Introduction

SECTION I - DESIGN / SECTION II - SELECTION

The cost of leaky joints in today's industry is staggering. Out-of-pocket costs run into billions of dollars annually in lost production, waste of energy, loss of product and, most importantly the impact on the environment. These problems are increasing, not decreasing.

We, as gasket manufacturers are constantly called upon to solve sealing problems after the fact.

Too often we find insufficient time and attention has been given to:

• Proper design of flanged joint
• Installation procedures
• Selection of the optimum gasket material required to solve a particular sealing problem.
  • Service Condition Sheet
  • Factors Affecting Gasket Performance Sheet

 We will outline areas we believe to be essential in a properly designed, installed and maintained gasket joint.

We believe most people involved with the design, installation, and maintenance of gasketed joints realize that no such thing as "Zero" leakage can be achieved. Whether or not a joint is "tight" depends on the sophistication of the methods used to measure leakage. In certain applications the degree of leakage may be perfectly acceptable if one drop of water per minute is noted at the gasketed joint. Other requirements are that no bubbles would be observed if the gasketed joint was subjected to an air or gas test underwater. A stringent inspection would require passing a mass spectrometer test.

The rigidity of the test method would be determined by:

• The hazard of the material being confined
• Loss of critical materials in a process flow
• Impact on the environment should a particular fluid escape into the atmosphere
• Danger of fire or of personnel injury

All of these factors dictate proper attention must be given to:

• Design of flange joints or closures
• Proper selection of gasket type
  • Service Condition Sheet
  • Factors Affecting Gasket Performance Sheet
• Proper gasket material
• Proper installation procedures

Care in these areas will ensure that the best technology goes into the total package and will minimize operating costs, pollution of the environment and hazards to employees and the general public.