In the design of bolted flange connections subjected to external bending moments, the most practical but very conservative approach is to use an equivalent pressure. The simplified calculations involved together with the lack of a properassessment of the actual affected tightness make this method inadequate for modern flange design. The equivalent pressure for an applied moment is not realistic since it assumes that the achieved tightness is that of a gasket subjected to the resultinglocal minimum reduction in gasket stress. The successfulness of a valid analytical approach in yielding to an acceptable solution resides in its ability to account for the circumferential distribution of the gasket contact stress and its effect on leakage.In this paper, it is proposed to evaluate the sealing performance of a bolted joint subjected to external bending loads using the new PVRC gasket constants G{sub}b, a and G{sub}s obtained from ROTT tests. An analytical model based on the flexibility ofthe flange and capable of integrating leakage around the gasket circumference will be presented. Finally, the proposed approach is validated by comparing its leakage tightness predictions against those measured experimentally on a 4 in class 150 lb bolted joint.
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