Development of test procedures for file resistance qualification of gaskets

Abstract

The fire exposure survivability is an important aspect of gasket qualification for many applications and the evaluation of the fire resistance is a key property to be considered for the acceptance of new products. This report summarizes the background on the development of a simulated fire testing program sponsored by the Pressure Vessel Research Council and the Material Technology Institute. The first part is concerned with fire test considerations and the early development of simple fire test procedures, based on the mechanical integrity of gasket materials after exposure to simulated fire conditions. The second part deals with a more recent and a more sophisticated fire survival test based on the joint tightness under a simulated fire exposure. Both procedures were investigated on various sheet gasket materials (asbestos and non-asbestos) and composite gaskets (spiral wound gaskets). Useful correlations of test results obtained with these procedures were possible through these developments. The simple mechanical fire test could thus suffice to characterize the fire resistance of sheet gaskets, unless proof of tightness has to be made. The fire tightness test, on the other hand, is better adapted to composite gaskets (double jacketed, spiral wound, etc).