What are the application advantages of thin-walled stainless steel pipes compared to pipes made of other materials?

Thin-walled stainless steel pipes are widely used in hot and cold water and direct drinking water pipeline systems because of their hygienic reliability and excellent performance. In relevant national standards, drinking water pipes are thin-walled stainless steel pipes. Although copper pipes are used as building water supply pipes, they also have better performance than other water supply pipes. However, compared with thin-walled stainless steel pipes, the advantages of the latter are also more obvious.
Next, let’s compare the main properties of these two pipes. The first is thin-walled stainless steel pipes. The commonly used material is 304 stainless steel. Its tensile strength is as high as 530-750Mpa, which is twice that of galvanized pipes, three times that of copper pipes, and 8-10 times that of PPR pipes; and the extension of the stainless steel pipes The rate is higher than 35%. Therefore, compared with copper pipes, thin-walled stainless steel pipes can reduce wall thickness, which is also in line with relevant policies of energy conservation and material conservation. At the same time, it can also ensure the strength of stainless steel pipes and meet the required load-bearing performance.
Secondly, the thermal conductivity of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is 15 W/m℃ (100℃), which is only 1/4 of carbon steel pipes and 1/23 of copper pipes. Precisely because thin-walled stainless steel pipes have excellent thermal insulation properties, they are especially suitable for transporting hot water. Regardless of the thickness of the insulation layer, or the construction and maintenance costs of the insulation structure, the use of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is very cost-effective.
In addition, the average thermal expansion coefficient of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is 0.017mm/(m℃), which is close to copper pipes. The low thermal expansion coefficient is also one of the advantages of transporting hot water.
Let’s talk about the processing technology of thin-walled stainless steel pipes. After polishing the inner and outer walls of the stainless steel pipes, the inner walls can be made smooth. The equivalent roughness Ks of the inner wall of the pipe is 0.00152mm, which is smaller than that of copper pipes. At the same diameter, the hydraulic performance is better. Okay, more traffic.
The outstanding application advantage of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is that they have very good corrosion resistance. Because thin-walled stainless steel pipes can passivate with oxidants, a thin and dense chromium-rich oxide protective film is formed on the surface, which can effectively Prevent further oxidation reaction, and the passivation ability of copper tubes is very weak, so this is a key factor why its corrosion resistance is far inferior to that of thin-walled stainless steel tubes. When using copper pipes, the composition and flow rate of water must be controlled, otherwise the copper pipes will be corroded.
In addition, the service life of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is the longest among all optional materials. From the tracking analysis of actual use abroad, the service life of thin-walled stainless steel pipes and water pipes can be as high as 100 years, and as low as 70 years, and thin-walled stainless steel pipes are 100% completely recyclable and will not pollute the environment.
Finally, we need to talk about the price. The price of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is cheaper than copper pipes, so when used in large quantities in actual projects, its more economical characteristics are also obvious.