Factors affecting the wall thickness of stainless steel water supply pipes

In various actual use situations, the wall thickness of stainless steel water supply pipes is not exactly the same. There are many factors that affect the adjustment of wall thickness, such as mechanics, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, economy, connection methods, etc. These factors will be analyzed in detail below.
First, let’s look at the impact of material mechanics, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance. Because stainless steel is recognized as one of the three metal materials with better properties. The tensile strength of stainless steel water pipes made of 304 stainless steel is greater than 520Mpa. Its thin and dense chromium-rich oxide film on the surface also makes stainless steel water pipes have excellent corrosion resistance in all water qualities, and can withstand high-speed water flow for a long time. In addition, thick-walled stainless steel water pipes can fully achieve a service life of more than 50 years.
Secondly, in terms of the connection methods of stainless steel pipes, the traditional methods include welding, flanges, etc. Due to their installation process characteristics, it is also decided that only stainless steel pipes with thicker wall thickness can be used. In order to ensure the connection strength and welding reliability of stainless steel pipes , usually require the wall thickness of stainless steel pipes to be greater than 2.0mm. The popular connection methods of other thin-walled stainless steel pipes are based on certain pipe fitting design structures.
The third aspect is from an economic perspective. In some sense, of course, using stainless steel pipes with thicker walls can ensure the safety and reliability of the pipeline system. However, because stainless steel materials are more expensive, the increase in wall thickness will definitely increase the cost of the piping system. Considering the user's economic requirements, in fact, it is enough to use a wall thickness that just meets the service life requirements. Based on the experience of using stainless steel pipe water supply pipes in relevant European and American countries, the use of 0.8mm thick-walled stainless steel pipes specified in industry standards can fully meet the 50-year service life requirement.
As for thin-walled stainless steel water supply pipes, their wall thickness is the key to the strength of the pipe connection. When the wall thickness is reduced below the safety factor, the reliability will definitely be reduced by several levels. In fact, the wall thickness of stainless steel pipes is a surface requirement. Its essential requirement is not only to ensure the strength of the pipe connection, but also to have good seismic performance in various environments, resistance to various external force collisions, and concealed engineering The service life and corrosion allowance of the product, etc.
The wall thickness of stainless steel pipes specified in the GB/T19228.2-2003 standard is determined through extensive calculations and practice, based on many years of use experience in Europe and the United States and other countries, and with reference to foreign standards, so the wall thickness specified in the standard can be confirmed Thickness is appropriate.