Bolted flange assemblies are widely used to connect different elements of pressure vessels and pipelines that carry process media at temperatures varying from cryogenic to more than 1000℃ High temperature and thermal transitions have long been identified as playing a major role in the tightness of bolted flange assemblies. Tightness failure due to thermal effects can be encountered even if the assembled components (flanges, bolts and gaskets) are within their rating limits and not undergoing any mechanical failure. Process temperatures are expected to rise in the future with a demand for an improvement in efficiency of chemical processes driving this. Therefore components such as gaskets will also have to be able to withstand this increase. Also designers (and end-users) will have to be able to understand the impact of increased temperature on the whole of their system.
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