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Gasoline is a product that feeds the muscles of our nation’s economic power. The gasoline that is derived from oil travels thousands of miles through pipes all over the US. Thousands of miles of piping have to be connected somehow. When there are two sections of pipe connecting, they form a gap that may leak if not sealed correctly. Leaky joints can not be sustained over a long period of time, if at all. There is a type of gasket that may be helpful in a situation like this. The name of this type of gasket is a flange gasket. A flange gasket is a circular, mechanical gasket that fits between two mating surfaces (typically pipes). The gasket is forced into tiny and large imperfections by external pressures, consequently sealing and thus preventing leakage. The contact stress actually helps the gasket maintain a proper seal. It is important that the application provides sufficient force to not only seat the gasket, but also to maintain the seating of the gasket. It is also very important that the gasket is tough enough to resist changes in pressure and temperature, and to ensure corrosion does not take place. Flange gaskets are typically provided as flat gaskets. There are a few different reasons to have a flange gasket:

  • During assembly, the surfaces of the mating surfaces cannot be kept perfectly clean, so a gasket will be required to conform to the new micro imperfections.
  • Too many flanged joints throughout the entire system.
  • Typical corrosion and erosion of surfaces during operations.
  • The overall size of the flanges are too large.

There are a few different types of flange gaskets:

  • Full faced flange gaskets: this type provides the holes for bolts. The bolt number is not a set number and can vary from a few bolt holes to many.
  • Ring gaskets: although they do not have the holes for the bolts that are provided by full-faced flange gaskets, they serve a similar function.

Well there are many standard sizes readily available, sometimes the exact size that is required for your application is not a typical COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) item. When a item is not considered COTS, you can almost guarantee this will result in a giant increase in price and lead time. For most people an increase in either one is not acceptable. Luckily, NEDC is a proven manufacturer of flange gaskets and flange gasketing materials. The temperature and conditions in piping vary dramatically from application to application, so a variety of materials are offered. Some of the typical materials we see used for flange gaskets are DuPont’s Viton®, EPDM, Neoprene®, Cork rubber, and nitrile. NEDC offers “no tooling manufacturing”, which means although your gasket may be a non-standard size, it can still be easily manufactured without tooling costs or enormous minimums. NEDC also offers materials die-cut into flange gaskets; while this is not “no tooling manufacturing”, in a large quantity run, it does prove price-effective. NEDC is considered a leading manufacturer and supplier of flange gasket needs. For more questions on flange gaskets, or our capabilities, please contact sales@nedc.com.

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