Challenge

We were asked by an end user operator if our IsoShield FS™ would provide a tight seal even in a flange that had some damage on the face,   and if we could set up some testing to demonstrate performance.     This was a challenge we were delighted to take on.

We are often sent pictures of damaged flanges asking if we can offer a view on whether a seal can be achieved without the need to replace or re-machine the flange.     There is clear guidance within the ASME PCC1-2013 standard on "guidelines for allowable gasket contact surface flatness and defect depth"  and our testing was based on this standard.

Solution

We set up a test flange assembly based on a 3" 1500 RTJ mating onto a RF flange,   we then had the maximum allowable damage (as per ASME PCC1 guidlines) machined directly onto on the flange face and precisely on the sealing contact area.     The test media was 99% Nitrogen/1% helium and the test pressure was 291 bar being 1.1 design pressure of the flange.   The test was run for 15 minutes and we then measured the leak rate with a mass spectrometer.      The test was independently run by a leading test house and witnessed by the operator.

Results 

The IsoShield FS™  performed beyond our expectations and sealed to a level 10,000 times tighter than the operators allowable leakage level.   A great performance and result!

Iso Shield After Test
Iso Shield After Compression