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Types of Pipe Fittings Used in Piping

What is Pipe Fittings?

Pipe Fittings are Piping component that helps in Changes the direction of the flow
such as elbows, tees. Changes the size of the pipe such as reducers, reducing tees.
Connect different components such as couplings and stop the flows such as Caps.

There are different types of pipe fitting used in piping. Pipe Fittings used in piping
work are mainly Elbow, Tee, Reducer, Union, Coupling, Cross, Cap, Swage Nipple,
Plug, Bush, Expansion Joint, Adapters, Olet (Weldolet, Sockolet, Elbowlet,
Thredolet, Nipolet, Letrolet, Swepolet), Steam Traps, Long Radius Bend, Flanges
and Valve.

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 You can see the chart above that list most widely used standard pipe fittings. These
standard fittings are either forging or wrought. Only seamless pipes are used to
produce wrought fittings. Large diameter welded fittings are manufactured from
the plate.

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 These Fittings are available in different type of end connections.

Pipe Elbow
The Elbow is used more than any other pipe fittings. It Provides flexibility to change
the pipe direction. Elbow mainly available in two standard types 90° and 45°.
However, it Can be cut to any other degree. Elbows are available in two radius
types, Short radius (1D) and Long radius (1.5D).

90 Degree Elbow Pipe

90 Degree elbow is installed between the pipe to change the direction of the pipe
by 90 Degree. Available in long and short radius form.

k 45 Degree Elbow
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 45 Degree elbow is installed between the pipe to change the direction of the pipe
by 45 Degree.

Long Radius Elbow

In long radius elbow, centreline radius is 1.5 times the nominal size of the pipe or
you can say 1.5 times the diameter of the pipe. Normally long radius elbows are
used in piping as pressure loss is less as compared to short radius elbow. It required
more space than short radius elbow.

Short Radius Elbow

In short radius elbow, centreline radius is same as the nominal size of the pipe or
you can say one times the diameter of the pipe. Short radius elbows are used under
limited space application. However, it has a high-pressure drop due to a sudden
change in the direction of flow.

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 Reducing Elbow

The 90 reducing elbow is designed to change direction as well as reduce the size of
pipe within a piping system. The reducing elbow eliminates one pipe fitting and
reduces the welding by more than one-third. Also, the gradual reduction in
diameter throughout the arc of the reducing elbow provides lower resistance to
flow and reduces the effect of stream turbulence and potential internal erosion.
k These features prevent
a sizeable pressureddrops in the line. f J
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Pipe Bend
Long radius pipeline bends are used in fluid transportation line which required
pigging. Due to their long radius and smooth change of direction, pipe bend has
very less pressure drop, and smooth flow of fluid & pig is possible. 3D and 5D Pipe
bends are commonly available. Here, D is the pipe size.

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 Miter Bend
Miter bends are not standard pipe fittings they are fabricated from pipes. Usually,
they are preferred for size 10” & above because large size elbow is expensive. Use
of miter bend is restricted to the low-pressure water line. Miter bend can be
fabricated in 2, 3, & 5 pieces.

Returns – 180 Degree Elbow

Returning elbows are used to make a 180º change in direction. Available in short &
long pattern. Returns are used in the heating coil, heat exchanger, tank vent etc.

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 Pipe Tee
Pipe tee is used for distributing or collecting the fluid from the run pipe. It is a
short piece of pipe with a 90-degree branch at center. There are two types of Tee
used in piping, Equal / Straight Tee and Reducing / Unequal Tee.

Straight Tee

In straight tee, the diameter of the branch is same as the diameter of the Run
(Header) Pipe.

Reducing Tee

In reducing tee, diameter of the branch size is smaller than the diameter of the Run
(Header) Pipe

Barred Tee

A barred tee which is also known as a scrapper tee is used in pipelines that are
pigged. The branch of the tee has a restriction bar welded internally to prevent the
pig or scrapper to enter the branch. The bars are welded in the branch in a way
that it will allow restriction free passage of the pig from the run pipe.

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 Wye Tee / Lateral

It is a type of Tee which has the branch at a 45° angle, or an angle other than 90°.
Wye tee allows one pipe to be joined to another at a 45° angle. This type of tee
reduces friction and turbulence that could hamper the flow. Wye tee is also known
as a lateral.

