FEM Stress Analysis and Sealing Performance In Pipe Flange Connections with Gaskets Subjected to Internal Pressure and External Bending Moment

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002.8 (0) ◽  
pp. 543-544
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki SAWA ◽  
Mitsuhiro MATSUMOTO ◽  
Takahito NISHIDA
Author(s):  
Masahide Katsuo ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Yuki Kikuchi

This study deals with the stress analysis and the estimation of sealing performance of the pipe flange connections with an adhesive under an internal pressure and an external bending moment are analyzed by using the 3-dimensional elastic finite element method (FEM). The experiment of the leakage test of the connections with an adhesive was carried out by applying the above loads to the connections. From the FEM analysis, the following results were obtained; (1) when an internal pressure is applied to the flange connections, the compressive stress at the interface between a flange and an adhesive increases proportionally from the inner side of the interface to outside, and (2) when an internal pressure and a bending moment apply to the flange connections, the stress distribution at the half part of the interface increases as the external bending moments increase and also Young’s modulus of the adhesive increases. From the experiments, the following results were obtained: (1) sealing performance of the pipe flange connections with an adhesive under an internal pressure and an external bending moment increases as the flange thickness and an initial clamping force of bolts increases and (2) the sealing performances were not found between the connections with an adhesive and that with a gasket combining an adhesive. Furthermore, the numerical results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results.


Author(s):  
Mitsutoshi Ishimura ◽  
Masahide Katsuo ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Masamichi Serizawa

In practice, PTFE tape is being used for sealing of a pipe fitting. However, the efficiency, the decrease in work time, and the sealing performance can be improved by using adhesive instead of the tape. When such a pipe fitting is under an internal pressure and external bending moment by an internal fluid and others, however, an influence in the sealing performance is taken by how to use an adhesion. This study deals with the stress analysis and the evaluation of the sealing performance of the pipe fitting with an adhesive under an internal pressure and an external bending moment analyzed by using the 3-dimensional elastic finite element method. Furthermore, the experiment of the leakage test of the pipe fitting with an adhesive was carried out when the above loads were applied to the pipe fitting. From 3-D FEM analysis, the following results were obtained: (1) the stress distribution at the interface between thread and adhesive on the side of the internal pressure is tensile stress, and stress on the opposite side is compressive, (2) the stresses at the area of the clearance between the valley of the screw and the mountain increase as the numbers of turns of the thread in fittings increase, and (3) the compressive stress at the side of the tensile part in the fittings decrease as the external bending moments increase. However, the sealing performance will not change when the bending moment is not so great because the compressive stress at the side of the compressive part in the fitting increases. From the leakage tests, the following results of the sealing performance were obtained: (1) the sealing performance of a fittings with adhesive under an internal pressure and a bending moment didn’t decrease when bending moment was not so great, and (2) when it exceeds fixed pressure, rapid leakage from the fitting with adhesive occurred by the exfoliation of the adhesive. Furthermore, the numerical results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results.


Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Hideaki Shimazu

Stainless steel fittings such as elbows, tees, nipples and so on have been widely used in mechanical structures and chemical plants, it is well known that the leakage in the fittings used sealing tapes is less than that without the sealing tapes. In a practical design, it is necessary to examine the stress states and the leakage in the fittings under internal pressure and external loads such as tensile loads, bending moments and so on. This paper deals with the FEM stress analysis of the fittings subjected to internal pressure. In the FEM calculations, the engaged screw threads are taken into consideration as helical threads in the three-dimension. The leakage tests for the fittings under internal pressure were also conducted by using liquid (oil). Using the results of the leakage tests and the calculated stress states in the fittings, the sealing performance of the fittings under internal pressure was evaluated and the effect of the tightening torque was clarified on the sealing performance. In addition, the numerical results were compared with the experimental results. As the result, the effects of the sealing tapes on the contact stress distributions were also clarified.


Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Wataru Maezaki ◽  
Satoshi Nagata

It has been well known that a scatter in axial bolt forces of pipe flange connections tightened by the torque control method is substantial. It is necessary for evaluating the sealing performance of the pipe flange connections with the gaskets subjected to internal pressure and external bending moment to know the contact gasket stress distributions due to the scatter of the axial bolt forces in the connections tightened by the torque control method. This paper deals with the leakage of the pipe flange connections with a spiral wound gasket subjected to internal pressure and external bending moment tightened by the torque control method. The scattered axial bolt forces were measured in the experiments. The contact gasket stress distributions at the interfaces between pipe flanges and the gasket were calculated under the measured axial bolt force by using elasto-plastic finite element method (FEM) taking into account hysteresis and non-linearity in the stress-strain curves of spiral wound gasket. The effects of the scatter in the axial bolt forces tightened by the torque control method on the gas leakage were also examined by using the actual pipe flange connections under internal pressure and external bending moment. By using the calculated contact stress distributions and the results of the leakage tests, the sealing performance was evaluated. It is found that the sealing performance is worse in the actual pipe flange connection than that evaluated by PVRC procedure.


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