Flangeseal: An Excellent Option for Protecting Flanges from Corrosion

Flanges play a crucial role in connecting pipes and ensuring the integrity of industrial systems. However, these vital components are susceptible to corrosion, which can compromise their performance and lead to costly repairs. To prevent this issue, a reliable solution is needed, and Flangeseal emerges as an excellent option for protecting flanges from corrosion while offering easy installation.

One of the key advantages of Flangeseal is its backing with integrated fiberglass reinforcement. This feature gives the product toughness and long-lasting durability, allowing it to withstand harsh environments and demanding conditions. Additionally, the high recovery capacity of Flangeseal, combined with its impressive 65% shrinkage ratio, enables it to conform to high transitions smoothly. This versatility reduces inventory and logistics costs, making it a cost-effective choice for protecting flanges.

The mechanical resistance backing of Flangeseal is another noteworthy feature. It is designed to resist abrasion, impact, and penetration, providing reliable protection for flanges against various forms of damage. Moreover, the sealant used in Flangeseal is specially formulated to ensure a strong bond and a tight seal to virtually any substrate. This ensures that the seal remains intact, even when exposed to a wide range of temperatures, maintaining its elasticity and sealing characteristics over time.

One of the standout features of Flangeseal is its self-healing effect. The sealing adhesive has the ability to automatically flow and repair minor mechanical damages. This capability not only enhances the longevity of the product but also saves money by reducing the need for frequent maintenance or replacement. Additionally, Flangeseal does not require a primer, eliminating the need for drying time and making the application process quick and easy.

Installation of Flangeseal is made even more convenient by its zipper closure system. This system simplifies and accelerates the installation process, ensuring a secure fit around the flanges. Moreover, Flangeseal does not require any special equipment for installation, making it accessible to a wide range of users. This not only saves time but also keeps installation costs low.

The excellent performance of Flangeseal is further supported by its impressive properties. The bursting strength of the backing, tested according to DIN 30672, is measured at 3500 N, demonstrating its ability to withstand significant pressure. The adhesive's softening point, tested per ASTM E-28, is 92°C (198°F), indicating its high-temperature resistance. Additionally, the shear strength and peel strength of the adhesive, tested according to EN12068, are 8 N/cm² and 9 N/cm, respectively, confirming its strong bonding capabilities.

Flangeseal is a heat shrinkable corrosion protection sleeve specifically developed for installation on flanges or mechanical couplings that are already in place. It consists of two layers: a visco-elastic sealant and a fiberglass-reinforced, radiation cross-linked, polyethylene backing. The product comes in pre-cut sleeves with a zipper closure system, allowing for fast and simple installation. Additionally, each kit includes a corrugated cardboard sheet to keep the flange nuts and bolts clean, facilitating easy re-entry and disassembly when necessary.

The installation process of Flangeseal is straightforward. After cleaning and preparing the pipe surface and flange, the corrugated cardboard sheet is wrapped around the flange to be sealed. The heat-shrinkable sleeve is then positioned centrally over the flange and closed using the zipper closure. As the sleeve is heated above 125°C (257°F), it shrinks tightly around the substrate. During the recovery process, the adhesive softens and flows, forming a tight bond. The bond strength further develops during cool down and remains fully intact upon completion of the installation process.

Flange Protection

Heat Shrinkable Corrosion Protection for Flanges

     Flangeseals are a niche product that we manufacture and sell.  Though the volume isn't yet tremendous, this is a fantastic product with a long, successful use history.  Flange Protection is a fairly common need out in the world.  There can be plenty of confusion as well though, as flange protection sleeves very often are specified on different criteria than we see field joint coatings specified.  Coincidentally, I've recently been in a position to have a few different discussions about our specific flange protection solution.

     Being that these are separate projects, there is an interesting opportunity here to evaluate our product (Flange Seal) from a couple of different angles:  Technically and cost.  

     First let's look at coating thickness:

Flangeseal is supplied with a backing thickness of 51 mils.  It is supplied with an adhesive thickness of 47 mils.  So we have a total supplied thickness of 98 mils.  This is a product that will shrink 67% if allowed to shrink that much (unrestricted by a pipe diameter, etc).  In such a case where there was going to be a full unrestricted recovery, this product backing thickness would be 127 mils.  Just like the backing, the adhesive thickness will increase during the shrink process (volume of the adhesive does not change, while the area of sleeve backing is reduced, resulting in a thicker adhesive even with the consideration that some small amount of adhesive will flow at the edges of the sleeve by design to form a seal.

That would mean a total, full unrestricted recovery of something in the neighborhood of 180 mils.  This may answer the question as many spec writers would see a number like this on a data sheet - and would copy it over to a spec - not realizing that they may have made a mistake.  If they meant to include the "full unrestricted recovery" dimensions (which are certainly are directly tied to the installed dimensions) then they have succeeded.  If, on the other hand, they have included a number which is the 'full unrestricted recovery' dimension but what they really want is the installed thickness - they may have inadvertently caused themselves an issue. 

Determining installed thickness can very often be a difficult task (as evidenced by the fact that no shrink sleeve manufacturer anywhere in the world reports an installed thickness).  Why is it difficult?  Because there are a number of very important factors.  How much 'slack' was in the shrink sleeve prior to shrinking?  What was the exact temperature of the preheated steel?  How much longitudinal shrink occurred during the shrink process?  What were weather, humidity and wind conditions during the shrink process?  What was the exact thickness of the adhesive during the manufacturing process (this can vary a great deal for mastic products, though the plant is always certain to guarantee a minimum thickness). 

Looking at this through my own 15 years of experience, exclusively with this product line, here are my opinions.

This product would be ~180 mils with a full recovery.

This product is 98 mils supplied. 

I believe it is reasonable to assume that the shrink sleeve thickness at the pipe will reach the 130+ mil thickness. 

This raises another difficult aspect of trying to define 'installed thickness' (which your client may not have even intended to do).  Because the sleeve will shrink a great deal when it bonds to the pipe surface; while not shrinking nearly as much as it bonds to the Flange surface (which is much larger) - the installed sleeve will be thicker at the pipe surface than it is at the flange surface; because shrink sleeve recovery has such a significant bearing on installed product thickness.

I'm sorry I could answer that one with fewer words.  I'm sure that is more than you ever wanted to know about installed shrink sleeve thicknesses.

 Now, when considering specifically my product (FlangeSeal) against a competitors heat shrinkable option:

Competitors product: 

Backing thickness supplied:  31 mils

Backing fully recovered:  not reported

Flangeseal:

Backing thickness supplied: 51 mils

Backing thickness fully recovered:  128 mils

So right there - we are looking at ~62% thicker backing as supplied.  I expect there will be a similar disparity with fully recovered dimensions.  So 62% thicker backing.  That is pretty significant when considering the weight these sleeves will bear on larger flanges. 

An important note:  our backing is comprised of three layers:

1 layer of radiation cross linked polyolefin

1 layer of a fiber mesh material specifically designed to improve penetration resistance and abrasion resistance (critical for sealing a flange in my opinion)

a 2nd layer of radiation cross linked polyolefin

From all I can see - my competitors product is comprised of a single layer of polyethylene.

Looking at adhesive thicknesses (which aren't as important in my opinion) - Competitor is at 44 mils and our Flangeseal is at 47 mils. 

I really think the fiber mesh laminated in the backing of our product is the most important difference though.  Truly, I think it is the difference between a product that works...and a product that doesn't.