Sealing behavior of twin gasketed flange joints

• Nonlinear loading and unloading characteristics of the gasket material is considered.
• Formulation of bolt preload for safe operation of twin gasketed joints.
• Comparison of sealing performance of gasketed joint with single and twin gaskets.
• Effect of individual gasket widths and space between gaskets on contact pressure.
• Twin gasketed joint can withstand higher internal pressure compared to single gasketed joint.

Sealing performance of gasketed flange joints depends mainly on the behavior of gasket. In the present work, a three dimensional finite element analysis has been carried on a gasketed joint with single and twin gaskets having nonlinear material properties, to find the influence of gasket contact stress and sealing performance of the joint. Bolt preload required for safe operation of twin gasketed joints has been formulated by modifying the ASME code. A comparison is made on sealing performance of gasketed joint with single and twin gaskets. The contact pressure of twin gasketed joint is examined by varying the design parameters such as individual gasket widths and space between the gaskets. Contact pressure in single and twin gasketed flange joints at different operating conditions, viz., bolt preload and internal pressure have been investigated. It is observed that the flange joint with twin gasket can withstand higher internal pressure.