COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS

Written By Ir. Tan Yoke Lee

MIEM, Mi-FIRE E
yokeleetan71@gmail.com
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS

Flange is a type of joint used to join

pipes, equipment and fittings such
as strainers which require
maintenance.

Most of the time, they are installed

blade for easy maintenance of equipment
hub and fittings such as pumps, chillers,
tanks, valves, strainers, etc such
that the components can be taken
out easily without having to cut the
pipes.

Components of flange joints are the flange blade, flange hub, gasket, bolts and nuts, washers.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS

It is important for engineers to specify the required

type of joints in an application.

The suitable joints will depend on the temperature and

pressure of the liquid carried and the nature of the
liquid whether it is corrosive or not.

When specifying type of joints, we can mention either

flange joints or mechanical coupling.

When specifying flange joints, we need to specify the type of joints, the flange faces and the flange surfaces.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS

There are different

type of flange joints,
mostly classified in
accordance to how
the pipe is joined to
the flange or hub.
1. Weld neck
2. Slip on
3. Socket weld
4. Lap joint
5. Threaded
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS

Butt weld

blade
hub

Weld neck flange is where the weld type is butt weld located
at the neck of the hub. This is the most popular joints in oil
and gas industry. It has higher life expectancy than other
joints.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS

In the slip on flange, the pipe is

slipped on to the flange and the pipe
is welded onto the flange blade using
Fillet weld
fillet weld as shown (both on the
outside and inside of pipe.

It is cheaper in cost than weld neck

flange but has poor resistance to
shock and vibration.

It is used in low pressure application.

 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS The socket flange has a built
in shoulder to guide the pipe
such that an expansion gap is
allowed between the pipe
and the flange.

Socket flange has only one

weld outside the flange
Fillet weld unlike slip on with two
welds. It has 50% longer
fatigue life than slip on flange.

It is not suitable for pipe

designed for anti corrosion as
the expansion gap creates a
chance for crack to develop
between pipe and flange.
Allow for thermal expansion inside.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS

Butt weld

In contact with fluid

In lap joint flange, there are the flange and the stub end. The stub end piece is
welded to pipe using butt weld and only the stub end piece is in contact with the
fluid. This type of joint is used for corrosive fluid with special wetted pipe
materials and only suitable for low pressure application. (it reduces the actual
wetted area compared to other flange types.)
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
TYPE OF JOINTS

Threaded flange joints have threads on the flange and the outer diameter of the pipe. It is like
slipped on joint except that no welding is required. It is designed for pipe size 4” and below and is
not suitable for high temperature application due to deformation of threads. It is also leaky, thus
suitable for low pressure application , non hazardous fluid. (IT IS GOOD FOR AREA WHERE NO HOT
WORK IS PERMITTED.)
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS

FLANGE FACES There are 3 common types of

flange faces used in the
industry.
1. Flat face
2. Raised face
3. Ring type joints
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE FACES

Flat face flange is used for low

pressure application.
The entire face can be used for
sealing.
Pressure = force/ area, thus
force= pressure x area
Since area of application is big,
the force required on the face
of the gasket for a selected
pressure is very big.
Thus, the pressure rating of
such gasket is normally very
small in order to manage the
torque to screw the bolts.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE FACES
Raised area

In contrast to the flat face flange, the raised face will have smaller seating area for the gasket. This
means for small Force/ torque application, the pressure rating can be very high since the area of the
gasket is small, thus SUITABLE FOR HIGH PRESSURE APPLICATION
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE FACES
Ring groove
In contrast to the raised flange face, the ring
type joint (RTJ) allows the gasket to sit inside
the ring grooves carved on the surface.

This means that area of application is very

small and thus a high pressure rating can be
achieved.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE SURFACES

There are different type of

surfaces on the face of the
flange:-
1. Stock finish
2. Spiral serrated
3. Concentric serrated
4. Smooth finish
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE SURFACES Serrations flanges normally used for soft
gasket.
1. Stock finish serration is the most
common type of serration. It has
continuous groove formed by U
shape tool. (not suitable for low
density fluid)

2. Both concentric and spiral serration

are produced using v shape tool.

3. Concentric serration are non

continuous groove and can be used
for very low density fluid.

4. Spiral serration has continuous

groove and cannot be used for very
low density fluid as it will tend to
leak out from the spiral cavity.
 COMMON TYPE OF FLANGE JOINTS
FLANGE SURFACES

Smooth finish normally used for

metallic gasket only.
It is also normally used for low
pressure application and large
pipe line diameter.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

1. Welding joints
2. Mechanical coupling joints also known as groove joints
3. Compression joints
4. Threaded joints
5. Socket and spigot joints
6. Butt fusion joints and electrofusion joints
7. Socket joints using cement glue
8. Crimp joints
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints. These are used
where there is no requirement to take out any components for maintenance.

The more commonly used joints are:-

1. Welding joints, normally used joints for pipes are butt welding. When purchasing pipes, butt
weld joints have to be specified such that the pipe ends are bevelled at factory. The weld
joints are subjected to x-ray inspection in oil and gas industry.

Welding joints are most labour intensive and subjected to quality of workmanship.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

2. Mechanical coupling joints also known as groove joints No spacing

No hot work is required. The pipes are

grooved at site away from hazardous area.
The coupling is applied at site using bolts
and nuts like the flange joints.

The workmanship of the joints can be

visually inspected and verified at site.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

3. Compression joints
ferule No hot work is required. The correct force/
torque should be applied to tighten the fitting
and the nut.

The olive or ferule is sandwiched between the

pipe and the compression fitting body thus
forming a seal over the pipe.

The PTFE tape is optional.

This type of joint normally used at AC

compressor.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

4. Threaded joints, one end is male threaded and the other end is female threaded. PTFE tape is
applied on the male end.

female

male
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

5. Socket and spigot joints commonly used in cast iron, clay and ductile iron pipe. Rubber gasket
is used as seal, thus is not suitable for corrosive liquid.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

6. Butt fusion joints and electrofusion joints normally used for HDPE pipe joints. They are called
heat fusion joints. The difference in the joints is how the pipe is prepared and how heat is
applied to the joints. Sometimes heat fusion is also used to join PPR pipes.

For butt weld, no fitting is required. Pipe is

squared at the end. A metallic surface is
heated up and applied to both ends of pipe to
melt the materials and then pressed together
to form the weld joints.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

6. Butt fusion joints and electrofusion joints normally used for HDPE pipe joints. They are called
heat fusion joints. The difference in the joints is how the pipe is prepared and how heat is
applied to the joints. fitting

Electrofusion joints
Heat is applied to 2 ends of the coil in the
fittings for a predetermined time and
pressure. The electrofusion fittings form
part of the end product of the piping
installation.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

7. Socket joints using cement glue. These joints are normally used in PVC, UPVC and ABS pipes.

The fittings for solvent cement joints are normally smooth in surface.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

There are also other type of joints for pipes and fittings apart from flange joints.

The more commonly used joints are:-

8. Crimp joints used in PE pipes patented by Buteline.
 OTHER TYPE OF JOINTS

In conclusion, when specifying joints, we need to relate to the followings:-

1. Requirement for maintenance of components, flange and mechanical coupling would be
most suitable.
2. The temperature and pressure of the medium conducted.
3. Whether the medium conducted is corrosive.
4. The cost of the joints versus the labour cost and the quality of the joints. In some countries,
quality welders are difficult to get.
5. The time constraint of the project. Some joints are very quick and easy to install but are
slightly more expensive.
6. The pipe materials to be joint.