Advantages and Disadvantages of Bellows and Packed Slip Type Expansion Joints

The following is a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of both bellows and
packed slip type expansion joints.

Bellows Type Expansion Joints
Advantages	Disadvantages
• Bellow joints do not require access; i.e. They can be direct buried, however a telltale is recommended • No maintenance is required.	• Bellows joints can fail catastrophically. • No in place maintenance or repair can be performed – they must be replaced if damaged. • Require that the system be shut down when a failure occurs. • Chance of personal and/or property damage when failure occurs. • Installer can easily misuse joints when correcting for pipe misalignment.
Packed Slip Type Expansion Joints
Advantages	Disadvantages
• No catastrophic failure mode. • Fabricated from materials similar to the pipe line. • Rugged construction – the wall thickness of every part of the expansion joint is at least as heavy as that of the system in which they are installed. • In the event that a leak occurs there is no need to shut the system down for repairs. • Allow for safe packing injection under full line pressure.	• Must be located to allow access for inspection and maintenance. • May require occasional addition of injectable packing.

Contact Campbell-Sevey to learn more about how we can assist you with your expansion joint needs.

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