A pipe is a tubular or cylindrical shaped object that is used to transport fluids or gases from one location to another.  Pipe is identified by nominal pipe size and the wall thickness identified by schedule number.  Pipes are made from a variety of materials, such as metal, plastic, or concrete, depending on the application and the type of fluid or gas being transported.  Pipes can be used for a variety of purposes, including transporting water, oil, natural gas, and other materials in residential, commercial, and industrial settings.  They can also be used for drainage and sewage systems, as well as in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems.

Pipes come in many different sizes and shapes, and can be joined together using a variety of methods, such as welding, threading, or using fittings.  The choice of pipe and joining method depends on the specific requirements of the application, such as the pressure, temperature, and corrosiveness of the fluid or gas being transported.  Pipes play a critical role in modern infrastructure and are essential for the efficient and safe transportation of fluids and gases in a wide range of industries and applications.

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Pipe Material Design Classification

Metal Pipe  -  The difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals is that ferrous metals contain iron and non-ferrous metals do not.

• Ferrous Pipe  -  Ferrous metals contain iron.
  
  • Alloy Steel Pipe  -  When you add various metallic and non-metallic elements in a specific amount to carbon steel, it will change the properties of carbon steel. We can manipulate these percentages of alloying elements in steel to achieve better properties than plain carbon steel.
  • Carbon Steel Pipe  -  Carbon steel pipes have a durability that can be advanced by adding coatings that will stop rust.  This will lead to an extended life of the pipe.  The pipe is highly resistant to shock and vibration, which allows it to be ideal when transporting.  This strength, in addition to its elasticity, allows it to be used safely under high-pressure conditions.  The steel pipe will not bend or break.
  • Cast Iron Pipe  -  Cast iron pipes were widely used for the transportation of water and sewage before plastic pipes were invented.   Though cast iron pipes corrode over time, the rust forms a layer over the remaining pipe that slows down corrosion.
  • Chrome Pipe  -  This pipe is typically utilized in high temperature and pressure applications due to its tensile strengths, yield strength, fatigue resistance, toughness and wear resistance.
  • Cement Lined Pipe  -  Cement lined pipe is a type of pipe that has a layer of cement mortar applied to its interior surface.  This lining is designed to protect the pipe from corrosion and to improve the flow characteristics of the fluid or gas being transported through the pipe.
  • Copper Piper  -  Copper tubing is most often seen in domestic water supplies and used for potable water.  There are two basic types of copper tubing, soft and rigid copper.
  • Ductile Iron Pipe  -  Ductile iron pipe is made from ductile cast iron, a graphite rich cast iron in which the graphite has a spheroidal shaped molecular structure.  This molecular structure makes the cast iron less brittle and more resistant to impact than the other varieties, which have a flaky structure. The pipe is used in water and sewer lines.
  • Non-metallic Pipe  -  Non-metallic pipes are pipes that are not made of metal materials.  Instead, they are composed of various non-metallic materials, such as polymers, plastics, ceramics, and composite materials.
  • Stainless Steel Pipe  -  Stainless steel pipe is primarily used in piping systems for the transport of fluids or gases because of their duribility, strength, and corrosion resistant properties.
  • Wrought Iron Pipe  -  The manufacturing process for wrought steel pipe workn Pipes raw steel into tubes of various lengths and diameters.  Steel pipes play a role in the underground moving of water and gas, encasing electrical wires for protection, and the production of vehicles, bicycles, plumbing and heating systems, street lamps and refrigeration units.
• Non-ferrous Pipe  -  Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron.
  
  • Aluminum Alloy Pipe  -  Aluminum and its alloys are essential to the aerospace industry and are significant in the automotive and building sectors, such as façade design and window frames.  The base material is specially formulated to resist the effects of corrosion and abrasion.  Corrosion resistance is further improved by cladding each surface with a higher grade aluminum alloy. 
  • Copper Alloy Pipe  -   It’s strong, durable and naturally protected against rust.  And since copper is recyclable, it’s an environmentally friendly solution for these and other applications.  Copper tubes are utilized in a variety of applications such as plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and refrigerant, and also used in the production of a variety of industrial items, including heat exchangers, oil coolers, and condensers. 
  • Nickel Alloy Pipe  -  Nickel is a highly versatile element with significant beneficial qualities.  When alloyed with other elements, nickel maintains numerous applications throughout various industries.  Some of the significant beneficial qualities that nickel alloy materials displays include low expansion, high strength, electrical resistance, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance.

Non-metal Pipe  -  These pipes include various common plastic pipes, composite pipes, concrete pipes, rubber pipes, glass steel pipes, etc.

• ABS Pipe  -  ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), is a black plastic pipe that is commonly used for drainage, sewage, and vents.  It is also often used in DWV systems (drain-waste-vent), which are designed to remove wastewater from a home or business.
• Asbestos Cement Pipe  -  Asbestos cement pipe is a special type of pipe that uses asbestos to provide improved mechanical properties to traditional cement pipe.  Plain cement pipe often lacks tensile strength.  The added asbestos fibers provide cement pipe with improved tensile strength.
• Concrete Pipe  -  Concrete pipe is a rigid pipe having very good strength and high longevity.  Concrete pipes are being used for a long time mainly in the water and wastewater industries. 
  
