Spiral wound gaskets play a significant role in our everyday
lives as they are widely used in daily appliances and engines that we use every
day. They are used in many applications of power generation, petroleum,
chemical, shipbuilding, metallurgy, and many other industries. These gaskets
are used in multiple valves, pumps, pipes, heat exchangers, and other
equipment. It is crucial to understand the usage of high-quality spiral wound
gaskets and their selection in order to eliminate leaks, drops, and pressures, while
enhancing safety and normal operations. Gaskets are mainly used to prevent
escape of air, gas, and water in commercial and industrial situations. Because
they are highly important for the proper functioning of a variety of
machineries, it is important to select the right gasket for your application. This
blog will help you know how you must choose your spiral wound gaskets, and what
things you must keep in mind while doing so.
Environmental factors
Gasket failures are caused due to uneven pressures,
unaddressed temperatures, stress, and loss of torque on securing bolts. This is
why it is advised that you first understand the environment in which your
gasket will be placed so that you can select the perfect gasket. These
environmental factors include fluid pressure, temperature, and maximum stress
applied, to name a few. Once you have all this information, you can move ahead
to make a good choice regarding the material, shape, and size of your gasket.
Chemical resistance
The corrosive property of the fluid contained plays a very
significant role for selecting the material of your gasket. Therefore, it is
very important to understand the level of chemical resistance your gasket will
require. For example, rubber is resistant to oil, but cannot be used with
oxidizing fluids. Some materials can be used in acidic conditions while others
can be used in alkaline settings. This is why it is very important to have all
these details in order to correctly select the right gasket.
Material
There are four main types of materials used to manufacture
gaskets. Let us first learn about these materials, their properties, and
benefits.
·
Metallics – These materials are those made from
a single metal, or a combination of metallic materials in various shapes and
sizes. Metallics are great for high pressure and high temperature applications.
·
Non-metallics – These materials can tolerate
huge amount of pressure, and can be easily compressed under low bolt load. They
are used in pipe flanges, compressor valves, and heat exchangers.
·
Elastomerics – These materials are elastic,
extensible, incompressible, and impermeable. They can be deformed, but can
never be reduced in volume. This material category includes rubber, neoprene,
CP, EP, and IIR.
·
Fibrous – These materials could be of many
different types, each with unique properties. This category includes carbon
fiber, glass, cork, mica, Teflon, and MMMF.
Performance testing
It is absolutely vital to test a gasket accurately for
performance to make sure that it meets the required parameters for your
application. You can use tests like hot compression test, creep relaxation
test, etc. to make sure that the gasket will be able to withstand the temperature,
pressure, compression, and chemical resistance.
Because you may not be a professional in the field, you will
need the assistance of a trained designer and engineer along the way. Be armed
with all your specific information and work with professional engineers to
correctly design or select the best gasket for your specific application. Trim
Engineering Services is one of the most renowned and reputed spiral wound gasket manufacturers in India
who not only manufactures a variety of high quality gaskets, but can also
assist you in your selection so that you purchase the most appropriate gasket
for your application.
