Expansion pipe joint for conveying solids laden gas or fluid

Claim 1

IN A DUCT SYSTEM FOR A STREAM GENERATOR FORMED OF A NUMBER OF DUCT SECTIONS FOR CONVEYING A SOLIDS LADEN HEATING GAS FLOWING UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE, THE INVENTION COMPRISING AN EXPANSION JOINT FOR CONNECTING ADJACENT AXIALLY ALIGNED DUCT SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID ALIGNED DUCT SECTIONS HAVING THE SAME INTERNAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS WHEREBY A SMOOTH UNINTERRUPTED FLOW PATH IS PROVIDED, AND THE ACCUMULATION OF DEPOSITED SOLIDS AT THE JOINT IS KEPT TO A MINIMUM COMPRISING A FRAME MEMBER POSITIONED AT EACH OF THE ADJOINING ENDS OF SAID DUCT SECTIONS CONNECTED BY AN EXPANSION JOINT, EACH FRAME MEMBER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SIMILAR L-SHAPED STRUCTURAL COMPONENT SECTIONS INTEGRALLY ATTACHMENT TOGETHER TO FORM A CLOSED AREA HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME INTERNAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AS SAID DUCT SECTIONS, SAID L-SHAPED SECTIONS PROVIDING THE FRAME MEMBER WITH A PAIR OF ANGULARLY DISPOSED LEGS, EACH OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS INTEGRALLY ATTACHED TO ONE OF SAID DUCT SECTIONS ALONG ONE OF ITS LEGS, AN EXPANSION JOINT MEMBER COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE SINGLE ARCUATELY-SHAPED SECTION HAVING A CONVEX FACE AND A CONCAVE FACE AND JUNCTURE SECTION EXTENDING FROM EACH END OF SAID ARCUATELYSHAPED SECTION, SAID EXPANSION JOINT MEMBER SPANNING THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJOINING DUCT SECTIONS AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE ARCUATELY-SHAPED SECTION THEREOF EXTENDING INTO THE FLOW PATH THROUGH SAID DUCT SECTIONS WITH ITS CONVEX FACE EXPOSED TO THE FLOW OF THE SOLIDS LADEN HEATING GAS THERETHROUGH, AND THE JUNCTURE SECTIONS ON SAID EXPANSION JOINT MEMBER INTEGRALLY ATTACHED TO THE OTHER LEGS OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS IN SUCH MANNER THAT A SMOOTH FACED SUBSTANTIALLY POCKET-FREE JOINT IS OBTAINED BETWEEN THE JUNCTURE SECTIONS AND SAID LEGS.