Metal tubes are made of various metallic elements or also alloys meant for certain specific applications. Any metallic tubes are usually much stronger and also robust as compared to any other tubing types.
Metallic tubes are much better suited for various structural applications and also high-pressure fluid flow.
Few common metals used for metal tubes are:
- Stainless steel
- Steel tubing Houston
- Copper
- Brass
- Aluminum
Right selection of metal is very important characteristic while selecting tube. Besides that, you also need to see cost, strength, chemical/corrosion resistance, rigidity and thermal stability may differ based on the type of metal.
Following are few different metals used for metal tubes.
- Aluminum
It is lightweight and corrosion resistant metal used commonly as tube material meant for both construction and plumbing applications.
Aluminum also has lower tensile strength and can be alloyed with following metals for improving its hardness and strength:
- Copper
- Zinc
- Silicon
- Brass
It is alloy of zinc and copper and it has decent strength, electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance and can easily be polished.
- Bronze
It is also an alloy using copper and tin. Few other materials are –
- Phosphorus
- Manganese
- Aluminum
- Silicon
Bronze has good toughness, corrosion resistance, strength and electrical as well as thermal conductivity.
- Copper
Copper is another corrosion resistant metal having excellent conductivity. Often copper tubing’s are used for plumbing and also heating applications, particularly for residential lines for water supply.
- Stainless steel
Stainless steel is relatively much stronger metal having excellent chemical and also corrosion resistance. It is an alloy that contains more than 10.5% chromium and provides excellent corrosion resistance, suitable for sanitary applications.
- Steel
Steel is very durable as well as stronger metal having very high resistance to the heat. Steel also is an alloy with iron and carbon.
Also, it is alloyed commonly with few other metals for improving its durability and corrosion resistance. Often steel tubing is used as tubing material for transporting fluid and structural uses in both industrial and commercial sectors.
There is galvanized steel which is coated with the zinc for providing rust and also chemical corrosion resistance. For increasing durability and strength carbon steel can be alloyed with little higher carbon levels.
- Titanium
Titanium is high-strength and low-weight material having high corrosion resistance. Tubing with titanium alloy is more expensive as compared to aluminum or steel alloy but provides highest ratio of strength-to-weight of any other structural metal.
Thus, it makes an excellent choice to use for diverse applications.