Sealing of contained fluids is the primary performance required for pipe flange connections. It is well known that the leakage is likely to occur when contained fluids at high temperature are concerned. Due to the differential thermal expansion of each part, bolt preloads that tighten a pair of pipe flanges tend to decrease. Therefore, it is significantly important for the joint safety to estimate the amount of bolt preload reduction at the design stage. In this paper, a finite element approach is proposed to analyze thermal and mechanical behavior of pipe flange connections at elevated temperature, by incorporating the stress–strain curves of sheet gaskets measured in the temperature range which covers its usual service condition. Then, the reduction rate of bolt preloads at elevated temperature is systematically evaluated. The analytical objects are pipe flange connections tightened with aramid sheet gaskets. When a pipe flange connection is subjected to thermal load, the gasket stress usually decreases along unloading curves. The temperature dependency of gasket stiffness is considered by defining Young’s modulus in unloading E*, which can be introduced into FE formulation using ordinary solid elements. Numerical results show that bolt preloads are decreased by as much as 30% of the initial value when using aramid sheet gaskets of 3 mm thickness. The effectiveness of the proposed numerical method has been confirmed by comparing the numerical results of bolt preload reduction to experimental ones.
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e-mail: fukuoka@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
e-mail: nomura@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
e-mail: sekkei.kakou@gmail.com
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April 2012
Research Papers
Analysis of Thermal and Mechanical Behavior of Pipe Flange Connections by Taking Account of Gasket Compression Characteristics at Elevated Temperature
Toshimichi Fukuoka,
e-mail: fukuoka@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
Toshimichi Fukuoka
Professor
Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
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Masataka Nomura,
e-mail: nomura@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
Masataka Nomura
Associate Professor
Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
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Takashi Nishikawa
e-mail: sekkei.kakou@gmail.com
Takashi Nishikawa
Graduate Student
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Toshimichi Fukuoka
Professor
Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
e-mail: fukuoka@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
Masataka Nomura
Associate Professor
Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
e-mail: nomura@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
Takashi Nishikawa
Graduate Student
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University
, 5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada, Kobe 658-0022, Japan
e-mail: sekkei.kakou@gmail.com
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. Apr 2012, 134(2): 021202 (7 pages)
Published Online: January 11, 2012
Article history
Received:
May 31, 2010
Revised:
October 24, 2011
Accepted:
October 24, 2011
Online:
January 11, 2012
Published:
January 11, 2012
Citation
Fukuoka, T., Nomura, M., and Nishikawa, T. (January 11, 2012). "Analysis of Thermal and Mechanical Behavior of Pipe Flange Connections by Taking Account of Gasket Compression Characteristics at Elevated Temperature." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. April 2012; 134(2): 021202. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4005388
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