What Is Steel Pipe?
Steel pipe is used as a support for agricultural plastic greenhouses.
Also called agricultural steel pipe, arched pipes are often used for the ceiling. Steel pipes for agricultural use are pipes with outside diameters of 19.1 mm, 22.2 mm, and 25.4 mm are often used. Larger diameter pipes are used in snowy areas and for fruit tree cultivation.
Steel pipe is used in humid and poorly ventilated environments, so it is treated with a corrosion-resistant surface treatment. Hot-dip galvanizing or hot-dip aluminum-zinc alloy plating is applied to the inner and outer surfaces. Galvalume steel pipes are often used.
Uses of Steel Pipe
Steel pipe is often used as supports for agricultural and agro-industrial greenhouses. They are also useful for supporting vegetables, fruit trees, and flowering plants.
Other applications include planting shelves, guard pipes for roads, structural materials for houses and railings for housing, hand rails in tunnels for civil engineering, pallets and automotive parts for factories, and many others. In some cases, single-pipe is used in place of steel pipe for agricultural applications.
The amount of zinc adhered to the outer surface of steel pipes for agricultural use is approximately 200 g/m2, whereas the amount of zinc adhered to the outer surface of single-tube pipes is approximately 120 g/m2, so single-tube pipes are at a disadvantage in terms of corrosion resistance.
Characteristics of Steel Pipe
Pipes used in agriculture are called house pipe, horticultural steel pipe, or agricultural pipe.
One type of pipe used for temporary construction materials and scaffolding is called a single pipe. The most common size here is φ48.6 in diameter and 2.4 mm in thickness. It is often used for scaffolding, but it is also used in agriculture to construct temporary sheds and other structures.
Advantages
Because of its high strength, it can be used to build sturdy vinyl greenhouses. In snowy areas, many farmers build snow-resistant plastic greenhouses by using thick pipes.
House pipes and single pipe pipes are easy for individuals to handle, allowing them to build vinyl greenhouses and sheds without having to outsource to a contractor.
Disadvantages
Due to their heavy weight, it is not possible to carry many steel pipes at once. Because they are often used in long sizes, it is necessary to be very careful around them when carrying them and performing other tasks.
Failure to exercise caution can lead to serious injury. In particular, accidents caused by falling steel pipe can easily lead to serious accidents, so special care must be taken.
Types of Steel Pipe
There are two types of steel pipe for agricultural use: straight steel pipe and curved steel pipe called arch pipe. When building a plastic greenhouse, two arch pipes are combined together to form the shape of the greenhouse.
The arch pipes are combined at regular intervals, which are then connected and reinforced with straight steel pipes. Steel pipes used in agriculture are divided into different sizes by diameter, and the following three types are commonly used.
- 19.1mm
- 22.2mm
- 25.4mm
The packers used to fasten vinyl house sheets to steel pipe are marked with the numbers 19, 22, and 25. These numbers correspond to the sizes of steel pipe: 19.1mm, 22.2mm, and 25.4mm, respectively.
Single-pipe pipes used for temporary construction materials and scaffolding generally have a diameter of φ48.6, but in addition to pipes with a thickness of 2.4 mm, there are also lightweight types with a thickness of 1.8 mm. The lightweight type is 24% lighter than the 2.4mm-thick pipe, making it easier to work with, but with less strength.
How to Select Steel Pipe
A pipe with a smaller diameter will be lighter and easier to work with, and cost less. In areas where it does not snow or when plastic greenhouses are removed in winter, we recommend choosing 19.1mm pipes, which are less expensive.
If you want to keep the greenhouse up all year round in an area where it snows, the stronger 25.4mm is suitable. However, in areas with heavy daily snowfall, it is necessary to use materials even thicker than 25.4 mm.
Also, in areas prone to damage from typhoons, it is advisable to use a larger diameter material.
How to Use Steel Pipe
When building plastic greenhouses in agriculture, it is necessary to connect straight steel pipes. The parts that connect these straight pipes together are called joints.
Some steel pipes are swaged. If they are swaged, it is possible to connect straight Steel Pipes without using a joint.
When connecting arch pipe and straight pipe, a material called hook band, or square band, is used. Mono-pipe pipes used as temporary construction materials and scaffolding are joined together to make sheds and other structures by using materials called straight pipe joints and clamps.