Can stainless steel heat exchange tubes bend? The answer is surprisingly yes! But specific processes and equipment control are required, otherwise it may cause damage or performance degradation.
Flexibility verification: Stainless steel heat exchange tubes are generally made of austenitic stainless steel materials such as 304/316L, which have good plastic deformation ability. The cold bending limit radius can reach ≥ 3 times the pipe diameter (the minimum bending radius for DN15 pipes is ≈ 45mm).
When bending heat exchange tubes, manual bending is prohibited (which can cause wrinkling deformation/section ellipticization). The correct bending method is as follows:
1. Cold bending forming (pipe diameter ≤ DN50, wall thickness ≥ 0.6mm)
Hydraulic cold bending machine combined with anti wrinkle mold, controlling bending rate ≤ 5 °/s.
2. Medium frequency hot bending (thick walled pipes ≥ 2mm or large-diameter pipes)
Localized heating to 300 ± 50 ℃ (strictly prohibited from exceeding 400 ℃ to avoid intergranular corrosion).
3. Laser bending tube (precision serpentine tube, such as heat exchanger coil)
The CNC positioning accuracy is ± 0.1mm, suitable for complex multi bending structures.