Study on the effect of gasket thickness for bolted gearbox flange joint

Abstract

A gasket is fitted between two or more mating flanges which fills the gap and acts as mechanical seal; it prevents leakage when flanges are in compression. In order to obtain perfect sealing and joint, proper selection of gasket thickness and gasket material is essential. In the majority of cases, mechanical seal is obtained by gasket when external forces are applied; this allows gasket material to flow into the irregularities between the flange surfaces; external forces can be applied by the bolt under load (bolt preload). The preload should be applied equally over the whole seating area to obtain a complete sealing. Hence, preload plays an important role and performance of gasket joint depends upon preload. In this study, finite element analysis of bolted gearbox flange joint has been carried out and numerical results have been compared by taking experimentally the obtained characteristics of the gaskets for various thicknesses. This study reveals that the gasket thickness plays a vital role in the seal performance of gearbox flange assembly. Hence, it is found that the gasket with 3 mm thickness showed a significant reduction in the deformation and stresses.