PIPE TERMS

Alloy Steels

Alloy steels have enhanced properties due to the presence of one or more special elements, or to the presence of a larger proportion of elements such as manganese and silicon than are present in standard carbon steels.

Bar

A finished steel product, most often produced in flat, square, round or hexagonal shapes. Rolled from billets, bars are produced in two major types: merchant and special.

Basic Oxygen Steel Making

The process where hot metal and steel scrap are charged into a basic oxygen furnace (BOF). High purity oxygen is then blown into the metal bath, combining with carbon and other elements to reduce the impurities in the molten charge and convert it into steel.

Billet

A semi-finished steel product that has been rolled or forged from an ingot or strand cast. It is smaller and longer than a bloom, usually a square cross-section less than 36 square inches. Bars, pipes, wire, and wire products are made from billets.

Blast Furnace

A furnace used to produce iron. Iron ore, coke, and limestone are heated to temperatures in excess of 3,000° F by blasts of hot air. The coke burns, emitting gases that reduce the ore to metallic iron. The limestone combines with impurities and forms slag.

Bloom

A semi-finished steel product that has been rolled or forged from an ingot or strand cast. It usually has a square cross-section exceeding 36 square inches. Blooms are frequently used in the manufacturing of building beams and columns.

Carbon Steels

The largest percentage of steel production. Common grades have a carbon content ranging from 0.06% to 1.0%.

Cast Iron Pipe

Used as a pressure pipe for transmission of water, gas, and sewage, and as a water drainage pipe.

Coal & Coil

Coal: The primary fuel for integrated iron and steel producers.
Coil: A finished steel product such as sheet or strip which has been wound or coiled after rolling.

Cold Drawing & Cold Rolling

Cold Drawing: The process of reducing the cross-sectional diameter of tubes or wire by drawing them through dies without heating the material.
Cold Rolling: Passing a sheet or strip that has previously been hot rolled through cold rolls. It makes a product that is thinner, smoother, and stronger than hot rolling alone.

Continuous Casting

A process for solidifying steel in the form of a continuous strand rather than individual ingots. Molten steel is poured into open-bottomed, water-cooled molds; as the steel passes through the mold, the outer shell solidifies.

Crude Steel & Cupping

Crude Steel: Steel in the first solid state after melting, suitable for further processing. Synonymous with raw steel.
Cupping: The process of forming tubular or closed-cylindrical products from a flat heated plate.

Ductile Pipe

Ductile iron pipe is commonly used for potable water and sewage distribution.

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)

A method of producing steel to exact specifications. Steel scrap, limestone, and additives are placed in the furnace. Carbon electrodes are lowered to meet the cold scrap, and electric arcs produce intense heat to transform the scrap into molten steel.

Galvanized Steel

Sheet or strip coated with zinc via hot-dipping or electrolytic deposition to resist corrosion.

Hot Metal & Hot Rolling

Hot Metal: Molten iron produced in the blast furnace.
Hot Rolling: The process of reheating slabs, billets, or blooms and running them through a series of hot mills where they are reduced to an intermediate thickness and coiled.

Iron Ore & Limestone

The primary raw materials in steel manufacturing. Limestone is used to remove impurities from the iron made in blast furnaces.

Line Pipe

Used in the industry for transportation of gas, oil, or water, generally in a pipeline or utility distribution system.

Mandrel & Mechanical Tubing

Mandrel: A shaft or rod used to retain the cavity in hollow metal products during processing.
Mechanical Tubing: Welded or seamless tubing produced in a large number of shapes to closer tolerances than standard pipe.

Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG)

Pipe used in wells in oil and gas industries. Includes Casing (structural retainer), Tubing (conveys oil to surface), and Drill Pipe (transmits power to rotary tool).

Piercing

A process used to make seamless pipe and tubing from semi-finished products called tube rounds.

Pig Iron

High carbon iron made by the reduction of iron ore in the blast furnace.

Planishing

Production of a superior finish on a previously rolled or forged product, accomplished by passing the steel through chill cast rolls or hammering.

Sheet & Sheet Piling

Sheet: A flat rolled product over 12 inches in width and of less thickness than plate.
Sheet Piling: Rolled sections with interlocking joints driven edge-to-edge to form continuous walls for retaining earth or water.

Skelp & Slab

Skelp: Steel sheet or plate from which welded tubing or pipe is made.
Slab: A wide semi-finished product made from an ingot or by continuous casting.

Standard Pipe & Structural Pipe

Standard: Used for low-pressure conveyance of air, steam, gas, water, or fluids.
Structural: Welded or seamless pipe generally used for load-bearing purposes above-ground by the construction industry.