Just recently, one of our posts talked about gasket impacting influences. Of particular interest, mention was made of UV radiation and the elements. Well, the other notable culprit in that posting was installation error. The seals we talk about here are manufactured according to a stringently imposed set of engineering specs, so they must be installed properly. To do otherwise would be to court disaster.

Alignment Errors 

Geometrically speaking, the two coupling surfaces must align perfectly. If they don’t, then the bolts holes won’t line up. With that said, the two faces could still meet at a slight angle. The holes line up, but now the flanges don’t evenly compress the gasket material. An imperceptible installation error has been introduced. The distance between any two points on the two faces must be consistent all the way around the flange surfaces.

Coupling Preparation Methods 

The flange surfaces must be clean and flat. No pitting can be allowed in the join site, nor can any uneven patches be allowed to exist. If they’re ignored, who’s to say how well the elastomer will compress against the metal faces? Even a seemingly insignificant patch of grime could introduce a narrow gap. Clean the joining surfaces, eliminate pitting and dirt, and inspect the surface finish for any remaining defects.

Managing Bolt Tensioning Issues 

Imagine someone who has no knowledge in this field. The unskilled technician tightens every bolt, one by one, all the way down. The work looks okay, but the poorly applied torque has warped the gasket. To do this job properly, the skilled worker partially bolts each fastener, moving from side to side so that the two faces receive equal compression force. Again and again, this action is repeated. This bolting pattern must be followed. After a predetermined number of hours, apply more torque. Bolts stretch when they’re tightened, so that rest period serves a very important purpose. If the gasket and flange application call upon a sealing compound, apply the paste as directed.

Non-parallelism errors hurt the uniform application of fastener torque. These axial and radial alignment problems must be corrected before the gasket is fitted. Next, and this point is important, the material ring has to fit its provided slot inside the flange zone. Raised flange faces are an essential part of this industry, so do know the required orientation method. Finally, use a torque wrench, a tool that will precisely apply the correct quantity of torque. Used with the aforementioned bolting pattern, the faces will compress that gasket as intended so that no gaps can exist.

Inherently resilient, gaskets form lasting sealing components. Still, even this fluid-blockading property has its limits. That’s why manufacturers know so much about their wares. They collaborate with suppliers, talk to industry experts, and they know which gasket materials suit specific applications. On the flip side of that coin, there’s a corresponding dictate, a need to identify every factor that negatively impacts those materials.

Pinpointing Fluid Characteristics 

Fluids are remarkable substances. They transmit force, store pressure, change state, and provide fuel. They’re also corrosive. If the liquid is highly acidic or full of alkaline vitriol, the wet stuff will seek out a weak link. Oftentimes, that weak link is a gasket. Corrosive liquids erode seal faces. Likewise, high temperatures bake material rings until they turn brittle. Furthermore, pipes conduct thermal energy. If that large energy load propagates along the pipe, it’s going to soak the conduit flanges and generate a hot spot at the gasket face.

Finally, low temperatures also threaten flexible seals. Remember, these rings are often fabricated from pliable elastomers, rings of woven or pressed material that possess an inbuilt quantity of elastic pliability. If the temperature drops low inside a pipe, then that gasket will crack and fail because this elasticity rating has been compromised. Again, material brittleness wins out.

Quantifying internalised material weakening factors:

Dealing with External Factors 

If the flexible rings aren’t installed properly, they can’t perform as specified. Simply put, if these seals aren’t fitted by expert engineers, then there’s no way to assure a reliable interface coupling, one that soundly locks the pipe flanges to the inserted gasket. Environmental effects are next on the agenda. Is this some offshore facility? Maybe it’s located out in the middle of a desert? Either way, the local elements will work their way into the pipe joints. Salty deposits, ultraviolet radiation, morning temperature rises and evening temperature drops, they all affect then weaken gasket materials, even when those seals are fabricated from large chunks of reinforced sealing stuff.

There are dynamic forces in play here, with pressure variables and temperature spikes making the biggest impact on the gaskets. Even when we’re not talking about pipes, perhaps because the application concerns a geometrically dense engine block, heat and pressure are the commonest forces in play. Applied in tandem, those two influences will weaken gaskets. Chemical variances are easier to accommodate, which is just as well since highly corrosive fluids can eat right through a mechanical seal. Lastly, external factors, including UV radiation and ozone, also weaken gasket materials.

