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Top 5 Reasons to be Using Flange Fittings

Flanges are critical components used across industrial sectors involving diverse processes.

However, flanges are particularly rampant in piping systems. Flanges are widespread in piping systems connecting pipes, valves, and other relevant components.

Flange Fittings

These circular discs comprising protruding rims or collars help connect piping components, such as valves, pipes, and pumps, thus forming a reliable and secure joint.

Flanges come in various sizes, shapes, and materials to meet specific industrial needs effectively.

The materials used to manufacture flanges can vary. It varies depending on individual applications and the specific requirements of any particular system.

Some materials used for flanges include:

Carbon steel is popular for flanges owing to its durability, strength, and affordability.

Stainless steel is extensive in applications where corrosion resistance is imperative, such as in chemical or food processing plants.

Alloy steel is sturdy and durable and used in high-pressure and high-temperature applications.

Copper-nickel is often used in marine applications, as it is corrosion-resistant. Hence, it is favorable in saltwater environments.

Titanium is a strong, lightweight material often used in high-performance applications, such as aerospace or defense.

Flange dimensions can vary depending on the application and the standard used.

Some common standards for flange dimensions include:

ANSI/ASME is used in the United States and specifies dimensions for flanges in sizes from 1/2 inch to 24 inches.

DIN: It is a European standard. It specifies dimensions for flanges in sizes from DN10 to DN4000.

JIS: It is a Japanese standard. It specifies dimensions for flanges in sizes from 10A to 1500A.

Overall, flanges provide a steady and trustworthy connection between piping components and are available in different materials and dimensions to suit a wide range of applications.

Using Flange Fittings – Know the benefits.

Here are the five benefits of using flanges in industrial applications.

Enhanced Structural Integrity:

One of the primary benefits of using flanges is their ability to improve the structural integrity of piping systems. Internal corrosion is an issue in oil pipelines due to the liquid and gas flow.

As a result, the oil and gas industry experiences significant economic losses yearly, amounting to roughly $9 billion due to this problem. However, stainless steel is a highly corrosion-resistant material compared to other metals. Consequently, it is a preferred option for pipe fittings and flanges in the industry.

Flanges provide secure and reliable joints, thus helping prevent leakages, reduce vibration, and minimize stress concentration. In addition, flanges ensure that the piping components stay connected, even when exposed to high pressure, temperature, or corrosive fluids.

By preventing leaks and reducing stress, flanges can help extend the service life of piping systems and minimize maintenance costs.

Versatility and Flexibility:

Flanges come in varying sizes, materials, and designs, making them suitable for multiple industrial applications.

Flanges, such as slip-on, threaded, socket weld, and lap joint flanges, offer various advantages in different piping systems. Stainless steel possesses a remarkable degree of versatility owing to its inherent properties.

Certain materials such as nickel, molybdenum, or nitrogen can be added to enhance the impressive characteristics of stainless steel. In addition, stainless steel flanges are available in various standard dimensions and specifications that cater to diverse environments.

Flanges are compatible with various pipe materials, including steel, PVC, and copper. In addition, they allow for easy alignment as Flanges can be rotated slightly to ensure that pipes are properly aligned, which is significant for preventing damage and improving flow.

This versatility and flexibility make Flange Joint Fittings a popular choice in many industries, such as oil and gas, chemical processing, and water treatment.

The availability of these options ensures that the pipe flanges fit a wide range of applications indoors and outdoors.

Easy Installation and Maintenance:

Another benefit of flanges is their ease of installation and maintenance. They are easy to install and remove as they can be easily bolted together or unbolted for maintenance or repairs.

Flanges can be easily bolted or welded to the piping components, making the installation process quick and straightforward. In addition, flanges can be removed easily for maintenance or repair without requiring the significant dismantling of the piping system.

This facilitation allows components to be easily removed and replaced, which is helpful when maintenance or repairs are needed. This ease of installation and maintenance saves time and reduces labor costs, making flanges an attractive option for many industrial applications.

Using pipe flanges that connect valves and equipment offers a convenient access point for maintenance and cleaning. Utilizing flanges made of stainless steel can prove to be beneficial.

Stainless steel is known for its durability and resistance to rust and corrosion. Hence, inspection, modification, or cleaning procedures of the stainless steel-made flanges can be conveniently carried out.

This approach can lead to significant time and cost savings in the long run.

Cost-Effective:

Flanges are cost-effective components that offer significant long-term benefits. Flanges help save money in the long run by preventing leaks and reducing maintenance costs.

Additionally, the ability to reuse flanges in different piping systems makes them a cost-effective solution. Flanges are also readily available in the market, making them an affordable option for various industrial applications.

Stainless steel flange fittings possess a naturally lustrous and sophisticated appearance. As they are resistant to corrosion, applying a coating or lining to safeguard them may not be necessary.

