IS 10148:2019 is the Indian Standard (BIS) for hot rolled steel strip for welded tubes and pipes. IS 10148 specifies hot rolled steel strip used as raw material for manufacturing welded tubes and pipes (ERW and SAW). It ensures the strip has the right chemistry, mechanical properties, and dimensional tolerances for pipe making.
Specification for hot rolled low carbon steel strip intended for manufacture of welded tubes and pipes by electric resistance welding (ERW) or submerged arc welding (SAW).
Key reference values — verify against the current code edition / project specification.
| Reference | Value | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Product | HR low-carbon strip feedstock for ERW/SAW tubes | Scope |
| Controls | Weldable chemistry/carbon-equivalent + formability | Critical |
| Why | Strip CE/quality decides the tube seam-weld soundness | Concept |
| Finished tube | Accepted to IS 1161 (NOT via this feedstock spec) | Critical |
| Seam defects | Often trace upstream to non-conforming strip | Caution |
| Engineer role | Chain awareness; cite IS 1161 for the product | Rule |
IS 10148:2019 is the specification for hot-rolled steel strip for welded tubes and pipes — the low-carbon steel strip/coil feedstock from which ERW (electric-resistance-welded) and submerged-arc-welded tubes and pipes are manufactured. It is an upstream material spec: the *finished* structural tube is IS 1161; IS 10148 controls the strip that becomes it.
It sits in the steel-materials stack:
A welded tube is only as good as the strip it was formed and seam-welded from. IS 10148 controls the properties that decide that:
The engineering point: tube-quality problems (poor seam welds, splitting on forming, inconsistent properties) very often originate in the strip, not the tube mill — so the strip spec is part of the chain that delivers a sound IS 1161 structural tube. For the structural engineer this is mostly scope/chain awareness: a structural tube is accepted to IS 1161, but its weld integrity traces back to IS 10148-conforming strip.
Scenario: structural tubes for a tubular truss / column.
Step — site/structural engineer: specify and accept the finished tube to IS 1161 (class, grade, dimensions, tests including the seam-weld checks) — you do not accept tubes via IS 10148.
Step — tube manufacturer / QA chain: the ERW/SAW tube must be made from IS 10148-conforming strip (weldable chemistry/CE, formability, surface) so the seam weld is sound and properties are consistent.
Step — diagnosing seam defects: if structural tubes show seam-weld defects or forming splits, the cause often traces upstream to non-conforming strip, not just the tube mill — IS 10148 is the relevant link.
Step — specification hygiene: cite IS 1161 for the product; IS 10148 is the feedstock spec the manufacturer must satisfy.
Know the chain: the strip spec underwrites the structural tube's seam integrity.
1. Accepting structural tubes via the strip spec. Tubes are accepted to IS 1161; IS 10148 is the upstream feedstock standard.
2. Ignoring the strip origin of seam defects. Forming splits and bad seam welds in tubes often trace to non-conforming (high-CE/defective) strip.
3. Assuming any HR strip suits welded tubes. Tube strip needs controlled weldable chemistry/CE and formability — general IS 1079 grades may not.
4. No seam-weld verification on the tube. Even with good strip, verify the IS 1161 tube seam tests.
5. Specification confusion. Don't cite a feedstock spec where the product spec belongs.
IS 10148 is current (2019) and for the structural engineer it is primarily chain awareness: you specify and accept welded structural tubes to IS 1161, but the seam-weld integrity and consistent properties of those tubes are inherited from the strip they were formed and welded from — controlled weldable chemistry (carbon-equivalent), formability and surface quality. When tubes show seam defects or split on forming, the root cause frequently lies upstream in non-conforming strip, not only at the tube mill. The practical discipline: cite the product spec (IS 1161) for acceptance, know that the manufacturer must use IS 10148-conforming strip behind it, verify the tube's seam-weld tests, and when diagnosing tube quality problems look up the chain to the strip. It is a feedstock standard whose relevance to site work is understanding where structural-tube quality actually comes from.
| Parameter | IS Value | International | Source |
|---|