The quantities of leak rate through sealing systems are subjected to strict regulations because of the global concern on radiative materials. The maximum tolerated leak is becoming a design criterion in pressure vessel design codes, and the leak rate for an application under specific conditions is required to be estimated with reasonable accuracy. In this respect, experimental and theoretical studies are conducted to characterize gasket and packing materials to predict leakage. The amount of the total leak is the summation of the permeation leak through the sealing material and the interfacial leak generated between the sealing element and its mating surfaces. Unfortunately, existing models used to predict leakage do not separate these two types of leaks. This paper deals with a study based on experimental testing that quantifies the amount of these two types of leaks in bolted gasketed joints and packed stuffing boxes. It shows the contribution of interfacial leak for low and high contact surface stresses and the influence of the surface finish of 0.8 and 6.3 μm (32 and 250 μin) resulting from phonographic grooves in the case of a bolted flange joint. The results indicate that most leakage is interfacial, reaching 99% at the low stress while interfacial leak is of the same order of magnitude of permeation leak at high stresses reaching 10−6 and 10−8 mg/s in both packing and gaskets, respectively. Finally, particular focus is put on the technique of precompression to improve material sealing tightness.

Characterizing the permeation performance of nano-porous material is an initial step towards predicting micro-flows and achieving acceptable designs in sealing and filtration applications. The present study deals with analytical, numerical, and experimental studies of gaseous leaks through soft packing materials. The paper presents a new analytical model to accurately predict and correlate gaseous leak rates through nano-porous materials. The analytical prediction is done with a model of fluid flow through capillaries of an exponentially varying section. Based on Navier-Stokes equations with different flow regimes, the analytical model is used to predict gaseous flow rates through soft packing materials. In addition, for comparison, computational fluid dynamic modelling using CFX software is used to estimate the flow rate of compression packing ring materials assuming the fluid flow to follow Darcy’s law. Helium gas is used as a reference gas to characterize the porosity parameters. The analytical and CFX numerical leak predictions are compared to leak rates measured experimentally using different gas types (Helium, Nitrogen, Air, and Argon) at different pressures and gland stresses. The packing material is subjected to different compression stress levels in order to change its porosity.

The prediction of leak rate through porous gaskets for different gases based on test conducted on a reference gas can prevent bolted joint leakage failure and save the industry lots of money. This work gives a basic comparison between different gas flow models that can be used to predict leak rates through porous gasket materials. The ability of a model to predict the leak rate at the micro- and nanolevels in tight gaskets relies on its capacity to incorporate different flow regimes that can be present under different working conditions. Four models based on Navier–Stokes equations that incorporate different boundary conditions and characterize specific flow regime are considered. The first- and second-order slip, diffusivity, and molecular flow models are used to predict and correlate leak rates of gases namely helium, nitrogen, SF6, methane, argon, and air passing through three frequently used porous gasket materials which are flexible graphite, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and compressed fiber. The methodology is based on the determination experimentally of the porosity parameter (N and R) of the microchannels assumed to simulate the leak paths present in the gasket using helium as the reference gas. The predicted leak rates of different gases at different stresses and pressure levels are confronted to the results obtained experimentally by measurements of leak rates using pressure rise and mass spectrometry techniques. The results show that the predictions depend on the type of flow regime that predominates. Nevertheless, the second-order slip model is the one that gives better agreements with the measured leaks in all cases.

Leaking valves have forced shutdown in many nuclear power plants. The myth of zero leakage or adequate sealing must give way to more realistic maximum leak rate criterion in design of nuclear bolted flange joints and valve packed stuffing boxes. It is well established that the predicting leakage in these pressure vessel components is a major engineering challenge to designers. This is particularly true in nuclear valves due to different working conditions and material variations. The prediction of the leak rate through packing rings is not a straightforward task to achieve. This work presents a study on the ability of microchannel flow models to predict leak rates through packing rings made of flexible graphite. A methodology based on experimental characterization of packing material porosity parameters is developed to predict leak rates at different compression stress levels. Three different models are compared to predict leakage; the diffusive and second-order flow models are derived from Naiver–Stokes equations and incorporate the boundary conditions of an intermediate flow regime to cover the wide range of leak rate levels and the lattice model is based on porous media of packing rings as packing bed (Dp). The flow porosity parameters (N, R) of the microchannels assumed to simulate the leak paths present in the packing are obtained experimentally. The predicted leak rates from different gases (He, N2, and Ar) are compared to those measured experimentally in which the set of packing rings is mainly subjected to different gland stresses and pressures.

Predicting leakage in packed stuffing boxes is a major engineering challenge to designers and end users. Due to the different working conditions and material products, the determination of the flow regime present in packing rings is not a straightforward task to predict. This paper presents a study on the ability of micro channel flow models to predict leak rates through packing rings made of soft materials such as graphite. A methodology based on the experimental characterization of the porosity parameters is developed to predict leak rates at different compression stress levels. Three different models are compared to predicate the leakage, where the diffusive and second order flow models are derived from Naiver-Stokes equations and incorporate the boundary conditions of an intermediate flow regime to cover the wide range of leak rate levels. The lattice model is based on porous media of packing rings as packing bed (Dp). The flow porosity parameters (Rc,Dp) of the micro channels assumed to simulate the leak paths present in the packing are obtained experimentally. The predicted leak rates from different gasses (He, N2, Ar) are compared to those measured experimentally, in which the set of packing rings is mainly subjected to different gland stresses and pressures.