Bespoke Bellows Expansion
Joint, Your Solution for Piping and
Ducting Systems
At Stam Flex, we are dedicated to providing the Bellows Expansion Joint – the versatile and essential component in piping and ducting systems. Our low and high-pressure bespoke metal expansion joints are designed and manufactured in strict conformity. Therefore, at Stam Flex, we think that design integrity is essential for creating long-lasting stainless steel bellows expansion joint solutions. Customers widely trust Stam Flex for dependable stainless-steel expansion bellows and expansion joint solutions designed for maximum fatigue cycle life.
With the high expenses of system downtime, why settle for a generic stainless-steel expansion joint when the design experts at Stam Flex can engineer your metal expansion bellows for maximum performance with no additional cost or long manufacture time?
Benefits of Stainless
Steel Bellow Expansion Joints
Stainless steel bellows expansion joint offers a range of benefits. Also, it makes them a preferred choice in many applications:
Corrosion Resistance
Stainless steel’s resistance to corrosion ensures the longevity of the expansion joint, even in aggressive environments.
High-Temperature Tolerance
This stainless steel can withstand extreme temperatures. So, it makes them suitable for applications involving hot fluids or gases.
Durability
This type of stainless steel bellows expansion joint has a long lifespan and requires no maintenance, reducing downtime and costs.
Flexibility
These joints provide excellent flexibility, allowing them to absorb movements and vibrations effectively.
Understanding Bellows
Expansion Joints, Flexing
Innovation, Securing Reliability
Bellows expansion joints, also known as compensators or flexible connectors, are crucial elements in structural systems, including piping systems. Additionally, they absorb thermal expansion, vibrations, and misalignment while maintaining the integrity of the structure.
For your plumbing or ducting needs, we offer a variety of Expansion Joint designs ranging from simple single bellows element Expansion Joints to pressure balanced Expansion Joints. Besides that, for unique projects, we have conventional metal bellows on board to manufacture custom metal expansion joints quickly.
In addition, our OEM and bespoke Expansion Joints are in use in different industries, including oil and gas, aerospace, power generation, petrochemical, water, and wastewater.
Expansion Bellow Use: What are the benefits?
Expansion bellows are crucial components in many industrial systems, providing operational stability and longevity. The benefits include:
Axial Expansion Joint
Axial Expansion Joints have the purpose of absorbing axial movements (extension and compression along the axial axis). Axial Expansion Joints with a relatively short build-in length can absorb the thermal expansion of a straight pipeline segment between two fixed locations. Also, in terms of mobility compensation, this provides a straightforward and cost-effective solution. All types of connections, such as welding ends or welded or loose (rotatable) flanges, can be used with Axial Expansion Joints.
Single Expansion Joints
This essential expansion junction originates by connecting fittings to a single stainless steel below. Additionally, Stam Flax will incorporate any weldable fitting into the design of your expansion joint. They commonly serve for axial compression and extension, but they can also be configured for lateral offset and rotational movement. For maximum cycle life, our design engineers frequently use multi-ply metal expansion bellows. Hence, to improve the performance of the single metal expansion joint, tie rods, flow liners, and coverings can be added.
Elbow Pressure Balanced Expansion Joints
Elbow Pressure Balanced Joints can absorb both axial compression and lateral offset. This expansion joint is similar to the tied universal expansion joint, but it has to balance bellows that, almost entirely reducing the pressure push on the anchors. In addition, they play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and safety of pipelines in various industrial applications. With their unique design featuring balancing bellows, these joints reduce anchor loads and play a crucial role in maintaining the safeness, efficiency, and longevity of pipelines across various industries.
Externally Pressurized Expansion Joints
Externally Pressurized Expansion Joints are ideal for extreme axial compression or extension. Additionally, they also have a built-in guiding mechanism, which eliminates the necessity for the first pipe guide in a piping run. Externally pressurized expansion joints prevent the need for a flow liner in steam situations where a flow liner is usually required. However, this type of metal expansion joint also has an exterior casing to keep the pressure contained and to protect the metal bellows from damage.
Universal Expansion Joints
They consist of two equal-length metal bellows expansion joints separated by a center pipe. Therefore, this expansion joint design can accommodate significant lateral displacement in many planes. The maximum angulation of each bellow and the length of the center spool set the degree of deflection. Also, by adjusting the center pipe length, designers can improve or reduce the lateral deflection capabilities and cycle life. However, these expansion joints do not need tie rods and must be adequately secured to the system pipes.
Dual Expansion Joint
A Dual Expansion Joint can handle more axial movement than a single piping expansion joint. Additionally, the dual metal expansion joints are made up of two single expansion joints bellows joined by a center pipe. Also, this expansion joint, like the single metal bellows expansion joints, depends on the piping system to function effectively. To ensure the ability to move either bellows effectively, you can add an intermediate anchor base into the twin metal bellows design while still requiring the use of primary anchors.
Hinged Expansion Joints
“Hinged Expansion Joints” are available from Stam Flex in single, universal, and slotted hinge designs. Our hinged metal bellows expansion joints are only capable of angular movement in one plane. As a result, hinged metal expansion joints have to be used in groups of two or three to function effectively. Therefore, the hinges and pins serve to control the bellows’ pressure thrust and to accommodate loads imparted by the piping system. Hence, they allow for significant lateral offset, whereas slotted hinge designs allow for limited axial movement.
Rectangular Metal Expansion Joints
Universal Rectangular Metal Expansion Joints increase both lateral and axial movement. They, like circular metal expansion joints, accommodate three types of piping movement: axial, lateral, and angular. It is necessary to determine in which direction the lateral and angular movements will occur in reference to the long and short sides of the bellows in order to construct rectangular bellows appropriately. All rectangular metal bellows expansion joint quotations include 10th Edition data sheets.
Gimbal Expansion Joints
A Gimbal Expansion Joint is similar to a hinge in that it can accept angular displacement in any plane. Additionally, it has two sets of hinge pins that are 90 degrees apart. Each pin pair links to a gimbal ring located in the center of the metal expansion joint. Also, this form of metal bellows expansion joint, like the hinged type, removes axial force and pressure thrust. However, flanges and beveled weld ends are the two most popular fitting combinations used by Stam Flex for gimbal expansion joints.
Applications of Bellows Expansion Joints
Bellows expansion joints find applications in a wide range of industries and scenarios:
Petrochemical Plants
For absorbing thermal expansion and contraction in piping systems carrying various chemicals.
Power Generation
Ensuring reliable performance in power plants by compensating for temperature fluctuations.
HVAC Systems
Maintaining the integrity of heating and cooling systems by absorbing vibrations and misalignment.
Water Treatment Facilities
For use in water distribution systems to accommodate ground settlement and pipeline movement.
Bellows expansion joint plays a crucial role in confirming the integrity and longevity of piping systems across diverse industries. So, assess your needs, choose the right and exact solution for your specific application, and let Stam Flex take care of it for you. If you have any questions or need assistance in choosing the perfect bellows expansion joint, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The free length of the expansion joint below is its neutral length. This is the length of the bellows after neither compression nor extension.
A bellows is a flexible component that serves to construct an expansion joint. When end fittings allow us to connect the bellows to the existing piping system, an expansion joint develops.
Metal hose is solely intended for lateral offset, not compression or extension. Therefore, to handle pressure, a metal hose requires an external braided wire. You can configure Metal bellows to move in axial, lateral, or angular directions. Hence, the metal bellows do not require braided wire to convey pressure.
