How to Select the Appropriate Precision Stainless Steel Pipe Fittings

The beverage production line is a type of food production line. In fact, regardless of dairy products, beverages, alcoholic beverages, or pharmaceuticals, all these industries are actually branches of the chemical industry. The commonalities of their production lines are quite significant. Today, let's talk about the food-grade stainless steel pipe fittings used in the beverage production line. 

Firstly, in the beverage production process, for the supports, shells, etc. that do not come into contact with food, basically 201 stainless steel, 202 stainless steel and 430 stainless steel are chosen; these types of stainless steel do not meet the food-grade standards in terms of corrosion resistance, but they can meet the moisture-proof requirements of the workshop and have a high cost-performance ratio. 

Then there is the beverage conveying pipeline. Generally, the materials chosen are 304 stainless steel, 304L stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, and 316L stainless steel, which all meet food safety standards. The pipelines are divided into stainless steel welded pipes and seamless pipes. Since stainless steel welded pipes can be easily processed, have low production costs, and have comparable pressure resistance to seamless pipes, most food production enterprises on the market have switched to stainless steel welded pipes. 

The specifications of stainless steel welded pipes are diverse, including DIN standards, ISO standards, 3A standards, and non-standard processing. With various specifications, they can fully meet the demands of the market. Among them, the polishing requirements for food-grade stainless steel pipes are "mirror finish on the inner wall, matte finish on the outer wall" or "mirror finish on the inner wall, pickling on the outer wall", which can not only ensure the smoothness of the pipe interior but also facilitate visual protection. 

Since the food-grade stainless steel pipes are all subjected to mirror-polishing treatment inside, the frictional resistance of the pipes is so small that it can be disregarded. Apart from the gravitational force caused by the height of the pipes, the resistance of the fluid mainly concentrates at the valves and elbows. 

If producing thicker beverages, the straight angle elbow section will show greater resistance and may cause pipeline vibration. The solution is to use elbows with a larger curvature radius. If a 90-degree elbow must be used, two 45-degree elbows can be selected, with sufficient straight pipe sections in between for transition, which can reduce the resistance.