STATIC TESTING OF U-SHAPED FORMED METAL BELLOWS

This paper summarizes the results of an investigation in which an innovative test facility was designed and constructed for the purpose of stress testing of thin-walled U-shaped formed metal bellows. Stress values calculated from strains obtained using commercially available strain gages for various modes of deformation were compared with those predicted by currently available static stress equations. It was observed that the experimental test results are significantly different from the stress values obtained using the analytical static stress equations. Possible explanations for the discrepancies are presented and discussed. It is concluded that common, commercially available strain gages are inappropriate for measuring convolute strains in thin-walled formed metal bellows with small convolute radii. © 1990.