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Proceedings of the ASME 2015 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference

PVP2015
July 19-23, 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

PVP2015-45881

CALCULATION OF MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE BENDING MOMENT


ON PIPE FLANGE CONNECTION FOR LEAK TIGHTNESS DESIGN

Satoshi NAGATA, Ph.D


Technical Expert
Toyo Engineering Corporation
Narashino, Chiba, Japan
satoshi.nagata@toyo-eng.com

ABSTRACT mechanical interaction among flange components, i.e. flange,


This paper proposes a method to calculate the maximum bolts, and gasket, under the bending moment as well as internal
allowable bending moment on pipe flange connections for leak pressure. Also the applicability of the proposed method is
tightness design of piping systems in process plants. The verified by comparison with experimental leak test results.
method evaluates the gasket stress reduction due to the bending
moment as well as internal pressure based on the load factor of NOMENCLATURE
the bolted-gasketed pipe flange connection and the equivalent Ab Bolt root area, mm2
axial force. It determines the critical load combination of
Ap Cross sectional area of gasket reaction circle, mm2
pressure and bending moment causing leakage. The calculated
maximum allowable bending moment has shown fairly good (see Fig.1)
agreement with experimental results with reasonable C Bolt pitch circle diameter, mm (see Fig.1)
conservativeness. The paper also shows the advantage of the d Nominal bolt diameter, mm
proposed method against the conventional methods such as the FM Moment factor varies from 0.03 to 1.2 [6]
equivalent pressure method, NC-3658.3 method, B31.8 method, G Gasket reaction diameter, mm (see Fig.1)
and so on. H Pressure end thrust force, N
HM Equivalent axial force due to bending moment, N
INTRODUCTION
In piping flexibility design of plant facilities, leak tightness M Bending moment, N-mm
is supposed to be established in bolted flange connections even m Gasket factor
subjected to severe bending moment. The design leak tightness N Gasket width, mm (see Fig.1)
shall be verified during the engineering stage for such critical P Internal pressure, MPa
lines as large bore piping, high pressure, high temperature, and PR Rated pressure, MPa
so on. Sb Bolt stress, MPa
This is the so-called flange leak check and the several
Sbl Initial bolt stress for gasket seating, MPa
conventional evaluation methods have been proposed and
standardized for practical use in piping design. However, even where, take lesser of 1500 d and yield stress at
though it is called a leak check, those methods do not evaluate ambient temperature.
the leak tightness itself either directly or indirectly. The leak Sy Bolt yield stress at operating temperature, MPa
check is actually substituted by pressure evaluation or bolt
strength evaluation in most methods. Furthermore, it has been if over 250MPa, take 250MPa.
pointed out that some methods give pretty conservative Wga Allowable gasket load reduction due to applied
evaluation and other methods give unconservative evaluation internal pressure and/or external loadings on the
for the allowable bending moment. gasketed bolt flange connection based on gasket
The present paper proposes a method to evaluate the separation, N
design allowable bending moment to prevent flange leakage by g Load factor of gasketed bolt flange connection
means of the load factor based calculation taking into account

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CONVENTIONAL METHODS representing stiffness of flange, bolts, and gasket [7]. Brown [6]
Design leak tightness of pipe flange connections subject to used the similar approach and termed mechanical interaction,
external bending moment is examined for critical lines during although with a slightly different method of stiffness
the piping flexibility design of plant facilities. It is a so-called calculation. By using the load factor and pressure end thrust
flange leak check, and there are several practical methods to force, gasket load reduction of the flange connection subject to
evaluate the design leak tightness as outlined below. Although internal pressure is expressed as below and it should be limited
these evaluation methods are essentially based on the concept by the allowable gasket load reduction to keep design leak
of equivalent pressure [1], the procedures are different tightness required.
depending on the preconditions and the parameter to be used
for the evaluation such as internal pressure [1,6], bolt load
[2,3], and gasket stress [8]. Formulas for typical evaluation
1 H W
g ga (6)