This quality makes stainless steel a more environmentally-conscious option in the long haul. Furthermore, if you choose to replace your bolts and flanges, this material is 100% recyclable.

Nearly half of the country’s stainless-steel production is derived from recycled scrap metal, indicating that employing these flange fittings can aid in diminishing your project’s carbon footprint.

Safety Flanges:

They play a significant role in ensuring the safety of workers and the environment in industrial processes. Flanges create a tight seal between pipes, providing a robust and leak-proof connection.

Hence, it helps prevent leakages and ensures the system remains secure. Flanges prevent leaks and reduce the risk of accidents caused by spills or leakages.

Additionally, flanges can withstand high pressure and temperature, making them suitable for several hazardous applications. Flanges help ensure secure and efficient industrial processes, thus establishing safe and reliable joints.

Conclusion

Flanges are widespread in several industrial processes providing enhanced structural integrity, versatility, flexibility, ease of installation and maintenance, cost-effectiveness, and safety.

These pluses make flanges extensive across industries, such as oil and gas, chemical processing, and water treatment. Consider the specific industrial application and choose the appropriate size, material, and design to ensure optimal performance and reliability.

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Meaning and Types of Flange Faces

The flange face is the surface area that receives the gaskets. The material of the gasket seats over the flange face and creates an effective sealing under pressure.

Forged Flanges

The flange face is designed per the ASME B16.6 for flanges up to 24 inches and ASME B16.47 for 26-inch flanges and larger. To prevent leakage problems, many kinds of flange faces are produced.

Meaning of flange face finish

The ASME B16.5 code needs the flange face (flat face and raised face) to come with a specific roughness. It ensures that the surface is compatible with the gasket.

It helps provide a high-quality seal. A serrated finish, either spiral or concentric, is required, with 30 to 55 groves every inch.

It comes with a resultant roughness between 125 and 500 micro inches. It allows for many grades of surface finish that should be available by the flange manufacturers for the gasket contact surface of the metal flanges.

In this blog, we will learn about various flange faces and types of flange face finishes.

Types of Flange Faces

The ASME B16.47 and ASME B16.5 standards refer to 6 different flange faces. These are:

Lap joint flange

The lap joint flange comes with a flat side that is not useful in sealing the flange. Instead, the joint accommodates the back of the stub end. The sealing surface has a stub end and can be either raised or flat.

Ring joint flange (RTJ)

Ring-type connection flanges come with high pressure (class 600 and above) and high-temperature applications above 800°F (427°C). They come in a groove cut into the faces that are steel ring gaskets.

As the tightened bolts force the gaskets between the flanges in the groove, the flanges seal and deform the gasket to seal it in the groove. It creates a metal-to-metal seal.

The RTJ flange comes with a raised face with a machined annular groove. The raised surface doesn’t act as a sealant.

In the case of O-ring sealing RTJ flanges, the raised faces of the flanges are clamped and mated together that may come into contact.

In this case, the compressed gasket doesn’t usually carry the load beyond the bolt tension, movement, or vibration. It will also not crush the gasket and reduce joint stress any further.

Raised face flange (RF)

Raised face flanges are the most common in the identifiable and plant application process. It is called raised face, as the sealing face is higher than the circular bolt face.

The face type enables a wider range of gasket design combinations such as double wall type, spiral wound type, flat ring sheet type, and other metal composite materials.

Flat face flange (FF)

Flat-face flanges have a sealing surface in the same plane as the circumferential bolt surface. Therefore, flat face flanges need to come with bolted-to-raised face flanges.

In addition, a soft type (non-metallic) full-face gasket is usually useful in the two flat-face flanges while it makes a joint connection. The type of flange face is also known as the plain face.

Flat-face flanges are preferable in low-pressure applications. These flanges are not suggested to mate with the RF flange.

Male and female flange (M&F)

Male and female flanges need flange adjustments. The flange face possesses an area beyond the normal (male) flange face. The mating or other flange comes with a matching recess (female) machined in the face.

The female face is 3/16” deep, and the male face is ¼” high. It comes with a smooth finish. The outer diameter of the female face is used to hold and locate the gasket.

The two available versions are large and small M&F flange. In addition, custom male and female shrouds are often found on the heat exchanger shells that cover and channel the flanges.

Large and small tongue-and-groove flange (T&G)

The groove and tongue surfaces of the flanges are essential to match. For example, one flange face has raised ring (Tongue) machined into the flange face. The mating flange has a matching recess (groove) machined into the face.

Tongue and groove facings come in both small and large sizes. They differ from female and male threads in the inner diameter of the groove and tongue. It does not protrude into the flange base by retaining the seal at its outer and inner diameters. These are found commonly on cam and pump covers.

Contact Texas Flange today if you have any questions about Flange’s face.

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What are The Top Reasons of Flange Damage?

