Steam pipes are divided into two working states, one with high temperature and the other close to the ambient temperature. In the alternating cold and hot changes, displacement and force will be generated due to the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. The longer the pipe, the greater the displacement and force. In order to prevent damage to the pipe, measures need to be taken to avoid it. So there is this bend, also known as the "expansion joint", which is used to absorb the axial expansion displacement of the pipe and also avoid the requirements of concrete beams and columns, killing two birds with one stone.
The thermal expansion of the heating pipe must be calculated. When the natural compensation of the pipe section cannot meet the requirements, a compensator should be installed. Others such as power and chemical design specifications have this requirement, and some even require software calculation.
The compensation amount must be calculated before installation. The installation process requires cold drawing, especially the main steam outlet. The bracket is also very important. The sliding and fixed brackets are tested, and natural compensation is used as much as possible in the factory.
So how long does the pipe expand? According to the test calculation, a distance of 1 meter and a temperature increase of 100 degrees will expand by about 1.2mm. However, the temperature of pipelines in some industries, such as power plants, can reach more than 500-600 degrees. At this time, 1 meter will expand by 7-8mm. Metal is a material that can be stretched but not compressed. Imagine that the temperature difference between rails and ambient temperature is 50 degrees. Early rails were bulging. Later, segmented rails were used to solve this problem. Pipes can be hundreds of meters or even dozens of kilometers long. The change between cold and hot states will produce great stress. If the stress exceeds the limit of the pipeline, the pipeline will naturally be unable to bear it, which may have serious consequences.
Steam Pipe
