Detailed Program of the 22nd ISC 2024

Evaluation of gasket performance at cryogenic Temperature

Summary

The European standard EN 13555 is widely used to generate gasket factors to calculate flange connections according EN 1591-1 and to evaluate the performance of sealing material. The EN 13555 includes tests for tightness, creep relaxation, Qsmax and E-Modulus of gasket materials. All those tests are performed at room or elevated temperature. The testing and evaluation at cryogenic conditions is not, up to the preparation of this paper, part of EN 13555.

A wide range of applications require gaskets which can operate at cryogenic temperature. LNG, LPG or LOX are the most common media. An extension of EN 13555 to gasket factors at cryogenic temperature would provide a basis for calculations. Cryogenic temperatures significantly influence the characteristics of the sealing materials and their sealing performance. It is known that at -40 °C some elastomer bonded sheet gasket materials get brittle and pipe vibrations could lead to sudden blow outs.

This paper presents a study of potential additional low temperature EN 13555 tests including tightness, creep relaxation, Qsmax and E-Modulus. The tests were done at a newly developed test machine at temperatures as low as -150 °C. The first investigations were performed with different types of PTFE gaskets which are currently used in cryogenic applications.