Flanges are products that are suitable for heat exchangers. It plays an integral portion and works well in the processing operation. Many things affect the operational capacity of the flanges, including high-pressure equipment like leakages.

Tongue and Groove flanges

Leakage is not acceptable in the process equipment. Based on heat exchangers, usability and application depend, and they also help in decreasing productivity. Further, many procedures contaminate heat transfer fluids. Therefore, it also creates issues of environmental hazards and safety. Leakage in flanges also leads to life-threatening issues like fire. Hence, it is necessary to identify the leakage in flanges right after the detection.

Meaning of flanges

Flanges possess many components, such as bolts, gaskets, and rings. The bolts hold the flanges in one plane and help support the exchanger. Therefore, it is essential to determine the cause and identify the location after the flange leakage.

Possible causes of flange leaks

There are many possibilities for the flanges to leak. These are:

Unequal bolt stress

Cramped working environment surroundings or improper bolting process of the flange makes a few bolts loose. In addition, unequal bolt stress crushes and tightens the gasket. These stress conditions lead to leakages, especially in high temperatures and after the relaxation of heavily loaded bolts.

Improper flange alignment

Improper flange alignment tends to develop local crushing and unequal gasket compression, resulting in subsequent leakage. Unequal flange centerline alignment results in flange leakage and unequal gasket compression.

Improper gasket centering

When the gasket installation is off-centered to the flange faces, it results in uneven gasket compression. Also, it makes the joints quite prone to further leakage. The spiral wound and double jacket gasket come with a centering ring that extends to the bolts’ inner edge. The right cut of the gasket makes it easier for the exterior diameter to meet the bolt’s inner edge.

Damage and dirt to flange faces

Various damage to the flanges is in the form of external and internal scratches, scaling, weld spatters, protrusions, and dirt. Also, the flanges with warped seating surfaces increase the chances of leakage. It may lead to uneven gasket compression and ultimately results in flange leakage.

The additional load on flanges

Huge piping networks tend to create load at the flange locations. Such needing events and forces loosen the bolting portions. These flange distortions may also lead to leakages.

Temperature shock

Random changes in thermal energy fluctuations may result in flange deformation for a limited time. The varied temperature around the flange leads to problems with the flange locations. Sheet metal shields are necessary as it helps in protecting the flanges against snow and rain impingement. These conditions develop heat gradients throughout the flange and lead to flange leakage. Metal shields also protect the flanges at a uniform temperature.

Unsuited flange surface

If the flange comes with deeper serrations in comparison to the specified. It helps in preventing the arrangement of spiral wounds or double-jacketed gaskets. This leads to preventing the space for leakage.

Benefits of immediate leak identification

Many leakage repair and detection methods are available. It helps in saving the entire piping system. With proper flange leakage detection, petroleum refineries help control the emissions from the leaked portions. Further, it helps improve plant workers’ safety levels, reduces emission costs, and supports the environment.

Conclusion

It would help if you kept in mind that there’s no perfect material to fix bad flanges. You can contact Texas Flange anytime for other general procedures or specific applications.

 

 

 

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4 Key Factors While Selecting Flanges for Industrial Piping Systems

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under the US Department of Transportation estimate that approximately 160,521 miles of liquid petroleum pipeline and around 1,585,672 miles of natural gas pipeline are across the nation. In 2019, the gas-integrated transportation networks delivered over 28.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to consumers.
Custom Pipe Flange Fittings

Flanges play a critical role in the gas and oil piping systems, connecting valves with other equipment. Pipe flanges are the second-most commonly used joining mechanism after welding. Flanges provide added flexibility that allows the disassembly and assembly of pipe systems. They provide easy access during the inspection, repairs, and cleaning of the gas and oil pipes.

But the point is, how to find suitable flanges for your company? Here are four factors to keep in mind during the flange selection process.

Flange types

Flanges come in many kinds for industrial use. You may need to choose an ideal flange design that fits your piping systems. The most common types of flanges used in the petrochemical industry are:

  • Slip-on flange
  • Welding neck flange
  • Socket weld flange
  • Blind flange
  • Lap joint flange

Other special flanges commonly used in the gas and oil industry include:

  • Nipoflange
  • Reducing flange
  • Expander flange
  • Orifice flange
  • Long weld neck flanges

The flange design and face types may significantly impact the final performance of the last system.

Material

Forged carbon steel pipe flanges are the top common type in the market. Additionally, you may find the flanges manufactured from bronze, cast iron, aluminum, and stainless steel. You may also find flanges with specialty metals like Monel, Inconel, and chrome-moly. The kind of materials depends on the piping systems and industrial application. It ensures that they are durable and robust enough in the long run. However, in most instances, the flange comes with the same material as the pipes.

