U.S. Bellows, Inc. designed and fabricated two 44" hinged expansion joints with 5" thick refractory lining. These expansion joints are part of FCC stand-pipes in a synfuels plant. Each expansion joint is fabricated of two-ply Inconel® bellows and 3/4" wall pipe. The joints consist of 2" thick attachment rings. After fabrication, the expansion joints were pneumatically tested and inter-plies tested. The bellows and pipes were 100% x-rayed and PMI tested.
Thermal and structural Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed on the expansion joints to ensure the product is structurally sound and determining the thermal profile helps to prevent polythionic corrosion on the bellows. Design calculations were performed for all hardware including lug rings, gussets, hinge plates, pins, etc.
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