What is the importance of steel pipes in mechanical engineering?
- Automotive
- Aerospace
- Power Generation
- Food and Beverage
- Residential
Mechanical engineers use the principles of motion, energy, and force to create objects that will meet the needs of people. This is a broad branch of engineering which involves research, creation, and testing of mechanical objects to ensure their safety and effectiveness. One of the most common materials used in mechanical applications is pipes. It may look simple, but its usage affects people’s everyday lives. In this blog, you will learn more about steel pipes in mechanical engineering. Read on!
Automotive
An automotive is an object that involves force and motion. If you own a car, ride the public commute, and use any form of transportation to travel far distances, then you’re experiencing the gift of mechanical engineering.
Steel pipes are used in the important parts of a vehicle. You will see it in the coolant tubes, muffler, exhaust, intercoolers, fuel lines, and steering tubing. It is also used for gas injections every time you need to add fuel to your car.
Steel is used in vehicles because it is lightweight and durable. This gives it a very high strength to weight ratio. It is also malleable, which means that the tubing can be bent to fit inside a small vehicle.
Aerospace
To keep the flight in space safe, aerospace engineers design and test aircrafts, space crafts, satellites, and missiles. They are responsible for the engines, frames, wings, and smaller parts. One of the important materials they use is piping.
In a standard airplane, there are more than 3 kilometers of pipes that are used to transfer fuel, air, water, waste, oxygen, hydraulic fluid, and coolants. Without these maze of pipes, transporting a mass of people from place to place is not possible.
Because fuel is expensive, an airplane must use lightweight but durable materials. Ordinary materials will break under high pressure as it goes up to the atmosphere. This where steel pipes come in. Because of their high strength to weight ratio, they are suitable for building aerospace vehicles.
Power Generation
People rely on electricity to live their daily lives. Almost everything that we do rely on this power source. Without it, we will need to use candles to light our homes, winter and summer will be unbearable, and phones and computers wouldn’t even be invented.
There are many kinds of plants that can generate power. They are powered by coal, geothermal energy, water, natural gases, or nuclear energy. To run these plants, one of the materials used is piping. These pipes should withstand extreme temperatures, environments, and wear and tear. Stainless steel is a popular choice because it can resist corrosion and work with high pressures and heat.
These tubes and pipes run all around the facility to transfer high-pressure wind, water, steam, and heat. It is used in combustion, boiler heating, coolant systems, radiators, and storage. Without these pipes, the conversion of primary energy sources to electricity is not possible.
Food and Beverage
Even in the food industry, mechanical engineering is still a necessity to improve the processes used in agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing. It makes operations smoother, faster, and safer.
In agriculture, pipes are used to transport water in irrigation systems. This makes it easy to control the number of water that plants need. Other uses of these tubular materials are in drainage systems where moisture could be a problem.
In manufacturing and processing food, sanitation and hygiene is a big requirement. This is where stainless steel pipes can be used because they resist corrosion and won’t affect water and food quality.
Residential
When homes are built, people call on civil engineers and architects to ensure a solid house that can stand on its own. But the role of mechanical engineers in building homes should also be appreciated.
One of the most important things that mechanical engineers check is the plumbing system of a structure. They manage the piping design so both water supply and drainage works flawlessly. Tubular materials are also used in creating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in a house.
Without these piping systems, water and energy will not be properly distributed all around the home. Odors could also build up in places that need sufficient ventilation like the kitchen and bathroom.
Key Takeaway
In this blog post, you learned more about the importance of steel pipes in mechanical engineering. Engineers use these piping systems in different industries such as automotive, aerospace, power generation, food manufacturing, and building of residential homes. Without these simple but versatile materials, these places could not function.
If you need assistance in choosing the best pipes for your next project, do not hesitate to send a message here. As your one-stop-shop steel pipe supplier in the Philippines, Supreme Pipe will do its best to assist you.