NPS 4 1/2 Pipe Dimensions

Nominal size

NPS 4 1/2

Metric designator

DN 115

Outside diameter

5.000 in (127.0 mm)

Schedules listed

5

Standard weight wall

0.247 in (6.3 mm)

Extra strong wall

0.355 in (9.0 mm)

What NPS 4 1/2 is

NPS 4 1/2 pipe measures 5.000 in (127.0 mm) across the outside, which is 0.500 in more than the 4 1/2 in its name suggests. Below NPS 14 the designation is a label inherited from iron pipe sizing and matches neither the outside diameter nor the bore of any schedule exactly. The metric designator is DN 115, which is likewise a label and not a measurement in millimetres. Whatever the schedule, the outside diameter stays at 5.000 in (127.0 mm): a heavier wall grows inward and takes the difference out of the bore.

An obsolete trade size that is not in ASME B36.10. B16.5 publishes no flange for it and B16.9 no fitting. It appears here for anyone identifying old pipe.

Every schedule in NPS 4 1/2

Dimensions are given in inches, with the millimetre equivalent beneath in grey.

Inside diameter is OD − 2t. Weight is calculated for carbon steel as w = 10.69 × t × (OD − t) lb/ft and is the plain-end weight, excluding coatings, linings and fittings. Water-filled weight adds fresh water at 8.3454 lb per US gallon.

Reading the table

The chart lists 5 designations in NPS 4 1/2, which between them give 3 different wall thicknesses. The lightest is Schedule 40 at 0.247 in (6.3 mm) and the heaviest is Double Extra Strong (XXS) at 0.710 in (18.0 mm). Going from one to the other takes the bore from 4.506 in (114.5 mm) down to 3.580 in (90.9 mm), which cuts the flow area by 37% and raises the weight from 12.55 to 32.56 lb/ft, a factor of 2.6.

Standard weight equals Schedule 40 in this size. Extra strong equals Schedule 80. Where two designations share a wall they are the same pipe under two names, and either may appear on a mill certificate. The match is specific to the size, so it is the wall thickness in inches that should go on a requisition, not the designation alone.

For handling and support loads, a 20 ft length of standard weight NPS 4 1/2 pipe weighs about 251 lb (114 kg) empty and 389 lb (177 kg) full of water. The water-filled figure is the one that governs pipe support spacing and the load during a hydrostatic test, including on lines that will carry gas or vapour in service.

Flow and pressure capacity by schedule

Two questions decide a schedule: how much the bore will carry, and how much pressure the wall will hold. The flow columns give the water flow through each bore at three velocities that bracket ordinary liquid service, from a pump suction line at the low end to a pump discharge line at the high end. The pressure columns are the ASME B31.3 pressure design equation solved for pressure, first on the nominal wall and then on the wall after the 12.5% mill under-tolerance that seamless pipe is allowed.

Flow is velocity × flow area. Pressure is P = 2·S·t / (D − 2·Y·t) with S = 20,000 psi, E = W = 1.0 and Y = 0.4: seamless carbon steel such as A106 Gr B at moderate temperature, with no corrosion allowance and no threading allowance. It is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a design rating.

The method behind both halves of that table is set out in the pipe sizing guide and the wall thickness guide, each with a worked example.

Flanges for NPS 4 1/2 pipe

ASME B16.5 publishes no flange in NPS 4 1/2 and ASME B16.9 no buttweld fitting. That is the practical meaning of an obsolete size: pipe of this diameter exists in old plant, but nothing standard is made to connect to it. New work uses the next size up or down.

Guides and comparisons for this page

NPS 4 1/2 in each schedule chart

Adjacent sizes