Differences in Scope of Application
We will not discuss here the obvious difference that the two standards are issued by different organizations, ASTM and API.
We will start with the most basic difference - scope of application. The scope of application determines the specific performance requirements of steel pipes.
1. What fields does ASTM A252 apply to?
The ASTM A252 specification applies to cylindrical piles, in which the steel cylinder can be used as a permanent load-bearing member or as a shell to form cast-in-place concrete piles. Mainly used in the following industries
Steel piling pipe;
Foundation engineering;
Bridge construction;
Building and infrastructure projects;
Deep foundation pit support;
2. What fields does API 5L apply to?
API 5L is the standard specification for pipeline transportation systems in the oil and gas industry. Mainly used in the following industries
Oil and gas pipelines;
Crude oil pipelines;
Natural gas pipelines;
Petrochemical and chemical transportation pipelines;
High-pressure fluid transportation;
Differences in manufacturing processes
Both ASTM A252 and API 5L allow for seamless and welded manufacturing processes. However, API 5L allows more manufacturing methods.
3. What is the ASTM A252 manufacturing process?
ASTM A252 should be welded by seamless, resistance, flash or fusion welding processes. Common manufacturing processes for ASTM A252 include seamless, ERW, LSAW (SAWL) and HSAW (SSAW).
4. What is the API 5L manufacturing process?
API 5L allows multiple types of manufacturing, including seamless or EW, LW, CW, LFW, HFWLW, SAWL, SAWH, COWL and COWH welding processes.
It should be noted that not all manufacturing processes are applicable to all grades in API 5L. If you are interested, you can click on the API 5L specification to view it.
5. What are the grade differences?
ASTM A252 has three grades: Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3.
Due to the complexity of the use environment, API 5L grades range from L175 (A25) to L830 (X120), including the following 15 grades Grade B, X52 and X60. It is divided into two product specification levels, PSL1 and PSL2.
PSL2 also includes three special pipes designed to meet specific requirements: sour environment, offshore environment and applications requiring longitudinal plastic strain capacity.
