Solution
[DEMO] Thermal expansion compensation
Absorbing thermal growth in piping without overloading anchors, supports or equipment nozzles.
ReadKnowledge
[DEMO] Why metal bellows fail
Metal bellows fail through 7 recurring mechanisms: squirm under pressure, torsional damage, chloride stress corrosion cracking above roughly 60 degrees celsius, erosion, over-compression, improper anchoring and cycle fatigue. Most are traceable to a condition that was present at installation rather than to gradual wear in service.
Bellows rarely fail without warning. In most cases the failure mode is visible in the geometry of the damage, and traceable to a condition that was present from commissioning.
Squirm
Column instability under internal pressure. The bellows buckles sideways, usually where the unsupported length is too great for the pressure. Prevention is a design question: convolution geometry and ply count set the critical pressure.
Torsion
Bellows have very little torsional capacity. Twisting during installation, or from an unrestrained pipe rotating in service, damages the convolutions permanently.
Chloride stress corrosion cracking
Austenitic stainless in the presence of chlorides above roughly 60 degrees celsius. Cracking is intergranular and often invisible until leakage begins. Material selection is the control.