This European Standard specifies the characteristics for the design and manufacture of sliding elements and guides which are not structural bearings but only parts of them for combination with structural bearings as defined in other Parts of this European Standard.
Suitable combinations are shown in Table 1 of EN 1337-1:2000.
Sliding surfaces with a diameter of the circumscribing circle of single or multiple PTFE sheets less than 75 mm or greater than 1500 mm, or with effective bearing temperatures less than -35°C or greater than 48°C are outside the scope of this European Standard.
Sliding elements for use as temporary devices during construction, for example during launching of the superstructure, are also outside the scope of this European Standard.
In this standard the specification is also given for curved sliding surfaces which are not part of separate sliding elements but which are incorporated in cylindrical or spherical PTFE bearings as per EN 1337.
NOTE The general principles detailed in this European Standard may be applied for sliding elements outside this scope, but their suitability for the intended use should be proven.