PTFE sliding plate: A Flexible Buffer for Pipeline Thermal Displacement

Oct 15 , 2025

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Challenge of thermal displacement

When pipelines transport high-temperature fluids such as steam, hot water, or industrial molten salt, metal pipelines undergo length changes due to thermal expansion and contraction. For example, a 100 meter steel pipe heated to 100 ° C can elongate by about 12 centimeters - if there is a lack of release space, this expansion force is sufficient to twist the support or tear the weld seam. Traditional rigid supports cannot solve this problem, and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) sliding plate have become a key solution.

Working principle of PTFE sliding plate

PTFE sliding plate consists of two layers of structure:

PTFE friction layer: The surface is smooth like a "non stick pan coating", with an extremely low friction coefficient (only 0.04-0.1), allowing the pipeline to slide freely.

Metal substrate: provides supporting strength, usually made of stainless steel or galvanized steel, corrosion-resistant and has strong load-bearing capacity.

When the pipeline expands due to heat, the PTFE layer acts like a "lubricating ice surface", allowing the pipeline to smoothly slide on the substrate, dispersing stress and avoiding local concentrated load damage to the structure.

Why choose PTFE?

Resistant to extreme environments: stable performance at temperatures ranging from -200 ° C to+260 ° C, suitable for various scenarios such as refrigeration plants to refineries.

Self lubrication: No additional lubricating oil is required, reducing maintenance costs.

Chemical inertness: resistant to acid and alkali, solvent corrosion, with a lifespan of over 20 years.

Practical application cases

Chemical plant steam pipeline: After installing PTFE sliding plate, the annual maintenance frequency is reduced by 70%.

Regional heating pipeline network: Sliding supports are matched with PTFE sliding plate to adapt to displacement caused by seasonal temperature differences.