A Toroidal expansion joint is a metallic assembly that consists of a series of

toroid In mathematics, a toroid is a surface of revolution with a hole in the middle. The axis of revolution passes through the hole and so does not intersect the surface. For example, when a rectangle is rotated around an axis parallel to one of its ...

al convolutions which are circular tubes wrapped around pipe ends or weld ends and have a gap at the inside diameter to allow for axial stroke while absorbing changes in expansion or contraction of the pipe line. Convolutions are the portion of the bellows that allow it to be flexible. The convolutions are formed around reinforcing bands so that only the concave portion of the

torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

allows for flexibility. Toroidal

expansion joints An expansion joint, or movement joint, is an assembly designed to hold parts together while safely absorbing temperature-induced expansion and contraction of building materials, and vibration, or to allow movement due to ground settlement or seis ...

are typically used in high pressure applications, where little movement is required, and generally used for

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

s. Usually, they are hydraulically formed, but others are free formed. These expansion joints are also referred to as "Omega" bellows due to their shape resembling the Greek letter,

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...

References

External links

Expansion Joint Manufacturers Association The Expansion Joint Manufacturers Association is an organization of a metal bellows expansion joint manufacturers. It was founded in 1955 to create and maintain a set of standards for quality expansion joint design and manufacturing. The EJMA stand ...

EJMA http://www.ejma.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Toroidal Expansion Joint Structural connectors