If you plan to install tubing, it’s important to keep in mind the internal pressures that act on your tube. After all, ruptured tubing could lead to expensive if not catastrophic consequences. Bursting can be prevented with the help of your tubing provider and careful attention to the following factors:

• Tube size. The diameter of the tube has an inverse correlation with its pressure rating. A tube with a smaller inner diameter will actually withstand a higher hydrostatic pressure.
• Wall thickness. A thicker tube wall resists higher pressures than a thinner wall.
• Tensile strength. Stronger materials can sustain higher pressures.
• Tube quality. The quality of your tubing makes a difference. Incomplete welds, scratches and other defects can reduce wall thickness.

Discuss Burst Pressure Early With Your Tubing Provider

The more information you can provide your tube vendor, the better they can assist you with selecting and validating the tube product. Be sure to review the tube’s intended environment, the media the tube will carry, the tube material and your desired mechanical properties.

Most importantly, you’ll need to provide your vendor with the pressures the tube will have to withstand. Start with your minimum flow requirements for the tube’s inside diameter. You’ll also need to factor in service conditions and safety considerations to determine the safety factor needed for your calculation. A number of widely known hydrostatic pressure formulae — Barlow, Lame, Boardman and others — can be used, depending on the size and application, to determine the intended yield pressure or working pressure.

Based on your requirements, HandyTube can help make sure you find the right tubing to avoid fractures and ruptures. Here’s how:

• Testing. HandyTube coil products undergo hydrostatic testing as standard to check for leaks. We fill a section of tubing completely with water, seal one end and pressurize the tube from the opposite end to a specified pressure greater than normal operating pressure. The test pressure is held for a set period of time and monitored by our certified technicians. In addition, customers can request a nondestructive hydrostatic test on any alloy sample. We can also partner with third parties to perform a burst test, which may be required for certain industries.
• Collaborative solutions. When you give us your desired pressure and size, we can work together to help find the ideal tubing product. This can be especially helpful if your engineering team is considering several combinations of diameter, wall and other mechanical properties. Our technicians may suggest some size and mechanical options for your tubing, which we can achieve through our temper processes and expertise with alloys. Based on this information exchange, you’ll be better informed when you perform calculations and review the possibilities to determine the tubing product that can give you the best performance and value for your needs.
• HandyTube quality. Unlike other manufacturers who use shorter pieces of welded tube with more variations, we offer seamless, uniform tubing which has less defects and can exhibit a more consistent pressure value. ASME B31-3, Process Piping Code actually de-rates the working pressures of welded tubes by 15 percent compared to seamless tubes of the same dimensions.

HandyTube Quality and Expertise Reduce Risk

When it comes to installing tubing without worry of fractures and ruptures, be sure to communicate your required pressures and application information along with your tube’s intended size and mechanical properties with your vendor. Seamless, uniform tubing from HandyTube offers greater consistency with minimal defects that can otherwise lead to failures. And HandyTube has the expertise and capability to hydrostatically test your selection and, if necessary, suggest alternatives to help you find tubing that will maintain its integrity over a long lifetime.