Metal bellows
Encyclopedia
Metal bellows are elastic vessels that can be compressed when pressure is applied to the outside of the vessel, or extended under vacuum. When the pressure or vacuum is released, the bellows will return to its original shape (provided the material has not been stressed past its yield strength).
Bellows technology of the 20th and 21st century is centered on metal bellows. These high-technology products bear little resemblance to the original leather bellows
used traditionally in fireplaces and forges.
and hydroforming
. They are also called convoluted bellows or sylphon
s.
Welded bellows (also called edge-welded, or diaphragm bellows) are manufactured by welding
a number of individually formed diaphragms to each other. The comparison between the two bellows types generally centers around cost
and performance. Hydroformed bellows generally have a high tooling cost, but, when mass-produced, may have a lower piece price. However, hydroformed bellows have lower performance characteristics due to relatively thick walls and high stiffness. Welded metal bellows are produced with a lower initial tooling cost and maintain higher performance characteristics. The drawback of welded bellows is the reduced metal strength at weld joints, caused by the high temperature of welding. Electroformed bellows can be produced with modest tooling costs and with thin walls (25 micrometres or less), providing them with high sensitivity and precision in many exacting applications.http://nicoform.com/products/high-performance-bellows
Another area of comparison is in metals of construction. Hydroformed and rolled bellows are limited to metals with high plastic elongation characteristics, whereas welded bellows may be fabricated from a wider variety of standard and exotic alloys, such as stainless steel
and titanium
, as well as other high-strength, corrosion-resistant materials. Electroformed bellows can be produced of nickel
, its high-strength alloys, and copper
.
being a prime example. Welded bellows are not fabricated from brass because of its fundamentally poor weldability. Other advantages to welded bellows include compactness (higher performance in a smaller package), ability to be compressed to solid height with no damage, resistance to nicks and dents, and dramatically greater flexibility.
The welding of metal bellows is a microscopic welding process, typically performed under laboratory conditions at high magnification.
Hydroformed bellows are produced by forcing a metal tube to expand under hydraulic pressure inside a bellows-shaped mold, and assume the convoluted shape of the mold.
Electroformed bellows are produced by plating metal onto a bellows-shaped model (mandrel), and the subsequent mandrel removal by chemical or physical means.
Load cell
s; A load cell deforms if a certain load in the form of a pressure or a strain is imposed on it. This deformation is then detected by a strain gauge
through which a low voltage
direct current
is flowing. The change in voltage
is detected and made visible on a control panel
. A bellows is mounted over the gauge to protect it from outside influences.
Vacuum interrupters; For the switching of very high voltages in transformer stations sparks should be avoided. To prevent any danger that the surrounding atmosphere will explode, oxygen has to be removed in the area where the sparks occur. This can be done by sealing the spark area completely. Bellows are used to seal such confined volumes and the inside of the bellows is evacuated or filled with an inert gas
.
Mechanical Seals; These are mostly used to close the inside of a pump from the outside world to prevent leakage
. For that purpose, a mechanical seal is mounted on the pump shaft. As the pump shaft is turning, there has to a rotating sealing element consisting of a stationary and a rotating ring. To enforce sufficient pressure on the two rings one is fitted with a spring. This spring can also have the form of a diaphragm (welded) bellow.
Pressure gauges: If the pressure of aggressive fluids or gases has to be measured, the gauge has to be isolated from the flow. For critical applications a diaphragm sealing is used instead of a bourdon
tube in the gauge. This gives more security that the aggressive media will not leak. The diaphragm is a self contained sensor, transmitting the displacement to the measuring device.
Sensors: In this application diaphragm or convoluted bellows are completely sealed and filled with a certain gas. Two electrical poles are penetrating the inside of the bellows. By varying the current of those two poles the temperature inside the bellows can be regulated. The expansion or contraction of the bellows is used as an actuator
to control a certain movement.
Valve Sealing: A bellows is used between the housing and the rising stem to seal the inside completely from the outside world. In Europe this is of particular importance as regulations such as TA Luft
prohibit any leakage.
Couplings for stepper motors and servomotors: The flexible part, capable of compensating for misalignment is made by a bellows. It ensures that there is no angular positioning difference between the two coupling halves. This is essential if the positioning accuracy should be extremely precise.
