The arrangement of the rotary compensator is mainly to adapt to the thermal expansion, mechanical vibration and installation error in the pipeline system. The special design of the rotary compensator can absorb these displacements and avoid excessive stress in the pipeline system. Here are the two main rotary compensator arrangements:

Z-shaped pipe arrangement

Arranging two rotary compensators on a Z-shaped pipe is one of the most common arrangements. This method is suitable for heating pipes laid in a straight line. When the pipes need to be laid in a straight line with flat terrain and no obstacles, the rotary compensators are usually centrally arranged on Z-shaped bends similar to square compensators. Specifically, there are three forms:

• Gutter laying horizontal side concentrated arrangement;

• The overhead low supports are laid and arranged upward in a centralized manner;

• The overhead high supports are laid down and centrally arranged.

L-shaped pipe arrangement

When the laying route of the heating pipe needs to be turned, that is, three rotary compensators are arranged on the horizontal L-shaped pipe. This arrangement is suitable for situations where thermal expansion at corners needs to be absorbed, whether it is trench or overhead. One rotary compensator is arranged for the long pipe section and two for the short pipe section to ensure that the pipe is able to absorb displacement by the rotation of the rotary compensator when it is thermally expanded.

Arrangement principle

The rotary compensator is installed in pairs, using the rotary drum and the L force arm to form a force couple. When the pipeline is thermally expanded, the rotary compensator rotates at a certain angle to make the heat pipes on both sides of the force couple rotate correspondingly, thus absorbing the thermal displacement of the pipeline. This arrangement can ensure that the pipeline will not cause excessive thrust to the fixed bracket or other pipeline components during thermal expansion, and at the same time, it reduces the stress in the pipeline system.

Precautions

When actually arranging the rotary compensator, the following points need to be paid attention to:

• Pre-bias installation: Depending on the direction of thermal expansion of the pipeline, the rotary compensator needs to be pre-biased, and the pre-bias installation amount is usually half of the compensation amount to ensure that the pipeline can be restored to the designed position in the hot state.

• Correct configuration of fixed brackets and guide brackets: In order to ensure the proper operation of the rotary compensator, the fixed brackets and guide brackets in the pipeline system must be correctly configured according to the design requirements to control the displacement direction of the pipeline.

• Calculation of thermal expansion of pipes: During the design stage, it is necessary to accurately calculate the amount of thermal expansion of pipes to determine the placement position and number of rotary compensators.

• Installation and commissioning: When installing a rotary compensator, ensure its concentricity with the rest of the piping system, as well as the tightness and flexibility of the rotary compensator itself.

Through reasonable arrangement and design, the rotary compensator can effectively absorb the thermal expansion and mechanical displacement of the pipeline, so as to ensure the safe and stable operation of the pipeline system.