Bolted Joints and Gasket Behavior

Bolted and gasketed joints are critical to pressure-containing and industrial systems worldwide. This two-day course is an engineer’s guide to bolting and gasket design, selection and installation. It provides an overview of bolted joint fundamentals and focuses on the roles of bolts and gaskets in developing and maintaining leak-tight connections of bolted flange joints, including troubleshooting of existing bolted flange connection.

This course examines how to assess a successful value of bolt load, as well as explains the importance of specifying a tightening procedure. It introduces the subject of PVRC (Pressure Vessel Research Council) leak tightness calculations and presents an overview of current trends and practices to achieve reliable leak-tight bolted joint solutions.

You Will Learn To:

• Explain how the bolted joint functions as a mechanical system that relies on the simultaneous interaction of the three primary components to successfully seal the connection
• Assess the mechanical stress and strain of a bolt and explain the challenges that one encounters when specifying an optimum bolt load
• Evaluate the total state of stress in bolts and how this effects the selection of a given bolt type and grade
• Describe the effects of in-service conditions and how they reduce or increase bolt load
• Describe the concept of leak tightness as a predictable value of gasket stress and how to use leak tightness as the basis of specifying bolt loads
• Identify conditions that create bolt failure
• Use ASME PCC-1 Guidelines for compliance to successful sealing of bolted, gasketed connections
• Discern how to use either stress or strain to select bolt load
• Evaluate the various methods of attaining bolt load.

Course materials (included in the purchase of the course)

Downloadable course notes and exercises via ASME's learning platform.

Course Requirements

Attendees are required to bring a scientific calculators to class to complete exercises.

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for engineers with the responsibility for, or are involved in, the specification and assembly of bolted joints and gasketed bolted flange connections. Two years of engineering experience would be beneficial, but is not required. The course is also useful to Engineering Management that wishes to assess the value of the material, and to mechanics that would like a broader understanding of the subject.

A Certificate of completion will be issued to registrants who successfully attend and complete the course.