13 major differences between Seamless and Welded

Pipe
whatispiping.com/seamless-vs-welded-pipe

Anup Kumar Dey

What is a Seamless pipe?

Seamless pipe is made from a round steel billet (solid cylindrical hunk of
steel that is cast from raw steel). This billet is then heated, stretched out and
pushed or pulled over a form. It is then pierced through the center with a die
and mandrel which increases the inside diameter and reduces the outside
diameter. Even though seamless pipes are manufactured in a variety of sizes,
with an increase in pipe diameter the production cost increases. The name
seamless comes from its absence of a seam. Seamless pipes are widely used
in process piping, power piping, shipbuilding, pressure vessel, construction,
and chemical industries.

What is a Welded Pipe?

Welded pipe is made by cold forming flat strip, sheet or plates into a round
or circular shape by a roller or plate bending machine. The pipe is then
welded with or without filler material using a high energy source. Welded
pipes can be produced in large sizes without any size restriction. Welded
pipes are normally used for transportation of water, oil or gases in large
quantities.

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 Fig. 1: Welded vs Seamless Pipe manufacturing

Seamless vs Welded Pipe

From the above paragraphs, it is obvious that seamless and welded pipes differ in their
manufacturing process. The other differences are listed in the below-attached table.

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Sr. Parameter Seamless Pipe Welded Pipe
No

1 Strength Able to withstand more Due to welding they are believed to

pressure and load as withstand 20% less pressure and
there is no weak seam. load as compared to seamless pipe.

2 Length Relatively shorter in Can be manufactured in long

length due to continuous lengths.
manufacturing
difficulties.

3 Size Manufactured for No such size restriction on

nominal size 24 inch or production.
less.

4 Corrosion Less prone to Weld areas are more prone to

Resistance corrosion, means more corrosion attacks, means less
corrosion resistant. corrosion resistance.

5 Surface Rough due to extrusion Smooth high quality surface as

Quality process compared to seamless pipe.

6 Economy Costlier More economic

7 Production Complex, long Simpler, short procurement lead time.

Process procurement lead time

8 Tests Seamless pipes does Must be tested before use.

not require testing for
weld integrity.

9 Application Suitable for high Normally used for less corrosive and
presure temperature low pressure environment.
and corrosive
environment

10 Availability Less available, limited Readily available for various different

material types, longer materials; shorter delivery time
delivery time

11 Wall Inconsistent wall Wall thickness more consistent than

Thickness thickness across seamless ones, thinner
length, thicker so
heavier

12 Ovality Better ovality, Poor ovality and roundness as

roundness compared to seamless counterpart.

13 Internal Checking not possible Internal surface can be checked

surface before manufacturing
check

Table explaining differences between Seamless and Welded Pipes

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Pipe Selection, Welded or Seamless?
Even though improved manufacturing methods of recent time can produce welded pipes
comparable to seamless pipes, still the seamless pipes are preferred in a maximum of the
cases. However, for large size piping applications (>24 inch NPS) welded pipes are mostly
preferred due to less cost. Along with cost various other parameters like diameter to
thickness ratio, availability, corrosion resistance, etc. are considered for pipe selection.

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