Study on External Limit Load and Instability Characteristics of C-shaped Bellows

The metal bellow is the main flexible component in the pipeline compensator, which is used to compensate for the change of pipeline or structural displacement caused by thermal expansion and contraction, mechanical displacement or vibration, and is widely used in various fields of industrial production. In this paper, the critical load of the external pressure instability of the C-shaped bellow is theoretically deduced, and the corresponding finite element method is verified by this theory. On this basis, the finite element analysis is carried out for C-shaped bellows of different sizes. The influences of parameters such as diameter, wall thickness, wave radius, wave pitch and wave height on the limit load and critical instability load are clarified. The present study could provide an effective basis for the mechanical analysis and design of bellows, and also could provide a reference for the installation and use of bellows. (paper)