Boiler Code Week 2025 - Bolted Joints and Gasket Behavior Course

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Description of Course:

Bolted and gasketed joints are critical to pressure-containing and industrial systems worldwide. This two-day course is an engineer’s guide to bolting and gasket design, selection and installation. It provides an overview of bolted joint fundamentals and focuses on the roles of bolts and gaskets in developing and maintaining leak-tight connections of bolted flange joints, including troubleshooting of existing bolted flange connection.

This course examines how to assess a successful value of bolt load, as well as explains the importance of specifying a tightening procedure. It introduces the subject of PVRC (Pressure Vessel Research Council) leak tightness calculations and presents an overview of current trends and practices to achieve reliable leak-tight bolted joint solutions.

You Learned To:

• Explain how the bolted joint functions as a mechanical system that relies on the simultaneous interaction of the three primary components to successfully seal the connection

• Assess the mechanical stress and strain of a bolt and explain the challenges that one encounters when specifying an optimum bolt load

• Evaluate the total state of stress in bolts and how this effects the selection of a given bolt type and grade

• Describe the effects of in-service conditions and how they reduce or increase bolt load

• Describe the concept of leak tightness as a predictable value of gasket stress and how to use leak tightness as the basis of specifying bolt loads

• Identify conditions that create bolt failure

• Use ASME PCC-1 Guidelines for compliance to successful sealing of bolted, gasketed connections

• Discern how to use either stress or strain to select bolt load

• Evaluate the various methods of attaining bolt load.