In Europe as well as in other countries a lot of effort is invested into developing new code standards for the calculation of flange joints under various loadings. But especially for metal-to-metal face type flanges there is a lack of proven analytical solutions. Finite-Element calculations increasingly replace analytical methods especially if problems have to be solved which are adjusted to specific tasks. Here, problems occur by describing the non-linear behavior of the gasket material. Linear-elastic Finite-Element calculations as well as code methods are often not suitable. Based on a gasket model developed to simulate the non-linear mechanical behavior of sheet gasket material, a procedure is presented to calculate metal-to-metal face type flange connections using data from standard compression tests. On a BWR reactor pressure vessel the procedure is compared with a three-dimensional contact analysis and with experimental data.
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