EN 10220 Seamless and Welded Steel Tubes

EN 10220 Seamless and Welded Steel Tubes - Dimensions and masses per unit length

What is DIN EN 10220?

EN 10220 is a European Union technical standard for the dimensions and mass per unit length of seamless and welded steel tubes, primarily used in the industrial piping sector.

It is a universal, foundational standard designed to provide a unified framework for measuring and calculating dimensions, tolerances, and theoretical weight for all types of seamless and welded steel pipes (including but not limited to structural and pipeline pipes).

Basic Contents of the EN 10220 Standard:

1. Size Series Definition: This standard defines size series based on outside diameter, which is crucial when selecting pipes and fittings.
2. Theoretical Weight Calculation Method: The standard provides a unified formula for calculating the theoretical weight of steel pipes based on dimensions (outer diameter, wall thickness) and material density (generally 7.85 kg/dm³).

3. Size and Wall Thickness Tolerance Table: This standard provides the permissible deviations for outside diameter, wall thickness, and ovality for steel pipes of different manufacturing processes (seamless, welded) and size ranges.

4. EN 10220 Steel Tube Dimension Reference Tables: These tables contain a range of commonly used steel tube dimensions and their corresponding theoretical weights. However, these tables are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be strict product specifications, as in EN 10210-2 or EN 10219-2.

Relationship between EN 10220 and EN 10210/EN 10219:

EN 10220 is a parent standard and foundation: it provides a unified basis for dimension and tolerance definitions across multiple steel tube product standards. In earlier versions of EN 10210 and EN 10219, dimensions and tolerances often directly referenced EN 10220.

EN 10210 / EN 10219 are specific product standards. They cover not only dimensions and tolerances (which may refer to or inherit EN 10220), but also all product-specific technical requirements not covered in EN 10220, such as:

Material grades (e.g., S235J2H, S355K2G+H)
Mechanical properties (yield strength, tensile strength, elongation)
Manufacturing process (hot forming vs. cold forming)
Heat treatment requirements (e.g., normalizing)
Inspection and testing (tensile tests, impact tests, flattening tests, etc.)
Marking and certification

Current Status and Developments:

It is worth noting that EN 10220 has been superseded.
It has been replaced by newer, internationally harmonized standards: ISO 1127 and ISO 4200.

ISO 1127: "Stainless steel tubes — Dimensions, tolerances and mass per unit length"
ISO 4200: "Welded and seamless plain-end steel tubes — Tables of dimensions and mass per unit length"

Modern European standards, including EN 10210 and EN 10219, tend to directly adopt or reference these ISO standards when updated, rather than the older EN 10220.

Analogy:

To help you understand, here's a simple analogy:

EN 10220 is like the "National General Manual of Metrology and Tolerances," which tells all manufacturing industries how long a meter should be, how much a kilogram should weigh, and how many millimeters of tolerance are allowed for a part with a diameter of 100 mm.

EN 10210 and EN 10219 are like the "National Standard for Structural Steel Rebar" and the "National Standard for Automotive Gear Steel." They not only reference the General Manual of Metrology to specify dimensional tolerances, but also provide their own specific requirements, such as chemical composition, strength grade, and heat treatment process. 

In short:

EN 10210 and EN 10219 are product standards that specify what to do and how to do it.
EN 10220 is a foundational standard that primarily specifies what to measure and what the tolerances are.

Conclusion:

When selecting structural hollow sections, you should consult either EN 10210 or EN 10219, the specific product standards. They are completely independent and self-contained standards that already contain all the necessary technical information.

EN 10220 is an outdated, foundational general standard primarily used to provide background information on dimensional and tolerance systems. It should not be directly referenced when purchasing, designing, or manufacturing structural steel pipes.

Read more: EN 10219 vs EN 10210 Pipes