Manufacturing and development of a bolted GFRP flange joint for oil and gas applications

Abstract

The goal of this experimental study is to manufacture a bolted GFRP flange connection for composite pipes with high strength and performance. A mould was designed and manufactured, which ensures the quality of the composite materials and controls its surface grade. Based on the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section X, this GFRP flange was fabricated using biaxial glass fibre braid and polyester resin in a vacuum infusion process. In addition, many experiments were carried out using another mould made of glass to solve process-related issues. Moreover, an investigation was conducted to compare the drilling of the GFRP flange using two types of tools; an Erbauer diamond tile drill bit and a Brad & Spur K10 drill. Six GFRP flanges were manufactured to reach the final product with acceptable quality and performance. The flange was adhesively bonded to a composite pipe after chamfering the end of the pipe. Another type of commercially-available composite flange was used to close the other end of the pipe. Finally, blind flanges were used to close both ends, making the pressure vessel that will be tested under the range of the bolt load and internal pressure.

Calculation Model of Mechanical and Sealing Properties of NiTi Alloy Corrugated Gaskets under Shape Memory Effect and Hyperelastic Coupling: Two Sealing Properties

“…Its performance seriously affects the safety of the equipment. In recent years, process equipment has begun to develop towards high parameterization, multi-function, and large scales [1,2], which puts forward higher requirements on the sealing performance of equipment connections. In other words, the sealing components are required to have good environmental adaptability and good reliability so that the leakage of the joint caused by temperature change or load fluctuation can be prevented.…”

Study of preload relaxation and optimization of wind turbine bolted connections based on the improved elastic interaction coefficient method

“…[13][14][15] At present, most of the studies focused on the static strength and fatigue life of wind turbine bolts, while the problem resulted from the preload relaxation led by the elastic interaction was ignored. [16][17][18] For instance, Aljuboury et al 19 manufactured a bolted GFRP flange connection for composite pipes with high strength, and based on this, Qin et al 20 presented the experimental investigation on the effect of countersunk hole geometry errors on the fatigue performance of CFRP bolted joints. Besides, Liu et al 21 investigated on the effect of countersinking depth on the tensile strength of the single-bolted joint.…”