High Temperature Bellows Test Facility

Available for Customized Studies at Senior Flexonics Pathway

Over the past several years, there have been many reports of bellows failures in high temperature service. These failures have been analyzed by many experts who have differing opinions about the root cause.

In response to this issue, Senior Flexonics Pathway designed and built a high temperature cycle test fixture which is capable of simulating real time bellows movements over a wide range of high temperature operating conditions. To date, several programs have been completed using different bellows materials including Alloy 800, 800H, 800HT and 625 LCF to understand the effect of temperature and hold time on predicted cycle life.

The heating coils in the text fixture are capable of maintaining sustained temperatures of up to 1600 F. The controller contains a microprocessor and is fully programmable. The hold time between each bellows stroke can be extended to allow for creep relaxation- of the bellows to stimulate real service conditions in creep range temperatures. The stroke rate can be accelerated to run high cycle fatigue tests on bellows at elevated temperatures. The controller can also vary the temperature during each movement cycle. The sample size is limited to 16 1/2" outside diameter. Up to six samples of various materials can be run at one time. The bellows test fixture is available on a fee basis to any interested party.

To find out more about the high temperature bellows test fixture at Senior Flexonics Pathway.