Different industries have been using gaskets to fill in the space or gap between two or more mating surfaces. Gaskets are generally included in numerous applications since they can prevent any leakage from or into the joined objects while under compression. They can also withstand high compressive loads, which can assure the longevity of the involved mating surfaces.
Gaskets have different types according to their properties. Some gaskets can work under extreme temperatures that make them suitable for specific situations. Other gaskets, however, can tolerate exposure to highly corrosive fluid. All these properties may vary on each gaskets depending on the material used for their fabrication.
Some materials that are used in making gaskets include paper, rubber, silicone, metal, felt, fibreglass, and plastic polymers. Since the overall properties of gaskets rely heavily on the materials used, let’s dive deeper into the subject of metallic and non-metallic gaskets.
Choosing Metallic Gaskets
As the name implies, metallic gaskets are fabricated from either a single metal or an alloy, a combination of metals. The properties of metals allow higher-quality surface sealing of gaskets when compared to non-metallic gaskets. Since they can naturally resist extreme temperatures, pressure, and chemical exposure, metallic gaskets are now widely used for medium- and high-pressure applications. High-temperature applications also utilise metallic gaskets.
The most popular variety of metallic gaskets is the ring-type-joint (RTJ) type. This type of gasket features a solid metal ring construction that comes in different cross-sections like oval, round, and octagonal. This same gasket has a passage hole that allows equalisation of pressure on both sides of the surface sealing. Other types of the metallic gasket are grooved gaskets, spiral wound gaskets, corrugated metal gaskets, and metal-jacketed gaskets.
Metallic gaskets are normally used in offshore oil and gas pipelines. They can also be used in heat exchangers, compressors, pumps, manholes, valves, and turbines.
Choosing Non-Metallic Gaskets
Non-metallic gaskets, on the other hand, are made from composite materials like glass fibre, mica sheet, ceramic fibre, elastomeric and fibre sheet, and compressed non-asbestos sheet. One great advantage of non-metallic gaskets over the metallic ones is that they have superior corrosion resistance. They can also be easily compressed under bolt load. However, this type of gasket cannot tolerate extreme levels of temperature and pressure.
Flat-face and raised-face flanges are the common companions of non-metallic gaskets when used in low-pressure applications. To be specific, full-face non-metallic gaskets are great for flat-face flanges, while flat-ring gaskets are suitable for raised-face flanges.
As mentioned, low-pressure applications benefit the most with non-metallic gaskets. Some low-pressure applications of non-metallic gaskets are pipe flanges, compressors, heat exchangers, and bonnet valves.
If you need a gasket that can work under extreme temperature and pressure, then you must choose the metallic ones. Alternatively, you must pick non-metallic gaskets if you will be using them with highly corrosive elements. To know more about these gaskets, you can talk to us at Gasketech.
Manufacturing and industrial companies use gaskets to fill and cover the space between two or more mating surfaces. They are usually made out of reliable and sturdy materials such as rubber, cork, paper, metal, copper, and foam. Gaskets are flexible, making them perform a wide variety of functionalities such as anti-vibration, packaging, hygiene, noise and sound reduction, and sealing.
While gaskets are made different from each other, you may still perform some kind of test to determine the quality of your gasket. One test that is commonly used is compression testing. Compression testing is used to assess the reaction and behaviour of a product or a material that is being compressed, squashed, crushed, or flattened.
When it comes to gaskets, there are a couple of reasons why compression testing is very important in gasket manufacturing.
Provides Quick Results
What is great about compression testing is that it can produce relevant results right away. If you have a lot of various design options for your gaskets, you can place them under compression testing to assess their qualities. The performance level of a specific design will be also produced from the results of the compression testing. After all, conducting compression testing allows you to know and review how a specific design of gasket holds up under different compression situations.
Saves Money and Time
Placing a sample gasket under compression testing can save a lot of money and time. Manufacturing tons of gaskets without any sort of testing can be risky and dangerous since you don’t have any idea if they will work. And if they don’t work, your manufacturing industry may have a hard time recovering from revenue loss.
So, taking the time to run some compression tests for your sample gaskets can certainly help you single out an effective gasket design. There might be some redesign and remanufacturing processes, but coming up with the best gasket design for manufacturing will help you gain more revenues in the long run.
Provides Convenience
The use of compression testing is very easy. If you place a gasket in the hot compression test cycle, you can determine right away the level of compression this specific gasket can take and hold. With compression testing, a gasket will not only receive pressure but also heat. As you test your gasket designs, you can easily determine the point and level where a gasket will fail. From the results, you can easily adjust some design flaws of your gasket to make sure that it will pass the succeeding compression tests.
Compression testing is very important in gasket manufacturing since it provides you all the information needed in improving your gasket design. For more information about gaskets, you can contact us at Gasketech. We have been manufacturing and supplying high-quality gaskets, sealing washers, and other products.