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langes, Lap Joint flanges, Thr…

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De nition and Details of Flanges - Types of Flanges

Flange types
As already described before, the most used ange types acc. to ASME B16.5 are:
Welding Neck, Slip On, Socket Weld, Lap Joint, Threaded and Blind ange. Below you will
nd a short description and de nition of each type, completed with an detailed image.

MOST COMMON FLANGE TYPES

Welding Neck ange

Welding Neck Flanges are easy to recognize at the long tapered hub, that goes gradually
over to the wall thickness from a pipe or tting.

The long tapered hub provides an important reinforcement for use in several applications
involving high pressure, sub-zero and / or elevated temperatures. The smooth transition
from ange thickness to pipe or tting wall thickness e ected by the taper is extremely
bene cial, under conditions of repeated bending, caused by line expansion or other
variable forces.

These anges are bored to match the inside diameter of the mating pipe or tting so there
will be no restriction of product ow. This prevents turbulence at the joint and reduces
erosion. They also provide excellent stress distribution through the tapered hub and are
easily radiographed for aw detection.

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This ange type will be welded to a pipe or tting with a single full penetration, V weld
(Buttweld).

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PIPINGOF WELDING NECK FLANGE Menu ☰

1. Weld Neck ange 2. Butt Weld

3. Pipe or Fitting

Slip On ange
The calculated strength from a Slip On ange under internal pressure is of the order of
two-thirds that of Welding Neck anges, and their life under fatigue is about one-third that
of the latter.
The connection with the pipe is done with 2 llet welds, as well at the outside as also at the
inside of the ange.
The X measure on the image, are approximately:
Wall thickness of pipe + 3 mm.
This space is necessary, to do not damage the ange face, during the welding process.
A disadvantage of the ange is, that principle always rstly a pipe must be welded and then
just a tting. A combination of ange and elbow or ange and tee is not possible, because
named ttings have not a straight end, that complete slid in the Slip On ange.

DETAILS OF SLIP ON FLANGE

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1. Slip On ange 2. Filled weld outside

3. Filled weld inside 4. Pipe

Socket Weld ange

Socket Weld anges were initially developed for use on small-size high pressure piping.
Their static strength is equal to Slip On anges, but their fatigue strength 50% greater than
double-welded Slip On anges.
The connection with the pipe is done with 1 llet weld, at the outside of the ange. But
before welding, a space must be created between ange or tting and pipe.
ASME B31.1 1998 127.3 Preparation for Welding (E) Socket Weld Assembly says:
In assembly of the joint before welding, the pipe or tube shall be inserted into the socket to
the maximum depth and then withdrawn approximately 1/16" (1.6 mm) away from contact
between the end of the pipe and the shoulder of the socket.
The purpose for the bottoming clearance in a Socket Weld is usually to reduce the residual
stress at the root of the weld that could occur during solidi cation of the weld metal. The
image shows you the X measure for the expansion gap.
The disadvantage of this ange is right the gap, that must be made. By corrosive products,
and mainly in stainless steel pipe systems, the crack between pipe and ange can give
corrosion problems. In some processes this ange is also not allowed. I am not an expert in
this matter, but on the internet, you will nd a lot of information about forms of corrosion.

Also for this ange counts, that principle always rstly a pipe must be welded and then just
a tting.

DETAILS OF SOCKET WELD FLANGE

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1. Socket Weld ange 2. Filled weld 3. Pipe

X = Expansion gap

Lap Joint ange

Lap Joint Flanges have all the same common dimensions as any other ange named on this
page however it does not have a raised face, they used in conjunction with a "Lap Joint Stub
End".
These anges are nearly identical to a Slip On ange with the exception of a radius at the
intersection of the ange face and the bore to accommodate the anged portion of the
Stub End.

Their pressure-holding ability is little, if any, better than that of Slip On anges and the
fatigue life for the assembly is only one tenth that of Welding Neck anges.
They may be used at all pressures and are available in a full size range. These anges slip
over the pipe, and are not welded or otherwise fastened to it. Bolting pressure is
transmitted to the gasket by the pressure of the ange against the back of the pipe lap
(Stub End).

Lap Joint anges have certain special advantages:

Freedom to swivel around the pipe facilitates the lining up of opposing ange
bolt holes.
Lack of contact with the uid in the pipe often permits the use of inexpensive
carbon steel anges with corrosion resistant pipe.
In systems which erode or corrode quickly, the anges may be salvaged for re-
use.

