Stop Blaming the Gasket for Bad Flange Designs

Stop blaming the gasket manufacturer for your bad flange designs.

I’ve noticed the gasket manufacturers always get the blame for leaky flanges. But did the designer even consider that the flange could be governing the bolted flange joint assembly? Or did they just grab an off-the-shelf ASME B16.5/16.47 flange and assume everything would happen to work out?

There are many cases for ASME B16.5/16.47 flanges where the Target Assembly Gasket Stress, SgT, is difficult to achieve without exceeding the Maximum Permissible Bolt Stress Prior to Flange Damage, Sfmax. This means that the flange may yield and start leaking before the gasket ever reaches its optimal stress condition for sealing!

There is not much the gasket manufacturer can do for your damaged flange. 

Please refer to Table O-4.2-1 inside ASME PCC-1 Appendix O for a list of ASME B16.5/16.47 governed by the Maximum Permissible Bolt Stress Prior to Flange Damage, Sfmax. 

Please refer to WRC 538 to better understand which flange stresses are governing the Maximum Permissible Bolt Stress Prior to Flange Damage, Sfmax in your designs.