Exhaust Bellows: Running engines cause self vibration. To compensate for those movements and temperature differences resulting in thermal expansion, bellows are used to connect the exhaust gas pipes to the funnel.
Piping expansion joint
: In this application, bellows are formed in series to absorb thermal movement and vibration in piping systems that transport high temperature media such as exhaust gases or steam. (1)
Metal bellows are also used in other products and market segments, including medical applications like implantable drug pumps, to industrial actuator
s, to aerospace
applications such as altitude
sensors and fluid management devices (accumulators, surge arresters, volume compensators, and fluid storage). Metal bellows are also found in space applications, providing reservoirs with potable water as well as accumulators to collect wastewater.
Bellows technology of the 20th and 21st century is centered on metal bellows. These high-technology products bear little resemblance to the original leather bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
used traditionally in fireplaces and forges.
Types
There are two main types of metal bellows - formed and welded. Formed bellows are produced by a variety of processes, including cold forming (rolling), electroformingElectroforming
Electroforming is a metal forming process that forms thin parts through the electroplating process. The part is produced by plating a metal skin onto a base form, known as a mandrel, which is removed after plating...
and hydroforming
Hydroforming
Hydroforming is a cost-effective way of shaping malleable metals such as aluminum or brass into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong pieces. One of the largest applications of hydroforming is the automotive industry, which makes use of the complex shapes possible by hydroforming to produce...
. They are also called convoluted bellows or sylphon
Sylphon
A sylphon is an old name for a cylindrical symmetry metal bellows. When made of metal, the sylphon shape was formerly created by metal spinning onto a metal mandrel , and now by hydrostatic forming within a mold. Because the mold contains the convolutions of the bellows, the mold must be...
s.
Welded bellows (also called edge-welded, or diaphragm bellows) are manufactured by welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
a number of individually formed diaphragms to each other. The comparison between the two bellows types generally centers around cost
Cost
In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this...
and performance. Hydroformed bellows generally have a high tooling cost, but, when mass-produced, may have a lower piece price. However, hydroformed bellows have lower performance characteristics due to relatively thick walls and high stiffness. Welded metal bellows are produced with a lower initial tooling cost and maintain higher performance characteristics. The drawback of welded bellows is the reduced metal strength at weld joints, caused by the high temperature of welding. Electroformed bellows can be produced with modest tooling costs and with thin walls (25 micrometres or less), providing them with high sensitivity and precision in many exacting applications.http://nicoform.com/products/high-performance-bellows
Another area of comparison is in metals of construction. Hydroformed and rolled bellows are limited to metals with high plastic elongation characteristics, whereas welded bellows may be fabricated from a wider variety of standard and exotic alloys, such as stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
and titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
, as well as other high-strength, corrosion-resistant materials. Electroformed bellows can be produced of nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, its high-strength alloys, and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
.
Manufacture
Welded bellows can be fabricated from a variety of exotic metals and alloys, whereas formed bellows are limited to alloys with good elongation – brassBrass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
being a prime example. Welded bellows are not fabricated from brass because of its fundamentally poor weldability. Other advantages to welded bellows include compactness (higher performance in a smaller package), ability to be compressed to solid height with no damage, resistance to nicks and dents, and dramatically greater flexibility.
The welding of metal bellows is a microscopic welding process, typically performed under laboratory conditions at high magnification.
Hydroformed bellows are produced by forcing a metal tube to expand under hydraulic pressure inside a bellows-shaped mold, and assume the convoluted shape of the mold.
Electroformed bellows are produced by plating metal onto a bellows-shaped model (mandrel), and the subsequent mandrel removal by chemical or physical means.
Applications
Bellows, welded or convoluted (formed) are used in a large number of industrial applications. Below you will find a few;Load cell
Load cell
A load cell is a transducer that is used to convert a force into electrical signal. This conversion is indirect and happens in two stages. Through a mechanical arrangement, the force being sensed deforms a strain gauge. The strain gauge measures the deformation as an electrical signal, because the...
s; A load cell deforms if a certain load in the form of a pressure or a strain is imposed on it. This deformation is then detected by a strain gauge
Strain gauge
A strain gauge is a device used to measure the strain of an object. Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which supports a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object by a suitable...
through which a low voltage
Low voltage
Low voltage when used as an electrical engineering term concerning an electricity supply grid or industrial use, broadly identifies safety considerations of the system based on the voltage used. The meaning of the term "low voltage" is somewhat different when used with regard to a more typical end...
direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
is flowing. The change in voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
is detected and made visible on a control panel
Control panel
Control panel may refer to:* Control panel , a flat, often vertical, area where control instrumentation is mounted.* Control panel , the tool in the operating system which allows most or all of the settings to be changed through a user interface** Control panel ** Control Panel ** Web hosting...
