Any industry dealing with steel pipes is expected to know about their specification. Anyone who is new to the pipe industry can face some confusion. A pipe schedule is a way of describing the wall thickness of a pipe. Steel pipe suppliers cannot get an actual measurement, only a number that is based on the thickness of the pipe’s wall. You might see that two pipes that have the same diameter might have a different schedule, so if you want a pipe for a high-pressure application, you need to select the bigger number that represents a bigger schedule.
Some Basic Measurements and Terms
There are many basic measurements that steel pipe suppliers need to take into account while understanding pipe schedules. Some of the terms are:
- Nominal pipe size- In this, the measurement of the pipe is taken from the outside diameter.
- Outside diameter- The measurement is taken from the edge of one end to another
- Inside diameter- The measurement is taken from the inside, from one end to another.
- Wall thickness- Only the thickness of the wall, leaving the space in the middle.
These Numbers are Set by the ASME Committee
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is the one that has simplified the system by starting with schedule numbers instead of any specific number. This is based on Barlow’s wall thickness formula, which roughly specifies that if the pipe is rated schedule 40 and the diameter is 1.000”, then the thickness of the wall is going to be 0.133”. You should also remember that because the dimension of the pipe is always different, the thickness is also going to differ for schedule 40 pipes.
The Application of Pipe Schedule
The steel pipe suppliers can use schedule 40 in low water pressure and temperature. Schedule 80 works best in high temperature and water pressure because the wall of these pipes is thicker. Generally, steel pipe suppliers supply schedule 40 pipes for residential projects and schedule 80 pipes for commercial projects.
The Formula
The main formula that is used to determine the pipe schedule is SCH = 1000(P/S). Here P is the service pressure, and S is the stress. They are both expressed in pound per square inch, or psi, and SCH is the abbreviation of pipe schedule.
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