Do You Need A Bolt Tensioner?
Bolt tensioners make the world a much safer place.
From cars, planes and ships to bridges, cranes, engines, windmills, turbines and other steel constructions, there are millions of applications that we use on a daily basis where a bolt tensioner has played a critical role. From the biggest iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and the Stadium Lille Metropole to humble pieces of furniture in our homes, the importance of bolting tools cannot be underestimated.
So, do you need a bolt tensioner?
As background, let’s investigate how bolt tensioners work. In simple terms, they are an easy and accurate way of bringing multiple bolts to the correct pre-load at the same time. This simultaneous pull-down of all the components in a flanged joint results in a uniform load on the gasket and overcomes problems associated with uneven tension and friction in the bolts, which can include leakage, cracking etc.
User-friendly hydraulic bolt tensioners have many advantages over less accurate tightening methods, with some models such as the TensionMax range offering up to 30% more load generation than traditional tensioners. Other advantages include:
- Tension is applied directly to stretch the bolt so there’s no need to fight against friction or losses
- High loads can be applied to bolts with great accuracy and repeatability
- Uniform load on the gasket/bolted joint
- The load transfer factor is calculable, which helps give the correct residual load
- They’re also fast, reliable, safe and versatile and can be custom designed to suit the individual bolt diameter requirement.
Bolt tensioners are used across a diversity of industry in many different applications to optimise assets. Examples of applications for hydraulic tensioners are:
- Turbines (gas, wind, steam)
- Pipelines
- Pressure vessels
- Engines
- Generators
- Machinery (eg mechanical presses)
- Heat exchangers
- Valves and umps
- Cranes
- Shaft couplings
- Tower foundations
- Suspension bridges
- Steel or metal constructions, ropeways etc
- Subsea equipment
Nexxis has chosen to supply the TensionMax range of multi-capable bolt tensioners because we believe that these products offer the very best in the world in terms of safety, quality, performance, technological innovation, performance and reliability. These hydraulic MAX tensioners (from established market leader, HydraTight) are suitable for many different applications and offer significant technical and operating advantages over other methods including enhanced accuracy, speed, efficiency and versatility.
If you need a compact and versatile tensioner which fits all standard flanges, then the HydraMax Topside Tensioner is the answer. If your needs extend to subsea applications, then the AquaMax Subsea Tensioning tool which has been specially designed to tension compact flanges as well as all standard ANSI, API and MSS types is more than up to the task. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of the HydraTight range of bolt tensioners is that they fit all standard flanges, which means you require less kit and can reduce your total tool inventory.
So, if you need a bolt tensioner or want some qualified advice about how bolt tensioning technology can help you optimise your assets, please contact us or take a look at the HydraTight TensionMax bolt tensioner. We can help you find the right tool for your particular application – but more than that, we’ll customise a flexible, needs-based solution that meets your operational and bottom-line needs.
