Development prospects for thin-walled stainless steel pipe

                              Thin-walled stainless steel pipe development prospects

In the history of the development of China's building water supply pipe, experienced from galvanized steel pipe - plastic pipe (PP-R) - composite pipe - and then to the copper pipe, stainless steel pipe evolution process. Among them, galvanized steel pipe has long occupied a major position before 2000. Due to the galvanized steel pipe is not corrosion-resistant, long-term use of pipe rust, which in turn produces secondary pollution of water quality, yellow water, pipe scaling, bacterial growth and other problems, seriously affecting people's health. And because of the impact of corrosion, galvanized steel pipe general service life of only 8-12 years, the use of water leakage in the process of maintenance problems even more. Therefore, at the end of 1999, China's Ministry of Construction and other four ministries and commissions jointly issued a clear from June 1, 2000 in the new residential ban on galvanized steel pipe, from the beginning of the pipeline material changes in the prelude. However, due to the domestic regional economic differences, so far galvanized steel pipe still occupies a certain market in the backward areas.

Due to the ban on galvanized steel pipe, the state did not specify alternative products, and then by the economic capacity of the limitations to PP-R (random copolymer polyethylene) as a representative of the plastic pipe temporarily dominated the water supply piping market. PP-R pipe relative to galvanized steel pipe has corrosion resistance, environmental protection, long service life and other advantages, so for some time has been the rapid development. But the plastic pipe itself can not avoid the shortcomings in the use of the same time also exposed, the main problem is the heat deformation is serious, cold trace crack. By the sunlight or hot and cold changes in aging faster, easy to burn and so on. As China's market development is not standardized enough, the investment threshold of plastic pipe production enterprises from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars, the proliferation of manufacturers, disorderly competition is serious. Small enterprises in order to reduce production costs, seize the market, cut corners in the production process, low-priced poor-quality products flooded the market. Affected by this, the further promotion of PP-R pipe has been greatly restricted. After four years of development, there are now several large enterprises with more than 100 million investment to survive and develop.

Composite pipe is as a transitional product on the stage of the history of the pipe. The so-called composite pipe that is the metal and plastic composite, there are two kinds of internal and external plastic-coated, two materials with glue together. Because of the nature of the two materials are different, the coefficient of linear expansion of plastic is more than 4 times that of metal, so the use of temperature changes due to the plastic and metal delamination of delamination, dislocation of the joints and other issues, resulting in large-scale leakage of the pipeline. This is a large number of domestic projects have appeared in such cases.

Copper pipe as a high-grade new pipe, by the industry's respect. The main advantage of copper pipe is durable, and health performance is better, especially free to the copper ions in the pipeline water has a certain bactericidal effect. But the copper pipe has not been in the market to get a lot of popularization and use. The reasons for this, there are mainly the following aspects: First, high cost, copper is a limited resource, in the current national conditions of the high price limits the scope of its use; Secondly, the quality of domestic copper is controversial, copper pipe in use often have copper green (oxidized corrosion); Thirdly, the construction is difficult, copper pipe is connected by welding, the welding process requirements are relatively high.

Comprehensive above, in China's building water supply pipe system, the industry recognized four major problems - pipe leakage, secondary water pollution, short life of the water pipe, pipe construction trouble - has not been an effective solution. However, with the rapid development of the national economy, people's living standards, building grade, more and more need a new type of environmentally friendly, hygienic, safe and non-leakage, economic durability, convenient construction of water supply piping. Under these historical conditions, thin-walled stainless steel pipe as an emerging water supply pipe material on the historical stage of the pipeline revolution. Stainless steel materials, environmental protection, corrosion resistance, durability, smooth wall loss of water flow, polished, luxurious and beautiful, cost-effective than any existing water supply materials, once introduced by the industry's general attention.

1, building water supply pipe demand
According to the "building business" Ninth Five-Year Plan and 2010 Vision Goals Outline "estimates, 2001 ~ 2010 years, the demand for hot and cold water pipes in residential construction areas for 400 million meters. In addition, the heating pipe demand of about 200 million meters, other types of buildings, hot and cold water pipe demand of about 100 million meters, the demand for radiant floor heating pipe demand of about 400 million meters per year, solar water heaters cold, hot water pipe demand of about 20 million meters. In addition, a number of hotels and restaurants in China, the average annual hot and cold water pipeline update amounted to 20 million meters, building renovation projects each year, the pipeline demand of about 20 million meters, industrial pipeline demand of about 20 million meters per year, medical, food production and transportation pipeline demand of about 20 million meters per year. According to the above calculations, between 2001 and 2010, China's annual demand for engineering and construction pipeline about 1.2 billion meters. According to the authority is expected to 2010, the demand for stainless steel pipe will reach 300,000 tons. According to the thin-walled stainless steel pipe accounted for 60% of the proportion of stainless steel pipe, an average of 1 kg per meter calculation, the total amount of 180 million meters, accounting for 15% of the total demand for pipes, there will be more than 6 billion yuan of market share.

Due to the differences in economic conditions in various regions of the country, the building requirements are different, a variety of pipes have a certain market, but from the application of developed regions, the use of thin-walled stainless steel pipe share in the gradual expansion of the less developed regions with the improvement of the economic level, the same will be a certain degree of development and application.

2, the rapid development of pipeline drinking water.
According to reports, 138 cities in the country, 133 river sections have been different pollution, 78% of the river section is not suitable for drinking water source. 50% of the city groundwater has been contaminated by the danger; about 70% of the people in the country drink contaminated water source. With the development of the national economy, the health of drinking water has received more and more attention. As early as 1995, President Jiang Zemin issued a "vigorously develop drinking water projects to improve the quality of drinking water for the public" instructions, since then, the direct drinking water industry in China gradually developed, but due to the different levels of regional economic development in the country's more rapidly developed cities, the less developed areas of the development of the slower.

In June 2005, the Ministry of Construction issued a new "urban water supply water quality standards", put forward higher indicators for drinking water, and in August 2006 the industry standard "pipeline drinking water system technical regulations" (CJJ 110-2006) began to implement. The implementation of these two standards has greatly contributed to the scale of development of the drinking water industry. By 2007, the direct drinking water industry has grown into an annual output value of nearly 10 billion market, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other developed areas of direct drinking water penetration rate has reached 10%, medium-sized cities are also actively implemented or planned. It is estimated that the capacity of the entire domestic drinking water market of 100 billion, according to the drinking water pipes accounted for 15% of the entire drinking water market, thin-walled stainless steel accounted for 65% of the drinking water piping market, there are about 10 billion of the market.

In the drinking water pipeline, thin-walled stainless steel piping with its health, beauty, high strength, cost-effective performance is undoubtedly second to none.

3, domestic substitution of imports a broad future.
The popularization and application of domestic thin-walled stainless steel pipe is the trend of replacing imported pipes. At present, the domestic production of thin-walled stainless steel pipes and fittings, the use of a gradually rising trend, the production technology has also been improved to a certain extent. Localization reduces the use of cost, promote the improvement of technical capabilities, so that thin-walled stainless steel pipe can be accepted for the national conditions, to replace the imported pipe is the inevitable development, the future is very broad.