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Various Tests for ensuring Steel Pipe Quality

  1. Destructive test
  2. Non-destructive test
  3. Hydro testing
  4. Positive material identification test

When it comes to steel pipes, a quality test is essential to determine how well these products will perform in high-stress circumstances. Steel pipes are often used in high-temperature and high-pressure fluid transmission applications. Nowadays it is common to use Steel pipes that function as structural parts for a certain construction project or building.

With all of this in mind, steel pipe producers must ensure that the pipes meet the appropriate criteria and are suitable for the intended usage. These techniques of testing may include destructive, non-destructive, hydro testing and positive material identification tests. All of these methods are used to identify specific aspects or areas of the pipe where quality should be ensured, whether by physical, chemical, or metallurgical analysis.

Destructive Test

Destructive testing, as the name implies, includes the intentional breaking or damaging of a material to determine its failure threshold. When it comes to the yield strength or tensile strength of the material, the manufacturer may set certain guidelines for this testing procedure. Aside from that, they may test the steel pipes following the specifications established by the customer or client.

Corrosion, fatigue, fracture, and many more types of destructive testing exist. Steel pipes are subjected to various water-based solutions, such as marine and freshwater, during corrosion testing. Manufacturers can measure the speed at which the product corrodes or the conditions under which corroded parts appear.

Fatigue testing, on the other hand, is often performed on welded pipes, also known as non-seamless pipes. Steel pipes will be placed in air or seawater to see how well the welded joints hold up through varying or constant fatigue cycles.

Finally, fracture testing is further subdivided into several methods that require applying force to the material. Pipes may be permanently deformed in this situation, as with tension, bend, or drop-weight testing.

Non-Destructive Test

Non-destructive testing, contrary to destructive testing, is the analysis of steel pipes without causing lasting harm to the product. The manufacturer will use this procedure to assess specific properties of the pipes and discover any structural problems that may influence their quality during application.

Non-destructive testing, like destructive tests, may cover a variety of additional subcategories. Some of them evaluate only the welded parts of seamed pipes, while others inspect the entire product.

Non-destructive testing has various advantages. One advantage is that, rather than discarding the steel pipes, the specimens/samples can still be utilized or even distributed for supply. Another benefit is that production companies may use the same material to perform a wide range of tests in a single cycle because all of the parts will remain intact.

Hydrotesting

Hydrotesting, also known as “hydrostatic testing,” is performed on pipes to determine how well they function under high-pressure conditions, such as in petrochemical plants, boilers, pressure vessels, plumbing, and a variety of other pipe systems.

Hydrostatic testing determines the pressure levels that pipes can sustain before severe damage such as fractures and leaks form. Although there are several hydro-testing methods, they all require filling the pipes with water and vacuuming the air out of the products. Following that, the pipes will be pressurized to almost double the material’s specified pressure limit.

Even before pipes can be used, manufacturers can perform hydrostatic testing to check whether they have any flaws. With this information, they may modify the pipes and increase their dimensional quality.

Positive Material Identification Test

Positive material identification testing is a type of non-destructive testing in which steel pipes are visually examined for quality control. Steel pipes are put inside an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) machine. The machinery “reads” the signatures on the steel pipes, although at a lower level. These characteristics may differ over different parts of the steel pipe and are entirely distinct from one another. The producers can then extract information from these signatures to aid in their study of the pipes.

Positive material identification testing, like all non-destructive testing procedures, may be completed quickly and without causing any damage to the steel pipes. This can assist manufacturers in determining whether or not the material’s composition is ideal — that is, whether or not there are any erroneous alloy combinations. Similarly, PMI testing, like other non-destructive techniques, may be performed on the entire product.

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