For thermal pipes, is it better to have greater or less friction on the pipe supports?

This issue really needs to be considered comprehensively! There are two main aspects of the impact of friction on thermal pipes:: High friction can indeed help share part of the thermal expansion force and reduce the burden on the compensator, but at the same time it will increase the thrust of the fixed bracket, which may cause the bracket structure to need to be strengthened. Although the use of friction-reducing measures such as polytetrafluoroethylene pads can reduce the stress on the fixed bracket, it is necessary to ensure that the compensator has sufficient compensation capacity to absorb all thermal displacements. In actual projects, the balance usually needs to be based on the overall design of the piping system. It is recommended to refer to GB/T 20801 or related industry standards. For specific projects, it is best to consult professional designers for evaluation.

This issue really needs to be considered comprehensively. From the perspective of thermal compensation, high friction can indeed share part of the expansion force, but excessive friction will cause the fixed bracket to bear greater thrust, which may affect structural safety. The application scenarios of PTFE backing plates are usually areas where pipes need to slide freely, such as sliding brackets for long straight pipe sections. It is recommended to consider two situations:: For the vicinity of the fixed bracket, appropriately retaining a certain amount of friction will help disperse the stress. For the sliding bracket area that requires free displacement, reducing the friction is more conducive to the thermal displacement of the pipe. The specific selection must also be comprehensively calculated based on factors such as pipe material, operating temperature, bracket spacing, etc. It is best to refer to the calculation methods in standards such as GB/T 17116.

For thermal pipes, the friction on the pipe supports should be as small as possible, but within a reasonable range to ensure safe and stable operation of the system. Cause Analysis Thermal expansion and contraction requirements: Thermal pipelines will produce significant axial displacement due to temperature changes during operation. If the friction force of the bracket is too large, it will prevent the pipe from expanding and contracting freely, leading to the accumulation of thermal stress, which may cause pipe deformation, bracket damage and even equipment interface failure. Low friction design purpose: Sliding supports (such as sliding pipe supports) usually require a friction coefficient ≤ 0.1 to reduce sliding resistance, enable the pipe to move smoothly along the design direction, and effectively release thermal stress. Balance of security and stability: Although the smaller the friction force, the better it is for thermal displacement, but if it is too small, it may cause unexpected sliding of the pipeline under accidental loads such as wind load and earthquake. Therefore, in engineering, the direction and amplitude of displacement are often controlled through guide brackets or limit baffles, rather than relying solely on high friction constraints.