Contact mechanical behavior and leakage prediction of metal lenticular gaskets in bolt flange joints of ultrahigh pressure pipelines

Metal lenticular gaskets have been widely applied in the bolt flange joints of high and ultrahigh pressure pipelines due to their semi-self-tightening sealing properties. However, research on the leakage prediction of the metal lenticular gaskets is still lacking, which limits their further optimal design and sealing performance improvement. In this paper, an elastoplastic contact mechanics analysis of a metal lenticular gasket used in the bolted flange joint of ultra-high pressure polyethylene pipelines was firstly carried out. The analytical formulas of contact stress and contact width were derived and compared with corresponding numerical results. Then, based on the surface topography measurement, a leakage model was established, in which the pipe surface was simplified to a smooth rigid flat surface, and the gasket surface was simplified to an equivalent rough surface composed of identical wedges. Finally, an analytical leakage prediction formula for the metal lenticular gasket was proposed. In addition, the effects of influence factors on leakage rate were discussed. It is shown that the analytical formulas can accurately calculate the contact stress and contact width in elastoplastic contact. The leakage rate increases with the decrease of the bolt load and the increase of internal pressure. For the ultrahigh pressure pipeline with internal pressure of 200 MPa, the minimum bolt load should be ensured to be higher than 120 kN in order to meet the T5 tightness level. In addition, the initial contact diameter is basically proportional to the leakage rate, while the change of gasket inclination angle has little effect on the leakage rate. Therefore, the contact diameter can be designed to be as small as possible within a reasonable range. This work can provide a theoretical basis for the sealing optimal design of metal lenticular gaskets. •An elastoplastic contact mechanics analysis of a metal lenticular gasket used in the bolted flange joint of ultra-high pressure pipelines was carried out based on the Hertz's contact theory.•The theoretical formulas of contact stress and contact width were derived and verified by corresponding numerical simulations.•A leakage prediction formula of the metal lenticular gaskets associated with the surface roughness, the contact mechanics behavior, and the gasket shape parameters was derived.•The effects of influence factors including bolt load, internal pressure, gasket contact diameter and gasket inclination on the leak