Pipe size and concept

Pipe Size: Pipe size is defined with the Two Set of Number.
i. Pipe Bore – also known as Nominal diameter
ii. Pipe schedule – Nothing but Pipe wall thickness

Pipe diameter Indication: NPS, NB, DN these three terms that are used to mention pipe diameter.

What is nominal Pipe size(NPS): Nominal Pipe Size is the number that define the size of the
pipe.
Example: 6" Pipe that means 6 inch is the nominal size of the pipe. But there are some case,

From 1/8" to 12" pipe Nominal Pipe Size is neither OD or ID of the pipe. It is somewhere between
them. The below Image Illustrates that,

For, 4" schedule 80 Pipe size and & Thickness.

Thickness
-0.337“

Nominal 4“
6“
82
3.

OD
ID

4
.5 “

*** For, NPS 14 and above The pipe Outside Diameter is same as Nominal Diameter.

What is Nominal Bore: NPS is frequently required as Nominal Bore as such there is no difference
between NPS and NB. NB is also an American Way of Pipe dimension. NB and DN can also be
used interchangeabily.

What is DN: DN is the international designation of Pipe Size.

i. SI or Metric Designation
ii. European equivalent of NPS.

*** DN show differently pipe size than NPS.

For Example: 2" NPS is DN 50, 8" NPS is DN 200.

Converting NPS to DN: Multiplying NPS by 25 we get DN. i.e

DN = NPS x 25
 NPS 1/2 3/4 1 11/2 2 3 4 6 8 10 12
NB/DN 15 20 25 40 50 80 100 150 200 250 300

What is Pipe Schedule: Pipe Schedule is the way of Pipe wall thickness are mentioned.
Pipe Schedule number is based on Barlow's wall thickness formula.

Schedule Number = 1000 x P/S , Where

P is the service Pressure, (psi)

S is the allowable stress, (psi)

What does schedule 40 means?

Schedule 40 is nothing but Pipe thickness designator. In s simple word, For a
given material schedule 40 Pipe can Withstand certain amount of pressure.

Now which is thicker? Schedule 40 or Schedule 80?

Schedule 80 is thicker than schedule 40. Allowable stress for a material at given
temperature is fixed. That means with the increase in service pressure, Schedule
Number is increased which is nothing but Pipe wall thickness designator.

Pipe Schedule Number of Stainless Steel:

Due to corrosion resistance property of stainless steel, advancement of high
alloy stainless steel and fusion welding, less thickness pipe can be
oversatisfactory without fear of early failaure. For reducing the cost of material
ASME has introduced different schedule number foe stainless steel pipe.

ASME B36.19 schedule number with suffix 'S' is introduced for SS pipe.
Example 10S, 20S, 40S and 80S.
Keep in mind that, Schedule 10 ≠ Schedule 10S

For Carbon steel and Wrought Iron Pipe as per 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160,
ASME B36.10 STD, XS, XXS.
For Stainless steel pipe as per ASME B36.19 5S, 10S, 40S, 80S

Pipe dimension chart can be very handy for working in Pipe field.
 Created by
Md. Shahinur Rahman
CAD Engineer | bjitgroup.ltd