Bellows are a crucial part of industrial setups that are exposed to pressure, temperature, and lubrication. The oil and gas industry uses many types of equipment whose functional security depends on the bellows. The bellows can act as pressure suppressing devices, temperature control devices, leakage prevention, etc. All these capabilities of industrial bellows are effectively utilized in the oil and gas industry. Certainly, this makes the industrial bellows highly significant in the oil and gas industry. This post discusses various applications of bellows in the oil and gas industries.
Important Applications of Bellows in Oil and Gas Industries
Bellows find various applications in the oil and gas industries. The following are a few of them:
- Valve Equipment: The edge weld bellows are utilized to ensure proper seating or mounting of the valves. Most valves are exposed to high pressure, temperature, and lubricants in the oil and gas industry. All these factors in combination or individually lead to dislocation of the valve from the desired location. The dislocation or lifting of the valve may result in leakage of lubricants or gases. The bellows are used to keep the valve in place despite all these challenges.
- Petrochemical Seals: In petrochemical equipment, the seals are essential to prevent fluid leakage. Bellows can be used as seals as the perforated construction of these bellows allow them to sit tight on the valves and openings, making them ideal petrochemical seals.
- Metering Devices: The oil and gas industry uses metering devices such as metering pumps. These metering devices use actuators, triggers, and manual or automated ejecting mechanisms, etc. to maintain the significant alignment of such equipment. Bellows are utilized on these devices.
- Drilling Equipment: Oil and gas industries utilize mud while drilling (MWD) and logging while drilling (LWL) equipment. Drilling equipment are equipped with bellows and flexible seals to ensure safe drilling operations. The purpose of using bellows in the drilling equipment is to ensure the alignment of a drill, reduce friction, prevent leakage, and handle pressure buildup.
- Sub-sea Transformers: Sub-sea transformers are used for the extrusion of petrochemical gases from the bottom of the sea. These devices are exposed to internal and external pressure and therefore bellows are essential for this equipment. The bellows help balance the differential pressure of extruded oil/gas and seawater.
Since bellows are of great significance in the oil and gas industries, the quality of bellows is essential. The next section offers insights on factors that you need to consider to verify the quality of bellows for the oil and gas industry.
Guidelines to Verify Quality of Bellows for Oil and Gas Industry
The following guidelines can be adopted to verify the quality of bellows before using in the oil and gas industry.
- Check for the quality standards and certification. These standards or certifications include the following.
- Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 97/23/EC Module H/H1
- ASME U Stamp
- ISO 9001:2008
- Check for the material compatibility of bellows. Chemical interaction, pressure exposure, and temperature fluctuations are high in the oil and gas industry, thus the bellows materials should be able to sustain such parameters.
Now that the applications and quality guidelines are discussed, you should consider sourcing bellows from trusted suppliers like Nabell. Nabell is a manufacturer of high-quality bellows for the oil and gas industry.