DETAILS OF LAP JOINT FLANGE

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1. Lap Joint ange 2. Stub End

3. Butt weld 4. Pipe or Fitting

Stub End
A Stub End always will be used with a Lap Joint ange, as a backing ange.

This ange connections are applied, in low-pressure and non critical applications, and is a
cheap method of anging.
In a stainless steel pipe system, for example, a carbon steel ange can be applied, because
they are not come in contact with the product in the pipe.
Stub Ends are available in almost all pipe diameters. Dimensions and dimensional
tolerances are de ned in the ASME B.16.9 standard. Light-weight corrosion resistant Stub
Ends ( ttings) are de ned in MSS SP43.

LAP JOINT FLANGE WITH A STUB END

Threaded ange
Threaded Flanges are used for special circumstances with their main advantage being that
they can be attached to the pipe without welding. Sometimes a seal weld is also used in
conjunction with the threaded connection.

Although still available in most sizes and pressure ratings, screwed ttings today are used
almost exclusively in smaller pipe sizes.
A threaded ange or tting is not suitable for a pipe system with thin wall thickness,
because cutting thread on a pipe is not possible. Thus, thicker wall thickness must be

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chosen...what is thicker ?

ASME B31.3 Piping Guide says:

Where steel
EXPLORE thepipe is threaded
WORLD and used for steam service above 250 psi or for waterMenu
of PIPING service☰
above 100 psi with water temperatures above 220° F, the pipe shall be seamless and have
a thickness at least equal to schedule 80 of ASME B36.10.

DETAILS OF THREADED FLANGE

1. Threaded ange 2. Thread 3. Pipe or Fitting

Blind ange
Blind Flanges are manufactured without a bore and used to blank o the ends of piping,
Valves and pressure vessel openings.
From the standpoint of internal pressure and bolt loading, blind anges, particularly in the
larger sizes, are the most highly stressed ange types.

However, most of these stresses are bending types near the center, and since there is no
standard inside diameter, these anges are suitable for higher pressure temperature
applications.

DETAILS OF BLIND FLANGE

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1. Blind ange 2. Stud Bolt 3. Gasket 4. Other ange

REMARK(S) OF THE AUTHOR...

A SIMPLE MANNER TO MAKE A 1/16" GAP...

Have you ever seen a Socket Weld contraction ring ?.

It is a split ring that is engineered and designed to give a pre-measured 1/16"
minimum gap for socket welds. Made from a certi ed stainless steel, and
resists corrosion from chemicals, radioactive materials and water. Once
inserted into the tting the ring becomes a permanent part of the joint. It will
not rattle or vibrate even under extreme pressure.
Another manner is the applying of in water-soluble board. Make rings with a
hole punch with outside and inside diameter of the pipe. Insert the ring into
the ange or tting and after hydrotesting there is no ring anymore.
For both solutions, ask your customer for permission.

HOLD THEM ON ITS PLACE...

If a Lap Joint anged connection must be disassembled, for example to replace

a gasket, it is not always possible to do that on the conventional manner. The
conventional manner is the use of a ange spreader or crowbar that pushed
o the two anges.
By Lap Joint anges that is not possible, because these slide back over the
pipe, while the Stub Ends stay together. To prevent that, often are on 3 places,
single millimeters behind the ange, on the Stub End, short pieces at steel,
will be welded.
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There is no general rule how a Lap Joint ange must be hold on its place, and
therefore it can deviate per customer speci cation.

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At the smallest sizes, the amount of wall lost during threading actually equals
approximately 55% of the original pipe wall.

BUTT WELDS VS FILLET WELDS

In systems with relatively high pressures and temperatures, we need to avoid

the use of llet welds. Butt welds, in such systems must be used. The strength
of a butt weld is at least the strength of the base material. The strength of llet
welds related to the strength of the butt weld, is about one third.
At higher pressures and temperatures, the expansion and contraction caused
fast for serious cracks in llet welds and therefore the use of butt welds is
essential.
For conduits to critical machinery such as pumps, compressors and turbines,
which are exposed to vibration (in addition to the expansion and contraction),
we should avoid the use of llet welds or threaded connections.
Fillet welds have a higher sensitivity to cracks due to stress concentration,
while butt welds are characterized by smooth exchange of tensions.
So, for critical situations, we have to use anges connected by butt welding like
as weld neck and ring type joint, and avoid using anges connected by llet
welds like Slip On or Socket Weld.

© Werner Sölken 2008 - 2019. All rights reserved.

Do not worry about your di culties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater. ALBERT EINSTEIN

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