. A bellows is mounted over the gauge to protect it from outside influences.
Vacuum interrupters; For the switching of very high voltages in transformer stations sparks should be avoided. To prevent any danger that the surrounding atmosphere will explode, oxygen has to be removed in the area where the sparks occur. This can be done by sealing the spark area completely. Bellows are used to seal such confined volumes and the inside of the bellows is evacuated or filled with an inert gas
Inert gas
An inert gas is a non-reactive gas used during chemical synthesis, chemical analysis, or preservation of reactive materials. Inert gases are selected for specific settings for which they are functionally inert since the cost of the gas and the cost of purifying the gas are usually a consideration...
.
Mechanical Seals; These are mostly used to close the inside of a pump from the outside world to prevent leakage
Leakage
Leakage may refer to:*Leakage *Memory leak, in computer science*Leakage *Leakage *Leakage *Leakage...
. For that purpose, a mechanical seal is mounted on the pump shaft. As the pump shaft is turning, there has to a rotating sealing element consisting of a stationary and a rotating ring. To enforce sufficient pressure on the two rings one is fitted with a spring. This spring can also have the form of a diaphragm (welded) bellow.
Pressure gauges: If the pressure of aggressive fluids or gases has to be measured, the gauge has to be isolated from the flow. For critical applications a diaphragm sealing is used instead of a bourdon
Bourdon
Bourdon, bordun, or bordone normally denotes a stopped flute/flue type of pipe in an organ characterized by a very dark, heavy tone, strong in fundamental, with a quint transient but relatively little overtone development...
tube in the gauge. This gives more security that the aggressive media will not leak. The diaphragm is a self contained sensor, transmitting the displacement to the measuring device.
Sensors: In this application diaphragm or convoluted bellows are completely sealed and filled with a certain gas. Two electrical poles are penetrating the inside of the bellows. By varying the current of those two poles the temperature inside the bellows can be regulated. The expansion or contraction of the bellows is used as an actuator
Actuator
An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...
to control a certain movement.
Valve Sealing: A bellows is used between the housing and the rising stem to seal the inside completely from the outside world. In Europe this is of particular importance as regulations such as TA Luft
TA Luft
Germany has a well known air pollution control regulation titled "Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control" and commonly referred to as the TA Luft. The first version of the TA Luft was established in 1964. It has subsequently been revised in 1974, 1983, 1988 and 2002...
prohibit any leakage.
Couplings for stepper motors and servomotors: The flexible part, capable of compensating for misalignment is made by a bellows. It ensures that there is no angular positioning difference between the two coupling halves. This is essential if the positioning accuracy should be extremely precise.
Exhaust Bellows: Running engines cause self vibration. To compensate for those movements and temperature differences resulting in thermal expansion, bellows are used to connect the exhaust gas pipes to the funnel.
Piping expansion joint
Expansion joint
An expansion joint or movement joint is an assembly designed to safely absorb the heat-induced expansion and contraction of various construction materials, to absorb vibration, to hold certain parts together, or to allow movement due to ground settlement or earthquakes...
: In this application, bellows are formed in series to absorb thermal movement and vibration in piping systems that transport high temperature media such as exhaust gases or steam. (1)
Metal bellows are also used in other products and market segments, including medical applications like implantable drug pumps, to industrial actuator
Actuator
An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...
s, to aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
applications such as altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
sensors and fluid management devices (accumulators, surge arresters, volume compensators, and fluid storage). Metal bellows are also found in space applications, providing reservoirs with potable water as well as accumulators to collect wastewater.
See also
- Expansion jointExpansion jointAn expansion joint or movement joint is an assembly designed to safely absorb the heat-induced expansion and contraction of various construction materials, to absorb vibration, to hold certain parts together, or to allow movement due to ground settlement or earthquakes...
- Expansion Joint Manufacturers Association, Inc.