methods are shown below in case that only bending moment in


external loads is considered exerting to the flange connection. The above equation can be applicable to evaluate the
gasket load reduction in the connection subject to bending
a) Kellogg Equivalent Pressure Method [1] moment as well as internal pressure by substituting the pressure
thrust H by the equivalent axial force including the contribution
of bending moment. The contribution of bending moment
16M
PR P (1) should be approximately represented by the following equation.
G3
4M
b) B31.8 Method [2] HM (7)
D
C
M
4
Sb Ab PAp (2) Meanwhile, the sealing behavior of gaskets has been
clarified by the experimental tests in recent researches. It is
reported that the helium gas leak rates through a soft gasket
c) NC-3658.3 Method [3] clamped by rigid platens can be expressed by the function of
gasket deflection regardless of the gasket stress level [9]. Thus,
Sy when the spring rates of gasket in the unloading condition was
M 21.7 CAb (3) identified, the recovery of gasket deflection could be calculated
250 using the gasket spring rates and the reduction of gasket load
and then the leak rates would be predicted according to the
d) KHK Seismic Level 2 Method [8] relationship between the leak rates and the gasket deflection.
However, this approach to predict leak rates based on the gasket
16M Sbl Ab deflection seems not yet considered as a practical method for
mP 0.75m (4)
G3 GN flange leak check in the actual engineering design because of
its complexity of calculation and the data availability. Also the
e) Modified Equivalent Pressure Method by Brown [6] quantitative discussion of the fugitive emission from pipe
flange connections seems still under on-going process to
16M establish a common understanding. On the other hand, it has
PR P FM PR (5) been reported by some previous researches that the effect of
G3 bending moment on the sealing performance of pipe flange
connections is not significant very much in the range
PROPOSED METHOD considering fugitive emission [6]. In this context, it should be
The author proposes a method to evaluate the design leak important to prevent gross leak at pipe flange connections for
tightness of pipe flange connections subject to external bending practical engineering design. The conventional methods listed
moment using load factor to consider the gasket stress before are also the check for gross leak. It is said that some of
reduction caused by the bending moment applied. them are prone to give over conservative evaluation and some
The load factor is defined as the ratio of bolt force of them may show unconservative results. These inaccurate
increment against the applied external force to the flange results should come from the derivation of equations adopted in
connection. When the gasketed flange connection is subjected those methods. The equations used in conventional leak check
to internal pressure, the load factor is defined as the ratio of bolt methods are derived without considering the interactions
force increment against the pressure end thrust force per a bolt. among the components of flange connection, i.e. flange, bolts,
Assuming the axisymmetric conditions, the load factor can be and gasket, in the mechanical behavior of the connection
regarded as the ratio of total bolt force against total pressure subject to bending moment as well as internal pressure.
end thrust force. Also, the load factor can be approximately Contrary to this, the proposed method based on Eq.(6) includes
calculated by an equation composed with spring constants the effect of mechanical interactions among components by

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introducing load factor under to predict the gasket load B31.8 method and d) KHK seismic level 2 method may give
reduction accurately comparing with the conventional methods. unconservative evaluation for leak check. The proposed load
factor based method gives intermediate results in between two
VERIFICATION OF METHODS groups and shows fairly good agreement with the leak test
The validity of proposed method based on Eq.(6) is results with reasonable conservativeness.
clarified by comparing with the test results available in Figure 3 shows the example results of maximum allowable
literature [4]. Predicted leak pressure and leak moment by the bending moment evaluated according to the methods studied in
proposed method as well as conventional methods are this paper, respectively. This is the series of evaluation results
compared with the measured values in the leak tests. for ASME B16.5, Class300, Welding Neck-Raised Face flanges
Figure 2 shows a leak test results indicated by open and with graphite filler spiral wound gasket of 4.5mm thickness,
close symbols. The open symbols represent no leak at the test clamped by low alloy steel bolts of grade B7 with 345MPa of
condition, and the close symbols mean leakage was detected. initial clamping bolt stress. The flange sizes from 1-1/2 inch to
Predicted leak pressure and moment according to the leak 24 inch are covered. All the methods give larger allowable
check methods mentioned above are also shown by solid lines bending moment as the flange size increases. Also the proposed
in Fig.2. The region in left side of the line assumes no leak load factor method gives intermediate values between the
conditions, and the region in right side of the line means conservative methods a), c), and e), and the unconservative
leakage is expected. In the literature [4], the leak test was methods b) and d) as observed in Fig.2.
conducted using carbon steel pipe flange designated ASME
B16.5, 12inch, Class150, Welding Neck-Raised Face with DISCUSSION
compressed asbestos sheet gasket of 1.5 mm initial thickness. The flange leak check method proposed in this paper can
The connected pipe has 0.25 inch thickness and the flanges are estimate the critical bending moment of pipe flange connection
clamped by low alloy steel of B7 grade. Gasket seating was if the leak tightness is lost based on the gasket separation.
done by 40ksi (276MPa) of bolt preload and then internal Therefore, the obtained critical bending moment does not
pressure and bending moment were applied to the connection. include any explicit safety margin in it. Although Brown [6]
Internal pressure was applied using water and the leakage was proposed another method e) to judge leak tightness based on
detected by pressure monitoring and visual examination against similar approach in this paper, the method e) introduces a safety
a drop of water. margin with the factor of two into the applied laod. Eliminating
As shown in Fig.2, it is obvious that a) Kellogg equivalent this factor of two, the results of these two methods seem to
pressure method gives over conservative evaluation, though approximately agree with each other in the range compared in
this method is the most common and traditional approach of this paper. It would be considered that uncertain safety margin
flange leak check. This over conservativeness will be somehow in the leak check should not be included for reasonable piping
improved by the modification of Brown as indicated by the line system design to avoid the margin counted double. The bending
with the notation e) Brown. But it seems still pretty moment applied to the flange joint is supposed to be calculated
conservative rather than reasonable. The method of c) NC- by pipe stress analysis in which flange joints are represented by
3658.3 gives constant allowable moment regardless of internal just straight pipes without considering any flexibility of them.
pressure. Considering that the maximum rating pressure in Due to this modeling, since the applied moment onto the flange
Class150 is about 2MPa, the level of conservativeness in the joint should be overestimated than the reality, it is considered
method c) NC-3658.3 would be similar to that in the method e) that some amount of safety margin is already introduced into
Brown. Contrary to these conservative methods, the methods b) the flange leak check. Of course, it should be needed further
B31.8 method and d) KHK seismic level2 method will accept discussions about the appropriate level of safety margin against
greater moment than that actually caused leakage in the leakage, and also to quantify the inherent safety margin of the
experimental tests. The proposed load factor based method, pipe model representing the flange joint in pipe stress analysis.
herein after LFM, by Eq.(6) can represents well the test results
of leak or no leak without contradictions. Also the level of CONCLUSION
conservativeness seems more reasonable comparing with those The paper has proposed the load factor based method for
in the methods a), c), and e). Here, it is noted that the gasket flange leak check of pipe flange connection subject to bending
elasticity of 500MPa in loading condition and 2000MPa in moment as well as internal pressure. The method can calculate
unloading condition [10] is adopted in the calculation of LFM. the allowable bending moment to keep the design leak tightness
It is also noted that the allowable gasket load reduction in the of the connection. The calculated allowable bending moment
Eq.(6) is set to the initial gasket load with 40ksi of bolt preload. has been compared to the experimental leak test results and the
For the other sizes of pipe flange connections, the applicability has been demonstrated in the range compared in
evaluation results show almost similar tendency to that found in this paper. In addition, comparing with those allowable moment
Fig.2. It is roughly summarized that a) Kellogg equivalent evaluated by the other conventional flange leak check methods,
pressure method, c) NC-3658.3 method, and e) modified it has been shown the effectiveness of the proposed method.
equivalent pressure method by Brown gives conservative The following conclusion has been obtained by the present
allowable bending moment to prevent flange leakage, and b) study.

