In this article, I will be sharing with you some of the factors to check on when selecting pipe materials. The type of materials you use when you want to set up pipeline matters a lot.
You will see that as I will be sharing with you some of these factors you should consider.
If you pick a good pipe material you are likely to get away with most issues that other engineers experience.
With that much said, let me share with you what you need to know about the selection of pipe material.
Factors affecting the selection of pipe material;
1. It should be a material that can withstand internal and external pressure.
If you want to choose pipe material for your pipeline then this is the first factor you should keep in mind.
You have to pick a material that will withstand high internal and external pressure.
The liquid that will be transported in that pipe will be under high pressure, if the pipe can’t withstand the internal pressure that will be acting against the pipe then it will burst.
And this will give you another problem with repairing that pipeline, and the loss will be on you.
So, make sure that you choose a pipe material that can withstand high internal pressure to prevent it from busting.
The external pressure also matters a lot, it doesn’t matter whether the pipe will be buried or not.
For instance, if the pipe will be buried underground then it will be affected by the ground weight on it.
The other thing is that it will keep the pipe in good shape even if something heavy walks on it.
This is an important factor you should check if you want to select pipe material.
The best pipes that can withstand high pressure are Fluoropolymer (PTFE), these pipes can stand high pressure and even temperature due to the material used to create them.
A factor that makes them very popular for many industrial applications.
2. The pipe material you pick should facilitate easy joints.
We need pipe joints since they are necessary for connecting multiple pipes.
And if the pipe material you chose doesn’t facilitate easy joints then you will be in trouble.
It will slow your work down and it will be quite expensive for you to connect them.
You have to select pipe materials that can be easily bent and cut for you to be able to work on your pipeline or plumbing.
Go for malleable types of material that are not that hard to cut.
And this will make your work easier in making these joints.
3. The pipe material should be available in all sizes.
This is another important factor you should put into consideration when selecting pipe material.
The material you choose to use in your project should be available in the first place.
If you choose a material that is not easily available then you will find yourself in a hot soup.
Your project will get stuck since you will be wasting so much time searching for those piping materials.
The moment you satisfy the point of availability, you should also ensure that those pipe materials are available in different sizes.
This will make it easier for you to transport them and erect them in your pipeline.
Also, it will reduce the resources you will have to use to set that pipeline.
4. The pipe material should be durable.
When you want to set up your pipeline you should go for durable pipe material, the one that you will set and forget about it.
The moment you select a durable pipe material you will save yourself from a lot of hassle of maintaining those pipes.
Don’t select a pipe material that after one year it won’t be effective anymore.
Go for pipe materials that can withstand different harsh environments, they can withstand high pressure and temperature and the ones that are corrosion resistant.
The most common pipe material used in plumbing is copper, the main reason why most people use it is because of the amazing properties it possesses.
Also, there are even better options that came up, PVC, cast iron polyvinylchloride are some of the pipe materials that have a long lifespan.
5. The cost of pipe material should be relatively lower.
You don’t want to break your bank account simply because you are setting up a pipeline.
Economic consideration is one of the things you should keep in mind if you want to select a pipe material.
It should contain all the amazing qualities that I have talked about in this article but it shouldn’t be that expensive.
You should go for the most affordable one so that you save a lot of money which will be used for other activities.
The most affordable piping materials are copper and aluminium, these are relatively cheap compared to PVC.
So, check your bank account and select piping materials that you can afford.
But if you go for PVC you will have a better pipeline but its price is a little higher than copper and aluminium.
6. Frictional head loss of the pipe material should be less.
When water flows in a pipe it experiences some resistance to its motion due to fittings, walls of the pipe and bends, which causes the head of water available to be reduced.
This head loss is usually influenced by the type of pipe material one chooses to use in a piping system.
To know more about the head loss of different piping materials go to the site below.
Friction Loss in Steel, Copper and Plastic Pipes
You will find that every piping material has a different head loss.
7. Select a piping material that is easily replaced in case there is damage.
When selecting pipe material this is another factor that should be kept in consideration.
At one point or another, you will have to do some maintenance and repair the pipeline.
There is no way that will be possible if the damaged unit can’t be replaced.
And that is why I talked about selecting pipe materials that are available so that when you need to replace a certain line it will be easier for you to do that.
The type of materials you select has a big part to do with this.
That is all I have to share about the pipe materials selection, if you have any questions, leave your comment and I will see you in my next article.
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