Recessed Flange Seal Assembly for Fast Gasket Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In gas pressure control systems, flange connections with recesses face challenges with material property changes leading to gas leaks, making it difficult to replace insulating washers and resulting in high costs and labor due to settlement issues, necessitating frequent replacement of entire flange connections.
Innovation Solution
A flange connection design featuring flange parts with recesses and compensating rings having annular grooves for sealing rings, along with an electrically insulating disk, allows for quick replacement and adaptation to varying gap sizes, ensuring tightness and insulation without electrical insulation by the compensating rings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If insulating washers are used in flange connections with recesses, then electrical insulation is achieved, but replacement becomes very difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The flange connection is segmented into multiple replaceable components: the insulating washer, the sealing ring, and the compensating ring. The sealing ring is inserted into a groove on the compensating ring, creating a modular assembly that can be replaced independently. This segmentation allows the sealing components to be replaced without replacing the entire flange connection, resolving the contradiction between maintaining reliable insulation and enabling easy repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The compensating ring with its groove acts as an intermediary component that holds the sealing ring. This intermediary structure enables the sealing ring to be easily installed and replaced within the flange connection, facilitating maintenance while maintaining the electrical insulation provided by the insulating washer.
2Manufacturing precision
If flange components are machined before initial use, then precise dimensions are achieved, but exact dimensions become undeterminable for replacement purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The compensating ring with the groove serves multiple functions: it provides a standardized location for the sealing ring, accommodates variations in flange dimensions, and enables universal replacement across different flange connections. The groove design allows the same compensating ring and sealing ring assembly to be used in various flange configurations, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and replacement adaptability.
3Reliability
If insulating washers are replaced after settlement occurs, then sealing integrity can be restored, but the entire flange connection must be replaced
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into the insulating washer, compensating ring, and sealing ring. This segmentation allows the sealing ring to be replaced independently to restore sealing integrity after settlement, without requiring replacement of the entire flange connection. The groove on the compensating ring facilitates this selective replacement, improving productivity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing ring can be discarded and replaced independently when sealing integrity is compromised due to settlement. The compensating ring with its groove allows for easy recovery and replacement of the sealing ring, enabling maintenance of sealing integrity without replacing the entire flange connection, thus improving replacement efficiency.
4Ease of operation
If compensating rings with grooves are used, then sealing rings can be easily installed and replaced, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The groove is added only to the specific location on the compensating ring where the sealing ring needs to be positioned. This localized modification provides the necessary ease of operation for sealing ring installation and replacement without significantly increasing the overall structural complexity of the flange gasket assembly.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a flange connection with two bolted flange parts, wherein at least one of the flange parts has a recess on its side facing the opposite flange part, wherein a flange gasket with at least one compensating ring is arranged between the flange parts, and wherein the respective compensating ring has an annular groove in at least one of its surfaces, into which at least one sealing ring is inserted. The object of the present invention is to provide a flange connection whose flange gasket can be easily and quickly replaced. This object is achieved, firstly, by a flange connection in which the at least one compensating ring bears against an inner surface of the recess that is aligned with a central axis of the flange connection.Furthermore, the present invention relates to a corresponding flange gasket and a method for installing a new flange gasket.