Numerical Approaches for Bolt Interactions in Flange Gasket Assemblies

In most industrial plants, the maintenance of the piping system is a crucial part of the site’s health and integrity, as leakage can often lead to costly losses and even disastrous accidents with the loss of life. An incorrect assembly of a bolted flange joint will most likely form a leak path in the sealing surface and lead to joint failure. Standards such as the ASME PCC-1 Guidelines for Pressure Boundary Bolted Flange Joint Assembly, have the purpose of guiding towards safer procedures of gasket installation in bolted flange connections, where specific gasket assembly methods regarding recommended fastening torque and bolt sequence are described in detail. However, to this day, said guidelines are not strictly followed. The lack of training concerning the recommended methods leads to unqualified flanged joint assemblers and hence the most common cause of gasket failure, which is an improper installation. Therefore, there is a need to produce instructional tools, physical in nature or not, that help raise awareness to the recommended, standardized, gasket installation methods and good practices in bolted flanged joint assemblies, aiming to reduce the volume of industrial plants’ leakage caused by improper installation, preventing further health and environmental problems. The present work describes a set of mathematical methods designed for flange assembly training simulations, intended to be used as an educational tool to enhance the abilities and knowledge of assemblers. The work includes methods of calculating elastic interactions between bolts and other common phenomena characteristics of flange tightening.