Usage of ASTM A 53 Grade A / B / C Pipes 2

[ullas2711]

Dear All,
I am very much confused when to use ASTM A 53 Grade A / B / C Pipes. I know that the basic difference between various grades is in the percentage of Carbon & Magnesium if I'm not mistaken. So please help me out of this.
Thanks in advance................

 

[nickelkid]

Are you working within a code?

 

[Krausen]

I find myself confused on this as well. The only A53 pipe I've ever seen in a design was for structural purposes. I've never actually encountered A53 pipe to convey a given fluid in a piping design.

 

[BigInch]

Use is permitted under some conditions by some codes, hence Robin's question. Without knowing the code, A53 use may be either permited, or prohibited.

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[stanweld]

A53 may be purchased seamless or electric resistance welded. It is permitted under both ASME B31.1 and B31.3. Seamles pipe is most often quadruple certified as A-53B, A-106B, API 5LB and API 5LX-42. Costs of A-53 (ERW) will be considerably less. The Codes liste above place an added safety factor for their use.

 

[BigInch]

Nice. But we still don't know what code he's using.

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[ullas2711]

I am working on B 31.3

 

[BigInch]

Great. Suggest that you read it, note the allowable stresses and temperatures for each grade, and come back if you have further questions.

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[KevinNZ]

Grade B is commom. Use that.

 

[rconner]

I believe with this marking the manufacturer likely intends that the pipe meets all three grades marked (incl. "B") - if there are further questions, you many want to ask them.

 

[Opensource]

Hi

You shuold choose the most commonly-used pipe grade that meet the guidelines that should be used when selecting the pipe material like:

- Special welding procedures
- allowable stress value (according B31.3)
- Service
- Resistance to Bright Fracture
- Corrosive Hydracarbon Service

Excessive wall tickness requires use of Grade B normally, but for example for use pipe with higher allowable design stress you should use another pipe material grade.

Which are the guidelines you have considered to choose ASTM A 53 ? Why not A106 Gr B ? Or API 5L-X52 ? They are quite the same and normally used for the the same service.

 

[SNORGY]

Opensource,

I know that you meant, "Resistance to Brittle Fracture".

Agreed, though. Not sure I would be inclined to use A-53-A/B/C if A-106 was available unless the job was extremely cost-sensitive.

 

[curtis2004]

I have used A53 ERW piping to build thermal oil systems (built to B31.3). The main advantage of A53 vs. A106 is cost (~25%-30% cheaper). Main differnce between grades A/B is stress values. Usually for smaller pipe sizes (under 2" NPS) A53 Grade A is most common and readily available. For pipe sizes 2" and over A53 Grade B is common available material.
I've heard that A53 with "galvinezed" finish is commonly used for fuel tanks piping systems (underground or above) which will add corrosive resistance.
I think you cannot use SA53 for Section I BEP (B31.1) because of code, and also not recommended to use for tubes inside Thermal Fluid Heaters subject to high temperatures.

Regards,
Curtis

 

[GenB]

Please do not forget to I.d. pipe with complete spec. A-53 comes in seamless and erw so A53 and A106 are of similar mfg chemical composition and most comes dual cert, now A53E is MFD differently and subject to questioning when designing a vessel or piping system.

 

[Duwe6]

And NOBODY with much experience uses A-53 type "F". This means seamed, with the seam furnace-welded. A good percentage of the time, the putative weld is either 60% or less of the wall thickness, and is sometimes just a braze -- the metal did not mix, it just was pushed up against each other and froze [cooled] without any 'weld' -- nothing intermixed. I've had brazed seams that passed the Pipe Mill hydro that started leaking after 10, 20 or more years of service -- the braze finally saw enough fatigue cycles to fail.

Type "S" is seamless. Type "E" is ERW, and at 2"NPS and larger, every inch of the seam is 'supposidly' Eddy-current tested. "Supposidly" because I have personally Ultrasound - shearwave evaluated ERW seams and found lack-of-fusion on the ID, the OD, and sometimes both. Any properly calibrated Eddy-Current machine would have found all of these conditions, ID or OD. So there are pipe mills that will sell you junk. Don't buy from 3rd world countries - ever. [coughCHINAcough] Unless you don't mind leaks. There's a reason that some countries can sell a product cheaper than domestic, after shipping it cross-country, then trans-ocean, then cross-country.