It’s a new year, products are flying from shelves, and the time has come to underscore our mission statement. Here at Gasketech, we’re always looking for superior gasketing solutions. Apart from this commendable objective, we’re also knuckling down on certain seal-compromising issues. That’s right, our New Year’s resolution concerns sealing and leakage problems, a subject that our industry clients should never experience, not when Gasketech is on the job.

Resolving Sealing Problems

As expected, a technically superior gasketing service sources high-performance sealing materials. That’s a company-assured promise, one that our competitors may adopt but never outshine. Sure, a relationship with a top-tier materials supplier is beneficial, but what use is that advantage if the overseeing engineer lacks the knowledge to properly utilize the gasketing stuff? No, that partnership will flounder if the wrong sealing solution is applied, especially when that application conveys a particularly aggressive fluid medium. Gasketech engineers foster such sourcing partnerships while also ensuring the selected sealing material matches its destined usage domain.

Applying Form Factor Expertise

If a vehicle head gasket is freed from its engine block, we see a complex geometrical profile. The exactingly cut openings and connecting lines curve close to each other without ever touching. Some of the physical sealing stuff is cut thin between two aperture nodes while the next segment of the sheet is sliced into a thickly reinforced mass. It takes die cutting mastery to stamp out these gaskets. A single cutting error would be enough to weaken the entire product line. Pipe gaskets, perhaps made of Viton or PTFE, succeed in their flange-faced moorings because they emulate that die cutting methodology. Loaded with fabric-woven layers, mouldings and extrusions, and high-quality inserts, the manufacturing techniques employed here ensure a leak-free face coupling.

Solving Leakage Problems

Time is short, there’s a leak, and some valuable fluid commodity is escaping. Gasketech experts are ready for this emergency situation. For example, if some poorly installed gasket is cracking under the pressure, then our team members are ready. We offer a quick turn-around on our sealing solutions, plus a made-to-measure service that guarantees the avoidance of a poorly manufactured seal. In other words, our gasketing services can cope with any leakage problem. Just call our friendly staff to see that written promise become a hard-as-nails action.

Gaskets are amazing products. They’re also incredibly important. Sure, pipes run everywhere, but they should never leak. Resolve sealing and leakage problems by turning to a superior gasketing service. Turn to Gasketech, an engineering agency that’s grown into a seasoned, absolutely safe seal securing service. When ecological concerns, safety factors, and productivity issues require a high-performance solution, enlist an engineering company that knuckles down on sealing problems.

If you are reading this blog then the odds are pretty good you know what a gasket is — and for that, we are grateful. Gaskets are used every day in industries across the span of the human experience. From engineering massive automobiles to finishing off projects in your garage, gaskets have their place in the grand scheme of things. At Gasketech, we realise that our customers don’t always just want to know what they can use their gaskets for. Sometimes, our customers want to know why our products are the way that they are. For that reason, we decided to dust off the tome of history in order to give you an overview of gasket technology. Let’s go back and time and see where the first gasket came from and how the technology has evolved over the years.

The History of Gaskets

In order to fully appreciate gaskets, and their evolution, we should start by explicitly stating what exactly they are in a scientific sense. Basically, a gasket is a seal that is placed between two surfaces. Gaskets range in terms of size, shape, and material but they are almost always flexible and typically more useful after extensive compression testing. Now that we have a basic understanding of gaskets, let’s put our time-traveling hats on and head back to the 1800s.

In 1820, gaskets were first made out of iron fillings, water, and sulphur powder. These ingredients combined to create what we now call an iron sulphate seal. If we go further back in time and loosen up our definition of a gasket, we’ll see that people once even used Oakum rope that was beaten, tarred and heavily caulked in order to seal the hulls of nautical vessels. For essentially 100 years, this was more or less what a gasket was.

The first great leap in gasket technology came by way of a company named Whitby Chandler Ltd, which was founded in the early ’20s over in the United Kingdom. Whitby Chandler Ltd became one of the first large-scale gasket suppliers in the world and they are cited as being one of the most instrumental forces in the proliferation and development of the technology. Thanks to the work done by this company, gaskets would continue to evolve over the years and we would see new materials being continually tested to try and improve upon the design. From asbestos (yes, that asbestos) all the way to rubber, metal, neoprene, and fiberglass we have seen gaskets continue to evolve and innovate. Now, you can find any option you require through our catalogue.