Advanced Gasket Testing Methodology: The New Situation in the European Standardization

Great progress was observed in the European standardization in the last years in the field of the design of floating type bolted flange connections. New design rules were developed (EN 1591) which include new definitions of gasket characteristics for the calculation of floating type flanged joints. In addition a new gasket testing standard was drafted (prEN 13555) which assures a comprehensive characterization of gaskets for bolted flanged joints. This draft standard contains some new features which were examined and validated within a still running European research project PERL (Pressure Equipment - Reduction of Leak Rate). The gasket testing strategy layed down in prEN 13555 is presented in this paper. Some testing results highlighten the measuring procedures and the evaluation of the gasket characteristics.