Recently, according to industry data and enterprise practices, the adaptability of stainless steel seamless pipes in harsh working conditions such as petrochemical, nuclear power, and semiconductor industries has continued to make breakthroughs. The annual growth rate of demand for special materials like 309s and 32168 has reached 15%, and the proportion of thick-walled pipes has increased to 32%, driving the domestic market scale to exceed 28 billion yuan in 2024.
In the field of high-temperature and high-pressure working conditions, 309s stainless steel seamless pipes have become a key breakthrough due to their 1050℃ temperature resistance and optimized heat treatment process. In a catalytic cracking unit of a large-scale oil refining project operating at 550℃ and 8MPa, the intergranular corrosion rate of pipes made of this material was reduced to 0.002mm/year, extending the service life by more than 2 years compared with traditional materials and saving over 3 million yuan in replacement costs for a single project. In marine engineering scenarios, the 32168 material enhances pitting resistance by adding titanium, prolonging the service life of seawater desalination equipment to 20 years.
Technological innovation serves as the core support for adapting to working conditions. Enterprises have adopted the composite process of multi-roll cold rolling + hydraulic expanding to control the wall thickness tolerance of thick-walled pipes within ±0.1mm, with the defect detection rate of nuclear-grade pipes reaching 99.97%. To meet the ultra-pure water transportation needs of the semiconductor industry, the inner wall roughness of customized ultra-thin-walled pipes can be controlled at Ra≤0.2μm. At present, stainless steel seamless pipes have covered 8 major industrial scenarios including chemical engineering, nuclear power, food and pharmaceutical industries, and have achieved stable operation in complex working conditions such as high temperature, strong corrosion, and high cleanliness.
Industry insiders stated that with the upgrading of new energy and high-end manufacturing industries, super stainless steel pipes resistant to temperatures up to 1200℃ and special pipes for hydrogen transportation will become key R&D focuses, further expanding the application boundary in extreme working conditions.