Advantages and Disadvantages of Metal Bellows Compensators

Release time:

2021-04-25

A compensator is designed to offset shortcomings and losses. In the field of technology, compensation also plays a crucial role. When the medium in a pipeline or the ambient temperature changes, the pipeline—affected by temperature variations—can be applied to pipelines that are free of burrs, grooves, and obstructions, and can also be used for direct-burial correction. In such cases, inspection wells or underground chambers should be provided at the location of metal compensators.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Metal Bellows Compensators

Is a metal expansion joint equivalent to other bellows expansion joints used in equipment? The answer is yes—they are identical. The adjustment of the fixed support spacing and the calculation of the thrust exerted by the fixed supports for a metal expansion joint are the same as those for conventional bellows expansion joints. To ensure greater safety and reliability in engineering applications, such bellows expansion joints not only need to be installed close to fixed-support equipment but also require three guiding supports between each pair of fixed supports—though this requirement may vary to some extent. These critical metal expansion joints are particularly suited for filling axial gaps in pipelines that feature large fill volumes and strong self-guiding bending capabilities. As a result, the planning of guide supports becomes simpler, and the spacing between guide supports can be adjusted freely. When selecting and installing metal expansion joints, it’s important to clearly define the intended purpose of the expansion joint.

According to material classification, corrugated pipes are mainly divided into metal corrugated pipes and plastic corrugated pipes.

Plastic corrugated pipes are expandable, tubular products made from plastic. Due to their material-saving properties, lightweight nature, and excellent physicochemical performance, plastic corrugated pipes are widely used in civil engineering, municipal engineering, highways, and bridges.

A metal bellows is a type of corrugated pipe. Commonly, the inner layer of a metal bellows is made of carbon steel, stainless steel, or plastic, while the outer layer is coated with electroplated metal. Metal bellows can be used for small-angle turning, transmission, and expansion, and are widely applied in industries such as power generation and mechanical engineering.

According to the classification of forming processes, bellows can be divided into hydraulically formed bellows, roll-formed bellows, mechanically expanded bellows, and deposition-formed bellows.

Hydraulic forming is a common and widely used forming method for bellows, primarily employed in the manufacture of annular bellows. It can produce bellows with wall thicknesses ranging from 0.08 to 4 mm. In hydraulic forming, liquid pressure inside the tube blank is used to expand and compress the tube material, thereby creating the bellows. This method is often utilized for small-diameter metal bellows.

The roll-forming process relies on the rolling action of forming wheels positioned within the tube blank to create bellows. Some of these wheels can produce only a single corrugation per pass, while others can produce several corrugations in a single pass. This process is primarily used for manufacturing large-diameter bellows.

Deposition molding involves depositing corrugated pipe material onto a core mold and then dissolving the core. This process is typically used to manufacture low-hardness metal corrugated pipes and has relatively high manufacturing costs.

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