Do you have an issue with leaky gaskets?

A lot of people message me complaining about leaky flange gaskets and wondering what kind of gaskets I recommend to help. The fact of the matter is that gasket quality and performance has never been better. I have found that many times the real problem is that the gasket was not considered during the design phase. Gaskets are an important part of flange design. Treat them that way. 

Have you performed ASME PCC-1 Appendix O for your flanges? 

An approach in ASME PCC-1 Appendix O can help you make sure your gaskets are being seated correctly. The gasket needs to be below the maximum permissible gasket stress, above the minimum seating gasket stress, and above the minimum gasket operating stress. In this example the minimum gasket operating stress is not being maintained at the operating condition. 

Make sure you perform ASME PCC-1 next time you open up a pair of flanges.

Do you spend too much time looking up Gasket Factor (m) and Gasket Seating Stress Factor (y) values?

Whenever someone asks me to design a custom Appendix 2 or Part 4.16 flange I want to know the m and y factors of the gaskets they intend to use. A lot of times this crucial gasket design information is tough to track down. Thankfully COMPRESS has a great selection of pre-loaded gaskets to choose from including manufactures like Garlock, Flexitalic, Lamons, and Teadit. 

Use a manufacturer not listed in COMPRESS? It is easy to add new gaskets to the pre-loaded database.