AAR - Association of American Railroads
AGA - American Gas Association
AISI - American Iron & Steel Institute
ANSI - American National Standards Institute - Formerly ASA
API - American Petroleum Institute
ASA - American Standard Institute - Now known as ANSI
ASM - American Society for Metals
ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASTM - American Society for Testing Materials
AWWA - American Water Works Association
BALES - Banded lifts of pipe
BAR MILL - Rolling mill where blooms are processed for form billets
BESS - Bessemer
BEVEL - The angle formed between the prepared edge of the end of the pipe and a plane perpendicular to the surface.
Standard line pipe bevel is 30 degrees.
BILLET - Round, solid bar of steel which is pierced to form a seamless tube or pipe.
BLK - Black - Term used when O.D. surface of pipe is protected with a varnish-type oil. Also applies to bare pipe to denote
not galvanized.
BLOOM - A semifinished hot rolled product produced on a blooming mill.
B.O.F. - Basic Oxygen Furnace
B.O.P. - Basic Oxygen Process
BRIGGS STANDARD - A standard of thread dimensions. Same as American Standard
B.T.U. - British Thermal Unit
BLDS - Bundles - practice of packaging pipe from NPS 1/8 to NPS 1-1/2. Pieces per bundle vary with size.
BURST TEST -A destructive hydraulic test to determine actual yield strength and ultimate strength of seamless
and welded pipe.
B.W. Butt Weld Pipe - See Continuous Weld Pipe
B.W.G. - Birmingham Wire Gauge
CASING - Pipe used as a structural retainer for the walls of a water, gas, or oil well.
C.D. - Cold Drawn - Drawing pipe or tubing through a die to reduce diameter and wall, to obtain closer tolerances, a better
finish or higher physical properties.
CHAMFER - A beveled surface to eliminate an otherwise sharp corner. A finishing operation prior to threading.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES - Normally associated with a limited number of chemical elements. Minimum or maximum limits
are established in most ASTM and API specifications.
CUT LENGTH - Pipe cut to a specific length as ordered.
CON CAST - Continuous Cast
CONDUIT - Pipe serving as a duct for electrical wiring. Usually supplied in 10 foot lengths, threaded and coupled.
Pipe used is normally galvanized, slightly lighter than standard weight with a smooth interior surface.
CPLG - Coupling - threaded sleeve used to connect two lengths of pipe.
C.W. - Continuous Weld - method of producing pipe normally in sizes from ½ inch to 4 inch.
CU - Copper
C.W.T. - per hundred weight
DIA - Diameter
DIE STAMPING - Permanent marking placed on pipe as required in some specifications.
DOUBLE EXTRA HEAVY -Also known as double extra strong. Available from NPS 1/2 to NPS 8 nominal pipe. Wall
thickness is twice as heavy as extra heavy pipe with the exception of 8 inch diameter.
DRL - Double Random Length (35 foot minimum average)
DRIFTED - Attaining a certain minimum I.D. clearance by pushing a mandrel through pipe or tubing.
DRIVE PIPE - Pipe used for driving into ground in water well applications. Supplied with drive coupling.
DUCTILITY - The ability of a material to deform plastically without fracturing. Measured by elongation in a
tensile test.
ERW - Electric Resistance Weld Pipe - method of producing pipe normally in sizes from 2-3/8" OD through 22" OD.
E.U.E. - External Upset Ends - used in API tubing and drill pipe.
EXPANDED PIPE - Pipe which has been enlarged circumferentially by mechanical or hydraulic pressure.
EXTRA HEAVY - Also known as extra strong - pipe with walls heavier than standard weight. Same as schedule 80 in sizes
NPS 1/8 to NPS 8 diameter.
F.O.B. - Free on Board
FRT - Freight
GALV - Galvanizing - coating pipe with a protective coating of zinc.
GRADE A OR B - Designations used to indicate minimum yield and tensile strengths of steel in seamless and welded pipe.
G.T. - Gross Ton - 2,240 pounds
HYDROSTATIC TESTING - High pressure water test to predetermine pressures as required by specifications.
I.D. - Inside Diameter - The O.D. measurement less double the wall thickness is the I.D. measurement of a pipe or tube.
INGOT - Usually first solid form of steel. Suitable for reworking or remelting.
I.P.S. - Iron Pipe Size - Same as nominal size from 1/8 inch to 12 inch.
JOINT - Term used to refer to one length of pipe.
LGTH - Length
L.T.C. - Long threads and coupling (OCTG)
LARGE O.D. PIPE - Pipe NPS 14 and larger
LW. - Lap Weld - Old method of producing pipe 5 inch diameter and over. Has not been produced for 25+ years.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES - Tensile strength, elongation, hardness and fatigue limit of steel.
MID-WELDS - Two or more joints welded to form one long joint.
MINIMUM WALL - Minimum thickness permissible calculated by subtracting minus tolerance from nominal wall.
MN - Manganese
N.A.S.P.D. - The National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors
N.B.S. - National Bureau of Standards
NI - Nickel
NIPPLE - Short length of pipe 12 inches and under normally threaded both ends.
NOM - Nominal - name given to standard pipe designations 1/8 inch through 12 inch. Does not indicate actual
I.D. measurements. Wall thickness are also expressed as nominal.
N.T. - Net Ton - 2,000 pounds
O.D. - Outside diameter
O.H. - Open hearth
PCS - Pieces
P.E. - Plain ends
PERC - Plain end roller cut
PESC - Plain end square cut or saw cut or machine cut
PICKLING - Pipe immersed in acid bath to remove scale, oil, dirt, etc.
PROTECTOR - Sleeve with threads to protect threads
PSI - Pounds per square inch.
RANGE - Allowable lengths in oil field casing and tubing. Expressed as Range 1(20 foot R/L), Range 2 (30 foot R/L) and
Range 3 (40 foot R/L).
R/L - Random Length. Varying lengths of pipe.
R&D - Reamed and Drifed - commonly used in water wells to guarantee I.D. clearance
SAW - Submerged Arc Weld - a method of producing very large OD pipe.
SCALE - An oxide of iron which forms on the surface of steel.
SCHEDULE NUMBERS - ANSI numbers assigned to pipe to designate wall thickness.
SKELP - Long narrow strips of plate of correct thickness and width to produce CW or ERW pipe.
SMLE - Seamless - pipe without a seam or weld in the circumference.
SPEC - Specification
SRL - Single Random Lengths - usually 16 foot to 22 foot. Minimum average of 17'6".
S.T. & C. - Short Thread & Coupled (OCTG).
STD - Standard - Same as Sch. 40, NPS 1/8- NPS 10
STENCIL - Identification painted on pipe. Specification, size, wall, grade, test pressure, method of manufacture and mill
identification are usually indicated.
STRAND(S) - Product of Continuous Cast Process
STRETCH REDUCE - A technique employed in the manufacture of CW pipe in which one or several master sizes of pipe
are produced, then stretched reduced through a number of rolls to achieve a variety of pipe
diameters. Also used in certain instances in seamless and ERW manufacturing.
TBE - Thread Both Ends
T & C - Threaded and Coupled
TOE - Thread One End
TENSILE STRENGTH - Ultimate bursting strength to resist being pulled apart. Expressed in P.S.I.
TUBE ROUND - Billet
VICTAULIC JOINT - Pipe is grooved near ends to accommodate a victaulic coupling.
YIELD STRENGTH - The tensile stress required to produce a total elongation of .5 percent of the gauge length as
determined by an extensometer. Expressed in P.S.I.
XHY - Extra Heavy (Extra Strong)
XXHY - Double Extra Heavy (Double Extra Strong)