Size

It would be best to look into the flange dimensions and size for the right fit. You may need to be keen on how the flange interfaces with the pipes and gaskets to ensure an ideal size. A few standard dimensions considerations include:

  • Pipe size
  • Thickness
  • Bolt circle diameter
  • Inner diameter
  • Nominal bore size
  • Outside diameter

These dimensional factors may come in handy when updating or maintaining piping systems.

Classifications

All the flanges fall under different categories specified by ASTM or ASME standards. A specific flange kind has characteristics that may significantly impact its performance across different industrial environments. Steel pipes are available in a lot of pressure and style classes. The metal flanges are classified from 1500 to 200# rating. A few standard classifications used in the petrochemical industries are:

  • 150#
  • 300#
  • 600#
  • 900#
  • 1500#
  • 2500#

The categories vary depending on the temperature and pressure tolerances, flange size, design, or material used. The pressure ratings usually decrease when the temperature tends to rise.

There’s virtually an endless list of configurations for the pipe flanges that you can choose from the piping systems. If you have any queries regarding the complexities of gas and oil piping, visit our website today. You can get in touch with us today!

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What is Flange Facing and Its Benefits?

If you want to ensure that the old flanges continue to work smoothly without any issues with the joint integrity, flange facing needs to be performed. Flange facing is a machine service on the flange surface that you can perform during repair and maintenance. Timely repair and maintenance of the flange help avoid corrosion and leakages, increasing the flanges’ service life.

Meaning of flange facing

Flange facing is the process through which the machining work resurfaces the flanges. It helps to create new mating surfaces that ensure a perfect seal when you assemble it. Flange facing is done using a tool known as the flange facing tool, flange facers, or flange facing machine.

Flange facing is an important activity in power generation, chemical, food processing, pipelines, pharmaceutical production, refinery, petrochemicals, and gas and oil industries. Additionally, the following industries use the flange facing operations while shooting down and maintenance of their plant:

  • Fluid control industries
  • Shipyards
  • Tube processing
  • Defense
  • Diesel Engineer
  • High-Purity industry
  • Nuclear industry

Requirement of Flange Facing

Flanges are usually pressurized during the operation; hence, they regularly experience damage due to the turbulent flow. Additionally, they tend to experience impacts with other components while installation, construction, or cuts from the gasket leaks.

Flange facing cuts the flanges and provides them with a spiral-grooved finish. It helps the flange to be less susceptible to leaks as fluids are forced to travel down the instead paths rather across the flange face. Flange facing is the topmost important repair job during plant maintenance or shutdown activities.

Applications of Flange Facing

The flange-facing work requires the following activities:

  • Flange milling wind tower section
  • Re-facing repairing and valve flange heat exchangers.
  • Re-facing ship hatch sealing surfaces.
  • Plate and vessel weld prep.
  • Repairing ring grooves or cutting new groves.
  • Boiler feed pump flanges.
  • Repairing piston rod mating flanges.
  • Ship thruster mount milling, drilling, and facing.
  • Phonographic finish flanges and repairing flat face raised face.
  • For sealing, beveling, facing, and weld preparation of the pipe are required.
  • Re-machining, the gasket seal on the tube sheets.
  • Resurfacing large pump base housings.
  • Repairing a heat exchanger and other equipment nozzle flanges.
  • Re-facing of pipeline or pipe flanges.

Flange facing machine

Flange-facing machines are useful tools to mechanically cut or polish disks, flanges, rings, or collars. Flanges in the piping industry usually get deformed (dents, scratches, etc.) or corroded during handling or operation. If you want to ensure the integrity of flange joints, these damages are removed using a clamshell/split frame cutter known as the flange-facing machine.

Working of flange facing machine

The cutting tool of the flanging machine often travels in a spiral path across the flange face. It removes the damage from the flange face. The cutting/polishing or polishing operation is done through successive strips that ensure regularity and face flatness. Once the flange facing is done, the flange quality and proper sealing capabilities are achieved.

Finishes as per the ASME B16.5 specifications achieved and created using feeds. Flange-facing machines are quite flexible for operations. You can mount them at any angle, including the inverted orientation. In addition, the facing arm of the flange face can be balanced using adjustable counterweights when you do not mount them horizontally.

The face of flange process usually involves the following steps:

  • Fine machining with insert bits.
  • Low feeding, low rotation
  • Machining with a cutting tool
  • Cleaning of the flange face surface

Kinds of Flange Facing Machines

It all depends on the powering of flange-facing machines that various kinds flange facing machines are available in the market. The common kind of flange facers are:

  • Hydraulic flange facing machine
  • Pneumatic flange-facing machine

Flange-facing machines are available in two types, depending on the mounting mechanism:

  • Outside Diameter (OD) mounted flange facing machine and 
  • Internal Diameter (ID) mounted flange facer.

