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James Walker Townson is one of the founding members of the ESA Expansion Joint Division.
The European Sealing Association e.V. (ESA) was Established in 1992, and is registered in Neu-Ulm (Deutschland) as a non-profit making trade association. Member companies are involved in the manufacture, supply and use of sealing materials, crucial components in the safe containment of fluids during processing and use. The ESA has more than 40 Member Companies, representing over 85% of the fluid sealing industry in Europe.
The ESA has been established to work towards:
Expansion Joints Division
The key, reputable manufacturers of expansion joint technology in the European market have come together to establish this division in 1998. Membership of the division requires:
The division will focus initially on non-metallic expansion joint technology and will expand to cover metallic forms in due course.
Non-metallic expansion joints are flexible connectors designed to provide stress relief in ducting systems by absorbing movement caused by thermal changes. They also act as vibration isolators, shock absorbers and in some instances to compensate for minor misalignment of adjoining ducting or equipment. They are fabricated from a wide variety of materials, including synthetic elastomers, fabrics, insulation materials and flouroplastics, dependent upon the process environment in which they operate.
The objective of the division is to serve as a focal point for all efforts to improve the manufacture understanding and application of expansion joint technology. This will be achieved through:
Expansion joint engineering guide
It is apparent that there is a wide ambiguity with the terminology used in connection with expansion joint technology. Although there are a number of guides describing expansion joints and their application, these are either biased on a particular type of technology or are over-complicated. The division has focused on providing a comprehensive guide to European expansion joint technology which is both easy to use and understand.
