Must-Read Guide to Flanges– Advantages and Disadvantages

Flanges used in various fields including gas, petroleum, transport, and water. It is also employed in chemicals, power generation, and chemical fertilizers. They come in many shapes and types. They also have a diversified material including stainless steel, low carbon steel, low-alloy steel, non-ferrous steel, and high-alloy steel in accordance with the service environment and type of fluid.

A flange is a way to connect valves, pipes, pumps and other equipment to form a system of pipes. It provides access to modification, inspection or cleaning. They can be screwed or welded. Joining two flanges with a particular type of seal can put their joints together.

Types of Flanges

– Blind Flange
– Threaded Flange
– Lap-Joint Flange
– Socket-welded Flange
– Slip-on Flange
– Welded-neck Flange

Materials for Flanges

Pipe flanges are made of materials like cast iron, stainless steel, bronze, aluminum, plastic and many others. However, most of them have machined surfaces and are forged carbon steel. Moreover, flanges are equipped with layers of material of an entirely different quality for specific purposes.

Applicable Pipe Wall Thickness and Pipe Wall Diameter

It is noted that any size has no same wall thickness. However, all wall thickness differs b size depending on their SCH.NO. They range from (5B, 6B, 8B, 10B, 12B) having a difference in the outer diameter of ASME and JIS pipes even when they have the same diameter. The outer diameter causes the inner diameter to change.

Welded Connections vs. Flanged Connections

There are no standards that determine the use of a flange. Because one weld is needed to connect these pipes, customary flanges are used in a newly-installed factory. This saves flange costs.

Other disadvantages of flanges

– It is expensive to insulate flanged pipes.
– More space is needed for flanged pipe systems
– A flange connection can leak

Benefits of flange connections

– Painting and blasting are not necessary.
– Piping spools can be assembled without welding.
– Numerous piping spools can be manufactured.