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Gaskets are used to seal pipe joints and prevent leaks and external contaminants. Flanged gaskets are used for flanged pipe ends, while socket and spigot joints use thick rubber gaskets. Flanged pipes use heavy-duty rubber gaskets or metal gaskets, such as O-rings or spiral wound gaskets.
When pipes intended to carry a fluid or gas are jointed, the connections between the individual pipes must be sealed to prevent leakage or the ingress of external contaminants. The products used to seal these pipe joints are known as gaskets. A flanged gasket is the particular style of gasket used to create a seal when two flanged pipe ends are bolted together.
The most common use of gaskets is in the utility industry, where water pipes must be sealed sufficiently to prevent water leaks, pressure drops, or external foreign contaminants from entering the pipe. The main types of pipe joints in regular use in this industry are socket and spigot joints, also known as Tyton joints in some locations, and flanged joints. In socket and spigot applications, the gaskets take the form of a thick, rounded section of rubber, which fits into the socket of the receiving tube. This gasket is then compressed as the spigot end of the adjacent pipe is inserted, creating the seal.
In water pipe applications, flanged joints are commonly specified for above ground piping and for pipes and fittings within chambers. Flanged pipes feature wide, flattened ends which are commonly supplied with pre-drilled holes to allow the flanged ends of adjacent pipes to be bolted on. When connecting flanged pipes to pipe ends or cut sections of pipe, a flange adapter can be used to produce a flanged end to which the adjacent pipe is to be bolted.
Commonly made from heavy-duty rubber, a flange gasket is a flat ring designed to fit over the flattened end of the pipes to which it will be attached. The flange gasket shall have holes to allow the connecting bolts to bypass the gasket and secure to the adjacent pipe end. When the connecting bolts are tightened, the rubber flange gasket is compressed, thus creating the seal against leaks and the ingress of contaminants.
Other types of flange gaskets are available in the form of corrugated, ring and spiral metal gaskets. These types of gaskets are made from steel and are mainly used in the oil and gas industries. O-rings are solid steel rings that can also be fabricated into different shapes to match the cross-sectional appearance of the host pipe. Spiral wound gaskets consist of stainless steel tape wrapped rings arranged in a V, with the open end of the V facing the outside face of the flange. Pressure at the base of the vee causes the sides to spread apart, creating a seal against the flange faces.
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