GORE® Universal Pipe Gaskets (Style 800) provide a reliable seal for steel, glass-lined steel and fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) flanges, in the full spectrum of strong acid, alkali, and solvent process media, including the most challenging thermal cycling and elevated temperature applications.
This single gasket solution can reduce the process safety and production downtime risks caused by the use of an incorrect gasket material. The highly conformable 100% ePTFE also reliably seals irregular surfaces.
Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) pipes and flanges are increasingly used in the oil and gas industry where metal is simply too heavy and expensive. In addition to cost pressure, the need for lightweight chemically resistant materials are also driving the use of fiberglass pipes and flanges. Innovations in FRP flange design coupled with improvements in manufacturing technology have allowed FRP piping to be used in even more demanding applications. However, these demanding applications have added challenges for sealing the bolted flange connections.
More aggressive media and higher internal pressures have pushed the limits of the commonly used rubber gasketing materials, such as Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM), or neoprene. Obtaining a reliable seal in FRP flanges using conventional gasketing materials has become more difficult.
Fiberglass pipes are generally known to have strength limits and a lower pressure resistance, making sealing fiberglass flanges difficult. Gore solved this problem with its patented expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) gasket, specifically designed to seal flanges at low stresses. This solution was successfully demonstrated in a multistage testing procedure conducted in cooperation with a globally leading manufacturer of anti-corrosive fiberglass pipe systems.