• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2024

The structural safety of expansion joints for piping systems has been drawing attention owing to ruptures and leaks of water pipes caused by earthquakes and road subsidence at soft ground. In general, metal bellows are installed as expansion joints to prevent various damages in the piping system. In this study, the seismic performance of a valve chamber system was evaluated by performing earthquake shaking table tests. To validate the benefits to structural safety of metal bellows in connecting steel pipes to valve chambers, the seismic tests were conducted on expansion joints (bellows) and general pipping, and the results were compared for durability. Strain gauges were attached to measure the effects of the input motion. As a result of the shaking table test, it was confirmed that the strain of the valve chamber structure and inflow or outflow steel pipes were decreased in 1/100, 1/20 by applied to the expansion joints.