Conclusion

You may need to consult the fitting distributor to determine your project’s right flange face. For more information on sourcing, suitable flanges face for your project, contact Texas Flange.

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How are Flanges Categorized Based on Their Faces?

As contact surfaces for seating the sealing gasket material, various flange faces are useful. ASME B16.47 and B16.5 describe many types of flanges, such as raised face, male, and female face flanges, and matching facings are made with identical dimensions to give a large contact surface.

The small and big tongue-and-groove flange facings, as well as the ring joint face designed for ring joint-type metal gaskets, are also covered by these standards.

Flanges

Raised Face (RF)

The raised face flange, also known as a standard type used in process plant applications, is easy to identify. It is referred to mainly as the raised face because the gasket surfaces are raised above the bolting circle face. The face type allows wide combinations of gasket designs, including flat ring sheet metallic composites and double jacketed and spiral wound types.

The purpose of the RF flange is to concentrate more pressure on the smaller gasket area. It thereby helps to increase the pressure containment capability of the joint. Height and diameter are in the ASME B16.5, defined by diameter and pressure class. Flange pressure ratings determine the height of the raised face.

The typical flange face finish for the ASME B16.5 RF flange is 125 to 250 µin Ra (3 to 6 µm Ra).

Raised face height

If we talk about the height measures which is H and B of all described flange dimensions, if we keep in mind the exception of the Lap Joint flange, it is crucial to remember the following things:

. In pressure classes 150 and 300, the height of the raised face is approximately 1.6 mm (1/16 inch). In the two pressure classes, almost all the flanges suppliers are shown in the brochure and catalog; the H and B dimensions include the raised face height.

. In pressure classes of 400, 600, 900, 1500, and 2500, the raised face flange height is approximately 6.4 mm (1/4 inch). Many suppliers show the H and B dimensions in these p

Flat Face

The flat face flange’s gasket surface is in the same plane as the bolting circular face. Flat face flanges are widely used in applications where the flanged fitting or mating flange is constructed of a casting. Bolting flat face flanges to raised face flanges is never a good idea.

According to the ASME B31.1, when connecting flat face cast iron flanges to carbon steel flanges, remember to remove the full-face gasket. It prevents the thin, fragile cast iron flange from being sucked into the gap created by the carbon steel flange’s elevated face.

Ring type joint

At high pressures, ring-type joint flanges are used. They have grooves carved into their faces, and steel ring gaskets are included. The flanges seal with the tightening of bolts to compress the gasket between the flanges into the grooves. This process will deform the gasket to make intimate contact inside the grooves and create metal to metal seal.

A ring-type joint flange may come with a raised face with a ring groove machined into it. However, the raised face does not serve any part in the sealing mechanism itself.

Ring-type joint gaskets

Ring-type joint gaskets are metallic sealing rings that suit high-temperature applications and high pressures. They are always applicable to special, accompanying flanges, which ensure good, reliable sealing with the right material and profiles.

Ring-type joint gaskets are designed to seal by “initial line contact” or welding action between the mating flange and gasket. Then, with the pressure on the seal interface through bolt force, the ‘softer’ metal of the gasket flows into the microfine structure of the more complex flange material and creates an efficient and tight seal.

Tongue-and-groove (T&G)

The Tongue and Groove faces of the flanges need to match properly. One flange face has a raised ring (Tongue) machined onto the flange face, while the mating flange has a matching depression (Groove) machine into the face.

Tongue-and-groove facings are standardized in both small and large types. They differ from males and females in the inside diameter of the tongue, and the groove does not extend into the flange base. This helps in retaining the gasket on its outer and inner diameter.

Male-and-female (M&F)

A flange must match this flange category. For example, one flange face comes with an area that extends beyond the normal flange face (Male). However, the other flange or mating flange comes with a matching depression (Female) machined into its face.

Conclusion

The above description clearly shows the flange characterization based on their faces. If you want to learn more about flanges, can contact Texas Flange today!

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Factors to Consider When Choosing Flanges for Your Project

Gas and oil plants are complex, large environments with thousands of miles of interconnected piping. For any flange or product to perform correctly, choosing the right type of flange for the job is fundamental. The flange must fit perfectly into the pipe joint to conduct its functions properly. A minor mistake during the flange selection may affect an application resulting in an expensive error.

Flanges

This blog will discuss the factors associated with selecting the correct flange for the proper application to ensure maximum usability.

Types

It is often easy to spot the flange type by the way it looks. First, you must classify the top of the flange by deciding whether the flange has a socket weld, flat flange, lap joint, threaded bore, welded neck, groove, and tongue flange. Next, the bottoms are identified with the evaluation of whether they have a flat face, which is entirely flat, or a raised face which is a slightly raised section on the face of the flange.

All of this information is usually defined by the stamping on the outside diameter of the flange, provided this has not been completely painted over. It is important to keep an archive of your assembly components for future reference and maintenance.

