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Unit 26 Plpe Bending
Leam when pipe bending is iised.
State the mefhods ofbendmg.
Do bending calculations.
Every fitting is a possible source for a future leak. Vibration, pressure, corrosion,
and chemical breakdown of fhe fitting materials are caiises of fitting faHure. In some
circiimstances pipefitters and plumbers wish to have as few fittings and welds as
possible tôavoid future sources of leakage. This can be important m heatmg pipes
which are to be buried in concrete, boUer piping inside boiler casings, hydraulic
piping, and others. The best solution to these situations is often to substitute pipe
bends in place of fittings wherever possible.
A pipe bend can be visualized
as-an arc of a cirde (see Fig-
ure 26-1). When a pipe is bent,
the outside of the bend is
stretched and the mside is
[Link]. The stretched
outsidé has safety considera-
tions. When the pipe wall is
stretched it becoines thinner.
The general practice, witfa
standard weight pipe, is to
minimize Ûusfhmnmg by lùn- Figuie 26-1. The bending drcle
itmg the radiiis of the bend to A is the bend angle
no less than five times the pipe
size. A bending wheel is a steel
or cast iron circle that is
pressed into the pipe to make the bend. A groove is madimed into its perimeter to
a depth of one-half the pipe diameter. If the bendmg wheel is measured across its
greatest widfh and Uiis is divided by 2, the radiiis of the bend fhat fhis particular
bending wheel will make is obtained. Bending on too short a radius wiU flatten the
pipe and reduce its canying capacity.
100
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Utft28 PtflBenttig 101
MakJnfl~ Uie There are two kinds of bending
methods. In fhe first, the bending
ggjyj
wheel is pressed into the pipe,
which is held m position by two
"bendingblocks"
(see Pigure 26-2).
The begirming contact pomt
between the madùneand the pipe
is fhe center of the arc of the fin-
ished bend. The ouier Idnd of
bending madune grasps the pipe
to fhe wheel at fhe begmning of
fhe bend and fhen rotates <he
wheel, forcing the pipe to bend
wifh the wheel as it rotates (see
Pigure 26-3). This makes aU calcu- Figure 26-2. Abendmg table
lations start at the begirmmg of
Ûiearc of the bend. The mafhe-
matics is sUghtly different in each situation. This is fhe type process foiu-id m small
hand benders used for hydraiiUc, gas/ and air pressure lines, but it is also used m
heayy pipe fabrication shops where pipe sizes 8" IPS and more are bent on a
inachine weighing many toiis.
Visualcmg tfte If we make a 90° bend in fhe center of a piece of pipe 24 inches long, how long will
fhe pipe tangents be? We can't be exacdy sure, except to say that they will not be
12 inches long. We can't be certain becaiise the size of the pipe is not known and,
therefore, the radius of the bending wheel is not known. But fhe reason that the
^ length of fhe pipe tangents
added together is greater
fhan 24 mches is Ûiatthe pîpe bendstarts
takes a short-cut across the onttiis
angle of the bend. This short- imm°Yable-
cutresults in what pipefitters S&de block
-pipe damp
call gain. Gain is iUiistrated m
the following paragraph.
To inake this calculation, cal-
culate the difference between unmovable
the straight line length of fhe slideblock
pipe from where Uie bend
starts and stops and the
length of the arc made in the Figure 26-3
pipe by the bending wheel.
In the case illustrated by
Pigure 26-4, a piece of 2-inch pipe is bent at a 90-degree angle. The pipe follows the
20-inch diameter bending wheel (5 times 2 inches ttmes 2). The pipe length con-
siuned by the bending arc is % of the perimeter of the 20-inch circle. The perimeter
of a 20-inch circle is 20rt or 62.832 inches, % ofwhich is 15.708 inches. So if an abmpt
90-degree angle were possible, as shown in Figure 26-4, it would consume 20 inches
(10 pliis 10) between fhe intersection points wifh the bending wheel. The pipe, how-
ever, follows fhe wheel and consumes only 15.708 inches, a difference of 20 -15.708
or 4.292 inches.
Nole: The radius ofthe bmding wheel can be specified to be anything larger than 5 times
the pipe she. Ifthe radius is not specified it will be 5 times the pipe size.
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102 SBCtrnZ PlieleBgthCafcdaams
A Formuta foi* P = pipe size. D = number of degrees in the bend.
Cateulathig Pip Pipe length = the length of the pipe actuaUy incorporated in the bend.
hivolved in a D
Pipe length =Px5x2X7iX
360
This calculation is hdpful in detemuiung
The number 5 represents fhe standard liowdpse tôgètherbehds can be inade for
apariicular arigle.
bending radius iniiltiplier. This Tvoiild be
changed to smt for special cases. The
niunber 2 is the multiplier necessary to
change the radius into the diameter of the
bending wheel. This is so fhat the ciicum-
ference of the bending wheel can be calcu-
lated using the foraiula C= ît X D, i.e., the
drcumference of a circle is equal to the
value of pi times Uie diameter of that
circle. If a benduig radius different froin 5
ttmes Ûiepipe diameter is not gomg to be
used, fhe fonsndsi can be shortened to
Pipe length = P X 31.4159 X ^, or A90°Bend
with2"Pipe
Pipe length =P X D X 0.0873 Figure 26-4
A Common Pipe Problem: Make a 10-inch offset in 2-inch pipe usîng 20° bends.
Bending \^sualize: Figure 26-5 shows the centerUne of the 2-inch pipe offset. In practical
^- Ppoblem bending pracdce wifh the push-type bending wheel, two strips of metal are joined
at one end with a clamp
screw. This creates a tool that
can be fastened at any degree
setting. We use a protractor to
set tf-us tool at 20°. Then we ^' 10"
press the bending wheel [Link] ^^^tn*
the pipe until fhe desired
degree of bend is reached by
comparing the bend wifh otir Piguie 26-5
tool as the work progresses.
Figure 26-6 shows the piece of
pipe that is going to be used
to make Ûieproposed offset. Ibendmgzan^ |bendingzonej
ïï fhe clainp wheel is used,
the center of fhe wheel is fas- [ ^•y^s'y/^ Rpe '^Wy'^.
tened to the pomts marked
"B"
(for beguming). If fhe DiaEtmalofdie
'btEael
push-wheel type of bending M M
machme is used, fhe center of
the wheel is pressed into fhe Figure 26-6
"M"
points marked (for
middle). The wheel is pressed
in at the first mark and then the pipe is tumed over and the wheel is pressed in at
the other mark from the opposite direction, forming the offset. The distances B-B
and M-M are exacdy the same. With either type of bending machine it should be
obvious fhat fhe student must first calailate the diagonal (travel) of fhe offset.