Serpentine Bend

Serpentine Bend is a pipe fitting composed of multiple continuous U-shaped or curved bends connected in series, forming a "zigzag" or wavy shape as a whole. It is mainly used to absorb the displacement caused by thermal expansion and contraction of pipes, and to achieve complex path medium transportation. Its flexible multi-stage bending structure can internally relieve pipeline stress in a limited space and is a key compensation component in high-temperature and high-pressure systems.

The material should be selected according to the working conditions: carbon steel (such as Q235, 20 #) is suitable for low-pressure and room temperature scenarios; Stainless steel (304, 316L) has strong corrosion resistance and is suitable for the chemical and food industries; Alloy steel pipes (12Cr1MoV, Inconel 625) are used in high-temperature (≤ 600 ℃) and high-pressure (≥ 10MPa) environments, such as power plant boiler pipelines.

The manufacturing process is mainly based on segmented hot pressing molding: first, heat the straight pipe section to the plastic temperature, bend it into a preset arc section by section (each section angle is usually 15 ° -90 °), and control the curvature radius through the mold (usually 1D-3D) to ensure that the dimensions of each section are consistent. After forming, overall heat treatment is required to eliminate accumulated stress and ensure uniform wall thickness (deviation ≤ 12%) at all bending parts.

The core advantage lies in the multi-stage bending design, which can absorb axial and lateral displacement and reduce the thrust of pipelines on equipment; Smooth flow channel, with medium resistance 15% -30% lower than multiple independent elbow combinations; Suitable for scenarios with narrow spaces and complex pipeline routes.

Widely used in: steam pipelines for thermal power plants (compensating for thermal expansion), connecting pipes for chemical reaction vessels (complex pipeline layout), and cooling systems for ship engines (compact space adaptation). It must comply with standards such as ASME B16.9 and GB/T 12459. During installation, the angles of each bending section must be accurately positioned to avoid additional stress concentration.