Cross
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 Cross is also known as four-way pipe fitting. A cross has one inlet and three outlets
(or vice versa). Generally, crosses are not used in process piping to transport fluid.
But forged crosses are common in the fire water sprinkler line.

Pipe Reducers
A pipe reducer changes the size of the pipe. There are two types of reducer used in
piping Concentric & Eccentric.

Concentric Pipe Reducer or Conical Reducer

In Concentric reducer which is also known as a conical reducer, the center of both
the ends is on the same axis. It maintains the centerline elevation of the pipeline.
When the center lines of the larger pipe and smaller pipe are to be maintained
same, then concentric reducers are used.

Eccentric Reducer

In Eccentric reducer, the center of both the ends is on different axis as shown in
the image. It maintains BOP (bottom of pipe) elevation of the pipeline. When one
of the outside surfaces of the pipeline is to be maintained same, eccentric reducers
are required.

Offset = ( Larger ID – Smaller ID) / 2

Swage Reducer
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 The swage is like reducers but small in size and used to connect pipes to smaller
screwed or socket welded pipes. Like reducers, they are also available in
concentric & eccentric type. Swages are available in different end types. Such as
both plain ends or one plain and one threaded end.

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 Pipe Caps
The cap covers the end of a pipe. Pipe caps are used at the dead end of the piping
system. It is also used in piping headers for future connections.

Stub Ends
Stub ends are used with lap joint flange. In this type of flange, the stub is butt
welded to the pipe, whereas flange is freely moved over the stub end. It is basically
flange part but covered under ASME B16.9 that is why it is considered as pipe
fittings.

Piping Union
Unions are used as an alternative to flanges connection in low-pressure small bore
piping where dismantling of the pipe is required more often. Unions can be
threaded end or socket weld ends. There are three pieces in a union, a nut, a
female end, and a male end. When the female and male ends are joined, the nuts
k provide the necessary
a pressure to seal thedjoint. f J
 Pipe Coupling
There are three types of coupling available;

Full Coupling
Half Coupling
Reducing Coupling

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 Full Coupling

Full Coupling is used for connecting small bore pipes. It used to connect pipe to
pipe or pipe to swage or nipple. It can be threaded or socket ends types.

Half Coupling

Half Coupling is used for small bore branching from a vessel or large pipe. It can be
threaded or socket type. It has a socket or thread end on only one side.

Reducing Coupling

Reducing coupling is used to connect two different sizes of pipe. It is like

concentric reducer that maintains a center line of the pipe but small in size.

Pipe Nipple
Nipple is a short stub of pipe which has a male pipe thread at each end or at one
end. It used for connecting two other fittings. Nipples are used for connecting pipe,
hoses, and valves. Pipe nipples are used in low-pressure piping.

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 Socket weld and Threaded Pipe Fittings
Socket weld and Threaded Pipe Fittings are forged product and classified based on
its pressure-temperature rating. Socket weld & Threaded end fittings are available
from NPS 1/8” to 4”. These fittings are available in four pressure-temperature
rating class.

2000 class fittings are available in only in threaded type.

3000 & 6000 class fittings are available in both Threaded and Socket Weld
types.
9000 class fittings are available in only socket weld type.

Socket and threaded fittings are used for small bore and low-pressure piping.

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 Socket Weld Elbow

Socket Weld Tee and Cross

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 Threaded Pipe Fittings

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 Pipe Fittings Dimension of the fittings must meet the requirements of the standard,

For Wrought Product (WP) Dimension is covered in

ASME B16.9- which is standard for Factory-made Wrought Butt-welding
Fittings for size NPS 1⁄₂ to NPS 48” and
And B16.28- which is standard for Wrought Steel Butt-Welding Short
Radius Elbows and Returns for size NPS 1⁄₂ to NPS 24”
For Forged Fittings Dimension are covered in
ASME B16.11- a standard for Forged Steel Fittings that covers Socket
Welding and Threaded fittings

Special Thanks to Sophie Shi & Mr. Tom for providing Images. You can Visit
their website for your further product inquiry. 

Sophie Shi – www.lianfachina.com

Mr. Tom – http://sinopipefittings.com 

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