Paper Title
Leak Tightness Analysis of Bolted Body Flange of Heat Exchanger Near Pass Partition Plate
Abstract
The body flange connecting channel side shell to the tubesheet of a two pass heat exchanger is subjected to
significant thermal gradient in the vicinity of pass partition plate. Half part of the flange is subjected to relatively low
temperature as compared to the remaining half. This has implication on the leak tightness of flange joint. The design codes
such as ASME do not address this situation. The purpose of present work is to investigate the behavior and sealing
performance of such flanged joint with a flat metal gasket. A 3- dimensional finite element model including contact elements
is used for the analysis. Results of contact pressure computed at gasket location are used to predict leakage behavior of the
joint. Flange stresses obtained from the analysis are evaluated as per ASME criteria. Effect of difference in fluid temperature
for the two passes on the leak tightness of joint is presented. Possible measures to mitigate leakage in such situation is
discussed.
Keywords - Flange, Gasket, Heat exchanger, Contact pressure, Leakage