Building a better pipe

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · AGA Monthly; (United States)

OSTI ID:5675890

Tocci, L

This paper reports that a fundamental building block for natural transmission lines, is steel, and it will be for the foreseeable future. Plastic pipe is the choice for distribution piping, but it can't meet the DOT (Department of Transportation) standards for pressure on current transmission piping. And more advanced materials, such as the high-tech graphites and ceramics under scrutiny by the likes of the auto and aerospace industries, are still too expensive to be practical for pipelines. For years, natural gas carriers have used X60 or X65 grades of steel (indicating a yield strength of 60,000 or 65,000 pounds per square inch (psi), respectively). Gene Smith, chief engineer of metallurgy at MidCon Corp. and a member of A.G.A.'s Pipeline Research Committee, says that today, however, X70 is almost the norm. People see that if you use high-strength steel, you save weight. Forty percent of a pipeline construction budget typically goes for steel, so using less steel can show nice results on the bottom line. Pipeline engineers already are looking ahead to X80 steel. Because it is stronger, the walls of the pipe can be thinner, adding up to big savings over the length of a pipeline.

• OSTI ID: 5675890
• Journal Information: AGA Monthly; (United States), Vol. 73:8; ISSN 0002-8584
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
42 ENGINEERING
NATURAL GAS
PIPELINES
STEELS
CERAMICS
DESIGN
GRAPHITE
MATERIALS TESTING
NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
PLASTICS
US DOT
ALLOYS
CARBON
ELEMENTAL MINERALS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
MINERALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
TESTING
US ORGANIZATIONS
032000* - Natural Gas- Transport
Handling
& Storage
420205 - Engineering- Transport & Storage Facilities- (1980-)