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Case History No. 1
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Glass-lined reactor in a chemical
plant |
| Problem:
|
A chemical works experienced a gasket
failures on a glass-lined reactor. The envelope gaskets which were
being used at that time did not seal satisfactorily and gasket failures
were causing 7% downtime. It was obvious that enormous maintenance
costs could be saved by finding a more reliable type of gasket. |
| Solution: |
GORE™ GR sheet gaskets
(6.4mm thick) were installed - gaskets which are dimensionally stable
and creep resistant |
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Case History No. 2
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Too many different chemically resistant gaskets |
| Problem:
|
The difficulties posed by the different types of filled PTFE gaskets
available for chemical resistant duties was most confusing for the
buying department of a chemical plant. The consequences are technical
problems such as difficulty removing gaskets from uneven flange
faces.
|
| Solution: |
GORE™ GR
and GORE™ GR Style R sheet gaskets were installed |
| Conclusion: |
By changing to GORE™ GR Sheet Gasketing engineers could
be certain of the chemical resistance of the gasket and could be
sure of a good seal even in damaged and uneven flanges. At first
some technicians had a problem with the floppy nature of the material
when installing in large flanges. So Gore introduced a new product
- GORE™ GR Style R Sheet Gasketing. This products has all
the advantages of GORE™ GR gasketing, but it does not bend
so easily. They now use GORE™ GR Gasketing as well as GORE™ GR Style R Sheet Gasketing in flanges of all sizes. After three months,
during which there had been no reports of leakage whatsoever, the
engineers decided that from then on they would install only GORE™
gaskets.
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Case History No. 3
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Sulphuric acid, Chemical Plant |
| Problem:
|
This highly corrosive acid which has a pH value of roughly 1, is
manufactured at high temperatures and handling it is a challenge
to both men and machines. A large manufacturer of this aggressive
chemcial operates at temperatures of 220 °C. A tower absorbs
the heat which is then used to produce steam for energy duties.
Because of the need for chemical resistant components in the tower,
filled PTFE gaskets were installed. Unfortunately the life of this
material was limited because of creep and blow out. The plant had
to shut down every two years for maintenance. Consequently the company
was looking for a sealing material that would be reliable and not
cause any unplanned maintenance.
|
| Solution: |
At the next planned shutdown, GORE-TEX GR® sheet gaskets were
installed.
|
| Conclusion: |
During the following
two years right up to the next planned shutdown none of the gasket
had failed. On opening the joints the engineers were surprised at
how flexible the gaskets were - not like the previous gaskets which
soon went hard and brittle causing the seals to fail. All the gaskets
were replaced leaving the engineers safe in the knowledge that no
maintenance would be needed until the next shutdown in two years time. |
