The high tensile strength of steel combined with its elasticity, ductility and freedom from brittleness enable steel pipes to be used with confidence for the highest pressures and under the most onerous conditions.

Stresses much greater than those due to static head can be induced in water by fluctuating pressures, or by shock pressures such as those arising from water hammer. Wherever such conditions exist, or may arise, the high strength and absence of brittleness in steel pipes offer distinct advantages.

Steel tube offers a readily galvanized substrate for cost effective corrosion protection. Galvanized offers good abrasion resistance during handling and the nature of the coating allows for corrosion protection even when the coating layer is compromised down to the steel substrate.

A wide variety of joints are available for steel pipes ranging from those with considerable flexibility to others with complete rigidity, namely:
• Welded joints
• Klambon joints
• Flange joints
• Threaded and coupled

For a given pressure, steel pipes can be made much thinner than pipes of other materials. Consequently they have a greater carrying capacity than pipes of other materials with the same outside diameter.

Considerable indirect savings can result from using steel pipes, because they are not subject to the breakages in transit and attendant replacement delays that occur when pipes manufactured from other materials are used resulting in fewer delays in installation.