Depending on their design, steel expansion joints can accommodate movement in several directions:
axiallateralangular
along the axis of an expansion joint: compression or extensionperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of an expansion jointdisplacing 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.