Transporting fluids is a notoriously difficult task. Facilities need sound, enclosed paths for travel so nothing escapes, but these present their own challenges. An enclosed path, known as a pipe system, deals with pressure and temperature changes that threaten pipe integrity during use. That’s why many companies need expansion joints to even out these varied forces. To understand a few of the factors affecting expansion joints, read through these points on why they’re salient to engineers.
Their Surroundings
To start, what immediately surrounds a pipe dictates how you arrange your pipes and includes an expansion joint. If you have a wall to support it, you can anchor a joint to promote its stability. On the flip side, when no surface is available, your joint options shrink. You must use a pressure-balanced joint or another kind with technology to counteract axial forces without anchoring.
In addition, some pipes fit into tight areas. Your joint type will also change depending on what lateral direction you want to avoid. Specialized hinge joints work well in these cases.
Media Temperature and Chemical Composition
Next, we’ll look inside the pipes. Because expansion joints come into contact with chemicals, hot gases, and fluids of all kinds of viscosity, they must handle these conditions without failing. That means the materials that make them up must safely expand to the degree that they diffuse thermal expansion forces.
Also, you can’t have your expansion joint corroding after a few cycles. Working with reactive chemicals means you need inert expansion joint materials. Also, as you shift your operation, keep in mind that your joint grades don’t change, so you must work within these specifications or replace the joint.
Pipe Size
Though there are several more, our last factor affecting expansion joints is intuitive: pipe size. The bigger your pipe diameter, the bigger your expansion joints must be to match up, and vice versa. There are also secondary facets such as flow rate and pressure load that vary with pipe size.
Get in touch with Triad Bellows, a premier pipe expansion joints manufacturer, if you’re in the market for expansion joints for your facility.
