What the bolts hide

Bolted flange joint: preload and gasket contact

Duration: 0:32
Year: 2026

The case

Same total assembly preload, different local compression. From the assembly to the inside of the gasket: at the same internal pressure, uneven bolt preload reduced the minimum gasket line load by about 70 % relative to uniform preload. The total does not tell the whole story. Synthetic FEA model; no sealing assessment.

Topics

Bolted joints
Contact
Gasket loading

Basis. Generic synthetic case built for this piece. No client data. Not a design verification.

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