Pipe connector

This article deals with connectors for pipes with a purely constructive function. Pressure-tight connection elements for pipelines are called fittings or fittings and are dealt with in the article pipe connection .

Pipe connection elements, or pipe connectors for short, are used to constructively connect square and round pipes . Most of the connecting elements can be detached again so that they can be used repeatedly and do not require any pre-treatment of the material, as is often necessary for welding and soldering . Pipes can be connected using simple connectors , but force-fit connections are usually made with clamp connectors , which secure the connection with screwed clamping elements. In order to utilize the full load capacity of thick-walled pipes, connecting elements are used that surround the pipe from the outside and are available in closed and half-shell designs .

Raw connecting elements are used, for example, to assemble supporting structures such as scaffolding and frames , guide and safety elements such as handrails , parapets and fall protection , as well as other general devices and auxiliary structures.

Pipe connectors are used:

• in the building industry for the production of auxiliary and substructures (such as falsework ), barriers , guide and safety elements as well as in scaffolding and formwork construction
• in event technology (trade fair construction , exhibition construction , stage technology ) and for setting up temporary constructions
• in film and television production ( set construction , lighting technology ...)
• in industry for setting up workplaces and manufacturing plants
• in the handicraft in workshop equipment and in shop fitting

Scaffold couplings or scaffold clamps as part of the connection technology in scaffolding are subject to their own standards.

Clamping principle

The element is pulled together by means of a screw connection and fixes the pipe by clamping . The permissible tightening torque of the screws must be observed in order to achieve the required frictional connection between the clamping element and the pipe.

Closed design

Closed pipe connectors are preferably available for round pipes. The clamping area reaches almost 360 ° and the surface pressure between the pipe and the clamping element is evenly distributed. The clamping range that can be achieved by tightening the fastening screws is a few tenths of a millimeter to a few millimeters, depending on the size and material, which is why the tolerances of the pipes used must be observed. The specified tolerances of the standardized pipe qualities must be adhered to so that the clamping function is guaranteed.

Half-shell design

Half-shell elements are available for round tubes and square tubes. The possible clamping range is larger here than with the closed version. The surface pressure between the pipe and the clamping element builds up only in the pulling direction of the fastening screws. For square tubes, the parallel surfaces in the direction of pull apply. The load in the screw direction is greatest on the curved surfaces of the round tubes and decreases to zero towards the sides. The surface pressure for round pipe connections is therefore determined according to the projected area ( Hertzian pressure ).

Materials

The tubular connecting elements in aluminum - die casting , aluminum extrusion profile , reinforced plastic , steel and stainless steel produced.

literature

• Hermann Roloff: Machine elements (textbook). Braunschweig, 1987. ISBN 3-528-54028-1