216, JIS G3454, etc.

The difference between ASTM standards and ASME standards:
The difference between ASTM standards and ASME standards is mainly reflected in their scope of application and specific applications. ‌

‌1) Scope of application‌
‌ASTM standards‌: Mainly involve standards for materials, products, systems and services, including test methods, specifications, conventions and terminology. ‌
‌ASME standards‌: Focus on mechanical engineering and related fields, especially technical requirements for equipment such as boilers and pressure vessels. ‌

‌2) Specific applications‌
‌ASTM standards‌: Widely used in materials science, manufacturing, construction and other fields, providing evaluation standards for the quality and performance of various materials and products.
‌ASME standards‌: Mainly used for the design, manufacture and inspection of industrial equipment to ensure its safety and reliability, especially in the power, chemical, petroleum and other industries.

3) Relationship‌
‌ASTM‌ and ‌ASME‌ are both members of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and there are many intersections and complementarities between them. ASME adopts ASTM standards in terms of material standards, and draws on other relevant standards in valve and pipe fitting standards.

The differences and connections between the four standards:
The four standards complement and draw on each other. For example, the standards adopted by ASME in terms of materials are all from ASTM, the standards in terms of valves are mostly drawn from API, and the standards in terms of pipe fittings are from ANSI. The difference lies in the different focuses of the industry, so the standards adopted are different. API, ASTM, and ASME are all members of ANSI.

Most of the standards of the American National Standards Institute come from various professional standards. On the other hand, various professional societies and associations can also formulate certain product standards based on existing national standards. Of course, they can also formulate their own association standards without following national standards.

ASME does not do specific work, and the experiments and formulation work are almost all completed by ANSI and ASTM. ASME only recognizes the specifications for its own use, so repeated standard numbers are often seen, but the content is actually the same.

In general, the implementation standards of American standard seamless pipes are diverse, and different application fields have different requirements. But whether it is ASTM, ASME, ANSI or API standards, they all have clear requirements for the quality, mechanical properties, chemical composition, and size of pipes. When purchasing American standard seamless pipes, you need to understand their application scenarios and requirements, and choose products that meet the standards to ensure their quality and use effects.

Read more: Schedule 80 Carbon Steel Pipe or Seamless Pipe Raw Material