Facts At Your Fingertips
Bolted Flange Joint Assemblies
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
F
lange-bolted joints enable con- gasket load must then
Bolt load
nections of singular segments be greater than the in- Hydrostatic
of pipes into more complex sec- ternal blowout pressure end force
tions, as well as joining measuring and to ensure the integrity of
process devices, such as flowmeters, the seal. If it is not, a leak
pumps, fans and pressure vessels. or gasket blowout can
These joints are potential sources of occur [2]. Gasket
leakage, which can introduce safety
and environmental hazards, as well as Leakage rate Blowout/
process inefficiencies. This one-page The leakage rate refers internal
pressure
reference reviews concepts associ- to the quantity of fluid
ated with preventing leaks in flange- that passes through the
bolted joints. body and over the faces
of a gasket per unit pe-
Design considerations riphery of the gasket over FIGURE 1. The three main forces at play in a bolted flange joint as-
The design of flange-bolted joints de- a specified time [3]. The sembly (shown here) act to prevent leaks and gasket blowouts
pends on the selection of a gasket, as leakage rate is highly in-
well as the proper assembly. Required fluenced by process media, pressure, calibrated torque-control device
design data include the nominal di- temperature, surface pressure and to ensure proper torque values
ameter of the pipeline, the tempera- other factors. It is usually measured are applied
ture and pressure of the process fluid under a specific gasket load and at a • Keep assembly records to verify that
and the chemical and physical prop- specific fluid pressure. For given set proper procedures were followed
erties of the transported medium. of conditions, the lower the leakage
Additional data are external loads on rate, the better the fluid is retained by Gasket materials
joint (and their variations in time), re- the gasket material. Common gasket materials include
quired tightness and durability of the As a general guideline, increas- elastomers, polytetrafluoroethylene
joint. Over the past several decades, ing internal pressure leads to higher (PTFE), flexible graphite, natural fi-
computational algorithms have been leakage rates. Increasing surface bers or mineral-based materials.
developed to help achieve the desired pressure results in lower leakage Gasket manufacturers provide pres-
bolt tightness. In most cases, the al- rates. Increasing molecular size gen- sure-versus-temperature charts to
gorithms apply to flange-bolted joints erally means lower leakage rates. help determine whether or not the
with circular gaskets, and the results Increasing temperature gives lower material is safe to use for a particu-
of the calculations provide the torque leakage rates for some gasket ma- lar application.
at which the nuts should be tightened terials, although toward the end of
to ensure sufficient tightness [1]. service life, the leakage rate is likely Flange compressibility
to increase [3]. Flange compressibility is consid-
Forces on joints ered to be the percentage reduc-
Three main forces act upon a bolted Installation tips tion in thickness of a flange under
flange joint assembly (BFJA; Figure 1). The following are tips to consider compressive pressure (applied at a
The flange/bolt load acts to compress when installing BFJAs [2]. constant rate, at ambient tempera-
the gasket enough to fill any serra- • Make sure the flange sealing sur- ture). This value provides a means to
tions or imperfections on the sealing faces are clean and free of dings, measure the deformation properties
surface. This helps prevent potential marks or indentations of a gasket, and is an indication of
leak paths. The hydrostatic end load, • Flanges should be aligned to maxi- the ability of the material to conform
caused by the internal pressure of the mize sealing contact and to pro- to the flange surface irregularities [3].
fluid in the system, acts to push the vide a uniform gasket load Gasket materials with higher com-
two flanges apart. The internal blow- • Working surfaces of bolts, nuts and pressibilities will more effectively fill
out pressure acts upon the gasket washers should be lubricated to surface roughness. n
and tries to push it out through the ensure uniform friction
gap between the flanges. • Verify the material, grade and con- References
A main concern surrounding the dition of the bolts. Nuts should 1. Jaszak, P. and Adamek, K., Design and analysis of the flange-
bolted join with respect to required tightness and strength, Open
design and installation of the BFJA spin freely onto the bolt thread Engineering, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2019-0031
is determining the gasket stress or without binding 2. Norton, C., Back to Basics: Soft Gaskets, Fluid Sealing Associa-
load that will be applied to the gas- • Number and tighten bolts using a tion (FSA), Sealing Sense, 2016.
ket (the flange/bolt load minus the proven tightening sequence or 3. European Sealing Association (ESA) and the Fluid Sealing As-
sociation (FSA). Flange Gaskets: Glossary of Terms, ESA/FSA,
hydrostatic end load). This remaining assembly pattern, and use a Publication 018/09. 2009.
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