An investigation into dynamic characteristics and seismic response of bellows expansion joints is

described. For axial and lateral vibrations of the bellows, simplified methods are developed to evaluate their
natural frequencies and seismic response, based on analogies with those of a uniform rod and a
Timoshenko beam, respectively. For the lateral vibration modes, effect of fluid-structure interaction between
the convolutions and flow-sleeve is taken into account. The validity and applicability of the simplified
methods are shown, by comparing with the results of vibration experiments using a simple bellows model
and a piping model with bellows, along with corresponding detailed FEM analyses results.