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(1) Experimental leak test results for 12inch-Class150 [3] ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Rules
flange connection subject to bending moment and internal for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components,
pressure can be well represented by the proposed load factor Division 1 - Subsection NC, Addresses Items which are
based leak check method. It is also verified that the proposed Intended to Conform to the Requirements for Class 2
method gives slightly conservative evaluation for the allowable Construction, 2013
bending moment. [4] Rodabaugh, E. C., et al., Evaluation of the Bolting and
(2) Traditional equivalent pressure method gives over Flanges of ANSI B16.5 Flanged Joints ASME Part A
conservative evaluation against the test results. Although NC- Design Rules, ORNL Report/Sub/2913-3, 1976
3658.3 method and modified equivalent pressure method [5] Koves, W. J., Design for Leakage in Flange Joints under
improve the over conservativeness in equivalent pressure External Loads, Proceedings of ASME PVP Conference,
method, they would give still pretty conservative evaluation. PVP2005-71254, 2005
(3) B31.8 method and KHK method may give [6] Brown, W., Improved Analysis of External Loads on
unconservative rather large allowable bending moment. The Flanged Joints, Proceedings of ASME PVP Conference,
bending moment which caused the leakage in the leak test has PVP2013-97814, 2013
been judged acceptable according to those methods. [7] Nagata, S., et al., Bolt Load Changes due to Internal
(4) Allowable bending moment for Class300 flanges from Pressure in Gasketed Flange Connections, Proceedings of
1-1/2 to 24 inches has been calculated by the proposed method ASME PVP Conference, PVP-Vol.457, p.47, 2003
as well as the other conventional leak check methods. The [8] KHK-E-012, Seismic Design Guideline for High Pressure
proposed method gives intermediate results between those by Gas Facilities - Level 2, 2012 (in Japanese)
over conservative methods and by unconservative methods. [9] Kobayashi, T., Leak Tightness Evaluation of Gaskets
based on Compressive Strain, Proceedings of ASME PVP
Conference, PVP-Vol.405, p.23, 2000
REFERENCES [10] Takagi, T., et al., Three-Dimensional Finite Element
[1] M. W. Kellogg, Design of Piping Systems, 1956 Analysis of Pipe Flange Connections (In Case of Using
[2] ASME B31.8, Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Compressed Asbestos Sheet Gasket), Transactions of the
Systems, 2012 JSME, Series A, Vol.68, No.665, p.8, 2002

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C

Bolt Load

G
Gasket Reaction
Ap : Cross section of gasket reaction circle

Fig.1 Sketch of Flange Loadings and Dimensions

Fig.2 Experimental leak test results for B16.5 Class Fig.3 Maximum allowable bending moment for
150 WN-RF 12inch flange at initial bolt stress 40ksi. Class 300 WN-RF flanges at initial bolt stress
345MPa.

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