In the oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, energy, pulp and paper industries, stainless steel seamless nickel alloy tubes are still required because of the higher strength and corrosion resistance requirements in the low pressure application areas.
The difference between welded pipe and seamless pipe can be understood by carefully studying the structure of welded pipe. Stainless steel welded tubes will be rolled and joined to the longitudinal seam. However, the size of the welded area and strip is always different, which will lead to the stress concentration zone in the site, especially for pipes with high internal pressure. The stress concentration on both sides of the weld can also be attributed to the capture of residues, resulting in corrosion. This may cause cracks to increase over time and eventually lead to welded pipe rupture.
As illustrated above,
precision stainless steel tubes can be an ideal solution for gas and liquid flows in extreme environments due to their continuity. Seamless pipes can perform well in onshore and offshore oil and gas applications, including control and chemical reagent injection pipelines. Longitudinal welds may cause system defects and faults in such critical applications.
In any application environment where safety, reliability and productivity are critical, seamless tubes have significant advantages. Seamless pipes specially designed for long-term automatic operation and drilling operations at subsea and subsurface temperatures are good examples of such environments. The acquisition cost of stainless steel seamless tubes may be higher, but they have higher reliability to meet the requirements of key design specifications, rather than to bear the consequences of failure on their own.
As it can always withstand higher pressure and has excellent corrosion resistance, seamless pipes are more suitable for key applications than welded pipes.
