The assortment and classification of seamless steel pipes are so extensive that it is easy to get confused in them. At the same time, in order to choose the right rolled products for specific production tasks, it is necessary to understand the basics: to know production technologies, the purpose of products and limitations in use. Otherwise, the budget may be spent inefficiently. Moreover, a seamless pipe is more expensive than analogues with seams due to its higher strength. We will talk about this and much more in the article.
Hot billets for pipes
The production of seamless pipes is a complex process. But this is justified by their characteristics.
Technologies for the production of seamless pipes
Seamless pipes are produced in two ways - using hot rolling and cold rolling. Both technologies are complex and costly. This is one of the reasons why seamless steel pipes are quite expensive. The product does not immediately enter the rolling mill. First you need to create a blank. For cold and hot rolling, they are made in the same way. To do this, use the following methods:
Forging.
pressing.
Drawing.
rolling.
Further technologies differ. Hot rolling consists of the following steps:
Preparations. The billet is heated to a temperature of 1180–1200 °C.
Sleeve creation. Using a special mushroom drill, a large hole is made in the axial part of the workpiece. Now the product becomes more like a pipe. After the sleeve is sent to the rolling mill.
Actually rolling. Here, the inner and outer walls of the product are clamped between two rotating rollers. This is how the diameter and wall thickness are adjusted. To adjust these parameters to the desired values, a special limiter is installed on the rolling mill.
To fit the seamless pipe to the range, this cycle is repeated several times until a perfect result is achieved.
Cold-rolled steel is characterized by a particularly smooth surface. In addition, the deformation of the workpiece here occurs without the use of high temperatures. Therefore, the technology consists of the following steps:
Processing. For cold rolling workpieces are selected with great care. Then they are fired, pickled with acid. Next, you need to remove traces of these processes from the surface. To do this, the workpiece is treated with alkali. And only then does it undergo phosphating or copper plating. This is necessary to increase strength.
Section formation. The pipe walls are clamped between two rotating rollers. This adjusts the wall thickness and diameter. The latter is changed by changing the angle of the rollers.
Compressions. For him, the direction of movement of the pipe and rolls changes. This is how the achieved parameters of the product are fixed.
This cycle is also completely repeated several times until the specified indicators are reached. If it is necessary to produce thin-walled products, the workpiece is pickled again and annealed.
Purpose of seamless steel pipes
Seamless pipes, due to their impressive strength and resistance to various loads, are used in almost all industries. For example, they are in demand in the extraction of minerals, in particular oil and gas, to transport these substances over long distances. Pipes are also used in the design of drilling rigs. In the coal industry, they are used to remove excess steam under pressure. All these options use hot-rolled pipes, which are characterized by high strength. In all areas of mechanical engineering, they are also indispensable. Pipes are used in the construction of aircraft, cars, ships, machine tools, and in the military industry. The main reason for the widespread use of this type of rolled metal is its resistance to internal pressure, unprecedented among analogues.
Seamless pipes are a type of rolled metal, the production technology of which provides for the absence of any seams along the entire length of the products.
The weakest point of a welded pipe is the seam. Despite the constant improvement of technologies, due to additional heating during welding, the metal structure along the joint becomes brittle, and the weld itself has a looser molecular structure, subject to corrosion destruction. Steel seamless pipes do not have such a flaw; a monolithic cylindrical shape serves as a reliable protection against leaks.
The main purpose of a seamless pipe is high-pressure pipelines or the transport of hazardous substances in industrial facilities.
When a leak or rupture could threaten the safety of life or the environment. In domestic engineering networks, there are no loads that a straight-seam pipe could not withstand, however, the absence of a seam increases the service life, durability and reliability, for example, of gas equipment in a private house.
Seamless pipes can be bent without loss of quality, so they are used for the manufacture of coils, spirals and bent bends.
Applications of seamless steel pipes:
High pressure gas and oil pipelines;
Chemical pipelines for transportation of solutions of acids, alkalis, toxic gases;
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