Depending on their design, steel expansion joints can accommodate movement in several directions:
axial | lateral | angular |
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along the axis of an expansion joint: compression or extension | perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of an expansion joint | displacing an expansion joint angularly from its longitudinal axis |
Obviously, in the actual operating conditions of a system, the real directions of displacement to which an expansion joint is exposed to may be a combination of these above-mentioned basic directions.