Size

The flange size consists of factors that include the standard used (: JIS – Japanese International Standard, ANSI – American National Standards Institute, and DIN – Deutsches Institut für Normung / European), the pressure level needed, and the actual overall outside diameter and thickness of the flange. Other factors in determining the full call-out include the number of bolt holes, outer diameter, inner diameter, bolt circle, and bolt hole diameter, but the nominal pipe size is typically universal.

Thickness

Depending on the flange thickness, it can be determined how high a pressure flange can handle, in any application thicker flanges can resist high pressures.

Bolt holes

Bolt holes help to measure the flange size and pressure class. The actual size of the bolt holes, the pitch circle diameter, and the number of bolt holes on the flange are three factors that need to be addressed. If the bolt is stronger and thicker, it can often correlate with higher pressure capabilities.

Standards

There are a lot of industry-defined standards from which you can choose the flanges. So the flanges help to choose based on the standard and application of the product. You can connect it to the three primary standards previously mentioned, including DIN, ANSI, and JIS.

Pressure class

Pressure class signifies the marginal pressure level under which the flange can safely function and sustain. Each standard comes with several pressure levels available, from high-pressure to low-pressure tolerance. The pressure levels of products connected to the flanges must be the same as those of valves and pipes in service. The most common industry pressure class is the modern ASME 150# per B16 spec.

Materials

It is crucial to choose a suitable material for a flange depending on the understanding and application the elements will encounter in an application that the piping system is using. The most common materials include chrome, nickel, carbon steel, duplex steel, stainless steel, etc.

Here are a few common ways to choose the flanges:

Define your specification and standard

Pipe flanges come in with standard blind, threaded, weld neck configurations. As fittings come into standard, oilfield dimensions become necessary for functional interchangeability.

Standard dimensions are the same for all materials used. However, the specifications are regularly updated, broadened, and revised.

Figure out the flange facing

Defining the facing of your flange is one of the first steps to order the industrial pipe fittings. The flange face is the sealing surface. The most common types of flange faces include:

. Full face
. Flat face
. Ring-type face
. Large female and male
. Lap joint
. Raised face

Pick put the correct pressure class

The pressure class of the flange standard determines its dimensions. The pressure class ratings may fall within 125 to 900 psi. The four factors which influence the pressure limits of the flange within the oil and gas industry include:

. Flange sizes
. Materials used
. External and internal temperatures
. Size of bolts, number, thickness, and dimensions

Conclusion

You may need to consult the fitting distributor to determine your project’s right flange pressure class. For more information on sourcing suitable flanges for your project, you can reach out to Texas Flange.

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5 Key benefits of Flanges

Flanges are helpful to connect pumps, valves, pipes, and other parts to form a piping system. Flanges are typically welded or thread screwed to connect. The use of flanges allows a person for maintenance and easy repair of the pipe system. Instead of taking out the whole pipe for inspection, the smaller section of the pipe can be inspected to find the fault with the help of a flange. The flange connection point allows for reinforcement of the system, as well as pipe cleaning and easy inspection.

You can join the two flanges together by bolts using a gasket between them for seal. Most steel flanges are used in the gas industry, oil industry, petroleum industry, and chemical industry. The essential types of flanges are threaded flange, lap joint flange, blind flange, socket flange, weld neck flange, and slip-on flange. Some special types of flanges are special bevel neck flanges, long welding flanges, nipoflange, reducing flanges, expander flanges, and orifice flanges.

Materials used in flange

High performance yield strength steel: ASTM/ASME A694 F42 , F52, F56, F60, F65, F70

Low temperature steel: ASTM/ASME A350 LF2.

Stainless steel: ASTM/ASME A182 F321-321H, F347-347H

Stainless steel: ASTM/ASME A182 F316-316L-316H-316LN-316N-316Ti

Stainless steel: ASTM/ASME A182 F304-304L-304H-304LN-304N

Chrome alloy steel: ASTM/ASME A182 F1-F12-F11-F22- F5-F9- F91

Carbon steel: ASTM A105, ASTM A105N, GB 20, C22.8.

Flange dimensions

5 Key benefits of Flanges

The flange dimensions vary by style, and each flange type comes with a standard dimension definition. The dimension of the flanges is the same worldwide for repair and maintenance work and smooth operations. The dimensions are usually published in both inches and millimeters.

The basic dimensions of the flange consist of outside diameter, number of bolts, thickness, and hub detail. The bolts are usually located on the front outside the flange. The gasket used between the two flanges has the same bolt holes and size as that of the flange facing.