  • PCCP Pipe  -  PCCP (Pressurized Concrete Cylinder Pipe) have a structural, high-strength concrete core, a steel cylinder with steel joint rings welded at each end providing water-tightness, steel prestressing wire, and a portland cement-rich mortar coating.
  • PTCCP Pipe  -  PTCCP (Pretensioned Concrete Cylinder Pipe) also called bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes.  The interior of the pipe is provided with centrifugally applied mortar or concrete lining.  Around the outside of the cylinder, a steel bar is helically wound tightly and securely welded to the steel joint rings.  Next, a cement rich dense mortar coating is applied to the cylinder and bar wrap.  These types of concrete pipes are used in cooling water system pipelines, distribution pipelines, open-cut tunnels, sanitary main and trunk gravity lines, wastewater intake lines, etc.
  • RCP Pipe  -  RCP (Reinforced Concrete Pipe) used in roadway and site development for transferring a large volume of liquid.
  • RCNP Pipe  -  RCNP (Reinforced Concrete Non-cylinder Pipe) These pipes are widely found in tunnel applications, wastewater treatment plants, irrigation industries, combined sewer overflow, underground detention tanks, etc.
• Vitrified Clay Pipe  -  This pipe is made from a blend of clay and shale that has been subjected to high temperature to achieve vitrification, which results in a hard, inert ceramic.
• CPVC Pipe  -  CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride) as PVC are similar in many ways, but they shouldn't be used interchangeably.  Both are made of the same basic elements with one distinguishing factor.  CPVC is altered by a free radical chlorination reaction that effectively increases the chlorine content of the material.  CPVC is also a thermoplastic that is molded into many of the same products as PVC.
• FRP Pipe  -  FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) is a composite material consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibers.  This pipe is used in trenchless installation of pipelines because it is lightweight, temperature resistant, strong, and highly resistant to chemicals and corrosion.
• Glass Pipe  -  Glass pipes are utilized to withstand chemical reactions, cleanliness, and transparency.  In the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, they are widely used.  The glass pipe’s extremely smooth surface aids in keeping systems clean.  In the case of abrasive fluid mediums, the hardness of the glass offers protection.
• GRE Pipe  -  GRE (Glass Reinforced Epoxy) main difference from GRP is the resin used to bond the glass fibers.  The pipe is used in industrial applications because it can withstand higher temperatures compared to GRP.
• GRP Pipe  -  GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) is a composite material pipe consisting of a polymer matrix that is reinforced with glass fibres.  They have very high corrosion resistance ability and are thus used widely for low temperature corrosion resistant applications.
• HDPE Pipe  -  HDPE (High-density Polyethylene) is used in drainage systems and constructions because of its strong temperature resistance.
• LDPE Pipe  -  LDPE (Low-density Polyethylene) is mostly utilized in the sprinkler and drips irrigation systems, laboratories, and industrial process components.
• PE Pipe  -  PE (Polyethylene) is a thermoplastic material produced from the polymerization of ethylene.  Polyethylene can be used in low temperatures without risk of brittle failure.  Thus, a major application for certain PE piping formulations is for low-temperature heat transfer applications such as radiant floor heating, snow melting, ice rinks, and geothermal ground source heat pump piping.
• PVC Pipe  -  PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is a white or light colored plastic pipe that is most commonly used for plumbing and drainage.  Like ABS, it is often used in DWV (drain-waste-vent) or sewerage systems to remove waste from a home or business.  It has a smooth surface, good elasticity, and is non-toxic.  Certain PVC grades are employed in service lines for chemical and food processing.

Lined/Cladded Pipe 

• Cement Lined Pipe  -  The lining can be applied either after the pipes have been installed or in a stackyard adjacent to the project prior to installation.  These linings are ideal for potable water, or specialist chemically resistant mortars for wastewater projects which are subject to hydrogen sulphide attack.  Cement mortar lining adds pipe stiffness to resist external loads and deflection.
• FRP Lined Pipe  -  This pipe material is used in various industrial product applications including the handling of materials in a corrosive environment and also the transfer of corrosive products and materials.  However, the fastest growing application of FRP systems is for industrial equipment.  The application ranges from handling of combustible and flammable liquids at retail facilities to water and sewer mains in the industrial and municipal markets.
• Glass Lined Pipe  -  Glass piping systems are a special type of piping system mainly used for food processing, laboratory service, and some other industrial applications. Glass piping is specifically preferred because of its cleanliness, transparency, durability, and good chemical resistance. However, glass pipes being of special nature, require special consideration of supports and attachments. In this article, we will briefly discuss some salient points of glass piping in general.
• PTFE Lined Pipe  -  PTFE is one of the most versatile materials used for lined pipe and fittings.  It is chemically resistant and capable of withstanding high temperatures, making it ideal for handling nitric acid, oleum, nitrobenzene and other fluids used in industrial and manufacturing processes.
• Rubber Lined Pipe  -  Rubber Lined Pipe is utilized across numerous industries and is a cost effective method to transport abrasive slurries, corrosive chemicals and many other liquids from one area to another.  Rubber linings are mainly used for protection against corrosion and erosion damage.