Benefits of the flanges

Even though you can find a specified application where the flanges and fittings are the only practical choice, flanges also provide benefits to the piping system that traditional hydraulic fitting types do not. For example, in the larger OD applications, flanges are often unable to connect to the pipe and component ports more easily compared to the adapters or threaded fittings. Most importantly, in most severe service applications on mobile construction equipment flange connections are suitable for:

1. Easy assembly at tight spaces where wrenches might not have clearance if you install traditional flange fittings. They are more easily assembled with moderate torque.

2. Hard-to-reach areas where you need flexibility, you can eliminate the need for adapters in the hose line, pipe, or tube.

3. Pipe connections, tubes, or large hose connections where you find high pressure, vibration, or shock pressures are present, that could more easily damage the traditional large hydraulic fittings.

4. Making connections allows for easy maintenance in rigid lines like metal tubes or continuous pipes.

5. Reduce the chance of components becoming loose in rigorous hydraulic applications.

The use of flange connections at high-pressure circumstances and larger size allows easy assembly of overusing the larger fittings. The flanges come with zero-clearance assembly, easy reconnecting and disconnecting for maintenance of hose, manifold, and tube connections could be much faster and provide the ability for more accurate torque of the bolts as opposed try achieve the proper torque of a large fitting. Flange fittings and flange connections are less likely to loosen compared to a standard hydraulic fitting when there is a proper load distribution of clamping around the flange head. You may think of it as bolting the wheel of your car onto the brake or hub drum disk. If you do not tighten the lug nuts, the star pattern wheel will not tighten and maintain a connection. It may cause warping of the brake drum, rotor, or brake disc.

Conclusion

Flange connections are one of the best options for pipe end connections that have bends that are subjected to very high lateral forces inclined to cause the loosening of the assembly. The five benefits mentioned above clearly define the key benefits of the flanges.

If you need assistance to know more about the flange bolt tightening or choosing the right type of flange, contact Texas Flange today!

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How to Avoid Corrosion on Flanges?

Flanges can go through two types of corrosion in their lifetime: Crevice and Pitting. Pitting Corrosion occurs on the face of the flange and often appears in groups or clusters. This kind of corrosion causes small pits or cavities to form on the surface of the material. Pitting corrosion is best prevented by proper alloy selection. A very high rate of Crevice Corrosion occurs when there is a build-up of concentrated substance between two adjoining flanges. It is the type of corrosion that can be very damaging as it is not easy to inspect the areas where it is occurring.

The method of monitoring flange damage is to disassemble the joint and visual inspection of the surfaces. It is not ideal due to the downtime and cost but is necessary. There has been some development using some non-destructive techniques to inspect the amount of corrosion to the flange and fitting assembly.

Methods of prevention

Maintenance of paints is the most common method to prevent corrosion. The paints are based on epoxy or urethane. Most paints are likely to bond directly to the substrate as a hard coating. While the use of maintenance paints, there must be an ideal amount of application. If the paint is too thin, the area tends to be ineffective, and if the paint is too thick, it will cause seizing to the fastenings. There are different flange sizes, shapes, and angles – you may not be able to coat the whole area. After the inspection of the flange, another layer of coating needs application. A benefit to using maintenance paints is that it does not require specialist equipment or hot work.

Mechanical solutions are usually rigid clamps, or coverings encapsulated in the flanges. These clamps and covers are made from plastic or stainless steel. Another solution is the use of semi-solid tapes. They can be composed of viscoelastic polymers, wax, petroleum embedded into the fabric for wrapping. These are used specifically for their water-repellent nature of semi-solid polymers.

How to Avoid Corrosion on Flanges?

All preventive methods come with pros and cons. There is no solution out there that may entirely prevent corrosion. Regular inspections and maintenance can come out to help prevent rapid corrosion.

Four ways to repair corroded flanges

Add polymer composite to rebuilt the flange face.

Add material to seal face or ring grove and then machine within flange tolerance.

Machine the ring grove or sealing face within the flange tolerance.

Removing the damaged flange and weld on a new one.

Three factors to influence corrosion resistance during operating conditions

Corrosive agent concentration.

Purity of corrosive agent.

The temperature of corrosive agent (higher temperature means more rapid corrosion).

A few flange materials are subject to stress corrosion cracking. The fact must be considered while the selection of gasket type and materials. When you select a proper gasket, it can be helpful to prevent flange corrosion from aggressive chemicals.

Repairing Corroded Flanges

When a flange face is damaged, it is no longer sealable by a gasket and must be either repaired or replaced. In general, there are four basic kinds of repairs to consider:

Removal of the corroded flange and welding a new one.

On-site machining of the sealing face or ring groove within the flange tolerance.

Adding materials and site machining of the sealing face or ring groove.

Using polymer composite repair materials to rebuild the face of the flange.

Portable on-site machines that can help.

Flange Face Repair

A flange facing machine is the ideal product to machine the flange face sealing surface. It helps to get the job done accurately and quickly. There is a wide range of options available for you. It includes models that can be mounted externally or internally. Smaller machines help face diameters as small as 2” and the largest capable of facing up to 120” diameter.

Additionally to machine a conventional flat sealing face, machines with various attachments or conversion kits for machining RTJ grooves and compact flange joints.

Flange Removal

When it becomes impossible to repair the flange, the remaining option is to remove the flange entirely. You can carry it out by using a split frame/clamshell pipe cutter. As per the suggestion, the machine comprises two sections fixed and clamped together around the pipe diameter.

Conclusion

You can prevent flange corrosion with many methods, as different types of flange require different ways to deal. When you deal with chemical oxidizers/HF acid, it is essential to select a sturdy gasket that will prevent corrosion.

As a preventive solution on plant equipment, prolong its life and avoid costly shutdowns, it is best to use recommended torque values and proper bolting techniques when you install a gasket. Regular inspections can prevent rapid corrosion from happening.

If you want to learn more about flanges, click the link https://www.texasflange.com/

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8 Materials for Constructing Flanges

When it comes to flanges, the purpose is simple – they help to reinforce the ring, collar, rim, or ridge on an object like pipe, beam, column, and so on. Flanges provide additional stiffness and strength along with an added surface area for the attachment of another object. The construction of flanges is possible with different materials, depending primarily on the requirements and piping material of the application.

The selection of flange connections depends on various factors like economy, flow pressure, operating temperature, and environmental corrosion. Below are the eight materials that are useful for the construction of flanges:

Copper

8 Materials for Constructing Flanges

Copper flanges help deliver conductivity. The best thing is that they are non-magnetic and can withstand higher loads than other materials. They can withstand high-temperature service as well. One common location for copper flanges is plumbing. They are also helpful in valve parts and pumps along with electrical components and power generation.

Titanium

Titanium is famous for its extreme durability and is exceptionally lightweight properties. The demand for titanium flanges in the aerospace industry is rising. They prefer titanium for superior aircraft construction. Besides its use in aircraft frames, titanium also has excellent resistance to heat that makes it one of the perfect materials for aircraft engines. Its properties make it one of the most expensive manufacturing materials.

Aluminum

No other metal is widely popular in the industry than aluminum. It is lightweight and comes with an excellent weight-to-strength ratio. Aluminum flanges come with microscopic oxide coating on the surface that provides superior corrosion resistance. Architectural frames, marine equipment, wheels, and automotive frames are of aluminum alloys or aluminum.

Superalloys

The basis of superalloys is on the materials like cobalt and nickel. These metals are famously known to withstand harsh environments. They must be resistant to high heat and acid corrosion while they also exhibit wearability. Superalloys are best for the following:

Oil and gas

Defense

Aerospace parts

Assemblies in chemical and marine industries

Turbines

Valves

Piping system

Pump parts

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is one of the most common materials used in foodservice equipment, medical tools, or other tools that need frequent sanitizing. Its use doesn’t limit here; they are also helpful in ovens and furnaces which need high heat resistance.

stainless steel flanges

Stainless steel flange is one of the common preferences among many users. A product called ‘austenitic’ stainless steel is perfect in restaurant equipment and other applications that require high corrosion resistance and frequent cleaning. ‘Martensitic’ and duplex stainless steel flanges also have superior resistance to pitting and cracks.

Tool steel

Tool steel billets or ingots are perfect to manufacture flanges. The reason is that they contain carbon and other alloys that combine with iron. The combination helps to strengthen the steel and makes it more impact-resistant and sturdy. The most common use of tool steel is in applications that need durability and reliability during continuous operation. For example, tool steel is functional to create production machines for the manufacturing industry.

Carbon steel

Manufacturers usually use different grades of carbon steel that helps in producing flanges. It usually depends on the requirement of ductility, impacts strength, wears resistance, and hardness. Take the example of low carbon steel; it is robust and highly ductile as it contains the least amount of carbon. High carbon steel is both resilient and firm, but it is also true that manufacturers need to use a specific process to heat and treat the materials. Most of the automotive components that include frames, pans, fenders, transmission covers use carbon steel.

Alloy Steel

Alloy steel is one of the iron-based products that come with less than four percent chromium. It includes materials like nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, manganese, copper, and silicon. Alloy steel is one of those materials which has great use in the manufacturing of pipe connectors. It is resistant to wear and tear, harder, and much stronger than you can think. Apart from alloy flanges, many industries utilize alloy steel. It includes:

Industrial machinery

Military

Chemical

Wind energy

Gas and oil

Aerospace

Conclusion

It is clear from the above different materials that the performance of the flange depends on them. The main performance features of the flange are durability, ease of assembly, and weight. You can choose the right kind of flange based on your performance requirements. We hope that with the help of this guide, you will be able to identify the difference between these eight materials before you choose a specific flange.

To learn more about flange basics, visit https://www.texasflange.com/flange-basics/